Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2226 to 2250 of 4977 results

2226. Changing The Rules

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

Robert Salzgeber

... buried it on the other side of the fence. The next morning the small rag-tag army walked over to the church cemetery to check the grave of their friend to make sure it hadn't been disturbed. They were all startled and disturbed when, after looking for quite some time, they could not find the fresh grave. Just as they were about to give up in utter frustration the pastor approached them and said, "You cannot find the grave because it is not there where you are looking for it. Yesterday, I felt really guilty ...

2227. Be One

John 17:20-26

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

... I would try to bring the dollar together, so I started carrying around these. Take the nickels from your other pocket and drop them slowly on the tray. The dollar has been a little easier to keep up with. Some of them still get lost, and they continue to make quite a bit of noise. They're still a bit of burden though. Remove the nickels from the tray. I thought it would be easier if the dollar could be carried around like this. Start dropping the dimes. Drop a dime at a time. They don't make as much noise ...

2228. Life From Water: The Ark

Genesis 6:11-22

Sermon

Steve Swanson

... ? As we sit silently and think about how comfortable we are in our nave, our ship, and how wonderful it all is, and how great it feels - as we sit in silence and bask in the blessing of it all, we hear a noise in the distance. We can't quite make it out. It gets louder now. It's a whimper that grows to a cry that grows to a wailing shriek. Someone is dying outside. Someone on the outside wants in. Someone would like to share our comfort, our safety, our joy. Someone would like to climb into our ...

2229. Saved From Water: The Storm

Luke 8:22-25

Sermon

Steve Swanson

... him was that he stilled the storm in my mind and in my heart. Do you remember reading about what I did on Holy Thursday night, how I betrayed him? I don't even like to think about it, much less repeat what I said. It still hurts. I swore quite a bit, too, and I don't like to repeat that. Especially with all the little kids you have here. But I did it. Three straight times I did it, just like he had predicted. I swore and cussed and said I didn't know Jesus - never heard of him ...

2230. Serving With Water: The Washing

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Steve Swanson

... impress us. So do uniforms. So do specialized occupational and professional clothes. Why do we quickly reduce our driving speed when we see a uniformed patrolman or immediately feel guilty when a policeman comes to our door? Why will a crowd of otherwise profane men quit swearing when a priest or pastor wearing a backward collar shows up? Why do judges continue to wear robes - and, in England, even wigs? Why are we more apt to believe vitamin ads on TV if the person holding the pills wears a white doctor ...

2231. O Christmas Tree

Gn 1:1-5 · Jn 1:1-5

Children's Sermon

Dale Bringman

Object: A small pine tree Lesson: Here it comes again: Christmas! No other time is quite like it. So much fun! So much to do! So much to look forward to! There are cards to be sent, gifts to be bought and wrapped, decorations to be put up. Many of us have favorite decorations - a wooden choir boy Daddy painted or a cloth hanging that Mother ...

2232. Choices

Drama

J. B. Quisenberry

... Inn Keeper leads Mary and Joseph to the manger which should be situated centrally, near the altar, and then leaves. Joseph should place a blanket around Mary's shoulders as she kneels on one side of the manger, then he should kneel at the other side.) Inn Keeper: That was quite a time! Thanks to Caesar's census, all of Judea was on the move, and in need of a place to stay. I wonder if Caesar knew what a big favor he did for us inn keepers. We had people sleeping three and four to a bed! All of them ...

2233. The Time Is Coming

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Paul W. F. Harms

... that of Jeremiah. God acquits the guilty! But aren't the innocent acquitted, and not the guilty? Not so in this covenant. Did sin abound? Then did grace much more abound. No one else deals that way, only this God. From the Second Lesson for this day: "Quite independently of the law, God's justice has been brought to light. The law and the prophets both bear witness to it; it is God's way of righting wrong. It is effective through faith in Christ for all who have such faith - all, without distinction. For ...

