Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 3026 to 3050 of 4884 results

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... me yet. This one thing I know, for he loves me so.” Bryars was haunted by the sincerity and simplicity of the old man’s voice. He took the tape home with him and began listening to it. He discovered that the old man’s singing was in perfect pitch with his piano, and so he began improvising a simple accompaniment. He noticed that the first section of the song, 13 bars in length, formed an effective loop a track which could be repeated in a slightly unpredictable way. He took the tape loop to the school ...

3027. The Burden Bearing Christ - Sermon Starter

Matthew 11:1-19

Illustration

Brett Blair

... , their height, the width, the space between them, and the size of their shoulders. Within a week, the team would be brought back and he would carefully place the newly made yoke over the shoulders, watching for rough places, smoothing out the edges and fitting them perfectly to this particular team of oxen. That's the yoke Jesus invites us to take. Do not be misled by the word "easy," for its root word in Greek speaks directly of the tailor-made yokes: they were "well-fitting." The yoke Jesus invites us to ...

3028. A World Without Easter

1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Sermon

James Merritt

... get an extra pair to take home. Illiterate? Write today for free material.Dry Cleaners—We never tear your clothing with machinery—we do it carefully by hand. Men Wanted For Work in Dynamite Factory—Must be willing to travel long distances. Professional Mixing Bowl Set—Perfect for a lady with a round bottom suitable for beating. Well, if I cannot get up here and say that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead, and mean it; and if I cannot mean that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead, and ...

3029. The Thrill of Victory

2 Corinthians 2:14-15

Sermon

James Merritt

... rendezvoused with the command module, but we wouldn't have had any fuel to go home."[1] I don't believe that was coincidence, I believe that was providence. It was the grace of God that gave the ultimate victory. I believe that story is a perfect illustration of the thrill of victory. It is an illustration of the type of victory that we are to experience continuously, consciously, and constantly In the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen to this verse: "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ ...

3030. America in the Mirror

2 Kings 17:5-23

Sermon

James Merritt

... are people in America who believe that a loving God would never turn his back on the good ole U. S. A. After all, we have "In God we trust" on our coins; we even have the word God in our pledge of allegiance; even though we are not a perfect nation, we are certainly not as evil as most other nations. Well, I've got news for you. God is so holy, he turned his back on his own Son when he became sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. In fact, if ...

3031. Just Know Him in His Victorious Resurrection

Acts 13:29-39

Sermon

James Merritt

... the dead, still grew old and he still died. But Paul said in I Cor. 15:20, "But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." Jesus was the firstfruits. That is, he had a new kind of body, a perfect body, no longer subject to decay, disease, and death. But understand it was a physical resurrection. Now how do we know that? We are told that over and over and over in the New Testament: The disciples took hold of His feet—(Mt. 28:9) Jesus took bread and ...

3032. Planting Seeds

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... WITH LOVE. As every sales person knows, “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” In Jesus’ parable of the sower, the sower is God. That is why Jesus is not worried about the character of the Sender. In his parable, the Sender is perfect. So is the message. All the burden is upon the receiver to respond. That is us. May I say, if you are among those who have provided hard ground to the Gospel message, if you are one of those who has let the cares of this world choke out the ...

3033. The World Needs Less Mother Goose More Mother Teresa

Isaiah 58:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... ” is “go.” In short, the words this world needs to hear from the church are not “Here I Stand” but “There We Go.” The problem with “Here I Stand” justice is that in the Bible love and justice are yoked concepts, and both are perfectly personified in a “There We Go” Jesus. It is standard exegetical procedure to note how in John’s gospel wisdom is personified. But the uniqueness of Christianity is that truth is personified, and not just in John’s gospel. Truth is personified in the ...

3034. A Wise Old Bird

Matthew 13:1-23

Illustration

Brett Blair

... a small, newly hatched bird in his hands. He challenged the old man to tell him whether the bird was alive or dead. He, of course, planned to prove the old man wrong, because if he said the bird was dead, he would simply open his hands to expose a perfectly healthy baby bird. But if he said the bird was alive, then he would crush the bird before opening his hands. The old man proved wiser than he thought, because he said, "The bird is whatever you choose him to be." And that's the way it is with the ...

