Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2526 to 2550 of 4884 results

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... the evening meal, take off his coat and put on the jacket, take off his shoes and slip into the slippers, adjust the study lamp, put his book on the bookrest, recline in the comfortable chair with his eyeshade over his eyes, and when everything was perfectly adjusted, he would go to sleep. (4) Preparation didn't do him a lot of good. Usually, though, our attitude about preparation reveals the kind of person we are. Jon Johnston in his book, WALLS OR BRIDGES, tells about a recent major league allstar game ...

2527. In Praise Of Doers

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... had forgotten to give it to her. Sheepishly he took the package home and presented it to his spouse. When she saw it, she burst into tears of joy. It was their wedding anniversary and she was afraid he had forgotten. We are imperfect givers. But God is a perfect giver and life itself is a gift beyond measure. That is the first thing we need to see. THE SECOND IS THAT GOD HAS PLACED US IN A WORLD OF UNIMAGINABLE OPPORTUNITY. As we approach the celebration of Thanksgiving, we are most to be pitied if we take ...

2528. The Day God Repented

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... , you'll remember, was exactly what Jonah feared would happen. That is why when God called him to Nineveh, he headed in the opposite direction and was swallowed by the giant fish. But that's another story. How can God repent? God cannot sin. How could a perfect God ever feel sorry for His actions? It is because repentance is much more than feeling sorry for our sins. Repentance is a change of direction. There are a lot of people who feel sorry for their sins. Their lives are filled with guilt and regretbut ...

2529. Face To Face With God

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... afraid in his presence, but they were. And why not? If he is who we say he is, who could help being fearful in his presence? Here was absolute purityabsolute love. Have you ever been in the presence of someone who was so perfect that they made you uncomfortable? We talked last week about Jesus' authority. Have you ever been around anyone who spoke with authority? Vince Lombardi, legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers, spoke with authority. Even his toughest linemen were no match against Lombardi. "When ...

2530. Why Did He Do It?

Mark 14:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... woman, ever made their appearance. If we want to get in tempo with God, we have to realize that a million years is just a moment in eternity. Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor who created the Mount Rushmore Memorial, was once asked if he considered his work to be perfect in every detail. "Not today," he replied. "The nose of Washington is an inch too long. It's better that way, though. It will erode to be exactly right in 10,000 years." That's the kind of thinking that has to take place if we are to understand ...

2531. The Mighty Tide Of God Rolled In

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... and then by his first owners that he was nearly broken in spirit by the time he fell into the kindly hands of John Thornton. Thornton was so humane in his treatment of Buck that Buck developed an undying loyalty to Thornton. Thornton wasn't perfect, however. One evening during a conversation in the Eldorado saloon, Thornton was lured into making a $1,000 wager that Buck could break a thousand pound load from a frozen standstill and move it 100 yards. Some dogs had been known to break 500 lb. loads ...

2532. From Coping To Conquering

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... --taking that which is hopeless and making it hopeful--taking that which has been defeated and making it victorious. That is what the cross is all about--a symbol of shame now a badge of triumph. An oriental monarch once owned a magnificent, large, perfect diamond. It was the pride of his empire. Under mysterious circumstance, however, it was damaged. Its beauty was marred by a long, hair-like scratch. The king was heartbroken. He sent out word throughout the kingdom that he would give an enormous reward to ...

2533. Do Not Lose Heart

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... bed taking all his troubles and his fears with him. Sleeping poorly, his health was being undermined. One night he got up and went to the window. It was a beautiful night. "The garden below and the fields beyond were flooded in silvery moonlight," he said. "The perfect tranquility mocked the surging tumult of my brain. Why had I locked the office door so carefully if I wished all the ledgers and cash books and order forms to follow me home? Why had I closed the bedroom door so carefully if I wished all the ...

