Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2726 to 2750 of 4963 results

2726. Lips And Hearts

Romans 10:8b-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... can stay. (4) There is something to be said for silent gestures like that. And Jesus warned us about making a show of our religion. Still, when a friend is floundering in darkness and needs someone to say something positive, something reassuring, something life-giving, then remaining silent may not be the best tact to take. There are times when the disciple must put in a good word for Christ. It need not be an eloquent statement. It need not have all the subtleties of theology ironed out. It does needs to ...

2727. My Younger Brother Gets Away With Everything

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

King Duncan

... good, but because they were so unbelievably bad. Seven years later, after the Cherry Sisters had earned the then respectable fortune of $200,000, they retired from theatrical life for the more peaceful life down on the farm. Oddly enough, these successful Broadway "stars" remained convinced to the end that they were truly the most talented actresses ever to grace the American stage.2 They never knew how bad they really were. I wonder if the elder brother ever realized that he was as guilty in his disdain as ...

2728. Been There, Done That, No Thanks!

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... the "Back to Egypt Committee" in honor of those Israelites who wanted to turn back to Egypt rather than endure the march to the Promised Land. St. Paul confronted his own Back to Egypt Committee. One group of early Christians wanted the church to remain a Jewish sect. They wanted to enforce strict adherence to the old covenant. They wanted to require new believers to be circumcised as well as baptized. They wanted to force new wine into old wineskins. St. Paul was adamantly opposed. His response was, in ...

2729. How To Stay Young Forever

Revelation 22:1-6

Sermon

King Duncan

... in the God of the cup. Indiana Jones' father asks him, "What do you believe in now, son?" (7) That is a good question for each of us. What do you believe in now? The answer to that question will, in large measure, determine how well we spend our remaining days on earth whether they be many or few. There is a fountain of life ” of renewal, of healing, of hope and joy. It comes from trusting Christ. There is One who says to us, "Come . . . Come . . . take the water of life without price." He offers his ...

2730. On Being Mistaken For A Mannequin

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

King Duncan

... of China. Why? Because Woodruff motivated his colleagues to reach their generation around the world for Coke. Any healthy organization reaches out. If it did not, it would die. Why are we in the church satisfied to outdo Bill Fuqua in our commitment to remain motionless? Mark Sutton compares us to a kindly old lady who was watching as a pair of golfers sliced their drives deep into the rough. The golfers went in search of their errant golf balls. The grass was high, the trees were thick, and tempers ...

2731. Good News For Broken Hearts

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

King Duncan

... , calm, and brave, saying to herself, "If Jackie Kennedy can do it, so can I." She did not realize that Jackie Kennedy on national television was not Jackie Kennedy behind the scenes, sharing her heartbreak with her family and friends. So that woman's grief remained repressed because she never let herself express what she was really feeling. (1) Have you ever known what it is to have a breaking heart? Have you ever let go and let the tears fall without regard for what others might think? Luke tells us ...

2732. Sons And Daughters Of God

Galatians 3:23-29

Sermon

King Duncan

... then the old witch tells Rapunzel repeatedly that she is ugly. In fact, the witch says to her, "Rapunzel, you look just like me." Since there are no mirrors in the tower, poor Rapunzel believes it. She can't see how beautiful she is, so she remains a prisoner in the tower ” a prisoner of her own supposed ugliness. The witch believes that if Rapunzel is convinced that she is ugly, she will never try to escape. But then, one bright day, Prince Charming comes riding by on his white horse, just as Rapunzel ...

2733. Created For Freedom

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... indicates that only 13 percent of Americans still believes in all ten of the Biblical commandments. Nine out of ten citizens admit they lie regularly. For ten million dollars, 7 percent of our people say they would kill a stranger. (4) That's scary. Can a land remain free that does not have a core of shared values? Have you been to the local cinema lately? It's a good place to ponder the balance between freedom and license. As Doug Larson of United Feature Syndicate put it recently, "It took only 50 years ...