2234. What Do We Hope For?

Isaiah 25:1-12

Sermon

John P. Rossing

... during the rest of their lives? We've learned something about hope from our readings in Job this fall. Job hoped for all kinds of things: for physical healing, for an explanation for his suffering, for the return of his good name, for patience. But he never got quite what he asked for. Instead, he got a visit from God, an assurance of God's comforting presence and a stern reminder that what he wanted wasn't necessarily what God wanted. Today's lesson in Isaiah 25 is about hope, but it's a different kind of ...

2235. The Nativity The Time

Luke 1:1-4

Eulogy

Richard F. Bansemer

... the angel said to the shepherds at the beginning of Jesus' lifetime. At the end the angel repeats the message: "Do not be afraid. You seek Jesus of Nazareth. He is not here. He was risen from the dead. See the place where they laid him." It was empty; quite empty.Ever since that first Easter Day, Christmas Day matters. Until then, it was only a possibility that this Jesus, born of a virgin, was God's Son. Now, all knew this truth: "In the fullness of time, at the right time, God sent his son to redeem us ...

2236. Amen

John 14:1-4

Eulogy

Richard F. Bansemer

... During the last few years we prayed together every time we were together. If ______________ didn't say it first, his wife would: "You will have prayer with us, won't you?" And, of course, we did.Sometimes we sat in separate places. Sometimes one was quite ill, and prayer was prayed beside the bed. Sometimes we held hands. Sometimes we just folded them, but always, always, they ended with ___________'s loud amen!!!You must understand that it was no meek and mild "Amen." It came from a heart filled with faith ...

2237. Making the Move

John 14:1-4

Eulogy

Richard F. Bansemer

... hospital. She told me why. Still willing to make the move to the mansion, she said, "It's easier on the family this way." Easier on you and easier on me to know that if medicine and doctors could keep her alive, so be it, but that she was quite ready for it to turn out this way.Where does the strength come for this kind of living and this kind of dying? Ask yourself that, if you will. How did ____________ reach her strong and hard convictions? How did she hold on to them, despite the terrible suffering ...

2238. Step Two - Hope

Mk 10:46-52 · 2 Cor 12:7-10 · Is 12:1-6

Sermon

John A. Terry

... for Humanity. When life is in crisis, it is important to understand the crisis from the perspective of faith. Crises come to everyone. We think our job is to manage the crisis. "I am unsatisfied with my job. I do not want to do it any more. I will quit and find the job I can manage." We call on every reserve of strength we have. And sometimes we pull ourselves up by the boot straps out of the trouble, until trouble comes again. A crisis is a gift from God that gives us opportunity to turn whatever is ...

2239. Step Three - Faith

Mt 8:5-13 · Heb 11:1-7 · Is 55:6-9

Sermon

John A. Terry

... miles of an almost perfectly straight line down the center of the highway. Sven's boss was never so pleased, for no one had ever before painted two miles of center stripe in one day. The next day out, Sven painted one mile of center stripe, which was still quite good, and his boss was well satisfied. But the next day Sven only painted half a mile of stripe, and the fourth day he painted just a quarter mile. Finally the boss decided he would have a talk with Sven because he was no longer satisfied with his ...

2240. Step Four - Courage

Mt 26:69-75 · Acts 9:1-9 · Ps 139:1-6

Sermon

John A. Terry

... his feelings when he got married. He said that he thought his wife would love him and stay with him until she found out what he was really like, then it would be all over. She could not know what he was really like and still love him. He found quite the opposite. The more they got to know each other, the more open and honest they were with each other, the more they loved each other. That, he said, is the miracle of Christian love. In Christian love, our goal is not to hide things from one another. In ...

2241. Step Nine - Discipline

Mt 5:21-26 · Eph 4:25-32 · Num 5:5-10

Sermon

John A. Terry

... court to have someone - be it a judge or jury - decide who is to blame. But Jesus urges us to go to the one from whom we are estranged without having to decide who is right or who is wrong. My neighbor may have something against me that I am quite justified in believing is not my fault. I can still take the initiative to get things right. This is a message about religion and reconciliation. What if you are in church, and there start to think of the one with whom you are in conflict? It was the custom then ...

