Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2301 to 2325 of 4937 results

2301. Getting The Facts

1 Corinthians 15:3

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: A scale and some packages of different sizes and weights. Good morning, children. How are you on this beautiful day? Have you ever played the game called "Telephone"? Someone whispers to you and you whisper it to someone else and by the time it gets to the end of the line it sounds very funny because it is different from when it was first said. That's the way rumors begin and what you hear may not always be true. When St. Paul preached he hardly ever whispered and his preaching was always based on ...

2302. God, What Are You Up To?

Genesis 12:1-9

Sermon

Stan Purdum

One of the better programs on television from 2003 to 2005 was a series on CBS called Joan of Arcadia. Like many thoughtful shows, this one did not score high enough to stay on the air for long, but it did last two seasons. The title alludes to Joan of Arc, the fifteenth-century teenager who believed she heard the voice of God urging her to save France from England during the Hundred Years War. That Joan led an army into battle, successfully forcing the British to retreat from Orleans. Later, captured by ...

2303. What If He Shows Up?

John 2:13-22

Sermon

Mark Trotter

I know that you remember Murphy's Law, which said, "If anything can go wrong, it will." There are a thousand variations of that law, such as, "Buttered toast, when falling to the floor, will always fall face down." But it seems that one day in this particular house the toast fell to the floor, and to the amazement of the family, it landed buttered side up. Immediately the scientists were called in to analyze this. Did this really refute Murphy's Law, which said that "buttered toast, when it falls to the ...

2304. Up Close & Personal: Open the Doors

Psalm 100:1-5

Sermon

James Merritt

What I am about to say to you I want to upfront make sure that I am not misunderstood. I am not a name dropper and I don’t like name droppers. During the course of my life I’ve gotten to meet many people, some of whom I consider famous, from the standpoint that they are well-known. But like most of you, I have a few people that I have always wanted to meet, or hope to one day meet. Not because I am star-struck or want to take a selfie with a celebrity to post on the Internet. No, I want to meet certain ...

2305. Keep Things Flowing

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Richard Patt

There was a beautiful lake that lost its zesty freshness. The water formerly had been clear. It was alluring to animals and people alike. But it became covered with a green scum. The farm animals became ill from drinking the water. Finally someone came by the lake who understood the problem. Debris collecting from the hard spring rains had stopped up the dam and prevented the free flow of water, not into the lake, but out of the lake. The spillway was cleared, and soon the lake was fresh and clean again. ...

2306. Take Up Your Ministry

Mark 9:38-41

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

Several years ago at my previous congregation I remember a discussion I had with the church council. It was very revealing of the kind of distorted vision of ministry that is very much afoot in the church these days. I had a sudden change in my vacation plans and was going to have to be out of town for a Sunday that I had not planned on. I was having great difficulty finding another pastor to fill the pulpit. It was the summer. Many pastors are already on vacation and those who are available for pulpit ...

2307. The Peace that Jesus Gives

John 14:15-31

Illustration

Lee Griess

There is a road in southern Italy that begins in the city of Eboli and ends in the mountain village of Gagliano. To anyone who makes that journey, it is an ascent to hell. Gagliano is no more than a scattered cluster of fallen down whitewashed old buildings, hanging desperately to barren slopes near a rocky cliff. The village has been there for centuries and for as far back as the oldest person can remember it has always been a place of severe poverty, unrelenting disease, frightening superstition, ...

2308. Getting and Giving

John 13:31-38

Sermon

Glenn E. Ludwig

Solomon Grundy, Born on Monday, Christened on Tuesday, Married on Wednesday, Took ill on Thursday, Worse on Friday, Died on Saturday, Buried on Sunday. This is the end of Solomon Grundy. It is an old nursery rhyme that some of you may recall. Now, I'm not suggesting that we use it to replace the gospel text for today, but I did begin with it because it picks up one of the central themes of our text: the shortness of life on this earth. Jesus said to his disciples: "I am with you only a little longer." In ...

