Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2351 to 2375 of 4914 results

2351. "How Great Thou Art"

Eulogy

Joe Barone

Isaiah 40:21-31Romans 5:6-11 and Matthew 24:36-44 A Scriptural MeditationOn An Often-used Funeral Hymn The depth and power of some of the great Christian hymns amazes me. I must have heard Stuart Hine's translation of Carl Boberg's "How Great Thou Art" sung at least 500 times, but still it moves me. It's not just that "How Great Thou Art" acknowledges the power of God. It does even more. It contains the message of the gospel. It talks about God the creator in the same way the psalmists or the prophets ...

2352. God in a Glimpse

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon

Two nuns were returning to the hospital where they worked when they ran out of gas. They hailed a passing driver who said he would be happy to give them some - he could siphon it from his tank. The only problem was he had nothing to put the gas in. The nuns looked in their car but they found no container except a bedpan. This will have to do, they decided. So they filled it with gas from the man's car and waved goodbye as he drove away. As the nuns were emptying the bedpan into their gas tank, a trucker ...

2353. Loosed from the Pangs of Death

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

Benjamin Franklin once said, "Nothing in this world is certain but death and taxes." This week we would not question the validity of what he said. The difference, however, is that April 15 and the time for paying our income taxes comes around once a year. Death comes only once in a lifetime to each of us as human beings. So we look at them and we deal with them differently. It seems to me that we also deal with death differently than we did when I was a child. Medical science was not as advanced then as it ...

2354. Ascension

Luke 24:46-53, Acts 1:1-11, Ephesians 1:15-23

Bulletin Aid

First Lesson: Acts 1:1-11 Theme: The ascension of Jesus Call to Worship Pastor: Jesus, whom God raised from the dead, was taken into heaven as his disciples watched. People: The ascension of Jesus was the crowning event in his ministry. Pastor: It was also the beginning of a new ministry for the church. The whole world became a mission field in which the church is sent to be witnesses of the risen Lord. People: God help us accept our mission, that we may prepare our world for our Lord's final triumph when ...

2355. The Wizard of Yoj

Psalm 100:1-5

Sermon

Edward L. Palmer

Once upon a time in the Land of Yoj, there was a wizard; and a wonderful wizard he was. He was big. He was handsome. And, as everyone knew, he was the greatest. Never in this land had there been anyone greater or more powerful than he. One night he had a vision. It began as a beautiful scene in which he had been named chief, high potentate of the entire universe. The sun would rise and set at his command. He could make it rain. He could make the winds, the leaves, and the seasons. And he could create in ...

2356. A Haven For Troubled Hearts

John 14:1-4

Sermon

Brett Blair

Eric Clapton, arguably the greatest living rock guitarist, wrote a heart wrenching song about the death of his four-year-old son (March 20, 1991). He fell from a 53rd-story window. Clapton took nine months off and when he returned his music had changed. The hardship had made his music softer, more powerful, and more reflective. You have perhaps heard the song he wrote about his son's death. It is a poignant song of hope: Would you know my name if I saw you in heaven? Would it be the same if I saw you in ...

2357. 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 ...

2358. Feeling Down And Looking Up

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Frederick C. Edwards

The scripture for today is from the portion of Isaiah which scholars know as Deutero-Isaiah, or Second Isaiah - chapters 40 to 55. Those chapters certainly were not written by the eighth century B.C.E. prophet whose name it bears, but rather by an anonymous observer of the events in the closing years of Babylonian rule, and who interpreted the meaning of those events to the Jewish exiles in Babylonia. A momentous event stirred him to prophesy to the captives, and that event was the rise to power of Cyrus, ...

2359. An Understated Masterpiece

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Thomas Long

Some people are masters of understatement. They are able to communicate the size, power, or importance of something, not by flapping their arms wildly and loudly piling one hyperbolic adjective on top of another, but by the slight arch of a single eyebrow and the deft choice of a muted phrase. Masters of understatement. There are, for example, relatives of mine in the South who still describe the American Civil War, a war of immense destructiveness and tragic proportions, by pursing their lips and speaking ...

