Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: beginning, start, origination, genesis, birth, dawning, dawn, emergence, inception, launch, creation, birthplace, cradle, early stages, conception, inauguration, foundation, outset, source, derivation, root, roots, provenance, etymology, descent, ancestry, parentage, pedigree, lineage, line, line of descent, heritage, extraction, background, family, stock, blood, bloodline, genealogy, beginnings

Antonyms: end, conclusion, termination

Showing 1 to 25 of 255 results

1. A Manger is Christ’s Cradle

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

... is almost the end of the fourth act, but not quite. This is where we come in. We have heard the beautiful story and we ponder its meaning in our hearts. We have sung the angels’ song this night, we go to his Table, remembering his birth in that manger-cradle, to greet him whom we know as Lord. And Christ himself, the crucified and risen One, the Savior of the world, comes to us with the gift of himself. We join the shepherds, as we leave his Table, and go out to tell the world the good news - Christ is ...

2. A Cross In A Cradle

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... The socks were well worn, holey socks that became holy socks in a different way. A discarded cardboard box was used for the cradle. Everything was falling into place, and the prisoners were excited about the play. Then someone asked a question about the baby. What ... That did not keep him from writing, "Joy to the World, the Lord Is Come." God does not promise things will be easy. There is a cradle in our faith; there is also a cross. But there is one thing more to be said: THE PROMISES OF GOD ARE NOT TO BE ...

3. The Hopes and Dreams of God

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... the matters. "Thanks be to God for his indescribable Gift" first laid in a manger, then hung on a cross and laid in a tomb. But now crowned in glory, alive in our hearts and in our lives . That's the Hope and Dream of God, that Christ will be Cradled in our hearts, that we humbly accept his gift of salvation, forgiveness and mercy bought with the cross, and that we let God twist the crown of thorns into a crown of glory by crowning Christ, Lord of our Life. That's what this season is all about..... 1. The ...

4. In Defense of the Offense

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Sermon

James Merritt

... without the crown the cross is meaningless. Because if Jesus had not been raised from the dead, it would have been proof-positive that He was a liar and not the Lord, and not the Savior of the world. But without the cross both the crown and the cradle are needless. In the cradle Jesus was born the Son of God. At the tomb Jesus was raised King of Kings. But it was at the cross that Jesus became the Savior of the world, and I not only need a risen Lord, I need a crucified Savior. It is Christ crucified not ...

5. The Three Poison Pills of Position, Prestige, and Power

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Brett Blair

... is so much more reward in reaching out to others? Perhaps you have heard the beautiful children's story about the three trees? The trees were talking in the forest one day about their dreams for the future. The first tree said it would like to be made into a cradle, so that it might go on living as a support for the fragile life of a tiny new baby. The second tree wanted to be made into a big ship, so that it might go on living, carrying important cargo and influential people to exotic new lands. The third ...

6. Transformed By A Babe

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... . So they proceeded to whitewash them. Afterward they mended the windows and draped them. Because the baby needed to be quiet at times, the men remained still and ceased some of their rough language and rowdy ways. When the weather permitted they took the cradle out to the mines and discovered that the mining area had to be cleaned and flowers planted to make the surroundings as lovely and as attractive as the baby. Finally the men began to improve their personal appearances. Thus the coming of a baby ...

7. Fingerprints on the Chalice

Luke 22:7-38

Sermon

Steven Burt

... , a breast removed by surgery, the only way to deal with her cancer. As the minister stands in front of her and bends down, her long thin fingers receive the bit of bread from his thick fingers. Her hands shake as she reaches forward, one hand cradling the other, offering it support. She doesn’t remember the juice or the blessing. All she hears is her name and the words, “My body, broken for you,” as if fresh and for the first time, “My body, broken for you.” She bites down alternately on ...

8. A River Of Destiny

Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

Susan Hedahl

... and even the demons cried out, "The Son of God!" We see in the waters of the Jordan, the reflection of the One who came as a Child to redeem and to calm the trouble waters of our lives. We see the child become adult, taking up life where the cradle leaves off and the road to the Cross begins. John was the last of the line of the prophetic voices. God would speak in John and then the final word in Jesus would be spoken. John is a reminder that Advent has a somber side. That while we rejoice in ...

