Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2301 to 2325 of 4934 results

2301. Getting In Tune Again

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

William L. Self

A radio station in Missouri had an interesting experience. They had a popular program that played the music that most of us like -- music middle-America could understand. The program had a very loyal following. People would stay up into the night to listen. It became their friend, especially to those people who have difficulty sleeping. One day the disc jockey got an interesting letter. It said, "Dear Sir, I am a farmer living alone on my farm. My wife is dead and my children and grandchildren have moved ...

2302. Week Five Of Lent

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Monday Week FiveDaniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62John 8:1-11 The God Of Forgiveness Humans love to tell stories about others. We tell many humorous stories which bring out the beauty of one's personality. We tell stories of heroism, bravery and significant accomplishments. Sometimes we even hear and tell stories of unconditional love and kindness shown to another. These are the types of stories we like to hear, ones that pick us up and make us feel good. Humans are far from perfect and thus there are ...

2303. Welcoming Christ

Matthew 10:40-42

Sermon

Marc Kolden

What is this passage about? Is it about the disciples, the twelve? Yes, of course, it is about them; these are Jesus' final words of instruction to them and astonishing words they are! "Whoever welcomes you guys welcomes me," Jesus says, "and whoever welcomes me welcomes the Father who sent me" (10:40). Their mission was God's mission; their words were God's words; the people whom they met encountered God in them and their teachings. These are strong words, but we know that these disciples (minus Judas) ...

2304. Is Christ In The Manger?

Drama

Karren Boehr

Theme: The Christ Of Christmas Changes Lives (Based on Isaiah 61) Scenes I - IV are placed in various areas of the sanctuary. In Act I each of the four scenes portrays a different pitfall of the holiday season: the bitter family feelings, the busyness, the anxiety, the loneliness. In Act II the same scenes are touched by the glory and power of the Christ Child. (The optional use of a spotlight enhances the effectiveness of each scene.) Act I (Actors in Scenes I - IV take their places, then freeze) Scene I ...

2305. On The Cross-Road

John 7:45--8:11

Sermon

Glenn E. Ludwig

Some people never grasp a new thing; they simply don't know what to do when confronted with a new idea, concept or invention they have never been exposed to before. This may have been one of Jesus' main problems with the people of his day. A number of years ago, as the story goes, oil was discovered on some Oklahoma property that belonged to an old Native American. All of his life, the man had been poor, but the discovery of oil made him a very wealthy man. And one of the first things he did was buy ...

2306. Speak For Yourself!

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

William B. Kincaid, III

What do Richard Nixon and Shirley Temple have in common? While they may have shared many common interests and traits, isn't it true that neither one ever outlived their pasts? When Richard Nixon was buried behind the house that his father built, he went to his grave as the president that was forced to resign in the face of humiliation and scandal. Even amid his remarkable rehabilitation which included significant contributions to the world's conversation about public policy, Nixon may as well have had " ...

2307. Passion Sunday

Mt 26:14–27:66 · Phil 2:5-11 · Is 45:21-25; 50:4-9 · Ps 31

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

THIS WEEK'S TEXT Revised Common: Isaiah 50:4-9a · Philippians 2:5-11 · Matthew 26:14--27:66 or Matthew 27:11-54 Roman Catholic: Isaiah 50:4-7 · Philippians 2:6-11 · Matthew 26:14--27:66 Episcopal: Isaiah 45:21-25 or Philippians 2:5-11 · Matthew (26:36-75) 27:1-54 (55-66) · Isaiah 52:13--53:12 Lutheran: Isaiah 50:4-9a · Philippians 2:5-11 · Matthew 26:1--27:66 or Matthew 27:11-54 Theme For Lenten Series: Christ Confronts His Enemies. On one level, his enemies are the priests, scribes and Pharisees. On a ...

2308. The Babel Disaster - You Are There

Genesis 11:1-9

Drama

Jerry Eckert

Comment: Up to this time, I had tried to handle the story sermons myself. With the encouragement shown for my dramatic efforts of the earlier weeks that summer, I decided to try to involve the congregation in a more direct way. That year, a large hotel in a major U. S. city had collapsed, killing scores and injuring hundreds. I saw the story in a periodical which, unfortunately, I did not keep. The first interview in the script, the woman's experience, comes from that. With a few bits remembered from that ...

