Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3026 to 3050 of 4938 results

3026. Let's Get Ready to Rumble

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

James Merritt

During one of the darkest periods of World War II, after the collapse of France and before America got involved, Winston Churchill wrote that the question in the minds of both friends and foes was this: "Will Britain surrender too?" At the time he made a speech that contained this sentence: "What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization." If you are a Christian you, too, are in ...

3027. Battle Stations

Ephesians 6:10-18

Sermon

James Merritt

If you are in the military, and especially in the Navy, you will recognize the command "Battle Stations." Whenever a military man hears this he knows to get to his post, lock and load, make sure the safety is off, the trigger is pulled back, and he is ready to fire and ready to fight. I've already told you that every Christian on earth is at war. We were born at war with God because we are born in sin. But when we lay down our arms at the cross of Jesus Christ in unconditional surrender, God declares peace ...

3028. We Are At War

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

James Merritt

3029. Do You Believe In Miracles?

Matthew 15:29-39

Sermon

James Merritt

It is not only one of the most famous broadcasting calls in sports history, it is probably the only one that asked a theological question and for sure the only one that gave the correct theological answer, “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” To be honest, that unbelievable upset of the United States beating Russia for the Gold Medal in Hockey in 1980 was as close to a miracle in the sports world as you might ever get. But it really wasn’t a miracle. Anybody that knows anything about sports knows that ...

3030. What Do You See?

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

James Merritt

A businessman was returning to the U.S. from Asia and had a connecting flight in Iran. After deboarding the plane he stopped by the bathroom. After washing his hands he looked down to realize his bag had been stolen. That is a problem for anyone, but for him it was a disaster, because his wallet and passport were in it. He rushed out into the terminal to see if he could spot someone running away, but he found no one. He was relieved that at least he was traveling with a co-worker, but his supposed friend ...

3031. To Elders and Young Men

1 Peter 5:1-11

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

A Special Charge to Elders 5:1 Peter now turns to address the local church leaders, the elders among you. The term elders can indicate those senior in age (as in v. 5) or as here, senior in experience. In the nature of the case, of course, the latter meaning will often include the former. Hints of the function of elders can be gleaned from verses 2–3. Their duties include leading and pastoring church members, taking financial responsibility, and living exemplary lives that match up to Christian teaching. ...

3032. The Weak and the Strong

Romans 14:1--15:13

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

The general exhortation on agapē in chapters 12–13 proceeds now to a specific discussion of the “strong” and “weak” in 14:1–15:13. Paul divides the entire unit into three subsections. In the present section he argues that self-righteous judgments are divisive in the body of Christ; in 14:13–23 he teaches that responsibility for the other takes priority over individual rights; and he concludes in 15:1–13 with the servant role of Christ as the example for behavior within the Christian fellowship. Although ...

3033. Daniel’s Vision of a Ram and a Goat

Daniel 8:1-14

Understanding Series

William Nelson

The Vision of the Ram and the Male Goat: Here in chapter 8 the language reverts back to Hebrew. When the Aramaic section began, the narrator introduced it by saying, “The astrologers answered the king in Aramaic” (2:4). There is no explanation given in chapter 8 for the change back. The author inherited the Aramaic material (2:4b–7:28) but shaped it for his purposes. He then added chapters 1 (actually, 1:1–2:4a) and 8–12 in Hebrew. Chapter 8 is linked to chapter 7 explicitly by informing the reader that ...

3034. The Light That Dwells Among Us

Matthew 16:13-20, Matthew 16:21-28, Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Animation: a Light Sunburn. We’ve all had it. We know that if we stay out in the bright light of the sun too long, our skin becomes red, and it burns. But did you know ….that internally, your cells are also changing? Light is a powerful force. You can’t touch it. You can’t catch it. You can’t control it. Light is one of those things in life that we either try to harness to our own devices, or simply avoid if there is too much of it. Without light, we would have no fire, no heat, no cooked food, no way to ...

3035. Trust in Me

Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Animation: Youtube video of Kaa’s Song from the original Jungle Book There are so many impossibilities that become realities in the Christmas story that one hardly knows where to begin. But here’s one that you may not have thought of before. Mary is too young, and Elizabeth is too old, to have a child. The word we translate as “virgin” really means pre-pubescent maiden. So here we have a post-menopausal woman, Elizabeth, and a pre-pubescent woman, Mary, that God chooses to use to bless the world with good ...

3036. The Bramble King

John 15:1-17, John 15:18--16:4, John 16:5-16

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Here are their names: Simon (whom he named Peter), Andrew (Peter's brother), James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (who was called the zealot), Judas (son of James), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him). "A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of ...

3037. Why Christianity?

Romans 1:1-7

Sermon

Charley Reeb

I went to Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. It was a wonderful experience. After seminary, I was appointed as an associate pastor at First UMC of Lakeland and had a good relationship with the college. In fact, one of my favorite professors once invited me to be a guest speaker in his class. It was a sociology class, and they were studying religion and society. He wanted a local pastor to come and speak about the church and community. I was still a little wet behind the ears, but I thought I ...

3038. Stay Awake

Matthew 24:36-44

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever fallen asleep at the wrong time or in the wrong place? That’s so embarrassing, but it’s a common experience. It’s hard to fight off sleep when your body decides to shut down. During the 2019 Super Bowl game, Karisa Maxwell, deputy editor and producer with Sporting News, spotted a man sleeping in the stands and took a photo. She kept an eye on the man and reported that he slept through the entire first quarter of the game. She posted the photo of the Super Bowl sleeper to Twitter that ...