9. Christ The King

Colossians 1:15-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... time of hostilities there, he made it a point to go to the hospitals and talk and pray with those who had been wounded. One day as he was visiting a hospital, he met a boy who was lying face downward in a canvas cradle because his spine had been shattered by a bullet. A hole had been cut in the bottom of the cradle so the soldier could see through to the floor. While Graham was talking to him, the young soldier said, "I would like to see your face, Mr. Graham." Billy Graham got down on his back under the ...

10. O Holy Nightmare

Matthew 24:36-44

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . We need to expose the fakery of this holy nightmare for what it is, a garish production with no Christ in it. Two little girls were looking with their mother into a department store show window at a Nativity scene. A group of shepherds were kneeling around an old rustic cradle. Mary was sitting beside it with a smile of contentment on her face as she rocked an empty cradle. As the mother pulled the children away, in dismay the youngest girl said to her sister, "They forgot to put the baby Jesus in the ...

11. Christ the Apple Tree

Isaiah 11:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of Christ by festooning trees with apples of life, even while we remember that it will also be a tree that will serve to crucify him. Consider the story of the three trees talking among themselves about their futures. The first said it would like to be made into a cradle, so that it might go on living as a support for the new fragile life of a baby. The second tree wanted to be made into a ocean-going ship so that it might go on living carrying important cargo and seeing new lands. The third tree longed to ...

12. Live the Lullaby

Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... song first recorded 1784) or Paul Simon’s lullaby written for his son “St. Judy’s Comet”.] I suspect that everyone here has noticed that the actual words of some lullabies aren’t always all that comforting think “down will come baby, cradle and all.” But the cradling arms and rocking-chair rhythms in which these songs were sung created a safe, special place for a fussy infant. In this week’s gospel text we heard the first hymn of the new age. Jesus’ birth announcement came in the form of ...

13. God's Power Over Death

Exodus 1:1-22, 2:1-10

Sermon

Steve Burt

... she's got to do something, and that's when she and her daughter (Moses' sister) cook up this plan. They waterproof a wicker cradle to transform it into a miniature Noah's Ark. Into it goes baby Moses. They place the wicker basket in the reeds at the water' ... 's an Egyptian and, perhaps even worse, she's Pharaoh's daughter. Will she defy her father's directive? Will she push the cradle out into the Nile and watch it either sink below the surface or float downstream? Will she summon her guards? What will the ...

14. Making Christmas Last

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Brett Blair

... at Christmas and the need to bring family together to celebrate our Savior’s birth, I fear as a culture we have once for all closed the book on the tragic chapter which places the Galgothic Cross ominously over the Bethlehem cradle. In the words of those two paintings over the Bethlehem cradle there is the “Shadow of the Cross.” Going in debt to buy Christmas presents and innocuous carols Chestnuts Roasting on an open fire just do not go over well when the story of Christmas is joined with a Savior ...

15. Away with the Stable

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

... Instead of teaching the theory of preaching, he decided to teach his students about feelings. He said, "I tell them to pay special attention to those times when they find tears in their eyes." That's where Christ is born. If we want Christ to be born in the cradles of our hearts, we might do well to look for him in those experiences which cause emotions to surface in our eyes and in our hearts. If we want a new awareness of Christ's birth, we might give attention to those times when our heart skips, a knot ...

16. Small-town Revolution

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

Susan Hedahl

... mother sweeping their small Nazareth home all day because she had lost a precious coin her uncle had given her. He still remembered the celebration they had had at the supper table when it was finally found. The road to Bethlehem eventually returned to Nazareth. In its cradle of human community, Jesus grew "increased in wisdom and years and in favor with God and humanity" (Luke 2:52 RSV). And as he did, his Mother, Mary, continued to think of her Child’s destiny and to repeat the song of praise to God. We ...

