Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2276 to 2300 of 4935 results

2276. Earthquakes, Tsunamis, and Disaster: Why do the Innocent Suffer?

Psalm 69:1-36

Sermon

James W. Moore

On a Christmas card we received this year, we discovered these powerful words: When the song of the angels is stilled, When the star in the sky is gone, When the Kings and Princes are back home, When the Shepherds have returned to new flocks, The work of Christmas begins: - To find the lost, - To heal the broken - To feed the hungry, - To release the prisoners, - To rebuild the nations, - To bring peace among people, - To make music in the heart. Or, in other words, to do the work of Christ. These words ...

2277. Winners Never Quit and Quitters Never Win (Fruit of the Spirit: Patience)

Galatians 5:22

Sermon

James Merritt

This first grade teacher, and her class of thirty-two first graders, had watched it rain all day long. The last bell had rung, it was time to go home, and this teacher began putting galoshes on all thirty-two of those first graders. She came to the last little girl and she was so excited that she was about finished with this dirty chore, and she began to put the galoshes on this little girl, and they were unusually tight. She struggled, she strained, she pulled, she tugged, she grunted, she groaned, and ...

2278. Nobody's Perfect--Except Jesus

Hebrews 4:15-16

Sermon

James Merritt

One of America's favorite pastimes is making excuses. We all love to make them, and some people are especially creative in cooking up excuses when they are in the kitchen of trouble. The following are some true excuses offered to police officers in relation to automobile accidents. I think you will find them interesting: "An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my car, and then disappeared." "I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law, and headed over the embankment." "The ...

2279. Building Relationships

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

In 1997 the following letter appeared in newspapers throughout our land: Dear Ann Landers: You recently printed a sweet “how‑we‑met” story. The woman said at the end of World War II, she sat behind a soldier in church. He knew all the lyrics to the songs so she figured he couldn’t be all bad. Later, she learned he was a doctor. Three months later, she slipped on an icy walk and injured her arm. That same doctor insisted she stay in the infirmary, and he visited her twice a day. When she was discharged, he ...

2280. Getting Rid of Anger

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever said something to somebody that you later regretted? A man named Bob Monkhouse says he got angry at the manager of his local dry cleaners and expressed his anger quite forcefully. He realizes now that he probably did not leave the manager with a very favorable impression. He knows that because recently he put a red ballpoint pen in the breast pocket of his white shirt and forgot to put the cap on it. It made a ghastly red stain with a dark center all over the pocket. His wife said, “It won’t ...

2281. Be Reconciled — To Christ and Others

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Sermon

Richard Gribble

The train clanked and rattled down the tracks one lazy summer afternoon as I traveled from Kyoto to Tokyo. My car was relatively empty — a few housewives with children in tow and a few older folks going to or returning from shopping. At one station the doors opened and suddenly the quiet of the afternoon was shattered by a man who began to bellow violence and incomprehensible curses. The man was big, drunk, and filthy. As he yelled, he swung at a woman carrying a baby. The blow sent the woman into the lap ...

2282. Seeing God In The Ordinary: Family

Luke 4:16-30

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Frank had his own very successful company. He employed about 20 people who were all paid well and happy. One day at work one of the critical pieces of equipment broke down and Frank was right in the middle of helping make repairs. After just a short time, they got it back up and running but he was all hot and sweaty. On top of that, on the way home, he had a flat tire. So when he got home he decided to jump in the shower. He was just stepping out of the shower one when his wife called and asked him to run ...

2283. An Invitation to Christian Discipleship

Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Day by day they arrive in the mail. We call them invitations. A new store is opening for business and you are invited to see. A friend is getting married and you are invited to share in the celebration. Your class is having a reunion and you are invited to attend. Hardly a day passes, but someone requests the honor of your presence. There is an invitation of a divine kind that cuts through history and transcends time. It comes from Jesus Christ. It has your name on it. It is an invitation to Christian ...

