Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2276 to 2300 of 4933 results

2276. Remembering Jerusalem by the Rivers of Babylon

Psalm 137:1-9

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Remembering Jerusalem by the Rivers of Babylon Most psalms are cherished by Christians; this one is not. Its closing verses strike us as unimaginable cruelty. This corporate prayer psalm is clearly set in the Babylonian exile. We must understand what was at stake here for the exiled people of Judah. Deportation by the Babylonians was cruel: Judah lost not only a homeland but also the temple where their God had revealed himself, the king through whom God exercised his rule, and the land through which God ...

2277. The Magic Ingredient

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

King Duncan

I don’t know if any of you ever read the obituaries. My guess is that the older you are the more likely you are to let your eyes drift over to that section of the newspaper. As the comedian would say, “just to make certain your name’s not printed there.” Of course, some of our younger members are asking, “What’s a newspaper?” An interesting obituary appeared in the Chattanooga Times-Free Press recently (12/18/2019) that, in my estimation, was good for a chuckle or two. It was for a Katie McDonald, 80 years ...

I have never knew what it was to sacrifice my own judgment to gratify any party and I have no doubt of the time being close at hand when I will be rewarded for letting my tongue speak what my heart thinks. I have suffered myself to be politically sacrificed to save my country from ruin and disgrace and if I am never again elected I will have the gratification to know that I have done my duty.

Davy Crockett

Is it so small a thing to have enjoyed the sun, to have lived light in the spring, to have loved, to have thought, to have done?

Matthew Arnold

2280. A Commitment to Righteousness

Luke 3:7-18

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

Moline, Illinois, September, 1977 was the place and date for a special gift that Terry Schafer purchased for her policeman husband, David. It was a pre-Christmas gift. She had a fear that it might be too expensive, but nothing was too good for her husband! She loved him with all of her heart and wanted this to be special. Slipping into one of the stores that was on her list she found the exact item she wanted, but it was too expensive for her to buy outright. She talked with the salesman and told him that ...

2281. Shut the Back Door!

John 10:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Every churchgoer knows about the “back door” –a kind of secret exit plan people sometimes use when the service is over (especially if it went long) in order to avoid the pastor, the greeting line, or an upcoming fellowship event or congregational meeting. When I was growing up, our church had a convenient “side” door that led right from the sanctuary to the cemetery walkway to the left of the church. If the line down the aisle toward the front door where the pastor stood to greet people as they exited grew ...

2282. Mountaintop Experience

Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a)

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

Some years ago, the History Network created a strange new hit series. It began as “Ice Road Truckers,” monitoring the dangerous winter haulage north of Yellowknife on the frozen Canadian tundra. Then, after several seasons of gaining familiarity with the top tonnage truckers, the network displaced them to northern Alaska and introduced new challenges and new road masters. Finally, in a thrilling new twist, three of these rig lords and ladies were transported to the Himalayan heights of upper India. There ...

2283. Today is the Day

Luke 23:42-43

Illustration

John R. Steward

In Toledo, Spain, there is an old cathedral. Visitors to the cathedral are told about a cardinal who is buried there. Tourists are directed to a side altar where the cardinal is buried in the floor. Just over the grave, a cardinal's hat is fastened to the ceiling. Since his burial a legend has developed about the cardinal and his hat. The legend states that when the hat falls from the ceiling to the floor, this will indicate that the soul of the cardinal has entered heaven. The only problem is that the hat ...

2284. Prayer

Ps 19:14 · Mt 6:9

Children's Sermon

Kenneth Mortonson

Purpose: To help children understand the nature of prayer. Material: If you feel it is safe to do so, you might have a prayer written on a piece of paper and burn it on a metal tray. Lesson: Today I want to talk to you about something we do together each Sunday and which I assume you have done at home. We call it "praying." You may use prayers in your family when you sit down to have a meal or when you are getting ready to go to sleep. These are special times for prayers, but I hope you know that you can ...

2285. The Last Wise Man

Matthew 2:1-12

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

Theme: Don't waste your time searching for a false king. Find and worship the real King -- Jesus. Summary: One of the wise men who visited and worshiped Jesus tells the story. (A monologue) Playing Time: 3 minutes Place: Your church Props: None Costumes: Chaldean, first century Time: Now Cast: JETUR -- a Chaldean JETUR: (ENTERS DRESSED IN ROBES APPROPRIATE FOR A MAN OF HIS STATION) I am afraid I startled some of you. I humbly beg your forgiveness. I intend no harm to you. I only came to explain something ...

2286. Super Christian I

Matthew 9:18-26, Matthew 9:9-13

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

Theme: Well meaning Christians who are not hearing the call of the Lord clearly may do more harm than good and be super-Christians but not really follow God's leading. Summary: Super Christian, the righter of wrongs, makes a fatal error. He hears a call of distress but makes a quick judgment as to who is the wrong-doer. When asked to do some good himself he has a good excuse. Playing Time: 3 minutes Setting: Some place near your church Props: Handbag Christian tracts Costumes: Super Christian -- a pair of ...

2287. Proper 22

Psalm 137:1-9, Lamentations 3:19-26, Luke 17:1-10

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

Call to Worship Let us sing of mercy and justice as we give sincere praise to God. Invocation Unchanging God, your steadfast love never ceases and your mercies never come to an end. We appreciate your mercies that are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Receive our worship as we come to you through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Amen. Prayer of Confession Universal Judge, we are appalled at the violence and devastation that is to be seen in our world. Does our pride and opinion contribute to ...

