Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3126 to 3150 of 4938 results

3126. Gifts: Standing on the Promises

Malachi 4:10

Sermon

John E. Harnish

It seems my little jaunt into English grammar, and especially the proper placement of prepositions, produced more response than almost anything I have written in Steeple Notes. I suppose that, in itself, is amazing. Several of you sent me Winston Churchill's famous quotation: "This is a situation with which I will not put up." But the best one came from a couple of my Wednesday morning Arbon Dennis buddies. It's the story of the little girl, already in bed, who berated her father when he came to read to ...

3127. Gathered In, Sent Out

1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

John E. Harnish

3128. Called to be a Christian Community: Cracked Pots and Clay Jars

2 Corinthians 4: 1-18

Sermon

John E. Harnish

3129. Grasshopper Religion

Numbers 13:25-33, 14:1-10

Sermon

John E. Harnish

3130. Praising God on an Oatmeal Box

2 Samuel 6:12-23

Sermon

John E. Harnish

3131. Household of Faith

II Timothy 1:3-7

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

As speaker and author, Tony Campolo, tells the story, it happened during a sophisticated academic gathering at the University of Pennsylvania which neither he nor his wife wanted to attend. During their mixing among the faculty, a sociology professor came up to Mrs. Campolo and said, “What do you do for a living?" Mrs. Campolo, feeling the compelling task of raising children, gave this reply, “I am socializing two homosapiens into the dominant values of the Judeo-Christian tradition in order that they ...

3132. Busy with a Purpose

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

We are too busy. A recent CNN Poll found out that 59% of the people felt overcommitted, overbusy, overstressed. In the past ten years, we have somehow lost eight-and-a-half hours a week of free time. I know that's true for me. I know I like a full plate. I like a busy schedule. Therefore, it is difficult for me to talk about slowing down. I needed help putting this message together. So I called several people this past week who are busy people and asked them, "How do you know that you are too busy? What ...

3133. The Vision of the Great Prostitute

Revelation 17:1-18

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

Big Idea: John is astonished when he receives the vision of Babylon the Great, the mother of the prostitutes, in all her power, opulence, and adulterous depravity. Understanding the Text At the conclusion of the bowl judgments, Babylon the Great is split into three parts and is made to drink the full cup of God’s wrath (16:19). Now one of the seven angels from chapter 16 invites John to witness in greater detail the judgment God will bring on the harlot. As a result, the judgment of Babylon the Great in 17 ...

3134. Are You a Pillar or a Pillow?

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

Sermon

King Duncan

There is a corny story about a little girl in a mountain family who laid her head over on her father’s ample midriff in a worship service and went to sleep. Her mother, seeing her daughter cushion her head in this fashion, whispered to her husband in the mountain vernacular, “There, Clyde, now you know what it means to be a pillar of the church.” Her husband was probably more of a pillow of the church rather than a pillar. But that is the question for the day: are you a pillow or a pillar? I would like to ...

3135. Daniel in the Den of Lions

Daniel 6:1-28

Understanding Series

William Nelson

The Lion's Pit: In this familiar chapter, Daniel’s enemies conspire to get him thrown into the lions’ pit for making petitions to his God. Just as we wonder where Daniel is in chapter 3, so we wonder where Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) are in chapter 6, for there is no mention of them. We can be sure that they, like Daniel, would have continued their daily prayers in spite of the threat of being devoured by wild animals, yet there is no explanation for their absence. This ...

3136. Prisoners of Hope

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

We humans are really good at excuses. We’ve had lots of practice since Adam and Eve started the ball rolling by first blaming each other, then the serpent, and finally even blaming God for their rebellion against their Creator. Give us enough time and we can justify or rationalize away just about anything we do, especially when it comes to our relationship with God. Let me give you a true-life example. A number of years ago, our family went white water rafting down the New River in West Virginia. At one ...

3137. Never Satisfied

John 14:8-17, (25-27)

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

Phillip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father and we will be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Phillip, and still you don’t know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. (John 14: 8-9) How is Philip like the Rolling Stones? Right! They can’t get no satisfaction. Remember those lyrics from the mid ‘60s? No matter how much they tried, they ‘can’t get no satisfaction’”. He and the other disciples had been following Jesus around for about three years, watching him heal ...

3138. Is Christ In The Manger?

Drama

Karren Boehr

Theme: The Christ Of Christmas Changes Lives (Based on Isaiah 61) Scenes I - IV are placed in various areas of the sanctuary. In Act I each of the four scenes portrays a different pitfall of the holiday season: the bitter family feelings, the busyness, the anxiety, the loneliness. In Act II the same scenes are touched by the glory and power of the Christ Child. (The optional use of a spotlight enhances the effectiveness of each scene.) Act I (Actors in Scenes I - IV take their places, then freeze) Scene I ...

3139. The Art of Living Until

Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon

Leonard Mann

There are many things about your life which I do not know. But one thing I do know: you are living in an interim. And so am I. We are in time-in-between; we are between what has happened and what will happen. We know a great deal about the former and very little about the latter. What has been is past, and we are moving away from it, going on to what is to be. How we make this journey is very important, the attitudes with which we travel, the guiding stars we follow. So I want to speak with you about The ...

