Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2501 to 2525 of 5000 results

John 6:25-59

Sermon

King Duncan

... of Thanksgiving. Edward Markquart of Seattle once put this in a beautiful way. He said, “A great danger in living in a materially abundant world is to come to expect that material abundance and no longer feel deep gratitude in one’s heart. “To illustrate, at your house, have you ever experienced a Christmas where a child has just received ten Christmas presents and then asks: ‘Is that all? Isn’t there more?’ “And then next Christmas, when the child is older and they receive only five gifts ...

2502. Where Do We Get Our Brilliance?

Illustration

Michael Battle

... witnesses to Jesus' reign. In order to do this, we must be willing to be human in an environment of vulnerability; that is, to understand that when we are in relationships with others our humanity is bound up in the other's humanity. Desmond Tutu illustrates this by describing a light bulb that shone brightly and proudly. "[It] began to strut about arrogantly, quite unmindful of how . . . it could shine so brilliantly, thinking that it was all due to its own merit and skill." One day the light bulb is taken ...

2503. The Difference between Cowards and Heroes

Matthew 2:13-23

Illustration

John Thomas Randolph

John Thomas Randolph offers this modern story of running and returning to illustrate our Lord's circumstances. Here is the difference between cowardice and heroism. The coward runs away and stays away. The hero runs away but he always returns at the appropriate time. I have a biography of General Douglas MacArthur that was written by Bob Considine. The picture on the front ...

2504. Adopted! Thank God!

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... beyond resolutions this New Year to a revolution a new life, a new purpose, a new identity as one who belongs to God? 1. Parables, Etc., January, 1987, p. 4. Cited in Robert J. Morgan, Preacher’s Sourcebook Creative Sermon Illustrations (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2007), pp. 127-128. 2. http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/christmas_the_liberator.htm. 3. Bruce Larson, Living Out the Book of Acts (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1984), p. 73. 4. http://stpaulstervuren.be/nurture/sermons/15dec02.htm. 5. The ...

2505. Back to Basics

Matthew 3:13-17

Illustration

Kevin Eckstrom

The Religion News Service published this survey shortly after 9/11. The perennial take away from this illustration is how suffering brings us back to basics: One-third of Americans Reassess Priorities after Terrorist Attacks (RNS) One-third of Americans say the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were a "life-altering experience" that caused them to change their priorities, according to a new Gallup poll. Nearly half of conservative ...

2506. The True Nature of Happiness

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Brett Blair

... another says I don’t need to be poor in spirit because I am poor in things, both are saying in unison: I don’t need. And we can never receive a Savior unless we first stand in need of a Savior. The story of the Pharisee and the Publican illustrates this. The story does not say that the Pharisee was rich. Indeed, since his prayer was: I thank thee God that I am not an extortioner like other men, we might assume that he was not a wealthy man, because in those days extortion was about the only way that ...

2507. The Evangelist Has a Shady Past

John 4:1-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Accept my gift of love this day.” The evangelist had a shady past, but her friends knew that her testimony was real. Christ had brought her from darkness into the light. 1. Jim Abrahamson in Edward K. Rowell, 1001 Quotes, Illustrations, and Humorous Stories (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group, 2008), p. 322. 2. Jeremy Troxler, http://faithandleadership.com/sermons/coming-soon 3. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1993). 4. “Harper’s Index,” August 1998, p.13. 5. http://www.kentcrockett ...

2508. Eyewitness News

John 20:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... a Way (Waterbrook, 1999), pp. 20-21. 2. http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/easter_fountain.htm. 3. written by Jim Collins and Marty Dodson. http://www.lyricsyoulove.com/k/kenny_chesney/everybody_wants_to_go_to_heaven/ 4. Thanks to pastor and author Kent Crockett for this illustration. http://www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com/. 5. http://www.epulpit.net/billy100.htm. 6. http://www.firstumcpueblo.org/php/see_sermon.php?sid=10295. 7. Mark Trotter, http://clergyresources.net/Trotter/Trotter%20Easter%20Sunday.htm.

