Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2326 to 2350 of 4490 results

2326. Oops! I Didn't See You

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

King Duncan

Dr. James Dobson tells about a friend of his, a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology. One day this friend telephoned another specialist in the same field and asked him for a favor. “My wife has been having some abdominal problems and she’s in particular discomfort this afternoon,” he said. “I don’t want to treat my own wife and wonder if you’d see her for me?” The other specialist invited the doctor to bring his wife in for an examination. When he did he discovered (are you ready for this?) that she was ...

2327. Peace In the Midst of the Storm

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Suppose for a few minutes that you are one of them. There is no indication in scripture that you or any of your compatriots have any inkling as you set out in your boats that there might be anything amiss. To be sure, since a number of you are fishermen, you are aware that things like this can happen. After all, the Sea of Galilee is set in a deep gorge between two mountain ranges. The winds sometimes force themselves through the passes around Mount Hermon in the north and virtually explode on the quiet ...

2328. A New Year’s Resolution

Ephesians 4:25 -5:2

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Good instructions. I know we are in the middle of summer according to our lectionary cycle, but this text sounds like a perfect list of New Year's resolutions for Christians. In the For Better Or Worse comic strip, the family is sitting around the breakfast table as Dad says, "Here we are in a brand new year. I think we should all make some resolutions, don't you?" Mother responds, "Okay. I resolve not to criticize, to nag less, and bake more often." The family cheers: "Right on. Neat! Yeah!" Then Dad says ...

2329. Right-Handed Sinners!

Mark 9:42-50

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

For the above title, I reach back across Matthew's more detailed record of the same message where he recalls that Jesus specified the right hand, "If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off" (Matthew 5:30). That might be significant because research indicates the somewhere around 85% of humans are right-hand dominant, and it could mean that Jesus is not just saying that a sinning hand should be excised but that even if it is the dominant hand that sins it must go! Let us think about it, and ...

2330. Sleeping in on Sunday

Ephesians 6:10

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

Physical feats of strength impress us. We admire those who can bench press over 300 pounds or run a marathon in less than three hours. Mental prowess is also impressive. We respect the intellectual giants who discover new formulas. And, yes, we also venerate spiritual leaders like Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, and Mahatma Gandhi. Hopefully, this respect and veneration will lead us to take the next step, to be inspired to imitate them, following their example. We can begin our own training program to ...

2331. Filling the Job Description

Hebrews 5:1-10

Sermon

Patrick J. Rooney

It was probably one of the most difficult and certainly one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. I had gone for a job interview, a job I needed very much. Fresh out on the street following college, I was filled with all the expectations of a new graduate, believing that I could conquer the world if I but raised my banner high into the heavens. The job was a good one, at a place that would have given me a big leg up in the market. I was excited, thrilled to receive an invitation to interview. ...

2332. Troubled Waters

Genesis 9:8-17

Sermon

Ken Lentz

A man from Johnstown, Pennsylvania, died and went to heaven. Saint Peter was directing the activities and explained to him, "Each Friday we have a get-together for the new members. To break the ice, every new member must make a speech to all the others here, on any subject desired." The man from Johnstown said, "I think I'll talk on the Johnstown flood." Saint Peter replied, "I think it's all right but I'd better warn you; Noah will be in the audience." The story of Noah's ark has its origins in ancient ...

2333. Jingle Bells at a Funeral

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Sermon

King Duncan

Dennis Wilson is a backup singer in the country music’s unofficial capital, Nashville, Tennessee. In the book Real Country Humor Wilson tells a true story about a friend of his who sings professionally at funerals and weddings. Sometime back this friend got a call from a lady whose husband had died of a heart attack. She said, “I heard you sing at my cousin’s funeral, and I wondered if you’d sing at my husband’s funeral. He just died.” Wilson’s friend said, “Yes, ma’am, that’s what I do. Did you have ...

2334. Doing Your Own Thing

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever had the urge to simply do your own thing without any regard to how the world may view your actions? If you have ever had that urge, you would not be the first to feel that longing . . . or to act on it. In the late 1960s, a group of hippies remember them? living in the Haight Ashbury District of San Francisco decided that personal hygiene taking baths and showers and washing your hair, etc. was a middle class hang up they could do without. So, they quit indulging in these bourgeois activities ...

2335. After the Parade

Mark 11:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

Welcome to this celebration of Palm Sunday. Today is a joyous occasion as we remember the crowds of people who lined the streets of Jerusalem to welcome our Master into their city. Ironically, today is also, of course, April Fools’ Day. Maybe that is more appropriate than ironic. For, after all, didn’t St. Paul teach us the Gospel is foolishness to those who do not believe? “A stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles . . .” is the phrase he used (1 Corinthians 1:23). So perhaps April Fools’ Day ...

2336. Do You Know Your Place?

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The world of sled dog racing is famous for a truism: “If you aren’t the lead dog, the scenery never changes.” In other words, only the lead dog gets to see what is up ahead. Only the lead dog gets to sniff out new possibilities, gets to choose a new path. For the rest of the pack, there is nothing but a view of bushy backsides. No wonder in life we are all constantly striving to be “lead dogs.” Across the political spectrum, there is one common refrain. As the 2012 political races heat up every candidate, ...

2337. Holy Smokes! God Is Here

John 6:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

The Rev. Thomas Bandy tells about a meeting his wife Lynne, also a pastor, once attended. The meeting was sponsored by a group in their denomination. To begin this meeting, they had a customary sharing time. Each person answered the question: “How did you experience God this summer?” “Several people in the room told how they had experienced God in nature. At the cottage, in the woods, or on the lake, they saw a sunset, heard a loon’s cry, or felt a summer’s breeze.” And as they listened, participants ...