2360. Easter 4

Acts 4:1-22, 1 John 3:11-24, John 10:1-21

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

First Lesson: Acts 4:8-12 Theme: The name of Jesus, the power of God Exegetical note This third of Peter’s speeches after Pentecost recorded in Acts comes as a result of his having been questioned by Jewish leaders about the authority ("name") by which he had performed a healing. The question, like his response, points to the ancient view that one’s name was an integral and intimate part of his or her person, presence and power and the related notion that a name, particularly that of a deity, had powers to ...

2361. Proper 8

2 Samuel 6:1-23, 2 Corinthians 8:1-15, Mark 5:21-43

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

First Lesson: 2 Samuel 6:1-15 Theme: The awesome power of God Exegetical Note This account of David’s bringing of the ark to Jerusalem reveals two very different sides of Jahweh’s power, both of which are well documented in the Old Testament. On the one hand, the well-meaning Uzzah is killed because he touched the ark; on the other, Obededom and his household were blessed by its presence. The whole story is reminiscent of Rudolf Otto’s contention that "the Holy" is a mystery that is at once compellingly ...

2362. Waiting With Anticipation

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

David M. Oliver

Bells have been used in many ways over the years. Bells have been used to sound an alarm, and to call children to school, people to worship, and families to meals. Bells mark the beginning and end of the work day, classes, and sporting events. Sometimes bells mark the passing of the hours in a day. On this first Sunday of Advent we will be using the bells we have brought to call us to a time of waiting that is filled with anticipation. The Old Testament lesson for this first Sunday of Advent looks forward ...

2363. The Need for A Community of Healing

Mark 1:29-34

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

A friend of mine came home alive. For many long weeks there was real fear he would not come home at all. A week or so prior to Thanksgiving he entered the hospital with an emergency illness. After a few days, however, it became apparent something far more serious was wrong. Doctors were baffled. More specialists were called in who eventually diagnosed his malady -- a serious one indeed. Appropriate drugs and medications were administered, but his condition worsened. New specialists were summoned, new tests ...

2364. And It Came To Pass

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." (v. 31) Here is the existential consummation of history. This is the frame of reference within which the early church lived and breathed. In the end it was the parousia, the event of Christ coming in glory. Things of earth would pass away. This would be the final reckoning, the ultimate judgment. I always thought, as have most Anglo-Saxons, that the powerful Spiritual ran, "My Lord, what a morning, when the stars begin to fall." It was not ...

2365. The Word of the Cross

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

In the center of Christianity stands the cross of Christ. The Apostle Paul defines the whole gospel as "the word of the cross." Both the Christian message and the Christian life are cruciform, bearing the shape of the cross. Thus we cannot avoid speaking about the cross, directly or indirectly, throughout the year. But during Lent, and especially on Good Friday, we try to keep silent and let the cross speak its word to us. We are not commissioned to trim and hew the cross to suit our desires, much less to ...

2366. Our Magnificent, Mysterious, Mischievous God

2 Kings 5:1-27

Sermon

David E. Leininger

This is a fun story, one of many in scripture that are good for giggles if we allow ourselves that reverent freedom when we encounter them. Engaging characters, international intrigue, and finally a denouement that is just pure fun. It is one more affirmation that our God is not only magnificent and mysterious but occasionally mischievous as well. The cast. Naaman. His name means charm or pleasantness. Apparently a relatively nice fellow as standards of his day would define nice. A powerful personage too ...

2367. Why Do You Believe What You Believe?

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

King Duncan

You may have heard about the pilot for one of our major airlines. He's blind. I won't tell you which airline. People get nervous enough nowadays about flying. I know I do. I sympathize with the old fellow who says there are two things he will not dofly or swim. "I'm not going to do anything," he says, "that when you stop, you die." Someone asked the blind airplane pilot how he did it. He said, "No big dealjust a little help from my friends and the Good Lord." Then he explained. "A friend comes by my house ...

