Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2626 to 2650 of 5000 results

John 13:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... a life of serving others. That is how the world will know that we are his followers. 1. Merrill C. Tenney, John: The Gospel of Belief (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1948), p. 199. 2. (Lifeway Press, 1998), p. 168. 3. http://www.ottawamennonite.ca/sermons/silence.htm. 4. Biblical Illustrator.

2627. 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... by such cohesive concern, this “body” suffers when one member suffers, and likewise rejoices as one when a single member is honored. The African adage that proclaims when the foot has a thorn, the whole body stoops to pull it out, well illustrates Paul’s point. Each individual experience is shared by the unity of the whole community. Finally Paul abandons his neutral “body” imagery in v.27 and declares plainly to the Corinthians that they “are the body of Christ and individually members of ...

2628. Kintsugi Vessels

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

2629. Prayer-Conditioning Your Life

Luke 2:29-32

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the Temple forty days after childbirth to offer a sacrifice for her purification (Leviticus 12:2-5). Luke’s description of this detail highlights the strict obedience of Mary and Joseph to keeping this law. The sacrifice they offered, however, also illustrates their own simple status, for only the poor were allowed to substitute inexpensive doves for the traditional sacrificial lamb (Leviticus 12:8). The other ritual that needed to be completed was the presentation of their firstborn son to the Lord, as ...

2630. Luke 2: 22-40, Luke 4:21-30

Luke 2:21-40

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

2631. Blessed Are Those Who Believe

John 20:19-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... down as a believer.” Listen again to the words of our Lord to the disciple Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 1. Harold F. Bermel in Edward K. Rowell, 1001 Quotes, Illustrations, and Humorous Stories (Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group, 2008), p. 324. 2. Milo O. Frank, How To Get Your Point Across In 30 Seconds or Less (New York: Pocket Books, 1986). 3. From a sermon by John Ortberg. 4. Robert Frost quote from Patricia de ...

2632. Belonging to Christ's Flock

John 10:22-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... as a young shepherd before he became a warrior and a king. Thus he begins his popular and beloved Psalm 23 with, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” But David wasn’t the only Old Testament writer to use this imagery. The Prophet Isaiah used sheep to illustrate the waywardness of God’s people. Isaiah writes, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.” Now you’re probably thinking, how did he know about us? He sure got us right. And, of course, this descriptive language ...

2633. Filling the Hole in Our Hearts

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... it you are trying to say to me?” All of a sudden the meaning sometimes becomes crystal clear. It’s like God whispered the meaning into our ear. That is the working of the Holy Spirit. That amazing preacher of the Gospel, Dr. Tom Long gives us a wonderful illustration of this aspect of the Holy Spirit’s work. Long was a member of a rock-and-roll band in high school and he was fascinated with the music of the great blues master Jimmy Reed. Reed was a legend in the 50s and 60s. Playing the harmonica and ...

2634. Two Sinners

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

King Duncan

... much of Simon in me . . . and probably in you. God’s grace is our only hope unless we pray this day that God will help us to love other people without reservation and leave the judging to Him. 1. Craig Brian Larson, ed., Contemporary Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers, & Writers (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1996), p. 123. 2. The Houston Post, 1/10/94, p. A-10. Cited in In other Words. 3. Miroslav Volf, “Is It God’s Business?” The Christian Century. Cited by Brian K. Jensen, http://www.meadvillefpc ...

2635. The Keys to Effective Praying

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... , when it came crunch time, he prayed, “Not my will, but yours be done.” All prayer is based in the goodness of God. We can pray “your kingdom come, your will be done” because we believe God’s will is always for our best good. Notice how Jesus illustrates this truth later in this passage. He tells about a father whose son asks for fish and an egg. Will the father give him instead a stone, a serpent, or a scorpion? Of course not. Jesus begins with God because all prayer is based in the nature of ...

