Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 301 to 325 of 4999 results

301. Anything Better Than the Golden Rule?

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

William G. Carter

... a love that was not withheld even in the face of certain death, a love like the love of Christ on the cross. When we love one another like this, we show ourselves to be children of the Most High God. The promise of the gospel is that God is kind to the ungrateful, the wicked, and the self-sufficient. You have heard it said, “Do to others as you would have them do unto you.” But the gospel says, “Do unto others as God has done unto you.” Yes, there is something better than the Golden Rule, and it is ...

302. The Preacher Was A Bigot

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... t you just kill me and get it over with?" Lovely fellow, this Jonah. He wanted Ninevah to burn. After all, they were not his kind. This preacher was a bigot. The Lord tried to placate him. He pointed out that Jonah had no right to be angry. But Jonah ... have to learn the lesson that Peter learned when he was called to the home of Cornelius, a Gentile, somebody who was not Peter's "kind." Peter finally realized that God loves the WHOLE world and not just one race or people. He said, "I now realize how true it ...

303. Resuscitating An Iguana

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... to him. How tragic it is when Christians divorce their Christian life from their daily life. Daily life is what the Gospel is all about. It is serving Christ in the little things ” how we treat the people in our own family, or on the job. It is the kind word, the encouraging pat on the back, the willingness to listen to a friend pour out his heart. These small acts of service are of far more weight than an envelope in the offering plate or a prayer for a missionary overseas. How often we long to do the ...

304. God's Job Profile

Amos 7:10-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Sure he ended up as a rock, but before that he was as fickle as a willow reed. And James and John. Always jockeying for a place of prominence. I would even have had difficulty with the Apostle Paul. Have you ever read Paul's writings? He's caused all kinds of havoc in the church with some of the things he said. And he could be a bit tedious in making his point. What was his thorn in the flesh, anyway? God should have consulted us before He made His selections. And I'm sure that the most common response ...

305. A New Vantage Point

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... and invisible, whether principalities or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him." (1:16) And if that's not enough, Paul goes on to say, "He is before all things, and in him all things hold together!" (1:17) SOMETIMES THAT'S KIND OF HARD TO BELIEVE! Is that what you see when you look at the world around you ” that Christ is over all things? Is that what you say each morning after you read the newspaper? "Well, I see Jesus has everything under control?" It's not what we ...

306. A Niche For Every Itch

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... the rest of my life." For thousands of years we have known that people are motivated by different things. People respond to the Gospel in different ways, but we do have some power over how we will respond. And so the question confronts each of us this day: WHAT KIND OF SOIL ARE YOU? Are you the hardened path where the seed of God's Word cannot penetrate and the birds can fly down and snatch it away? Are you rocky ground that allows the Word to flourish for a season but because strong roots never form, it ...

307. Entertaining Angels

Hebrews 13:1-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... he's not looking forward to the meeting. He explains his reasoning to John Wayne, “No stranger," he says, “ever good-newsed me." (3) Well, I've been “good-newsed" by many strangers. And so have you. One of the reasons that we ought always to be kind to strangers is that some of these strangers will bless us mightily. You see, angels come to us in many forms. Chuck Colson tells about an angel who greeted the first Pilgrims who came to our land. This angel was a young Native American man named Squanto ...

308. Please, Don't Let me Jabez Anyone Else (Part 5)

1 Chronicles 4:1-23

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... no food and I am starving. Put me under your shirt and take me down to the valley." "No," said the youth. "I am forewarned. I know your kind. You are a rattlesnake. If I pick you up, you will bite, and your bite will kill me." "Not so," said the snake. "I will treat you ... our desire to do what is right and good. We need Almighty God’s help to keep us from experiencing those kinds of conditions. This is one of the most important insights you will give to your children and grandchildren. A country song of ...

