Sermon and Worship Resources

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Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

It was the custom in my friend's church for many years to have a week of family camp in the summer. Families by the dozens packed their cars, vans, and SUVs and made their way to the camp for a week of fun, exercise, and inspiration. There were matins, a hearty camp breakfast, stimulating lectures and discussions, and lots of sports, crafts, and recreational activities. In the evening, appetites were ravenous and vespers were inspirational as they ascended the hill singing, "We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder ...

2. The Prodigal Daughter

Drama

Maxine Dudley

To Prepare: As the audience enters the church each participant is given half a red paper heart. On one side is written the name Jesus and the other side Father. (See page 18. Only found in the printed material.) Reflective music may be sung as participants enter. When all are seated, the Narrator introduces the service. Narrator no. 1: To begin our reconciliation service we will have a short play The Prodigal Daughter. This drama is taken from the parable "The Prodigal Son" and is adapted to include our ...

3. As I Am A Witness

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

Lori Wagner

…Watch —and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. (Habakkuk 5) I am he who testifies about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me. (John 8:18) Animation: show/roll photos of Hubbel photos on screen; show model of brain; show markings on bone The Hubbel space telescope has been seeking out and examining unknown universes with its multiple lenses for over 25 years now. First launched aboard the space shuttle Discovery ...

4. Profile Of A Savior

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Sermon

David J. Kalas

In the century and a half that cameras have been around, photographers have done us the great favor of capturing moments. Previously, artists could endeavor to recreate great moments on canvas, in wood, or in stone. Photography, however, enables us to capture the actual instant, and to show us certain individuals at significant and telling moments. In 1945, Alfred Eisenstaedt photographed the celebration of VJ Day in Times Square in New York City. With his camera, he captured the sight of a sailor ...

5. A Hall of Fame Dad

John 16:12-15

Sermon

King Duncan

Robert Lewis in his book Real Family Values tells a fascinating story about a remarkable, heartwarming discovery workers at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, Ohio, made in the winter of 1993. While renovating a section of the museum, they found a photograph that had been hidden in a crevice underneath a display case. The man in the picture had a bat resting on his shoulder; he was wearing a uniform with the words “Sinclair Oil” printed across his chest; his demeanor was gentle and friendly. Stapled ...

6. Getting the Face We Deserve

Exodus 34:29-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

What does a Christian look like? Does your face reveal your faith? At 50, it is said, everyone gets the face they deserve. What about you? Who among us over the age of 30 would dare go out for a day in the sun without a thick coating of sunscreen, SPF 15 at least, slathered on our skin. We might even add a stripe of neon colored zinc-oxide down our noses, plus a hat for good measure. Of course, for some of us the words of warning about over-exposure came too late. The damage has been done...we have, yes, ...

7. Resurrection

Acts 10:34-43

Sermon

King Duncan

A priest found a branch of a thorn tree twisted around so that it resembled a crown of thorns. Thinking it a symbol of the crucifixion, he placed it on the altar in his chapel on Good Friday. Early on Easter morning he remembered what he had done. Feeling it was not appropriate for Easter Sunday, he hurried into the church to clear it away before the congregation came. But when he went into the church, he found the thorn branches blossoming with beautiful roses. Welcome to this celebration of Easter Day. ...

8. A Winning Life

Hebrews 13:1-25

Sermon

King Duncan

If you could win an Olympic medal, which would you prefer the silver or the bronze? The answer appears obvious, doesn’t it? The silver is for second place; the bronze is for third. Or is it as simple as it sounds? Kent Crockett, in his book I Once Was Blind but Now I Squint tells about a surprising study of Olympic medal winners. You would assume that the silver medal winners would be happier than the bronze medalists since they received a higher honor, but that isn’t always the case. The bronze medalists ...

