Sermon and Worship Resources

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Mark 1:29-39

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

A lot of damage has been done to the idea of wellness by “faith healers.” They are not as prevalent in present day American culture as they once were. Decades ago, people with ailments of all sorts would flock to the services of radio / television preacher Oral Roberts. He had the reputation of laying his hands on the diseased parts of the bodies of his supplicants and praying over them. Frequentl...

2. Bloom Where You Are Planted

John 1:43-51

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

Wilhelm Loehe was a young pastor in Bavaria, the southeastern corner of Germany. He finished his theological studies in the early 1840s and began to think about where he might like to serve as a parish pastor. Loehe had some characteristics that were viewed by some as virtues, by others as liabilities. He was idealistic, determined, courageous, outspoken, and — in the minds of his detractors — br...

3. Bonhoeffer of Berlin

Acts 5:17-42

Drama

Michael L. Sherer

"We must obey God, not men ..." Acts 5:27-32 Characters: Lector Announcer Antagonist Protagonist (Participants enter and take their places in the chancel. As they come forward, the congregation sings the hymn "Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus." When the hymn is completed, the drama begins.) LECTOR: The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from death, after you had killed him by nailing him to a cross....

4. Childs of Center Point

Drama

Michael L. Sherer

"I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me ..." Philippians 4:11-13 Participants enter and take their places in the chancel. As they come forward, the congregation sings the hymn "O God of Mercy." When the hymn is completed, the drama begins. LECTOR: "... I have learned to be satisfied with what I have. I know what it is to be in need, and what it is to have more than enough. I have l...

5. Don't Get Stuck!

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

We begin with a modern parable, “a story that never actually happened” but that’s still true in some profound way. Here’s the story. A businessman from a metropolitan area received a registered letter informing him that an entrepreneurial group in another city had decided to honor him with their prestigious “Innovator of the Year” award. He was delighted. On the day of the presentation he allowe...

6. Don't Miss This

Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

Pastors are often warned, before they leave the seminary, not to say certain things in the pulpit. One of those things is this: “Never say to your congregation, ‘Of course we all know the Bible story of [fill in the blank].’ ” Why shouldn’t a pastor say that during a sermon? The reason is that, in our day fewer and fewer people actually know what’s in the Bible. They don’t recognize the stories. ...

7. For Christ’s Sake, What’s Going On?

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

"There’s no fight like a church fight," someone once told me. Unhappily, that’s proven true time and again. Of all communities, you would think (or hope, at least) that congregations organized around the cross of Christ would be exemplars to the world. We have the promises, the hope, and the forgiveness God gives to his own select community. For heaven’s sake, it ought to make a difference in the ...

8. Francis of Assisi

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Drama

Michael L. Sherer

"The message of Christ’s death on the cross is nonsense ..." 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 Characters: Lector Announcer Antagonist Protagonist (Participants enter and take their places in the chancel. As they come forward, the congregation sings the hymn "Take My Life and Let It Be Consecrated." When the hymn is completed, the drama begins.) LECTOR: The message about Christ’s death on the cross is nons...

9. Get Out of the Jungle!

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

Once upon a time there lived a pair of twins, a boy and a girl, whose parents decided to teach them survival skills. What they were told was, “It’s a jungle out there. You have to be ready for it. You need to be tough. You need to learn to defend yourselves — or your enemies will devour you.” And so, the twins grew up learning to follow their parents’ often-repeated advice: “Trust no one; suspect...

10. He’s Not Who We Thought

Mark 9:2-9

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

There is something strange, almost jarring, about the appearance, exactly in the middle of the sixteenth chapter gospel of Mark, of a story about an other-worldly sound-and-light show on top of a mountain. The report of what we have come to call “The Transfiguration of Our Lord” doesn’t seem to fit where it appears in Mark’s gospel. Think about it. Before he gives us the story of Jesus with two O...

11. Jesus Matters

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

It is difficult for people in the faith community, 2,000 years after the Christian movement began, to imagine — much less appreciate — what it was like to stand up for Jesus. To put it mildly, it was incredibly difficult. The first believers knew something extraordinary. Their hero, who had been murdered by a foreign power occupying their country, was somehow alive and back with them, encounterin...

