Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2501 to 2525 of 4937 results

2501. One Step at a Time

Nehemiah 2:1-10

Sermon

James Merritt

Two hundred thousand miles from home. You can't pull over to a gas station. You can't take your spaceship into the garage, but you now know that you have two hours to keep your space ship from becoming a permanent tomb floating in outer space. Jim Lovell, John Swigert, and Fred Haise realized they were facing an elephant of a problem, but they kept their wits about them enough to realize that the way to solve their problem was the same way you eat an elephant - one bite at a time. Has it ever occurred to ...

2502. The Door Is Always Open

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

James Merritt

He was a rebel, a college drop-out, a carouser, and a partier. He smoked, he drank Johnnie-Walker, he was a brawler, and had more run-ins with the law than you would care to count. By his own admission, he was the quintessential prodigal son. But now he stands to succeed the most respected, admired, and perhaps famous American of the Twentieth Century Billy Graham. His name is Franklin Graham. Today Franklin Graham not only has a tremendous benevolent ministry called The Samaritan Purse, and has met needs ...

2503. Shameless!

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Dave Zuchelli

One of the reasons I want to preach on this passage of scripture is because I’ve never really understood it. The only way to really make sense of it is to view the story of the friend at midnight as a parable. You may remember the old definition of the word, parable. It goes something like this. A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. We could flesh that out considerably, but this little quip really captures it quite nicely. Parables are sometimes confusing until you realize that most, or at ...

2504. Jacob's Well

John 4:1-26, John 4:27-38, John 4:39-42

Sermon

Lori Wagner

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. (Isaiah 12:3) My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:13) Props: a fountain of water (you can find small fountains at most greenhouses or online) running; large pot made of pottery or clay; bottle of spring water; baptismal font or other large bowl of water with nearby towel; fishbowl; glasses of water that look ...

2505. Poem: In Memoriam

Eulogy

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Preface Strong Son of God, immortal Love, Whom we, that have not seen thy face, By faith, and faith alone, embrace, Believing where we cannot prove; Thine are these orbs of light and shade; Thou madest Life in man and brute; Thou madest Death; and lo, thy foot Is on the skull which thou hast made. Thou wilt not leave us in the dust: Thou madest man, he knows not why, He thinks he was not made to die; And thou hast made him: thou art just. Thou seemest human and divine, The highest, holiest manhood, thou. ...

2506. Chapter III

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

"You will not handle the name of the Lord your God as though it is nothing, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who handles his name as though it is nothing." Exodus 20:7 One of the best plays that I have seen in a long time was the prizewinner of a few years ago titled "The Miracle Worker." The story of Ann Sullivan’s battle to educate the blind, young Helen Keller, the story is a masterpiece on human perseverance and love. Called by Helen’s wealthy southern parents to train their child, "Miss Annie ...

2507. Everything Counts

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

James Merritt

When the man heard the phone ring, his stomach began to turn. Something told him this was the call he had been dreading, “Sir, I’m calling from the bank to let you know we are foreclosing on your home. You are going to be evicted in one week.” The man began to beg, “You can’t do this. I haven’t been able to find work since I was laid off and I have nowhere to take my wife and children.” But the banker replied, “Sir, I am sorry there is nothing I can do.” For a moment the man sat there stunned, but he then ...

2508. Amazing Grace

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

When Al Smith was the governor of New York, he was invited to speak at Sing Sing prison. He was asked to address a gathering of the prisoners, and he wondered how he should begin. After they ate, he stood up and just automatically said "My fellow Democrats." Well that didn’t suit, because he felt that "no good Democrat should be in prison." So he backtracked and he started again. He said to them, "My fellow citizens." And then he realized that some of those fellows had lost many of the privileges of ...

2509. First World Problems

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever stopped to notice the things that you worry about? If you were to make a list of the last three things you worried about, what would be on it? I ask this question because most of us live fairly insulated lives. We have a place to live. We have enough food to eat. We are not in danger of starvation or homelessness or dying from a simple infection because we can’t afford antibiotics. We are insulated from the dangers of extreme poverty that afflict about 689 million people worldwide. That’s ...

