Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 201 to 225 of 4508 results

Children's Sermon

Robert B. Lantz

Object: Large silver star stickers Good morning, boys and girls. (It may be appropriate to say a few words about the meaning of Advent or Epiphany.) One of the most interesting and familiar stories about what happened at the birth of the baby Jesus is told to us by Matthew. It is the story about a special star and of a group of men who were led by it to where the young child was. We even sing a s...

202. Gold!

Children's Sermon

Object: Gold ribbons, in addition to the previous ribbons they received (green, purple, red, blue, white) Good morning, boys and girls. It’s good to see all of you here. Did you have a Merry Christmas? That’s great! Wow! Look at all of those ribbons you’re wearing this morning. How many do you have? That’s right! We each have five ribbons. A green one that stands for life; a purple one that stand...

203. The Treasure Of Christmas

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

Object: Two quarters. Lesson: Awareness; light; surprises; Christmas. "Have any of you ever found something that surprised you because it was in a place where you didn't expect it to be?" The children think about this question a moment, then a few of them nod affirmatively. "Well, I have too, several times just recently. The Friday after Thanksgiving I was visiting the Churchill Memorial in Fult...

204. A Special Appearance

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: creche figures of the wise men Good morning, boys and girls. Today is a special church year holiday. It's not Christmas, but it's another day kind of like Christmas. Does anyone know what this day is called? (Let them respond.) I didn't think you'd guess. It's Epiphany! That's kind of a hard word, isn't it? Try to say it slowly with me. (Say it slowly with them.) E-PI-PHA-NY. Epiphany mea...

205. What Can I Give?

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: tiny boxes, wrapping paper, tape and ribbon for each child Teachers: This is the week to traditionally discuss the wise men and their visit to Jesus. If available you may want to use the song, "The Little Drummer Boy" or the musical drama, "Amahl and the Night Visitors". Although these selections present a fictional account of the nativity, they are both good ways to introduce gifts we ca...

206. Star Bright

Children's Sermon

Object: Glue, silver or gold glitter, sequins, metallic markers Teachers: This week's project will add a special glitter to your children's Christmas this year. You will need glue, silver or gold glitter, sequins, metallic markers, etc. (Be sure to provide a variety of decorations so that each child can create a unique star of his own.) If you are working with small children, you may want to prov...

207. Herod

Drama

Dale Bringman

Herodus Magnus! By that name, I am known. You call me Herod the Great, but you do so contemptuously. You cast me as the monster in your Bible story. Yet my deeds in reference to your Jesus were not unlike those of many people, some of you among them. It is easy for all of us to see in others the very faults we never notice in ourselves. Mine was a prominent family. From my grandfather, Antipater,...

208. Looking At Our Chrismons: A Star

Children's Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

Object: A Star-shaped Chrismon ornament, or a different sort of star ornament. Good evening, girls and boys. This is it. It's Christmas Eve. This is what we have been waiting for. This is the night. All during Advent we have been looking at our Chrismons. A Chrismon is a Christ-monogram. They remind us of something about Jesus Christ. The one we look at tonight is a star. Look at our tree and you...

209. A Brand New Page

Children's Sermon

Edward G. Hunter

Object: A blank piece of paper and a pencil with an eraser We are still at the beginning of a New Year and many people like to think in terms of getting a fresh start. In a sense, starting over again. Something like a blank sheet of paper, such as I hold in my hand this morning. There is nothing written on this paper. Let's say we haven't done anything in the New Year yet. Most of us would like ...

210. The Character of Christmas; Wise Men: Seeking

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

One of the venerable old saints of the church jumped up and stomped out of the annual Christmas play being held at the church. The pastor couldn't figure out what was wrong so he hurried after him. When he caught up with the old man in the parking lot and asked what was wrong he was told, "Preacher, I've gone along with a lot of changes through the years, but this thing tonight just went too much,...

211. Led To Follow

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

There is a story soaring across the internet these days suggesting things might have gone better if the three wise men had been three wise women. After all, had women been in charge they would have 1) asked for directions, 2) gotten to the manger on time, 3) assisted with the birth, 4) cleaned up the place, and 5) made a casserole for the Holy Family. Of course, the author of that analogy evident...

212. Another Road

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

I want to start this morning by taking a short poll. First: How many of you still have your Christmas Tree up? Second: What do you have on the top of your Christmas tree, a star or an angel. How many of you have stars on top of your tree? How many of you have angels? The reason I asked the first question is: Christmas, from the Christian perspective isn't truly over until January 6th or Epiphany,...

