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Worship

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Today -- George A. Nye -- 1994
I'm a spring person rather than a fall person because spring
Safe Places -- George A. Nye -- 1994
In some situations, I ask people with whom I am counseling,
Shopping Carts -- George A. Nye -- 1994
Many of us come before God in prayer like we go through the
Germination -- George A. Nye -- 1994
A couple of weeks ago, I re-seeded a portion of my lawn. As I
Cables -- George A. Nye -- 1994
In Washington State, the old timers remember the Starbuck
Trees -- George A. Nye -- 1994
A scourge of the emerging generations is their state of
Hospital Gowns -- George A. Nye -- 1994
One of the worst things about being a patient in the hospital
Hope -- George A. Nye -- 1994
For some of us, there comes a time when we lose hope. The
Valuables -- George A. Nye -- 1994
Things possess the qualities of fun, value, or interest that
Goofs -- George A. Nye -- 1994
I remember in the 1950s, seeing Jackie Gleason run off stage
Self-limitations -- George A. Nye -- 1994
"It's my life!" "This is my body!" We're very possessive of
Journeys -- George A. Nye -- 1994
There's a big risk in granting freedom to others. It becomes a
Just -- George A. Nye -- 1994
"Just" is such a horrid little word. We use it most often as a
Gifts -- George A. Nye -- 1994
The story of Job doesn't work for many of us who have known
Time -- George A. Nye -- 1994
Are you guilty of murder? Most of us are , at least to the
Loopholes -- George A. Nye -- 1994
Loopholes are highly desirable in everything from income
Temptation -- George A. Nye -- 1994
A prayer that's often in our heart of hearts, if not in our
Bonsai Christians -- George A. Nye -- 1994
Bonsai trees are formed by stunting normal trees through a
Disconnected -- George A. Nye -- 1994
A person with amnesia has no past. And having no past, she has
Ruts -- George A. Nye -- 1994
There's a Canadian sign at a rural crossroads: "Be careful
Secrets -- George A. Nye -- 1994
We must have secrets in order to be individuals and to be
Healthy Grief -- George A. Nye -- 1994
A widow came to the pastor at the close of the funeral service
Grace -- George A. Nye -- 1994
There's a popular slang phrase that begs another to ease up
Commitment -- George A. Nye -- 1994
"Make me feel good, Lord," is the prayer of some who seek an
"They" -- George A. Nye -- 1994
"They" is an ugly word. It robs us of our most precious gift -