309. New Wine in New Wineskins

Mark 2:18-22

Sermon

Paul E. Flesner

... angels to thwart injustice and oppression. That's where we miss God's message. The new wine of God's power is focused in a different kind of weapon. It is found on a cross! It is the crucified one, Jesus -- God's power made known in weakness. Rather than looking for ... them! Set them aside! God has forgiven them and God has forgotten them. There is a second place where we meet this new kind of power -- in the sacrament of Holy Communion. When I think that God has the power to make every person bow down at God ...

310. The Primacy Of Love

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... , and, in a way, inevitably. We cannot help loving our kin; blood is thicker than water. We speak about falling in love. That kind of love is not an achievement. It is something which happens to us and which we cannot help. There is no particular virtue ... the Kingdom. It's not often that we see it pristinely clear. But when we do, we want to kneel and pray God to give us that kind of love. Dr. A. J. Cronin tells of the young couple who came to him in Scotland. She was to have their first baby. When the young ...

311. If Only -- In Spite Of

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... without food, in cold and exposure." Now these were the things that had happened to him. "If only", he might have well said. But then there was this ongoing problem -- this pain from which there seemed no relief. He called it "a thorn in the flesh". It was probably some kind of physical ailment. Perhaps it was epilepsy or trouble with his eyes or a recurrent malarial fever. We don't really know what it was. We do know that he wanted to get rid of it, and many times he must have said, "If only I didn't have ...

312. And the Word Is...Love

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... great teacher and asked him: "Teacher, how do I know which religion is the right one?" The teacher replied with a story of a great and wise King with three sons. This King had a precious gift--a magic ring that gave him great compassion, generosity, and a spirit of kindness. As he was dying, each of his sons went to him and asked the father for the ring after his death. And he promised to each of the sons that he would give him the ring. Now how could he possibly do that for all three sons? Here’s what ...

313. At the Corner of Church and Main

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... . Perhaps I am called to be different from him. Even an example to him. The Greek word ouai is what we translate "woe," or sometimes "alas." As you might guess from trying to pronounce the unusual all-vowel word, it is not a harsh kind of exclamation. It doesn't have the kind of bite to it that makes for a curse word. Rather, it might better be understood as an articulate sigh, an expression of grief. When Jesus says "woe" to those "who are rich," "who are full," "who laugh," and such, therefore, he is not ...

314. Saints in Shorts

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... such a strategy of vulnerability? Could it be that Jesus wants us to be hurt? No, not at all. Jesus wants something far better, lovelier, and more profound than that. Jesus wants us to be like God. "You will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful" (vv. 35b-36). If turning the other cheek sounds like nonsense to us, we might look more broadly at the teachings of Jesus to see if that one is just a fluke -- a misunderstanding ...

315. Some Healing Is Up To You

John 5:1-15

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... healing sake of another. But in this instance, Jesus is saying some healing is up to you. You have to participate; you have to desire it; it has to be an act of your will. Look at that man again. Had he lost hope? Had he settled down into a kind of negative despair? Or consider this possibility; or was he content in his illness because to be healed would mean he would have to take responsibility; in that he would have to begin to make decisions? He might have to begin to earn his living. Now does it shock ...

316. The Vocation of Leadership: A Prophet Among Them

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... feet, and I will speak with you.” And the Lord does speak. The message, which Ezekiel is to preach, is given to him in a kind of scroll. So, Ezekiel receives his appointment. It is not a promising situation. Not the planting of a new church that is sure to grow in ... Yes, it happens almost every time I fly out of here.” I could tell that she was not interested in the sunset or any kind of conversation, so I was gracious and returned to the book I was reading. When we were in the air, she left her seat to ...

317. The Work of An Evangelist

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... , but he was so tired of denominational emphases and sectarian politics in the church that he wanted to proclaim a different kind of message. He wanted the world to know that he was simply a Christian, not any label – just a generic Christian. ... We can’t risk our lives and the lives of our children this way. What can we do in this hellish place, anyway?” That kind of response would have been normal. But With tears Aleida responded, “Oh honey, we have got to be more urgent in sharing Jesus. We ...