3035. Sleep With the Lions Without Being Eaten

Daniel 6:1-28

Sermon

James Merritt

... Darius had, and the best employee any organization ought to have should be a genuine Christian. But they also found that Daniel was faultless in his actions. "Nor was there any error or fault found in him." (v.4b) Now it was not that Daniel was perfect, but he was blameless. His heart was coated with integrity, his lips flowed with honesty, his life was marked by fidelity. To put it simply, "he practiced what he preached." These men went sniffing for the stench of scandal, but Daniel came out smelling like ...

3036. First-Class Christianity

Ephesians 5:18-21

Sermon

James Merritt

... men, Grand music, choirs, and organ; If these all fail, what then? Good workers, eager, earnest Who labor hour by hour; But where, oh, where, my brother, Is God's Almighty power? Refinement: Education! They want the very best, Their plans and schemes are perfect They give themselves no rest; They get the best of talent They try their uttermost, But what they need, brother Is God the Holy Ghost.1 Oswald Chambers, who wrote the magnificent work, My Utmost For His Highest, once said, "There is one thing ...

3037. To Tell The Truth

Exodus 20:16

Sermon

James Merritt

... to man. a. He Corrupted A Good Man The first lie ever told was told by the Devil to Adam and Eve. There was a time when sin was a stranger to planet earth. Adam and Eve were innocent of iniquity and strangers to sin. God put them into a perfect environment and intended that they would live happily ever after. But then the Devil lied. He lied about God's Word. When Eve told him she could not eat of the tree of good and evil because God had told her not to, he said, "Has God indeed said?" (Gen ...

3038. Is Sunday Just a Fun Day?

Exodus 20:7-11

Sermon

James Merritt

It was an ad in Newsweek magazine that caught my attention because of the first two words: In bold print it said, SUNDAY MORNING; but listen to the ad in its entirety: "SUNDAY MORNING: Time to kick back, get comfortable, and perfect the art of doing absolutely nothing. The ideal companion? Pioneers new PD-M710, 6-disc CD player. Now you can enjoy up to six hours of your favorite music without lifting a finger...all of which means you can spend less time changing your music, and more time enjoying it, ...

3039. The Sin of Robin Hood

Exodus 20:15

Sermon

James Merritt

... know that in 1993, on average, church members gave only 2.52% of their income to the work of God?[7] Well, I tell you today if you are not a tither, I charge you with a spiritual felony against heaven's King; and one day a CPA a Certified Perfect Accountant, the Lord Jesus Christ, is going to open your books and your check account and expose your spiritual thievery. III. Soul Stealing I believe this is the worst form of stealing of all. Paul said in I Cor. 6:10 that "thieves will not inherit the kingdom of ...

3040. The Sword of the Lord

Hebrews 4:12-13

Sermon

James Merritt

... at him, they derided his work, they made fun of his preaching. On one occasion, one of their ring leaders, a young man named Thorpe, was mimicking Whitfield, making fun of him. He was actually delivering one of his sermons with brilliant accuracy, perfectly imitating his tone and his facial expressions. They were laughing, having a wonderful time. Then all of a sudden, a strange thing happened. As this young man, Thorpe, was preaching Whitfield's sermon, his lips began to quiver, his eyes began to water ...

3041. High and Lifted Up

Isaiah 6:1-8

Sermon

James Merritt

... will always result in the forgiveness of sin. IV. The Reservation For Usefulness Now immediately after the cleansing comes the calling. "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?'" (v.8) God does not demand a perfect vessel, but He does demand a clean vessel. After the cleansing came the calling, and after the calling came the commitment. "Then I said, 'Here am I! Send me.'" (v.8b) Isaiah did not hesitate, he did not equivocate, he stepped right up to the front ...

3042. With Jesus No Mission Is Impossible

John 6:1-14

Sermon

James Merritt

... Jesus turn water into wine; they had seen Jesus heal the nobleman's son; they had seen Jesus heal a paralytic man, and yet they still needed the faith of a mountain to move a mustard seed. They still didn't get it. It is so frustrating to perfectly illustrate a point time after time after time, and yet people be so slow to understand. I heard about a Sunday School teacher who was trying to illustrate to her boys and girls the dangers of drinking alcohol. So she filled two glasses up—one with water and ...

