Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2826 to 2850 of 4963 results

2826. Caught Up In A Dream

Matthew 4:12-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... critics into silence. (6) Today the church of Jesus Christ in Communist China is alive and growing because individual Christians did their part to be fishers of men. What we need to see is that the kingdom of heaven is still at hand in this world. It remains a very real possibility wherever there are followers of Jesus who are willing to live out that which they believe. There is something very special about Jesus of Nazareth. There is something very special about his dream. It is a dream of the rule of God ...

2827. Let My Little Light Shine

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... another sociology professor came across the earlier study. He had his students follow up on the project to see what had happened to these boys. With the exception of 20 boys who had moved away or died, the students learned that 176 of the remaining 180 had achieved extraordinarily successful as lawyers, doctors and businessmen. The professor was astounded and decided to pursue the matter further. Fortunately, all the men were in the area and he was able to ask each one, "How do you account for your success ...

2828. Temptation

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... it through a full week without cheating. She dropped into a cafeteria one day for a cup of coffee. A man with two doughnuts and a cup of coffee sat down on the other side of the table. The pastries smelled truly delicious ” but the woman remained firm in her decision not to indulge. Lo and behold after a while the man got up, leaving behind one whole doughnut. An internal struggle ensued and temptation triumphed. The woman reached across the table, picked up the doughnut and started to eat it. Just then ...

2829. The Cross We Do Not Want To See

Mark 15:21-32

Sermon

King Duncan

... television stations. This ugly cross was made of weapons of crime and violence, most of which had been confiscated by Dallas police. There were guns and pistols and knives and bayonets and bullets and bombs and broken bottles. The cross rose out of the remains of an automobile that had been smashed almost flat in a traffic accident. The base was surrounded by barbed-wire entanglements like those surrounding a prison. It was not easy to look upon this cross of violence, and many people hated the sight of ...

2830. While It Was Still Dark

John 20:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... .' My day's work will begin again the next morning. The tomb is not a blind alley; it is a thoroughfare. It closes on the twilight; it opens on the dawn." Mary Magdalene came to the tomb while it was still dark ” but the darkness did not remain. The dawn broke. God's Son had risen. 1. John H. Westerhoff and Caroline A. Hughes, ON THE THRESHOLD OF GOD'S FUTURE, (San Francisco, CA: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1986), p. 21. 2. Philip Mooney, BELONGING ALWAYS, (1987), p. 82. 3. Melvin E. Schroer and Angelo J ...

2831. I Can Have Anything?

John 14:5-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... a frightful crack of thunder and a brilliant flash of lightning that struck the mahogany table and cracked it in two. The room was filled with smoke and fumes, and the president and the elders were hurled to the floor. Through the carnage, the rabbi remained erect and untouched, his eyes flashing and a grim smile on his face. Slowly, the president lifted himself above what was left of the table. His hair was singed, his glasses were hanging from one ear, his clothing was in disarray. Finally he said, "All ...

2832. The Mother Side Of God

John 14:15-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... -generalizing or stereotyping, but when most of us think of being comforted, do we think of our Moms or our Dads? A survey asked boys who they would be most likely to confide in if they had a problem, and about 23 percent said their father. The remaining 77 percent said they would confide in their mother. "I will not leave you comfortless," said Jesus. "I will not leave you as orphans . . . " There are a lot of Dads who are doing a splendid job of comforting their children, but in the majority of cases, for ...

2833. Fear Of Flying

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... . In his book Scared to Life (Victor), Douglas Rumford cites a study that explains why we shouldn't allow fear to rule our lives: 60% of our fears are totally unfounded; 20% are already behind us; 10% are so petty they don't make any difference; 4-5% of the remaining 10% are real, but we can't do anything about them. That means only 5% are real fears that we can do something about. (7) I don't know how accurate those figures are but my guess is that for some of us, they understate the problem. We have a ...