2284. Testing, Testing

Matthew 22:34-46

Sermon

Chris Ewing

Sometimes things happen that push us back to our deepest questions and force us to answer. A marriage breakdown, loss of a job, kids leaving home, or simply the midlife re-evaluation that all of us go through — any of these can push us back to asking what it's all about, what we really want in our lives, what matters and what doesn't ... what we want our life to count for. Sometimes the question gets asked more directly. An Islamic family moves in down the street, and their children ask your children what ...

2285. Being a Witness

Acts 2:14, 22-32

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

The other day I was driving along when all of a sudden, out of the blue, this car went whizzing by me on the right. The car was going about 65 miles per hour in a 25 mph zone. Just as he whipped by me, another car pulled out on my right just ahead of me. You guessed it. Wham! I was fortunate to be able to steer away from the mess and not get cracked up myself. As soon as I stopped, though, I jumped out of my car and went to check on the two drivers to be sure that everyone was unhurt. By God's grace, no ...

2286. Living The Faith For Dummies

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Did you hear about the would be bank robber who held up a bank while wearing a ski mask. He took the money then demanded car keys from one of the customers. I say he was a would be bank robber because he was apprehended when he came back into the bank, without the ski mask and asked the woman, which key unlocked the door. (1) Or how about the poor guy who went into a pizzeria, ordered a slice, went to pay for it, then robbed the place while the cash register was open. The only problem was, he left his ...

2287. Your God Shall Be My God

Ruth 1:1-18

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

Like the short story that gave structure to the book of Job, so the book of Ruth is considered to be a finely honed literary piece, often called a novella. It is meant to exhibit exemplary behavior. Just as Job proved faithful through good fortune and ill, so the characters in the book of Ruth are equally laudatory. The story starts with an Israelite family in the time of the judges. (This historical setting becomes the reason that Ruth was put right after the book of Judges in the Septuagint.) This family ...

2288. When There’s Nothing Left To Do But Mourn

Jeremiah 8:18—9:1

Sermon

Chrysanne Timm

When a person is diagnosed with a serious disorder, one that threatens their very existence, life as we know it is turned upside down. There is research to conduct about traditional and alternative treatments. There are specialists with whom to consult. Sometimes there are changes in lifestyle and in priorities to be considered, as Tim McGraw sang in his 2004 hit, "Live Like You Were Dying." I have watched this process in many parishioners over the years. Quite often everyone, including the person with ...

2289. A Baby Changes Everything

Matthew 2:1-12

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 the porch light and catch a possum snout down in the dog’s bowl and you will be rewarded with glowing red eyes, ...

2290. Ring Those Bells

1 Peter 3:8-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

These days the sight of an enormous white ship floating into exotic ports is commonplace. The cruise ship industry is huge — almost as large as the horizontal skyscraper ships that serve it. Like huge hotels turned onto their side, these glowing, white behemoths dot the oceans. They are the twenty-first century’s “white whales.” But before the commercial cruise lines ruled the deep, there were other big white ships that traveled the seas, ships that purposefully put themselves and their crews in harm’s way ...

2291. The Landlord's Dilemma - World Communion Sunday

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

King Duncan

Once there was a man who owned a piece of property. He felt it would make a fine grape vineyard. So he planted a vineyard on the property and enclosed it with a wall. He wanted this to be a full-service operation, so within the wall he dug a winepress a vat where the grapes could be pressed and the juice extracted. And he built a watchtower to protect his vineyard because this was a lawless land and you never knew what vandals might do. Then, after making a sizeable investment in his vineyard, he rented it ...

2292. Mary and Martha: Nine to Five and Five to Nine

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

(A Dialogue Sermon) Man: Good morning! It's a pleasure to be here in the pulpit. But you may have noticed that I have someone in the lectern vying for equal time. Woman: Yes, indeed. This is a feminist age, you know — a time of equality between women and men, a time for women to catch up on centuries of lost time in subjugation and oppression. Man: That may be, but do you intend to regain all the lost time this morning? Woman: No, but at least I'd like to make some progress. Man: I don't blame you. ...

