Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 226 to 250 of 341 results

226. Follow Your Changes (Series: An Invitation to Christian Discipleship)

John 16:5-16

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... skin. Without skin we would look weirder than we already do. Without skin, all our other organs would be hanging out all over the place. Skin cells change at the rate of 30-40 thousand a minute. So, if you don’t mind would you please clean up all the discarded skin you leave in the pews today? Change is sudden. We have been praying for the family of a 20-year-old college student who was driving home from school a week or so ago. Exams left him short on sleep. He dozed off at the wheel and was killed ...

227. Chosen by God

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... that a commentary on the church?) The week before the Pope’s arriva1, workman were busy installing a platform for the throne. But officials panicked when no one could remember what happened to the throne. They were panic stricken. The throne was eventually found, with other discards, in a storage room in a nearby Catholic college. Now that’s a parable. No one could remember what had happened to the throne.- The personal tragedy of many is that we have no throne room in our own lives, Or, we sit upon the ...

228. The Measure You Give Is the Measure You Get

Mark 4:21-25

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... was a real joy to drink on hot summer days. The well for many decades had always run faithfully, even in the hottest, driest seasons. Finally the time came, a few years ago, when the old house was remodeled and modernized. The old kerosene lamps were discarded and the old well was abandoned in favor of a new system that brought in water from town. And Sanford writes, “This is the way things stood for several years…” But then one day, moved by curiosity and old loyalties, Sanford went out to the old ...

229. What Would Jesus Say About Materialism?

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... ’s inheritance. Someone said that if people and waste were laid side by side across the United States of America each square mile of the nation would contain fifty-six people surrounded by fifty-four tons of rubbish, including three junked cars, twenty-six discarded tires, eighty-five hundred bottles, seventeen thousand cans, one ton of plastics and eight and one-half tons of paper. Is that what the generations to come after us will have? Are we investing in that which out lasts us? Jesus was quite clear ...

230. The Door of Service

Luke 22:7-38

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... in small things. Active helpfulness, simple assistance in trifling matters. When I pastured a church in the heart of the city, our front steps would often be covered with whiskey bottles on Sunday morning. I made a habit of carrying them into the church and discarding them in my trash can. The habit created quite a stir since members have a way of knowing what pastors place in their trash cans. The discussions didn't alter my practice, however. It was one small way I could help on Sunday morning. Some ...

231. How to Pack a Backpack

Luke 10:1-24

Illustration

N. Fred Jordan

... don't have to have. Then in the third pile, put all those things that would make life on the trail a lot more comfortable but which you could get along without. This is where you put the light weight hammock, the camp chair, and your extra clean clothes. Now, discard everything that is in piles two and three, pick up the first pile and head for the woods. That is what Jesus is advising his disciples to do in today's lesson. Travel light. Don't get bogged down with too many things.

232. Hard Sayings

Luke 12:49-53

Illustration

Hubert Beck

... . He does go through some hard times and his death is a really, really tortured one, but by and large he is the kind or person who knows and understands our human foibles. He gathers the poor, the sick, the troubled, the outsiders, those who are discarded by society in general and incorporates them into a nice little family where peace reigns, forgiveness is an everyday experience and all live happily ever after (except for those meanies who don't really catch on to who Jesus is and therefore end up killing ...

233. A God Who Suffers with Us

John 9:1-41

Sermon

Lee Griess

... is a part of an EOD team — an Explosive Ordinance Demolitions team. He is paid $1,500 a week to walk the sands of post-war Iraq, to patrol the fields of war-torn Bosnia, or to search the killing fields of Cambodia for land mines, discarded grenades, and unexploded bombs. Richard Lowther is another EOD specialist. Together with Hall they have spent years blowing up thousands of deadly devices left behind by the carnage of war. Hall often says, "Every time I pick up a newspaper and read of a war someplace ...