2534. Finding Our Way Back Home

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... had become very fond of. It seems that the dog was black as coal except for three very distinctive white hairs in his tail. One day they saw an advertisement in their local newspaper about a lost dog that fit the description of the stray perfectly, including the three white hairs. With the help of his two young boys, the preacher carefully separated the three white hairs and pulled them out. The real owner, hearing that a dog fitting the description of his lost animal had wandered to the preacher's small ...

2535. What Makes You Blush?

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

King Duncan

... It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare." "That's the media's fault," you say. "They take our heros apart. They show them, warts and all. We no longer have fantasies about the existence of nearly perfect people. If our fathers and mothers had known everything there was to know about their heroes, they would have been disillusioned, too. Well, yes and no. Once there was a man by the name of Will Rogers. Rogers, at one time, was the most popular and the ...

2536. Looking For Mr. Right

James 4:13-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... we would like to change. Unfortunately, we also suspect that these are things our beloved will never change. Author Francine Klagsbrun asked a select group of successfully married couples the secrets of their happy marriage. Often they replied, "We don't expect perfection." Even though their spouses had qualities they would like to see changed, they had learned to accept those qualities because, as one woman said, "the payoff is so great in other areas." Mr. and Mrs. Right not only adjust to the changes ...

2537. Soli Deo Gloria

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Mark McGilvey Livonia

... COMMITMENT ALSO MEANS CONSCIOUSLY AND CONSISTENTLY FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THOSE WHO HAVE GIVEN THEIR ALL FOR GOD. I don't even have to tell their stories. Abraham, Joshua, Miriam, Jonah, Elijah, Jeremiah and a host of others. They were not perfect people, but they were committed people. Jesus, of course, went beyond all others in demonstrating the nature of commitment. He confronted the most painful death ever devised, crucifixion, and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from ...

2538. Noblesse Oblige

Revelation 1:4-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... And third, because he is Lord Fauntleroy, and that fact is momentous enough in itself. Lord Fauntleroy ought to act like Lord Fauntleroy. Period." (3) What a marvelous analogy to the Christian life. We, too, anticipate a royal inheritance. We, too, need to begin practicing for that perfected life of love and wholeness which will some day be ours. And we are, here and now, children of the King, and that is how we ought to act. Jesus Christ is King of Kings. That tells us who he is. That also tells us who we ...

2539. In Defense Of Ceremony

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... good duck for the shape he's in, But he isn't the duck that he might have been. (2) Maybe you are not the man or woman you intend to be. And certainly none of us are all God intends for us to be. Fortunately, such a state of perfection is not a requirement for baptism. Indeed, baptism is an admission of our need for God's mercy and grace. Baptism is an acknowledgment that there is a flaw in human character. If we were a society of saints, we would not need baptism or for that matter, marriage. One ...

2540. Opening Up Heaven

Luke 3:21-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... danger of men getting lost. On one particular day two miners did lose their way. Their lights finally went out, and they were in danger of losing their lives. After wandering around in the darkness for a long time, they sat down, and one of them said: "Let us sit perfectly still and see if we can feel the way in which the air is moving because it always moves toward the shaft." There they sat for a long time, when suddenly one of them felt a slight touch of air on his cheek. Up he sprang to his feet ...

2541. A Tragic Waste

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... 's service. That is the first thing we must understand. IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT FOR US TO UNDERSTAND THAT EACH OF US HAS DIFFERENT GIFTS, BUT ALL ARE ESSENTIAL TO GOD'S PLAN AND EQUAL IN GOD'S SIGHT. There are no superstars in God's work. In God's perfect plan for the world each of us has different talents, interests and abilities. Not all of us can be teachers. Who would feed or clothe us? Whom would we teach? Not all of us can be farmers. Who would bandage our wounds when we are hurt? Our world functions as ...

2542. A Time For Silence

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... R. Claypool relates the very painful story of the lost of their young daughter to acute leukemia. Very quickly upon diagnosis of this dread disease, his daughter had been given a medicine that enabled her to go into a remission. For some time she was almost perfectly normal. Naturally, this created many hopes for her family. Had the diagnosis been a mistaken one? Had she experienced the miracle of divine healing for which her father and so many others had prayed? It was not to be. All of these hopes came to ...