2293. The Blood of Christ

Hebrews 9:11-28

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

The Definitive Nature of Christ’s Work We now come to the first detailed statement of the definitive nature of Christ’s work—an argument that will be restated in several forms before we reach the end of this major section of the epistle in 10:18. It is now convincingly shown that, although the work of Christ corresponds in considerable detail to that of the levitical priesthood, it stands in contrast to the work of the latter as its ultimate counterpart. It is what truth is to shadow, what pattern is to ...

2294. Deborah

Judges 4:1-24

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

Deborah and Barak: The story of the fourth of Israel’s judges is full of the unexpected. Deborah is a multigifted woman whose roles parallel those of Moses. Barak behaves as anything but a hero of faith. Jael, a simple, non-Israelite woman, is privileged to deal the death blow to a powerful warrior—with highly unconventional weapons, a tent peg and hammer. Unlike other judges’ stories, the narrative account is followed by a poem, the Song of Deborah, which celebrates the Lord’s miraculous victory on behalf ...

2295. Samson and Delilah

Judges 16:1-22

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

Samson’s Downfall and Death: Few stories in the Hebrew Bible have more recognition factor than the story of Samson and Delilah. It is a gripping, poignant drama brought to life by a gifted artist who has skillfully combined plot and characterization to present a classic story whose elements, if not the whole, have been told and retold in many cultures through all varieties of media, whether story, song, art, or film. But as we turn to this famous story, we must remember that it is part of a whole and thus ...

2296. Israel to Reap the Whirlwind

Hosea 8:1-14

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

Israel Shall Reap What She Sows (8:1-7a): As is frequently the case with Hosea, it is very difficult to know how to divide chapter 8 into its separate oracles. From a form-critical standpoint, verses 1–3 could form an independent unit because they include summons, accusation, and judgment. But they are intimately linked to what follows by their subject matter. Verse 4 spells out the two primary ways in which Israel has rejected what is good (v. 3). It is then connected with verse 5 by the repetition of the ...

2297. Solomon's Adversaries

1 Kings 11:14-25

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

Opposition and Death: A divided heart will lead to a divided kingdom: that was effectively God’s promise to Solomon in 11:9–13. This last section on the great king pursues this theme of division. It tells us of still further seeds of destruction that were planted in the earlier part of his reign and have now grown into plants whose shadow looms darkly over the kingdom. It tells of opposition on the edges of the empire, and it introduces for the first time the man who will be the focal point of that same ...

2298. Elijah Flees to Horeb

1 Kings 19:1-8

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

Elijah and the LORD: Elijah has been involved in a mighty battle. He seems to think it decisive and so he has left the battlefield for Jezreel. Yet there have been several hints in the narrative thus far that it is the queen, and not the king, who is the real general of the opposing forces. She will not be so easily cowed as her husband, and Elijah is now to see that to win a battle is not necessarily to win the war. That realization will send him into retreat, both physical and mental, as victory becomes ...

2299. Spiritual Hypocrisy—Living by the Rules, Not by the Heart

Mark 7:1-23

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: In this passage about spiritual hypocrisy Jesus teaches that God’s people must live their lives not by how they appear externally to others but how they really are within. It is not external codes of conduct but the inner life of the heart that really matters. Understanding the Text The theme of failure continues from 6:45–53, as the disciples’ hardened hearts (6:52) link them to the Pharisees (3:5; 10:5) in their inability to comprehend the reality of Jesus and the kingdom (see “The Text in ...

2300. The Exorcism of a Child Develops a Humble Model for Faith

Mark 9:14-32

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: This event is another fulcrum in the book, as three primary Markan themes coalesce: (1) the power and compassion of Christ, (2) demonic conflict, and (3) discipleship failure. Understanding the Text This is a classic example of the mountaintop/valley experience. The innermost circle of disciples experienced the glory of God in Jesus, as great a spiritual “high” as anyone in history has known. Now they are about to join the rest of the Twelve as they descend into the valley and face one of the ...

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