Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2451 to 2475 of 4490 results

2451. My God, My God, ... Why?

Mark 15:33-41

Drama

Setting: There is a cross in the front center stage. Only the backlights are on. See diagram on page 50 (in printed version of this book only) which shows actors’ paths across the stage. The centurion is standing holding a spear. Mary Magdalene is the least obvious and is standing or leaning against a far wall. Joseph of Arimathea is seated under the back lights which have cast the cross and the two other witnesses in silhouette. Each character speaks in turn, but oblivious to the others. Text: Mark 15:33- ...

2452. A Brass Cross and a Barometer

Luke 6:1-11

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Did you read in the newspaper a few months ago about the little first-grade boy who kissed a little first-grade girl at school? We're not sure what got into him, but he gave her a little peck on the cheek. A teacher witnessed the incident and reported it. In a monumental display of bad judgment, the principal suspended the boy for three days for sexual harassment! When people think only of rules and eliminate common sense, bad things happen. Some people are incurable rule makers. Such were the Pharisees of ...

2453. For Christ’s Sake, What’s Going On?

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

"There’s no fight like a church fight," someone once told me. Unhappily, that’s proven true time and again. Of all communities, you would think (or hope, at least) that congregations organized around the cross of Christ would be exemplars to the world. We have the promises, the hope, and the forgiveness God gives to his own select community. For heaven’s sake, it ought to make a difference in the way we live, at least within our own redeemed community. But someone else once pointed out to me that Satan isn ...

2454. Christians Die Well

Acts 7:54--8:1a

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a murmuring against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, "it is not desirable that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ...

2455. The Stiller of Storms

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

Then he (Jesus) made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, ...

2456. Forgive To Be Forgiven

Genesis 50:15-21

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil which we did to him." So they sent a message to Joseph saying, "Your father gave this command before he died, ‘Say to Joseph, Forgive, I pray you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.’ And now, we pray you, forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also ...

2457. Solomon’s Search

2 Chronicles 1:1-17

Sermon

Richard F. Bansemer

The sermon is based on the question asked of Solomon by God in the seventh verse of the first chapter of 2 Chronicles: "In that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, ‘Ask what I shall give you.’ " Imagine yourself alone at night in your own home. Your wife or the husband is gone for the evening, visiting with family in another city. All the kids are elsewhere. It’s been a strange kind of night for you. You watched a little television but found it silly to watch by yourself. You started into a ...

2458. Telling the Right Story

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

George Bass

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, "Thou are my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased." The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to him. Now after John was arrested ...

2459. The Strength of Poverty

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Hubert Beck

"If poverty is strength, may the good Lord make me weak!" I can hear the idea running around in your head from the time you read the title of today’s sermon. This sermon title sounds every bit as upside down as the Beatitudes that we read as today’s Gospel or as the Second Lesson for today. "God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things ...

2460. The Gospel According to Christ’s Enemies

John 11:1-16

Sermon

Richard Hoefler

John begins his story, "A man named Lazarus, who lived in Bethany." "Lazarus" means "God helps," and "Bethany," some scholars suggest, is a figurative play on the word that means "House of Affliction."1 Thus the plot of the story is prepared for us. God helps a man in a house of affliction. All of us dwell in that same house, and our affliction is that, like Lazarus, one day we will die. We will be struck down, carried out, and placed in a tomb. It will be sealed with a stone of sorrow. And the haunting ...

2461. Leah

Genesis 49:29--50:14

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

An elderly woman of keen mind and understanding heart stood gazing at Whistler’s portrait of his mother. "It’s a remarkable painting of a lovely lady," murmured the viewer, "but there is too much peace and calm to be the likeness of a real mother." To be sure, serenity and tranquility are marked qualities of motherhood, yet there has been far more sorrow, pain, and discord in the long history of women than the pacific sweetness of "Mother Machree" would indicate. Ours is a world which traditionally has not ...

2462. The Time of Our Visitation

Sermon

Leonard Mann

You know how it was that Jesus of Nazareth began his career as a teacher and public figure in Galilee. You know how John came out of the wilderness and preached to the people who gathered around him on the banks of the Jordan. You know how for many long centuries the Jewish people had looked for the coming of their Messiah. When John appeared, their scholars speculated that perhaps this impassioned wilderness man might, actually be the Expected One. They sent their representatives to inquire of him ...

2463. The Sabbath - Delightfully Different

Exodus 20:1-21, Mark 2:23-3:6

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

I grew up in a Methodist preacher's home. Papa was strict about the Sabbath Day. No work was allowed on Sundays. When Mama pointed out to him that cooking and cleaning were work, Papa knew he was cornered. So, he took us out to lunch on Sundays, but he felt bad about making the restaurant personnel work on the Sabbath. Papa did not like the idea of watching television on Sundays, but I noticed that he often peeped at the TV late on Sunday afternoons when his beloved Washington Redskins were playing ...

2464. The Road To Emmaus

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Brett Blair

A friend shared with me a beautiful legend about a king who decided to set aside a special day to honor his greatest subject. When the big day arrived, there was a large gathering in the palace courtyard. Four finalists were brought forward, and from these four, the king would select the winner. The first person presented was a wealthy philanthropist. The king was told that this man was highly deserving of the honor because of his humanitarian efforts. He had given much of his wealth to the poor. The ...