318. Playing to the Right Audience

Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... belly to remind us that our real hunger is for God. I recently spoke to a woman who had not eaten in four days, not because she was fasting but because she had no food to eat. She had lost her job. This is not the kind of fasting we are after; this is the kind of fasting we must work to eliminate. The fasting Jesus spoke of was not involuntary, it was not a weight loss technique, it was not a means to coerce God, and it was not for display to make other people think of you as particularly holy ...

319. What Do You Call Success?

Luke 10:1-24

Sermon

King Duncan

... you down. At such times I pray that you, or I, will somehow surrender ourselves to God, that a great peace will come over us and we, too, will sense that this is not our suffering, but God’s suffering. God is asking us to have that kind of trust, that kind of faith. Listen once more to Christ’s words, “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” I’m not going to insult your intelligence by saying to you that if you serve Jesus everything will ...

320. The Light of the World

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... him under the faucet and washed him to get all the soot and dirt off. When she finished she saw the hair dryer sitting on the sink. She turned it on, held Chippie up in front of the blast of hot air to dry him off. Now that's the kind of story that newspapers like, so the newspaper in Galveston sent a reporter out to talk to the woman about this incident. He concluded the questioning by asking her, "How's Chippie doing now?" The woman said, "Well Chippie doesn't sing much anymore. He just sort of sits and ...

321. Timing Is Everything

Matthew 11:2-11

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... it. It's up to you to answer it. "Is he the one, or are you still looking for something else?" What Matthew wants you to do is to think biblically about your life, to see time, your time, the way the Bible sees time, where there are only two kinds of time: the time of preparation, and the time of fulfillment. So what time is it for you? I got an interesting letter from a former member of this church, now moved to another town. She talked about how much she appreciated this church and how much she misses it ...

322. Christmas 1

Isaiah 63:7--64:12, Colossians 3:1-17, Colossians 3:18-4:1, Galatians 3:15-25, Hebrews 2:5-18, Matthew 2:13-18, Matthew 2:19-23

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... of Christmas day, we confront the trauma of suffering, death-threats, and persecution of the helpless and innocent. The Lessons remind us what kind of world to which Jesus came - a hostile world that did not only want him, but tried to kill him. In the Gospel, ... the Philippines only to return later to conquer. 2. Destroy (v. 13). The king was determined to kill the baby Jesus. It tells us the kind of world a baby enters. It is a hostile world into which we are born, a world out to get us. Today a child ...

323. When Extravagance Is Beautiful, and When It Is Not

John 12:1-8

Sermon

James W. Moore

... each and every day (indeed, each and every moment) of our lives, namely this: Will I be big or little? Will I be kind or hateful? Will I be self-giving or self-absorbed? Will I be open or closed? Will I be part of the solution ... my favorite persons in that congregation was a wonderful, older man. Most everyone in that community called him, Mr. Joe Mr. Joe was a kind-spirited man who was always gracious, thoughtful and considerate to everyone. He was a real Christian gentleman. He was what I would call a “ ...

324. What's Your Hospitality Quotient?

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.” We were once strangers. That’s the Gospel. While we were yet sinners Christ died for us. And the way we show love for Christ is by reaching out to Christ’s little ones. That’s who we are and what we’re about. Kindness to the visitor. Generosity to the down and out. “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.” 1. Cited in John Ortberg, Everybody’s ...

325. The Ministry of the Holy Spirit

John 16:7-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... you that that is true. Dr. R. A. Torrey, a great preacher, was traveling one time through the countryside, and he stopped at a little family hotel. He asked the proprietor if it would be all right if he gave a devotion to the family since it was kind of a family hotel? The proprietor said, "All right." Well, Dr. Torrey gathered everybody together, and being a great man of God just opened up the Bible and began to teach it. After it was over, Dr. Torrey, just on a spiritual hunch, looked around and said ...

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