9. No Plastic Easter

John 20:19-23

Sermon

King Duncan

Author Sheila Walsh writes about her friend, Thelma, who has a fake garden. The thing is, Thelma wants a pretty yard without all the hard work that a garden requires, so she plants plastic flowers in her yard. The flowers look beautiful, and from a distance, no one can tell that they aren't real. But there are no honeybees in Thelma's garden. The bees learned a long time ago that although her flowers look pretty, they have no flavor or nourishment to them. (1) Reading about Thelma's fake garden reminds me ...

10. Living In The Spirit Of Faithfulness

Galatians 5:22-25, Hebrews 10:23-24

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A church secretary spent her vacation at the beach. As she sunned herself, a little boy in his swim suit approached her and politely asked her a series of questions. "Miss, do you believe in God?" The woman was taken aback a little but said she did. Then the little boy asked, "Do you go to church every Sunday?" The woman told the boy that she went to church every Sunday and even worked at the church during the week. The little boy persisted with his interrogation and asked, "Do you read your Bible every ...

11. A Question of Loyalty

Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

Lookout Mountain is a popular tourist destination located in the northwest corner of Georgia, just six miles from Chattanooga, Tennessee. From high atop the mountain, on a clear day seven states are visible with the naked eye. Most photographs fail to capture the beauty of this panoramic view. Information boasts of an unforgettable journey ... "where each step reveals natural beauty and wonders." Lookout Mountain also played a role in the American Civil War. Nearing the end of his life, Joshua called a ...

12. The World According to Paul

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

Book clubs have become quite popular in recent years, largely due to Oprah Winfrey and her outstanding selections of quality books. The Book of the Month Club has been around for generations, but did you know that book clubs originated in the seventeenth century?1 I certainly didn't. Some readers feel that novels are a waste of time when compared with nonfiction. However, our finest novelists have a keen insight into human nature and deal with theological topics and "Christ events" regularly in their ...

13. Mentoring Matters

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

A man, a woman, a house, and a pitchfork. All of you, I feel sure, have seen the oil painting titled American Gothic by artist Grant Wood. It's a Depression Era scene in rural Iowa portraying a stern-looking farmer holding a pitchfork and standing beside his morose, unmarried daughter. The painting has become a part of American popular culture, and the couple has been the subject of endless satirical depictions. They are not happy campers by any stretch of the imagination.1 Those of us who have photographs ...

14. The Question that Will Change Your Life

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you noticed there are all kinds of questions? There are silly questions and there are great questions. There was a comedian who was riding a subway into work. He had finished reading the morning paper and was saving it to bring to his friends at work. “How do you save a newspaper on the subway?” he asks. You sit on it. A new commuter came on the subway, saw the newspaper that the comedian was sitting on and asked, “Are you reading that paper?” The comedian stood up, turned the page, sat down on the ...

15. Renewal of the Covenant

Deuteronomy 29:1-29

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Summary and Renewal of the Covenant: In terms of the rhetorical nature of the book, Moses’ third speech to Israel begins here at 29:2 (which is 29:1 in the Hebrew text). In terms of the concentric structure of the book, we are still within what Christensen calls “the inner frame” (chs. 27–30), which is in a position corresponding to chapters 4–11 (cf. introduction, p. 4). And in terms of the message of the book, this section picks up and summarizes much of the earlier material, setting it once again within ...

16. Receive The Holy Spirit

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Larry Powell

"It is my heart-warming and world-embracing hope," said Mark Twain, "that all of us - the high, the low, the rich, the poor, the admired, the despised, the loved, the hated, the civilized, and the savage - may eventually be gathered in a heaven of everlasting rest and peace and bliss, except the inventor of the telephone." Mark Twain obviously held a great dislike for the telephone, probably because, among other things, it renders a person to be easily accessible, even when they prefer to be inaccessible. ...

17. Pentecost 24

Mal 1:6-14, Lev 2:1-16, Mic 3:1-12, Am 5:18-27, Ru 4:1-1, 1Th 2:1-16, 4:13-5:11, Mt 23 and 25:1-13

Sermon Aid

CSS

THEOLOGICAL CLUE If a congregation happened to be following the readings listed in Lutheran Worship, the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod's revision of the Roman Ordo and the LBW lectionary, the people would have caught the eschatological clue last Sunday; the Lutheran Worship lectionary follows the older Lutheran practice of abandoning the numerical progression of the Sundays in Pentecost and assigning the same three sets of readings - always eschatological - for the last three Sundays of Pentecost. The ...