2510. God Is a Giver

Sermon

James Bjorge

In the beginning when God created all things he seemed to pause occasionally after sequences of creation and stand off and look it all over and then say, "That is good." Yes, it certainly was. But then God gave it to man. That was and is his nature ... to give. "For God so loved the world that he gave ... his only begotten Son ..." (John 3:16). And Paul says, "Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift" (2 Corinthians 9:15). God is a giver of gifts. Any man who has gotten to know God is very aware of this ...

2511. Dim Visions And Blind Guides

Sermon

Harold Warlick

The societal limits which impinge on our world also affect our personal existence in profound ways. Nowhere is this more critical than in our own dreams and visions. Dreams and visions are important in life. Every action we take in life was designed by someone. Every piece of clothing, every building, every hymn book, every chair, every light fixture, and every automobile existed first in someone's vision. Someone had to have the idea or the dream to turn out the product. The same holds true for the way we ...

2512. The Greatest Ability Is Dependability (Fruit of the Spirit: Faithfulness)

Galatians 5:22

Sermon

James Merritt

There are over two hundred geysers in Yellow Stone National Park. But there is one geyser that stands out from all the others. It is not the largest geyser, nor does it reach the greatest height. Yet it is by far the most popular geyser. Its popularity is due to one thing—its dependability. Because once every sixty-five minutes it shoots a stream of boiling water over 170 ft. into the air. You can practically set your clock by it. They call it "Old Faithful." There are many things in life that you could ...

2513. In Search of a New Life

Revelation 21:1-5a

Sermon

King Duncan

Do you like stories of buried treasure? Here’s one that you may not have heard. According to a legend from the Wild West, back in the 1870s, notorious outlaw Jesse James and his gang stole millions of dollars worth of gold bullion from a Mexican general. The men proceeded to bury their treasure somewhere in the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma. Rumor had it that Jesse had scratched a secretly-coded map on an old bucket and left it as a marker. One source says that after Jesse’s death, his brother Frank James ...

2514. The Challenge Of Generosity

Malachi 3:10, Luke 6:36-38

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

I want to read a little book to you by one of my favorite children's authors, Judith Viorst. I have enjoyed her stories and the adventures of Alexander and his brothers. This is another one of those and it's entitled: Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday. (Read the Book out loud) Alexander needs to change doesn't he? He needs a better understanding and stewardship of money. A lot of us are like Alexander. We know the old saying "Money talks" is true because ours keeps saying "Good-bye." So what is it ...

2515. Can't Get No Satisfaction

Exodus 20:17

Sermon

James Merritt

It came to guitarist, Keith Richards, literally in the middle of the night. He woke up, recorded the lyrics on a cassette tape player and went back to sleep. Three weeks later, the Rolling Stones recorded that song and it became their first number one hit, both in the United Kingdom and in the United States and it became their launching pad to fame. Mick Jagger, who wrote the lyrics to the song, said at the time it simply expressed his frustration with the consumerism and commercialism he found in the ...

2516. Love Sender

John 3:1-21

Sermon

James Merritt

Without even trying kids can teach us some of the greatest life lessons and when you are a kid you learn some of the greatest lessons in life. I want to share with you a lesson that I learned as a child. It all revolves around this gift [open gift – take out gumballs and a Milky Way]. Now here is the story behind this gum and this candy bar. When I was a child, I had saved enough money to do something I had never done before at Christmas which was to buy my parents a Christmas gift. I had saved up a dollar ...

2517. Behold The Man Who Turned Toward Jerusalem

Mark 10:32-34

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

Some time ago I was reading Harold Kushner's book, Who Needs God. I was struck by a story he told in that book. He said he was talking with a nurse once who related a conversation she had with a young lady. This young lady's boyfriend was dying of cancer. The nurse asked her if she could do anything for her. The young lady answered, "Yeah, remind me never to love anybody this much again."1 Now we come to that part of Christ's story where Jesus begins to look toward the cross. There is a difference now in ...