3039. Good News, Bad News, Good News

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Thomas Long

I forget now whether it was a famous football coach, a former president, or a positive-thinking teacher who put on his wall the motto, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going" -- probably all three of them. In any case, I am aware of the fact that there are some people who pride themselves on being able to get motivated in tough situationns, to face head-on the tough issues. "Give it to me straight, Doc," they say to the surgeon, "I can handle it." They sign up for courses from the roughest ...

3040. Jesus and Mary Magdalene

John 20:10-18

Sermon

James W. Moore

Then came Sunday morning, EASTER SUNDAY MORNING! While it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb. She saw immediately that the stone had been rolled away from the cave’s entrance and that the grave was empty. Alarmed, Mary ran to find Simon Peter and John. Together, they ran back to the grave site and found it just as Mary had described it. The stone pushed back and the tomb empty. Peter and John turned back toward home, trying to sort out what on earth this could mean, but Mary, so crestfallen, ...

3041. The View From Jesus’ Pew

Mark 12:38-44

Sermon

David E. Leininger

There is an old story of a father going to church with his three daughters and giving them each two quarters to put in the offering. When the offering came around, the oldest put in her two quarters, the next did the same, but the last held onto hers. When she was going out of church, she pulled the pastor down to her level. "Sir, my daddy gave each of us two quarters to put in the offering. Sally put hers in the offering plate, and Julie put hers in, but I wanted to give mine to you." When the pastor ...

3042. Abraham Justified by Faith

Romans 4:1-25

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

Abraham as the Model of Faith Chapter 4 is a test case of righteousness by faith. In 3:21–31 Paul presented a position statement on salvation through faith in Christ’s sacrifice of atonement. In chapter 4 he sends the class to the laboratory, as it were, to test that thesis. Here we find the compressed and nuclear thesis of 3:21–31 developed in the discursive style of Jewish midrash. Midrash was the name given to a form of rabbinic exposition in ancient Palestine which sought to penetrate the meaning of ...

3043. 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 ...

3044. The Burdens Of The Past

Haggai 2:1-9, Haggai 1:1-15

Sermon

Robert P. Hines

Recently a young man who participates in Civil War reenactments was giving a talk about his hobby. He shared with the group how a soldier in that war carried his own food supply with him. A bag of food weighed about seven pounds. The rifle he carried weighed ten pounds. The blanket and backpack weighed another forty pounds. This means the typical soldier in the Civil War carried over fifty pounds of material and weaponry with him all the time. Carrying that much weight must have been a heavy burden that ...

3045. A Love Feast

John 13:1-17, 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

A: The Examination Service Call To Worship O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord. (Psalm 117 KJV) Unison Prayer Lord God, this day we are gathered to share fellowship, service, and suffering. Let us be true to you, kneeling as Jesus knelt, girding ourselves with a towel, washing each other's feet, and coming to your table. We thank you for this invitation, and pray that we ...

3046. Easter 4

John 10:1-21, Acts 4:1-22, 1 John 3:11-24

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: Jesus is the Good Shepherd who gathers us, saves us and keeps his flock together. COMMENTARY Epistle: Acts 4:5-12 Peter and John are arrested by the temple guards for preaching the resurrection and healing the crippled man in the temple. The suspects are brought before the family of the High Priest for questioning. The interrogators wanted to know by what power Peter effected the healing. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Peter boldly proclaims that this man was healed through the name of Jesus. Jesus is ...

3047. Made New By 180 Degrees

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Richard A. Wing

For those of you who have come here a mite tense today, I have good news for you. Without tension you cannot know the ultimate joy of Christmas. Without facing tension, Christmas is almost certainly missed. We have a tension between our texts today. We find tension between what John says and what Paul proclaims in Philippians. Two things emerge from the texts. First, the essential problem with John the Baptist. William Willimon, Chaplain at Duke University, says that John the Baptist reminds us of ...

3048. When is Patriotism An Idol?

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

George Johnson

Almost everyone who has been brought up in the church has heard of the "taxes to Caesar" story. "Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar?" they asked Jesus. Allegiance to the empire and to God is the issue. Jesus' patriotism is being called into question. I want to talk to you about when patriotism becomes an idol. The setting is important. It was toward the end of Jesus' ministry, just before his death. His vision was focused. He was going to Jerusalem. There he would be confronted with life and death issues. ...

3049. A Mother Who Could Let Go

1 Samuel 9:1--10:8

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

In a labor room on the obstetrics wing of a hospital, a doctor found a crumpled paper on which an expectant father had done some scribbling. Obviously, during the pauses in the long labor process, he had been thinking about the child about to be born. This is what he wrote: John Peter Jones, John P. Jones, J.P. Jones, John Jones, Governor John Jones, President John P. Jones, All the Way with JPJ!" Maybe the baby turned out to be Juanita Paulene Jones! I can tell you one thing that father and mother ...

3050. An Attitude of Gratitude

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Sermon

David E. Leininger

It was almost exactly five years ago. Just before Thanksgiving, a Friday morning, shortly after 5:00 AM - I was awakened by a shout from our kitchen, "OH, NO!" A moment later, the cry came again, "OH, NO!" Christie had gotten up, gone in to start the coffee, and discovered we were flooded. A hose leading to our washing machine had burst during the night and water was gushing out. For the next hour and a half we were bailing out our house, then later watched as a crew moved in, hoisted furniture, pulled up ...

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