2509. Matthew 6:24-34

Matthew 6:25-34

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , but only because they make it possible for the “life” (“psyche”) and “body” (“soma”) to continue in its commitment to serving God. Jesus then turns to nature, to the “birds of the sky” and the “lilies of the field,” to illustrate his “qal wahomer” argument. The birds do not engage in any productive activities that would ensure a food supply, sowing or reaping. Yet “your heavenly Father feeds them.” God’s creation provides what is necessary to feed the God’s creatures ...

2510. The Breakdown of Worries

Matthew 6:25-34

Illustration

Brian Stoffregen

I read the following in a business magazine: Stress management experts say that only two percent of our "worrying time" is spent on things that might actually be helped by worrying. The figures below illustrate how the other 98 percent of this time is spent: 40% on things that never happen 35% on things that can't be changed 15% on things that turn out better than expected 8% on useless, petty worries

2511. A Drink of Water to a Thirsty Soul

John 5:16-30; Mark 5:21-43

Illustration

James W. Moore

For those conducting Communion this Sunday this illustration offers some strong tie-ins for a conclusion: Have you heard the legend of the Fisher King? When the Fisher King was a boy, he was sent out to spend the night alone in the forest, as a test of his courage to be king. During the night, he had ...

2512. Get Down and Dirty for Lent

John 9:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , you might have to get your hands dirty. As Spring unfolds, gardeners love getting into the dirty. During this Lenten season why not invite a child to plant some seeds alongside you. Put them in milk cartons, put them on the radiator, watch them grow, and illustrate the resurrection to a new generation. Give a new mom an afternoon off. Re-acquaint yourself with diapers and spit up and noise — and the amazing smell of a baby’s skin. Find a graffiti-grunged wall somewhere and scrub it down, scrape it off ...

2513. God's Work of Art

John 9: 1-41

Illustration

Mickey Anders

... we do not understand them. That which seems to be a bad thing - a child who is born blind - is really a beautiful thing. We should give thanks for the blindness or tragedy. It is all God's Will. Perhaps our friends will use the famous illustration of Thorton Wilder from his book The Eighth Day, where he compares life to a beautiful tapestry: "Looked at from the right side, it is an intricately woven work of art, drawing together threads of different lengths and colors to make up an inspiring picture. But ...

2514. Easter Fits All

John 20:1-9

Illustration

Steven Molin

... to meet the different needs of people." And the result was a company that began to offer four different levels of hotels; The Sleep Inn, The Comfort Inn, The Quality Inn, and The Clarion. The name of the company is "Choice Hotels." With that rather earthy illustration, I would suggest to you that on that first Easter Sunday, those who were the followers of Jesus had a variety of needs as well. And further, I believe that the diversity of needs remain yet today. We're not all drawn to this place for ...

2515. Loving Deeply (Mother's Day)

1 Peter 1:13-2:3

Sermon

King Duncan

... . The difference is that for the world, love is the exception, not the rule. For Christians love is to be the rule. There are to be no exceptions. Why? Because we are loved by One who makes no exceptions. 1. Edward K. Rowell, 1001 Quotes, Illustrations, and Humorous Stories (Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing, 2008), p. 330. 2. Charles Swindoll, Day By Day (Nashville, TN: W Publishing Group, 2000), p. 130. 3. http://www.day1.net/index.php5?view=transcripts&tid=406. 4. 27 January 2006. Cited by The Rev. Peter ...

2516. From Temple to Table

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... approach safety, to apply for “salvation” and to live THE LIFE are bad entrances. They and all other ways offer “no access,” no “gateway” to the good way. It is hard to overstate how unusual it is that Jesus chooses shepherding images to illustrate his message. One of the most popular family shows a few years ago was “Tool Time,” featuring the comedy home grown humor of “Tim, the Tool Man, Taylor.” The funny was so familiar because we all have home‑grown, half‑baked, “handy‑men ...

2517. John 10:1-10

John 10:1-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... get the gist of his words. This obduracy leads Jesus to offer a further explanation of his allegory. Now Jesus focuses more on the human agents than on the sheep. He declares himself to be unequivocally “the gate.” There is no doubt in Jesus’ illustration that only one entryway exists to the safety of the “sheepfold” for those who “will be saved” (v.9). There is much debate about whom Jesus meant by the words, those “who came before me.” Some translations have rendered the text as “were ...