2465. A Gospel that Fills the Glove

Sermon

James Bjorge

I was sitting in my office staring blankly into space. Then my leather gloves which had been thrown on my desk caught my glance. They were limp and lifeless. I reached over and picked one of them up and slipped my right hand into it. The gloved filled out. I flexed my hand - the glove moved. It was filled with life. My mind began to dance with the thought of God coming to earth to slip into the gloves of human lives. He came to fill them out so they would pulsate with life ... so they could be and do ...

2466. Christmas Concern

Sermon

James Bjorge

The other morning after picking up the mail at the post office there was an abundance of Christmas cards. Later on in the morning I was sitting in my church office and the coffee urge arose in me. So I called my wife and announced, "Say, wife, I’ll be home in a few minutes for some coffee and Christmas cookies ... and, by the way, I picked up the mail and there’s a real bunch of Christmas greetings." She replied, "Great, see you soon!" I couldn’t help but retort, "Are you glad because you will see the mail ...

2467. The Forgiving Father (Father's Day)

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Brett Blair

I heard a minister say one time that in his younger days, when his children were small, he would have family meetings. These meetings were to discuss chores, and family matters, trips, etc. Yet, he admitted, when he would call these meetings, the expression on his children’s faces would usually be: “what have we done wrong, now.” Finally, he said, my wife pointed out to me that the tone in my voice when I called these meetings was very serious, the same tone that he used when he disciplined his children. ...

2468. Facing Life’s Central Tests

Mark 14:32-42

Sermon

Robert Allen

It was a beautiful spring afternoon in Eastern Oklahoma when my secretary told me that Oleatha was on the phone. Oleatha was 67 years old and she had been having problems. She often became confused. She had a tendency to forget. Once, she had gotten lost going from church out to her home on a bluff that overlooked the lake. At the insistence of her family, she had gone through a battery of medical tests. The reports were in and Oleatha wanted me to come by and visit her. When I drove into her driveway, I ...

2469. The More Excellent Way

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Robert Allen

The 1988 Winter Olympics were marked by controversy for the U.S. team. The controversy centered around the fact that we had not won as many medals as expected. In fact, the last time we had done so poorly was in 1936. We won a few medals, and those winners have become household names. Debi Thomas went head to head with the East German, Katerina Witt, and came away with only a bronze medal, Bonnie Blair won the gold medal in speed skating as well as a bronze, Brian Boitano picked up the gold in figure ...

2470. It Isn't Fair!

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

Brett Blair

One day a rich young ruler came enthusiastically running up to Jesus and asked: “What must I do to be saved?” Jesus answered: Keep the law. “This I have done from my youth up,” came the reply. Yet one thing do you lack said Jesus. Go and sell all that you have and give it to the poor. Then come follow me. We are told that the young man walked away sorrowfully, for he had great wealth. Concluded the Master: It will be hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. The disciples had been watching the ...

2471. Call Waiting

1 Samuel 3:1--4:1

Sermon

Frederick C. Edwards

Samuel was one of those children born rather late in the life of a woman who dearly wanted a child. To have a child was Hannah’s most earnest prayer. Indeed the writers of the scriptures regarded a child born late in life as an indication of God’s special favor. Hannah, Samuel’s mother, must have thought so too, and while he was still an infant, as soon as he was weaned, he was offered into the service of the Lord in thanks to God for his birth. That’s how it happened that this young boy named Samuel came ...

2472. And Now For Something Completely Different

Isaiah 43:14-28

Sermon

Frederick C. Edwards

At the end of a week-long retreat in a mountain camp setting a somewhat different kind of worship service was taking place. It was at the end of a day that had been set aside for introspection and talking about feelings of self-worth. There had been some discussion about how to deal with feelings of guilt and the need to feel forgiven, and how it is often easier to forgive someone else than to forgive oneself. Since this was a retreat of church people there was frequent reference to the forgiving nature of ...

2473. Knowing the Secret

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Thomas Long

One of the decisions every good storyteller has to make is when to tell the story’s secret to people. Every story has a secret, and the spinner of tales has to decide whether to let them know about the secret early in the story or to surprise them with it at the end. Mystery writers often hold back the secret until the last chapter, keeping us eagerly turning the pages to discover who really poisoned the heiress or pushed Colonel Whitington down the elevator shaft. The same is true of soap operas. "Will ...

2474. A New Temple Shall Arise

John 2:12-25

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

The young girl lay bound on the altar. It was she who was chosen to be a sacrifice made to the gods on behalf of the people this year. She was terrified. She watched every movement that the priest made. At the climax of the ceremony he moved toward her with knife held high. Terror flooded her consciousness. And the knife came down. It plunged into her heart. She died in a moment. Her blood flowed over the altar. The major sacrifice of the year was now complete. The people breathed a great sigh of relief. ...

2475. The Good News of the Cross

Hebrews 4:14-5:10

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

Do you love God? Wait a moment. Wait a moment before you answer, and think, because you are in danger of perjuring yourselves. Quite frankly, I’m deeply suspicious of people who are always running around saying how much they love God. You see, I remember the words of our Lord: "You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you when he said, ‘This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’" I am confronted with the fact that such a man as Saint Paul was constantly tortured by the ...

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