Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2151 to 2175 of 4490 results

2151. Anybody Listening?

Mark 6:1-6

Sermon

William G. Carter

His name was George, and he sat in the back row of the sanctuary on the preacher's right. A permanent scowl was chiseled on his face. His posture announced to all that he was a man not easily pleased. Ushers tip-toed around him. Whenever his name came up in conversation around church hallways, someone would always ask, "Why does a grouch like that keep coming to worship?" No one ever came up with an answer. One thing was certain -- George was particularly hard on preachers. "I have heard hundreds of ...

2152. Himself The Real Presence

John 6:25-59

Sermon

George W. Hoyer

Accustomed as we are to hearing the words, "This is my body" in the consecration of the sacrament and "The body of Christ" as we receive holy communion bread, do we still draw back in surprise at hearing our Lord say "flesh"? Accustomed as we are to hearing the words "The blood of Christ" when we take the chalice, do we still find a murmur rising in our minds as we hear this text: "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you"? The gospel for today seems very ...

2153. Friendship? Yes, Please!

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

According to a recent poll only about ten percent of American males say they have a good friend. And while women fare somewhat better, neither do they set a record. Why is this? I believe it is because we place such an emphasis on doing, producing, and having that we have very little time and energy left for developing relationships. In short, we'd rather have things than people. Actually, the Bible predicts this is how it will be in the end of times. Revelation 18:11-13 describes the economy of Babylon, ...

2154. Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory!

John 11:17-37

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; He has loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword: His truth is marching on.Glory, glory! Hallelujah! Glory, glory! Hallelujah!Glory, glory! Hallelujah! Every time I hear these words of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," I have visions of some old Civil War movie with soldiers marching off to meet their fate in the glory of the battlefield. In such a context this hymn ...

2155. Point Of Origin

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

Harold Warlick

The beginning of the world's story is our story. This magisterial word "create" suggests no point of origin other than God. This creation is an absolute new beginning which carries profound implications for what it means to be a human being. For the universe and humankind to be created by God demonstrates the surprising and uncontrollable power of God. For humankind to be created in the image of God indicates a uniqueness that leads to a significant purpose in life. Despite the first five verses of the ...

2156. Advent 1

Isaiah 63:7--64:12, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, Psalm 80:1-19, Mark 13:32-37, Mark 13:1-31

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

The Fig Tree Lesson We were traveling in the dark. The route number told us to make a turn north as we merged with another major highway. Then we relaxed and in a very short time missed the sign that told us to turn east again. In the dark and not watching carefully on an unfamiliar road, we missed the sign. Sometime later we realized that we were not seeing signs for our route and the exit signs pointed toward unfamiliar towns. We realized that we had not read the signs carefully enough. It cost us an ...

2157. The Pastor Who Created A Monster

Haggai 1:1-15, Haggai 2:1-9

Sermon

Thomas G. Rogers

As Pastor Jenkins walked through the church fellowship hall he could not help overhearing part of a conversation between two members of his congregation. What he heard troubled him. The members were standing in front of the big thermometer sign that the building committee had made. Five years ago the church had begun a fund campaign for a new sanctuary. The building committee had painted a big thermometer on a four-by-ten-foot sheet of plywood. The measurement markings on the thermometer were labeled, not ...

2158. Crackpots

Jeremiah 2:1-3:5

Sermon

Richard L. Sheffield

In a recent "Dennis the Menace" comic in the Lima News, Dennis' line to his mother is: "Before I tell you what happened, remember I'm just a little kid." My line to you this morning is: "Before I tell you about Jeremiah, remember I'm just a preacher." I'm just a messenger. Jeremiah, the prophet of God, was just a messenger. Jeremiah said to God, "I don't know what to say." God said, "I'll tell you what to say!" And what God said is what Jeremiah said. Jeremiah's message to the people of Israel, eventually ...

2159. Week Two Of Lent

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Reflections:Week Two Of Lent Monday Week TwoDaniel 9:4-10Luke 6:36-38 The Compassion Of God Joseph Girzone, the popular author, tells the following story in his parable Joshua And The Children.1 Over a hundred years ago in France, a butler attached to a wealthy family knew where the family kept all their money, hidden in a vault underneath their chateau. The butler methodically plotted to kill everyone in the family and steal the money. One night when everyone was asleep, he crept into the house and first ...

