Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2726 to 2750 of 3852 results

John 4:1-26

Sermon

James Merritt

... as Samaria, was populated by (excuse the term) half-breeds. Even worse, the Samaritans out of their hatred for Jews and Judaism, rejected Jerusalem as the center of worship and built their own temple on Mt. Gerazim which happened to be the site of the original tabernacle. Fast forward to the time of Jesus and because of their inner-marriage and idolatry Samaritans were so gross to Jewish people they were seen as even lower than Gentiles. Between the Jew and the Samaritan was a fire of hostility and hatred ...

2727. To the Rescue

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

James Merritt

... newspaper. “The Ottawa Citizen and Southern News wishes to apologize for our apology to Mark Steyn. In correcting the incorrect statements about Mr. Steyn, published October 15th, we incorrectly published the incorrect correction. We accept and regret that our original regrets were unacceptable, and we apologize to Mr. Steyn for any distress caused by our previous apology.[1] We don’t understand why the cross of Jesus Christ was necessary for our forgiveness. Have you ever asked the question, “Did ...

2728. It's All Good

Revelation 21:1-27

Sermon

James Merritt

... the beginning also has creation at the end.”[1] There are two words very important for us to understand. One is the word “new” and the other is the word “earth.” In the Greek language there are two words for “new.” One word means “new in time or origin.” That is not the word used here. The other word means, “new in nature or new in quality.” That is the word that is used here, so we are not looking at a world brand new. We are looking at world renewed. There was nothing wrong with the ...

2729. Seismic Shift

2 Corinthians 7:2-16

Sermon

James Merritt

... . God doesn’t want you feeling sorry for yourself. He wants you feeling sorry for your sin. We tend to look at sin for what it does to us. When we should be looking at sin for what it does to God. The words “godly-grief” in the original language is literally, “and according-to-God grief.” Godly grief has God as its focus. Let me put it this way. Worldly grief says, “Oops…I broke the law.” Godly grief says, “Oh God…I broke Your heart.” There is a difference between tears that leave you ...

2730. Planting Your Feet

Psalm 32:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... been auctioned off to pay his social security debts and a newspaper ran an article about it. The newspaper found out about it, because when you Googled his name this came up. Google took the case to the highest legal authority and they confirmed the original decision that a search engine should remove links to an individual on the ground that the information might be prejudicial to him and that his right to have it forgotten should be honored. In doing so, the court endorsed a relatively new addition to the ...

2731. Shockproof

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

James Merritt

... that can cause such a relational earthquake that it would make forgiveness almost impossible. If you are harboring any type of hurt in your heart for anybody – lose it, drop it, and get rid of it. You notice that he begins with bitterness. The word bitterness originally meant something that was sharp or pointed. Bitterness is that imaginary knife that you like to use to stab someone. It is that sphere you carry in your hand that you would like to use to run someone through. It is that sword that you carry ...

2732. Tarzan He Was Not

John 15:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... electricity, no light. No vine, no fruit. No Christ no Holy Spirit no life-giving power for the believer. We cannot bear fruit apart from him. Some of you may know the story of a Hollywood actor named Stuart Hamblin. Hamblin was one of the original singing cowboys in early motion pictures appearing in movies with such household names as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. However, Hamblen didn’t cope well with the pressures of his high profile career and, even though he was the son of a prominent Methodist pastor ...

2733. Don't Forget the Bread

John 6:25-59

Sermon

... to them. That night, all the boys fell asleep peacefully, each clutching his bread. The boys then slept soundly because, after so many years of hunger, they finally had the assurance of food for the next day. (2) Because we are not as dependent on bread as Jesus’ original listeners, we may not appreciate as much as they what he meant when he said that he is the bread of life. He is saying, in effect: “You cannot live without me. I am essential to your life.” This may be why the first petition in the ...

2734. Hamburgers Don't Grow on Trees

Mark 4:26-29, Mark 4:30-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... 85. The average number of seeds in each pod was eight. Since two crops in a given year could be matured, this gardener figured that it was possible in the interim between February and mid-October to produce a yield of 462,000 seeds, all from one original plant. Here’s what’s amazing. Many other species of plants far exceed that increase. Nature is bountiful beyond all imagining. (2) The Kingdom of God is like that. We may not see it. It may be hidden by the maddening follies of humanity. That doesn’t ...

2735. When the Unthinkable Happens

Mark 13:1-8, 24-32

Sermon

King Duncan

... titled “Left Behind” by authors Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. These novels have sold more than sixty million copies since they began to be published in the mid-1990s. Obviously these books have made their authors quite wealthy. All twelve in the original series have been on the New York Times bestselling fiction list. Before the “Left Behind” series, there was The Late Great Planet Earth, a best-selling book by Hal Lindsey describing the same scenario. (5) These books and the movies that have ...

2736. Pride Is a Noxious Weed in the Garden of Life

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... It is to believe your equals in the human race are rare. In its most destructive form, pride goes beyond self-assurance to equating self with God. Pride is generally regarded by theologians as “the root of all sin.”[1] That is to say, it is an originating sin. Pride is one of those sins that leads to other forms of sinning. For that reason, pride ranks at the top of the list of Seven Deadly Sins. Not only is pride destructive of persons and relationships, it leads to other forms of destructive behavior ...

2737. When Walls Shift and the Ceiling Collapses

John 8:31-36

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... sky. As the congregation sets about to fix the hole in the roof, they continue regular church activities — Sunday worship, Saturday weddings, daily prayers, and baptisms as needed. The restoration proves to be more difficult than anticipated. Many pieces of the original mosaic were broken in the fall. Other pieces were lost to souvenir collectors. Some church members still insist the work be restored exactly as before and others argue for a new image of God in the ceiling. All the while, church attendance ...

