Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 52 results

1. 18 Deacons Who Would Not Stand

Luke 4:1-13

Illustration

Thomas A. Pilgrim

I heard about a Baptist church which was going to build a new Sunday school building. In an attempt to help raise the money the preacher wired the seats. On the following Sunday at the end of the service he said, "Now, who will give $100 for the building?" He pushed a button and 20 people jumped up. Then he said, "Who will give $500?" He pushed another button and 16 people jumped up. He had a spec...

2. Behold The Man Who Takes Away Sin

John 1:29-34

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

G. K. Chesterton was once asked the question, "Why did you join the church so late in life?" He answered, "To get rid of my sins."1 That is a wonderful answer. It is still the solution for so many of the world's problems and the problems of people everywhere. So many of us know that there is something wrong, something which must be set right at some point along the way. And we want someone to set...

3. Behold The Man Who Taught By The Sea

Mark 4:1-20

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

It was the end of the school year and a first grade teacher was saying good-bye to her students. One little boy said to her, "Teacher, I sure do like you. I'd like to stay in the first grade forever, but I've been promoted. Boy, I wish you knew enough to teach me in the second grade."1 So many people who are successful are able to look back at a person who first turned on a light inside the mind,...

4. Behold The Man Who Took The Victory

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

One Sunday a man was riding a subway in New York. Suddenly another man and his children got on the subway. They were making all kinds of noise, yelling, throwing things, and running around the car. What had been a peaceful group of people reading their papers and minding their own business was interrupted by all this madness. The father of these children had sat down by this other man who was alre...

5. Behold The Man Who Trained Disciples

Luke 10:1-20

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

In March of 1860 an ad appeared in many newspapers of the West. It read, "Wanted. Men, sturdy, young, not under 18, good riders, willing to face death. $25 per week. Orphans preferred." Many young men answered the call, and the Pony Express was born. A new chapter opened up in the history of this country. A new chapter is always written in the life of the church whenever Christian people dare to ...

6. Behold The Man Who Tried To Be King

Matthew 21:1-10

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

Some time ago there was a stage play called Construction. It was the story of some people who wanted to build a wall. But there was a young man there who urged them instead to build a bridge. The people turned on him and killed him because of what he wanted them to do. After they killed him one of the characters said, "We can't go on crucifying the truth forever."1 When Jesus went to Jerusalem he...

7. Behold The Man Who Turned Toward Jerusalem

Mark 10:32-34

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

Some time ago I was reading Harold Kushner's book, Who Needs God. I was struck by a story he told in that book. He said he was talking with a nurse once who related a conversation she had with a young lady. This young lady's boyfriend was dying of cancer. The nurse asked her if she could do anything for her. The young lady answered, "Yeah, remind me never to love anybody this much again."1 Now we...

8. Candlelighting and Prayer

Isaiah 9:1-7

Bulletin Aid

Thomas A. Pilgrim

Lighting Of All The Candles Leader: Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. People: These candles we light today, after Christmas remind us to keep the light of Christ burning ...

9. Christmas as a Prisoner of War

John 1:1-18

Illustration

Thomas A. Pilgrim

It was the Christmas of 1968. Gerald Coffee was spending his third Christmas in prison. His Vietnamese guards gave some candy to him and to his fellow prisoners-of-war. He heard the guards outside talking and laughing with their families, celebrating Christmas. One of the guards had a son who was about three or four. Coffee thought of his own children back home. He ate the candy and looked at the ...

10. Everybody Loves a Story

Mark 4:1-9

Children's Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

Object: a children's book Good morning, boys and girls. Welcome to our story time. I am so glad to see each of you here today. Now, today is the Third Sunday in Lent. As we think about Jesus on the way to Jerusalem I want us today to look at Jesus and the way he taught people. Jesus was a teacher. People called him a "Rabbi." He called his closest followers "Disciples." That word means "students....

11. God is Calling Your Name

Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:9-15; Luke 4:1-13

Illustration

Thomas A. Pilgrim

Harry Emerson Fosdick was one of the greatest American preachers of this century. He described his preaching as counseling on a large scale. Few people knew that as a young seminary student he reached the breaking point after working one summer in a New York Bowery mission. He went home and was overcome by deep depression. One day he stood in the bathroom with a straight razor to his throat. He th...

12. Hail to the King

John 20:1-18

Children's Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

Object: a crown Good morning, boys and girls. I am so glad you are here in church on this Easter Sunday. This is the biggest day of the year for us. All of you look so nice in your Easter clothes today. This is the day we have been looking for all these past weeks. Last Sunday we talked about Jesus being welcomed to Jerusalem as the new king of the Jews. But the people did not really mean that. ...

13. In the Darkness of Anxiety, There Is the Light of Peace

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

On a recent Sunday night, my wife and I went to a nearby church for their “Bethlehem Walk.” Each year, they re-create the town of Bethlehem with shops, sheep, Roman soldiers, a prophet crying out in the street who looked, strangely enough, like the pastor of the church, and a young couple with a new baby out in an animal shed. We arrived early so we would not have to wait in line long. That proba...