2309. Seeking Honor

Mark 10:35-45

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

Greeting: Leader: The kingdom of God is not what many would expect. Left: In the world, people who are recognized as leaders lord it over everyone else. Right: And people who reach greatness become tyrants over everyone around them. Leader: This is not the way it works among Christ's disciples. Left: For us, whoever wishes to become great must be a servant to everyone else. Right: And whoever wishes to be first among us must become a slave to all of us. Leader: Jesus, Servant King of the new world, we come ...

2310. Lent 5

John 12:20-36, Jeremiah 30:1--31:40, Hebrews 4:14-5:10

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: The heart of Jesus was broken in death so that he might create within us a new heart. In the First Lesson the new heart is promised. In the Second Lesson, Jesus poured out his heart of suffering to the Father. In the Gospel Jesus promises that he will unite our hearts through the cross (draw all people to himself (v. 32). COMMENTARY Old Testament: Jeremiah 31:31-34 Written after the destruction of the nation by the Babylonians, the prophet promised that God will establish a new covenant with both ...

2311. Epiphany 6

1 Corinthians 10:23--11:1, 1 Corinthians 9:1-27, Leviticus 13:1-46, 2 Kings 5:1-27, Mark 1:40-45

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: God's cleansing presence and power, with or without water. In the First Lesson Elisha cleansed Namaan, the Syrian, by telling him to wash in the Jordan River. In the Gospel Jesus cleansed a leper who requested healing by touching him. COMMENTARY Old Testament: 2 Kings 5:1-15 Namaan, a general from the army of the Syrians, was sent to the king of Israel by his own king, asking that he be healed of his leprosy. An Israeli girl, absconded in war, informed her master of a prophet in Samaria who could do ...

2312. How To Deal With Suffering

Hebrews 4:14-5:10

Sermon

Erskine White

Although He was a Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered. (Hebrews 5:8) Note: This sermon was preached in the midst of a long summer heat wave which afflicted much of the nation. In the early 1960s in the deep South, when the backlash against the civil rights movement got especially severe and the violence of white racists got especially brutal, Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke to a packed church one night and said, "We have entered into a season of suffering." Scripture says that "To everything ...

2313. What Happens When We Can't Believe It?

John 20:24-31

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

All three of our Bible lessons for today touch on themes that cannot help but direct our attention to last Sunday's celebration of the festival of Easter. (The Roman Catholic lectionary's first lesson [Acts 2:42-47] reminds us of the Easter festival, as its reference to the community shared among the early Christians is reminiscent of an active church member's joy in seeing a packed church on Easter Sunday.) I do not know about your feelings with certainty, but I suspect that last Sunday's worship service ...

2314. "He Who Commands Is He Who Fulfills"

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

Some years ago, a parishioner gently offered his pastor a piece of criticism. It had to do with the way one of the rubrics in the weekly bulletin had for decades been phrased: an asterisk in the margin indicated those times when "the congregation reverently kneels." "You can command people to kneel," said this lay theologian, "but you can’t command that they be reverent about it." Interesting observation. On the one hand he had a point: some people kneel humbly and reverently; others kneel haughtily ( ...

2315. Salt and Light

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

It's not easy to listen to Jesus tell us who we are and what we are to be in the world. At least one person listening to his sermon does not want to hear Jesus use a metaphor to describe and define what it is like to be one of his disciples. We are tired of being defined and told what our purpose and function in life should be. Someone is always giving us a description of what our life should be like or look like. As children, we were told to be little ladies and gentlemen. As adults, the culture in which ...

2316. Herod and Jesus

Drama

Jon Joyce

Setting The private sitting room in the palace in which Herod is staying in Jerusalem. A throne-like chair, perhaps with a gold or violet throw covering it, should be provided for Herod; this chair should face the audience. A simple chair or stool should be placed in front of the chair so that Jesus, when he sits down, may face Herod but not the audience. Other appointments to the room may be added for effect: potted palms, a small table with a wine carafe and fresh fruits, and anything else appropriate to ...

