Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1 to 25 of 928 results

1. When “Vocation” and “Vacation” Are One

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... be better. But the answers are not over the hill; our problems are not solved by escaping our side of the hill. There is nothing wrong with going over the hill and getting away. But the answers are found when we do not escape but engage; when our vocation and vacation become one. The answers are not on the other side of the hill. The answers are not on this side of the hill. The answers are on the hill: “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills; from whence does my help come? My help comes from the Lord ...

2. Jesus' Vacation

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Will Willimon

... and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." No wonder that these are some of the most beloved of all Jesus' words. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden. Here is an invitation to vacation, sabbatical, Sabbath in the deepest sense of the word. In even the most invigorated life, there comes that day when our noble career in teaching means just one more lecture. Our interesting job in sales means one more dingy airport. About three in the afternoon, when your ...

3. God Doesn’t Take Vacations

John 5:1-15

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... was my day off.” The parishioner sniffed, “Day off? You know the devil never takes a day off.” Smiling, the pastor replied, “That’s perfectly true. And if I didn’t take a day off once in a while, I would act just like him!” Because God doesn’t take vacations, we can, secure in the knowledge that God is at work, even when we are not. Now, this is not a plea for laziness. I am not talking to those folks who haven’t lifted a finger for the Kingdom of God in forty years. I am talking to those ...

4. Vacation Overload

Humor Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

There were four couples who rented a summer house for two months. Each couple took their two week vacation there and took the combined thirteen children of the four families with them. One couple was bragging on this clever plan to a friend when the friend said, "I don't think of two weeks in a cabin with thirteen kids to be much of a vacation." "Oh no," they replied. "Those two weeks were absolutely terrible. The vacation was the six weeks at home without the children."

5. Two-Week Vacation

Humor Illustration

... underlings. I'll wait until the manager returns." "Very well," responded the secretary as she returned to her work. After an hour passed, the salesman became impatient. Authoritatively he wanted to know, "How much longer do I have to wait? Demurely the secretary answered, "About two weeks. He went on vacation yesterday."

6. Vacation Vexations

Humor Illustration

Milton Klamen has compiled a list of what he calls "Vacation Vexations" (Or, Words We Wish We'd Never Heard): "The car needs a tune-up, but we can get one on the road. They cost about the same everywhere." "The heck with reservations! We're sure to find a place." "I know we have only a quarter tank of gas, ...

7. Summer Vacation

Humor

"Mummy," said the little boy, "why does the minister get a month's vacation in the summer when Daddy only gets two weeks?" "Well, son," answered Mother, "If he's a good minister, he needs it. If he isn't, the congregation needs it!"

8. Vacation Definition

Humor

Vacation: When you spend thousands of dollars to see what rain looks like in a different part of the world.

9. The Poor's Vacation

Humor

This summer one third of the nation will be ill-housed, ill-nourished, and ill-clad. Only they call it a vacation.

10. Hungering for Some Time Off

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Sermon

King Duncan

... seeking to be famous, but their ministry was attracting a lot of attention anyway. So they couldn’t exactly get away and rest as Jesus had intended for them to do. Now I’m sure that most of you have experienced what it’s like to have your vacation interrupted. It’s very frustrating, isn’t it? And I’m sure that when the disciples saw the crowd waiting for them on shore, their hearts sank. They probably felt a lot like modern celebrities who have to beg reporters to leave them alone for a day or ...

11. Missional Discontinuity

Mark 6:30-44, Mark 6:45-56

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... things that we do every time we go there. Yeah, I even like those “stay-cations” where you do local things that you never get a chance to do, like go to the Underground Railroad Museum, the Art Museum, or the Aquarium. I don’t think I ever met a vacation I didn’t like. And, according to the experts who measure and keep track of such things that makes me healthier, smarter, happier and more productive than those who martyr themselves on the altar of their job.3 Another minister I know who likes ...

12. A LITURGICAL DRAMA FOR PENTECOST

Drama

Tom Eberle

... . Voice 4: That isn’t funny. Voice 2: If you don’t mind my saying so, you aren’t very funny either. For someone starting a vacation, you don’t sound like there is going to be much pleasure in it. Voice 4: I’m sorry I’m not passing out roses. Let’ ... to the three of you going nowhere. Voice 4: What kind of a game is this? Can’t a person be left alone to enjoy a vacation? I have ten days to myself in Bermuda and I don’t want to be bugged. Voice 3: You certainly get annoyed easily. Voice 4: Now ...

13. When Compassion Overcomes Irritation

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... of our daughter’s and who was going to accompany us as we went to the East Coast. We were showing our doctor-friend around the trailer, and he was admiring the little nooks and crannies - amazed at how much stuff you could take with you on vacation. Then his eyes fell on a shelf of rather heavy (in more than one sense) books of theology I had planned to take along to read. Without further ado, he picked up the shelf of theological books and unceremoniously dumped them outside of the trailer. “You’re ...

14. Still in One Peace

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... or the water. We too need to "come apart so that we don't come apart" (as many have put it). The life of faith is finding the unique personal rhythm of sitting and stirring. It will be different for all of us. But a disciple need never take a vacation from the vocation of Christ's yoke of love, sacrifice, fulfillment, and grace. Our work is our play - our identity as disciples of Christ is our rest from a world of weighty burdens, and our work for the continuing incarnation of the kingdom of God and love of ...