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Expecting -- Matthew 11:2-11 -- Linda Schiphorst Mccoy -- Third Sunday of Advent - A -- 2001
When a woman is pregnant, we often say she is "expecting." That is a good term for it, because she's
What To Do? -- Matthew 1:18-25 -- Linda Schiphorst Mccoy -- Fourth Sunday of Advent - A -- 2001
Most of us have probably come to some major turning point in life when we're been trying to determin
Good News! -- Luke 2:1-20 -- Linda Schiphorst Mccoy -- The Nativity of our Lord - A -- 2001
A young girl was driving around the city with her family, looking at the various displays of Christm
The Power Of A Dream -- Matthew 2:13-23 -- Linda Schiphorst Mccoy -- First Sunday after Christmas Day - A -- 2001
Do you dream? Do you remember your dreams?
Show And Tell -- John 1:(1-9) 10-18 -- Linda Schiphorst Mccoy -- Second Sunday after Christmas - A -- 2001
An article in U.S.
A God Thing -- Matthew 3:13-17 -- Linda Schiphorst Mccoy -- The Baptism of our Lord | Epiphany 1 | Ordinary Time 1 - A -- 2001
Bil Keane, the creator of the Family Circus cartoon, said he was drawing a cartoon one day wh
Positive Identification -- John 1:29-42 -- Linda Schiphorst Mccoy -- Epiphany 2 | Ordinary Time 2 - A -- 2001
A while ago, I received an invitation to my high school reunion.
Answering The Call -- Matthew 4:12-23 -- Linda Schiphorst Mccoy -- Epiphany 3 | Ordinary Time 3 - A -- 2001
A few years ago, I was on a retreat in northern Michigan, and I knew that some of our friends from h
Are You Happy? -- Matthew 5:1-12 -- Linda Schiphorst Mccoy -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - A -- 2001
When I'm teaching a class, and want to get a discussion going, I often begin with something that's c
Let Your Light Shine -- Matthew 5:13-20 -- Linda Schiphorst Mccoy -- Epiphany 5 | Ordinary Time 5 - A -- 2001
I heard a story some years ago about some neighborhood children who were playing in the front yard w
Building Bridges -- Matthew 5:21-37 -- Linda Schiphorst Mccoy -- Epiphany 6 | Ordinary Time 6 - A -- 2001
There was a story on CNN a few months ago about a town in Wales that was divided by a river.
You Want Me To Do What? -- Matthew 5:38-48 -- Linda Schiphorst Mccoy -- Epiphany 7 | Ordinary Time 7 - A -- 2001
There's an old Charles Schulz Peanuts cartoon that has Lucy chasing Charlie Brown around the
Why Worry? -- Matthew 6:24-34 -- Linda Schiphorst Mccoy -- Epiphany 8 | Ordinary Time 8 - A -- 2001
We were told that one of the major trends of the latter part of the twentieth century was anxiety.
It's A Mystery -- Matthew 17:1-9 -- Linda Schiphorst Mccoy -- Transfiguration Sunday - A -- 2001
Mike, a member of our Good Earth Band at THE GARDEN, and a Ph.D.
Strength Out Of Weakness -- Romans 8:26-39 -- Tom M. Garrison -- Proper 12 | Ordinary Time 17 - A -- 2001
It was the July 22, 1999, CNN live coverage of the burial at sea of John F. Kennedy, Jr.
The Pain Of Caring -- Romans 9:1-5 -- Tom M. Garrison -- Proper 13 | Ordinary Time 18 - A -- 2001
Amazing statements have a powerful way of burning themselves into our memories.
The Word Of Confession -- Romans 10:5-15 -- Tom M. Garrison -- 2001
On January 21, 2001, George W.
Have Mercy On Me -- Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32 -- Tom M. Garrison -- Proper 15 | Ordinary Time 20 - A -- 2001
"Lord, have mercy on me." My earliest memory of that statement goes back to a little farm in central
A Living Sacrifice -- Romans 12:1-8 -- Tom M. Garrison -- Proper 16 | Ordinary Time 21 - A -- 2001
I had always assumed I understood the word "sacrifice." A recent trip to Mexico City, however, washe
Victims? -- Romans 12:9-21 -- Tom M. Garrison -- Proper 17 | Ordinary Time 22 - A -- 2001
After watching Gandhi, the acclaimed movie about the nonviolent leader of India, for the sixt
A Call To Love -- Romans 13:8-14 -- Tom M. Garrison -- Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - A -- 2001
Of all the words used throughout the world, the one that is used the most -- or misused the most --
Who Am I To Judge Another? -- Romans 14:1-12 -- Tom M. Garrison -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - A -- 2001
While I was still in seminary, I thought it would be good to go back to my roots and try to understa
Living On The Edge -- Philippians 1:21-30 -- Tom M. Garrison -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 2001
In 1971 Evel Knievel attempted to jump across Snake River on a rocket--powered motorcycle.
The Mind Of Christ -- Philippians 2:1-13 -- Tom M. Garrison -- Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 - A -- 2001
As we read the writings of the Apostle Paul, we begin to get a sense through the Spirit that we are
Acting Like God Acts -- 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 -- Gary L. Carver -- Trinity Sunday | 1st Sunday after Pentecost - A -- 2001
My good friend, Tommy Garrison, tells the story of a minister who boarded an airplane.

