Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3026 to 3050 of 4963 results

3026. A Love For All Seasons (i)

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... the decision or to add to the desperate task of parenting – the mother picks her up once more and welcomes the prodigal back home. How many times will she do it -- can she do it -- should she do it? Paul says, "Love bears all things," but the question remains, "How many times do you take the Prodigal back?" I've already admitted I have no answer to the question, but there is one weighty consideration I would have you ponder as you deal with it – the weight of the Gospel itself." "Ours is a gospel which ...

3027. The Dayspring From On High

Luke 1:5-25

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... this, they wanted to know. This was a breaking of a family tradition. That was a dramatic action in a Jewish family. They couldn't believe this was the case -- that's the reason they appealed beyond Elizabeth to Zachariah himself. But Zachariah remained faithful – he obeyed. Sometimes obedience calls us to go beyond tradition. Sometimes it even calls us to loyalties that exceed family loyalties – but always, when we are obedient -- God blesses. Our tongues are loosed, and we have a testimony, we have a ...

3028. A Sovereign God With A Shepherd's Heart

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... of Jesus as a horn of salvation raised up by God in the House of David (1:69). Nor is this a little local colloquialism which came from Christ's Palestinian Jewish origin, but which disappeared when the Christian Gospel moved into the Gentile world: It remained an essential part of the Gospel. Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, described the Gospel as "...the Gospel of God...concerning his son who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh..." (Romans 1: 1-3). And years later, writing from a Roman ...

3029. And God Breathed Into Man

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... is in readiness that in the next moment he may rise and meet God. But between these two instances, a miracle must occur -- the miracle of the spark of the spirit leaping from the outstretched finger of the creator to the man. Without that spark he would remain a creature of the soil, an earthbound clod. He might be a higher kind of creature -- for this man is beautiful even before he becomes a man! but he would still be something other than a "man", who can be God's child and partner. Michaelangelo portrays ...

3030. East Of Eden

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... each other the notions of crime and treason. When a man commits a crime, he violates the laws of a state. It's a legal transgression of law. Now that does not forfeit the man's citizenship. He can break as many laws as he wishes, but he remains a citizen, as long as he recognizes the right of the state to make its laws -- whether he obeys those laws or not. But treason is something else. Treason is challenging the power of the state to make laws, thus it challenges the very foundation of ultimate authority ...

3031. Declaration Of Freedom

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... old, was being carried on the shoulders of a group of young men. They were taking him up the steps of a courthouse in a Southern town to register to vote. The caption beneath the picture said he was born a slave. To a marked degree he had remained a slave, even after the Emancipation Proclamation. Unable to vote, subjected to the rigid discriminatory demands and tests of others, he was kept in subjection. But now he was free, and the look on his face showed his joy. He was going to express his freedom, his ...

3032. Singing In The Rain

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... them. I also believe that's one of the reasons there are so many mid-life crises today -- and so many mid-career changes in professions. Americans spend 244 billion dollars annually to be entertained and to be galvanized by pleasure. And yet we remain unhappy. I read a quotation recently that said, "If your outgo exceeds your income, then your upkeep will be your downfall." That expresses more truth than is on the surface. A professor at the Stanford School of Business predicted recently that "in the next ...

3033. Courage Me!

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... continued. "I'm ashamed of what I have thought, and want to apologize." "You don't need to do that," said Sylvester. "Yes I do," responded the old man, "And Sylvester, if you ever need anything, you just call on Hugh Colley." What Jack witnessed next remains in his all- time favorite candid shots of memory: 85 year old Hugh Colley and young Sylvester Chase clasped in a hearty embrace...and Jack saw first-hand the transformation that the love command of Jesus can make." We need a garden variety of courage ...

3034. At Home In The Daylight

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out; and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself. The crowd was puzzled at that. They said to Jesus in verse 34, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the son of man must be lifted up? Who is the son of man?" Now listen to Jesus answer -- verses 35 and 36: "The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, lest the darkness overtake you; he ...

3035. The Future You Hope For

Jeremiah 29:1-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... . If a preacher is talking, he must be talking about Jesus. Inside all of us there is a subconscious mind...a storage box into which we put all sorts of things. Well, I've been storing some things, and this summer I'm calling them out. During the remaining Sundays of this summer, I'm going to preach on some random texts from scripture. Some of them are my favorite texts. Some of them are obscure ones that have come to my attention that I would never get around to unless in this fashion. Some of them ...

3036. Count It All Joy

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... years ago, there was a young boy who lived in England who was very sick and puny. They didn't have the kinds of medicines back then that we have today. They weren't blessed with the medical technology that we know. And, so, all of his life he remained in that condition and never became a strong person physically at all. When he was young, he would look out the window of his house and watch other children playing in the field. He would get sad as he watched them -- at times, even crying -- because he wanted ...

3037. Prepare The Way Of The Lord

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... way place where the government was not quite so oppressive in order to earn a living and live with a Methodist pastor and prepare himself for ministry. He has been the superintendent of the Methodist Church for almost 20 years now remaining faithful, living expectantly, and waiting patiently. As I visited with him I remembered hearing Peter Kuzmic speak at the Lausanne Conference in Manila in the summer of 1989. He "is the president of Evangelical Theological College in Osijek, Yugoslavia, an evangelical ...

3038. At The Fork In The Road

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... to follow the decisions that we make, we will be clear in our direction. "When Leslie Newbigan was the Anglican Bishop of the Church of South India, he preached one day at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. And after the service was over, some students remained to ask him a few questions. One of them said, "Bishop Newbigin, I didn't expect to hear such a provincial message from you this morning. You've traveled all over the world, you've lived in many different cultures, and yet all you talked about ...