15. Joy Is for Leaping

Song of Songs 2:8-13

Sermon

Donna Schaper

... time of singing has come and in the background, singing with us, we hear the voice of turtledoves. Smack dab in the middle of this springtime symphony, the fruit comes to the fig tree. As the melody of spring increases, we are to "arise and come away." Why is vacation so important to people? Or is it just an idea whose time no longer comes? Why is spring so important to people? Do we still know just how deep the cycle of nature is? Or have we forgotten to note the ripeness of figs, given the packages we can ...

16. Desperate Times Call For...

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... don’t always call for desperate measures, but desperate times always call for Jesus. 1. https://www.blacktomato.com/us/get-lost/. Cited in “7 Travel Companies That Plan Mystery Vacations” by Megan Michelson, Outside Online, May 16, 2019, https://www.outsideonline.com/2396380/mystery-surprise-vacation-companies. 2. David Guzik, Enduring Word Commentary, https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/matthew-15/. 3. “3 people in the Bible who showed exceptional faith” by JB Cachila, Christianity Today ...

17. Apples and Teachers

Mark 6:34

Children's Sermon

... him around because they liked him to be their teacher so much. Jesus got tired just like we do. He needed time to rest, too. But every time he tried to get away to rest for just a little while, they followed him. So Jesus didn't get much vacation at all. Our verse says that Jesus taught them many things. What do you think he taught them? (Let them respond.) He taught them to love. He told them stories about people and how they should treat each other. He taught them by example. That means he showed them ...

18. Balancing Act

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon

King Duncan

... spirits. We need to shut the world out and focus our attention on God's presence in our lives. Jesus knew the value of getting away to a quiet place. Most of you have built in some time to get away this summer. Some of you are recovering from your vacation right now. You've gone back to work to rest up. And to build your bank account back up. Leisure is getting more and more expensive, isn't it? One comedian said he saw this sign at an amusement park that said, "You must be this rich to ride this ...

19. Prime Time Waiting

2 Peter 3:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... goodness. That's why we pray. We sing. We decorate our homes and churches. We make ourselves feel differently by the way we act differently. So take an Advent vacation this year. You say, "vacation?" How is Advent like a vacation. How? The term vacation comes from vacate - which we usually understand as a description of emptying out something. But when we take a vacation it isn't just an empty time. It's instead a time for healing activity, intentional creativity, heightened expectancy. Take a great Advent ...

20. Family Reunion

Genesis 29:15-28

Sermon

Will Willimon

... along in the water but, in reality, the baby gets sick on the first night in the motel, the pool at the motel is out of order for July, the rental car breaks down in the desert at noon, your teenagers pout for the entire two weeks of the vacation, making everyone as miserable as they are. Families! And today in Genesis, here's Jacob. He's still on the run after duping his poor, dumb brother Esau out of his birthright. Last Sunday Jacob had an incredible experience as a ladder was let down from heaven and ...

21. Forced by the Spirit

Mark 1:9-13

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... Costumes: Contemporary, office Time: Today Cast: Karen Sharon KAREN: (ENTERS ALONG WITH SHARON) So, did you have a good Time on your vacation? We saved a lot of work for you. SHARON: My vacation was terrible. KAREN: That bad? SHARON: It sure was. KAREN: You went to the perfect vacation spot -- the tour brochure said it was "the garden spot. The perfect place for a relaxing vacation." SHARON: More like a wilderness than a garden. KAREN: What could have gone wrong? A wilderness? SHARON: Yes, a wilderness. Let ...

22. Still Waters

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... never be so busy serving God we don't have time to know and experience God. It is almost impossible to worship a God that you don't really know. I remember once hearing my wife say after being on vacation for ten days, "We need a vacation to recover from the vacation." Vacations are for rest and a change of pace and routine, not an extension of an already hectic pace. The Christian writer, Gordon MacDonald, shares that "God built a rhythm of rest and work into human existence." Gordon further writes, "Rest ...

23. Choosing to Be Grateful

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

... when you become aware of the gifts of God’s that are all around you, if only you will open your eyes to perceive them. How easy it would have been to complain about the rain, the wind, and the storm, which at one level turned our week’s vacation into a bust! Instead, I felt God was nudging me to open my eyes and my heart to the blessings of a bald eagle, the smell of savory food, a loving spouse, and a safe and secure anchorage. Gratitude is something you choose. Karl Barth, the great twentieth-century ...

24. Promises Kept In Unusual Way

Jeremiah 23:1-8

Sermon

Robert P. Hines

... them load the car, and sent them on their way. He promised to join them when he could. He went back to his job and worked all day and all night to finish what had to be done. Then he jumped on a plane and flew to the family's vacation destination. He took a cab and had the driver let him off on the road he knew his family would be taking. There he stood for several hours, waiting for their car to come by. When he saw it, he held out his thumb and hitched a ride with his ...

25. Mary Has Chosen The Good Portion

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

W. Robert McClelland

... He disintegrated mentally as well as physically and soon died in a nursing home. His identity was tied up in his work. Even vacation leisure time can be a problem for those addicted to work. One summer another couple joined my wife and I for a ... was worrying about the corn back home. The weeds might be infesting his fields. His neighbors might be saying he was lazy. For him, the vacation was a bust. He and his wife went home three days early. He could not stand idle time. So, along with Martha, we ride off ...

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