2543. The One Thing That Matters

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... such a transplant, he had a good chance for a complete recovery. Because the likelihood of finding a compatible donor was about one in sixty thousand, McFall solicited the aid of his relatives. A first cousin was tested and proved to be a perfect match. The cousin, however, refused to go through with the transplant even though there was no danger to himself. McFall sued to compel his cooperation, but the court ruled against him. Even though they agreed that his cousin's refusal was morally reprehensible ...

2544. The Secret Of His Success

Galatians 2:11-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... influence in the world because he totally submitted himself to the will of God and was totally committed to the ministry to which God had called him. EVEN MORE IMPORTANTLY, ST. PAUL SO OPENED HIMSELF TO GOD, THAT GOD COULD USE HIM AS AN ALMOST PERFECT INSTRUMENT. Soren Kierkegaard once told a parable about a certain rich man who bought a team of excellent, faultless horses. His own Coachman was somewhat inept and undisciplined, but the rich man hoped that the quality of the horses would offset this. After a ...

2545. You Are Not Yourself!

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... obsession with how we look. NEWSWEEK recently reported on a health phenomena that seems to highlight our nation’s fascination with external beauty. The sub-headline on the story reads, "Perpetual plastic-surgery patients go from facelift to facelift in search of physical perfection." Take Barbara. When she first made an appointment with plastic surgeon Dr. Frank Dunton in 1980, she didn’t really need to, but thought she’d give it a try. Since then, she has gone under his knife at least a half a dozen ...

2546. Where Have All The Heroes Gone?

Hebrews 11:1-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... , and King (the dog in "Sergeant Preston of the Yukon"). Station manager George W. Trendle had suggested the main ideas for the creation of each hero, and he gave the following orders for designing the character of the Lone Ranger: "The Lone Ranger always uses perfect English, no accent. Don't ever cast aspersions at any race or religious group. Be fair. Make him serious... Remember, the Lone Ranger never shoots to kill. He is a sober-minded man with a righteous purpose. Make the kids look up to him. Make ...

2547. A Strategy For Status Seekers

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... we say, "Woe is me, I am no better than my fathers," as Elijah did when he went into the wilderness in self-pity. See yourself through the eyes of God. His measurement of you is the only one that really matters. He sees and knows that you are not perfect, but he accepts you and loves you just as you are. But there is one thing more that must be added. Jesus words to his host about inviting, "the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind..." says to us that when brownie points are added up in Heaven, it won ...

2548. God Loves An Underdog

Luke 14:1, 7-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... trying to hide a booboo. Abraham Lincoln's line makes us all feel better: "The (person) who is incapable of making a mistake is incapable of anything." I'm glad that God loves the underdog. What a relief it is to know that He does not expect perfection. What a word of encouragement. Even more than that, it is a statement of faith. Do you remember the wonderful story of Gideon back in Judges 68? The armies of the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East were amassed against the people of ...

2549. Lost In America

Luke 15:8-10, Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... He gave His only begotten Son...." Lost people are God’s greatest concern. This brings us to the final thing to be said. Lost people will be found by people who care as God cares. Here is the ultimate test of our Christian commitment. It is not our perfect attendance at Sunday School and worship, as important as that is. It is not how often we open our Bible, although we are people of the Book. The ultimate test of our faith is how much we care about a lost world. Some people, even in the church, simply ...

2550. Mentor, Mediator, Master

1 Timothy 2:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... the sacrifice in our place. (4) What a beautiful portrait of the love of God. "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us...." Writing years ago in the SATURDAY REVIEW, John Ciardi told of the influx of synthetic emeralds that had flooded the market. So perfect were the synthetics, an expert told him, that there was only one way to tell them from the real thing. If you want to know which of two emeralds is synthetic and which is genuine, heat both stones to a prescribed temperature and give them both a ...

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