Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2926 to 2950 of 4935 results

2926. What's Your Hospitality Quotient?

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

King Duncan

A certain county agent had to go to a farm in his jurisdiction to talk with the farmer about a matter of county business. Walking up the dirt road leading to the farm, he encountered signs that read things like: “Trespassers will be shot,” “Beware of Dog,” “Keep Out . . . This Means You!” Finally arriving at the door, he was greeted by a smiling, congenial farmer. When the county agent was ready to leave, the farmer said to him, “Come and see me again sometime. I don’t get many visitors up this way.” Well ...

2927. Friends

1 Samuel 18:1-4

Sermon

James Merritt

Friends - It was one of the most watched television shows in the nineties. It was in effect, the twenty-first century version of what friendship is all about. That one word, perfectly describes the relationship between two men named, David and Jonathan, who had, what one could argue is the most famous friendship in the history of the world. As we have just seen in the previous chapter, David had just pulled off one of the greatest upsets in history when, as a nineteen year old shepherd boy, who couldn't ...

2928. Political Pardon

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

My parents were married in the wave of weddings that followed World War II. Dad came home from military operations in Europe to start a new life on the farm, and Mom became his partner in the enterprise. There was only one problem — Dad had an older brother who was destined to take over the family agricultural enterprise, and there was not enough work or income to support two families. So Dad began to look for other opportunities. For a while he drove a cattle truck, bringing fattened animals to the sales ...

2929. Introduction and “Hello”

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

Big Idea: Paul introduces himself as a fellow Christ follower and reminds his Corinthian friends that calling Christ Lord should generate life patterns that reflect such a relationship to Christ. Understanding the Text If anything strikes someone who begins reading 1 Corinthians, it is how Paul packs content into every word from the outset. When we realize how well he knows the Corinthian congregation even on a personal level and recognize that this is at least his second letter to the church (5:9), it is ...

2930. The Good Husband

Isaiah 54:1-17, Isaiah 55:1-13, Isaiah 56:1-8

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Some of you here today are sitting in worship with a burden on your heart. Some of you are angry with God for that loss of job, or that sickness that has come upon you or your family. Some here today may have doubts that God truly cares about your life, truly cares about what happens to you or someone dear to you. Some of you may not be sure that God has heard you, or worse, that God exists to hear you. If you’ve been a lifelong church-goer, you’re probably afraid to ask those questions, just in case you ...

2931. Transfiguration

Luke 9:28-36 · Matthew 17:1-8 · Mark 9:2-8

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his countenance was altered, and his raiment became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, and when they awakened they saw his glory and the two men who ...

2932. When the Church Is the Church

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

The late Bishop Arthur J. Moore was greeting people after a preaching service when suddenly he was confronted by a man who said, "I’m not a church member, Bishop, and I’ll tell you why. I have never found a church that is perfect. If I could ever find a perfect church, I would join it!" Bishop Moore looked the man straight in the eye and said, "My friend, the church is not perfect because I am a part of it. And if you ever become a part of it, it will be even more imperfect!" The bishop’s summation of the ...

2933. The Devil Is a Liar

John 8:42-47

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

I once heard of a preacher in Chicago who advertised three sermons on the devil. The titles of the sermons were grammatically strange, but guaranteed to get attention: “Who, the devil, he is,” “What, the devil, he does,” and “How, the devil, he does it.” I am not trying to emulate that preacher, but only trying to make some sense out of Jesus’ dialogue with His audience in the 8th chapter of John. You recall that immediately after Jesus told His listeners that “The truth will make you free,” they protested ...

2934. On Getting the Gospel Out

Mark 6:7-13

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

In 1988 former Presidential candidate Pat Robertson got extremely upset when a reporter referred to him as a “former television evangelist.” In Robertson’s camp this was considered slander. I can understand that - given the recent publicity some evangelists have gotten.One of the things which I find so puzzling is that, even after a television evangelist has been discredited, disgraced, defrocked, fired from his denomination, told not to preach, and cancelled by many of the religious TV networks, he still ...

2935. How Moses Handled Stress

Numbers 11:4-35

Sermon

Mark Trotter

I once saw a list of professions ranked according to the degree of stress that can be found in that vocation. I looked for "minister." It wasn't there. I assumed there must be a mistake, so I looked under "clergy." It wasn't there, either. I looked under "pastor," and "priest." Not there. Later somebody told me that, as a matter of fact, ministry is considered one of the least stressful vocations. Which meant that all the worrying I've done for the last thirty years was for nothing. The fact of the matter ...

2936. A Tale of Two Dancers

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Mark Trotter

Our lessons for this morning tell of two dancers: one in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament. The one in the Old Testament is the king, David; the one in the New Testament is the step-daughter of the king, Herod. Both stories have to do with political intrigue. They are not commonly read as lessons in the Sunday worship, but during these dog days of summer, this is the kind of stuff they give us to read. So we will faithfully look for the word of God speaking to us in these two stories. Let us ...

2937. What Are Your Chances of Going to Heaven

John 14:6

Sermon

James Merritt

U. S. News and World Report did a poll recently of one thousand respondents, and they asked this question: "Who do you think is ‘very likely' or ‘somewhat likely' to go to heaven?" They asked this question about thirteen prominent figures. You will be fascinated by the results. Of all of the celebrities, the biggest vote-getter was Mother Teresa at 79%. Who came in second? Oprah Winfrey at 66%. Third place went to Michael Jordan at 65%. Fourth place went to Colin Powell at 61%. Princess Diana scored an ...