2834. The Greatest Temptation Of All

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... hunting with a friend of his on Cherokee Lake in East Tennessee. His friend, Riley, who had just recently given his life to Christ, began to ask some serious questions about his Christian pilgrimage. Riley's old friends were making it very difficult for him to remain consistent in his obedience and commitment to Christ. They seemed to delight in trying to get him to fall back into the old patterns of life. They ridiculed him for spending so much time with "the preacher." Riley asked, "Why is it that I'm ...

2835. Rejected

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

King Duncan

... that a few years before he had visited Rome and seen, at St. Peter's, the world famous Pieta by Michelangelo. He conceded that the sculpture of the dead Jesus held in the arms of the mourning Mary was an artistic masterpiece. Yet somehow, this deceased Jesus remained alien to him, as did the many crosses with the suffering Jesus on them that he saw in Rome. A Buddha, he said, would never have been depicted like that. Buddha died as if he were slipping away into a better beyond, with a smile on his ...

2836. Dressed For The Wedding

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... said nothing. His father met him in the living room and said nothing. At dinner that night, the boy looked at his plate. There was a slice of bread and a glass of water. He looked at his father's full plate and then at his father, but his father remained silent. The boy was crushed. The father waited for the full impact to sink in, then quietly took the boy's plate and placed it in front of himself. He took his own plate of meat and potatoes, put it in front of the boy, and smiled at his son ...

2837. Be Careful What You Call Me

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

King Duncan

... have become filled with Gentile ideas than the lights go out, the building is filled with clouds of smoke, and a thunderous voice answers them: "FUNNY YOU SHOULD MENTION IT . . ." To be theologically correct, of course, God's Son never became a Gentile. He remained a devout Jew. Much of the New Testament reflects the very natural strife in the early days of our faith between Judaism and its upstart off-spring Christianity. That this strife should continue is no credit to us. There is no greater shame that ...

2838. Teamwork

Nehemiah 1:1-11

Sermon

Rev. Dr. Ward Williams

... , "Look at the front row and you'll see why I forgot all about those dates." Ed Sullivan stuck his head through the curtain and spotted two soldiers in the center of the front row. Each had lost an arm and they were applauding by clapping their two remaining hands together. We live in a society where there is little cooperation. No one seems to want to contribute their fair share to the well-being of the community. The church is in continual need of those who are willing to expend a little extra effort, a ...

2839. Washing Away The Junk

Luke 3:21-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... she died, the woman scribbled a note on a piece of paper and stuffed it in the glove compartment. The note read: I don't want to die this way. Tragically, less than six feet from their icy grave was a stranded bus, whose festive passengers remained warm throughout the night. (8) Less than six feet away were help and hope, but they died unaware. I wonder how many people good people, even Christian people struggle through life never realizing that all the help and all the hope anyone needs are closer than ...

2840. Answers To Life's Three Critical Questions

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... to and from the Indies carried a passenger list with the names written down according to the social pecking order: Royalty and Crown officials at the top, acknowledging their status, until, at the very bottom of the list, lumped together, there appears the remaining number of persons and the notation "Persons of no importance." (2) There are a lot of people who feel that is where their names would be listed in the grand scheme of things. "Persons of no importance." Name Unknown. Karen Burton Mays says ...

2841. Internal Medicine

Matthew 6:16-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... you're not supposed to." (PEOPLE, Jan 19, ˜81) And then she went on to say that she's never made a major decision without fasting and prayer. The interviewer was astounded. So much so that she made a point of it in the article. But the truth of it remains: Jesus expected us to fast. And when we do we find the contours of our souls. We find the definition of our characters. We find out who we really are before God. Says the poet (Edna St. Vincent Millay): I drank at every vine The last was like the first ...

2842. Bound By A Promise

Genesis 15:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... women, a lot of young women." They spent only one week together last year before getting hitched in front of cameras for a British documentary about marriage. Unwilling to leave her hometown, the bride flew back to Indiana. Unwilling to venture into the cold, the groom remained in California. They stayed in touch by writing letters. (1) Scotty Wolfe was married 29 times, but he died alone with no one to give him a proper burial. Bound by a promise. That's our theme for the day. You can tell a lot about ...

