Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 201 to 225 of 3160 results

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

Marc Kolden

... his brothers coming to see him and he dismissed them: "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? ... Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." Good grief! This guy is God's word? Does God's word create this sort of confusion and hatred and bitterness? "Let anyone with ears listen!" No wonder many did not respond. We shouldn't be surprised. Just a few chapters earlier Jesus had said, "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring ...

202. Proper 28

Judges 4:1-24, Proverbs 31:10-31, Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18, Malachi 2:1-9, Matthew 25:14-30, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... . He profusely commends them. They have wisely invested the little he gave them; he sets them in authority over a great deal. The first two servants are bold and venturesome. They are willing to take on greater risk for greater gain. The third fellow is a timid sort. He was afraid to take a risk and so he buried the talent, believing his master to be a hard man (vv. 24-25). The master gives this timid fellow a severe dressing down. This sends spiritual shock waves over us because we identify more with him ...

203. Kindness In Action: Evangelism

Acts 8:26-40

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

... kindness. That's what is displayed here. Philip was sensitive to another person's needs and met them as best he could, but his own reward was simply to realize he'd been able to share his faith with another. Surely that's evangelism of the highest sort. There's a wonderful legend about Saint Francis, the kindly thirteenth century monk, who one day informed his brethren that he planned to go into the nearby village on a preaching mission. He invited a novice to go along. On their way, they passed an injured ...

204. Here Is Where It Happens

1 Samuel 2:12-26

Sermon

Arthur H. Kolsti

... and fury, that what goes on in our little church circles can have any impact. We even have trouble believing that what goes on within our little congregations with all their imperfections can have any significant national influence. In a way we can sometimes be like Eli, sort of pooped out and unexpectant. We are told about things in general then that "the word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread." The writer's comment about the failing eyesight of Eli is a way of saying that the ...

205. When Saints Go Marching Forth

1 Samuel 15:1-35

Sermon

Arthur H. Kolsti

... but of presidents, senators, and members of Congress? What about religious leaders in any time and place who go forth in the name of God as if to a holy war? There is a kind of religious triumphalism abroad in our land. This is a different sort of religious activism. Advocacy on behalf of the poor and oppressed is not the agenda. Political control and power is the agenda. "The question is not who we will endorse (for president) but who will endorse our agenda."1 That is the rhetoric of the new triumphalism ...

206. Learning to Live Without Jesus

John 16:5-16, John 15:18--16:4

Sermon

William G. Carter

... be full of people who trust in a God they cannot see." Christian faith is just that: faith in Christ. We trust what we have heard him say through scripture, yet we remain open to hear him still speak through the Holy Spirit. In the end, we trust God will sort everything out, for the primary role of the Spirit is to point to Jesus and guide us into his truth. The Spirit of Christ will lead us into the life that Christ has come to give. The Spirit will teach us; the question is whether we are willing to learn ...

207. Time Taken, Life Restored

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

William G. Carter

... of a disease, someone else will die. For every person who can push through the crowd to claim the power of Christ, somebody else stands close at hand, having just lost a daughter or son. I guess we need to take some time away from the story to sort it out. Some people get well. Others do not. What can we say about that? Sometimes the words fail us. Early in my ministry, I received a phone call from a seminary classmate. It was late and he sounded distraught. Among his hospital rounds, my friend had begun ...

208. God's Discrimination

Matthew 13:36-43, Matthew 13:24-30

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... discrimination, both in its original form (vv. 24-30) and in its (almost certainly later) allegorical interpretation (vv. 36-43). The suggestion is that in God's Reign (and in the Church) no artificial human "weeding" is necessary: "Save them all, and let God sort them out!" Liturgical Color Green Suggested Hymns O Holy Spirit, Enter In Lord, Thee I Love With All My Heart Holy Spirit, Truth Divine Eternal God, Before Your Throne Dear Lord And Father Of Mankind Eternal Spirit Of That Living Christ There's A ...