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Sermon Moves According To Listener Reaction -- Jerry L. Schmalenberger -- 1996
Sermon Structure From Congregational Reaction
The Extended Metaphor As Sermon Vehicle -- Jerry L. Schmalenberger -- 1996
David Buttrick claims in his book Homiletic,
Preaching For Baby Boomers And Busters -- Jerry L. Schmalenberger -- 1996
The baby boomers, that group who were born just after World War Two, have been researched and studie
Local History As Gospel Parable -- Jerry L. Schmalenberger -- 1996
In my 35 years of preaching I never found a sermon series in which the congregation and community ha
Story Sermons -- George L. Murphy, Lavonne Althouse, Russell Willis -- 1996
These two science fiction story sermons are intended to
THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD -- Psalms 96, 97, 98 -- George L. Murphy, Lavonne Althouse, Russell Willis -- 1996
The Psalms for all three Christmas services celebrate the
Free Texts -- Exodus 31:1-11 -- George L. Murphy, Lavonne Althouse, Russell Willis -- 1996
The phrase "spiritual gifts" usually suggests qualities or
1 ADVENT -- Mark 13:24-37 -- George L. Murphy, Lavonne Althouse, Russell Willis -- 1996
The apocalyptic imagery of such texts contrasts sharply with
1 ADVENT -- Luke 21:25-36 -- George L. Murphy, Lavonne Althouse, Russell Willis -- 1996
Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, published in 1962, was for its
The Fig Tree Lesson -- Mark 13:24-37 -- William E. Keeney -- 1996
We were traveling in the dark.
The One Shepherd -- John 10:11-18 -- William E. Keeney -- Fourth Sunday of Easter - B -- 1996
The Good Shepherd parable comes on the fourth Sunday of Easter.
The Fruitful Vine -- John 15:1-8 -- William E. Keeney -- Fifth Sunday of Easter - B -- 1996
What is a preacher to make of a parable or extended allegory about a vine in an urban and industrial
Bread For Life -- John 6:35, 41-51 -- William E. Keeney -- Proper 14 | Ordinary Time 19 - B -- 1996
Friends told me recently that they had bought a bread-making machine.
Eating Living Bread -- John 6:51-58 -- William E. Keeney -- Proper 15 | Ordinary Time 20 - B -- 1996
Most Americans eat well. Three square meals a day is not uncommon.
Tying Up A Strong Man -- Mark 3:20-35 -- William E. Keeney -- Proper 5 | Ordinary Time 10 - B -- 1996
Mark's gospel account very quickly gets into the conflict that will eventually culminate in the deat
Seeds And The Kingdom -- Mark 4:26-34 -- William E. Keeney -- Proper 6 | Ordinary Time 11 - B -- 1996
At this writing the U.S.
To Search The Heart With Candles, And A Man Named Angell James -- James W. Angell -- 1995
I was ten when I first got an inkling that someday I might wind up as a preacher.
After A Lost Election, Field Of Dreams -- James W. Angell -- 1995
Iowa is an Indian word meaning "beautiful land." And that's where it all began for me.
Preaching Because We Have Something To Say Rather Than Because We Have To Say Something -- James W. Angell -- 1995
The pulpit is less than half of the mystery of preaching.
Windows Of Wonder - Choosing Illustrations That Set Ideas Dancing -- James W. Angell -- 1995
I feel life is so small unless it has windows into other worlds.- Bertrand Russell
Make Way For Poets Of The Heart -- James W. Angell -- 1995
One of the dividends of the ministry is coming to know and enjoy different people - all ages and all
To See Your Face Is Like Seeing The Face Of God -- James W. Angell -- 1995
If you could deliver one sermon, what would you speak about?
Assists From Broadway -- James W. Angell -- 1995
Authors regularly use what they refer to as a "hook" to engage the attention of readers quickly.
The Aim Of Preaching: To Bestow The Kiss Of Life -- James W. Angell -- 1995
The Los Angeles summer of 1965 produced the frustration-generated Watts riots - or Watts "revolt" as
Welcoming The New Millennium -- James W. Angell -- 1995
At a wedding I attended 50 years ago, the bride's brother sang a love song, "At Dawning." I was the

