Sermon and Worship Resources

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Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... they give. Unfortunately, they don't understand God's economy. They don't realize that God works just the opposite. A small, middle-aged woman was present at a workshop in New York City titled "Family Folklore: Preserving the Stories of the Past ... twice, but neither ever mentioned the doll. Then before the woman was to give birth to her first child, Doris came to visit and brought a gift. "It was Cherie. Doris told me that when she ran from the burning house, she put Cherie in her kerchief. She carried Cherie ...

2. The Necessity Of Forgiveness

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... impossible. In fact, on second glance it seems to be the most practical and rational rule for daily living that could be laid down. The only rewards in life come through working through relationships. There is no reward in having a small circle of like-minded friends. Doris Donnelly in her incisive book, Learning to Forgive,2 tells about a family she knew. They were very proficient in the use of resentment. They couldn't forgive anyone, nothing was ever their fault. The family consisted of two parents and ...

3. Envy - Where Is The Grass Greener?

Gn 4:1-26, Mt 20:1-16, Philip 4:10-20

Sermon

R. Curtis Fussell

... have tried to blame Cain himself for God's rejection. They say Cain didn't give the first and best fruit, that what Cain offered was small and stingy. But the Bible doesn't say that. It says in fact that Cain gave God an offering from the fruit of the ground. Cain ... of fact I hadn't noticed it." "You're just being nice. But Doris bought that furniture just to show me up. But I'll show her. I'm going shopping this weekend and I'll buy something that will let Doris know that she can't show me up."4 At every age ...

4. Putting A Face On Jesus

Colossians 1:15-23, Colossians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... asked to play for a wedding. Unfamiliar with the church's organ, her friend went to the sanctuary to practice. Curious about a small keyboard that slid out from under the two regular keyboards, she tapped out a couple of bars of a children's song ... have on this community. Do we realize that Christ is the head of this church? What would happen, I wonder, if we really did? Doris Forman remembers the time when she and her husband moved into a new house. Shortly after they moved in her husband asked her, "What ...

5. Redrawing The Landscape

Multiple Scriptures

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... persecute you." But on second glance it seems to be the most practical and rational rule for daily living that could be laid down. The only rewards in life come through working through relationships. There is no reward in having a small circle of like-minded friends. Doris Donnelly, in her incisive book Learning to Forgive,43 tells about a family she knew. They were very proficient in the use of resentment. They couldn't forgive anyone; nothing was ever their fault. The family consisted of two parents and ...

6. A LITURGICAL DRAMA FOR ALL SAINTS’

Drama

Tom Eberle

... are Christians, but we are also [your denomination], who sometimes think little of [another denomination] or [a third denomination]. We live on a small planet with divisions and hostilities as numerous as the sands of the sea. We don’t know if the parade of saints ... his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: Box: Now all we need is Doris Day to sing, To Dream the Impossible Dream. Minister: What do you mean by that? Box: We’ve all heard the blesseds are this, for ...

7. Victory on a Broken Knee

2 Timothy 4:6-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... is a delightful scene in the children’s movie Finding Nemo. Our children probably remember Dory, a forgetful but tenacious regal tang fish. In one scene Dory tries to cheer the flagging faith of Marlin the clown fish. She wisely counsels, “Hey ... believed that, and so he gave his best even in this dismal play. The play folded, however, and he went on to play in other small productions. It was over a year later that he received a call from Hollywood from one Howard Hughes, who, at that time, was a major ...

8. Giants Or Grasshoppers?

Numbers 13:1-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... That's another place that limited good or scarcity operated in his life. Sometimes he wished he could go back to the days when his children were small. He wished that he had spent more time rolling with them on the floor and holding them on his lap. He knows now he did not ... entire family. A counseling center with a full-time counselor to help people with their problems. Jim thought of Doris, their neighbor, who had been struggling to deal with her feelings after her divorce. He wished the counseling center ...

9. No Fifth Wheels in God’s Economy

1 Corinthians 7:1-40

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... in the church community, whether it is formally requested or not. Another problem with singles is confusing loneliness with aloneness. Doris Fletcher has given me a great definition of loneliness. It is the state of being overly preoccupied with being alone ... your need for creative, meditative aloneness. Our Lord has shown us all the way. We see him in crowds. We see him in intense small groups and individual relationships. We see him going to the mountain to pray, alone. And we seek to follow him in our own ...