2518. Understanding Joy in the Gospel

Illustration

Dean Lueking

... Sunday mornings was to skate across the frozen body of water separating the two churches. When he asked permission of his ecclesiastical elders to skate the distance, they reluctantly agreed – but only on the stipulation that he would not enjoy doing so. That story illustrates a much larger problem, the problem of knowing God only under the Law and never under the Gospel. Don't let that blight cripple your spirit and rob your faith of the delighting in God, the enjoyment of his grace and abundant goodness ...

2519. 1 Peter 2: 2-10

1 Peter 1:13-2:3

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of eager new beginnings. Unlike Paul’s use of “milk” as a metaphor for the diet of spiritually immature believers (1 Corinthians 3:1-3; Hebrews 5:12-14), Peter uses an infants instinctually strong desire for milk as a template to illustrate the natural urge of a “newborn” Christian for the nourishment of “pure spiritual milk.” Those who have heard and accepted the gospel message are offered the “rebirth” of salvation and those who have experienced the truth of Christ’s resurrection have ...

2520. When Christians Pray

Acts 1:12-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... but not for real battle. He was firing blanks. To look at him standing on deck, machine gun blazing, it would appear that he was doing battle, but the truth was, he lacked the important tools to do the job. (3) I wonder if both these stories don’t illustrate the problem with the church today. We seem to have lost power. We seem to be drifting rather than making an impact on the world around us. We may be manning our positions, but we seem to be firing blanks. We’re becoming more like the world than the ...

2521. The Image of the Father

Matthew 28:16-20

Illustration

Amy Butler

... my father." And so it is with us. Each one of us is created with the image of God indelibly imprinted on our souls, so that, in some miraculous and inexplicable way, the diverse expressions of God that are you and you and you and me all come together to illustrate the mystery, to live together in community as we do our best to display for the world all the possibilities that the divine imprint on all of us could mean.

2522. It’s Like Water

Matthew 28:16-20

Illustration

Thomas Tindell

... that by definition was a mystery, something we can't understand. The answer I remember well. I was told that the Trinity is like H20 – it can be ice or water or steam, but it's all water. Well, that makes sense – there's no contradictions there! The illustration of water, steam, and ice brought some clarity of this to me. It's so simple. The only difference between them is the amount of energy each molecule of H20 has. Otherwise, they're the same. God is just like that. Ice isn't steam and no one ...

2523. Romans 8:12-25

Romans 8:1-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... a different “death,” to “put to death the deeds of the body,” believers are actually making the only choice that will enable them to “live.” Although Paul uses the term “soma” or “body” in this declaration, the extreme negativity of this illustration demands that in this context Paul is equating “body” (“soma”) and “flesh” (“sarx”). It is in light of this new possibility of a life lived in the Spirit, a life lived towards the promise of eternal life, that Paul now begins ...

2524. God’s Most Troubling Promise

Romans 8:28

Sermon

King Duncan

... .com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=55. 2. http://www.adventlutheranchurch.com/sermontexts/sermon060122.shtml 3. Barbara Brown Taylor, “Preaching the Terrors,” Leadership Journal, Spring 1992, p. 45. Cited in Robert J. Morgan, Preacher’s Sourcebook Creative Sermon Illustrations (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2007), p. 746. 4. http://www.stmatthews bowie.org/Worship/Sermons/1997/sermon_7_27_97.asp. 5. March 1996, p. 33. Cited in David C. Cook, Good Night, God! (Colorado Springs: Cook Communications Ministries ...

2525. Don't Be Afraid

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1967), p. 60. 4. Lee Iacocca With Catherine Whitney, Where Have All the Leaders Gone? (New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc, 2007), pp. 176-177. 5. Robert J. Morgan, Preacher’s Sourcebook Creative Sermon Illustrations (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2007), p. 295. 6. John A. Boadus, A Commentary on The Gospel of Matthew (Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1888), p. 327. 7. Marilyn T. Hedgpeth, http://www.firstpres-durham.org/Sermons/011308.pdf. 8 ...

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