Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2526 to 2550 of 4490 results

2526. Ten Friends Drive Us to the Promise

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

"One day last spring, something memorable happened at Carleton University (in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, not to be confused with Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota). Thirty-one students in the same class turned in identical research papers. It was determined that the students had all accessed the same Internet website. If only one student had done it, the ruse might not have caught the professor's attention. But here's what else opened the instructor's eyes: the research paper's topic was â€˜ethics.' ...

2527. The Gifted

1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

Sermon

William G. Carter

If you ask me, a sermon should say only one thing. Some of us grew up listening to sermons with three points, and wondered, "What's the point?" The business of worship, the activity of preaching, is too important to be pointless. Each sermon needs to make a statement, to declare one thing that is vital for our faith, our hope, and our life, in the world. So lest you miss it this morning, there's only one thing I want to say today. This sermon has one point to make, one claim that I want to lay upon our ...

2528. Living in Denial

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

King Duncan

Imagine you are a race car driver in the Indianapolis 500 automobile race. How would you deal with the inherent risks associated with this sport? How would you deal with the possibility of crashing, even dying, on that track? According to one driver, you don’t. “[If a fatal accident occurs,] you don’t go look at where it happened. You don’t watch the films of it on television. You don’t deal with it. You pretend it never happened.” The Indianapolis International Speedway operation itself encourages this ...

2529. Hosea's Marriage Troubles

Hosea 2:14-20

Sermon

Mark Trotter

There are certain periods in history that seem to give birth to genius. The latter part of the 18th century in this country was a time of political greatness rarely achieved by any nation. Why was it, we ask, when the population was limited to the colonies along the Atlantic seaboard, just a few million people, a fraction of the population of the country today, that there were so many great leaders and philosopher/statesmen? It was amazing. Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison, and Adams. Those few men ...

2530. I Thought You'd Never Ask

John 1:35-46

Sermon

Mark Trotter

We all know about famous last words. They are collected because they are supposed to be important. We expect something deep and profound from someone as their last words, the distillation of the wisdom of a lifetime. We also know about the last words of Jesus. Every gospel writer records his own version of the last words of Jesus. They are all different, his words from the cross. And every Good Friday, some place around the world, some church is commemorating the cross by meditating on the seven last words ...

2531. Leave No Child Behind

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

Mark Trotter

The familiar words of Jesus, "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God," are the inspiration for a number of hymns, such as the one we have just sung. You also see that same scene in Sunday School art showing Jesus, meek and mild, a pastoral scene, sitting on hillside, with the flowers in bloom, birds singing, and little children gathered around him, leaning on his shoulders and knees, captivated with the stories he tells them. So predominant and ubiquitous is ...

2532. What Time Is It?

Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon

Mark Trotter

As the year wears down, the days become shorter, the nights longer and darker. All people, both in our time and in ancient time, turn to questions of human mortality and the future of the earth. When I was in Mexico at the end of October, I saw the preparation for El Dia de los Muertos, "The Day of the Dead." Shrines were being erected in anticipation of November 2. The picture of the deceased loved one will be placed in the middle of the shrine, the frame of the shrine will be decked with beautiful yellow ...

2533. Gross Personality Disorder

Romans 12:9-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

"BTK." Seldom have three initials struck such terror into the hearts of a local population as BTK (which stands for "Bind, Torture, Kill"). When the BTK serial killer was finally captured in the summer of 2005 people in the Wichita, Kansas area first breathed a sigh of relief, then drew in a gasp of surprise. The man who had left a sadistic trail of tortured and murdered women since 1974 turned out to be the most average appearing, normal neighbor anyone could imagine. No one suspected Dennis Rayder of ...

2534. Still in One Peace

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Every year, it seems, the fireworks of the Fourth kicks off the vacation season. The arrival of July, with its big 4th of July national party, really marks the opening of vacation season. Throughout June kids are still having to go to school. There are graduations and auspicious end-of-the-year occasions that make for mandatory attendance. For the many schools and corporations whose fiscal calendar ends on June 30, it's a month of deadlines, hoped-for-donations, and hold-your-breath budget squeakers. June ...