18. Where Have All The Heroes Gone?

Hebrews 11:1-40

Sermon

King Duncan

A certain Eskimo man was taken on one of the expeditions to the North Pole a number of years ago. Later, as a reward for faithful service, he was brought to New York City for a short visit. He was amazed at what he saw. When he returned to his native village, he told stories of buildings that rose into the very face of the sky; of streetcars, which he described as houses that moved along the trail, with people living in them as they moved; of mammoth bridges, artificial lights, and all the other dazzling ...

19. Memorial Day

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Angela Akers

Greater love has no man than this . . . The Civil War ended in 1865. But it wasn't until 1997 that the last shot of that war was fired. In 1997, two young boys were playing around with their new Christmas present, a metal detector. Using their new toy, they came across a live shell that dates back to the Civil War. The boys, Michael and Andrew Zimmerman of Winchester, Virginia, didn't know what the shell was at first. Neither did their uncle, Michael Robinson. He reports poking and banging on it as he ...

20. Tackling Troubles Triumphantly

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Today, we start a journey through one of the most misunderstood--but most marvelous and meaningful--books in the New Testament, the Epistle of James. James is called a general Epistle, which means it is not written to a specific church community, but rather to the Christian Community at large. While it was designed to appeal to Christians in Jerusalem in 52 A.D., its message still speaks to us today with penetrating power and purpose. It offers wonderful words of wisdom for the Christian’s walk and witness ...

21. The Ministry of Fading

John 12:20-36

Sermon

Robert Noblett

We could spend our sermon time talking with you about John's Christology and how our text indicates Jesus' understanding of his impending death, but after a brief period, I would begin to see in some of your eyes that glazed look that would tell me you had gone off to a faraway place. It's true; this text is about Christology, but a Christology that comes with our names on it too. Says Jesus, "Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also" (v. 26). Read this to mean: "What ...

22. What Is Required of Us?

Matthew 5:17-20

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

“I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them.” In a message titled Seizing Your Divine Moment Erwin McManus speaks of his son Aaron: “One summer Aaron went to youth camp. He was just a little guy, and I was kind of glad it was a church camp. I figured he wasn't going to hear all those ghost stories.... But unfortunately, since it was a Christian camp and they didn't tell ghost stories, because we don't believe in ghosts, they told demon and Satan stories instead. And so when Aaron got home, he was ...

23. My Precious, My Precious

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Who would have thought that a public television show about the junk, or, excuse me, family heirlooms cluttering up everyone's closets, attics, and basements would turn into one of the hottest TV shows going? What's the name of it? Anyone? It's my favorite TV show. That's right: Antiques Roadshow. Antiques Roadshow is now a classic treasure itself, having been public televisions' biggest audience grabber for over a decade. It's even spawned dozens of spin-offs and copycats, and made the Keno twins (Leigh ...

24. The Family Album

1 John 3:1-3

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A mother realized that she had never shown her four-and-a-half-year-old son her own baby pictures. After going through the family photo album and showing the pictures to the little boy, he said, "If those are your baby pictures, where are the dinosaurs?"(1) In John Steinbeck's great novel, THE GRAPES OF WRATH, a migrating "Okie" family is told not to waste vital packing space on photographs and other items of family history and memories. One of the family members objects and asks, "How will we know it's us ...

25. Condition Yellow Christians

John 5:1-15

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

In every family album, there is always the same picture. It’s one of the most prized photographs in every collection. It features one of the most joyous, unforgettable moments in any parent’s life. It’s the moment when that first child, your tiny, newborn baby, is gently placed in your arms. As you look at your child, such tremendous emotions crowd your heart and mind — love, hope, joy, gratitude, peace, anticipation, wonder. But there is one more revelation that new Moms and Dads don’t usually expect. ...

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