213. Three Wise Men

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Have I told you the story of the two men who were sitting together on an airplane? As some are wont to do, when strapped together thirty thousand feet above where they ought to be, they begin to get acquainted. One man was an astronomer, the other a theologian. After a while each began to share his understanding of the other’s discipline. The astronomer said, “I believe that all religion can be su...

214. The Wise Men: Going Home Another Way

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There is a story told about two men sitting together on an airplane. As some are wont to do, when strapped together 30,000 feet above where they ought to be, they begin to get acquainted. One man was an astronomer, the other a theologian. After a while, each began to share his understanding of the other’s discipline. The astronomer said, “I believe that all religion can be summed up in the phrase,...

215. What Gift Do You Bring?

Sermon

Gary L. Carver

I remember watching a football game between Kansas State and Ohio State. Kansas State was evidently favored to win because they had clobbered Oklahoma just a few weeks earlier, but they were not doing very well. In fact, they were behind by quite a bit and then in the last half they mounted a comeback and midway through the fourth quarter they were doing quite well. They were only behind fourteen ...

216. A New Vision

Sermon

King Duncan

A family was driving through Kansas on vacation. Five-year-old Tyler was looking out the car window. “Boy,” he said, “it’s so flat out there, you can look farther than you can see.” That’s a great phrase--“you can look farther than you can see.” Let’s talk for a few moments today about “looking farther than you can see.” In the early 1930s an engineer named Joseph Strauss looked out over San Fra...

217. Follow That Star (New Year's Day)

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

After a winter elementary school concert, a student came into her teacher's room and asked what "pet the ham" meant. When told the teacher had no idea, the little girl became upset and said, "You should know. They sang it at our program." Still not understanding her, the teacher calmed her down and asked her to tell exactly where she heard it. She sang, "Follow that star, follow that star to pet ...

218. In the Darkness of Suspicion, There Is the Light of Devotion

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

It was a few days after Christmas. A mother was busy cleaning up the den, putting everything away, taking the Christmas tree down. Her son came in and saw her and said, “Mama, what are you doing?” She said, “I’m putting all our Christmas stuff away.” He asked in reply, “Why are you doing that?” She answered, “So everything will be back to normal again.” His response to that was, “Mama, I don’t wan...

219. A Camel on the Roof

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

With Epiphany comes the question, "Where does one look for God?" While two different ways of addressing this question are explored in this week's material, both focus on the surprising, sometimes shocking, nature of God's presence in this world. We begin with a story from a collection of the lives of saints - the saints of Islam - which concerns a king of Balkh (now northern Afghanistan), named E...

220. When It’s Time to Seek Direction

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

There is a story soaring across the Internet these days suggesting things might have gone better if the wise men had been three wise women. After all, had women been in charge, they would have asked for direction, gotten to the Manger on time, assisted with the birth, cleaned up the place and made a casserole for the Holy Family. Will the battle of the sexes ever end? Of course, the author of tha...

221. What Are You Seeking?

Sermon

King Duncan

What is it that you are seeking? Everybody is seeking something. That is why Google is one of the most profitable companies on earth. People go to Google every day to search for information about an astounding array of subjects. People are seeking more info on the latest crisis in the news. They are seeking gossip about their favorite celebrity. They are seeking information about a specific model ...

222. A Baby Changes Everything

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Never leave dry dog food or cat food outside overnight. If you do, chances are that sooner or later something other than your furry family member will amble up to help themselves. One of the most startling creatures to belly-up to the kibble buffet is the opossum. ‘Possums aren’t particularly dangerous to humans (unless they are rabid). But they have mastered the art of looking scary. Flick on th...

223. The Power of Appreciation

Sermon

Charley Reeb

I heard a story about twin boys who were polar opposites. One was the eternal pessimist. He saw the negative in everything. The glass was always half empty. The other one was the eternal optimist. He always saw the sunny side to things. He always saw the glass half full. The twins’ parents were curious about this so they took their twin boys to a therapist. The therapist was also curious about ho...

224. How Intelligent Is God’s Design?

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

I wonder. I wonder how the wise men would react to our current controversy over intelligent design. I wonder how these sages, who were the educated intellectuals and sophisticated scientists of their day would react to this public tug of war? On the one side are those who see creation as a random process of nature. On the other side are those who see creation as the intentional plan of a designer ...

225. The Gospel By Starlight

Sermon

David E. Leininger

"Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him" (Matthew 2:2). Star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright, westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light.[1] The annual observance of the birth of our Savior is almost over - Epiphany, recalling the visit of the wise men, is commemorated on January...

Showing 201 to 225 of 4508 results