14. In the Darkness of Despair, There Is the Light of Hope

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

A student at The University of Georgia got a job as a disc jockey at a little radio station in Commerce, Georgia. He also got a room at a hotel in town and commuted to school, which was not far away. Sometimes at night, he would crawl out of his window and sit on the roof of the hotel. He would look out over that little town. One night when he was up there, he wrote a song called “City Lights.” Th...

15. In the Darkness of Fear, There Is the Light of Joy

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

One cold Sunday afternoon in December, the congregation of a little Baptist church went over to the nearby river where they did their baptizing. They had several persons who were to be baptized that afternoon. There was one man who had some reservations about all this, as he faced the icy-cold water. He was a new convert and all this was foreign to him. He was, therefore, last in line. He noticed ...

16. In The Darkness of Oppression, There Is the Light of Salvation

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

I was staying at a hotel in a small town, near a large city. My room was upstairs on the front, overlooking the street. The noise from below finally died down, but I still was unable to sleep for a long time. Late in the night, I was startled by a man pounding on the door downstairs. I heard voices, and I could tell the manager was talking with this man about needing a room. As I listened closer, ...

17. In the Darkness of Suffering, There Is the Light of Life

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

Several years ago, I read Sidney Sheldon’s Novel, The Windmills of the Gods. I read it with a good deal of interest, though it was not about windmills and it was not about God. I was struck by a scene where the heroine had lost her young husband, a doctor. She was left with her two children, and was trying to put her life back together. She laid awake one night thinking how easy it would be to die...

18. In the Darkness of Suspicion, There Is the Light of Devotion

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

It was a few days after Christmas. A mother was busy cleaning up the den, putting everything away, taking the Christmas tree down. Her son came in and saw her and said, “Mama, what are you doing?” She said, “I’m putting all our Christmas stuff away.” He asked in reply, “Why are you doing that?” She answered, “So everything will be back to normal again.” His response to that was, “Mama, I don’t wan...

19. In the Darkness of Uncertainty, There Is the Light of Wonder

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

William Sloane Coffin, Jr., was, for several years, the pastor at Riverside Church in New York City. In his autobiography, he told of going back to France and visiting some of the places where he had been in World War II. One of those places was the town of Sainte-Mère-Eglise. The 82nd Airborn Division had dropped into that town. While there for his visit, the mayor showed William around. They we...

20. It's Spring Training Time

Luke 10:1-20

Children's Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

Object: a newspaper sports page Good morning, boys and girls. I am so glad you are here today for Sunday school and church. Today is the Fourth Sunday in Lent. As we continue to think about Jesus on the way to Jerusalem, I want us to look at the way he trained his disciples. Look at this. It's the sports page from a recent newspaper. This paper has in it some reports from spring training. Who ca...

21. Living on the Edge

Matthew 13:44-46

Illustration

Thomas A. Pilgrim

Christ's kingdom always calls for the note of sacrifice, taking a chance, living on the edge. There was an man down in Florida who used to wrestle alligators for tourists. One time after one of his performances a lady noticed he wore a string of alligator teeth around his neck. She said, "Oh, that is sort of like wearing a string of pearls." He replied, "Not quite. Anyone can open an oyster."

22. Looking At A Crown

Matthew 2:1-12, Isaiah 9:1-7

Children's Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

Object: A crown or coronet, either a Chrismon ornament or one from home. Good morning. I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas. Here we are now on the Sunday after Christmas. We have come through the Advent season. Then we came to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. And now Christmas is here. We celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He is our newborn King. We are told that when he wa...

23. Looking At Our Chrismons: A Star

Matthew 2:1-12

Children's Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

Object: A Star-shaped Chrismon ornament, or a different sort of star ornament. Good evening, girls and boys. This is it. It's Christmas Eve. This is what we have been waiting for. This is the night. All during Advent we have been looking at our Chrismons. A Chrismon is a Christ-monogram. They remind us of something about Jesus Christ. The one we look at tonight is a star. Look at our tree and you...

24. Marching Off The Map

Mark 10:32-34

Children's Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

Object: a map of the Holy Land Good morning, boys and girls. I hope all of you are doing well today. Thanks for being here this morning. I am glad to see you. This is the Fifth Sunday in the season of Lent. We are thinking together about Jesus going to Jerusalem. Today I want to show you a map. This is a map of the Holy Land, where Jesus lived along with all the people we read about in the Bible...

25. Only A Phone Call Away

Matthew 4:18-22

Children's Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

Object: Cell phone Good morning. I'm so glad to see you today. And I'm so glad you have come to church. I want to show you a telephone today. Actually we call this a cell phone. With this phone you can call anyone in the world from anywhere in the world. You can use this phone in your car, which is what many people do with these phones. I remember seeing a television commercial one time which had...

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