Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2451 to 2475 of 2844 results

2451. Are You Swapping Heaven?

Matthew 3:1-12

Illustration

King Duncan

Let me tell you a legend about a beautiful swan that alighted one day by the banks of the water in which a crane was wading about seeking snails. For a few moments the crane viewed the swan in stupid wonder and then inquired: "Where do you come from?" "I come from heaven!" replied the swan. "And where is heaven?" asked the crane. "Heaven!" said the swan, "Heaven! have you never heard of heaven?" And the beautiful bird went on to describe the grandeur of the Eternal City. She told of streets of gold, and ...

2452. John 1:29-42

John 1:29-34

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

When dinosaurs roamed the earth — you know, forty years or so ago — kids played a game called “gossip” or “telephone.” Sitting in a circle the first person whispered a secret message into the ear of their neighbor. The game was the comparison of the first and last message. By the time the message was whispered into the ear and passed along to each progressive person, the final reported words bore almost no resemblance to the initial whisper. The text message world makes this game less applicable today, ...

2453. Was There No Other Way?

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

King Duncan

Are you familiar with the legend of the robin? According to this tale the robin was originally a little brown bird. That is, until Good Friday the FIRST Good Friday. On that dark day this little brown bird saw a man nailed to a cross, slowly dying. He was all by himself . . . and there was no one to help him. The little brown bird began trying to free the man from the cross. The bird flew around and around until he found a way to remove a thorn from the crown of thorns that circled the man’s head, and in ...

2454. Playing the Blame Game

John 9:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

A little girl was riding along on her bike when she bumped her head on a low hanging branch of a tree. She ran into the house crying, “Mommy! Mommy, Joey hurt me!” Her mom looked up from what she was doing. She said patiently, “Sissy, Joey didn’t hurt you. Joey’s not even here. He went to the grocery store with your Dad.” The little girl got a startled look on her face. Then in a bewildered voice the little girl asked, “Does that mean stuff like this can happen on its own at any time [with no one being at ...

2455. It's Not Fair!

1 Peter 2:13-25

Sermon

King Duncan

Strange things happen in this world. Surely you’ve noticed that. There was a news report about two motorists who had a head-on collision and I do mean a head-on collision. It happened in heavy fog near the small town of Guetersloh, Germany. The two motorists were guiding their cars at a snail’s pace near the center of the road in the dense fog. Each of them had his head out of the car window trying to see. And yes, before they realized it, they smacked their heads together. Both men were hospitalized with ...

2456. Because I Live (Memorial Day)

John 14:15-31

Sermon

King Duncan

Actor Martin Sheen is known for his deep religious and social convictions. Some of you will remember him best for his role as President Bartlett in the television show “The West Wing.” Sheen shared with motivational speaker Tony Robbins an interesting story about something that happened to him while he was making the movie Apocalypse Now. The cast had been filming under a grueling schedule deep in the jungles of the Philippines. After a restless night, Sheen woke up the next morning and realized he was ...

2457. God’s Most Troubling Promise

Romans 8:28

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever noticed that life is full of challenges? Have you noticed that, sooner or later, all of us are going to have some pretty steep mountains to climb? I heard about a woman named Jill whose car was unreliable. She called her friend John for a ride every time her car broke down. One day John got yet another one of those calls. “What happened this time?” he asked. “My brakes went out,” Jill said. “Can you come and get me?” “Where are you?” John asked. “I’m in the drugstore,” Jill responded. “And ...

2458. Riff-Raff

Mark 2:13-22

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Do you remember The Wonder Years on television? It was all about the trials and tribulations of growing up in the '60s. In one episode, two of the youthful heroes were coming into the school cafeteria — "Where do you want to sit?" one asked the other ... a critical decision for these two seventh graders. Their anxious faces surveyed the options. Over here were the "cool" kids; over there were the "smart" kids; along the wall were the "greasers"; the "nerds" were in the back. It was a big decision. After ...

2459. 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 ...

2460. 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 ...

2461. Ephphatha...Be Opened

Mark 7:24-37

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Our text introduces us to a remarkable woman. She is courageous. She is clever. She is cool. But most of all she is a loving momma who will do anything to help her sick baby girl. The story itself has always been one that I would just as soon skip over because, at first blush, it makes Jesus come off like some insensitive jerk. This does not sound like the Jesus I know. In fact, I wonder why such a story was preserved in the gospel record anyway. But then the lectionary drops it in our homiletical lap and ...

2462. Jesus and Divorce

Mark 10:2-16

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Tough text. In generations past, this would have provided no problem for the preacher — Jesus says, "No divorce," the church says, "Amen" (along with most polite society); case closed. But these days, things are different. Jesus still says, "No divorce," but only part of the church says, "Amen," while other parts say, "We are not so sure" (and polite society says, "Mind your own business"); case not closed at all. I recall a conversation at our dinner table one evening years ago that was so bizarre I ...

2463. The Living Advent Wreath (The Manger: White Candle of Peace)

Luke 2:1-7

Drama

Frank Ramirez

Note: Pilgrim and Guide have minimal singing parts. Attendant carries the candlelighter and lights the candles in the Advent wreath each week. Faith, Hope, Love, and Trust, representing the four candles of the Advent wreath, enter one per week, then remain through the final weeks. They have mostly singing parts. Mary, Joseph, and Infant have nonspeaking parts and are seated behind a curtain in the final week of presentation. Cast Pilgrim Guide Attendant Faith Hope Love Trust (three people) Mary Joseph ...