2309. Giving Our Gratitude

Philippians 4:10-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

When my medical scans last May revealed one more opportunity to live a life that really matters, I asked the Lord to tell me what I needed to do with the time I had left on earth. The question became a matter of deep prayer. And as clearly as I've ever heard the Lord speak, the Lord said to me, “Preach, pray and serve people." I ran my revelation past Sandy and she replied, “You might lighten up on the preaching when you are out of the pulpit, but otherwise go for it." Today I raise that question with you ...

2310. The Way Up Is Down!

Mark 9:30-37

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

There once was a palace servant who longed more than anything else in life to be a knight. He yearned to represent his king and vowed within himself that if he ever had a chance to be a knight he would serve his king as the noblest knight who ever lived. His dream came true. His great day came. At his knighthood ceremony, the former servant, now a knight, made a special oath within himself. He vowed that from that day forward he would bow his knees and lift his arms in homage to no one but his king. As a ...

2311. Up Close & Personal: Drawing Near

Hebrews 4:14-5:10

Sermon

James Merritt

There is no substitute for 20/20 vision whether it is corrected or uncorrected. Everybody wants to be able to see everything. That is true, not just in the physical world, but that is true in the spiritual world. There is nothing like getting “up close and personal” with God and seeing Him in HD and hearing Him in surround-sound. We are in a series we are calling “Up Close & Personal,” because that is the kind of relationship we can have with God. God sent His son to remove every barrier, tear down every ...

2312. Thanks-Giving Is Good for Everyone

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

David G. Rogne

A.J. Cronin tells of a doctor he knew who prescribed in certain cases of neuroses what he called his "thank-you cure." When a patient came to him discouraged, pessimistic, and full of his own woes, but without any symptoms of serious ailment, he would give this advice: "For six weeks I want you to say 'Thank you' whenever anyone does you a favor, and to show you mean it emphasize the words with a smile." "But no one ever does me a favor, doctor," the patient might complain. Whereupon, borrowing from ...

2313. Man, Give Me Some Bread: I Want To Make Sense Out Of My Life

John 6:25-59

Sermon

King Duncan

"Life is truly a ride," says comedian Jerry Seinfeld. "We're all strapped in, and no one can stop it. As you make each passage from youth to adulthood to maturity, sometimes you put your arms up and scream, sometimes you just hang on to that bar in front of you. But the ride is the thing. I think the most you can hope for at the end of life is that your hair's messed, you're out of breath, and you didn't throw up." With equal wit, Cynthia Kraman asks, "What If the Hokey Pokey IS REALLY what it's all about ...

2314. Give me a C...

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The church needs some new cheers. If we're going to boast about anything, let's boast about Christ. The boasts will sound like foolishness to the world. The Beatitudes are an example of "foolish" sounding cheers. Have you ever been swept up in a wave? No, not an ocean wave at the beach, but the kind of "wave" that sweeps through a football stadium, or the baseball stands or a hockey rink. It's an exhilarating crowd experience to see the wave created by thousands of people standing with their arms raised ...

2315. Look Up and Live

Numbers 21:4-9

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Do you like snakes? Not many do. No other creature on the face of the planet so universally brings forth a sense of revulsion and disgust. True or not, we think of snakes as icky, slimy, nasty, and as our text reminds, dangerous. It seems that the children of Israel, in the midst of their wilderness wandering after the escape from slavery in Egypt, had stumbled on to a location south of the Dead Sea that is infamous for its lethal snakes. "Big deal," they no doubt thought. "Why should we expect anything ...

2316. Starting Over

John 21:1-19

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

Sometimes the healing of our hurts starts only when we find another song to sing. Take the story of Helen, for instance. She had her sights set on a law degree from Ohio Wesleyan College. But then the flu epidemic of 1918 hit, taking her father as a victim. Suddenly everything had changed. Helen could not go to college; she had to get a job to support her mother. For the next ten years, Helen worked at an electrical utility; a simple, repetitive cog in the company machine. Just when she thought she was ...

2317. GIVE ME YOUR SINS: The First Word

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Today we gather in this sanctuary to continue on our Lenten journey that we began on Ash Wednesday. I want to share some thoughts and reflections from what historically has been designated as the First Word--from the Seven Last Words of Jesus Christ from the cross. It should not come as a surprise to anyone that the first word from the cross deals with the real life issue of forgiveness, and really what is being implied here is forgiveness of our sins. This was the whole reason behind Christ''s coming to ...

