Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3251 to 3275 of 4681 results

3251. Thursday: Broken Bread And Broken Trust

Mark 14:10-26

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... breathe deep of the smell of the Rosemary, to kneel in the presence of the living history of those trees who witnessed the prophets. I think Jesus went there to remember. Bowed down with the weight and burden of the sin of the world He was about to bear, Jesus prayed, and remembered. In His prayer He cried out for mercy and courage and strength for the friends who couldn't stay awake. And He cried out to God, "Take this cup from me." and He remembered. Tempted to turn away, He remembered. He remembered His ...

3252. Followed By Mercy

Psalm 23:6

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... , "Nothing much. Ralphie had a fight." Tension rises as Dad puts down the paper and looks at Ralphie with a stern gaze. "A fight? What kind of fight?" Mom replies, "Oh, you know how boys are. I gave him a talking to. Oh, I see the Bears are playing the Packers Sunday." A smile breaks across Ralphie's face, and he beams at his mother. Ralphie says to himself: "I slowly realized that I was not about to be destroyed. From then on, things were different between me and my mother." Ralphie just experienced ...

3253. Your King Comes

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

King Duncan

... could I possibly offer this King? . . . but when I heard just now that he had need of a little donkey, then the thought came to mind that he just might have need of me, too . . . if a small beast of burden could be of use to him, could help bear him, then surely I can too . . . .” (4) Corrie ten Boom was once asked if it was difficult to remain humble when she became the target of so many accolades for her Christian writing. She replied, “When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on the back of a ...

3254. A Chance To Drink

John 4:5-29

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... dry, I knew God loves me and because of that I learned what the woman at the well learned, I was given the assurance that MY sins HAVE been forgiven. I don't ever have to worry about that again. As Romans 8:16 says, "it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God." Not only that, but like the woman at the well, I was also given the assurance that I'd never have to face any aspect of life alone. The Holy Spirit constantly reminds me of what God said, "I will ...

3255. The Greatest Gift Of All

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... family is gathered, all the characters in place, waiting for the guest of honor to arrive. And as much as the children anticipate, the guest of honor is NOT Santa. The guest of Honor is the One about Whom the Angels sang. The One Whom the Wise Men came bearing gifts. The One for Whom the shepherds left their flocks to run and see. The guest of Honor is this tiny, helpless baby who shed the throne and all the raiment of heaven and is now lying in a manger and wrapped in swaddling clothes. Listen to Luke's ...

3256. Spiderman: Saved To Serve

Colossians 3:1-4, 12-17

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... hidden with Christ in God. [4] When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. [12] As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. [13] Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. [14] Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. [15] And let ...

3257. Harvesting What We Plant

Mark 4:26-34

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... and said, "But Daddy! WE WERE JUST TRYING TO LOOK LIKE YOU!" (4) And that's key to whole parenting thing isn't. Many of our kids just want to look like us. And whether they realize it or not, one day what we've planted in their lives will bear fruit. We Harvest What We Plant. So, it behooves us to plant Faith, Love for God and a relationship with Jesus our Savior. If we reflect the love of God in Christ for them, then they will reflect the love God in Christ for others. We Harvest What We Plant ...

3258. What's In A Name?

John 15:9-17

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. [16] You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. [17] I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another. Did you hear that? [15] "I no longer call you servants....now I call you friends." I ...

3259. God's 'Yes!' To Every Promise

2 Corinthians 1:18-22

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... . Whose self sacrifice ends evil and gives new life. But none of it could have happened without the Promise. Sam made a promise to Gandalf and while at times during the story, it's extremely difficult, Sam keeps that promise. Frodo, too, made a promise. A promise to bear the Ring until it can be destroyed and with the help of others, he too, fulfills that promise. Promises are extremely important. That's why Paul wrote what he did to the Church in Corinth and why he wrote what he did to the Church in Rome ...

3260. Fulfilling Others?

Luke 4:14-30

Illustration

J. Ellsworth Kalas

... little in common with a Bach rendition from a four-manual organ; but each is seeking to show its adoration of Jesus in its own best way. Here is the common bond between a ghetto storefront church and the massive Gothic structure some miles away: they both bear the name of Jesus Christ; and they each seek, in their own way and setting, to fulfill the human longing. What about you and me? What is the longing in our lives which Christ has filled? "Today," Jesus said, "this scripture has been fulfilled in your ...

3261. Joseph’s Kid?

Luke 4:21-30

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

... day would be asking him shortly for an authenticating sign. Although we have not as of yet been told directly by Luke of any particular work Jesus didin Capernaum, apparently he's been there and done some amazing things. But Jesus is no trained dog or dancing bear and he makes clear he's not going to do any such thing in Nazareth. Worse, he inflames people still more by saying that with the attitudes some were harboring in their hearts at that very moment, the Nazareth populace was not worthy of a divine ...

3262. Using Up the Ground

Luke 13:6-9

Illustration

Jerry Goebel

... of his soil up for a fruit tree but the tree took up the best soil, the deepest soil, and required the most water. A fig tree doesn't grow fruit until three years after planting. The owner in this story, had given the tree "due season" to bear fruit and yet the tree bore no fruit. It took up valuable space and resources. The owner questioned why the tree was allowed to "even use up ground." God had given the Israelites the choicest ground. Their land possessed everything necessary to make themselves a great ...

