Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 36 results

Isaiah 9:2-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... was being composed. It first appeared in a small Lutheran book of worship. Shortly thereafter, someone placed the name of Martin Luther on the bottom of the page. This led many people to think that Martin Luther composed the hymn. But Luther died two hundred years before this carol was written. Still, it is a beautiful expression of faith. It begins like this: Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, The little Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head. The stars in the sky looked down where He lay, The little Lord ...

2. Christmas Carols · Away in a Manger

Luke 2:1-20

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... : A cradle Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you know what this piece of furniture is used for in the home? That’s right, it is a baby bed. Although very few of them are used today, it was the inspiration for one of our favorite Christmas carols. There was a man named Martin Luther who was a famous leader, teacher, and preacher who loved to write hymns. Usually he wrote hymns that made the whole church shake when the organ boomed out the notes. He liked hymns that told of God’s power and might ...

3. Mary's Song

Luke 1:46-47, 52

Sermon

Will Willimon

... and the very first to believe. As Martin Luther once said in a Christmas sermon, three miracles occurred at Christ's nativity: God became human, a virgin conceived, Mary believed. For Luther, the greatest miracle that first Christmas was the last ... as others will weep for Mary's son. But for now, her faith enables Mary to sing. And your life too, is not all Christmas Carols and joy. Dark, cold January days lie just beyond our yuletide gladness. The days grow short, the nights are long. But for now, our faith ...

4. Joy to the World

Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

... on the organ, for we are going to sing a song. What song shall we sing? We could sing Martin Luther's hymn of the Reformation, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." Maybe a hymn by Charles Wesley, such as "And ... a minute! Did I hear you correctly? You want to sing a Christmas carol? Don't you realize that Christmas is over? Don't you think maybe it is time to put the carols away for another year?" It's time to sing a Christmas carol. What carol should we sing? Shall we sing Phillips Brooks' "O Little Town Of ...

5. The Ear of the Heart

Philippians 2:5-11

Sermon

Dr. Ronald Love

... songs. After being turned away by several recording studios, ABC-Paramount invited her to record four songs. Five decades later we know her as Carol King who has over twenty solo albums. At the age of 71, King was the first woman, on May 22, 2013, to receive Library ... hymns from Hebrew and Greek into Latin, a language in which his congregants were familiar. Luther expected parishioners to learn to sing. Luther required all worshipers to attend singing practices during the week, so they would be prepared ...

6. Be Near, Ye Faithful

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Sermon

Ronald Love

The origin of this well-known Christmas carol O Come, All Ye Faithful remains a mystery. For several hundred years it was maintained that it was written by a ... It was now possible for the laity to read the Bible for themselves. It was also here that Satan continually attacked Luther, trying to prevent him from completing his translation of the Bible. It is here that we have the famous story that Luther finally became so angry at Satan that he threw his inkwell at him. If you would visit the castle, even today ...

7. The Autobiography of God

John 14:5-14

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... clear, honest Christian witness. When next Christmas rolls around, I invite you to listen carefully to some of the carols you hear played quite thoughtlessly in department stores and shopping malls. Yes, I know that most of the arrangements ... eyes of faith He was the very incarnation of the living God. A decision had to be made about Him...and has to be made. Martin Luther loved the paradox: “Come and see God where he is made smallest—in a manger,” he said. “Come and see God where He is made humblest ...

8. No Time for a Sermon

Hebrews 1:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the message of the Hebrews writer this morning. We need say only that one thing. And that is enough. It is Christmas. Sing the carols. Light the candles. And celebrate the fact that Jesus is here. He has come. He has come into everything that exists, and into everything ... -links which he lavished on parishioners. He drew out of rocks and roses spiritual lessons he wanted to pass on. If Luther felt an associate was a better preacher than he was, he would insist that the congregation got the best sermon from ...

9. The Child of Promise

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... by false beliefs. We can be grateful for that. Luther would say that we should be thankful for all the scientists who help us to understand better the world in which we live. Luther would add we should bask in the light those learned ... own is to know and to have God in our hearts. One Christmas carol which captures that truth so poignantly is “Once In Royal David’s City,” sung with purity in the Service of Lessons and Carols each Christmas Eve in the King’s Chapel at Cambridge, England. The third ...

10. I Am Forsaken

Psalm 29:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... these either, though a message on either of these would certainly be appropriate--especially with the impending celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. There are other phrases, however, that should never pass through the lips of followers of Christ, though ... Channing," she asked, "do you remember the most embarrassing moment of your life?" "Yes, I certainly do," said Carol. "Next question?" Embarrassments happen. Heartaches happen. Sorrows happen. Life throws us difficult pitches. And every once in a ...