2318. What to Give Jesus

Matthew 1:18-25

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

There was a Director of Christian Education at a church who organized a Children's Christmas pageant. She let the children decide what gifts they'd give the baby Jesus in the pageant. Some wanted to give him stuffed animals. Others wanted to give him toys. One little girl named Sally had several conversations with the Director before she admitted what she wanted to give the baby Jesus. Finally the Director asked, "Sally, what do you want to give Jesus?" "Oh, I'm too embarrassed," said Sally. "I shouldn't ...

2319. Who Are You Going To Be When You Grow Up?

John 1:19-28

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

Exegetical Aim: To teach servitude to Christ and adherence to his message. Props: Items representing adult vocations--hammer, cowboy hat, stethoscope, stuffed animal, toy race car--and a bible. Lesson: Good morning! (response) I want to show you a few things this morning and I want to ask you two questions. First question is this: What do you want to be when you grow up? Hold up the hammer. Do you want to be a builder? (response) Why do you want to be a builder? (response) Hold up the hat. How many of you ...

2320. Let Your Soul Catch Up

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A religious poll asked people this question: “Do you believe in the Second Coming of Christ?” If the respondent said yes, a subsequent question was put to them: “What would you do if you knew Jesus was coming back today?” One young man replied, “Look busy, Man! Look busy!” Isn’t that the mindset of our age? It seems as though most of us build our lives on the premise that personal worth and significance, as well as meaning in life, is dependent upon being busy. Too often we are identified by what we ...

2321. Taking You Up with Him

Colossians 3:1-4

Sermon

Richard W. Ferris

"If I go down, I'm taking you down with me." We've all heard that line. It's been used in movies and on television shows. We've seen it written in books and even in real-life news articles. Maybe we've even had it said directly to us. Somebody is in big trouble, and they are not going to face the punishment without involving someone else in their suffering. Sometimes there's even a line that follows: "That's not just a threat; it's a promise," just to let us know that they are not bluffing. If they are ...

2322. The Gift of Lent I: A Widow Gives Her Mites

Luke 21:1-4

Drama

Donald Neidigk

Dramatic Monologue You say you feel sorry for me? Why, what for? Oh, sure, I'm a widow and all I own I could load on one small donkey, but don't feel sorry for me. I'm far richer than you might think. Shall we go sit in the shade of the olive tree there? I'd invite you in, but my house is far too small for all of you to fit inside. Out here perhaps we can catch a cool breeze. The stones, this old log, these will be our chairs. What a wonderful living room our Lord gives us! Yes, I am a widow, and have been ...

2323. Filled With God's Spirit

Acts 2:4

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: Some large containers with things to fill them: trash, candy, clothes, empty bottles, etc. Good morning to you and welcome to God's House. It really makes everyone feel good when God's house is filled and it makes us sad when it isn't filled. Jesus used to tell stories about how God wanted His Kingdom filled with people who wanted to believe and be a part of Him. Once he told a story about a great dinner that a king had prepared. The king invited all of his friends. But his friends made excuses and ...

2324. The Accent Of Heaven

John 13:31-35

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

She opened our eyes to the way that civilizations unfold and develop. Cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead became the talk of society with her study, Coming of Age in Samoa. For decades she toured the world, explaining what she had observed as children were born, how they were raised, what families and groups did to reinforce certain behaviors, what happened to non-conformists, what marriage looked like, and how people aged and died. When Ms. Mead was speaking at a university, one student asked her what ...

2325. Give it Away

Mark 8:35

Children's Sermon

Object: Two bars of soap. One bar should be brand new and the other almost used up. Good morning, boys and girls. Today we are going to hear the story about two bars of soap. How many of you use soap? (Let them answer.) Very good. Almost everyone uses it. What do you like most about soap? (Let them answer.) That's right, it gets you clean. A bar of soap is a pretty wonderful thing. I suppose you know that the more it is used, the smaller it gets. The better the soap is, the faster it goes away. It isn't ...

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