2636. Be Shrewd

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... is said you should commit to memory.” Or in the words of the great philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, “Great ideas enter into reality with evil associates and with disgusting alliances. But the greatness remains.” Jesus’ strange and startling parable illustrated both for his disciples who were listening and for the eavesdropping religious establishment, that there is a definite distinction between a life lived fixated upon the needs to survive in this world, and a faithful life lived focused on the ...

2637. A Faith that Does Not Quit

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... , April 1995, p. 55. 3. The Oregonian, June 26, 2002, http://www.oregonian.com/. 4. Pastor Dan Mangler’s Sunday Sermon, http://www.smlc‑elca.org/Sunday_sermons/december_1_2002_sermon.html. 5. Anthony T. Evans, Tony Evans’ Book Of Illustrations (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2009). 6. Submitted by John R. Trammell, Savannah, GA. 7. Author Unknown, http://www.motivational-well-being.com/motivational-stories-9.html. 8. Cited by Alan Stewart, http://sermons.pastorlife.com/members/UploadedSermons/sermon_2352 ...

2638. The Door of the Cross

John 10:1-21

Sermon

David O. Bales

... . We can understand how emotional that phone call was. She later wrote about her faith in Christ and that first phone call in the US to her parents: “Many have asked me how I know it is the Lord speaking to me. What had just happened was the best illustration I know. I hadn’t heard my mother’s voice for over eight years, but when the receiver went up in Oakland, California, and I heard someone say, ‘Hello, Darlene,’ I knew it was Mother. No one ever spoke my name as she did. So it is, that when ...

2639. A Faith that Will Transform You

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... feeling lost this day, whatever that may mean to you, won’t you open yourself to his love? 1. C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity 2. Edwin Orr, “Playing the Good News Off‑Key,” Christianity Today, January 1, 1982, 24‑25. Cited in Robert J. Morgan, Preacher’s Sourcebook Creative Sermon Illustrations (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2007), pp. 662-663. 3. William G: Shepherd, Great Preachers As Seen By a Journalist (Fleming H. Revell, 1924).

2640. Dancing for Joy (Thanksgiving)

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... 52-53. 3. Fr. Ron W. Griffin, http://www.st‑martins.net/sermons/20061123%20Thanksgiving%20‑%20Joy%20of%20Thanks.pdf. 4. It’s Time for Your Comeback (Tulsa, OK.: Harrison House, 1998), pp. 118-122. 5. Dwight L. Moody, Anecdotes, Incidents and Illustrations. 6. Kathleen Norris, Amazing Grace (New York: Riverhead Books, 1998), p. 13. Cited by Gregory Knox Jones, http://www.chesterpres.org/osermons/s021799.htm. 7. Michael J. Collins, M.D., Hot Lights, Cold Steel (St. Martin’s Press, 2005). Reprinted in ...

2641. What If You Truly Were Born Again?

John 3:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... A new outward focus, a new set of values, a new family are you ready for a second birth? 1. Dr. Randy L. Hyde, http://www.lectionary.org/Sermons/Hyde/John/John%2003.01-17,%20GospelNight.htm. 2. Choice Contemporary Stories & Illustrations For Preachers, Teachers & Writers (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1998), p. 51. 3. Rev. Dr. Thomas G. Long, http://day1.org/3823-the_start_of_the_trail. 4. http://www.aberdeenmethodist.info/Reichsermons/christian_love.pdf. 5. Lee A. Koontz, http://reflectious.com/2011/03 ...

2642. Around the Family Table

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... , http://www.gbgm umc.org/epworthberkeley/MSG/020414RP.html. 6. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc, 2010). 7. (New York: Ballentine Books, 2007), xi. Cited at http://day1.org/2036-closing_the_great_chasm_faith__global_hunger_part_2. 8. Criswell’s Guidebook for Pastors (Nashville: Broadman, 1980), p. 202. Cited in Robert J. Morgan, Preacher’s Sourcebook Creative Sermon Illustrations (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2007), p. 522.

