Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2301 to 2325 of 4945 results

2301. Evangelism: Three-Phase Youth Ministry

Drama

Ken Davis

We conducted a three-phase experiment at Rockford College, and used over 100 college graduates who were preparing for youth ministry. In the first phase: We took a young volunteer from the room and blindfolded him. We simply told him that when he returned, he could do anything he wished. He remained outside the room while we instructed each audience member to think of a simple task for the volunteer to do. When the volunteer returned, they were to shout their individual instructions at him from where they ...

2302. Touched By the Third Phase

Drama

Ken Davis

2303. But When God ...

Galatians 1:11-24

Sermon

April Yamasaki

In the early Christian church, there were no pulpits. It wasn't until the Middle Ages that pulpits were first introduced in churches and not until the Protestant Reformation of the 1500s and 1600s that the pulpit became a central symbol for the authority of scripture and the preaching of the word. But it hasn't always been that way. Instead, the very first Christian churches were house churches, where there were no pulpits, and everything was done face-to-face without a piece of furniture in between. The ...

2304. What Really Matters

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

King Duncan

A joke appeared on the Internet recently that many of you women can relate to. A man was praying, “Oh Lord, please have mercy on me, I work so very hard, meanwhile my wife stays at home. I would give anything if you would grant me one wish. Please, switch me into my wife. She’s got it easy at home and I want to teach her a lesson about how tough a man’s life is!” As God was listening he felt sorry for this poor soul and granted his wish. So . . . the next morning this man wakes up at dawn . . . as a woman ...

2305. Suffered under (Saint) Pontius Pilate

John 18:28-40

Sermon

David O. Bales

Christians Sunday by Sunday announce our collective memory of Pontius Pilate: “Suffered under Pontius Pilate.” By repeating this creed regularly, we agree with church tradition and we don’t wonder further about Pilate. We certainly have no sympathy for him. Pilate’s Jewish contemporaries had nothing good to say about him. Christians, especially on Good Friday, don’t let anyone forget our opinion of him. However, some early church traditions decided that Pilate was a believer and two churches still, ...

2306. A Call for Repentance - Ash Wednesday

Joel 2:12-17

Sermon

King Duncan

A young man, active in his church, is talking with a friend named Andy. Andy is a fellow believer who has called him on the phone. They hadn’t spoken in some time. Suddenly the young man blurts out, “Where is God, Andy, where is the God we sing about and pray to all the time?” Then he reveals why he senses God’s absence. He is broke. He hasn’t eaten a complete meal in two weeks, his rent is behind, the water and electricity are disconnected and on top of that he has no money to fill his prescription and he ...

2307. Our Father Who Art in Heaven

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

(A Dialogue Sermon) And he said to them, "When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread; and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us; and lead us not into temptation.' " — Luke 11:2-4 Man: If two of the sacred idols of our nation are said to be motherhood and apple pie, no one has ever exalted fatherhood and hamburgers to the American pantheon — although hamburgers are getting close! Despite the complaints of the ...

2308. Day of Disaster

Jeremiah 16:1--17:18

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

Don’t Marry, Don’t Mourn, and Don’t Celebrate (16:1-13): This unit, which is related to the one that follows at the end of the chapter, presents three prohibitions in the light of the judgment that is coming and which itself is the result of the people’s sin. These prohibitions lead to behaviors on Jeremiah’s part that are resonant with prophetic significance and therefore should be considered a prophetic sign-act that incarnates the words he is speaking. These prohibitions seem to be directed to Jeremiah ...

2309. In the Bleak Mid-Winter

Isaiah 55:1-3, Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

The emphasis throughout the Advent season is typically about God’s gift to us—“of the Father’s love begotten”—Jesus, the gift of God’s love. Also, the ministry of Jesus—His gifts to us: to us who think we have everything are to us when we think we have nothing. Our theme hymn today forces another focus. The question is not “what is God’s Christmas gift to us?” Instead, what is our gift to God? What does Christ want from us? It isn’t that our Scripture asks the question. The meaning of the word preach is “ ...

