Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 36 results

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

April Yamasaki

To share about her ministry in Japan, one mission worker often wears a kimono -- a beautiful floor-length robe with wide sleeves that's tied at the waist with a sash called an "obi." Her outfit is both an example of Japanese culture and an object lesson that she uses to explain Colossians 3:14: "Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony." In the Jap...

2. An Uncomplicated Gospel

Galatians 1:1-10

Sermon

April Yamasaki

Dear John, I have decided that I can no longer see you. Our relationship has ended, and I wish you well in your future. Good-bye, Jane Whether you've ever written or received a "Dear John" or "Dear Jane" letter, the basic outline and intent is clear. It begins with a basic greeting — not "Dear Johnny" or "Sweetheart" or some other form of endearment, but simply "Dear John." There is a very bri...

3. But When God ...

Galatians 1:11-24

Sermon

April Yamasaki

In the early Christian church, there were no pulpits. It wasn't until the Middle Ages that pulpits were first introduced in churches and not until the Protestant Reformation of the 1500s and 1600s that the pulpit became a central symbol for the authority of scripture and the preaching of the word. But it hasn't always been that way. Instead, the very first Christian churches were house churches, w...

4. Facing Death

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

April Yamasaki

“That was a good funeral.” Before becoming a pastor, I wouldn’t have understood what she meant, but now I could agree with this senior member of my church. We had just said goodbye to one of our dear saints who had been an active volunteer in the church and community until she had fallen ill, who had remained on good terms with all of her family who surrounded her with love and care, who had been...

5. For All the Saints

Colossians 1:1-14

Sermon

April Yamasaki

What picture comes into your mind when you think of a saint? Is it a portrait of a medieval saint with a golden halo? Or a cartoon character wearing a white robe and carrying a harp standing on a cloud? Is it a solemn picture of someone dressed all in black with a pinched look of long-suffering on his or her face? Do you automatically think to yourself, "It's hard to be a saint — but it's even har...

6. Forgiven

Matthew 28:1-10

Sermon

April Yamasaki

Instead of making new year’s resolutions, each year I like to choose a key word to help set my direction for the coming year. One year I chose “wonder,” which for me meant being curious, exploring new things, and asking questions. It meant being filled with wonder at God’s creation and work in the world and in my own life. That year it seemed as if the word had chosen me, for as soon as I settled ...

7. Framed by Love

John 14:15-21

Sermon

April Yamasaki

On my writing desk at home, I have a framed photo of my husband taken a number of years ago. It’s a simple head and shoulders pose on a plain background in a slender gold-toned frame from a drug store. In other words, objectively speaking, the photo and its frame are really nothing special. They have no particular artistic or monetary value in the marketplace. Yet no matter how full my desk gets ...

8. Free Indeed!

John 8:31-36

Sermon

April Yamasaki

"War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength." In George Orwell's novel, 1984, these slogans are used to control the thoughts of the people. While their country was at war, the people were deceived into thinking it was peace. While they were kept subservient, they thought they were free. While they remained ignorant of what was really going on in the world around them, they thought the...

9. Freedom Calling

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

April Yamasaki

Free! No obligation, no sales person will call! Free! Don't miss this opportunity! Free! Two sets for the price of one! In the world of advertising, something is free if you don't have to pay for it; if there's no money down, no payments to make; if you get something for nothing — or at least two for the price of one! Galatians 5:1, 13-25 describes a different kind of freedom. It isn't free in th...

10. Getting the Big Picture

Romans 8:14-17

Sermon

April Yamasaki

A "global positioning system" can tell you the fastest way to drive from Point A to Point B — which streets are one-way only, which streets to avoid due to construction or too much traffic, where to park once you get where you're going. Like a street map, it can show how the roads run north, south, east, and west; which roads are dead ends, or go over a bridge; how they curve and then straighten o...

11. God’s Chain Reaction

Romans 5:1-5

Sermon

April Yamasaki

In 1980, NBC introduced a new television game show called Chain Reaction. Since then, the show has appeared in different forms, but the main idea has always been for different teams to fill in a chain of words. For example, the first word in a four-word chain might be "light," the last word "spring," with the team needing to guess the two words in-between. In this case, "light" comes from a light ...

12. In the Wilderness

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

April Yamasaki

In Hannah Hurnard’s classic allegory, Hinds’ Feet on High Places, little Much-Afraid leaves her home in the Valley to journey to the High Places at the invitation of the Great Shepherd. In the High Places she would finally be delivered from all her fears, her crooked feet made straight, and she would be transformed into Grace and Glory. As she travels, she passes through lovely meadows filled with...

13. Jesus' No-Nonsense Guide to Being Rich

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

April Yamasaki

How would you like to be rich? The Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol has offered a $10,000,000 Prize. A recent email read, "Want a six-figure second income? Get rich now!" A local financial institution was giving away copies of the international bestseller by David Bach: The Automatic Millionaire: A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich. Many of these offers go straight to my recy...

