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Elaine M. Ward

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Children's sermon

SermonStudio

Silent Night, Holy Night -- Luke 2:1-20 -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2002
"Thank you, Pastor, for coming to visit my sick wife, especially on Christmas Eve," said the old man
All Kinds Of Doubts -- Mark 9:24 -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2002
A father came to Jesus with his son who needed healing. He begged Jesus, "Help us!"
This Little Light Of Mine -- Matthew 5:13-20 -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2002
(Bring a lamp that uses oil, such as in Jesus' time, and a basket.)
John The Baptist -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2002
There was once a man named John. He lived in the wilderness, the desert.
The Seed -- Mark 4:1-9 -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2002
There once was a seed and in that seed was life. The seed was buried in the earth.
Francis Of Assisi -- Genesis 1:31 -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2002
Once upon a time there was a man named Francis who liked to play and sing and dance.
Creation -- Genesis 1:1--2:3 -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2002
In the beginning God created Earth.
The House On The Rock -- Matthew 7:24-27 -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2002
Jesus told a story about a man who built his house upon a rock and another man who built his house u
The Aspen And The Wind -- Mark 10:44 -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2002
"Whoever wishes to be first must be servant of all."
Moses, The Baby -- Exodus 1:8--2:10 -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2002
Once upon a time there was an evil king who ordered that all boy Hebrew babies were to be killed.
The Loving Father -- Luke 15:11-32 -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2002
"Alan, you are late again!" Alan's father's jaw twitched, which meant Alan's father was not pleased.
Jesus' Resurrection -- Mark 16:6 -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2002
The small, furry, green caterpillar ate its way up the stalk of grass.
One Small Raindrop -- Psalm 147:8 -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2002
"God covers the sky with clouds; God supplies the earth with rain...."
Moses, The Man -- Exodus 3:1-4 -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2002
"It's burning!" Moses exclaimed, looking at the bush burning before him.
Transfiguration Sunday -- Matthew 17:1-9 -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2002
Leader, wearing dark glasses, asks the children, "Do you know why I am wearing dark glasses?" (Pause
The Mustard Seed -- Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2002
(Ask the children's choir or congregation to sing "Hymn of Promise" by Natalie Sleeth, #707, The Uni
David And Goliath -- Psalm 63 -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2002
The lion slowly approached the sheep, who, eating the grass, was unaware of the lion about to eat hi
Ask Me, I Will Do It -- John 14:1-14 -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2002
Brad was a good student.
Knowing God -- Psalm 116:1-2 -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2002
It was a new room for Zachary. It was his first Sunday in the three-year-old nursery.
Elijah And The Voice -- 1 Kings 19:1 -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2002
Elijah was a messenger of God.
Listening -- Mark 1:35 -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2002
Jesus was a healer.
"Come And See" -- John 1:29-42 -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2002
Once a teacher asked the children at church to draw a picture of God. But they had never seen God.
Job -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2002
Once upon a time there was a man named Job.
All Saints' Day -- Matthew 5:1-12 -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2002
A young boy, reading about the saints, decided to become one.
Little Wind -- Luke 2 -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2002
Little Wind floated silently to the foot of God's throne.

Illustration

StoryShare

We Can Be Changed -- Mark 1:1-8, Isaiah 40:1-11, 2 Peter 3:8-15a, Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13 -- Constance Berg, John E. Sumwalt, Henry Scholberg, Elaine M. Ward -- Second Sunday of Advent - B -- 2004
Contents What's Up This Week A Story to Live By: "We Can Be Changed"

