Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 276 to 300 of 1679 results

276. Abiding in God

John 15:1-8

Children's Sermon

Various Authors

... pray, Amen. Follow-Up Lesson: To reinforce this lesson in a classroom or home environment, spend some time introducing the children to the different fruits of the Spirit as listed in Galatians 5: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Give them a chance to think about how these gifts manifest in our lives. Give them a chance to identify the places where they already manifest these gifts, and areas where they’d like to grow more. For a craft, create a ...

277. Giving Up Control

John 6:1-21

Sermon

Ron Lavin

There are two stories in John 6:1-21 -- the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus walking on water during a storm on the Sea of Galilee. These two stories answer two important questions. First, when does 5 + 2 x 1 = 12? Mathematically, never. But in the story of the feeding of the 5,000, the multiplication formula works just like that: five loaves of barley bread, plus two small fish, times Jesus, the one man who is in control, equals twelve baskets of leftover bread. The key ingredient in that multiplication ...

278. Out Of Our Control

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

King Duncan

No matter what happened to a certain gold miner he always described it as pure luck. It was a particularly bitter winter. He was nearly freezing to death, but he kept digging for gold in the granitelike ground. Finally, as the Earth thawed in the Spring and he was down to his last meager ration of food, he broke through the hard crust and dug and dug until at last he hit a box. Inside the box was a carton of canned food left behind by some earlier miner. "Boy, am I lucky." he said, "it could have been gold ...

279. When Life Seems Out Of Control

2 Samuel 18:1-18

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

During the week he was always dressed in a dark suit, a white shirt, and an expensive tie. On Saturday mornings he wore blue jeans and a flannel shirt. He was a vice president of a large corporation. He was a very successful corporate executive, but on Saturdays he was just another guy. At least that's what his neighbors thought. As he pushed his two-year-old lawn mower out into the sun one Saturday morning, he cheerfully greeted his neighbor as she was pulling out of her driveway next door. Then he bent ...

280. Baptism And Self-Esteem

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

Every once in awhile I am surprised by a film which offers a message that I never expected. When I checked out Brubaker, an old Robert Redford film from the late '70s, from my local video store I expected some romantic adventure from one of Hollywood's biggest stars. That's not at all what I got. Instead I saw a wonderful and thought-provoking portrayal of human nature. Brubaker turned out to be a spellbinding film about the futile attempt of an enlightened prison warden to reform a hopelessly corrupt ...

281. Growing In Self-esteem

Psalm 81:1-16

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Listen! Don't miss even the first sentence of this sermon, because it sets the stage for everything I'll be saying today. One of the greatest tragedies is to die without knowing who you are. Or, you can put it this way: One of the greatest tragedies is to live denying who you are. Let me say that again. One of the greatest tragedies is to die without knowing who you are. Or, you can put it this way: One of the greatest tragedies is to live denying who you are. This is our third sermon in the series ...

282. The Battle For Control

Romans 7:7-25

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever battled for control of your own life? Some of us fight that battle every day. The discouraging truth, however, is that our main adversary is not someone in our family or someone at work or someone who is angry at us. As Pogo once put it: "We have met the enemy and he is us." I was encouraged to read that the French writer, Victor Hugo, author of the book on which the Broadway hit LES MISERABLES is based, had a habit of asking his servant to steal his clothes every morning. This meant Hugo ...

283. When Self-esteem Gets Out Of Hand

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

J. Will Ormond

Once I had a friend who was offended whenever the phrase "we are miserable sinners" was used in the corporate prayer of confession. She did not feel that she was a miserable sinner. And indeed she wasn't in comparison to most of the other people in the church. She was compassionate, kind, thoughtful, and a great teacher of little children in Sunday School. Nor did she "regard others with contempt" -- or at least, not many others. I don't think she liked the phrase in an old hymn, "Would he devote that ...