3039. The Word And Words

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... was most impressed when he saw this magnificent looking warrior. Apparently Cyrus began to reconsider his course of action and asked Cagular, "What would you do should I spare your life?" Cagular responded, "Your Majesty, if you spared my life I would return to my home and remain an obedient servant as long as I live." Cyrus then asked, "What would you do if I spared the life of your wife?" "Your Majesty," Cagular said, "if you spared the life o my wife, I would die for you." The Emperor was so moved that ...

3040. Hanging On To Every Word

Luke 19:45-48

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... judgment on our sin. Our lying and cheating -- our failure to be our best self -- our silence in the presence of evil -- our standing idly by and allowing careless and calloused gossip to damage the reputation of another. Our hearts of stone that remain untouched by the suffering of any of God's children; the flippant attitude we take toward the moral collapse of our city and country; the little attention we give to pressing issues, such as pornography, that contaminate life; our unchecked passion and lust ...

3041. Speak And It Will Be

Luke 7:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... would that kind of faith make in our lives? Some of you are out of a job -- I know some of you are trusting Christ -- you are not simply waiting for something to happen -- you are doing everything you can, but you are staying strong. You are remaining bold. You still vibrate with hope -- because you believe that Christ is with you in all of life. Trust like that makes a difference. Some of you are struggling to stay together in a marriage. I wonder, have you struggled together with a mutual commitment to ...

3042. As Real As It Gets

Luke 9:57-62

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... you on the skids again. I pressed him a bit--asking him if he had just one other drink was he sure that he would become a drunk again. This was the important statement he made: "I am certain of it. I have found that the only way I can remain sober is by closing the door on my drinking and never opening it again!" That's as real as it gets, isn't it? That is as clear a commentary on Jesus' call as we could have: "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is ...

3043. Turn in an Account of Your Stewardship

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... . There were four trips west; to Yosemite, Sequoia, Disneyland, Idaho, and Mt. Ranier and the Grand Canyon. Then finally they all went to England. There were the lectures, and a week at summer camp, and ordinations, and installations and counseling, and all the while, remaining a wife and mother.” And then Dean Keck spoke. “She bonded with the one on whom death no longer holds a claim. And in her sometimes lonely battle for life, she knew that salvation is nothing if it does not deliver us from death ...

3044. Gratitude Takes Practice

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... sometimes too late do we realize all we have forgotten and how much we've lost in our frantic haste and business preoccupation." (Donald Shelby, "Unremembered and Overfamiliar") My friend Donald Shelby tells of an experience he had with a husband who asked him to remain after the graveside services for his wife. When everyone else had dispersed, this man took from his pocket a little book of poetry and he said to Don, "Would you read some of these over Virginia's grave?" Then he added, "All our married life ...

3045. A Pattern For Giving And Living

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... waited to see whether it was the thief or Christ who came. We are involved in both these undertakings, the plundering and the fullness of life. Either we participate in Christ's mission, or we participate in the thief's plans for the world. As long as we remain merely victims or merely spectators in this struggle for justice, we are supporting the thief and his crimes. By joining in the struggle for a world of greater justice, on the other hand, we are taking part in the plan for creation of the God who has ...

3046. Getting Our Lives Out Of Hock

Psalm 105:1-45

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... those they love. We will always be in hock with our life if we don't overcome this neurosis. We don't need to live life as something we owe. Listen to verse five of our Psalm: "You, O Lord, are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; you remain my lot." We owe our lives only to God not to anyone else. Finally, to get our lives out of hock, we must keep on trusting God. This attitude of trusting God must pervade all our decisions and actions. Listen to verses one and eleven of our text: "Preserve me ...

3047. Reflections On A Calling (ten-year Anniversary Sermon)

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... -- no contagious excitement. No passion about what they're doing which will not let them sit down or stay quiet as it relates to their calling. And I think the problem is precisely there -- the calling has died. Thank God for that grace of His within my life--the call remains real. I could also talk about it in terms of a phrase of St. Paul's which is a favorite phrase of mine and I think describes ministry as we who are ordained should perceive it: Stewards of God's grace. When I keep my calling as a self ...

3048. The Grace Question: Are You A Teacher...and Yet Do Not Understand?

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... by the Grace of God!" "That's right!," said St. Peter with a smile on his face. "And that's worth 97 points. Come on in." Nicodemus didn't understand that. "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet do not understand these things?" The question still remains. Despite the witness of scripture and our experience, we continue to question grace. Maybe it has something to do with our original sin. It certainly has a lot to do with our pride and perverted self-sufficiency. So, let's think about it. I. Focus first on ...

3049. The Wholeness Question: Do You Want To Be Made Well?

John 5:1-15

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... . In its extreme, self pity becomes destructive causing us to become neurotic and paranoid. We begin to see all things as a plot to destroy. We feel that everyone is out to do us in, to hurt us. If we mire ourselves in the mud of self-pity, we will remain bound and paralyzed and life will pass us by. Let me mention something that is akin to self pity that I see as a very common malady, and another barrier to wholeness. It's cynicism. Now let me confess that it's very easy to become cynical, and a degree ...

3050. What If

1 Chronicles 7:1-5

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... people pray. Then you and I must become bolder in our praying. A second principle has become clear. Prayer is the continuing source of power for you and me to be obedient in love. Prayer is the continuing source of power for you and me to remain obedient in love. Our discipleship, our dynamic for witness moves on this center -- obedience in love. How much of our fervor as Christians is dependent upon the circumstances in which we find ourselves. Yet prayer is the source of strength enabling us to rise above ...

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