12. King of Atlanta

Romans 8:28-39

Drama

Michael L. Sherer

"We are more than conquerors through Christ ..." Romans 8:35-39 Characters: Lector Announcer Antagonist Protagonist (Participants enter and take their places in the chancel. As they come forward, the congregation sings the hymn "Beneath the Cross of Jesus." When the hymn is completed, the drama begins.) LECTOR: Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble do it? Or hardship? Or pers...

13. Let’s Face It

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

With the familiar parable which forms the text for this day, we draw very near to the close of the church year. Since the Middle Ages, Christians have used the closing days of the old church year to focus on "last things": the end of the world, the end of life, the promise of things to come, the thought of the return of Christ (one of the themes celebrated during Advent, the next season on the chu...

14. Luther of Wittenberg

Drama

Michael L. Sherer

"All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death ..." Philippians 3:8-11 Participants enter and take their places in the chancel. As they come forward, the congregation sings the hymn, "In the Hour of Trial." When the hymn is completed, the drama begins. LECTOR: I reckon everything as complete loss for the sa...

15. Paul of Tarsus

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Drama

Michael L. Sherer

"I am content with persecutions for Christ’s sake ..." 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Characters: Lector Announcer Antagonist Protagonist Participants enter and take their places in the chancel. As they come forward, the congregation sings the hymn "In the Cross of Christ I Glory." When the hymn is completed, the drama begins. LECTOR: I am most happy ... to be proud of any weaknesses, in order to feel t...

16. Stay Awake!

Mark 13:24-37

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

A young professional woman from Ohio decided to seek her fortune, discern her vocation, and potentially change her life for the better by moving to England. She relocated to London where she began to pursue an advanced degree, seeking new opportunities in the work world. One of the things she took with her from the Midwest was an insatiable love for the Chicago Cubs professional baseball team. Sh...

17. Surprise! Surprise!

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

A wealthy architect, whose self-designed rambling lake home was the envy of the entire city, was given to hosting lavish dinner parties. They were always the event of the social season, and the folks who were invited always knew they were on a special list. One year the architect changed tactics. Instead of mailing special invitations, he simply ran an advertisement in the personals column of the...

18. The Clues Are There

Luke 2:22-40

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

Three of the programs embedded in the popular “Masterpiece Mystery” television series on Public Television are set in the university town of Oxford, England. Each episode, in any and all of the three series, begins in the same way. A string of seemingly unrelated incidents follow, one after another, in rapid succession. The viewer is left to wonder whether what’s been presented is not simply windo...

19. To Whom Do You Belong?

Mark 1:4-11

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

We begin with a story, some of which actually happened, and some of which did not. It will be left to the listener to try to imagine which parts are which. A young schoolboy was accustomed to having his father come to fetch him at the end of each class day and bring him home. Since he was only a first-grader and the school was located in a large metropolitan area, there was no way his parents wou...

20. We Need Some Good News

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

Author Bruce Bawer, a layman within the Episcopal Church, has written a book with a provocative title. Stealing Jesus is a cautionary tale. It argues, convincingly, that within the past fifty years or so the clear intent of the Christian message has been taken hostage and perverted by elements within the American church community, groups determined to redefine what it means to be Christian. Bawer...

21. Where’s the Authenticity?

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

Words are cheap. They can also be deadly if used improperly. One of our tasks and opportunities as human beings, endowed with brains capable of critical thinking, is to learn to discern what is to be believed and trusted and what is not. During the run-up to a recent presidential election, a cartoon appeared in a national magazine. It showed a flock of sheep grazing on a hillside. In view of the ...

22. Would We Be Ready?

Matthew 25:1-13

Illustration

Michael L. Sherer

In our day, it's more likely than ever that some folks who live around us will raise eyebrows to think that we look for something on the other side of death. So what! Some folks have always raised their eyebrows about anything which called for taking a faith leap. But consider the alternative! I'd rather be prepared to go to dinner with a host who might forget to come, than sleep through everythin...

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