3043. Getting Rid of Grudges

Luke 23:34

Sermon

James Merritt

... are forgiving. Because in the final analysis, God only forgives the forgiving. General James Oglethorpe once said to the great Methodist preacher, John Wesley: "I never forgive, and I never forget." To which John Wesley responded: "Then Sir, I hope you never sin." If the perfect Savior did not hold a grudge, how much less should an imperfect sinner hold one. The great Methodist preacher, Sam Jones, said: "I haven't anything in this world to forgive. I will never get mad nor stay mad with any man unless he ...

3044. Turning Doubt Inside Out

Luke 23:39-43

Sermon

James Merritt

... is all he had, and in the end a prayer is all it took. This man had breakfast on earth with the devil, and supper in heaven with the Lord. One of my favorite songs is "To God Be the Glory," and I especially love that second stanza: Perfect redemption, the purchase of blood! To ev'ry believer the promise of God; The vilest offender who truly believes, That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.[2] In just one act of faith, with just three words, "Lord, remember me," this thief went from prison, to punishment ...

3045. After the Casket Is Closed

Luke 23:46

Sermon

James Merritt

... stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.'" William Shakespeare is a great example. This is an excerpt from his last will and testament: I, William Shakespeare of Stratford upon Avon, in the County of Warrick, gentleman in perfect health and memory, God be praised, do make and ordain this my last will and testament in manner and form following, that is to say, first I commend my soul into the hands of God...through the only merits of Jesus Christ my Savior, to ...

3046. The Fellowship of Joy

Philippians 1:3-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... without wax, without a crack, without a flaw. It is my prayer, that as long as I pastor this church the world can hold us up to the light of the Word of God, and we will be sine cera, without wax, without a flaw, without a crack; not perfect, but blameless. If I have the privilege of pastoring this church another ten years, and even another ten years after that, may we be longing for His kingdom, looking for His coming; all the while "being filled with the fruits of righteousness, so that we will be living ...

3047. Confronting a Christless Culture

2 Timothy 3:1-17

Sermon

James Merritt

... just keep getting worse. It was over thirty-five years ago that historian, Christopher Dawson, wrote these words: We have entered on a new phase of culture we may call it the Age of the Cinema in which the most amazing perfection of scientific technique is being devoted to purely ephemeral objects, without any consideration of their ultimate justification. [Did he foresee cloning?] It seems as though a new society [is] arising which will acknowledge no hierarchy of values, no intellectual authority, and ...

3048. I Believe in Easter

Acts 9:1-29

Sermon

James Merritt

... "Son light" that was brighter than sunlight. According to Acts 26:13 this was high noon when the sun would have been at its very brightest. This light that shone brighter than the sun, was none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. When you think about it, that makes perfectly good sense. Jesus said in Jn. 8:12, "I am the light of the world." David said in Ps. 27:1, "The Lord is my light and my salvation." Now this was no ordinary light. For, first of all, Paul was blinded by that light. "Then Saul arose from ...

3049. Better To Be a Loner than a Loser

Daniel 1:1-21

Sermon

James Merritt

... that we produce. John Fedr is one of my favorite columnists who, although is Jewish, is often an outspoken critic of anti-Christian bigotry. He recently said something about our educational system that I think sums it up perfectly: It has reached the point where public school students can experience anything—things the average sailor on shore leave doesn't encounter—except God. Sex education, suicide studies, lifeboat ethics, condom distribution, abortion pleading, which, when taken together, constitute ...

3050. Body Building at Its Best

1 Corinthians 12:13-27, Ephesians 4:1-6

Sermon

James Merritt

... ought to appreciate our diversity. But it is all so that we might appropriate the maturity of becoming like the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said in Eph. 4:13, "We all should come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." Where love is the proof of maturity in the body, likeness is the purpose of maturity in the body. The ultimate test of my ministry is not how many people we have in Sunday School, not how much ...

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