2160. Traveling Forgotten Mountains

Isaiah 49:8-26

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

Larry Crabb has written a book called Moving Through Your Problems Toward Finding God. In the foreword the author writes, I have come to a place in my life where I need to know God better or I won't make it. Life at times has a way of throwing me into such blinding confusion and severe pain that I lose all hope. Joy is gone. Nothing encourages me ... The rhetoric we're all 4used to -- " just trust the Lord, pray more, get counseling, follow God's plan more carefully" -- must give way to the reality of ...

2161. Meeting Our Needs, Not Our Greeds

Exodus 16:1-36

Sermon

Steve Burt

Once upon a time there lived a farmer who raised chickens, wonderful, plump, juicy chickens that cooked up beautifully. But one summer a problem arose. It seemed that a fox had found a way to sneak into the pen where the chickens were kept, and it carried off a chicken every night. The farmer tried setting traps, but the fox was too smart to take the bait and get caught in the trap. The farmer tried staying awake and watching over the chicken pen, but he never did spot where it was that fox got in. No ...

2162. A Faith I Could No Longer Count On

Psalm 73:1-7, 13-18

Sermon

Robert G. McCreight

Introduction The seventy-third psalm mirrors the life of faith for everyone who is honest enough to allow his or her faith to be pushed to the limit. It begins with a simple, Sunday School outlook which lifts up the clear virtue of a good God who is good to good people. We all like that sort of thing, and quickly say "Amen" to that. It doesn't take long at all for the psalmist to "grow up" and realize that the simple theology of a good God smiling on good people doesn't hold much water. Just because that's ...

2163. The Peace That Jesus Gives

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Lee Griess

There is a road in southern Italy that begins in the city of Eboli and ends in the mountain village of Gagliano. To anyone who makes that journey, it is an ascent to hell. Gagliano is no more than a scattered cluster of fallen down whitewashed old buildings, hanging desperately to barren slopes near a rocky cliff. The village has been there for centuries and for as far back as the oldest person can remember, it has always been a place of severe poverty, unrelenting disease, frightening superstition, ...

2164. Second Sight

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

David Belgum

What was the experience high up on Mount Hermon, which we have come to call the Transfiguration of Jesus? When we modern, technologically-oriented westerners read, we expect to receive objective information that will benefit us and answer questions. We become uncomfortable when what we read raises questions or throws us for a loop. All the symbolism of inspiration is packed into this short story. A bright light represented God's holiness and his blessing on those whom he had called. It is said of Jesus ...

2165. Take Dead Aim

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

Robert R. Kopp

My wife and I were discussing the state of affairs in America. I said every child of the 1960s knew there was a credibility gap when he said he didn't inhale. I said every golfer knew character would be a continuing issue after correspondents for several golf magazines caught him cheating during a round with two of his predecessors. I said everybody knows he cheated on his wife for years and lied to family, friends, colleagues, and employees. I said he admitted to an inappropriate -- s-e-x-u-a-l -- ...

2166. Moving At The Speed Of Light: Unknown Apostles

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

Sermon

Frank Luchsinger

How many people are helpful to us in a given stretch of time? How many are helpful to you in a given stretch of time? Folks whose names you may not know who go out of their way to help you out. A while back a mother was driving home, and an eruption of discontent came from the back seat -- two little boys who could not get along. She pulled off to the side of the road and stopped. Sensing there might be a mechanical failure, a police cruiser with two officers pulled up next to her inquiring if she needed ...

2167. Proper 13

Colossians 3:1-17, Hosea 11:1-11, Luke 12:13-21

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Hosea 11:1-11 Yahweh so loves his disobedient people that he cannot give them up to destruction. In one of the most moving passages in the Old Testament (Lesson 1), Israel is pictured as Yahweh's prodigal son. Hosea sees God and the nation as a loving father and his rebellious son. As a loving father Yahweh loves Israel when a child, brought him out of slavery in Egypt, and cared for him in the wilderness. He took his child in his arms, taught him to walk, and nurtured him. In ...