2643. Honk If Something Falls Off

Matthew 5:43-48

Sermon

King Duncan

... it in such an imperfect fashion! (1) I hope no one will think I am making fun of persons with speech impediments. Some of the brightest and most productive people who have ever lived had such impediments. It’s just such a perfect illustration (no pun intended) of the misuse of the word “perfect.” Nobody likes someone who is perfect. Mikhail Baryshnikov, the Russian ballet star, was once asked what he thought of the old Hollywood actor and dancer Fred Astaire. Baryshnikov answered, “What do dancers ...

2644. The Lord Is (More Than) My Shepherd

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

King Duncan

... truly be thankful. 1. Christian Parenting Today. 2. Melvin M. Newland, http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/a-mothers-love-melvin-newland-sermon-on-mothers-day-35609.asp. 3. http://www.preaching.com/sermons/11567179/. 4. http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_a_all_we_like_sheep_have_gone_astray.htm. 5. http://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2003/january/14106.html. 6. Our Guide through Perils 7. Illusaurus 8. Letting God: Christian Meditations for Recovering Persons (San Francisco: Harper, 1987.)

2645. For Troubled Hearts

John 14:1-4

Sermon

King Duncan

... stay at the Watergate Hotel?” Curious, the groom said, “Why, sir, are you asking me all of these questions?” The hotel manager said, “Well, the room under yours complained of the chandelier falling on them!” (1) It’s a dumb story. However, it does illustrate the fact that fear makes us do ridiculous things sometimes. In fact, as we’ve noted before, fear is at the base of most of our problems. Jesus says in our lesson for today, “Do not let your hearts be troubled . . .” He could have said ...

2646. Pastor, Don't Talk About That!

Romans 6:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... the six hundred students graduating would go on to universities. In those universities many of them would have professors who would introduce them to the idea that there is no truth, no absolute right and wrong, simply preferences. So Colson gave these students an illustration that theologian R.C. Sproul frequently uses. “You’re standing on a street corner, and there’s a frail old lady with a heavy shopping bag in front of you. Trucks, buses, and cars are zipping by. You have three choices. You can ...

2647. How Does Your Garden Grow?

Matthew 13:31-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... from the rich soil in the Garden of Eden. Jesus, the Second Adam, the one sent by God to undue the curse of death the first Adam had incurred, found his purview and power in the images of growing, living things. Most of Jesus’ images and illustrations involved the natural world plants and animals not the world of tools and trade. At his moment of ultimate agony on the cross, Jesus granted the one repentant thief with whom he shared that Golgotha hilltop this promise: “Today you will be with me in the ...

2648. The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Acts 20:13-38

Sermon

James Merritt

... yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:20, NIV) You don’t store up treasures in heaven by getting; you only store up treasures in heaven by giving. Let me give you this illustration. I want you to imagine that you are living in a country going through a civil war. Maybe a recent war like the one in Iraq. While you are in the Iraq, you’ve accumulated all this Iraqi currency. I want you to imagine that you have watched ...

2649. Flip the Switch

Psalm 119:105

Sermon

James Merritt

... that even though it is brief and short is loaded with a tremendous practical reason why you ought to read your Bible every day and want to read your Bible every day and need to read your Bible every day. Before I read the verse let me give you this illustration. If you have ever taken a particularly long trip to some place you have never been before you always face two dangers - you can take the long way around. If you don’t either talk to someone else who has made the trip or consult a map or do your ...

2650. God Is Not Dead

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

James Merritt

... example and precept, than to worship the right God the right way. There is nothing more destructive you can do to your family than to fail to worship the right God or to fail to worship the right God in the right way. I want to give you a biblical illustration of this. It is found in the life of a king, whose name was Uzziah. Uzziah was a good king who made a bad mistake. We read about it in 2 Chronicles 26:16, “But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed ...

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