2338. Trick Questions, Big Answers

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Scott Bryte

"Wars and revolutions, nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom, earthquakes, famines, and pestilence ... betrayal, hatred..." (Luke 21:10-11). Whoa! What season is approaching? What about "Peace on earth and mercy mild"? Actually, both images are at play here. Yes, Christmas is coming — a beautiful time. But juxtaposed against that is a life of great uncertainty for all of us, a time when our institutions, those entities in society upon which we have depended, our temples, are crashing down around ...

2339. Rubble and Trouble

Luke 21:5-19

Sermon

David E. Leininger

2340. You Provoke Me...and That's Good

Hebrews 10:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

A three-year-old boy opened a birthday gift from his grandmother. It was a water pistol. He squealed with delight and headed for the sink to fill it. His father was not so pleased. Provoked, he turned to his own mom and said, “I’m surprised at you. Don’t you remember how we used to drive you crazy with water guns?” His mother gave him a wicked smile and replied, “I remember!” Has anyone here ever heard one of your parents say, “Don’t you provoke me!” Maybe it was when you had a water gun in your hand. What ...

2341. The Great Sacrifice of Love

Luke 9:18-27, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Sermon

Richard Gribble

In the fifteenth century, a rural village in Germany was home to a family with eighteen children. The family was poor, but despite the difficulty of making ends meet, two brothers in the family still held a dream, namely to pursue their talent as artists. With the financial situation bleak the two boys came up with their own solution to the problem. They agreed to toss a coin with the loser going to the local mines to work so he could support the other while he attended art school. When the first was ...

2342. When God Adds Insult to Injury

Colossians 2:6-15

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

So many things separate Christians into groups: denominations, different ways of practicing the sacraments, different understandings of how to organize the church, different attitudes toward social issues like sexuality and money, even different perceptions of who Christ was. With all of that disagreement and separation, what unites us? Is there any common ground among us, other than simply calling ourselves Christians? Are we hopelessly divided, or can we push aside some of these barriers and embrace as ...

2343. A New Resolve

Philippians 4:1, 4-9

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

Last summer, my children rode a flight simulator. Basically, they strap you into a box in front of a screen and shake it upside down. It is supposed to feel more like flying an airplane than a Disney ride. They also had a camera on the people inside the simulator so that those waiting outside can see what was going on inside the cockpit. When my daughter had the controls, the plane was level, missed the trees, and landed smoothly. When my son took over the controls, the box spun with barrel rolls, shot ...

2344. Making Ourselves At Home

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

In a scene from the romantic comedy, ‘While You Were Sleeping', "Ox" Callaghan is waxing eloquent at the breakfast table one morning about those rare moments in life when everything seems to be going just right and falling into place. "In that one minute," he says, "you have peace." But his son, Jack, who is Ox's partner in the family business, has finally decided it is time to break the news to his dad that he wants out to start his own business, and so he bursts his father's bubble, saying, "Pop, this ...

2345. A One Sentence Legacy

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

King Duncan

I heard recently about a guy named Bob. Bob was single and lived with his father. Bob worked in the family business, a very successful family business. When it became apparent that his father would not live much longer, and that he would soon inherit quite a fortune, Bob decided to find a wife with whom to share his soon-to-be abundant wealth. One evening, at an investment meeting, Bob spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her natural beauty took his breath away. “I may look like just an ...

2346. Lost, But Not the TV Show!

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

A marine tells about a field exercise he was participating in at Camp Lejeune, N.C. His squad was on a night patrol making their way through some thick brush. Halfway through, they realized they’d lost their map. The patrol navigator informed the rest of the squad that their odds were 1 in 359 that they’d succeed in getting back to their base of operations. “How did you come up with that figure?” someone asked, “one chance in 359?” “Well,” he replied, “one of the degrees on the compass has to be right.” (1 ...

2347. He's Back

John 20:19-23

Sermon

David O. Bales

Most Christians know about the Holy Spirit’s power granted one morning in Jerusalem seven weeks after Jesus’ resurrection. It occurred on the Jewish Festival of Passover recorded in Acts 2. Many Christians don’t know what John 20 reports. This text is about Jesus’ giving the Holy Spirit before the exciting spiritual event at the Passover Festival. Seven weeks before Pentecost we’re with Jesus late on the day of his resurrection. Jesus’ resurrection has announced that he’s back for good. His students ...

2348. Claimed, Framed, Changed

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

Tony Everett

What do athletic coaches, politicians, and preachers have in common? They are expected to give inspirational pep talks, speeches, or sermons that fire up powerful emotions. They are supposed to motivate their listeners to “give 110%,” overcoming all obstacles to victory no matter what the cost. Coaches know that the best pep talk can only get athletes through the first football collision, the first gymnastics tumbling pass, or the first baseball at bat. Politicians know that the most stirring speech is ...

2349. The Insanity of Profanity

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

James Merritt

A few years ago Time magazine reported an incident that took place in the State of Maryland. A truck driver had been arrested for drunk driving and disorderly conduct. When the police officers arrived on the scene to arrest the man, he became abusive. He began to use filthy and profane language, and repeatedly took God’s name in vain. When the man was brought before the magistrate, he was still using profane language. The maximum penalty the magistrate could impose for drunk and disorderly conduct was $100 ...

2350. Have You Checked Your Love Levels Recently?

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Before he was a NASA astronaut and commanded the ill-fated Apollo 13 flight, the one that never landed on the moon but miraculously made it back to earth, Jim Lovell had already experienced being “lost in space.” As a Navy pilot out on a routine nighttime flight, his aircraft suddenly lost all of its navigational systems. Miles away from his ship with nothing to guide him back to the aircraft carrier USS Shangri-La, Lovell decided to go completely dark. He turned off all of his cockpit lights and peered ...

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