2938. God's Way or the Highway

Matthew 7:13-14

Sermon

James Merritt

One of America's best known theologians tells the story of how he was talking to his five- year-old son, and he asked him two questions. First of all, he said, "Are you sure that when you die you will go to heaven?" The little boy said, "Yes, Daddy, I am." He then asked him the second question. "If you were to die tonight and God said to you, ‘Why should I let you into my Heaven?' what would you answer?" His little boy didn't hesitate. He said immediately, "Because I'm dead." Now believe it or not, that is ...

2939. A Cure for the Workaholic

Genesis 2:1-3

Sermon

James Merritt

If you are from the Deep South especially, you have to like Jeff Foxworthy. He made the word "redneck" universally famous. He was the one who said, "You might be a redneck if all of your salad bowls have "Cool Whip" stamped on them." Nobody knows how to identify a redneck, better than Jeff Foxworthy. I came across some ways you can also identify a workaholic. In case you are wondering whether or not you might be one, just consider the following: If it frustrates you that they don't allow laptops on a ...

2940. Counting Our Spiritual Blessings

John 6:25-59

Sermon

King Duncan

One of my favorite Peanuts comic strips is the one that came out some years ago just a few days before Thanksgiving. Lucy’s feeling sorry for herself and she laments, “My life is a drag. I’m completely fed up. I’ve never felt so low in my life.” Her little brother Linus tries to console her and he says, “Lucy, when you’re in a mood like this, you should try to think of things you have to be thankful for; in other words, count your blessings.” To that, Lucy says, “Ha! That’s a good one! I could count my ...

2941. Jesus’ Love and the World’s Hatred

John 15:1-17

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

Jesus’ Love and the World’s Hatred: Just as it is possible to imagine a stage of the tradition when the only farewell discourse was 13:31–35, so it is possible to imagine a stage when the discourse extended to 14:31 but no further. There is a smooth transition from that verse’s summons to “leave” to the statement in 18:1 that Jesus “left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley.” At the end of chapter 14, the reader expects the group to leave and the discourse to end. Instead, the discourse ...

2942. The World Hates the Disciples

John 15:18--16:4

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

2943. For The Love of God Is Empowering

Matthew 22:36 -40 · John 4:1-32

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

I heard about an executive who was given a prank gift for his birthday, a penguin. He decided just to accept it in the spirit in which it was given, so he called in one of his employees and said, "Will you please take this penguin to the zoo?" The employee never returned to work that day. That night, however, he appeared at the executive's house, with the penguin. Exasperated, the business executive said, "I thought I told you to take the animal to the zoo." "I did," said the young employee. "He enjoyed it ...

2944. Forever and Ever

1 Kings 17:7-24

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

On August 20, 1977, there was launched an 1819 pound space craft, Voyager 2, at Cape Canaveral. At 61,148 miles per hour it was directed toward the planet Neptune. In 1989 it arrived, only twenty-one miles from its destination. From 2.8 billion miles from earth it sent back pictures of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Since it completed its mission, it was turned toward outer space, where it will float through the Milky Way forever and ever. In a world of endings, we long for something or someone that ...

2945. Baptism of the Lord

Luke 3:1-20, Isaiah 61:1-11, Luke 3:21-38, Acts 8:9-25

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

It was an extraordinary event on an ordinary Sunday amidst very ordinary surroundings. At the annual Bible conference on a Sunday afternoon in July, 1989, at Lake Findley, New York, a group met on the shore of the lake for a baptismal service. The people stood on the shore overlooking the lake. Now and then a boat pulling a skier roared by. Several jet skis made thundering noise and waves. In the distance one could see a small sailboat or two. A brief service of Scripture and prayer preceded the baptism. A ...

2946. Is It I, Lord?

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

Erskine White

"Is it I, Lord; is it I?" That's the haunting question the disciples asked on that Maundy Thursday night so long ago and the question searches the human heart this evening. Jesus said to them, "One of you will betray Me," and immediately the room was filled with the sound of excited voices talking all at once: "Is it I, Lord; is it I?" A well-known preacher of the last century (Phillips Brooks) remarked that the disciples showed real virtue in asking that question. They didn't try to blame one another. ...

2947. I Cried All the Way Home

John 16:17-33

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

"So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice." (John 16:22) "Parting is such sweet sorrow" is a common saying. When parting comes for us, we may have our doubts about the "sweet" part, but we are sure of the "sorrow." It is sorrow for the one leaving. A certain man and woman were deeply in love, but they lived a thousand miles apart. Because of their work, they got to visit each other only at three-week intervals. They took turns flying to each other. After one such visit ...

2948. This Grace In Which We Stand by Dr. Gene E. Bartlett

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Mann

Anyone who has browsed through a gift shop sooner or later has come to a polite but insistent sign, "Please Do Not Touch." It was refreshing, therefore, to come recently upon a sign of different tone. In the gift shop at O’Hare Airport the word above some African wood carvings said, "Please touch. You can’t appreciate these until you do." There are many evidences that this in fact was the mood in which the New Testament writings first came into being. Those writers were sure they had come upon something ...

2949. God Makes The First Move

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

As I was walking the beautiful Augusta National Golf Course several weeks ago; I noticed .the famous German golfer, Bernard Langer, practicing for the Masters. He is a two-time winner of that prestigious tournament. As I watched him, I thought about his personal testimony which he offers far and wide. Langer says that when he won the Masters in 1985, his priorities were golf, golf, and more golf, then himself, then a little time with his wife, and occasionally a nod toward God. He says that if his golf was ...

2950. Resurrection: From Chaos to Order

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

The fire was beginning to die. With a simple wave of his hand the Ancient One sent the young boy racing back into the scrubby land to fetch sticks for burning. Overhead the moon lit his path as he ran from one thicket to another, pulling together the loose twigs and picking up a stray dry root. Quickly he returned, throwing the meager kindling on the dying fire. In the shore span of minutes since his hunt began the Ancient One had fallen asleep, his head dipping down to his chest. With the crackling of the ...

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