209. Happy Birthday!

Acts 2:1-13

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... say it with me. "Pentecost ... So now you're probably wondering what Pentecost means. It's obvious from the decorations in the lobby that it must be an occasion for a party. Why do people have parties?" "To celebrate something!" "That's one reason. What sorts of things do you celebrate with a party?" "Graduation!" comes the firm response from a child with older siblings. "Yes. And the graduation of our seniors is one of the things we are celebrating in our church today. But what is another reason you have ...

210. Risking It All

Mark 5:25-29

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... necessary to take a risk in order to gain something that is even more important than what we stand to lose. "The Bible is full of stories about people who take risks, one of whom was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. She had been to all sorts of doctors looking for a cure. In fact, she had spent all her money paying them to treat her. But nothing helped. "Then she heard about Jesus, and she knew that if she could get near enough to him just to touch his robe she would finally be well. But ...

211. The Better Part

Luke 10:38-42

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... exclaims. "Church!" "That's right, Tim. I hope you spend some of your time every week coming to church and Sunday School. I hope you spend a lot of your time with God, whether it's here in worship, or studying in your classes, reading your Bibles, praying, or just sort of hanging out with God. I've brought this Bible to represent that part of our lives, only our basket is so full, I'm not sure it will fit." Precariously I balance the Bible on the other items in the basket where it remains for just a moment ...

212. How Can We Restore the Christian Home?

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... . Herein, however, lies one of the greater sins of omission of our church. Many parents are not informed of or taught what the baptismal ceremony means and entails. Some think of it as something similar to an injection; the baby must be "done," as if it were a sort of sacred vaccine. Others treat it like a social event, a family get-together in which champagne a la the launching of a ship takes precedence over the symbolism of the water. Or, some others treat it as an act of dedication in which what is done ...

213. The Compassionate Highway

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

... high mountains of Colorado to be such a time for me. It is nice to have a wife who must take business trips and allows her spouse to come along! It is helpful for more than priests and ministers! It is the sort of help provided to a young mother by a mother's morning out. It is the sort of help provided by going to a ball game, or, I am told by someone close to me, by going shopping at the mall! We do need that rhythm in our lives that backs us away from the pressure and allows us ...

214. Giants In Your Way

1 Samuel 17:1-58

Sermon

Charles Curley

... bit of hope growing inside him. Talking helped. Just like talking helps us, when we're depressed, to get our fears sorted out and to get in touch with reality. There is no greater gift anyone can receive than to have a friend who will listen to us when we're depressed, a ... friend who will talk with us and help us sort out just how big those giants are or are not. Talk about them with a friend and you may find the whole way you look at ...

215. The Importance Of Asking The Right Questions

Luke 20:27-40

Sermon

Larry R. Kalajainen

... not with what I require of you, but with your own agenda. Your religion is a religion designed to make yourself feel better, not a religion designed to please God and enable you to do what God requires. And then comes God's pointed commands about the sort of religion he's really interested in: "Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another; do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another" (Zechariah 7:9-10). The clear ...

216. A Couple Who Do Feet

Sermon

Jim Heinemeier

... feet. In the hope the two of you will become a couple who does feet. A long time ago (before shoes and before sidewalks) people going from here to there would end up with dusty, hot, tired feet -- and perhaps (since they shared the path with animals of all sorts) with fragrant feet! If the travelers were fortunate enough to be guests at someone's home after their long walk, it was customary for the thoughtful host to have his servant wash his guests' feet. Or his wife could do it! We've come a long way! (or ...

217. "The Scandal Of Disloyalty"

Psalm 62:1-12, Mark 14:66-72

Sermon

R. Sheldon MacKenzie

... might have been at the fish market or in the temple area. It was Peter's turn to be somewhat confused. He thought he was being accused of being a follower of Jesus. Actually, at that moment, he was linked with Jesus only by a physical association of some sort. In his embarrassment, confusion and irritation he said:"I neither know nor understand what you mean."And for that moment, in spite of himself, Peter was caught in a moment of truth. It is certain he does not know who Jesus is, nor what it means to be ...

