Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 226 to 250 of 1409 results

226. Team Work is Dream Work

Psalm 133:1-3

Sermon

James Merritt

What I want to talk to you about today is something that God desperately desires for his people. It is one thing that Satan fears and works day and night to undo. It is something for which Jesus himself prayed for just before He went to the cross. It is the one thing the bible says that will convince people that the church has something the world does not. It is the one thing that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is meant to accomplish. What is it that I am talking about?—UNITY. Now when I speak about unity ...

227. His Way is the Right Way

Psalm 23:3

Sermon

James Merritt

They can make you, they can break you. They can put scars on your soul, or stars in your heart. A bad one can ruin a life forever, a good one can redeem a life forever. You will frequently rejoice over the good ones, and you will forever regret all the bad ones. What am I talking about? Decisions, decisions, decisions. They can make you bad, glad, or sad. I read about a man who had placed some flowers on the grave of his dearly departed mother. He started back toward his car when he saw another man ...

228. Walking on the Water

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever been afraid? So afraid that you were almost paralyzed? So afraid, that words stuck in your throat and you wanted to scream, but you could not. Pastor John Ortberg wrote a book sometime back titled, If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of The Boat. In it he tells a wonderful story about a ride he and his wife once took in a hot-air balloon. The balloon party consisted of the Ortbergs, the pilot and another couple. Ortberg had always assumed that the baskets hanging below hot-air ...

229. Matthew 25:1-13

Matthew 25:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Today’s gospel parable is the third and final of Jesus’ lessons on keeping alert, being ready, for the return of the Son of Man. This parable of the ten maidens with its concluding warning to “watch” doesn’t quite seem to fit the details of Jesus’ illustration, but this third lesson does fit well into the flow of Matthew’s organizational pattern. The parable describes details that would be familiar to any first century Jew for whom the traditions surrounding a wedding celebration were some of the ...

230. Don't Count Sheep

John 10:11-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

What kind of image do you associate with "the Lord is my shepherd"? Does your mind's eye more readily identify with the identity of "sheep" or "shepherd?" What are the responsibilities of sheep and of shepherds? What is expected of us? Have you ever been troubled by the biblical injunction that calls for separating the sheep from the goats? The problem with the analogy is that we know from many other texts (such as this week's) that Christians should strive to be counted among the sheep. Goats, with their ...

231. Close the Loopholes

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

It is through life's cracks and loopholes that evil dynamics gain entrance. The church must close these loopholes. Today's epistle reading warns the Ephesian Christians against allowing "room for the devil." A more accessible translation of this text warns against allowing a "loophole for the Devil" (NEB). After all: To worm his way into our lives and minds, the Devil doesn't need much "room" at all a little slit of a loophole will work just fine. Washingtonstate's Puget Sound is a wet, rain-drenched area ...

232. The World's Fittest Human

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Training in godliness involves the 4-step fitness program outlined in the Shema: Heart, Mind, Soul, Strength. Last spring, there was only one "athlete" on everybody's minds and every sportscaster's lips. In 1997, Tiger Woods became the youngest player ever to win the Master's golf tournament and he did so by setting a record low score. The most prestigious tourney, a record-setting score not a bad start for a 21-year-old's first full year on the pro golf circuit. Golfers on the pro tour are sighing and ...

233. Familiar Things

John 6:25-59, Matthew 26:17-30, Luke 22:7-38

Illustration

Alex Gondola

From time to time, all of us have been guilty of taking some remarkable things for granted, simply because they have become familiar to us. Take, for instance, the ancient and honorable game of golf. Most of us understand the basic principles of golf. Some of us play golf. Some of us play at it. But suppose you had to explain golf to someone who had never seen it before say an Aborigine from the Australian outback. Don't you think an Aborigine from the Australian outback might find our game of golf rather ...