3140. The Ultimate Success Formula

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

King Duncan

Jesus would turn over in his grave, if he were in his grave -- which, of course, he is not. However, I want to suggest to you this morning that the ultimate formula for worldly success is found in a portion of his words in Mark 8:34, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." In a secular sense that text alone would guarantee any person's success in the wonderful world of business or art or education or sports or whatever career you may choose. After all, ...

3141. An Announcement from the Wilderness

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

After some last-minute Christmas shopping, a woman was rushing her grandchildren into the car. It was then that four-year-old Jason said, “Grandma, Susie has something in her pocket.” He then proceeded to reach into Susie’s pocket and pulled out a new red barrette. Though she was tired, this grandmother knew it was important for Susie to put the item back where she had found it. They did just that. Then they headed to the grocery store. Later at the grocery store checkout, the clerk asked, “Have you kids ...

3142. Once More with Feeling!

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

It's that holiday season again. Friends and loved ones are making plans for a visit. Christmas decorations are out in the store windows. Once again people's hearts are swelling with optimism. Jack Frost has left his calling card. The smell of wood fires curls from the chimneys, and inside, mothers work their magic as fathers are heard to say, "Make some of those sugar cookies that you made last year, the ones with the sprinkles." Yes, it's Thanksgiving week, and I'm supposed to preach on gratitude. And you ...

3143. Bountiful Faith: Two All Beef Patties, Special Sauce, Lettuce, Cheese, Pickles...Etc

2 Corinthians 9:6-11

Sermon

John E. Harnish

Have Faith… Strong in faith: "Just a little dab'll do ya." Ministry by faith: "Does she or doesn't she?" Saints by faith: "Good to the last drop." In a day when everything changes, some things never change. And in it all and through it all, a bountiful God of grace gives us a bountiful heart, a bountiful faith… 1. God calls us to live boldly and to give bountifully. Our theme verse for this campaign includes the phrase "Live courageously," but at least one translation says, "Live boldly." I like that! To ...

3144. Our Jealous Husband

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Paul W. Kummer

These are Ten Commandments that little children know to be true: 1. When your mom is mad at your dad, don't let her brush your hair. 2. No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats. 3. You can't trust dogs to watch your food. 4. Never hold a dustbuster and a cat at the same time. 5. You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk. 6. Puppies still have bad breath even after eating a tic-tac. 7. When your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person. 8. Don't sneeze ...

3145. The Man From Galilee III: The Touch Of His Hand

Matthew 8:14-17

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

A little girl named Charlotte went with her grandmother on a shopping trip downtown. When she returned home her parents were talking with her about the trip, what she had seen, how she liked it. They asked her if she had been afraid among all those people and cars as she crossed the street. She said, "No. The big policeman held up his strong hands and all the cars stopped and Charlotte crossed over." Jesus the carpenter had hands bronzed by the sun, strong hands. And with those great, strong hands He came ...

3146. So Close ... But Yet So Far

Luke 9:10-17

Sermon

Larry Powell

Several summers ago, my wife and I had occasion to be in a little community in New York state which included the famous St. Elmo Hotel. Word had come to us that a former employee of the hotel, inspired by people and incidents encountered in and around the landmark building, had written a story titled, "St. Elmo's Fire." The story was eventually made into a movie by the same name. Naturally, we surveyed the premises for any sign of fire damage. Seeing none, we supposed that the fire at St. Elmo must have ...

3147. Grace Is What Christ Has Done

Acts 15:1-21

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

We live in a high-gloss, fix-the-outside, cover-up-the-spots world. We believe in making good first impressions, so we are very adept at cover-ups and shining up the outside. We have cover-ups in politics, in the world of high finance, in big business, and in education. Even if you buy peaches or strawberries from a road-side fruit stand you have to watch lest they have put the smaller, maybe rotten, fruit on the bottom, and then entice you to purchace them by covering it with the larger, more beautiful ...

3148. God Moves In Mysterious Ways

1 Kings 17:7-24

Sermon

Robert Allen

There is a small Catholic chapel in the heart of Santa Fe, New Mexico, called Chapel of Our Lady of Light. It has a fascinating story attached to the early days when there was a convent school run by the Sisters of Loretto. Apparently, the only way for the sisters to get into the loft where they slept was to climb up a ladder. This was not a major problem for the younger nuns, but it was difficult and dangerous for the older nuns to be climbing up and down the shaky ladder. They were unable to install a ...

3149. Doing Our Homework

Matthew 9:9-13

Sermon

Larry Goodpaster

Whenever the “new” bumps up against the “old” there is bound to be friction. It happens within the community where we live. Someone -- an elected leader or would-be community change agent -- comes along with a new idea, seeing new possibilities for the future, and there is a vocal hesitation. “Why should we change?” the long-time residents complain. “Things are just fine the way they always have been!” The inevitable conflict grows between those who advocate change for a different way of living in the ...

3150. The Emperor’s Son-in-law

Luke 12:22-34, Luke 12:35-48

Sermon

Carveth Mitchell

This Gospel hinges on responsibility, and the culmination of it is in verse forty-eight: "Everyone to whom much is given, of him shall much be required." One of the favorite stories of the great Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegard, concerns an emperor, touring his domain and receiving the accolades of his people. When the entourage reached the market square of one village, his carriage was surrounded by cheering villagers and peasants. To the amazement of his neighbors, one brash young farmer stepped out ...

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