10. The Power to Change the Past

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... 93. She says she works at keeping debilitating emotions like resentment to a minimum as she strives to create a normal home life for her three small children. "Forgiveness is a process," she says. "It's not something where all of a sudden you wake up one day and say: 'OK, I forgive ... Power to Change the Past," Christianity Today, 1/7/83, pp. 22-26 4. Doris Donnelly, Putting Forgiveness into Practice, quoted by Kenneth Gibble, "She Washed Jesus' Feet," The Christian Ministry, Sept.-Oct., 1990, p. 29 5. Reuters News Service ...

11. A Time For Miracles

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... the store, her numb body mocked the urgent sensation she had about that day. But as she got to the store, she noticed two small boys, about six and nine years old, standing in front of the store. The little fellows got very excited when they saw Elizabeth ... Christmas! And Christmas is a time for miracles. Christmas is a time for stories. It was two weeks before Christmas 1995, and Doris Young, 41, an unemployed single mother living in Dallas, was sick with grief. Her 6-month-old son, Rayfus, had just died ...

12. A Great And Wonderful New Year

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... rocks and sand had to be carried away, but eventually a door was found at the end of a long passageway. Carter drilled a small hole in the door and stuck an iron-testing rod into a dark, blank space. He then inserted a candle into the hole and ... chosen, we have been predestined to be children of the most high God. 1. Dr. John W. Keith, Oak Ridge, TN 2. Jim & Doris Morentz, MINISTER'S ANNUAL PREACHING IN 1989 (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1988). 3. LAUGH CONNECTIONS, Vol. No. 3 Summer, 1991, P.4 4. Les Giblin ...

13. Heroes

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... to pull them aboard one by one. Soon the small fishing boat was overcrowded. And John Napolii made one of the hardest decisions of his life. He knew that the lives of those men were far more important than his small fortune of fish. Within minutes he dumped his entire ... pp. 109-113. 4. James R. Bjorge, The Love Road to Calvary (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1982), pp. 32-39. 5. Harold and Doris Faber, American Heroes of the 20th Century (New York: Random House, 1967), p.135. 6. “Updates," December 14, 1998. 7. 7. ...

14. The 6 Words that Can Save Your Life

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... big-time crimes—-they all come together in this first step. This first step encompasses all our human foibles and fallibilites. The small time infringements. The larger than life downfalls. Christ did not distinguish, did not care, did not ask about “less” or “more.” He ... to day “worry-wartness,” is purged from our lives. Of course, this does not mean that everything will be hunky-dory, that life will be footloose and fancy-free. In fact, following Jesus most likely will bring a host of added ...

15. The Door of Forgiveness

1 Timothy 2:1-15

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... me. I do not pretend to comprehend the atonement. It remains a mystery to me. Even if the Lord were to send a revelation, I am not sure my small mind could contain it. So I am content to stand in awe. It seems odd to me that Jesus Christ would need to be the Lamb slain from the ... you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." Forgiveness is something to be shared as well as received. Doris Donnelly says, “Forgiveness is an empowered form of giving." Forgiveness is not a passive resignation to a bad ...

16. Welcoming Christ

Romans 14:1--15:13

Sermon

Frank Luchsinger

... Mr. Davis was an extreme conservative in politics. So, on one June evening, dinner began with an anxious Lyndon attempting small talk, discussing his travels and college activities. "But the atmosphere, which was cold to begin with, just got colder ... is our welcoming Christ who comes, welcoming a child, a leper, a thief, a shepherd, a king, and welcoming you, welcoming me. 1. Doris Kearns, Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1976), pp. 56-58. 2. Lewis Smedes, How Can It Be ...

17. The Keeper of the Covenant

Exodus 31:1-11

Sermon

... four decades of Ministry, one stands out, "Our Cause for Rejoicing." On the Saturday before Palm Sunday of our first year in the parish, my wife, Doris, was typing the bulletins for Holy Week while she was in labor. She got them all done before we left for the hospital in Philadelphia. ... words came out. He writes, "Then the Nagotas amazed me. She whispered a few words. They each took from a small bag she carried, a yellow-white flower. First he, then his wife stepped forward and placed their flowers on the ...