Sermon

SermonStudio

Elaine M. Ward -- 2004
Call To Worship:
Another Door -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2004
Intergenerational ServiceCall To Worship:
Be Bold In The Spirit -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2004
Call To Worship:
Pentecost And Baptism -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2004
Call To Worship:
Living Water -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2004
Call To Worship:
"Who Stands With This Child?" -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2004
Call To Worship:Come, let us stand and worship our God.
Advent And Baptism -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2004
Call To Worship:O come, all ye faithful, and worship the Lord.
Easter And Baptism -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2004
Call To Worship: God is the resurrection. Come, let us worship God.
Communion: The Sacrament Of Word And Table -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2004
In the 1930s I grew up feeding on words.
Dancing The Sacraments -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2004
Call To Worship:
The Blessed Sacrament -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2004
Call To Worship:
Remember -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2004
Call To Worship:Come, let us remember and worship God who calls us.
Healing And Forgiveness -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2004
Call To Worship:
Sharing The Bread -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2004
Call To Worship: Come, let us break bread together as we worship God.
Take The Bread -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2004
Call To Worship:
Enough For All -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2004
(Place a sheaf of wheat and a small bunch of purple grapes in a basket on the altar to represent
World Communion Sunday -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2004
(Place a variety of breads, representing different parts of the world, on the altar.
Advent And Communion -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2004
Call To Worship:
Easter And Communion -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2004
Call To Worship:
Pentecost And Communion -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2004
Call To Worship:
Thanksgiving And Communion -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2004
Call To Worship:
Children And The Sacraments -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2004
Communion And Children
Sacrament Poems -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2004
The Gift Of BaptismAt baptism I was given a gift,
The Story Of Zacchaeus -- Luke 19:1-10 -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2000
Winston Churchill once said, "We make a living by what we get.

Stories

StoryShare

We Can Be Changed -- Mark 1:1-8, Isaiah 40:1-11, 2 Peter 3:8-15a, Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13 -- Constance Berg, John E. Sumwalt, Henry Scholberg, Elaine M. Ward -- Second Sunday of Advent - B -- 2004
Contents What's Up This Week A Story to Live By: "We Can Be Changed"

Worship

SermonStudio

Litany For Advent And Christmas Candle Lighting -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2003
LitanyFirst Sunday Of Advent(Light the first candle)
Rally Day -- Stan Purdum, Pamela J. Abbey, Elaine M. Ward -- 2001
Welcome and AnnouncementsPreludeCall to Worship
Reformation Day -- Stan Purdum, Pamela J. Abbey, Elaine M. Ward -- 2001
Welcome and AnnouncementsPreludeCall to Worship
All Saints' Day -- Stan Purdum, Pamela J. Abbey, Elaine M. Ward -- 2001
All Saints' DayService Of Worship
Thanksgiving -- Stan Purdum, Pamela J. Abbey, Elaine M. Ward -- 2001
Welcome and AnnouncementsPreludeCall to Worship
Advent Sundays -- Stan Purdum, Pamela J. Abbey, Elaine M. Ward -- 2001
Four Advent MonologuesPreface
Cousin Jochaved A Heart Prepared -- Luke 2:6-7 -- Stan Purdum, Pamela J. Abbey, Elaine M. Ward -- 2001
I'm so glad that census is over.
A Shepherd Night Watch -- Luke 2:8-15 -- Stan Purdum, Pamela J. Abbey, Elaine M. Ward -- 2001
It began as a night just like any other night.
An Angel Tidings -- Luke 2:8-14 -- Stan Purdum, Pamela J. Abbey, Elaine M. Ward -- 2001
(Angel enters, humming or whistling "Angels We Have Heard On High." Stops center and begins to pu
Youth Sunday -- Stan Purdum, Pamela J. Abbey, Elaine M. Ward -- 2001
Introduction
Standing On The Shore -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2000
Call to Worship
Crumbs From The Cross -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2000
Call to Worship
The Season Of Sacred Stories -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2000
Call to Worship
Let It Go! -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2000
Call to Worship
The Word Jesus Spoke -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2000
Call to Worship
All-Surrounding Grace -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2000
Call to WorshipProcessional Hymn
Unless A Grain Of Wheat ... -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2000
Call to Worship
Jesus, The Servant -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2000
Call to Worship
The Lord Has Need Of It -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2000
Call to Worship
Did You Know? -- Elaine M. Ward -- 2000
Did you knowDust creates the snow?Common, useless, nuisance dust
UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Easter 2
20 – Sermons
170+ – Illustrations / Stories
26 – Children's Sermons / Resources
24 – Worship Resources
20 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Easter 3
34 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
32 – Children's Sermons / Resources
26 – Worship Resources
31 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Easter 4
30 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
33 – Children's Sermons / Resources
24 – Worship Resources
33 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

New & Featured This Week

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John Jamison
Object: A sheep or lamb stuffed animal.