2168. Running Around The Empty Tomb

John 20:1-9

Sermon

Thomas Long

According to the Gospel of John, the very earliest response to the event of the resurrection was not praise, stark terror, ecstatic dancing, paralyzed fear, unbridled joy, speechless astonishment, or exultant song -- but running. Yes, running. In the early morning hours of the first day of the week, as it begins to crack across human consciousness that something utterly unexpected and world-shifting has occurred out there in the garden cemetery, the first people who experience this event react by running ...

2169. How Unexpected Can Christmas Be?

Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon

William B. Kincaid, III

The temptation is to dismiss these words from Matthew. After all, how do they pertain to us? Written at a time when the early church had bet its life on Jesus' return, these seem odd words to hear on the first Sunday of Advent. We are busy preparing the creche for a baby, but Matthew appears to be announcing Jesus' second coming. And it isn't just an odd lesson, but a frightening one. In a season when we seek assurance, Matthew's words are enough to scare us half to death. These words compare the coming of ...

2170. Advent 3

James 5:7-12, Isaiah 35:1-10, Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Isaiah 35:1-10 A message of promise and hope comes to the captive children of Israel. Yahweh is going to free them from their oppression and open a road through the parched desert to the holy city of Jerusalem. The writer (not Isaiah) poetically pictures the entire creation participating in the redemption of God's people as the desert springs to luxuriant life, free of ravenous beasts. In this second exodus from the land of captivity to the promised land, the redeemed leave their ...

2171. Epiphany 7

Mt 5:38-48 · 1 Cor 3:10-11, 16-23 · Lev 19:1-2, 9-18 · Ps 119:33-40 · Ps 71 · Ps 62

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18 A preeminent characteristic of God, according to the Pentateuch, is holiness. The Lord is in a class by himself; God is righteous, just, loving, and forgiving. God's people are likewise holy the Lord's. Their behavior must reflect this reality. They must love their neighbor as themselves because all belong to the Lord. Unfortunately, this love was constricted by a narrow definition of the neighbor a fellow Hebrew. Epistle: 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23 Paul ...

2172. Proper 27

1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11, Hosea 11:1-11, Joshua 24:1-27, Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: Living in readiness and anticipation of the Second Coming of Christ. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 Joshua is now an old man and so he gathers the tribes of Israel together at Shechem to renew the covenant. In the first part of the passage, Joshua recounts the origin of the covenant which the Lord initiated with Abraham. The second portion of the passage calls for a response from the people. Idolatry is still a problem because he calls on the people to cast off the foreign gods and ...

2173. I Am Making All Things New (Including You)

Sermon

Ronald Lavin

...He who sat upon the throne said, "Behold! I am making all things new!" -- Revelation 21:5 (NEB) "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." -- Luke 23:34 (RSV) ____________ Revelation 21:5 hardly seems like an appropriate text to mix with the Good Friday words of Jesus about forgiving those who are crucifying him. The Good Friday verse focuses on the death of Christ. Revelation 21:5 focuses on the ultimate reign of Christ. Good Friday is gory. Revelation 21:5 is about glory. Yes, but in a ...

2174. A Taste Of Life

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

William G. Carter

The workshop was winding up. About 25 pleasant church people had gathered in central Pennsylvania to take part in a workshop on worship. The better part of a Saturday morning had dealt with a variety of topics, such as the order of worship, the role of music, the place of preaching, and whether or not children should come to the Lord's table. A few stomachs were growling for lunch when I asked, "Does anybody have any questions?" Most people smiled and sat in that circle of metal folding chairs. One woman, ...

2175. Looking A Little Bit Crazy

Mark 3:20-30

Sermon

William G. Carter

A photocopied sign was posted inside a church office. It was one of those humorous full-page slogans that people in different offices duplicate and pass among themselves. Most of us have seen this particular message, I suppose, but posted in a church office, the words took on a new meaning. There it was, taped to the cinder blocks behind a secretary's desk. The sign read, "You don't have to be crazy to work here, but it helps." At one level, why not put a sign like that in a church? Many churches are busy ...

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