Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2401 to 2425 of 4914 results

2401. Déjà Vu or Divine Revelation?

Luke 23:35-43

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever had an experience of déjà vu? Déjà vu is French for the words, “already seen,” and it’s this strange feeling that you have seen or experienced this moment before. It’s especially common among those who only come to church on Christmas and Easter. They’re like, “Doesn’t the church talk about anything else—Jesus in the cradle or Jesus on the cross? I think I’ve heard this before.” I’m just kidding, of course. We appreciate worshipers anytime you come. Comedian Steven Wright said in one of his ...

2402. Mending Fences

Luke 16:1-15, Luke 16:16-18

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40) It’s almost Halloween, the time of costumes, candy corn, and above all, creepy movies. One of the movies that made a life-long impact with me came out at Halloween in 1990 --Joel Schumacher's horror-thriller, “Flatliners.” “Flatliners” followed the lives of four young medical students, who manually induced “near-death” experiences in order to find out what lay beyond the grave. What they found was ...

2403. She Waits

Acts 1:1-11, Luke 24:50-53, Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am.” John 14:2-3 “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.” John 14:26 “Instead, your hearts are filled with sorrow because I have told you these ...

2404. How Did That Hole Get There?

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

Bruce Melver tells about a precocious six-year-old in his church who thought and talked like an adult. His name was Blair Miles and he posed some challenging questions for his pastor to answer. Bruce tells about one Sunday after church when Blair came up to him and asked Bruce if he could have a conference with him. “Of course, Blair,” Bruce replied, “I’d be happy to visit with you anytime.” Blair thought for a moment and then said that he had better talk first with his parents to see when they could bring ...

2405. Empowering the Powerless

Mark 10:2-16

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Tests. You’ve all taken them, in school, at university, or maybe even on the internet! While most of us grew up dreading the school or workplace kind, we’ve grown to love the kinds that showcase our unique personalities: the MBTI/16 Personalities, the Myers-Briggs, the SAPA, or the new, hugely popular Enneagram test. Each kind of test is designed to reveal or highlight certain characteristics about our character, our personalities, or our emotional wellbeing. Looking at the various ways we have scored, we ...

2406. The Most Important Question

Acts 10:34-43

Sermon

Charley Reeb

Have you ever heard a golfer miss a three-foot putt and say, “Thomas Jefferson!?” What about a plumber mash his thumb and scream, “Robert E. Lee!?” I haven’t either, but many shout the name of a man who was born two thousand years ago in a backwoods town to a poor unwed teenage mother. Many exclaim the name of a man who was shamefully executed as a criminal at the age of thirty and died homeless and poor. Ironic, isn’t it? For some mysterious reason, Jesus is the most famous figure in all of history. More ...

2407. Thankful Living In A Grumpy World

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon

Charley Reeb

The apostle Paul was one grateful person. I am sure this is one of the reasons why he was effective in his ministry. He had an “attitude of gratitude.” Like many of his letters, Paul began his letter to the Corinthians this way: I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:4 NIV). Not only does Paul continually give thanks in his letters, but many times in scripture he strongly encourages us to do the same: In everything give thanks: for this is the will of ...

2408. Us Against Them

Exodus 4:21

Sermon

Will Willimon

"And the LORD said to Moses, '...do before Pharaoh all the miracles which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go."' (Exodus 4:21) A friend of mine recently said, "There is nothing wrong with this country that couldn't be cured by a good war." I don't believe that. But do you see his point? Beset as we are by seemingly irreconcilable differences of race, class, economics, education, religion, we seem to have no means of healing our fragmentation. History ...

2409. Proper 22

Luke 17:1-10, 2 Timothy 1:1-2:13, Lamentations 1:1-22, Psalm 137:1-9

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

The Servant's Duty Question is sometimes raised about the lack of condemnation of slavery in the New Testament. Jesus never seems to have opposed it. In fact, in the parable about the servant's duty, Jesus uses the duties of a slave as a model. Elsewhere he uses the term for the proper relationship among persons, though it is frequently translated as servant rather than as slave. In a time when governments did not provide a safety net for the unemployed and people without land to farm or other means of ...