284. Will The Real Messiah Please Stand Up?

Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

William L. Self

In the early days of television a popular game show, To Tell the Truth, held the attention of the American audience. A panel of interesting and colorful experts was in place, along with an engaging host. They were presented with three contestants, each claiming to be a famous person or a person who had accomplished an unusual feat. The identity of the real person was known only to the host. After a period of questioning by the panel when the panel and everyone else had been given a chance to vote for their ...

285. THE BEAUTY OF SELF-LOVE

Illustration

John H. Krahn

When we are emotionally healthy, all of us have a rather high regard of ourselves. It is natural and normal to enjoy the beauty of self-love. Although the Bible does not stroke self-love, it does not deny its validity either. What it speaks out against is selfish love, a love of ourselves that is exclusive of God and of others ... a love that has its priorities wrong. Whereas self-love is beautiful, selfish love is not. In order to have the beauty of self-love, the Bible states that we must get our love ...

286. Trust versus Self-Reliance

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

Big Idea: Christians who consider themselves mature must be careful not to confuse trust in God’s grace with self-reliance. Rather than putting God’s forgiveness to the test, they should focus on passing God’s test, which will reveal that their primary and most trusted relationship is with him. Understanding the Text The key verse in this unit is verse 12: “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” Using an example from the Hebrew Scriptures, Paul compares the self-confidence ...

287. A Society Out Of Control

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

I don't think any of us would term television personality, Phil Donahue, a rigid moralist. On his show sometime back, one of the guests was a man who has written a book on "sexual addiction." The thesis of the doctor's book is that there are people in our society who are addicted to various kinds of inappropriate sexual behavior just as other persons may be addicted to drugs or alcohol. Often in the program, as he described problems such as promiscuity, child molestation, obsession with pornography, etc. ...

288. The Model of Jesus for Discipleship Service, Not Self-Seeking

Mark 9:33-37, Mark 9:38-41, Mark 9:42-50

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: Discipleship demands becoming like Jesus in self-sacrificial service to others. His people must embrace diversity in the group and defeat sin and temptation in their lives. Understanding the Text The disciple-centered movement of Jesus from Caesarea Philippi to Jerusalem continues in this section. The series of interactions carry on the gradual uncovering of the disciples’ inability to understand and their self-seeking responses to the various stimuli that they receive. Structure This passage is ...

289. When God Steps Out Of Shadows

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

William L. Self

Our daughter-in-law designs stage sets for the German theatre. I had always taken this sort of thing for granted until she came into our family. Through Birgit, I was exposed to the subtleties of mood and nuance, of color and properties, of fabric and dimension, and how it all blends with the writer and director to bring the audience to a special point. After seeing one production of a deeply moving play, the writer and director came from the wings to interact with the audience. Their purpose was to ...

290. Forever Plaid

Isaiah 42:18-25

Sermon

William L. Self

A few years ago there was a popular off-Broadway musical which gave a good insight into how life was in the 1950s. The name of the show was Forever Plaid, which was the name of a singing group of four good guys (Sparky, Smudge, Jinx, and Frankie). They wore dinner jackets and bow ties and each vocal arrangement soared to stratospheric heights of harmony. They were the most sought after entertainment for weddings, conventions, proms, and country club socials, but they had bigger plans that included a zoom ...

291. The Waiting Place

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

William L. Self

While we were keeping our eighteen-month-old grandson for the weekend so his parents could catch up on their sleep, my wife Carolyn and I were talking about this sermon. I had the idea, but it lacked something. Carolyn had taken Benjamin upstairs for his nap. About fifteen minutes later, she came bursting into my study and said, "I've got it! Read this," and she thrust into my hand Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss. As she was reading this book to Benjamin, she came upon these words: The Waiting Place ...

292. Controlling Our Cravings

Luke 12:13-21, Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

When I was 12 or 13 years old, I worked one summer as a general flunky at a service station. Often I assisted a young country boy who worked in the grease pit. As he worked he sang a song, probably a popular country music hit of that time. Don't worry. I'm not going to sing the song, but here are some of the words: "How many times have you heard someone say, If I had his money, I could do things my way. But little they know that it's so hard to find One rich man in ten with a satisfied mind. Money can't ...