3263. Yes, But How?

Luke 13:1-9

Illustration

Lee Griess

... of life we ought to live, and most of us have the best of intentions to do so, but how? We are afraid because we know where the road paved with only good intentions leads! This morning we hear Jesus' parable of the fig tree, telling us to repent and bear good fruit. We know what the Christian life requires of us and yet, if we are honest with ourselves, we also know how far short we fall. So the question that confronts us this morning is: "Yes, but how?"

3264. Abysmal Heights

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... know, but who you know.” So why do we forget that early life lesson when we walk into and out of church? The church’s biggest problem is that we want to know what, not who. We want to know the beauty of Jesus’ beatitudes, not bear Christ’s burdens for the world. The church wasn’t created out of nicely memorized catechisms. The church was born from the nails and splinters of the cross. Almost three weeks after the closing ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics, the opening of the Paralympic Games ...

3265. I Died on the Battlefield

Matthew 27:32-56

Illustration

Adrian Dieleman

... emperor himself. After examining the evidence, Napoleon said, "Through a surrogate, this man has not only fought, but has died in his country's service. No man can die more than once, therefore the law has no claim on him." Two thousand years ago, Jesus went to the cross to bear the penalty that rightly belongs to us. He died in our place. And through Him, our names are written in the book with His name written beside ours.

3266. Conflict Resolution (Series: Fundamentals of Family)

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... that were there at the start of your relationship will remain in place until the end. So, we must know the difference between conflicts which scratch the skin and those which scour the soul. We need to keep our expectations within reason. III. Be Forgiving Bear with one another and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Because there is so much confusion and guilt among church people about the art of forgiveness, let me begin by noting some things that ...

3267. Valley of Suffering (Series: Peace in the Valley)

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... of caution to compassionate people. Few of us are spiritual giants like the Dalai Lama. The daily bombardment of starving babies, dying soldiers, tornadoed houses, flooded villages, wrecked cars, murdered teenagers, can lead us to psychic numbness or even repressed anger. We cannot bear these burdens alone. That’s why we need the Church to be the body of Christ. We can do together what is overwhelming to try alone. We need the wisdom of like-minded people to discern God’s will and make compassionate ...

3268. The Gift Unwrapped

Luke 2:1-20

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... one of us." As Joan Osbourne said in her song. And that was the Perfect gift. Given at the right time. I mean really. Look what we would do with it now. Instead, God chose a simple time, where like a seed, like a baby, the Word could grow and bear fruit and not become a circus. And it came in the right package. One of the things that draws us to this story is that God loves us so much that God became vulnerable like one of us by sending His Son. And what melts a heart more than a ...

3269. The Gift of Purpose

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... Lord is with you." [29] But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. [30] The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. [31] And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. [32] He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. [33] He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his ...

3270. The Gift of Preparation

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... reverent an attitude as he could were Frankenstein, the Wolfman and the Mummy as the Wisemen from the East. Each with a small gift box in front of them. On the other side, behind a Lego fence with a gate, surrounded by several Furbies, beanie babies, care bear figurines and assorted other stuffed animals as the sheep and livestock were a Wookie, the Cat in the Hat, the Hulk and Batman as the shepherds. On the lid of the lunch box sat his sister's Barbie in a classic Rapunzle outfit, as Mary. Standing behind ...

3271. One Lord, One Table

Exodus 20:1-4

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... the earth. [12] Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. [13] You shall not murder. [14] You shall not commit adultery. [15] You shall not steal. [16] You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. [17] You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. [18] When all the people witnessed the thunder and ...

3272. Dare To DV8

Romans 12:1-8

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... for whittling grew into a skill of carving. And his hobby became his craft. Patiently he fashioned many violins, striving to make each one better and more beautiful than the one before. When Antonio died, he left over 1500 violins, each one bearing a label that said "Antonio Stradivarius." Today they are the most sought after violins in all the world. The clarity of tone and careful craftsmanship remain untouched by the centuries. Antonio Stradivarius could neither sing nor play, but he did what he could ...

3273. How Does Your Garden Grow?

Matthew 13:1-9

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. [23] But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty." Jesus tells us that the seed in this parable is the Word of God and you and our hearts are the soil. In this parable, Jesus identifies 4 types of hearts. That's what I ...

3274. If Everybody’s Okay, What’s the Problem? (Series: Real Faith for Real People)

1 John 1:5--2:14

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... entitled I’m OK, You’re OK. As a tool for analyzing interpersonal transactions, the book was immensely helpful. As a philosophical statement of the human condition, the book is flawed. If everybody’s okay, who’s causing the problem? Sin lurks in our genes. While we bear the image of God, we also reflect the sin of Adam. We are baptizing six children this weekend. At each baptism we pray for a child’s sins to be washed away, and that God will clothe them in righteousness for the rest of their lives ...

3275. Is God For Real? (Series: Read Faith For Real People)

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... DNA. The Bible makes the point numerous times. “So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them” (Genesis 1:27). “In God we live and move and have our being. We are his offspring” (Acts 17:28). “The spirit himself bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16). “I will put my laws on their minds and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God” (Hebrews 8:10). Our founder, John Wesley, believed God’s image in us to ...

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