2734. Prayers That Work

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... the following year the last Lutheran Church property was confiscated by the Soviet authorities, the Church of St. Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg. The Lutheran bishop of that city, Arthur Malmgren, had written to his people beforehand. "The gospel shall remain and not perish, for not even the gates of hell shall destroy it," he wrote. Then he prophesied correctly: "But our organized Lutheran Church of Russia will disappear." And so it did . . . for a time . . . on the surface . . . officially! Underneath ...

2735. On Fooling a Mafia Don

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... grown accustomed. Unemployment benefits would keep his family going for a while, but what would he do when they ran out? He was facing disaster. Then he hit upon an ingenuous plan. He was in charge of collections for his company. In the short time he had remaining with his employer, he decided to call each of his employers' creditors and offer them a deal. He was leaving his current position, he said to them, to find a new opportunity. In order to keep their good will he was offering them a deal they could ...

2736. Some Things We Can Do, God Can't

2 Timothy 2:13

Sermon

King Duncan

... all powerful and all knowing. There is nothing beyond God's power. There is nothing God cannot do. And yet, St. Paul tells us that there IS one thing God can't do. Listen closely to these words that he wrote to Timothy: "If we are faithless, He remains true, for He cannot deny Himself." Did you catch that? "He cannot deny Himself." There it is ” the one thing God cannot do. If you are ever on a television quiz show and the announcer says, "Now, for $1 million, is there anything God cannot do?" you will ...

2737. Thankful Day By Day

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... waking hour. "Blessed be God, day by day." Martin Rinkart was a Lutheran pastor who lived in the seventeenth century. He was also a scholar and a poet. Having served various parishes in Saxony, he was called to his home town of Eilenburg. He remained there for thirty-two years. It was not an easy time. The walled city was plunged into the depths of the Thirty Years' War. Thousands of peasants from miles around sought refuge in Eilenburg. Famine and pestilence swept through the city with devastating effect ...

2738. The Problem With The Big Ten

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... in a society where people were allowed to kill one another or steal from one another. Even the prohibition against adultery serves a societal interest ” in order to maintain a viable family life ” as does "honor your father and mother." The reason the Ten Commandments have remained with us so long is that no society can function well where they are ignored. That's the first thing we need to see. Here's the second. TO KEEP THE TEN COMMANDMENTS IN ALL THEIR RICHNESS REQUIRES A DEEP COMMITMENT. "What is it ...

2739. What Makes A Family?

Mark 3:31-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... I've worried about most was that my kids turn out all right. "The only rock I know that stays steady, the only institution I know that works, is the family. I was brought up to believe in it ” and I do. Because I think a civilized world can't remain civilized for long if its foundation is built on anything but the family. A city, state or country can't be any more than the sum of its vital parts ” millions of family units. You can't have a country or a city or a state that's worth [anything ...

2740. Long Range Planning

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... for the British commander- in-chief in North Africa. The British took the corpse by submarine off the coast of Spain and tossed it overboard. As expected, the corpse washed up on a beach, where the Spanish government believed it to be the remains of a secret courier. The communications were discovered and spies in the Spanish government turned the letter over to the Germans ” just long enough for it to be steamed open, studied, and resealed before being returned to British authorities with the corpse ...

2741. Motorcycles, Marriage And A Word From God

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... beautiful and most fulfilling. No one will ever improve on it. One man and one woman becoming one flesh until death do they part. That is the plan. Not everyone will realize that kind of ideal arrangement in his or her life, but still it remains for most people the ideal. Perhaps you saw the original "Rocky" film before Sylvester Stallone. Do you remember the love relationship Rocky had with Adrian in "Rocky?" She was the little wallflower who worked in the pet shop, the sister of Pauly, an insensitive goon ...

2742. When Are You Coming?

Isaiah 63:1-6

Sermon

King Duncan

... of Emory cost him his college scholarship, ended his research job with the Navy, and finished his plans for a career in physics. While he did not have to serve jail time, the conviction was a major blow to Emory's life. For years he remained angry over the incident and kept expecting things to be set straight. Finally, after about 5 years, he realized that he needed to get on with his life. Twenty years later an unpublished newspaper photograph was found that showed police dragging Emory off, both his ...