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UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Lent 5
29 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
27 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Palm/Passion Sunday
30+ – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
30+ – Children's Sermons / Resources
30+ – Worship Resources
26 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Maundy Thursday
15+ – Sermons
70+ – Illustrations / Stories
20+ – Children's Sermons / Resources
15+ – Worship Resources
10 – Commentary / Exegesis
and more...
Good Friday
16+ – Sermons
70+ – Illustrations / Stories
20+ – Children's Sermons / Resources
15+ – Worship Resources
10 – Commentary / Exegesis
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

New & Featured This Week

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Sandra Herrmann
The work of salvation is embodied in the crucifixion and death of Jesus. That, all Christians are agreed upon. But how does that work? Jesus is obedient to God, undergoing torture and a horrible death, naked and in public view. Unless someone will come forward and claim the body after the crucifixion is over, it will be disposed of like garbage, literally: it will be thrown in the garbage pit outside of Jerusalem and slaked with lime to hold down the smell of the decaying flesh and hurry the process of tissue breakdown.
Perhaps we lose the punch of the imagery of "servant" in the Bible when we in our day view on cable television a movie like Remains of the Day. Watching the ever meticulous and loyal Anthony Hopkins prepare a table for dinner in a British palatial estate enables us to see what the ideal servant should do, how he should dress and act and talk, and how he should close his ears to whatever conversation takes place between host and guest.
R. Craig Maccreary
I suspect that most preachers will not be looking for ways to dive headlong into lifting up the passion as the centerpiece of their homiletical offering for this Sunday. No doubt there are good reasons to avoid wandering off the usual beaten path of the Palm Sunday parade: the palms, on order for a year, beckon to be taken home and folded into family Bibles as bookmarks; the children wait to have the promise fulfilled that they will be able to act up a bit in the parade of palms with a passion that is not usually permitted; and the choir has practiced for months.

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Call to Worship:
When Jesus died, the centurion who crucified him said, "Truly this man was God's Son!" Let us worship God's Son in all our activities today.


Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, forgive us when we fail to recognise you in other people.
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, forgive us when we let ourselves down.
Christ, have mercy.
Jesus, forgive us for all those occasions when we crucify you afresh.
Lord, have mercy.

Reading:

StoryShare

Bryan Meadows
David O. Bales
Contents
What's Up This Week
"Upwards Motion" by Bryan Meadows
"Is It Truth?" by David Bales


What's Up This Week
Judy Sepsey
David O. Bales


Contents
"In the Arms of Love" by Judy Sepsey
"Mother of Judas" by David O. Bales


* * * * * * * *


Introducing Judy Sepsey

SermonStudio

David O. Bales
The novel The Ugly American is based upon facts of how Americans related to people in Southeast Asia. The insensitivity and arrogance of American government officials was generally depressing. One chapter of the novel, however, is particularly inspiring. An American woman, Emma Atkins, has come with her engineer husband to the fictional nation of Sarkhan. Emma is a curious, good-hearted person and she soon notices that in their small village all the older people are permanently bent over.
Lee Griess
Different churches celebrate Palm Sunday in different ways. At one church in Chicago, there is a tradition for worshipers to gather outside the church. Palm branches are distributed, and when the time comes, another group of worshipers emerge from the front doors playing instruments and together they march around the block, singing the songs of Palm Sunday. One year as the procession made its way around the block of the church building, a young man living in an apartment across the street, threw open the window and in his pajamas shouted, "What's all this noise?
Mark Ellingsen
God simply does not seem to do the sort of things we would expect our God to do. He does not always give us what we want. Most of us do not have everything we had hoped and dreamed for in life. He does not always answer our prayers. After all, we have all lost loved ones.
Robert J. Elder
Preachers often wonder what to do with Palm Sunday. Frequently the day is given to a celebration of Jesus' triumphal procession into Jerusalem.