234. A Picture of Evangelism

John 17:1-11

Illustration

Richard J. Fairchild

... condition. And, true to the Gospel, the only hope of salvation was "the Rock of Ages", a shelter in the time of storm. But as the artist reflected upon his work, he realized that the painting did not accurately portray his subject. So he discarded the canvas, and painted another. It was very similar to the first: the black clouds, the flashing lightning, the angry waters, the little boat crushed by the pounding waves, and the crew vainly struggling in the water. In the foreground the seaman was clutching ...

235. Trash Into Treasure

Matthew 13:24-46

Illustration

James Merritt

... violins ever made because of the rich and resonating sound they produce. The unique sound of a Stradivarius violin cannot be duplicated. Now what may surprise you is these precious instruments were not made from treasured pieces of wood; they were carved from discarded lumber. Stradivarius was very poor, and could not afford fine materials like his contemporaries. So he got most of his wood from the dirty harbors where he lived. He would take those waterlogged pieces of wood to his shop and clean them up ...

236. Transitions

2 Kings 2:1-12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... clothes into two pieces, the traditional symbolic act of inconsolable grief. No surprise, here. It is a time of transition, and times of transition in our lives can be painful. Now we reach the story's denouement. Elisha bends down and picks up his master's discarded cloak - the "mantle of leadership" is passed on. Elisha strikes the waters of the Jordan himself and asks, "Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?" (2 Kings 2:14). Bingo, the waters part again, and now both Elisha and the chorus of prophets ...

237. God Is the Hound of Heaven

Jeremiah 31:7-14

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... to be the least likely group to serve the new president and the country well, but actually it was the only possible group to get the job done. Lincoln was not above personal pride or doing what seemed to be ridiculous, or political suicide, including discarding past political differences that might interfere in his quest to maintain national unity. This political tale, unknown to most, is a good image of how God will do whatever is necessary to help his people. It was true for the Jews, the chosen people ...

238. The Need for Transformation

Jonah 3:1-5, 10

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... , a young boy came racing down the sidewalk on a skateboard. The man jumped out of the way and, in the process, the éclair fell to the ground. He picked it up but it was filled with dirt and other things; it was simply a dirty éclair. Before he discarded it, he caught sight of the homeless person he encountered earlier, walked up to him and said, "Here, my man, is some food for your hunger." The man continued to walk back to the office thinking he had done his good deed for the day. That night, while he ...

239. Ascension Answers

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... to make of Luke's accounts (Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:1-11) of the ascension of Jesus. The other three gospels don't mention it and, frankly, the story seems a little too mythical for twenty-first-century readers. Educated people of the western world have discarded the three-tier cosmology. In the understanding of today's universe, it's not possible to know what is up and what is down. People looking up into the skies today might be looking at other beings on other planets looking down at us. That is why the ...

240. Wash Your Hands

John 13:8

Illustration

Boyce Mouton

... him. Doctors and midwives had been delivering babies for thousands of years without washing, and no outspoken Hungarian was going to change them now! in 1865 Semmelweis' health began to deteriorate and he died in an asylum at the age of 47, his wash basins discarded, his colleagues laughing in his face, and the death rattle of a thousand women ringing in his ears. "Wash me!" was the anguished prayer of King David. "Wash!" was the message of John the Baptist. "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me ...

241. Symptoms of Groupthink

Illustration

Irving L. Janis

... the time for everyone to help him all they can." Janis also lists some of the symptoms of the resulting inadequacy of problem-solving. Among these are the limitation of discussion to only a few alternative courses of action, the failure to reexamine some of the initially preferred and now discarded courses of action, and the failure to seek information from experts within the same organization who could supply more precise estimates of possible losses and gains from alternate courses of action.

242. 101 Ways to Spend Your Time

Illustration

Tim Kimmel

... . Read the biography of a missionary. Give regularly and faithfully to conscientious church endeavors. Place with your will a letter to each family member telling why you were glad you got to share life with him or her. Go through your old records and tapes and discard any of them that might be a bad testimony to your children. Furnish a room (or a corner of a room) with comfortable chairs and declare it the "disagreement corner." When conflicts arise, go to this corner and don't leave until it's resolved ...