2843. Grumblers Among God's People

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... conflict in their lives. They don't know how to talk about their discontentment in ways that are honest. Thus, they become grumblers. Here are some common factors that might help us to identify potential grumblers. FIRST, MOST GRUMBLERS WANT TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS. I guess we could form an organization called Grumblers Anonymous. The problem is it would be a silly name since it would be redundant. Grumbling and anonymity go hand in hand. Since grumblers have difficulty being honest about their disagreement ...

2844. Dogsleds And Dogged Determination

Luke 9:57-62

Sermon

King Duncan

... Africa, was just twenty-years-old when she was imprisoned for giving her life to Christ. Fortunately, Perpetua was imprisoned with five other Christians. This small band of believers continued to worship God and uplift one another throughout this ordeal. They all remained strong in their faith, confident that they were doing God's will. Perpetua reported that the suffering she experienced in prison only brought her closer to God, and increased her joy and peace. Twice, Perpetua's father came to the jail and ...

2845. Who Will Be Crying At Your Funeral

Luke 12:22-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... . So he and his men spend ten more years on the high seas, seeking out enemies to fight and heroics to perform. But there is another side to this story. Back at home, Odysseus' wife and son have been waiting for him. All these years, they have remained faithful to his memory. But his wanderlust keeps Odysseus from returning to those who love him. That is, until he learns a very important lesson. Odysseus sails so far that he sails right to the edge of the world, to the land of shadows that the Greeks ...

2846. Busybodies

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... he couldn't bring himself to reach into that last pocket. He just couldn't confront his awful fear that he had lost the three pennies. So Sheldon Kopp's father sat out on his front porch for hours in the cold. If he looked in his one remaining pocket, he feared discovering that the money was gone. If he went inside, he feared facing his parents and their anger. So he sat outside in the numbing cold, paralyzed by competing fears he just couldn't bring himself to face. (5) Somehow that young fellow did not ...

2847. On Being Picked For The "Rework"

Jeremiah 18:1--19:15

Sermon

King Duncan

... to pass by undetected, hardened into a flawed state. Pharaoh was not sent to meltdown and Rework. "I allowed him to harden in his defective condition." We may think it is a blessing to avoid the Rework, but it is not. To be allowed by God to remain unchallenged by His Spirit, uncorrected by His Word, unchanged by the wonderful fires of his purifying grace, is not a blessing but a curse. Can we be like Pharaoh? Surely. Pharaoh heard the words of God and hardened his heart. We can also hear his Word and ...

2848. Where's George?

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

Sermon

King Duncan

... center of national attention. He was so uncomfortable that at one time he actually did leave town and disappear for a while, causing a repentant Gracie to try to quell the publicity. Finally, George Allen came out of hiding and resumed his life as an accountant, but he remained the butt of jokes for a long time afterwards. (1) One of the problems with looking for lost coins or lost sheep in the 1990s is that a lot of those coins or sheep do not want to be found. Isn't that your experience? The busybodies ...

2849. Never Give Up

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... comes when we have a great and urgent need, and we knock on the Judge's door and no one answers. Jesus knew that. He knew that after he left them, his disciples would experience persecution, prison and even death because they followed him. How would they remain steadfast as they headed toward the gladiator's pit to be torn apart by lions when they prayed to heaven and there was no deliverance? You and I get discouraged when it rains on our party. What if our very life was at stake? No wonder Jesus ended ...

2850. Justified By What?

Romans 3:19-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... that held the family together through the lean years and the many moves the family made. The family was poor in material goods, but rich in faith. Ella Tweten's faith in God was especially irresistible. She just shone with love and gentleness, and few people could remain unconvinced of God's love when they were in her presence. In her later years, Mrs. Tweten was asked to become the director of the Norwegian Children's Home in New York. She became a loving mother and an example of faith to dozens of lonely ...

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