2535. God's Original Seatbelt (Mother's Day)

John 13:31-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Anybody here this morning remember what it used to be like to drive a car . . . before power steering? before automatic transmission? before air conditioning? before seat belts? Let's stop there for a moment. Before seat belts, parents could pack eight kids into a family car, ages one week to 18 years, with no restraining thoughts or devices. Automobile safety is much more regulated than it used to be. Today we have laws requiring children under four years and forty pounds to be buckled into some sort of ...

2536. Let the River Flow

Colossians 1:15-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Although the moment the Thanksgiving turkey cools down much of Western culture plunges into the Christmas frenzy, in the church calendar there is one more Sunday before Advent officially gets underway. This is the last Sunday of Pentecost, Christ the King Sunday. It seems pleasantly paradoxical that the church devotes a Sunday to celebrate Christ's exaltedness, his lordship, his omnipotence, just before we begin the weeks of Advent that contemplate Christ's entrance into this world as a frail and tiny ...

2537. Others

Romans 9:30--10:21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

One of the most terrifying places you can visit with a small, speedy toddler is a big, slow-you-down department store. The marketing geniuses who design floor layouts for these big stores have come up with a common strategy. Do away with nice direct aisles through the store; Do away with any and all right-angled organization within the various departments; Do away with straight lines, and customers will be forced to wander into areas they would never go into as they searched for their intended merchandise ...

2538. Innercizing Your Shopping List

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

So What? No matter how hard we work to become skilled experts at some craft. No matter how hard we study or how many books we memorize to become knowledgeable about some subject . . . Doesn't it seem as if our increased abilities always point up just how much further we have to go? Think about it. As a kid just about the time you mastered riding a two wheeler some other kid on the block started popping wheelies. Think about it. Just about the time you finally figured out Trigonometry, you got moved into ...

2539. The Church on Main Street

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

James McCormick

During my years of ministry, church buildings have been located in a variety of places. There was Monterey Road, Clinton Boulevard, Culver Avenue, Gibbs Street, Duarte Road, Hardy Street. And in 1982, for the first time I became pastor of a church on Main Street. I’ve always thought that is where the church should be – not off on some side street somewhere - but on Main Street. Of course, you know, when I talk about Main Street, I am not talking primarily about geography. I am talking about ideas and ...

2540. Advent 4

Psalm 80:1-19, Isaiah 7:1-25, Romans 1:1-17, Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS At the very heart of Advent is the anticipation and celebration of the incarnation—of God's being present with us. Our Old Testament lessons for the fourth week of Advent turn directly on this central theme. Isaiah 7:10-16 is a prophecy that anticipates Immanuel ("with us is God"), and Psalm 80 is a communal petition for God to be present. Isaiah 7:10-16 - "The Sign of Immanuel" Setting. Isaiah 7:10-16 is a central Old Testament text for Christians. It was already given a central place ...

2541. Proper 8

Matthew 10:1-42, Romans 6:15-23, Psalm 13:1-6, Genesis 22:1-19

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS The Old Testament texts for this Sunday are about divine testing. Genesis 22:1-14 is the story of how God tested Abraham in commanding the sacrifice of Isaac, while Psalm 13 is a lament that provides liturgical language for how we approach God during times of testing. Genesis 22:1-14 - "To Fear God Is to See God" Setting. The story of Genesis 22 is sinister. God's command for Abraham to sacrifice Isaac in the opening verse is outrageous, and, even though the narrative progresses to a ...

2542. Proper 11

Mt 13:24-30, 36-43 · Rom 8:12-25 · Ps 139 · Gen 28:10-19a

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS Genesis 28:10-19a is the story of Jacob's dream at Bethel in which he sees a ladder extending from heaven to earth, receives the divine promise of progeny, and then responds to it, while Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24 is a confession about the breadth of God's presence, which extends from the depths of Sheol to the heights of the heavens. Genesis 28:10-19a - "Putting Conditions on Visions" Setting. This is the second lesson from the Jacob cycle. The trickster Jacob has been living out the ...