243. Killer Soap

Galatians 5:22-23

Illustration

Richard L. Dunagin

At their school carnival, our kids won four free goldfish (lucky us!), so out I went Saturday morning to find an aquarium. The first few I priced ranged from $40 to $70. Then I spotted it right in the aisle: a discarded 10-gallon display tank, complete with gravel and filter for a mere five bucks. Sold! Of course, it was nasty dirty, but the savings made the two hours of clean-up a breeze. Those four new fish looked great in their new home, at least for the first day. But ...

244. Carved from Ruins

Illustration

Staff

... , eventually abandoned, for the Florence Cathedral. It had deteriorated and grown rough after years of exposure to the elements, and by the time Michelangelo began working with it in 1501, it already bore the chisel marks of more than one frustrated sculptor. Michelangelo eventually crafted the discarded block into one of his most luminous works, but recent analyses of the “David” have revealed that the poor quality of its stone may have caused it to degrade at a faster rate than most marble statues.

245. Use Your Instrument

Illustration

... marvelous violin to Genoa the city of his birth but only on condition that the instrument never be played upon. It was an unfortunate condition, for it is a peculiarity of wood that as long as it is used and handled, it shows little wear. As soon as it is discarded, it begins to decay. The exquisite, mellow-toned violin has become worm-eaten in its beautiful case, valueless except as a relic. The moldering instrument is a reminder that a life withdrawn from all service to others loses its meaning.

246. Big Fish In a Small World

Humor Illustration

... a pier and watched a fisherman pull in a large fish, measure it, and throw it back. He caught a second fish, smaller this time, he measured it, and put it in his bucket. Oddly, all the large fish that he caught that measured ten inches or more he discarded. All fish smaller than ten inches he kept. Puzzled, the curious onlooker questioned, "Pardon me, but why do you keep the little ones and throw the big ones away?" The old fellow looked up and without blinking an eye said, "Why, because my frying pan's ten ...

247. The Coat Off Your Back

Luke 3:7-18

Sermon

Cynthia Cowen

... , the pile of clothes and treasures decreased. Finishing her meal, an elderly woman rose to leave. She had found a nice, wool coat — and it was red, her favorite color. She had just enough money to buy it. After paying for her "need" not "want," she discarded her worn, matted coat. She smiled as she slipped her arms into the warm, winter coat. Then she headed for the door. "Nora! Hey, Nora!" a voice cried out. "Isn't that your coat walking out the front door?" Alarmed, Nora turned from clearing tables to ...

248. Proper 14

Psalm 33:12-22, Isaiah 1:1, 10-20, Luke 12:32-40, Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... . As we learn more about how the intricate systems of the human body and the universe work, help us integrate what we learn with what we experience as Divine Presence. We imagine that to be made from clay means that sometimes we feel cracked and discarded. Mend our broken places; establish us among companions who are honest with us and who are willing to help carry our burdens. Sustain us when we are afraid. Energy of the Universe — we used to think that the teachings of Jesus would establish the kingdom ...

249. Responsibility Comes with Privilege

Acts 8:4-8

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... the gift to be important. She placed her grain of rice in a wooden box and put it in a secure place under her bed. The third daughter, who was very pragmatic, looked at the grain of rice and thought, "What good is one grain of rice?" She simply discarded it. The youngest daughter took the grain of rice to her room and began to ponder what the significance of her father's gift was. She thought about it for weeks, then a month. After nearly a year had passed, she believed she understood the meaning of the ...

250. But…!

1 Corinthians 15:19-26

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... of view of modern science? So is not the New Testament story of the empty tomb simply a symbol of the continuing spiritual presence of Jesus whom the disciples felt to be with them after he died? Surely that is just a pre-scientific belief that we can now discard as primitive and superstitious! If it happened, fine. So this wonderful event happened in the distant past but it does not have anything to do with how we live our lives now. Maybe it assures us that when we die, we will go to heaven. But in as far ...

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