2743. A Pre-christmas Faith

Jeremiah 33:1-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... . He even attended a Christian church one Sunday. When he entered the sanctuary, the ushers refused to seat him. They suggested that he worship with his own people. Gandhi was so disillusioned he left, and later wrote, "If Christians have caste differences also, I might as well remain Hindu." So sad. By the way, how are you doing so far? Your faith is pre-Christmas if all you do is obey the law and no more. Your faith is pre-Christmas if you love only those people who love you. FINALLY, YOUR FAITH IS PRE ...

2744. Gettin' Ready For Quittin' Time

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... , he found that Auburn's coach, Pat Dye, wanted him to change into a uniform and enter the game as tailback. It seems that the Auburn Tigers already had one tailback out hurt, and two more had been injured in the course of the first half. Their last remaining tailback had a real fumbling problem, so Mounds was called from the stands to go into the game. It was quite a surprise to that young man to be called out of the stands. That rarely happens in a major college game. Just because something rarely happens ...

2745. Centering On God

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

... we know that the "kingdom of God is about to come." For Christians Judgment Day is a day of hope and a day of grace. We need not be afraid. What are Christians to do while we wait for Jesus to return? Jesus tells us that we are to remain centered on God. Jesus warned, "Be careful not to let yourselves become occupied with too much drinking." This time of waiting is not to be filled with fears, or with preoccupations of overindulgence. This time is a time to tell others about Jesus. When we are able to ...

2746. The Get-ready Man

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... a dark side to our character we can hide from everyone but God. Do you know how fish get caught in some parts of the world? Somebody lowers a wooden cage into the sea and leaves it so fish can swim freely through its slatted rails to feed. The cage remains for days or even weeks, until full and satisfied fish grow too wide to work their way out again. That is the way sin works in our lives. It sneaks up on us. No one ever sets out to be an addict or an adulterer. No one sets out deliberately ...

2747. Getting Ready

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

... have to first make little, gradual changes. Frank kept the strangest of Christmas lists. He called it, "My Refinement List." He first made one out when he was forty-five and he had worked at it faithfully for twenty-nine years. In all that time it had remained pretty much a secret, but now his youngest grandchild, piece of paper clutched in hand, looked Frank dead in the eye, and said, "What's this?" "A special Christmas list," answered Frank, a bit vaguely. "Is it what you want?" asked the boy. "It's not ...

2748. Ready Or Not

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... hungry and chilled to the bone. A friendly monk came riding by on a donkey. He offered the freezing and hungry juggler a ride. He was taken to the nearby monastery. Barnaby enjoyed the fellowship of the friendly monks at the table and asked if he might remain and work for them. He was given a job washing pots and pans in the kitchen. As the days followed, with Christmas approaching, the talk of the monks concerned the gifts they were preparing to give to the Virgin Mary for Christmas. Each one seemed to be ...

2749. Transformed By A Babe

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... walls and ceiling were also dirty, so they scrubbed them. Then they noticed that the walls and ceiling were unsightly. So they proceeded to whitewash them. Afterward they mended the windows and draped them. Because the baby needed to be quiet at times, the men remained still and ceased some of their rough language and rowdy ways. When the weather permitted they took the cradle out to the mines and discovered that the mining area had to be cleaned and flowers planted to make the surroundings as lovely and as ...

2750. A Song, A Star, A Savior

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... Kingdom of God into concrete Twentieth Century language. Harry Emerson Fosdick, in On Being Fit to Live With, tells of a church on the coast of England that had been destroyed in a hurricane. Its members felt unable to build it again, and the ruins remained untouched. One day, however, the British Admiralty sent a representative to urge its rebuilding. He told the people that if they did not rebuild the church, the government of England would. Then he added: "That spire is on our charts and maps. It is the ...

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