Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1 to 25 of 334 results

1. Being Set Free

John 8:31-41

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

Today’s Gospel promises us freedom, if we will truly be disciples of Christ. In fact, Jesus promises that if we will learn, know, and follow the truth, we will be set free. Remember, however, first we must become disciples. Jesus tells us that to be a real disciple is to accept what he says about how great God is and how terrible sin is, and what the real meaning of life is. When we do this, we are starting to take the role of discipleship. In order to be a disciple, we are told to remain in the word. The ...

2. When Life Gets Hard, Christian, Rebel!

Lamentations 1:1-22

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

Jerusalem, the great capital, was in ruins. The Babylonians were in control. It was the beginning of the famed Babylonian Captivity. All the symbols of power, wealth, prestige, and influence were gone. No wonder so many Hebrews were in despair and that songs of lamentation like the one we just read as today’s First Lesson were composed and long remembered. Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever felt that life’s moorings had been cut loose? Maybe it was the loss of a dear loved one, a child gone bad, a ...

3. The Secret Of Champions

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Last week we asked where have all the heroes gone? This week, "The Secret of Champions." If this all seems a little too upbeat for you, blame the writer of the letter to the Hebrews. Who can help standing a little straighter and stepping a little higher after reading the eleventh chapter and the first part of the twelfth chapter of this great book? First of all, the writer lists the great heroes of the Bible in chapter eleven and then he says, "THEREFORE, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of ...

4. Running For Joy

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

[Pastor, this self-deprecating introduction is for a non-runner. If you are a runner, you will want to introduce the sermon in a different way.] This morning our theme is "Running for Joy." Most of you don't know that I'm a runner. [Pause.] Of course I don't run five miles any more. [Pause.] Not that I ever ran five miles at any one time. [Pause.] Actually, five miles is the aggregate of a life time of running. [Pause.] Running looks like hard work to me---especially marathons. I read recently a statement ...

5. Focus on the Finish

Hebrews 12:1-2

Sermon

James Merritt

It was Mexico City 1968. John Steven Akhwari of Tanzania had started the Olympic marathon with all the other runners hours before, but he finished it alone. When he finally arrived at the stadium there were only a few spectators remaining in the stands. The winner of the marathon had crossed the finish line over an hour earlier. It was getting dark; his right leg was bandaged and heavily bleeding. He was obviously in great pain, but he crossed the finish line suffering from fatigue, leg cramps, dehydration ...

6. When Losing Your Baggage Is a Good Thing

Hebrews 12:1-2

Sermon

James W. Moore

Some years ago we took a group from our church on a tour of the Holy Land. We were there for ten days and it was wonderful. Dr. Jim Fleming led the tour and he is amazing. He is a great Bible scholar, a respected archaeologist and he lives in Jerusalem six month of each year, so he knows the land, the languages, the customs and the culture incredibly well. All of that put together gives him keen insights into the teachings of Jesus and the truth of the Bible. On top of all that, he never gets tired. He is ...

7. Ready For The Great Race

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

There are certain texts in the Bible that have a built-in excitement about them. There is no text more exciting than this morning ™s. Imagine if you will a great grandstand-the largest grandstand ever constructed-larger than that erected for the Kentucky Derby or the Indianapolis 500 or any Super Bowl. This great stadium is filled to capacity with spectators come to witness a racea race with vital consequences. At the starting block of that race are you and I. All eyes are upon us as we begin crouching ...

8. Chapter IV

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

"Remember the sabbath day, to set it apart for holy purposes. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh (day) is a sabbath to the Lord your God. In it you will not do any work, you or your son, your daghter, your male servant or your female servant, or your beast of burden, or the resident alien who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh (day). Therefore, the Lord blessed the sabbath ...

9. Heroes of Faith

Hebrews 11:29 – 12:2

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A father was sitting on the floor with his three boys getting ready for bedtime prayers. The two older boys were having an argument about their action figures. The issue was whether Superman was better than He-Man. One boy said that Superman could fly, the other countered that He-Man had bigger muscles. And so it went, back and forth, while the youngest boy, Nicholas age four, just watched. Dad turned to Nick and asked: "So who's your hero, Nick?" Without batting an eye, Nick tilted his head, gave Dad one ...

10. Collection and Travel Plans

1 Corinthians 16:5-18, 1 Corinthians 16:1-4

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

Big Idea: Because the Christ communities in Corinth serve a Lord whose household stretches around the world, their local communities are members of a global community. With this come special relationships, privileges, and responsibilities for “brothers and sisters” who serve the same Lord (or Patron). Understanding the Text Paul has concluded his major discussions and is now rounding out his letter with a series of remarks on issues that just need a brief comment. Before his final remarks and greetings in ...

11. Let the Journey Begin

Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

Dean Lueking

Another Lenten journey begins this Ash Wednesday. A Tradition to Cherish I say, another, because for many the keeping of Lent is a treasured tradition, and these mid-week hours set aside for worship and prayer are a blessing year after year. We journey toward Easter. The purpose of these forty days of spiritual preparation is to hail again the decisive deed of God for the redemption of the world and the renewal of our lives in Christ's grace. May it be so for you, and for countless others of the Christian ...

12. Stone Testaments

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Mark the milestones in your life journey. [Note: This is an interactive, experiential, participatory sermon. You will need to arrange ahead of time for a flower or stone for every person, which is given to them with their bulletins. And you will need a musician, preferably a cellist, who will be a secret partner with you for this experience. The fewer the people who know what you are going to do, the better. The element of surprise is key to the narrative.] Have you ever had this experience? You arrive ...