2464. A Whole City at The Door

Mark 1:29-39

Sermon

Robert J. Elder

One of my all-time favorite church magazine cartoons pictures a physician in his office, speaking with his bookkeeper. The subject of their conversation is a patient's bill, which apparently had been in the accounts receivable file for a long, long time. The bookkeeper says to the doctor, "He says that since you told him his recovery was a miracle, he sent his check to the church." Our passage from Mark touches on the subject of miraculous healing. This early sequence of events in Jesus' ministry seems to ...

2465. Looking Up: Looking Out

Mark 9:2-9

Sermon

Robert J. Elder

This passage serves as a gift to the church as we prepare to enter into the season of Lent beginning with Ash Wednesday this coming week. At the outset, it is important to realize that this fantastic vision of the transfigured Jesus follows upon the hard prediction Jesus made concerning his own death: Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. — Mark 8:31 Any ...

2466. Out of Control

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

There is a marvelous miracle described in Willa Cather's book, Death Comes for the Archbishop. In the story, Father Junipero and his friend, Father Andrea, set out on a journey through a Mexican desert with bread and water for one day. On the second day, they are beginning to lose heart when, near sunset, they see in the distance three very tall cottonwood trees. They rush toward the trees and see a little house. An old Mexican comes out of the house, greets them kindly, and asks them to stay the night. ...

2467. Tough Talk for Tentative Disciples

John 6:56-69

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

Many years ago, a missionary society wrote to David Livingstone, a Scottish Presbyterian pioneer medical missionary in Central Africa, and asked, "Have you found a good road to where you are? If so, we want to send other men to join you." Livingstone wrote back, "If you have men who will come only because there is a good road, I don't want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all." Every ministry and every ministry leader in the history of the Christian faith has faced tough times. Usually ...

2468. The Thing about Laws

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Steven Molin

Our nation has a lot of stupid laws! For example, in North Dakota, "Beer and pretzels cannot be served at the same time in any bar or restaurant." In Alaska, "It is illegal to push a live moose out of a moving airplane." In Florida, "If an elephant is left tied to a parking meter, the parking fee has to be paid just as it would if it was a vehicle." And if not the most bizarre, then certainly the most obvious; In Alabama, "It is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while driving a vehicle." But did you ...

2469. Dividing Walls

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

Gibson “Nibs” Stroupe

"Welcome to the center of the world!" This is the message of the first chapter of Ephesians. The author of Ephesians has told the Gentile-based churches that they have been brought into the center of all that is — in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the rest of this letter, he will be seeking to tell them the meaning of this great news. He wants to stress that this relocation of themselves by God's motivating grace means that they are called to change the way they understand their ...

2470. Love That Surpasses Knowledge

Ephesians 3:14-21

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:17b-19) Burned into my memory is the image of my father, a few days before his death, clinging to his well-worn King James Bible. It was the source of his inspiration, the place where his favorite scripture passage was ...

2471. The Tongue Is Mightier than the Sword

James 3:1-12

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

Has anything ever gotten you into more trouble than your tongue? Have you ever wished you could take something back after you had said it? Oh, let me confess, I only ask this rhetorical question because it has happened to me. I know the sense of shame and regret at having spoken too soon before I could stop myself. Someone has said, the tongue weighs practically nothing, yet so few people can hold it. One of the quotable sayings, which I try to live by, is a statement made by Socrates: "It is better to ...

2472. Romans 13:8-14

Romans 13:8-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

As we move into the final section of Paul’s exhortation, the apostle uses a brilliant segue to move his message along. Paul had already interjected into the midst of his discussion about Jesus attitudes and actions a parenthesis about governing authorities and paying debts and taxes. Now that seemingly odd interruption is neatly used to return the reader to the theme of “love” begun in 12:9. Christians are to “pay to all what is due them” (v.7). But Paul contends there is one “debt” that disciples of Jesus ...

2473. A Christmas Program

Luke 2:21-40

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

Narration: We begin our Christmas worship and pageant tonight with the wondrous images of Luke, chapter 2, dancing in our eyes and warming our hearts. We gather to worship. We gather to honor. We gather to celebrate the birthday of Jesus at Bethlehem, the Messiah, our Christ. Christmas Puppet Play (skit provided below) Narration: Jesus Christ is the gift of gifts. How amazing when the prophets Isaiah, Micah, and others foretold of the coming of the one who would bring deliverance to the people of Israel. ...

2474. 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 ...

2475. Who Am I?

Acts 8:26-40

Sermon

Ken Lentz

Back in the '60s, a real "hip" kid attended the morning service of worship at an upper-class church. The pastor greeted him at the door. The groovy kid grabbed the minister's hand and said, "Dad, I really dug that sermon!" The staid pastor was taken by surprise and said, "Young man, I don't understand." The beatnik answered, "Dad, I really ‘went' for that sermon; it really came down the middle, man, loud and cool; it was like, gone, man." The minister's dignity was rattled and he decided to confront the ...

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