Sermon and Worship Resources

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2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

Dancing in holy places — that's the theme of this text. I don't know about you, but sometimes in parish life you just don't feel much like dancing, especially when as a pastor you have to deal with several deaths in one week, and still have to get up and preach with a smile on your face. In a reversal of that British movie, Four Weddings and a Funeral, I remember one week when I was in the parish ...

2. Fathers and Sons

Matthew 21:28-32

Illustration

William J. Carl, III

A father once tried to talk to his son about how college was going: The father said, "How are things going?" The son said, "Good." The father said, "And the dormitory?" He said, "Good." The father said, "How are your studies going?" He said, "Good." The father said, "Have you decided on a major yet?" He said, "Yes." "Well, what is it?" asked the father. The son said, "Communication." So it goes a...

3. Finding Our Roots in God and Country

2 Samuel 5:1-5, 6-10

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

It's a scary thing to go back and explore your roots. You never know what you might find — some errant ancestor who was a brigand or a pirate. Maybe one of them spent a fortnight in the stocks or was strung up on the gallows. Nevertheless, Alex Haley and genealogists around the world encourage us to book a ticket and take our chances traveling back in time. In a way, that's exactly what we do eve...

4. Finding the Right House for God

2 Samuel 7:1-14a

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

Have you ever noticed how some families move a lot? Some are corporate moves, some are military, and some are United Methodist pastors. Whatever the case, every time they move they have to find new lodging. In the military, quarters are often provided. The same may be true for clergy if churches own a manse or a parsonage. But, sometimes you have to look for a new home, which means spending some t...

5. Getting Through the Grief

2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

Getting through grief may be one of the hardest things we do as human beings. One of the best ways to begin the process is to find it within ourselves to stand up and say something in a public setting that puts into words both the personal and collective feelings of all who have gathered to mourn. History is replete with stunning examples. Pericles' Funeral Oration as recorded by Thucydides in The...

6. God Never Gives Up on Us

1 Samuel 8:4-11 (12-15) 16-20, (11:14-15)

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

Have you noticed that no matter how much of a mess we make of our lives, God never gives up on us? We try to do the right thing, but fail over and over again. Paul talks openly about the fact that he knows the right thing to do, but just keeps doing the wrong thing. He can't seem to help himself. I guess it all started with the first Adam who got to work early one morning and parked on the line be...

7. God Stopped Keeping Score

Matthew 18:21-35

Illustration

William J. Carl, III

For Toyohiko Kagawa it was the slums of Tokyo. For Dom Helder Camera, it's the slums of Brazil. For Mother Theresa it was the slums of Calcutta. For Jesus Christ it was all humanity mired down in the slum of its own sin on Calvary. As they taunted him and crucified him, I'm sure the disciples and others wondered why Jesus didn't retaliate. Whatever happened to good old divine retribution? Instead ...

8. Having Trouble Sleeping Through the Night

1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

Having trouble sleeping through the night? You're not alone. Samuel did, too. Sometimes you hear a haunting phrase that sticks with you years later. I heard one like that from Gardner Taylor, that great African-American preacher who once held forth in the pulpit of Concord Baptist Church in Brooklyn. I don't even remember the sermon, which is all right — we're not supposed to remember sermons anym...

9. Life Isn’t Fair

Matthew 20:1-16

Illustration

William J. Carl, III

Sometimes life just isn't fair. So we try to deal with the unfairness, like the little truck driver, just a little guy, who had parked his semi at the highway cafe and had gone in for lunch. While he was sitting there perched on a stool, three burly motorcyclists came in and began picking on him, grabbed his food away and laughed in his face. The truck driver said nothing, got up, paid for his foo...

10. Life Just Isn’t Fair

Matthew 20:1-16

Illustration

William J. Carl, III

Have you ever noticed how sometimes life just isn't fair? It's one of the hard realities we learn early on. No one has to wait for adolescence or old age to find it out. You can learn it in nursery school. Sometimes life just isn't fair. Little brothers and sisters seem to get such special privileges. The things my little brother and sister got away with! There were times when I really felt like ...

11. Samuel Was the Search Committee

1 Samuel 15:34-35, 16:1-13

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

I don't know about you but when I was growing up I always loved hearing the story of Cinderella. There was always something magical about it. It was more than Walter Mitty or Lee Iacocca — small-town boy made good. It was more than Prince Charles and Princess Diana in all their regal splendor long before Diana's untimely death. It was like the triumph of the poor and the oppressed over the powerf...

12. The Many Faces of God

Isaiah 6:1-8

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

Think of all the faces we show the world every day. We scrub up every morning and put our game face on. We never show our real face except to those who know us best, the ones who see through the game face to the real you and me. But with everyone else we change our faces. The doorbell rings. You're working on something, so you grimace over the interruption. Watch the contours of your face change,...

13. The Real Underdog!

1 Samuel 17:1, 4-11, 19-23, 32-49

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

Every boy I knew growing up in the Midwest loved this story. We acted it out. We imagined ourselves as David, the shepherd boy, with nothing but a sling and a few smooth stones. Goliath represented for us every neighborhood bully who had ever picked on us. Of course, we only had dime-store slingshots. You know the kind where you pulled back the bungee cord-like launcher with the little patch in th...

14. The Sacrifice Play

Matthew 16:21-28

Illustration

William J. Carl, III

Sacrifice is not a word we use much these days, is it? When was the last time you used it or thought about it in terms of your own life? When was the last time you sacrificed anything for anybody? Come to think about it, there's only one sport as far as I know where the term is actually used. Do you know which sport that is? You can almost hear Harry Cary announcing it over the radio, "And there i...

15. What a Way to Start a Church!

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

What a way to start a church! It's certainly not the typical format for new church development. Where is the planning committee, the fund-raising, the arm twisting, the real estate deal acquiring the land, the faithful few who volunteer from other churches to give the whole thing its initial push? Not everyone has the personality to start a church from scratch, but Paul did. "I planted, Apollos wa...

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