17. To Our Heart’s Content

Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

Susan Hedahl

... of the child and venturing out. What will this year bring? If last year was difficult, will this one be better? Will our prosperity continue? What resolutions have been forged in our hearts for the new year as we leave the child’s cradle? There are some here who will not see another Christmas. There are others yet to enjoy their first Christmas. And all of us bear in our hearts the desire for lives made meaningful by the Bethlehem Child. We leave with the gifts, accompanied by this Child, for adventures ...

18. Facing the Glory Road

Matthew 20:17-19

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... effort or struggle. The memory of that peaceful, prenatal existence lingers, the theory tells us, in the unconscious, and there is the desire all through life to get back to it, to that peaceful, passive paradise. Life in this world is a battle from the cradle to the grave, from the womb to the tomb; and something in us is unwilling to face the hard fight. It is forever seeking some prenatal shelter of security or fantasy or escape. Well, don’t say that that psychological argument is farfetched. Whole ...

19. On the Night when He Was Betrayed

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... Christ must be affirmed even though it cannot be fully explained. According to Luther, when Christ says, "This is my body," he may be compared to a mother who points to the cradle in which her child is lying and says, "This is my child." Christ does not mean to say that the bread is his body any more than the mother implies that the cradle is her child. But "in, with, and under" the elements of bread and wine the glorified resurrection body of Christ is present. In this glorified state the body of Christ is ...

20. Good Friday: The First Word

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... in the form of a Cross on the wall behind him, making his tool rack appear as a horizontal bar on which his hands have been fastened. The tools look like the nails and pallet used to nail him to the Cross. Make no mistake about it--from the cradle, the Cross cast it''s shadow over him. Someone picked up on that symbolism and wrote: "Whenever you have the choice of two roads, take the road on which the shadow of the Cross falls." Charles Wesley was one who must have traveled the road on which the shadow ...

21. Three Modern Meanings of the Ancient Christmas Story

Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... you choose the ending to it. You can keep it fenced in by Thanksgiving and New Year, and keep the babe of Bethlehem in the cradle forever, or you can let Him grow up and call you to follow Him. The choice is yours!" (3) I am thankful and indebted for ... through the corridor of time have made the positive response and choice to offer their lives to the Christ Child who crawled out of the cradle onto the Cross for you and me. I am thankful for all the "Barrys" of the world who might look like a disaster to the ...

22. First Light

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

... were they going to do with a baby? They made a crib out of an old box lined with dirty rags. The box was not good enough or clean enough to hold a baby. A cradle was purchased from a town 80 miles away, and they placed the baby in it. Beautiful blankets were brought in from Sacramento and placed in the cradle. The miners noticed that the shack where the baby was kept was filthy, so they washed the floor, walls, and ceiling. Nice curtains were installed on the windows. Life began to change in Roaring Creek ...

23. Death Leads to Life

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... . It had grander ideas for its beauty. But the woodcutters made it into a manger and sold it to an innkeeper in a small town called Bethlehem. And when the Lord Jesus was born, he was placed in that manger. Suddenly the first tree realized it was cradling the greatest treasure the world had ever seen. As the woodcutters cut down the second tree, they said, "We will make this into a fishing boat." The woodcutters did as they planned and a man named Simon Peter bought it. And when the Lord Jesus needed a ...

24. And the Word Is...Love

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... in that wedding party was saying, ‘Look at them now. She can’t even respond.’ And the tears welled up in their eyes as they realized that life doesn’t always play out as you plan. You can run into problems you never dreamed of encountering. "That husband, cradling his wife of fifty years, earned a Ph.D. in loving," says Tom Tewell. "He finished the race and kept his vows. He cared for his wife until the end." (5) The word is love. Can you love like that husband loved? Can I? God does, but can we ...

25. A Celebration of Love

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... tiny head upon the man’s ragged shoulder. The man’s eyes closed, and I saw tears hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of grime, pain, and hard labor--gently, so gently, cradled my baby’s bottom and stroked his back. No two beings have ever loved so deeply for so short a time. I stood awestruck. The old man rocked and cradled Erik in his arms for a moment, and then his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said in a firm commanding voice, "You take care of this baby." Somehow I managed, "I ...

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