2310. You Shall Be My Witness

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A picture is worth a thousand words. So let me try to paint the picture, with words. Better, you paint the picture in your mind as I tell the story. An 83-year-old grandmother is standing in the checkout line of a K-Mart store. She chats with a young boy who is very proud of his $5.98 watch he has just purchased. Somewhere in their friendly conversation she asks the boy where he goes to Sunday school. He doesn’t go. “Really? I think you’d like it. Could I call your mother and see if I can pick you up. We ...

2311. The Resurrection

Mark 16:1-20

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

16:1–8 The resurrection of Jesus was the single most important event in the formation of faith in Jesus in the early church. The resurrection not only overturned the effects of the crucifixion, giving life where there was death, but more importantly, signified that Jesus had been vindicated by God and made the prince and pioneer of salvation for anyone believing in him. In 1 Corinthians 15:12–28, Paul gives a concise description of the meaning of Jesus’ resurrection, portraying the risen Jesus as the basis ...

2312. The Death of John the Baptist

Matthew 14:1-12, Mark 6:14-29, Luke 9:1-9

Sermon

Lori Wagner

On the news one day a short while ago --some of you may remember this—we heard that eight young high school boys viciously attacked and gang raped an 8 year old girl, a special needs child. One by one, they took turns raping her and beating her until at last she died. The town was shocked. These were their star varsity players…their A students...their church acolytes...their beloved sons. How could this happen? It's called “peer pressure.” A similar thing happened in the case of a young college freshman, ...

2313. The Good Catch

Matthew 17:24-27

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Animation: Basin of water; rubber fish or coins “Not fair!!” yelled my five-year old. “The teacher said all of us need to pay to go to the school play, even if we’re already in it!” “Why do we have to pay? We are the ones doing the play for everyone else!?” “Well,” I said, “I guess it’s just a rule that everyone needs to contribute in order for the school to make money on the play.” “After all, it’s for your school!” “Well, I shouldn’t have to do it!” “Look,” I said. “It’s only two dollars each. Why don’t ...

2314. The Prophet of Locusts and Honey

Luke 3:1-20, Luke 3:21-38

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Props: locusts in a small aquarium or a plastic locust / honeycomb or bowl of honey We call him “John the Baptist.” Some prefer to call him “John the Baptizer” just to be clear that John isn’t seen as baptizing Jesus into the Baptist church, making Jesus a Baptist. Some of you Baptist may disagree on this. But when we think of “John the Baptist,” or “John the Baptizer,” the first thing that comes to mind is not water, but probably something else: strange clothing and weird eating habits. At least they seem ...

2315. Wild Thing

Luke 4:31-37

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: Dream catcher I have here this morning what’s called a “Dream Catcher.” Have you seen one of these before? These are made by Native Americans for the purpose of keeping away evil spirits. They form a kind of protective amulet. Anyone have something from your own culture similar to this? [Allow people to share.] Some cultures have amulets. Some have rites or folk traditions, like throwing salt over your shoulder, or posting “hex signs” to ward off evil from farms. They are meant to be symbols of “ ...

2316. Metathesiophobia

Ecclesiastes 11:1-6, 1 Corinthians 3:1-23

Sermon

Lori Wagner

We all have fears. No one is immune to fear. It’s only when fear overwhelms us and dictates our life that it becomes what we call a “phobia.” Some have arachnophobia, fear of spiders. Others have agoraphobia, fear of public places. Still others may have claustrophobia, fear of small spaces. Many people have some form of aerophobia, fear of flying. One of the biggest phobias in the world? Glossophobia. Have you heard of it? It’s the fear of public speaking. We keep coming up with new phobias all the time. ...