13. Got Milk?

1 Peter 2:1-3

Sermon

James Merritt

His name was Howard Hughes. As an aviator, he once held every speed record of consequence and was called the world's greatest flyer. At various points in his life he owned an international airline, two regional airlines, an aircraft company, a major motion picture studio, mining properties, a tool company, gambling casinos and hotels in Las Vegas, along with a medical research institute and a vast amount of real estate. He dated some of the most beautiful Hollywood stars of all time. When Howard Hughes ...

14. Staying Focused--Traveling Light

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

Eric Ritz

I think most of you would agree that we live in a sports-oriented culture. Even the average athlete makes more money than the President of the United States, and most college coaches make more money than the professors who teach at our universities. Yes, every Saturday and Sunday there are athletic events that have the capacity to attract millions of folks to stadiums, golf courses, and race tracks. These athletic events also have a way of attracting the headlines of the morning newspapers even when we are ...

15. The Incarnation: What and Why?

Hebrews 2:10-18

Sermon

James L. Killen

We have just remembered again the beautiful story of the birth of Jesus. We have been reminded of the miracle of the virgin birth. Most of us have been satisfied just to remember and wonder and enjoy. But there is a meaning behind that event that we need to know. Christian scripture and tradition tell us that, in the birth of Jesus, an aspect of God's own being took flesh to dwell among us as one of us. One of our favorite Christmas carols has us singing, "Veiled in flesh the God-head see; hail incarnate ...

16. Binding Up the Fractured World

1 Corinthians 3:1-23

Sermon

Hubert Beck

The universe is held together in a most remarkable unity. When one reads scientific descriptions of how everything works, whether it be in the cosmic dimensions of the heavenly bodies or whether it be in the mini-dimensions of the atom, one is overwhelmed with wonder. What keeps everything together and holds it in its place? Why doesn’t it fly off into every direction and dissolve into absolute chaos? We know, of course, for it is part of our confession of faith, that somehow we tie all this to the work of ...

17. Recognizing His Disciples

John 13:31-35

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

Recognition of people, places, and things is a fundamental prerequisite of successful living. We count on signs to guide us. Most of us take it for granted. We move through life in various speeds and count on our powers to recognize who and what is about us. It is so simple and pervasive that we hardly notice. The obvious is with us and yet is it so obvious? Our talents of interpretation and, yes, our prejudices are sometimes awkwardly there for all to see. We can never be quite sure how others will ...

18. Eliphaz's Third Speech to Job

Job 22:1-30

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

No Gain for God The “third dialogue cycle” begins again with Eliphaz and his response to Job. He begins with a series of rhetorical questions that recall the tactics of his earlier two speeches (4:1–5:27; 15:1–35). In those utterances Eliphaz sought to undermine Job’s claims of innocence by arguing that no human can be declared innocent before God (4:7–9, 17–19; 15:14–16). Since even the angels—who stand above humans in Eliphaz’s understanding of creation order—are charged “with error” by God (4:18–19; 15: ...

19. The Council at Jerusalem

Acts 15:1-21

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

The acceptance of the Gentiles into the church without the necessity of circumcision (with the implication of submission to the whole law) might seem to have been assured after the conversion of Cornelius and his friends. At that time, even in Jerusalem, the bastion of Jewish tradition, those Christians who had met to consider the matter had agreed that God had “granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life” (11:18), though they probably never dreamed that this would be anything more than an exceptional ...

20. 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 ...

21. Death, Risk, and Confidence

Matthew 10:24-39

Sermon

Tom Garrison

I shall never forget a most vivid pastoral encounter that I had. There was a fine older member of the church who was terminally ill with cancer, and since he would never be able to come and meet me, I went by his home to meet him. Although we had never met before, I suppose my role prompted him to get right to the central issue of his concern at that moment, which was with the whole experience of death. He wanted to know what I believed lay beyond the experience of dying. He was concerned about guilt and ...

22. A Cloud Of Witnesses

Hebrews 12:1-3

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Last week was actually All Saints Sunday and because of our Stewardship Campaign we kind of set it aside. But, I think it is an important Sunday in the life of the Church and in our personal Journey of Faith so we're going to celebrate it today. All Saints Sunday is a day to remember those people who have been a major influence in our life of faith. If we put it in terms of our Running on Faith study, we might think of these people as the Road Signs along the way for all of the individual saints in our ...

23. Dealing with Depression

1 Kings 19:9-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

One of the reasons I love the Bible is that it is not afraid of the truth, even the sometimes sordid truth about its heroes. Abraham was a liar. Jacob was a thief. Moses had a murderous temper. King David was an adulterer. Heroes of the faith, everyone of them, but the Bible refuses to gloss over their shortcomings. It shows them "warts and all." We find another "wart" in our lesson from I Kings - one of the greatest of the prophets - Elijah. To briefly recount the background of the story, three years ...

24. The Main Business of the Church

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

Alice Lee Humphreys in her book Angels in Pinafores tells about her experiences as a first grade teacher. She tells about one little girl who came to school one winter day wearing a beautiful white angora beret with white mittens and a matching muff. As she was coming through the door, a mischievous little boy grabbed the white muff and threw it in the mud. After disciplining the little boy, the teacher sought to comfort the little girl. Brushing the mud off of her soiled muff, the little girl looked up at ...

25. Romans 13:8-14

Romans 13:8-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Today’s epistle text breaks into two distinct parts: verses 8-10 and 11-14. Verses 8-10 continue the theme Paul introduced in chapter 12, here masterfully connected to the more mundane matters of the disciple’s relationship to civil authorities. Paul accomplishes this high-wire walk with one balance-beam line: “Owe no one anything, except to love one another.” The fiscal accountability the apostle advocated in 13:7, “pay to all what is due them,” is transformed into an ethical mandate for everyone. “All” ...

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