2317. Honoring Parents

Exodus 20:1-21, Matthew 15:1-20

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

A man was boarding an airplane one day. As he came on board, he noticed that the person sitting in the pilot's seat was a woman. That was no problem; it was just a new experience for him. As he found his seat, he noticed three persons sitting immediately behind him: a man, a young boy, and an elderly woman. He could not help overhearing their conversation. Soon he realized that they were the woman pilot's family. They were excited because she had just completed her training and had been promoted. This was ...

2318. The Passover and the Passion

Drama

Denny C. Wise

Narrator: (Welcome) Since the Fourth Century, Christians have remembered the Passion of our Lord with a service of Tenebrae, or shadows. Tonight we are going to add to that format an even older tradition: the Passover Festival. The word "Festival" comes from a root word meaning "memory." The Passover Festival was a time to remember God’s deliverance of his people from bondage, declaring that even though evil may prosper for a season, God’s way shall ultimately prevail. During our service this evening, as ...

2319. Just A Whisper

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

Frederick C. Edwards

A newborn child is such a small and fragile thing. Can it have the power to change anything? In the eighth century B.C.E., Ahaz, King of Judah, faced the armies of two kings advancing to attack Jerusalem, and a state of mind bordering on panic seized the king and the people. Into that climate of fear came the prophet Isaiah, who met Ahaz one day as he was inspecting the water supply of Jerusalem in anticipation of the siege of the city. Isaiah called upon Ahaz to have unwavering faith in Yahweh, so that ...

2320. "I Don’t Hate Any More!"

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

A. E. Housman, in a brief verse, uncovers the awfulness of hate: I see In many an eye that measures me The mortal sickness of a mind Too unhappy to be kind. Undone with misery, all they can Is to hate their fellow man; And till they drop need must still they Look at you and wish you ill. That is a plague I would hope to escape. E. Stanley Jones shares his keen insight into the self-destruction of hate. He reminds us that "a rattlesnake, if cornered, will sometimes become so angry it will bite itself. That ...

2321. On the Night when He Was Betrayed

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

There is a unique beauty and tenderness about the hour of sunset. The sun impresses its memory upon a darkening world by tinting the western sky with its most original and harmonious colors. The last hour of the day is its most beautiful and memorable. So it is in human relations. The tender beauty of sunset glows from the hour of farewell. We say goodbye to those who are not so intimate but reserve the last precious moments to those nearest our hearts. And after all else is forgotten we remember the ...

2322. In, But Not Of, The World

Jeremiah 29:1-23

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

“What’s important to me in my walk of faith is my relationship with God. Next comes my family. Christianity is about things of the spirit, not about the ways of the world.” Many American Christians (perhaps some in this parish) feel this way. How about you? Does a Christian have a responsibility for society? Should the Church play a role in trying to turn American society around? Let me try to answer those questions by asking you a question. Do you believe what the Bible teaches? If so, let’s see what our ...

2323. Remembering the Good Old Days

Numbers 14:1-10a

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Some of you may remember the name John Gilbert, a famous actor of silent film days, a "sexy" leading man. His career declined with the advent of "talkies" because his high, thin voice was not at all what folks had imagined of this great screen lover. Gilbert was once called on short notice to play the role of the heroine's father in a Chicago production. He learned his lines in record time, but was still struggling to remember the name of his character, Numitorius, when the play opened. A colleague ...

2324. Going Fishing

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

An old-timer sat on the river bank, obviously awaiting a nibble, though the fishing season had not officially opened. A uniformed officer stood behind him quietly for several minutes. "You the game warden?" the old-timer inquired. "Yup." Unruffled, the old man began to move the fishing pole from side to side. Finally, he lifted the line out of the water. Pointing to a minnow wriggling on the end of the line, he said, "Just teaching him how to swim."(1) Mark Twain once spent a pleasant three weeks in the ...

2325. Sinner Or Saint?

Hebrews 7:11-28

Sermon

King Duncan

May I ask you a question? Who are you? It sounds like a simple question requiring a simple answer, but it really isn't. For example, you might say, "I'm Fred Smith." And I might say, "No, that's your name. Who are you, really?" You might reply, "Oh, I'm a bank manager." "No," I would say, "that's what you do." "I'm an American," you might declare. "That's where you live." "I'm a [Baptist]," you might retort. "That's your denominational preference." You could also give your height and your weight and say ...

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