2242. Kingdom Order

Luke 14:1-14

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

... always hang out with your friends. Go hang out with someone who needs you as a friend. Go back to the short end of the line and lay your hands on them -- address your comments to the older and bigger. So remember the little ones. The ones who are not quite as strong as you are. They need to be cared for. Address all the children: And God reminds us all to take care of those who don't have any shoes to wear or warm clothes to wear. If you will do this, you will be a winner in God ...

2243. What Was Seen At Bethlehem

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Brett Blair

... , or simply the chill of a cold east wind. Would I have understood the message of Emmanuel, God with us, or would the cosmic implications of that evening have passed me by? I am convinced that had two people been there that night in Bethlehem it is quite possible that they could have heard and seen two entirely different scenes. I believe this because all of life is this way. God never presents himself in revelation in a manner in which we are forced to believe. We are always left with an option, for that ...

2244. Altered Expectations

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

... had more than a cameo role in the biggest drama of the Bible, the Nativity. As a father, I can’t help but notice the similarity of the role of Joseph in the birth of Jesus and the role all fathers used to have in childbirth. That’s changed quite a bit now. But when my sons were born, the function of the father at child birth was to accompany the mother-to-be to the hospital, get her to the door of the Labor and Delivery department, fill out and sign (in triplicate) all the necessary insurance forms ...

2245. Strangers at the Manger

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

... him. Now I have to confess to you that, when I saw that this story from Matthew’s gospel, the story of the arrival of the wise men, was the lectionary reading for Epiphany Sunday, I approached the story with an arrogance born of familiarity. I got quite upset with myself when I realized how presumptuous my attitude was. Have you ever become so familiar with something that you think you know all there is to know about it? Or maybe you have a friend, or perhaps even your spouse, who has become so familiar ...

2246. Why Did Jesus Do That?

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... my professors (although I didn’t consider it a blessing at the time) to read and report on a little book by a German theologian named Oscar Cullmann. The book was entitled Baptism in the New Testament. Now, the writings of German theologians quite often are difficult for me to understand, sometimes because of linguistic problems in the translation, and sometimes just because their logic escapes me. Not so in this circumstance. This little book was a Godsend. In it, Dr. Cullmann not only acknowledges the ...

2247. Dealing with the Devil

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... dramatic way, the kinds of temptations Jesus was to face throughout his earthly ministry, the testing that you and I, as followers of Jesus, must also endure. Make no mistake about it: both Matthew’s account and Luke’s shorter version of it, state quite clearly that evil is an actual, powerful reality in the world. Both accounts give a detailed description of the way evil works in the hidden corners of our hearts and minds in our day-to-day lives. Now, the temptations mentioned in this passage might ...

2248. Where the Scary Things Live

Matthew 4:12-17

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... mess we’ve made of our lives. Somewhere, sometime, we believe that WE have seen that light. We remember seeing it, once upon a time, a long time ago. If only we could find it again – or if IT could find US – then maybe the darkness wouldn’t be quite so threatening and ominous. That’s what we need, isn’t it – light? Remember we said that in the light of day our lives don’t really look all that bad, We can manage. We’ll be okay. It’s only when darkness closes in around us – a loved ...

2249. The Upside-down Kingdom of God

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... They went to church most Sundays – when they were in town and couldn’t find anything else to do. Jack enjoyed talking with the other men before and after church, and Jill loved to sing the hymns. The preacher was tolerable most of the time, hardly ever "quit preaching and went to meddling." When their children were born, Jack and Jill brought them to the church to be dedicated, and the pastor was glad to come to their home and talk with them about the importance of raising their children in a Christian ...

2250. Just Who Do You Think You Are?

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... between Jesus and the Canaanite woman was repeated among our Lord’s followers. Eventually, Mark and Matthew came to include it in their accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God. Why did they choose to include this particular story? Quite frankly, it is an embarrassing story to the church. It’s certainly not very complementary to Jesus. Not only does he appear to be unwilling to help someone to turns to him in an hour of need, but he’s also downright rude and insulting to ...

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