2410. Permission To Daydream

Joel 2:28-32, Joel 2:18-27

Sermon

Robert P. Hines

Manny pictured it in his mind. He would go to Harvard Law School and graduate with highest honors. He would come back home and run for office: mayor, state representative, governor, and finally, president of the United States. He could see himself doing important things in politics, helping people in significant ways. He would fight poverty, repair bridges and highways, clamp down on crime, and negotiate peace in different parts of the world. When he saw these things happen in his mind, a great big smile ...

2411. The Compelling Call

Drama

Karren Boehr

Theme: Paul: Apostle To The Early Church This set of four scenes is especially suitable to accompany a series of sermons or studies on the early church. The scenes carefully follow the scripture text while making the struggles of the early church, and particularly those of the apostle Paul, come alive. This drama is very useful for teaching profound Biblical truths, as God's plan for his church powerfully unfolds. These scenes can easily be produced on consecutive Sundays or used individually as stand- ...

2412. Just In Time

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Frank Luchsinger

A plane flies through the night. A winter storm howls as the pilot radios for meteorological information, trying to steer clear of the worst of it. All has gone well apart from the weather. The news that a heart was coming had reached the airport in plenty of time for the pilot to ready her plane for take off. By the time the ambulance arrived with sheriff escort, the engines were warm and ready to taxi onto the runway. The controller held air traffic as the two-engine craft sped down the runway and lifted ...

2413. Hard Questions!

1 Kings 17:7-24

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

Children sometimes ask cute questions, but often they are also incisive. In Children's Letters to God, a child inquires, "Dear God, Where does everybody come from? I hope you explain it better than my father. Ward." Another child queries, "Dear God, Did you mean for a giraffe to look like that or was it an accident? Norma." Then, there are those persons who, in the presence of larger questions, can think only of the obvious and mundane. Yellowstone Park Rangers report that, at the place where Old Faithful ...

2414. Jesus: The Only Way To God?

Acts 4:1-22

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

These words attributed to Peter, "There is salvation in no one else," raise a difficult issue. If one misunderstands, it could lead to the idea that the only way to know God is through Christ. This would be offensive to our many friends of other religions throughout the world. True, one can correctly infer from Peter's words that there is something unique about Jesus, something which makes the experience of a relationship with Jesus not only special, but according to those of us who lay claim to that ...

2415. Mary: After The Angel

Drama

Arlys M. Winkler

A Christmas Play Notes This play explores the thoughts and feelings of Mary, her peers, her parents, and Joseph as they learn that Mary is expecting a child. Each act takes place in someone's house, making the changing of props simple (for example: different tablecloths would signal a change of location). Programs could provide scene changes as well. Simple wooden tables and stools and costuming of the period are all that is needed. All scripture quotes are from the New Revised Standard Version of the ...

2416. Remembering The Saints

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Larry R. Kalajainen

There was a column in the New York Times on Wednesday, October 28, 1992, by Robertson Davies titled "Haunted By Halloween." After tracing the origins of Halloween to the ancient Celtic festival of the Death of the Year, and showing how the Christian church piggybacked the Feast of All Saints onto this pagan festival which marked both the death of the sun at the beginning of winter and the remembrance of their dead ancestors, Davies argued for a recovery of the best part of the ancient Halloween -- the ...

2417. Structure And Clarity

Sermon

Michael Rogness

I understand the stories the pastor told and thought they were interesting, but I couldn't see how the sermon fit together. -- A 15-year-old's comment during the writing of this book Many sermons with good material fall flat simply because the audience doesn't follow the flow of the message. With today's audience listening superficially with a short attention span, there are some basic principles one can use so that the sermon will be (a) heard, (b) understood and (c) remembered. Our View And Their View ...