2288. Proper 5

Luke 7:11-17, 1 Kings 17:7-24, Psalm 146:1-10, Galatians 1:11-24

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

CALL TO WORSHIP Happy are you whose help is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and whose hope is in our God, who keeps faith forever. PRAYER OF CONFESSION God of the living, we are more apt to chide you in the untimely death of a member of our families or one of our friends than to mourn what people have done to your incarnate Son Jesus of Nazareth. When you have spared our lives in serious illness, or accident, we have vowed in our thanksgiving to serve you without stint, but soon take life for ...

2289. Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are!

Exodus 1:1-22, 2:1-10

Sermon

Moses was a master of masquerade! He lived a good portion of his life in disguise. From the time he was three months old he went into hiding. At three months he was placed in a basket among the Nile reeds. The infant princess Elora Danan, in the movie Willow, was placed in a basket made of river sticks which quickly became a boat. The little boat was pushed off from the shore seconds before the Queen's death dogs converged on the child's caretaker. Her basket was an escape to a safe land. Moses' basket, ...

2290. Leaping On The Laundry

Joshua 1:1-18

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

Object: A photograph of a cat nestled in a pile of laundry. Lesson: Courage; self-reliance; Mother's Day Text: "Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." "Is today a special day for someone in your family?" Heads nod eagerly; faces light up with knowing smiles. "What is today?" "It's Mother's Day!" comes the boisterous, unanimous response. "Yes, it's Mother's Day, a day to remember our mothers in special ways." I reach into my pocket for ...

2291. If We Are Dreamers

Joel 2:18-27, Joel 2:28-32

Sermon

Clement E. Lewis

There are many kinds of dreams, among them normal sleep dreams, daydreams, and insightful visions. Sometimes we have nightmares, fantasies, re-living of moments in life, happy dreams, reunions with loved ones, even problem-solving or inspirational dreams. It is helpful for us to be aware of what dreams are: the subconscious feelings or imaginations occurring just below the threshold of consciousness. We need to find means for dealing with dreams that disturb us, by discovery of means for dealing with them ...

2292. Bill and Bert Bell

Romans 8:2

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: Two bells. Only one of them should have a clapper. Good morning, boys and girls. I brought along with me today two things that look alike but are as different as day and night. (Show the children the two bells.) What do we call something that looks like this? (Let them answer.) That's right, a bell. And what can you do with a bell? (Let them answer.) You can ring it when you want to get someone's attention. Some mothers used to ring bells to call their children for lunch. Bells are really lovely ...

2293. Proper 14

Hebrews 11:1-40, Jeremiah 18:1--19:15, Genesis 15:1-18, Luke 12:35-48

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The kerygmatic theology, which is built into the church year framework for the liturgy, is almost imperceptible by this Sunday, the middle of the Pentecost cycle/season. There are more evident signals coming to the church from the calendar year. Summer is nearly over. Labor Day sees the beginning of fall activities - the end of vacation time, back to school and college for students, rally day in Sunday church schools, resumption of rehearsals, and planning for stewardship programs in less ...

2294. First Things First

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

In our text Jesus makes a comparison between two different things: buildings and a person. The buildings he spoke of were of great importance, representing many resources. No doubt the excess wealth of the city or nation was required to build them. Many workers were conscripted to work on them. And, no matter big or small, they were always much larger, more solid, and of greater economic value than any of the persons who helped in their construction. In fact, they gave a feeling of permanence which those ...

2295. The Great Picnic

Matthew 14:20

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: A basketful of pieces of broken bread. Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you have heard of the time that Jesus fed 5,000 people with just a couple of loaves of bread and some fish that a little boy had in his basket? (Let them answer.) We call that happening a miracle. No one else could have done this, except for Jesus, and he did it several times. We can't explain it and we don't even try to. All we know is that a lot of people were with him one day at supper time and no one had anything ...

2296. Death Following Lung Surgery

1 Corinthians 15:35-58

Eulogy

Robert Allen

When Death Comes Too Soon How can you summarize the life of Curtis Ryan? The words of the obituary convey nothing of the real personality that was shown through his life. They list some brief facts, but they are too fragmentary to express the full impact of his life upon yours. All of us realize that life is a gift of God and we somehow vaguely realize that death is a part of living. James, the Apostle, said: "For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away ...

2297. Death by Suicide For Active Church Member

Psalm 139:1-24

Eulogy

Phil Barnhart

The God of infinite Reach This sermon was preached at the funeral of a warm and compassionate man who frequently taught object lessons to our church's children by utilizing the skills he developed as a professional magician. Suffering from a brain tumor, Ivan killed himself. We all have burdens. Some of us overcome them and some of us are overcome by them. Life is full of questions. Some of us find the answers and some of us have questions that forever go unanswered. But we all experience the common ...

2298. Herod

Matthew 2:1-12

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, and my father, Antipas, to my own seed and their offspring - Archalaeus, Philip, Agrippa, and Felix - our House ...

2299. Repent Your Way To A Merry Christmas

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Brett Blair

A number of years ago a couple traveled to the offices of an Adoption Society in England to receive a baby. They had been on the waiting list a long time. They had been interviewed and carefully scrutinized. Now at last their dreams were to be fulfilled. But their day of happiness was another's pain. Arriving at the offices of the Society they were led up a flight of stairs to a waiting room. After a few minutes they heard someone else climbing the stairs. It was the young student mother whose baby was to ...

2300. I Need A Doctor!

Mark 1:29-34

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

Exegetical Aim: Jesus is a healer. Props: Either real or toy doctor's equipment. As many items as there are kids if possible. You might include a few band-aids if you have limited resources. Lesson: Good morning! (response) How many of you have been to the doctor? (response) What does a doctor do? (response) What kind of equipment does a doctor use? (response) Does anyone know what this is called? (response) It is called a stethoscope. How does it work? (response) If there is time allow each child to hear ...

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