2738. Demons, Pigs, and the Economy

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... and to wrestle with "the powers of darkness of this present world," as Paul put it. It is no wonder that the early church was fascinated with this intriguing story of Jesus and the Gerasene demonic. Mark's version of the story is probably the original. Matthew names two demoniacs in place of one. Luke, the beloved physician, emphasizes the man's state of mind before and after the healing or exorcism. More than that, as the only non-Jewish writer of the New Testament, Luke likes to emphasize Jesus' interest ...

2739. The Wrong Gift

Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

What did you get for Christmas? We shouldn't ask it, but we do, don't we? It is part and parcel of our experience of the season. While Christmas gift-giving may have originated in Christian communities seeking to celebrate the divine gift to us, it is now our culture that demands we spend and purchase and drive the economy into the black through our holiday purchases. We are obligated to give gifts. We are cajoled into giving. We must ?nd the "right" gift ...

2740. How to Get the Job Done

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... him spread the word about the new kingdom of God. If Moses and the seventy elders were developing the Old Israel, Jesus and the seventy were about to develop the New Israel. In Jesus' case, the seventy signify something more. If the twelve apostles were originally sent to the lost sheep of the tribes of Israel, the seventy have a broader mission. They are to announce the coming kingdom not only to the Jews, but to Samaritans and Gentiles as well. In Jesus' day, it was popularly believed there were seventy ...

2741. An Unforgettable Baptism

Luke 3:21-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... God. It reminds me of a story that the Rev. George Thompson published on the Internet sometime back. He said that when he was a teen growing up in the Appalachian Mountains, he gained great respect for the Cherokee Native American tribe with its origins in that area. Once Thompson was with a church group visiting a restored ancient village on the Cherokee reservation. An ill?informed youth in their group asked as they entered a teepee, “Do you reckon they will scalp us inside here?” Thompson said their ...

2742. A Lost Boy

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

King Duncan

... , she quipped, “Never leave home without your credit card!” Well, that’s a pretty good lesson, though perhaps not the one Jesus had in mind. Pastor Ronnie White of Midland, Texas tells a story that is like many you have heard before. Perhaps it is the original. I don’t know, but it is so touching, I believe you will appreciate it. It is about an itinerant preacher many years ago named G.W. Ravensbury. Ravensbury made his living preaching off of trains. He’d ride a train to a town, preach, get back ...

2743. A Complicated Disciple

John 18:15-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... along with James and John, the sons of Zebedee, comprised what became known as Christ’s inner circle. Jesus took these three disciples with him onto a high mountain. On this mountain the Bible says Jesus was “transfigured,” a word from the original Greek metamorphoo which means “to change form.” “His face shone like the sun,” (Matthew 17:2) and “his clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.” (Mark 9:3). And Moses and Elijah appeared, talking with him ...

2744. The Best Translation

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... minister said he used the King James because the Old English style is beautiful and produces the most reverent picture of the Holy Scriptures. The second said he preferred the New American Standard Bible because he felt it comes nearer to the original Greek and Hebrew texts. The third minister said his favorite was the paraphrased Living Bible because his congregation was young, and it related to them in a practical way. All three men waited while the fourth minister sat silently. Finally he said, “I ...

2745. A Well-poured Child

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... . Then, when the concrete is poured, it must be shaped before it sets, because once set up, change is only possible if preceded by removal of what has already been laid down. If done correctly, a well-poured footing will last far beyond the original owner’s lifetime. If done incorrectly, the evidence will appear soon enough as a crumbling surface, structural cracks, and a shift in walls and floors. Raising children is like pouring concrete. Before a baby arrives, a couple should prepare a solid base in ...

2746. She Knows Her Eggs

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... row. Since the eggs all look alike, it is incredible that a mother bird can identify those that belong to her. Yet studies show that she knows her own eggs so well that when even one is moved, she finds it and returns it to its original location. Scripture tells us that God is also intimately acquainted with each of his children. He knows our every thought and emotion, every decision we must make and problem we are going through. Therefore, an understanding of the full extent of God’s omniscience should ...

2747. The Creeping Vine

1 Cor 1:23

Illustration

Michael P. Green

The story is told of a small English village that had a tiny chapel whose stone walls were covered by traditional ivy. Over an arch was originally inscribed the words: we preach christ crucified. There had been a generation of godly men who did precisely that: they preached Christ crucified. But times changed. The ivy grew and pretty soon covered the last word. The inscription now read: we preach christ. Other men came and they did preach ...

2748. The Bible Looks Forward

John 9:3

Illustration

Francis I. Anderson

Men seek an explanation of suffering in cause and effect. They look backward for a connection between prior sin and present suffering. The Bible looks forward in hope and seeks explanations, not so much in origins as in goals. The purpose of suffering is seen, not in its cause, but in its results. The man in John 9 was born blind so that the works of God could be displayed in him.

2749. Teaches One Thing, Practices Another

Illustration

Francis Schaeffer

John Cage, a contemporary American composer, believes that the universe is impersonal by nature and that it originated only through pure chance. In an attempt to live consistently with this personal philosophy, Cage composes all of his music by various means of chance. He uses, among other things, the tossing of coins and the rolling of dice to make sure that no personal element enters into the final ...

2750. Solomon Builds the Temple

2 Chronicles 3:1-17

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... a certain stage. It is not completely certain when this change was made, but some accept that it might have been sometime in the tenth or ninth century B.C. The parenthetical information in 2 Chronicles 3:3 is therefore another indication that this text originated at a time when the new standard was already in use. It remains interesting, however, that the Deuteronomistic version in 1 Kings 6:2 did not feel the need to specify this information. The NIV specifies in a footnote that, according to the accepted ...

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