18. Forgiven!

Galatians 2:11-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... that some of us are among those Americans who have abused the availability of easy credit terms. Perhaps we are facing our own small mountain of debt. I wish I could say to you that all your financial debts have been cancelled. Wouldn’t that be greatto ... , change of attitude, change of direction. To know that the slate has been wiped clean calls us to make a new start. Doris Donnely said, "Forgiveness is an invitation to redeem failure." She is right. Consider a husband who has hurt his wife very deeply. She ...

19. WaterFire Disciples

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... two miles wide at one point. The consultant reasoned that if people once again could connect with the water through small pedestrian bridges, period lighting and water pathways that riddled the downtown, Providence would come alive once again. The beheading ... much less no help. Play Billy Joel's song: "We Didn't Start the Fire" Play The Doors song: "Light My Fire" Writer Doris Lessing refers to a voltage with each person, a thousand volts of energy for love or hate, for life or death. Psychologist James ...

20. The Most Exciting Moment of Your Life

1 Cor 5:1-13, Rev 21:1-27, Rev 6:1-17, Heb 12:14-29, Rev 22:7-21, Phil 1:12-30

Sermon

James Merritt

... One of the worst things we can do sometimes for people who are desperately ill is to pray for God to keep them here. In a small town in England, a young mother was dying of cancer. She believed God wanted to heal her, and everyday people from her church gathered around ... come to pray for my healing?" The pastor gently sat down on the edge of the bed, and taking her hand in his, said, "No, Doris, I haven't come to pray for your healing, I've come to help you die." Tears filled her eyes. She said, "Oh Pastor, ...

21. Day-Timers or Begging Bowls

Matthew 14:22-33

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... The only two categories of people I really care about are the forgiven people and the unforgiven people." He had me. "I met Jesus today," I told Doris when I came home. "Oh yeah? What did he say to you?" "He told me I was a Pharisee. Have eyes. Don't see" (Lewis B. ... our lives, whatever the surprising, unexpected shape he may take. By the way, I still make lists. But now I keep them small and put them in my begging bowl for the Spirit to do with them whatever. Alternative Sermon Idea "When you least expect ...

22. Jesus' Baptism: Affirmed by God

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... He’s written some marvelous books - one I would especially recommend entitled Prayer Is a Hunger. Ed is a part of a small group with whom I meet each January. I’ve told you about this group. We call it the Ecumenical Institute of ... mentors. Morton Kelsey, one of the most prolific and helpful writers I know, the author of the classic spirituality, The Other Side of Silence. Doris Donnelly, who led a Mini-Retreat for us at the church, her best-selling book, Learning to Forgive, which is in a library, she ...

23. A Woman Burdened with Guilt

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

King Duncan

... may be that some of us are among those who have abused the availability of easy credit terms. Perhaps we are facing our own small mountain of debt. I wish I could say to you that all your financial debts have been canceled. Wouldn’t that be great-- ... mind, change of attitude, change of direction. To know that the slate has been wiped clean calls us to make a new start. Doris Donnely said, “Forgiveness is an invitation to redeem failure.” She is right. Consider a husband who has hurt his wife very deeply ...

24. Christmas International

Drama

Dory Younger

Director’s Notes CAST: Narrators (1-4) Child of Germany Ireland Mexico England Denmark Poland Italy (7) Mary Joseph Angels (3 or 5) Shepherds (3 or 5) Wise men (3) Child to carry star CHOIR: Remaining available children COSTUMES: German: Shorts with colorful suspenders, knee socks and oxford-type shoes, white shirt for boy OR dirndl or peasant dress for girl. Irish: Green dress or shirt or skirt for girl OR green shirt for boy. Felt or paper shamrocks may be used to decorate costume. Mexican: Sombrero or ...

25. The Nativity

Drama

Dory Younger

Director’s Notes CAST: Narrator (1 or 2) Town Crier Star Carrier Mary Joseph Shepherds (2 or 3) Angel of the Lord Angels (3 or 5 or 7) Kings (3) Drummer boy CHOIR: Remaining available children COSTUMES: Simple gowns for cast. White for angels and star carrier, blue for Mary, brown or gray for Joseph. Tinsel halos for angels, head coverings for Mary and Joseph. Shabby robes for shepherds, colorful gowns for kings, paper crowns trimmed with glitter for kings. Short trousers and ragged jacket for drummer boy ...

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