Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic

Showing 2551 to 2575 of 3314 results

2551. Tales of the Spiritually Stupid

Jeremiah 4:11-12, 18-22

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

... it to the grave. Scripture tells us the mountains quaked and the heavens grew dim, and the community of disciples sank into despair, much like the experience of Jeremiah. Then God raised Jesus from the dead, and all that hatred and corruption came to nothing. As the Apostle Paul would later write, "God's foolishness is greater than human wisdom." In this we have confidence. When times are at their worst, when all we see in our church or community or in the mirror brings us to the brink of despair, we do not ...

2552. Letters from a Loving Prophet

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

... was optimistic about the longer span of time. He was sure that God had plans for the people and that God would carry those plans to fulfillment. This chapter also reveals that Jeremiah was a man of penetrating insight. He communicated a truth that the Apostle Paul and, later, New Testament leaders tried so hard to get across and that is that true faith is not dependent upon geographical locality. A person of faith can know God anywhere. That means in captivity in Babylon or in prison in Rome. This important ...

2553. Calamity and Hope

Joel 2:23-32

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

... is outlined for the people to whom Joel was historically writing. Within the Christian community, it is very important that we make the connection between these verses in Joel, and the New Testament message as it comes to us in the book of the Acts of the Apostles. Contained in verses 28 and 29 we have this message, "Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and ...

2554. Mary and Joseph: His Obedient Servants

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... . The talk of having Christ formed in our midst, alive and stirring, and kicking around within us, born and alive in present, is startling and frightening. Like Mary – we never dreamed anything like this would happen when we started saying our prayer. “The apostle, Paul, is using the language of childbirth when he writes the church in Rome the amazing words that appear in Romans, the 8th chapter, the 19th and 22nmd verses.” “For Creation wait with eager longing for the revealing of the Sons of God ...

2555. Good News about Christ

Revelation 1:4-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... all over the world are celebrating Christ the King Sunday [or the Reign of Christ]. It is fitting that we close the church year celebrating Christ as Lord of all. Some of you may have seen the motion picture a few years back, The Apostle. Robert Duvall plays a flawed, but talented Pentecostal/holiness-type preacher. In one service he conducts a type of litany that is sort of a “Jesus cheer.” Imagine his congregation responding each time by shouting, “Jesus!” Who is the King of Kings?” “Jesus ...

2556. The Whole Family Survival Kit

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... just different ways of referring to the same individuals. Matthew had “the mother of the sons of Zebedee” while Mark has “Salome,” and John records “his mother’s sister,” all of which may well be the same person. If so this would make the apostles James and John Jesus’ cousins. But on that most horrible scene of Golgatha, when everyone else deserted him when he needed them the most, Jesus had the presence of three Marys: two of them relatives, his mother and his aunt (the wife of Joseph’s ...

2557. I Am the Alpha and the Omega

Revelation 1:1-3

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... want to affirm. It interests me that the churches that have kept the great creeds of the church alive, the mainline churches, are those who do not claim much about the second coming. And yet, in those great creeds of the church, both the Nicene and the apostle’s creed which is common to most of our churches, the affirmation about the second coming of our Lord is central, stated in words like these – he, Jesus, ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right had of God the father and he shall come again in ...

2558. Every Day God Enriches

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... they contain. So, what does all that have to do with how Every Day God Enriches our lives. Let's look at Scripture from Paul's first letter to the Church in Corinth, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9. 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 (NRSV) [1] Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, [2] To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus ...

2559. Breakfast On The Beach

John 21:1-17

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... him or her to empty the bathtub.' 'Oh, I understand,' said the visitor. 'A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup.' 'No' said the Director, 'A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?' The Apostle Peter was not a normal person. He hadn't been normal from the day Jesus entered his life. That didn't mean he was going to get a bed by the window in a mental institution. No, what it meant for Peter is that God had big plans for him ...

2560. Living By The Spirit

Galatians 5:16-25

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... looked forward to it because of the cherries. My mom would buy the big can to make sure we all had plenty but also so there would be enough cherries in the can for all three of us boys. We thought the cherries were the best part. I think the Apostle Paul must have liked fruit cocktail as well. Because he talks about the fruit of the spirit and then lists about nine different Fruits of the Spirit. I think that's pretty cool because, we had a couple of apple trees in our yard and the only thing we ever ...

2561. Living in The Spirit of Generosity

2 Corinthians 9:6-12, Galatians 5:22-25

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... of the Spirit which grows in our lives. That Fruit leads us to be Generous with our Love; Generous with our Forgiveness; Generous with our Giving; and Generous with our Kindness. I. Generous With Our Love A. We are called to be Generous With Our Love. In the apostle John's first letter, he writes, "We love because God first loved us." (1 John 4:19) That's how we operate. We love God because we found out that God loves us. We found out, through the daily blessings of life; through the talents we have been ...

2562. Living In The Spirit Of Gentleness and Self Control

Galatians 5:22-25, Colossians 3:12-17

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... Christians each one of us is a walking advertisement for Jesus Christ. Jesus said we ate the light of the world and we can't be hidden under basket. Instead we are supposed to shine bright for the world to see. That's why the Apostle Paul wrote: "Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience" Be Obedient, Be Kind, Be Forgiving, Be Bold and Believe. These are the characteristics of Living In The Spirit of Gentleness and Self-Control. This is what it means to "let the word of ...