234. A Stone’s Throw Away

1 Samuel 17

Sermon

James Merritt

Anyone who knows anything about the Bible knows that beyond question, the central character and the hero of the entire Bible is the Lord Jesus Christ. With the exception of Jesus Christ, one individual has more scripture devoted to Him than any other individual. Would you know who that is? Hint: It is neither Paul nor Moses. This character is mentioned in I and II Samuel, I Kings, I Chronicles, and seventy-five psalms. He is the first person named in the New Testament after Jesus Christ and he is the last ...

235. A Cure for the Workaholic

Genesis 2:1-3

Sermon

James Merritt

If you are from the Deep South especially, you have to like Jeff Foxworthy. He made the word "redneck" universally famous. He was the one who said, "You might be a redneck if all of your salad bowls have "Cool Whip" stamped on them." Nobody knows how to identify a redneck, better than Jeff Foxworthy. I came across some ways you can also identify a workaholic. In case you are wondering whether or not you might be one, just consider the following: If it frustrates you that they don't allow laptops on a ...

236. The Dark Side Confronted

Hebrews 12:5-11

Sermon

James Merritt

As we left our story last week, the Emperor and Darth Vader had devised a plan to turn the young Jedi, Luke Skywalker, to the Dark Side. While we were gone, Darth Vader revealed his true identity as Luke's father, Anakin Skywalker. Luke has now been captured and is ready to face Darth Vader, not just as his enemy, but also as his Father. We have been in a series of messages called "The Dark Side". I remind you again that what Star Wars calls "The Dark Side" the Bible calls "sin". There really is a dark ...

237. Faithquakes

Luke 17:5-10

Sermon

Ron Lavin

A woman who went through her first earthquake in California said, as it was happening, "I think a train just hit our apartment building. I think our foundation is gone. We better pray." A faithquake is something like an earthquake. Something comes along and shakes us up. Something shakes our very foundations. Through the foundation-shaking event, we want to know more about God and faith. Something like that is going on in our gospel. The apostles cried out, "Increase our faith" (Luke 17:5). In the front ...

238. If This Is Your Faith, Tell Me Your Stories

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

We are used to dividing time into two different eons: “B.C.” and “A.D.” or as the secular world now calls them, “BCE” and “CE.” To say we live in 2009 A.D. or C.E. gives us a sense of the passage of time, a feeling of where we stand in the flow of events. But such designations don’t distinguish much else about the changes the centuries have brought. After a fearsome November storm season across North America it seems one designation that might help describe the changes time has brought is to divide life “B ...

239. Every Day God Encourages

Acts 4:36-37; 11:22-24

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

There was a young musician whose first major concert was poorly received by the critics. The famous Finish composer Jean Sibelius, happened to be a friend of this young man and consoled him by patting him on the shoulder and saying, "Remember, son, there is no city in the world where they have erected a statue to a critic." (1) We've talked about how Every Day God Empowers Us, Equips Us and Enables Us. Today we're going to talk about how Every Day God Encourages us. Like that young musician who Sibelius ...

240. Seeing God In The Ordinary: Work

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

I don't think there is anyone alive who likes job performance reviews except maybe the HR people. Even if you are doing a great job, review and evaluation are stressful. A few years ago Preaching Magazine ran a list of some quotes from actual Job Performance Reviews. I thought I'd share a few: "I wouldn't allow this employee to reproduce, he must have gotten into the gene pool when the lifeguard wasn't looking." "This associate is really not so much of a has-been but a won't be." "Works well under constant ...

241. A Stone’s Throw From: Heaven

Matthew 16:13-25

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

There was a three-year-old who had never been "trunk or treating" before but he'd seen how excited his big brother was, so he was excited, too. His big brother wanted to go as the Hulk, so he wanted to go as the Hulk. When the family got to the church, big brother went with some friends, Mom passed out candy and Dad took the three-year-old around. Dad stayed in the background, as the little boy walked up to one of the cars with a friend manning the trunk. "Trick or treat." As the man reached out with a ...

242. Altar Your Presence

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

One of the words we use a lot in the United Methodist church is the word Connection. Generally, when we use the word Connection we are talking about the connection between the local church to the District, the Annual Conference, the Jurisdictional Conference, the General Conference all United Methodist Churches around the world. Our founder John Wesley realized there was power in this idea of connection. John Wesley understood the communal nature of the church and of faith. He planned and designed ways for ...