11. God's Christmas Tree

1 Peter 2:24

Sermon

James Merritt

... decorated a small Christmas tree with candles for his children to show them how the stars twinkle through the night. Martin Luther was actually the first person in history that brought the Christmas tree from the outside to the inside. How does ... remember His birth? We make such a big deal at Christmas and nobody enjoys Christmas more than I do. Nobody likes the lights and the carols and the decorations and the gifts and the parties and the celebration more than I do, but Jesus never asks us one time to ...

12. Surprised By Christmas

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... same before he realized what he was saying. It wasn't Christmas. It was February. Then the man began singing Christmas carols. The receptionist addressed the old man as Uncle Ed, bidding him Merry Christmas and asking him to come on back for ... ; and not a shot was fired in his direction. When the French singer had finished the carol, a tall German responded. He came out of his trench to sing, in his own language, Luther's beloved Christmas hymn, "Von Himmel Hoch" ("From Heaven Above I Come to You") (3) For ...

13. Making Christmas Last

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Brett Blair

... 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 bleeding ... Yitzhak Rabin - 13.29 - 597737 Adolf Hitler - 11.48 - 516155 Billy Graham - 10.46 - 470307 Albert Einstein - 9.85 - 443079 Martin Luther King - 8.48 - 381284 Pope John Paul II - 8.27 - 371899 Gordon B. Hinckley - 5.66 - 254665 Mohandas Gandhi - 3.63 ...

14. Lift Up Your Heads!

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Brett Blair

... is Advent. And the message of these times is the song of those wild birds. It's the song sung in every carol this season: Redeemed! It’s the meaning behind every gift given under the tree: Redeemed! It's the Word the shepherds heard ... if it is a sign. But when has there not been progress. It is not a sign. So what is the sign? It’s hard to say. Martin Luther the protestant reformer of the 1500’s in his sermon on Luke 21 thought that the signs on earth were pointing to Christ's immediate coming. Here is ...

15. The First Christmas Card

Philippians 4:4-9

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Christmas card is to allow it to be said of us, as it was said of the converted Scrooge at the close of Dickens' Christmas Carol, "that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge." Christmas cheer is not a frothy, frilly emotion. A glance ... love made tangible. Essentially Christmas is a love story. Martin Luther liked to remind his listeners that when God speaks to humanity, God always speaks in baby talk. God does this, Luther says, because God is love, and God bends to our ...

16. The Promise of Dreams

Genesis 37:1-11, Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... and Martin Luther King Jr’s. They all bring a message of hope and measure of dreams for a world down in the dumps or lost in the dung heap. So, what about today? Is there a place in our world or in our churches, for dreamers? This is the season many of us will fulfill the obligatory ritual of going to see “A Christmas Carol.” In fact, if you go to the movies this week, you can catch a movie about its author, Charles Dickens, and the inner battles he fought in writing the beloved novella. It has ...

17. Jesus Christ, Our Passover Lamb

Exodus 12:1-30

Sermon

Steve Burt

... dollars worth of property. Even the younger residents could remember the devastation wreaked by Hurricanes Donna, Carol, and others in the 1950s and 1960s. People took seriously the warnings of the National Weather ... 't let them. It may feel that way to George Harris. But God doesn't let them. God is always watching out for a Moses or a Martin Luther King to challenge the taskmasters and declare, "Let my people go." But sometimes it appears as if God lets it happen. The Psalmist not only writes, "Do not ...

18. Christmas Eve

Lk 2:1-20 · Tit 2:11-14 · Isa 9:2-7 · Ps 96

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... The problem of time for preaching. The Christmas service leaves little time for a sermon. The service is usually packed with carols, candles, and cantatas. The adult, youth, children's and bell choirs must perform. At a festival when there is great ... . Psalm 96 breaks out in a call for a new song to praise God for his salvation, majesty, and power. In the Hymn of the Day, Luther, in a most beautiful and tender way, re-tells the story of the nativity and meditates upon it. The Prayer of the Day reminds us as ...

19. When God Is Silent

Psalm 35:1-28

Sermon

Erskine White

... John Wesley as flesh to bone and sometimes God seemed silent and far away. In more recent times, another famous Christian, Martin Luther King, Jr., also knew the peaks and valleys of the inner life. In fact, his own spiritual experience was so common ... I offer in closing these words of silence. As you read them, you might hear in your minds the melody of a favorite Christmas carol, for this is a verse from "O Little Town of Bethlehem:" How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given!So God imparts to ...

20. Are You Asking The Right Questions?

Zechariah 7:1-14

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... to be for others. Another famous painting with a spiritual message is Albrecht Durer’s Praying Hands. Durer, a contemporary of Martin Luther in 16th century Germany, was a poor art student when he found a friend who opened up new possibilities for him. His ... youth group during the Christmas season went to the shut-in families of the congregation including the Menninger home to sing carols. “But Dr. Karl was not home that evening,” the pastor said, “He was having Christmas with the prisoners at the ...