14. Jesus' No-Nonsense Guide to Discipleship

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

April Yamasaki

Where's Waldo? In this series of children's books by Martin Handford, Waldo is a cartoon-like young man wearing a bright red and white striped shirt and a matching cap. On each set of facing pages, Waldo appears in different colorful situations, and each time, children are asked to find him. Sometimes there are other characters wearing caps, or other objects that might be striped red and white de...

15. Jesus' No-Nonsense Guide to Success

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

April Yamasaki

What does success look like to you? Winning the championship over all the other teams in your sports league? Checking off every item on your to-do list? Getting that new job or promotion you were hoping for? Putting the kitchen in order after making a homemade meal from scratch? To James and John, success looked like sitting next to Jesus, each on one side of their Lord, basking in his reflec...

16. Jesus: The Original Superhero?

John 18:33-37

Sermon

April Yamasaki

When Warner Brothers released the latest Superman movie, part of its promotion included a special online Pastor Resource Site on the Man of Steel. Critics complained it was one more blatant Hollywood attempt to use pastors and churches to market a movie, complete with free screenings for pastors, sermon notes, and movie clips. Promotion aside, is it even appropriate to compare Jesus to Superman? E...

17. Living with Integrity

Galatians 2:15-21

Sermon

April Yamasaki

"Justification by faith" — to a theologian these words express one of the most basic principles of the Christian faith. But to many people today, they're simply one more example of Christian jargon that seems to brand the church as too complicated and out of touch for our time. Is it real? Is it relevant? Does it matter? To the apostle Paul in our scripture reading for today, "justification by fai...

18. No Reason to Worry

Matthew 6:25-33

Sermon

April Yamasaki

One year, a friend decided to give up worry for Lent. Other years she had tried giving up chocolate or coffee, but instead of focusing on a physical habit, she decided to tackle her habit of being anxious. Instead of worrying about her family, she would pray. Instead of taking her work problems home with her, she would shut them up in her office and refuse to worry about them. Instead of being anx...

19. No, We're Not There Yet

Mark 13:1-8

Sermon

April Yamasaki

Over the years, many people have speculated about the end of the world and the end of time. Will there be a great war? A great earthquake? Will there be a sudden rapture where the faithful suddenly vanish as Hal Lindsay once predicted in The Late Great Planet Earth? Will it be as Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye describe in their best-selling Left Behind series? Would the end come in 2011 as American ...

20. On Not Giving Up

Galatians 6: 7-16

Sermon

April Yamasaki

A word of encouragement came from an unlikely source the other day in a television interview with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The former football player, wrestler, and now actor was asked about a low time in his life when he was very discouraged about his career and future. "How did you make your way back from that?" he was asked. The Rock replied, "You have to put yourself out there. You have to...

21. On the Mountaintop

Matthew 17:1-9

Sermon

April Yamasaki

Whenever my husband and I see a movie in a theater, we’re generally the last to leave. Other movie goers have already gathered up their coats and left the building. An usher stands waiting to pick up any litter and get ready for the next show. But we’re still in our seats, savoring the closing music and watching the credits roll. After the big-name stars, we like to see what other names we might r...

22. Praying All the Way

John 17:1-11

Sermon

April Yamasaki

If you could ask Jesus to pray for you, what would be your prayer request? One on-line prayer wall invites anyone to pray and lists the following requests: Please pray for jc and lb. They need to communicate and have forgiveness. Direction for my family, mental health completely restored, protection for my son, and direction for a job where God wants me to serve. Please pray that my mom gets bet...

23. Sent

John 9:1-41

Sermon

April Yamasaki

Last week a friend sent me a copy of her recently released book. When I opened the outer package that gave my address, I discovered another layer of wrapping, this time brown craft paper adorned with a golden leaf and a brief handwritten message in green ink. On the back, a sticker matching her book cover completed the package. Her book was so beautifully presented that I hesitated to unwrap it ...

24. Sing Praise

Colossians 1:15-23

Sermon

April Yamasaki

Theologian Karl Barth was once asked to sum up his life's work. Instead of quoting from one of his many books, sermons, or university lectures, he responded with the words of a children's song: "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so." Whether we sing a children's song like "Jesus Loves Me," or a great hymn of the church like "How Firm A Foundation," the songs we sing can express w...

25. The Lazarus Experience

John 11:17-44

Sermon

April Yamasaki

One of Rembrandt's early paintings is The Raising of Lazarus, an oil painting that's just over three feet high and just under three feet wide. To the lower right, there is Lazarus -- half lying down, half sitting up, just starting to rise. Crouched around him, half bent over with grief and growing wonder, are his two sisters, Mary and Martha, and some of the people who had come to comfort them. St...

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