Note: For the best experience, when you ask the questions, take the time to draw the children out a bit and help them come up with answers. Make it more of a conversation if you can.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! Let’s get started! (Hold the sheep in your lap as you continue.)

The Immediate Word

Dean Feldmeyer
Katy Stenta
Thomas Willadsen
Christopher Keating
George Reed
Mary Austin
For May 4, 2025:

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, singing with full voice… (vv. 11-12a)

Phillip Hasheider is a retired Wisconsin beef farmer and an award-winning author who was dead for six minutes and came back to tell about it. If you have ever thought about dying and wondered what it would be like, then Hasheider’s Six Minutes in Eternity is a book you will want to read.

Emphasis Preaching Journal

David Coffin
A medical worker is working long, hard, stress filled hours in an urban hospital setting. One day he or she is called into the administrator’s office to be terminated due to angering professionals in the upper echelon. The worker protests that it is, “My word against their word, why am I to be the scapegoat?” The administrator pulls rank! The worker is asked to turn in their badge and do not come into the premises again unless as a patient. The now unemployed medical worker still feels the calling to be a healer. So, they get a job at an alternative/natural health medicine store.
Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Bonnie Bates
Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)
Martin Luther believed that the story of Paul’s conversion demonstrates that there is no need for special revelation. The reformer commented:

Our Lord God does not purpose some special thing for each individual person, but gives to the whole world — one person like the next — his baptism and gospel. (Complete Sermons, Vol.7, p.271)

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
I've recently spent several hours by the lakeside, for I've been in retreat this past week in the little village of Hemingford Grey, in Huntingdonshire. A great delight for me was to walk to the flooded gravel pits, sit on a bench in glorious sunshine, and watch the water birds. For me, that's a wonderful way to become very aware of the presence of God through the beauty of his created world. And sitting like that for several hours, doing nothing but watching and waiting, I can't help but absorb the peace which passes all understanding.

SermonStudio

Constance Berg
When Beth was a teenager, she lived on the streets. She smoked cigarettes and drank beer and her parents had said that she had to choose: her friends or her family. Beth chose her friends and lived from house to house and eventually in homeless shelters. She barely avoided being raped at one point. About six months of shelter-hopping was all she could take, and she found a shelter that sponsored her until she took the GED. They told her she was brilliant: she was just bored and dissatisfied with the status quo. The shelter supervisors suggested she look into community college.
James Evans
(For alternative approaches, see Epiphany 6/Ordinary Time 6, Cycle B; and Proper 9/Pentecost 7/Ordinary Time 14, Cycle C.)

The main theme of this psalm is captured profoundly in the movement within a single verse: "Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with morning" (v. 5). Casting life experiences between light and dark is not unique or novel, of course, but the poet's treatment of these themes offers some fertile ground for reflection.

Elizabeth Achtemeier
We have three different accounts of the conversion of Saul in the Gospel according to Luke (9:1-20; 22:6-16; 26:12-18). They differ in a few minor details, but essentially they are the same. In addition, Paul writes of his conversion in Galatians 1:11-16, and in 1 Corinthians 9:1 and 15:8-9, stating that at the time of his conversion on the road to Damascus, he saw the Lord. For Paul, that made him an apostle, equal to the twelve. An apostle, in Paul's thought, was one who had seen the risen Christ and had been sent to announce that good news.
Richard E. Gribble, CSC
Once in a far-off land, there was a great king whose dominion extended far and wide. His power and authority were absolute. One day, as events would happen, a young man, a commoner, committed a grave offense against the king. In response, the king and his counselors gathered together to determine what should be done. They decided that since the offense was so grave and had been committed by a commoner against someone so august as the king, the only punishment that would satisfy justice was death.

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