2368. Take Time To Pray

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

King Duncan

It is said that one of President Reagan's favorite stories was the one about the minister's son who was taken out camping one day. His companion warned him not to stray too far from the campfire because the woods were full of wild beasts of all kinds. The young boy had every intention, really, of following that advice but inevitably he was drawn by curiosity and wandered farther and farther from the fire. Suddenly, he found himself face to face with a very large and powerful looking bear. He saw no means ...

2369. Why Change Is Possible

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Eric Ritz

I want to think with you for a few moments on the idea of "Why Change is Possible." I want to think about the new beginnings and fresh commitments that these Bible lessons make possible. The new year can and should be a time when we grow spiritually by allowing the power of God to be fully operative in our lives to change those attitudes and actions in our lives that prevent our work and witness from having a greater impact for the kingdom of God. That brings up a significant question, perhaps one that I ...

2370. Who Is the Light of Your Life? (I am the light of the world)

John 8:12-30

Sermon

Eric Ritz

The homework for a Sunday school class was to read Isaiah 9. The teacher asked the class how many had remembered to read the chapter. Every hand went up. "Wonderful!" she thought, "We can have a great discussion!" "Do you remember the first verse?" she asked. The group fell into complete silence while a few of the youngsters paged furiously through their Bibles trying to find Isaiah. "I''ll give you a bit of help," said the teacher. "''The people who walked in darkness . . . ''" Still no answer. "I have a ...

2371. Saintly Citizenship - Earthly Responsibilities

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

I have shared with some of you in this congregation and some of my closest friends in the ministry that the writings of Dr. R. Maurice Boyd and C. S. Lewis have been a tremendous source of insight and inspiration for me these past years in my spiritual journey. Those insights are especially helpful in reaching an understanding of what Paul was sharing in this passage of scripture we are looking at today from the Philippian Letter. Dr. Boyd writes in a printed sermon, "Permit Me Voyage:" "Walking through ...

2372. Thanks for the Memories

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Sermon

Eric Ritz

In the delightfully funny off-Broadway play "Nunsense", one of the main characters is Sister Mary Amnesia who arrives at the Convent in her "habit" without a clue to her identity, remembering only that a large Crucifix had fallen on her head. The Reverend Mother in the play once states about Sister Mary that "she is a good building but, unfortunately, nobody is at home." Toward the end of the play, Sister Mary, while singing, remembers her name and her identity and further discovers that she has won the ...

2373. Adoration And Confession

Psalm 103:1-22

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

We thank you our heavenly father for the joy of being alive in you. We pray that you’ll come as the Holy Spirit, to cleanse our hearts and minds, to fill us with a power of discernment but also with the willingness to respond to that which you are calling us to. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. A little boy was asked by his pastor if he said his prayers every night. “No sir,” the fellow answered honestly. “Not every night. Some nights I don’t want anything.” That makes the point doesn’t it? Many of us do not ...

2374. In The Kingdom Now

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Twenty years after Israel had been given a homeland in 1948 by a kind of political fiat, there were still some 300,000 refugees in camps, driven from their homes. Children born in those camps were now 16, 18, 20 years old, and had never known anything but the life of a refugee. It is a monumental problem. The Cubans who fled to our country from Castro, the Haitians that have been seeking survival in this country in recent years, the constant stream of Mexicans who illegally cross our borders each year to ...

2375. At War with Myself

Romans 7:15-25a

Sermon

William G. Carter

In a certain church, a woman was leading the congregation in the prayer of confession. She called the people to confess, reminding them of the sin within their hearts, and then all joined in reading the prayer of confession. She paused for the silent confession, and she kept pausing for a good long while. So long, in fact, that the people began to rustle as they waited for the next part of the service. It was awkward, and more than a few worshipers thought she had lost her place or mislaid the piece of ...

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