Sometimes, though, worship provides a different offering, given the alternate title of Passion Sunday, leaving behind the pomp and celebration of Palm Sunday for a hard look at the events of the coming week, the last supper, the betrayal, the crucifixion, the burial in the tomb. It is because we know about the passion that is coming that preachers always wonder what to do with the happy celebration of Palm Sunday.
Albert G. Butzer, III
One of the harsh realities of the life of faith is feeling abandoned by God. Sooner or later most of us will experience what college chaplain Will Willimon once called "vacant places of the heart when God seems far away, remote."1 We often hear people say, "I come to church to celebrate the presence of God in my life," which is true for many people much of the time. But if we listen carefully we will hear others say:

I come to church to try to find what's missing in my life.
I come hoping that Someone will shed some light on my darkness.
Bill Mosley
Things are hardly ever the way they appear and certainly not on Calvary's hill. The Passion story from Luke makes the turning tables graphically clear. The king is crucified. The court of law is not legal. Justice is not done. Even the Roman governor can find no crime in this man. The evidence is compromised. Everything points the other way. So why does Jesus have to die?
Dallas A. Brauninger
First Lesson: Isaiah 50:4-9a
Theme: Like Flint

Call To Worship

He, who could tenderly sustain the weary with a word, was about to be clobbered. He knew it. He did not run. He faced it. He turned his own other cheek.

Collect

We stand together with you, O Parent of Jesus, through the unholy events of this holy week. We stand with you as you wait with your own face set like flint as you hear him cry out to you on the cross.

Prayer Of Confession
Beverly S. Bailey
Hymns
At The Name Of Jesus (PH148, UM168, CBH342)
All Hail The Power Of Jesus' Name (PH142, 143, CBH106, NCH304)
He Is Lord (UM177)
Blessed Be The Tie That Binds (CBH421)
Go To Dark Gethsemane (PH97, CBH240)        
He Never Said A Mumblin' Word (PH85)
Hosanna, Loud Hosanna (UM27, PH89, NCH213)
Mantos y Palmas/Filled With Excitement (UM279, NCH214)
All Glory, Laud, And Honor (PH90, NCH216)

Anthems
Hosanna, Loud Hosanna, Kenyon, Agape, handbells

CSSPlus

Good morning, boys and girls. Everyone here this morning has taken an elevator ride before, right? (Let them answer.) Have you ever gotten on an elevator that was going down, (point down) and you wanted to go up, (point up) so you went down (point down) to go up (point up)? That's what we are going to do this morning. Only our elevator is an imaginary one.
Good morning! Today I brought a sign with me. Can someone tell me what it says? (Have one of the older children read it.) Now why do you think I brought this with me this morning? (Let them answer.) I brought this with me because it is very similar to the sign they put on Jesus' cross. (Here you can recap the Passion Sunday reading.)
Good morning! I brought two pictures to show you today. Here
is a picture of Jesus having a dinner with his friends (show the
picture), and here is one of Jesus suffering on the cross (show
the picture). Now, if you were Jesus, which of these two things
would you rather be doing? (Let them answer.) Yes, of course. If
any of us were given that choice, we would rather be doing
anything other than suffering on a cross. In fact, I doubt that
there is anything that would convince one of us to allow
Good morning! Who knows what today is? (get responses) Yes! It's Palm Sunday, which is the last Sunday in Lent. That means that next Sunday is Easter! We've been waiting a long time to celebrate Easter. We're getting close, but we aren't quite ready to celebrate it yet. We still have to tell the story of Jesus' death before we can tell the story of his resurrection.

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