218. Jesus Rejected

Mark 15:1-15

Sermon

R. Sheldon MacKenzie

... on anyone. Except for the company of two thieves, he died alone, rejected and misunderstood by those on whose behalf he was put to death. This gospel passage reminds us that right from the beginning there were disciples who abandoned Jesus under pressures of all sorts. Leaving him alone. There were leaders in the church, as in the synagogue, who from the outset denied a commitment to Jesus. Leaving him alone. These verses remind us that those who welcomed him to their city soon rejected him and "the ways of ...

219. "The Rejection Of Royalty"

Psalm 22:1-31

Sermon

R. Sheldon MacKenzie

... Just as Peter ought to have been carrying the cross,so the ambitious brothers ought to have been with him then.However, they had dreams of more comfortable places.They had dreams of a cup brimming over with the good life,and of a baptism into a different sort of society altogether.It is true, though, that, like Peter, they were to follow Jesus later. In the meantime, the chief places on either side of him were taken by two men from the city jail. Men who were crucified were put to death where they could be ...

220. Structure And Clarity

Sermon

Michael Rogness

... this new audience it is absolutely essential to: (1) have a central, main theme; (2) make sure that all parts of the sermon are clearly related to the main theme. Without a main point around which the whole sermon revolves, listeners will come away with all sorts of diffuse ideas on what the sermon is about, with no idea on how it's all connected. That kind of preaching is like the terrible definition I once heard of preaching which is unfortunately often true: "Preaching is like throwing a bucket of water ...

221. A Continuing Presence

John 16:5-16

Sermon

Larry Powell

... , the word most often refers to possibilities: "If I can just pass this examination, then I will qualify for a scholarship and if ...;" "If I invest $1,000 now in this certificate of deposit and if..." But on the downhill side of life, "if" is commonly used to sort back through what might have been: "If I had just gone to college and earned a degree ...;" "If I had moved when the company wanted me to move and if ...;" "If I had known then what I know now ..." The word "if" always deals with possibilities in ...

222. Put It to the Test

1 Thessalonians 5:19-22

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... of the year, such as the big crowds in the stores when I am trying to shop, and the cold weather that makes my bones ache. But you take the bad with the good when it comes to something this special. St. Paul taught us that we were supposed to sort through things and test almost everything before we ever got rid of something in our spiritual lives. It always reminds me of the way that people go through their mail. Have you ever watched your mom or dad go through the mail? That is a very important time of the ...

223. Easter - Fact And Fiction!

Acts 10:34-43

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... day I'd find a chocolate rabbit, hard-boiled, colored eggs, multi-colored jelly beans, and larger candy eggs; orange, yellow, green and lavender. Do you remember the lavender eggs always lasted the longest because they tasted so terrible? Of course, all of this sort of fits in with Easter's origin which can be traced back to pre-Christian cultures. It was associated with the day of the spring equinox, with the goddess of spring and fertility. The rabbits stood for fertility and the eggs symbolized new life ...

224. The Ascension Announces a Triumph

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... of problems. Just saying that Jesus went "up" boggles our minds; "up" from where, to where? The three-story universe understanding of the biblical writers (a flat earth with heaven above and hades beneath) causes all sorts of questions and speculations about the Ascension. After all, in our world we send astronauts up, but stoc_esermonsk markets go down; prices go up, and profits go down; unemployment goes up, and ratings go down; cost of living goes up, grades go down. Now those "ups and downs" we readily ...

225. God's Special Gift

John 3:16

Children's Sermon

... to watch them open it. All I need to do is give the gift and realize that I have helped somebody. I get a sort of warm feeling when I do. Now let's turn the question around. How many of you like to receive gifts? Well, I should have known that every hand would ... go up. How many of you would like to receive this gift? It sort of depends on what it is, doesn't it? I notice that there is no name tag on this box so it's hard to tell who it ...

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