293. Self Pep Talk

Humor Illustration

A woman in a grocery store happens upon a grandfather and his poorly behaved 3 year-old grandson. It's obvious to her that Gramps has his hands full with the child screaming for candy in the candy aisle, cookies in the cookie aisle; same for fruit, cereal and soda in their respective aisles. Meanwhile, Gramps is working his way around, saying in a controlled voice, "Easy, Albert, we won't be long; easy, boy." Another outburst, and she hears Gramps calmly say, "It's okay, Albert, just a couple more minutes ...

294. God’s Quality Control Crew

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Self-made. That’s one of the phrases that fills people with pride, especially in this country, where for years “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” was the primary goal to attain. A couple of weeks ago, we talked about the idea of working hard and feeling we deserve our own brand of “fairness” based on our measurement and success paradigms. Last week, we talked about the politics of authority and winning through rhetoric rather than personal identity, faithfulness, and authenticity. Today, Jesus’ ...

295. Failure Is Not Final

Hosea 2:2-23

Sermon

William L. Self

We are offered wonderful news from the Bible on this eighth Sunday of Epiphany. God has a way of bringing us the very personal lives of his chosen people. We are God's chosen whether we fit the profile of the clergy or as laity -- or, as my family would say, normal people. The story told in Hosea is one of great personal pain and suffering and brokenheartedness on the part of this prophet of God. His beloved wife Gomer leaves his home and hearth for a life of infidelity. She pursues other lovers but soon ...

296. Bigger Is Not Always Better

Mark 8:31-38

Illustration

Mickey Anders

The American businessman was at the pier of a small, coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied only a little while. The American then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish. The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs. The American then asked, "But ...

297. The Man With Two Umbrellas

1 Samuel 3:1--4:1

Sermon

William L. Self

The late Dr. J. Wallace Hamilton, who for many years preached at the Pasadena Community Church in St. Petersburg, Florida, tells a wonderful story about the man with two umbrellas. He said that when he crossed the Atlantic one summer he noticed a dark-skinned man sitting in a deck chair, reading the Bible. One day he sat beside him and said, "Forgive my curiosity, but I am a minister. I see you come here every day and read your Bible. I assume you are a Christian, and I am interested to know how it ...

298. Christian Self-Discipline

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

Call to Worship Leader: Let our hearts be filled with joy, for we are redeemed Children of God! People: Our sins have been washed away, yet sin still remains in our hearts. Leader: In Christ we seek to develop control over the lusts that enter our lives. People: We must focus on what is necessary, not on the offerings of the world. Leader: And when we do, the Lord will bless us with contentment, peace, and joy. All: Blessed be the name of the Lord! Collect Almighty and wonderful God, in Your mercy and ...

299. Job's Third Reply to Bildad

Job 26:1--31:40

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

Sarcastic Introduction Job’s response to Bildad’s third speech is extended (six chapters long)—even for the usually loquacious Job! Many commentators divide up the chapters attributed to Job to supply an extension to Bildad’s brief speech, as well as to wholly reconstruct a missing third speech for Zophar. Such reconstruction, however, can only proceed on a presumptive assumption of what each speaker would have said—and is thus controlled ultimately by the reconstructor’s theory rather than challenged and ...

300. Taming the Tongue

James 3:1-12, James 3:13-18

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

Wisdom for the Tongue Like the Pauline churches, James’ church was a church of the Spirit. Though there were formal offices, such as elder (5:14), there was no ordination process or schooling needed to teach and preach. As a result it was relatively easy for people with some ability, but worldly motivation, to put themselves forward as teachers. (Our modern seminary-ordination process makes this take longer, but it is not successful in preventing it; rather, it makes such a person a more permanent fixture ...

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