2543. Those Romans 7 Moments

Romans 7:7-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

We are a “celebrity culture,” fixated and fascinated by the rich and famous because everything they do seems so much larger than life. They are over the top gorgeous. (Angelina Jolie/Brad Pitt, anyone?) They are outrageously rich. (Julie Roberts gets $20 million per movie). They are hysterically funny (one of my favorite comedians, Bill Murray, has a sister who is a Sister: Nancy Murray, a member of the Adrian Dominican Sisters, a flourishing Congregation of the Order of Preachers, which has a motherhouse ...

2544. Courage Under Fire

Jude 1:22-23

Sermon

James Merritt

As you know, the Louvre is one of the most famous art museums in all of Europe. They once ran a contest in a newspaper, providing a prize to the person that gave the best answer to this question: "If a fire broke out in the Louvre, and you could save only one painting, which one would it be?" Well, Tristan Bernard, a French novelist, won the prize with this reply: "I would save the one nearest the exit."1 That is not quite the type of courage I want to speak about today. I am speaking about the courage we ...

2545. The Secret of Self-Esteem

Ephesians 1:1-6

Sermon

James Merritt

Chuck Swindoll tells the story of the time when his children were smaller and they were going on a long trip, and trying to break the boredom, they decided to play a game called "What if?" The question was "What if you could be anybody on earth—who would you like to be?" Well, one of his daughters said, "I would like to be the bionic woman." The other children followed suit and thought of someone famous they would like to be. But his youngest child, Chuck, Jr., never said a word. As they pulled up to a ...

2546. In Love with Howard

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

King Duncan

Most of us associate the name Robert Fulghum with his little book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. But he wrote other books, one of which had the simple title, Uh-Oh. Like his better-known work, it, too, is filled with witty essays. In the latter book Fulghum tells about being asked by a journalist if he believed in God. “No,” replied Fulghum, “but I do believe in Howard.” “Howard? You believe in Howard?” asked the reporter. “It all has to do with my mother’s maiden name,” said Fulghum ...

2547. Overcoming Fear

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Many years ago when I was a young preacher, I noticed one day that a new family had moved into a neighborhood not far from my church. So I dropped by late one afternoon. I noticed that one car was parked in the carport. I went to the side door, the one opening onto the carport. I had rung the door bell only once when I heard a deep, bass growl that sounded like the rolling of thunder. It was coming from the back of the carport and it made the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up. I glanced to my ...

2548. Sending Good Messages

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

The scenes I am about to describe happen thousands of times per day across America, with many variations. The setting may be the office of a pastor or counselor. Or these words could be spoken to a best friend over coffee or out jogging. First, the voice of a wife: “You’ve heard of the great stone face? Well, I married it. All I ever see of Bob at breakfast is a hand groping for his coffee from behind the morning paper.” Then we hear from a husband: “My wife is a really attractive person, until she opens ...

2549. Why Is Life So Unfair?

Romans 8:28-39

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Sunday a week ago, the newspaper headline was just sickening. We saw the picture of State Trooper Calvin Jenks, age 24, whose body had been found beside his cruiser in rural Tipton County. Two suspected drug dealers have been arrested and charged with his murder. Calvin moved to the Memphis area last July to be near his fiancé, a student at the UT Medical School. They married in September and absolutely adored each other. After just three months of married life, Calvin was gunned down by criminals. (1) ...

2550. Bugles in the Afternoon

Philippians 2:1-11, Psalm 46:1-11

Sermon

John E. Harnish

I borrow my title from the outstanding British Methodist preacher and world Christian, Colin Morris. He titles his volume of sermons Bugles in the Afternoon. He says his title is based on the legend that Satan was a fallen angel who rebelled against God and was thrown out of heaven. Sometime later, the tradition goes, Satan was asked if there was anything he missed from heaven. Satan responded: "I miss the sound of trumpets in the morning." Glorious image, isn't it? "Trumpets in the morning." It brings to ...

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