2418. The Conversion of Saul

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

Saul's conversion is important to us because we are always wanting detailed accounts of the journey of those people who have become great or famous. They always fascinate us. We avidly consume all the minute specifics we can find about them, sometimes even stooping to seek out tidbits of gossip. We are titillated by the trivial. Why was Sir Winston Churchill buried in a small country cemetery rather than in Westminster Abbey? Why was Churchill born in the servant's quarters of Blenheim Palace rather than ...

2419. Our Own Mountaintop Walk

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

Matthias was the 13th of the 12 disciples! He had been chosen by lot to fill the 12th spot when Judas had removed himself from the close circle of Jesus' followers. Matthias had followed the crowds down from the Galilee and had been close to all the disciples through much of the teaching years. And so, with the casting of the lots that picked him, Matthias joined the inner circle of disciples. He was a serious man, trained in the religious law, and certain that Jesus was the expected Messiah. So certain ...

2420. Baptism of the Lord

Acts 10:23b-48, Isaiah 61:1-11, Isaiah 42:1-9, Psalm 45:1-17, Psalm 89:1-52, Luke 3:1-20, Luke 3:21-38

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The Baptism of our Lord received little or no liturgical attention in the predecessor lectionaries of the several churches; theoretically, it was one of three elements in the Epiphany celebration - Jesus' birth (and the visit of the wise men), his baptism, and his first miracle (sign) at Cana in Galilee. All of that changed with the adoption and appearance of the new lectionaries; the Book Of Common Prayer's lectionary is really the only major lectionary that doesn't mention the Baptism of ...

2421. Epiphany 2

John 2:1-11, Isaiah 62:1-12, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, Psalm 96:1-13, Psalm 36:1-12

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The Epiphany theme of the manifestation of God in Jesus is expanded in another direction on this Second Sunday after the Epiphany (once more, the Sundays ought to be thought of, if not actually named, as the Sundays of Epiphany), as Jesus' ministry is about to begin. The Gospel for the Day used to be the Gospel for the First Sunday after the Epiphany (Luke 2:41-52) in the classic, one-year lectionary; that, in itself separated Jesus' response in his ministry from God's action in his birth ...

2422. Finding Oneself in the Wilderness

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Thomas Slavens

In the narrative of the temptations, Jesus is seen in the wilderness, where he attempts to answer difficult questions regarding the shape and substance of his future ministry. The temptations of Jesus occurred in the wilderness following his baptism. Is that not true to all human experience? In our best moments evil stalks our trail. He was alone. Is that not true to experience, too? People face many of life’s experiences with others, but temptations are faced largely alone. Why did Jesus go into the ...

2423. Overcoming The Blues

1 Kings 19:1-8

Sermon

Robert Allen

For those of you who are football fans, you know that Lou Holtz is a football coach who likes to win. Every place that he has coached, he has taken the football program and turned it around. He built Arkansas into one of the major football powers in the nation. He was turning the program around at Minnesota when he was offered the position at Notre Dame. Notre Dame’s football program had been struggling for several years and Lou Holtz was hired to restore the “Fighting Irish” to their winning tradition. ...

2424. Recollections of Abdul, Camel Boy for An Eastern Potentate

Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:39-45

Drama

Robert A. Morgan

Dramatic Monologue I'm glad I'm home. That's the first thing for me to say. I'm really glad I'm home. What with one thing and another, there were many moments - even hours and days - when I was not sure I would ever see home again! And considering what home is for me now, and what home life is like now, it's a wonder I'm so glad to be back. But I am glad. For more reasons than I can count, I'm glad to be home again. The other thing for me to say right at the outset is that I'm glad I went. I am so very ...

2425. A Daffy, Magnificent Hope

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Sermon

They still tell the story at William and Mary College of daffy, magnificent President Ewell. For a century and a half, this prestigious Virginia school had been a leader among American universities. Then came the Civil War. In the hard days of Reconstruction which followed, William and Mary went bankrupt. Soon it had a deserted campus, decaying buildings, and no students. As with so many Southern schools, after that tragic war, it was written off as dead by everyone. Everyone, except its president. He had ...

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