2518. Everything Must Go: “Abandon Ship!”

1 Chronicles 29:1-9

Sermon

James Merritt

In America, it is called a dollar. In England, it is called a pound. In Europe, it is called a euro. In Israel, it is called a shekel. In China, it is called a yen. Different countries call it different things, but we all know it is money. It is everywhere. Money has been around forever. Interestingly, we didn’t start using paper money until the mid-1600’s, before that it was gold, silver, and bronze. Before that it was a unit of weight like barley or bread. By itself money really is nothing. It is just ...

2519. "Crown Him Lord of all!"

Sermon

William Luoma

According to the three-year ecumenical lectionary, developed in recent years, the Sunday before Easter is primarily known as the Sunday of the Passion, instead of Palm Sunday. The procession with palm branches is still recommended, but the emphasis of the day has shifted to the Passion of Christ, as seen in the suggested lengthy Gospel readings appointed. In this worship service, however, we have chosen to lift up the Palm Sunday theme, and to focus on the kingship of Christ and his triumphal entry into ...

2520. Bridging the Generation Gap

Ephesians 6:1-4

Sermon

James Merritt

I read something recently about childbirth that I had never thought about before. But when you think about it, it is extremely profound. The pain of childbirth is twofold: there is the pain of bringing the child into the world, and there is the pain of bringing that child up in the world, and the latter is greater. The physical pain of bearing a child is tremendous, but usually lasts only a few hours. But the pain of rearing that same child lasts a lifetime and never lessens.1 Every time I preach on the ...

2521. Let's Have A Fruitful Christmas Season

Drama

May Dembowski

Running Time Twenty-five minutes (including one two-minute break) What's It About? This is a skit written for a Christian Women's Pre-Christmas-Season program, suitable for a ladies' breakfast, brunch, luncheon, and so forth. It is not evangelistic, but rather an idea-filled dialogue which gives some practical suggestions for keeping Christ in Christmas and heading off the usual frenzy of the busy season. How Many Characters? The four characters are women who are meeting for their regular kaffee klatsch ...

2522. Missing the Mark

1 Samuel 8:1-22

Sermon

Charles Allo

I love movies. I love movies because they make me think. No matter what I am going through, I can walk into the theatre and focus on a story other than mine. I see the images and how they paint a story about situations in life. Real situations. Unreal situations. It doesn't matter. For two hours and seven bucks, I get to experience a situation. Just a combination of circumstances; a state of affairs. In which I become lost, engaged in the flashes and personalities that remind me of my world, a world I want ...

2523. Being Open to the Impossible

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There is an old story about Albert Einstein. He was going around the country from university to university on the lecture circuit, giving lectures on his theory of relativity. He traveled by chauffer-driven limousine. One day, after they had been on the road for awhile, Einstein’s chauffeur said to him, “Dr. Einstein, I’ve heard you deliver that lecture on relativity so many times that I’ll bet that I could deliver it myself.” “Very well,” the good Doctor responded, “I’ll give you that opportunity tonight ...

2524. The Resurrection Body

1 Corinthians 15:35-58

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

Comparing Bodies and Seeds These ten verses assemble a wide variety of materials as Paul continues to argue in behalf of the reality of the resurrection of the dead. Here, Paul offers a collage of data as he quotes the LXX, alludes to stories from Genesis, and develops analogies related to seed, flesh, body and glory, and Adam. The lines of the discussion open in the style of a diatribe with a dialogical argument, leading to Paul’s central point in verse 38, “God gives … as he wishes.” Above all, Paul’s ...

2525. The Good Catch

Matthew 17:24-27

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Animation: Basin of water; rubber fish or coins “Not fair!!” yelled my five-year old. “The teacher said all of us need to pay to go to the school play, even if we’re already in it!” “Why do we have to pay? We are the ones doing the play for everyone else!?” “Well,” I said, “I guess it’s just a rule that everyone needs to contribute in order for the school to make money on the play.” “After all, it’s for your school!” “Well, I shouldn’t have to do it!” “Look,” I said. “It’s only two dollars each. Why don’t ...

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