21. The Nativity of Our Lord

Luke 2:1-20 · Isa 9:2-7 · Tit 2:11-14

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... The problem of time for preaching. The Christmas service leaves little time for a sermon. The service is usually packed with carols, candles, and cantatas. The adult, youth, children's, and bell choirs must perform. At a festival when there is great ... . Psalm 96 breaks out in a call for a new song to praise God for his salvation, majesty, and power. In the Hymn of the Day, Luther, in a most beautiful and tender way, re-tells the story of the nativity and meditates upon it. The Prayer of the Day reminds us as ...

22. A Liturgical Drama For Advent

Drama

Tom Eberle

... correlated with the singing of the seven ancient antiphons used in Advent worship, that are now incorporated into the Advent carol, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." A Liturgical Drama For Advent Prelude (Immediately following the prelude a family seated in the ... said ... Light: [interrupting] Excuse me, who are you? Minister: I am Moses, Joshua, Jeremiah, John the Baptizer, St. Augustine, Martin Luther ... Light: [interrupting] I’m sorry I asked. Most people are satisfied just being one person - but you are so ...

23. Singing The Song Of Christmas

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... ) Is it any wonder the angels sang the night Jesus was born? "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Is it any wonder that the air is filled with Christmas carols and that music will dominate the celebration of this sacred event in churches across the land? Martin Luther once said, "The devil takes flight at the sound of music, just as he does at the words of theology, and for this reason the prophets always combined theology and music, the teaching of truth and the chanting ...

24. If Christ Had Not Come

John 15:18--16:4

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... closed!” Sadly, I turn to go home. Even though it is Advent, the period just prior to Christmas, there is no sound of Christmas carols in the air, no gaiety, no giving and receiving of gifts, no visiting of family and friends, no church services and no pageants and ... music. The Church has fostered some of the greatest minds ever to enlighten our world—Augustine, Aquinas, Dante, Luther, Shakespeare, Milton, Newton....” (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1994, pp. 312-313) “If Christ had not come...” that is ...

25. The Story behind the Glory

Galatians 3:26--4:7

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

... they cried out, "Away with him, crucify him." It is a world that has fully earned and brought upon itself the just judgment of God. Martin Luther once said, "If I were almighty God, and the world treated my son as it treated God's Son, I'd knock the world to pieces ... . Our wandering is over, the prodigal has come home. Isn't that what Phillips Brooks had in mind when he wrote in his carol: "O Holy Child of Bethlehem, Descend to us, we pray. Cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today." Blessed ...

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Showing 1 to 25 of 36 results

1. Out of the Darkness

Isaiah 9:2-7

Sermon

King Duncan

2. Christmas Carols · Away in a Manger

Luke 2:1-20

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

3. Mary's Song

Luke 1:46-47, 52

Sermon

Will Willimon

4. Joy to the World

Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

5. The Ear of the Heart

Philippians 2:5-11

Sermon

Dr. Ronald Love

6. Be Near, Ye Faithful

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Sermon

Ronald Love

7. The Autobiography of God

John 14:5-14

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

8. No Time for a Sermon

Hebrews 1:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

9. The Child of Promise

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

10. I Am Forsaken

Psalm 29:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

11. God's Christmas Tree

1 Peter 2:24

Sermon

James Merritt

12. Surprised By Christmas

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

13. Making Christmas Last

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Brett Blair

14. Lift Up Your Heads!

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Brett Blair

15. The First Christmas Card

Philippians 4:4-9

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

16. The Promise of Dreams

Genesis 37:1-11, Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Lori Wagner

17. Jesus Christ, Our Passover Lamb

Exodus 12:1-30

Sermon

Steve Burt

18. Christmas Eve

Lk 2:1-20 · Tit 2:11-14 · Isa 9:2-7 · Ps 96

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

19. When God Is Silent

Psalm 35:1-28

Sermon

Erskine White

20. Are You Asking The Right Questions?

Zechariah 7:1-14

Sermon

Richard Hasler

21. The Nativity of Our Lord

Luke 2:1-20 · Isa 9:2-7 · Tit 2:11-14

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... The problem of time for preaching. The Christmas service leaves little time for a sermon. The service is usually packed with carols, candles, and cantatas. The adult, youth, children's, and bell choirs must perform. At a festival when there is great ... . Psalm 96 breaks out in a call for a new song to praise God for his salvation, majesty, and power. In the Hymn of the Day, Luther, in a most beautiful and tender way, re-tells the story of the nativity and meditates upon it. The Prayer of the Day reminds us as ...

22. A Liturgical Drama For Advent

Drama

Tom Eberle

23. Singing The Song Of Christmas

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

24. If Christ Had Not Come

John 15:18--16:4

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

25. The Story behind the Glory

Galatians 3:26--4:7

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

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