2563. Acts 8:14-17

Acts 8:9-25

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... no difference. The text in Acts this week echoes that claim. Does the baptism of new believers inside of Jerusalem and performed by someone outside the Jerusalem apostolic community still recall and rebirth the true baptism of believers as experienced by the apostles at Pentecost? Or are non-apostolic baptisms somehow inferior or incomplete? Is the “recording” as good as the “real?” In the Luke-Acts narrative, the act of baptism is a multi-layered event. John baptized with water, but foretold the ...

2564. Have You Got a Prayer? – Sermon Opener

Luke 3:21-22

Illustration

Mark Trotter

... . In thee I am well pleased." That is Luke's version. All four gospels portray this scene. But Luke's version is a little different than the others. In each version, though, the Spirit descends"like a dove." The Holy Spirit is not a bird. Luke and the other apostles use the dove as a metaphor for the Spirit's coming into our lives. It is a beautiful metaphor. Have you ever seen a dove descend and land? It is graceful, gentle, and quiet. That's the point being made. That is the way the Holy Spirit will enter ...

2565. A Stone’s Throw From: The Rolled Stone

Luke 24:1-12

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... day rise again." [8] Then they remembered his words, [9] and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. [10] Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. [11] But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. [12] But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened. The women ...

2566. First Class Freedom

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... . Our freedom of religion allows us to gather and worship without fear of reprisal. And why do we worship? In part, because of the freedom from the burden and guilt of our sin which Christ took upon Himself at Calvary. While we celebrate our freedom, the Apostle Paul offers up a precautionary word about using our Freedom. In Galatians 5:1, 13-14 (NRSV) [1] For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. [13] For you were called to freedom, brothers ...

2567. Flying First Class

Ephesians 1:3-13

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... Class meal I experienced actually came with shrimp cocktail and fresh fruit. I think Flying First Class, especially when I didn't pay for it, was fun. I also think Flying First Class is a metaphor for the kind of life God wants us to live in Christ. The Apostle Paul talks about how God has "lavished the riches of His grace on us." and to me that equates to being Upgraded to First Class. I. Upgraded A. You see, in the world's eyes we're all pretty worthless unless the world can get something from us. But ...

2568. Living In ‘Oddville’ With ‘Peculiar’ People

Romans 12:1-2, 19-21

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... 're called to "Live In ‘Oddville' With ‘Peculiar' People" and be "Odd For God." When we live like Christ, the world says we're ODD. The world says we're PECULIAR. That's OK, because whether they know it or not, they are just echoing what the Apostle Peter says. "You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people." We are actually fulfilling what Paul encouraged us to do: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed." And we are simply living how Jesus told us to ...

2569. Batman: Driven By Guilt or Grace?

Romans 5:1-11; 8:1-2

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... with both guilt and rage over his parents' deaths. That's what drives him. So, what Spiritual Truths, can we learn from this Dark Knight? What can Batman teach us today? Before we go any further, let's look at two passages of Scripture, both from the Apostle Paul's letter to the Romans. Romans 5:1-11 (NRSV) [1] Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, [2] through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our ...

2570. Spiderman: Saved To Serve

Colossians 3:1-4, 12-17

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... question in Church, would you? But the truth is we don't all come with pristine purposes. I'm not trying to make anyone feel guilty but we may not even know that we are at cross purposes with God. That was certainly the case in the life of the Apostle Paul. And that's what the Superhero we're focusing on today had to find out as well. Paul and Spiderman both had to find out that they were Saved To Serve. Introduction When I was a teenager two events happened, not too far apart either, both of which were ...

2571. Altar Your Prayers

Mark 1:29-37

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... World through Altaring your Prayer life. If you haven't had one, now's the time to begin developing that daily discipline. If you have a prayer life, now's the time to be more focused and listen to God. All Stewardship begins with prayer, so pray. Or as the Apostle Paul says in his letter to the Thessalonians, "pray without ceasing." In that way you will be like that youngest daughter and be able to say to God, "I give you me."

2572. Altar Your Gifts

Malachi 3:10, Luke 6:27-42

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... give is to live." Conclusion As your Pastor, all I ask is that you prayerfully consider what God is calling you to give. This isn't between you and I. It's not even between you and the budget. It's between you God. In 2 Corinthians 9:7 the Apostle Paul writes: "Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." All any of us can ask is that you prayerfully consider what God wants you to give for the work and ministry of this Church ...

2573. Altar Your Witness

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... 're afraid they are going to be verbally accosted by the person with whom they're talking for not having the same beliefs the have. Or we're afraid we're going to be treated like Carl treated Russell in our opening clip. In Romans 10:9-15 (NRSV) the Apostle Paul writes [9] if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [10] For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved ...

2574. LOST? Looking For Love

John 3:16-17, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, 1 John 4:7-19

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... to judge us. They have this picture of a God who is mean spirited, unforgiving and vengeful. But that's not god or the relationship with God that I've experienced. Listen to these passages of Scripture. Listen to what Jesus, Himself said, and then listen to how the Apostles Paul and John talk about love. John 3:16-17 (NRSV) [16] "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. [17] "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the ...

2575. LOST? Pursuing Purpose

1 Peter 2:9-10

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... life "Why am I here?" Second I think we pursue that purpose because I believe God has a purpose for each and every one of us. And we can be the person God created us to be unless we are living within the parameters of that purpose. I think the Apostle Peter believed that, too. In his first letter, he writes: 1 Peter 2:9-10 (NRSV) [9] But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness ...

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