Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 46 results

Genesis 1:1-2:3, Genesis 2:4-25, Genesis 3:1-24

Drama

Jerry Eckert

Comment: Narrative depends on imagination. Imagination can be triggered by vivid words, by the conversational tone that frees it to flow naturally, by dramatic intonations lending emotion to the intellectual content being offered, and by specific directions to the listeners. The following sermon was done using the device of directing the congregation to imagine a specific setting, a stage with sce...

2. Cain's Sentence

Genesis 4:1-26

Drama

Jerry Eckert

Comment: The story of Cain and Abel tapped into experiences I had had with the criminal justice system in years past, and I set it into a rural Wisconsin county. I told it as a short story, but as I look at it now, I see it as something that could be readily dramatized with the help of individuals and with the help of the whole congregation at one point. The narrator can be an older person. Cain a...

3. Called To Freedom

Galatians 5:1-15

Drama

Jerry Eckert

Comment: Several times over the years, I preached a series of sermons out of the letter to the Galatians. Having tried a number of other dramatic techniques, I decided to have a phone conversation between Paul and Barnabas. I prepared a script and got two phones, one for me (Barnabas is one of the great saints of the New Testament and I played him) and one for a church member who played Paul. In s...

4. Children

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

Comment: Sometimes you can prepare a story sermon which reflects a lot of your own experience. And it becomes natural for you to play yourself while making the point of the sermon. The following reflected a lot of my experiences as a young father. Fortunately, my wife did not die, as does the wife of the main character here. But I was quite a disappointment to my colleagues because of how much par...

5. Children

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

Comment: A month before, I had told this story at the church I was serving. A colleague at the Hispanic church in town invited me over to preach. I had embarrassed myself the year before by reading both the English and the Spanish versions of a sermon for them, so I decided to go with a translator this time. I sent her a triple-spaced copy of the text so she could get ready for the task. She came ...

6. God, The Father

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

Comment: It was the beginning of summer and I was chomping at the bit to do some more story sermons. Only I was interested in doing something that explained the Trinity, something that might prove more memorable than other sermons I had tried on the subject. For Father's Day, I tackled the First Person of the Trinity. Matthew 6:1-8 "Jake! Jacob ben Jacob! Is that you?" Samuel's voice was very exci...

7. God, The Holy Spirit

Acts 2:1-13

Drama

Jerry Eckert

Comment: In Volume 2 of this set, there were two sermons on the Trinity: "God the Father," which was a telling of a meeting of two old friends; and "God, the Son," which was an interview with John the Baptist. These were done at Faith United Methodist Church in Milwaukee. The third in the series on the Trinity is this use of the "You Are There" format. After feeling successful using it two years e...

8. God, The Son

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

Comment: I spoke earlier of having someone in mind as I wrote a part. For the second sermon of a series on the Trinity, I decided to interview John the Baptist. In the congregation was a young man who weighed about 240 pounds, most of it muscle. He had a very large, full, nearly black beard. Although he is a gentleman in every respect, he is able to hold his own in a car repair shop and on an athl...

9. God, The Son

Matthew 2:1-12

Drama

Jerry Eckert

[Author's Note: I spoke earlier of having someone in mind as I wrote a part. For the second sermon of a series on the Trinity, I decided to interview John the Baptist. In the congregation was a young man who weighed about 240 pounds, most of it muscle. He had a very large, full, nearly black beard. Although he is a gentleman in every respect, he is able to hold his own in a car repair shop and on ...

10. Grampa Noah And When The Flood Came

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

July 18, 1982 Comment: One of the difficulties of telling theGenesis stories is that they are a slushing together ofvariant religious traditions and stories of the Hebrewtribes. Some stories do not lend themselves to a singulartelling. The story of Noah is an excellent example. To open it up to the variations within it, I imagined afamily reunion many years after the flood and after Noah'sgrandch...

11. Grampa Noah And When The Flood Came

Genesis 6:1-8:22, Genesis 9:1-17, Genesis 9:18-29

Drama

Jerry Eckert

Comment: One of the difficulties of telling the Genesis stories is that they are a slushing together of variant religious traditions and stories of the Hebrew tribes. Some stories do not lend themselves to a singular telling. The story of Noah is an excellent example. To open it up to the variations within it, I imagined a family reunion many years after the flood and after Noah's grandchildren ha...

12. I Want To Go South, Lord

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

August 8, 1982 Comment: One of the great figures of Genesis, Abraham,amazed me the first time I read the story of his argumentwith God over His plan to destroy Sodom. With that in mind,I got to wondering how Abraham might have handled hisanxiety over how his obedience to God was paying off. Ichose a time early in his career when that anxiety wouldhave been high. The first time I did this story se...

13. I Want To Go South, Lord

Genesis 12:1-8

Drama

Jerry Eckert

Comment: One of the great figures of Genesis, Abraham, amazed me the first time I read the story of his argument with God over His plan to destroy Sodom. With that in mind, I got to wondering how Abraham might have handled his anxiety over how his obedience to God was paying off. I chose a time early in his career when that anxiety would have been high. The first time I did this story sermon, a f...

14. In The Beginning

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Drama

Jerry Eckert

June 20, 1982 Comment: "Why don't you do sermons as stories?" my wife suggested. "You tell stories well and people seem to like them. Besides, you won't end up criticizing us as often!" My wife has a way about her. That was all I needed to try it out. Who wants to be preached at? I surely didn't! The first time I tried the following sermon in its current format, I served a church which had a lay ...

15. In The Beginning

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

June 20, 1982 Comment: "Why don't you do sermons as stories?" mywife suggested. "You tell stories well and people seem tolike them. Besides, you won't end up criticizing us asoften!" My wife has a way about her. That was all I needed to try it out. Who wants to bepreached at? I surely didn't! The first time I tried the following sermon in itscurrent format, I served a church which had a lay pers...