2317. Breath of God · COVID-19 and the Resurrection

John 20:10-18, John 20:1-9

Sermon

Lori Wagner

This year, Easter Sunday falls during the COVID-19 pandemic. A time when we are secluded in our homes and told to wrap our faces in cloth if we dare to go out for groceries or supplies. Walk into the grocery store, and you’ll see people wandering quietly through the aisles with gloved hands and masked faces. Get too close, and you’ll register a wide-eyed look of alarm on the face of that passerby. We are in hiding from an invisible beast. “The Beast” is what people are naming the virus. It attacks ...

2318. Cross Choices

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

A man once told his friends of a system he had invented to preserve domestic peace. “The day we married ten years ago,” he said, “we decided that all important decisions should be made by me. Small decisions were left to my wife.” When his friends asked him how it had worked out, he replied, “Perfectly, there hasn’t been a single hitch in the entire ten years. Of course,” he added, “no important decision has come up yet.” The challenge of human existence is that life is made up of decisions, insignificant ...

2319. It's A Wonderment

Mark 9:2-9

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Have you ever said something really dumb? Have you ever opened your mouth and stood there one legged like a flamingo, with all the grace of an elephant on roller skates with your other foot stuck firmly in your mouth? I remember one time when I did. About ten years ago I was serving the little United Methodist Church in Eureka, Texas. We were in the middle of building a new Sanctuary. The pews from the old Sanctuary were solid oak and over a hundred years old. Money was tight and we couldn't afford new ...

2320. For The Love of God Is Contagious

Mark 7:31-36 · Luke 5:12-15 · 2 Corinthians 5:16-20

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A number of years ago, the computer magazine, PC World did a review of a book entitled The Policeman's Beard is Half Constructed, (Warner Books, New York, 1984). It is a book that was written by a computer program called Racter (short for Raconteur) from Mindscape. The software was developed to help people do brainstorming. The book is filled with essays, poems, limericks, stories and conversations, all of which were written by the computer using this software. Here's a couple of examples which Racter came ...

2321. For the Love Of God is Forgiving

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

The headlines, news reports and newspaper stories all make it very clear that there is something out of kilter in our world. Whether you agree with its content or not, the crime bill is the biggest of its kind. It's because dealing with crime is on everyone's mind. Who'll be the next victim of a drive by shooting or a drug problem. Who'll be the next victim of gang violence or a drunk driver. While the Peace Talks are going on in the Middle East between Israel and Jordan and the Palestinians, the fighting ...

2322. Divine Divestment

Mark 10:17-27

Sermon

Will Willimon

The Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, came home after church one Sunday and wrote of his disgust at what happened there. ''In the magnificent cathedral the Honourable and Right Reverend Gehei111e-General Ober-Hof Pradikant, the elect favourite of the fashionable world, appears before an elect company and preaches with emotion upon the text he himself elected: 'God hath elected the base things of the world, and the things that are despised' and nobody laughs."(1) Today I am to preach on Mark 10:17-27. ...

2323. It's a Wonderment

Mark 9:2-9

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

2324. God's Little Acre

Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon

Will Willimon

"Another parable he put before them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven may be compared to one who sowed good seeds in his field...'" I'll admit it. Sometimes I have this fantasy about the church. The fantasy is this: That someday, somewhere, there will be this church where there will be no inactive members, nobody who slams the door in your face when you go soliciting pledges in the fall pledge campaign. Nobody in this church ever says "No" when they're asked to keep the nursery or teach Sunday school, in ...

2325. God Bless Santa!

Luke 2:1-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Several years ago, when Donald Trump was running for the US Presidency, he wanted to convince evangelical voters that he was one of them, so he let it be known that he was a Christian, born and raised Presbyterian even. That was a bit of a surprise to us Presbyterians, but no matter. Reporters pressed him on that and asked which he preferred, the Old Testament or the New. He said he liked them both. They asked him what was his favorite Bible verse; he said he didn’t have a favorite, he liked them all. Uh- ...

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