Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing all results

John 12:20-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... Cal left the retreat center, Father Lambert gave him another picture of a smiling Jesus. This picture, painted by a Mrs. Joyce Martin, was like the first picture of the laughing Christ in certain ways. Instead of a pale, blond, sorrowful man with ... just lost my wing man." That meant that one of the two planes had gone down. Immediately workers in the control tower picked up the red crash phone connected to the rescue helicopter team on stand-by duty. When that phone is lifted, a rescue team is to be in ...

2. The Call of the Trumpet

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

George Bass

... a priest who, he believes, is an intellectual. Father Finn turns out to be a non-intellectual with a large red face, "a stiff bunch of grey hair," hard of hearing, and blind in one eye, "but the good one focused sharply on Asbury." "So ... ?" he asks. "Very well." When Asbury asks about James Joyce, Father Finn replies, "I never met him," then queries, "Now do you say your morning and night prayers?" Asbury attempts to develop a conversation about Joyce: "Joyce was a great writer," but the priest ignores him. " ...

3. Ask Jacob!

Matthew 6:25-34, Genesis 25:19-34

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... 4) Esau’s Distraction with Hunger Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore, his name was called Edom.) Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to ... keeps you apart from God? Are you an impulsive consumer? Or a patient praiser? *Strongs Hebew, bazah. **Jewish Encyclopedia. ***Coined by Joyce Rogers.

4. “Your Honor:” Jesus’ Honor Code of Turning the Other Cheek

Matthew 5:38-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... honor we have been accorded is “For God So Loved the World?” [If you have time, tell the Sarah Corson story below from Joyce Hollyday would be a great way to end your sermon.] Love of Enemies “One of the most dramatic examples comes from a remote ... God loves you, so you are welcome here.’ Every person in the church followed his example, even the women whose eyes were red from weeping for their loved ones whom the commander had taken prisoner. The commander was incredulous. He marched to the pulpit and ...

5. Your Honor: Jesus' Honor Code of Turning the Other Cheek

Matthew 5:38-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

6. Jesus: The Life of the Party

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... in a humble home in a village in Galilee which we cannot even identify with certainty on the map today. Some years ago David Redding, a Presbyterian writer, said, "Who could guess that He would fling away His first miracle as a lighthearted bouquet to romantic love and ... if we would only bring Christ into our marriages, we would have better marriages! A few years back psychologist Dr. Joyce Brothers was quoted as saying that for about half of all American couples, marriage is a "quiet hell." Many other ...

7. The World According to Paul

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... in upper-case letters in the novel, to represent his strange resonance, and to indicate that he is the "Christ figure," imitating the red-letter Bible. As in Owen's case, God's faithful servants sometimes hear voices that others do not hear and entertain visions that ... traitor. There is an anonymous poem that I think accurately describes the church in all times and places, with due apologies to Joyce Kilmer and his poem, "Trees." It is called "The Perfect Church."5 I think that I shall never see I think that ...

8. Claudia Procula, Peter, and Centurion

Drama

Jon Joyce

Setting Near Golgotha, but far enough away from the three crosses that there are few people. The background may show the three crosses and some observers, if you want to paint a backdrop. Cast and Costumes Centurion: knee-length white or tan robe; at the bottom of the robe is a four-inch decorative hem of bright colors. He carries a small sword, sheathed at his left side. Sandals. If available, he also wears a Roman helmet. If a Roman soldier’s outfit is available from a costumer, it would be ideal. Peter ...

9. Herod and Jesus

Drama

Jon Joyce

Setting The private sitting room in the palace in which Herod is staying in Jerusalem. A throne-like chair, perhaps with a gold or violet throw covering it, should be provided for Herod; this chair should face the audience. A simple chair or stool should be placed in front of the chair so that Jesus, when he sits down, may face Herod but not the audience. Other appointments to the room may be added for effect: potted palms, a small table with a wine carafe and fresh fruits, and anything else appropriate to ...

10. Significance in Life

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

Jon L. Joyce

"WHY DO YOU SPEND ... YOUR LABOR FOR THAT WHICH DOES NOT SATISFY?" A woman in our parish referred a lady to me for consultation, and the parishioner said of her friend: "I don’t know what her problem is. She has a very successful husband. She is certainly a success at everything she tries herself. I really can’t understand what her difficulty is." But when the lady came in, she placed her finger precisely on her problem, as she said to me: "You know, it seems that nothing I do feels important." You see, ...

11. Trumpets in Church on Easter, The Very Idea!

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

Jon L. Joyce

"HE HAS RISEN" It was a solid, staid, old parish to which I was called just after the war, one that needed a bit of waking up here and there, and on our first Easter, we arranged to have the Sunrise Service begin with a fanfare by a quartet of trumpets sounding forth from the balcony. Well, the trumpeters were quite enthusiastic, and I must admit, quite loud; and, quite frankly, the innovation was not received with unanimous approval. In fact, one elderly lady in the congregation was quite vocal about it. ...

12. The Temptations

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Jon L. Joyce

No matter how many times I look at this text, I come back to my first inclination: "Temptations of Ministry." Each of the temptations can be related to temptations of the individual Christian or the corporate Christian body today. In a sermon based on that theme, you might make several points which may not be obvious to the worshiper who has just heard the Gospel read orally: 1. Jesus’ temptation followed the "big" day of his Baptism when he learned his vocation. (You might even want to refer to the First ...

13. Love of Enemies

Matthew 5:43-48

Illustration

Joyce Hollyday

Sarah Corson, a founder of Servant in faith and Technology (SIFAT) in Alabama, was on a mission in the South American jungles to set up an agricultural project in a village where she and her husband had earlier started a church and built a fish hatchery. She was with seventeen young people, including two of her sons. One Thursday night, around midnight, thirty soldiers rushed toward the house where they were all staying. Sarah was paralyzed with shock as the soldiers stormed over the clearing leading to ...

Showing 1 to 13 of 13all results