16. In The Carpenter's Workshop

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

September 2, 1984 Comment: As I put this little book together, I havemaintained a kind of biblical chronological order for therespective stories. You will note shifting around of datesnow, more so than earlier. Themes for the holidays, LaborDay in this case, and purposes seen for the sake of thecongregation, are not always orderly! This particular sermon was influenced by a story Ivaguely remembe...

17. In The Carpenter's Workshop

Matthew 18:21-35

Drama

Jerry Eckert

[Author's Note: This particular drama was influenced by a story I vaguely remember from Sunday School told nearly a half century ago. I like situations which cross age lines, so I was glad when I had a chance to tell a story about Jesus as a boy. I think it would lend itself to having a young boy take part.] Characters: Commentator Joseph Jesus Stranger Commentator: It has been a hot day, as one...

18. Jacob And The Night Wrestler

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

August 22, 1982 Comment: A good story can be done a number of ways. Astory about Jacob lent itself as a short story when I didit. Since then, I have come to see it as a radio drama, notunlike those frequently heard in the '40s and '50s in whichthe hero narrates and has some dialogue with a limitednumber of other characters. Sound effects would be nice andcould be handled by a creative team workin...

19. Jacob And The Night Wrestler

Genesis 32:22-32

Drama

Jerry Eckert

Comment: A good story can be done a number of ways. A story about Jacob lent itself as a short story when I did it. Since then, I have come to see it as a radio drama, not unlike those frequently heard in the '40s and '50s in which the hero narrates and has some dialogue with a limited number of other characters. Sound effects would be nice and could be handled by a creative team working on this s...

20. Jesus And The Disciples

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

Comment: I have always wondered how Jesus gathered his Disciples. The way the biblical stories go, it seems like he knew most of them one way or another. So I hypothesized that they may have known each other as children. How, since they were from a number of different towns not that close together, could they have had contact? Having taught a few lab schools, I decided that maybe something like th...

21. Jesus And The Disciples

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

22. Joseph's Pit

Genesis 37:1-11

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

August 29, 1982 Comment: I have no better excuse for including this story sermon than that I like it. It uses a third person, by means of his journal, to tell the story of Joseph meeting his brothers in Egypt years after they had sold him into slavery. Since the narrative has similarities to the previous story of Jacob, a creative pastor might want to use the radio drama format. Churches with clo...

23. Matthew

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

Comment: Somewhere in my reading, I came across the notion that "executive diseases" like ulcers and headaches were common in Jesus' time among the bureaucrats. With a lead like that, a dimension was added to a story sermon. Again, the pastor and a lay person speaking from the other side of the sanctuary (at a lectern, perhaps) could conduct the following verbal "correspondence." Or, maybe the pas...

24. Moses' New Job

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

September 5, 1982 Comment: It was Labor Day weekend and it was also atime when I found myself involved in a bit of aconfrontation with some leaders in my Annual Conference.That led to a strange com-bination. But knowing the story ofMoses and realizing that he undertook the mission to freehis people, I found myself putting together the few bits ofdata about Moses' wife in all that and came up with...

25. Moses's New Job

Exodus 4:18-31

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

September 5, 1982 Comment: It was Labor Day weekend and it was also a time when I found myself involved in a bit of a confrontation with some leaders in my Annual Conference. That led to a strange com-bination. But knowing the story of Moses and realizing that he undertook the mission to free his people, I found myself putting together the few bits of data about Moses' wife in all that and came u...

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Showing 1 to 25 of 46 results

1. Adam And Eve And God

Genesis 1:1-2:3, Genesis 2:4-25, Genesis 3:1-24

Drama

Jerry Eckert

2. Cain's Sentence

Genesis 4:1-26

Drama

Jerry Eckert

3. Called To Freedom

Galatians 5:1-15

Drama

Jerry Eckert

4. Children

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

5. Children

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

6. God, The Father

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

7. God, The Holy Spirit

Acts 2:1-13

Drama

Jerry Eckert

8. God, The Son

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

9. God, The Son

Matthew 2:1-12

Drama

Jerry Eckert

10. Grampa Noah And When The Flood Came

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

11. Grampa Noah And When The Flood Came

Genesis 6:1-8:22, Genesis 9:1-17, Genesis 9:18-29

Drama

Jerry Eckert

12. I Want To Go South, Lord

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

13. I Want To Go South, Lord

Genesis 12:1-8

Drama

Jerry Eckert

14. In The Beginning

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Drama

Jerry Eckert

15. In The Beginning

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

June 20, 1982 Comment: "Why don't you do sermons as stories?" mywife suggested. "You tell stories well and people seem tolike them. Besides, you won't end up criticizing us asoften!" My wife has a way about her. That was all I needed to try it out. Who wants to bepreached at? I surely didn't! The first time I tried the following sermon in itscurrent format, I served a church which had a lay pers...

16. In The Carpenter's Workshop

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

17. In The Carpenter's Workshop

Matthew 18:21-35

Drama

Jerry Eckert

18. Jacob And The Night Wrestler

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

19. Jacob And The Night Wrestler

Genesis 32:22-32

Drama

Jerry Eckert

20. Jesus And The Disciples

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

21. Jesus And The Disciples

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

22. Joseph's Pit

Genesis 37:1-11

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

23. Matthew

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

24. Moses' New Job

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

25. Moses's New Job

Exodus 4:18-31

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

September 5, 1982 Comment: It was Labor Day weekend and it was also a time when I found myself involved in a bit of a confrontation with some leaders in my Annual Conference. That led to a strange com-bination. But knowing the story of Moses and realizing that he undertook the mission to free his people, I found myself putting together the few bits of data about Moses' wife in all that and came u...

Showing results