243. Digging Deeper

Philippians 3:12-16

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Three students were discussing various versions of the Bible. One said, "I like the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. It is easier to read than the older versions." A second student said, "I like the Message. It's easy to read and it's pithy and to the point. I can use it in my daily prayer." The third student surprised them all and said, "I like my mother's version the best. She translated the Bible into action I can use in my daily life." I really like that. Somebody once said, "You may be the ...

244. Could We Start Again, Please? (Series: Real Faith for Real People)

John 3:1-21

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

It’s been said of Jesus that whenever he met a person it was as if that person were an island around which Jesus sailed until he found the real problem. And there he landed. He did that with the wealthy tax collector Zacchaeus and landed on the question of integrity. “All that I have stolen, I will repay four-fold.” He did that with the woman at the well and landed on the subject of marriage. “Go call your husband.” And here in John 3, Jesus does that with the powerful, prestigious, political Nicodemus by ...

245. What Things Are Perfect Joy

John 14:23-29; Gal 6:14

Illustration

St. Francis of Assisi

How St. Francis, Walking One Day with Brother Leo, Explained to Him What Things Are Perfect Joy. One day in winter, as St. Francis was going with Brother Leo from Perugia to St. Mary of the Angels, and was suffering greatly from the cold, he called to Brother Leo, who was walking on before him, and said to him: "Brother Leo, if it were to please God that the Friars Minor should give, in all lands, a great example of holiness and edification, write down, and note carefully, that this would not be perfect ...

246. Chosen by God

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

My dad is 75 years old and lives with my 76 year old Mom in Perry County, Mississippi. Now if you have not been to Perry County, you haven’t really missed anything n the way of exciting life or beautiful geography. But you’ve missed a unique culture. More than that, you’ve missed knowing two great people. My dad didn’t even go to high school, yet I’ve moved among the high and mighty of the land, and have hobnobbed with some of the brilliant people of the country, but I’ve met few people whose wisdom ...

247. Bearing the Marks of Christ

Galatians 6:11-18

Sermon

James W. Moore

When I was a young boy, our family made a vacation trip to East Texas one summer to visit relatives there. One of the vivid memories of that trip was a tour of a Texas ranch… where we watched some cowboys hard at work… branding their steers. A mark was made on each steer to dramatically and clearly signify who his owner was. Something like that was done to human beings in Biblical times. In New Testament times, slavery was quite common. Slaves were regarded as pieces of property… and they were marked with ...

248. The Christ Connection

Colossians 1:9-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

It has been there for my entire lifetime—a neon sign on a narrow country road piercing the darkness with these simple words—CHRIST IS THE ANSWER. As a child, I used to wonder what kind of magic pen God used to write it on the side of the barn. As a teenager, I drove so fast I did not have time to see it at all. But, as an adult, sometimes I take the long way home so I can make sure it is still there, shining on the foggiest of nights. So out of place in one way and yet, such a revelation in another. CHRIST ...

249. The Miracle of Peace

Psalm 85:1-13

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

A popular prayer on the e-mail circuit goes something like this: So far today God, I've done alright. I haven't gossiped, haven't lost my temper, haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, overindulgent, or told anyone to mind their own business and to stay out of mine. I'm really glad about that. But in a few minutes God, I'm going to get out of bed, and from then on, I'm going to need a whole lot of help. In Jesus Name, Amen. Here we are just 17 days away from Christmas 2002. If you find yourself ...

250. The Dynamics of Being a Dad

Ephesians 6:1-4, Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

The idea of Father’s Day was first proposed by Mrs. John B. Dodd, in 1909. She wanted to honor her father, William Smart, a civil war veteran who raised six children on his own when his wife died at child birth. So the next year at her Methodist church in Washington state, Mrs. Dodd led the first known celebration of Father’s Day honoring the “father’s place in the home and his role in the training of children.” This religious celebration, however, did not stay religious very long. The associated men’s ...

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