Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3251 to 3275 of 4957 results

3251. "Head" Lines

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... hath said in his heart, "˜There is no God!'" And in Luke 12, Jesus tells a story about a rich man who builds great storehouses to hold all his riches, then says to himself, "Take life easy; eat, drink, and be merry." But that night, God comes to him to claim his life, and God calls the man a fool for storing up things for himself and not investing in God's eternal work. In the book of Proverbs, there are three Hebrew words used to indicate a foolish person. The first word is kesil. A kesil is a foolish ...

3252. About Work

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

Sermon

King Duncan

... a life of excellence and service. The Bible admonishes us to do all our work as if we are working for the Lord, and not for men. Even the most mundane jobs become holy when done as a service to God. Martin Luther, the founder of the Protestant church, claimed that "the angels smile when a man changes a diaper." (5) I know there are some wives who would smile if they saw their husband change a diaper, but the angels? Yes, the angels. It doesn't matter what task confronts us, if it is an honorable task, and ...

3253. About Christ

Colossians 1:13-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... thought it would be fun. Where did they get such a twisted definition of fun? It may have started with the things they put into their minds. The boys admitted that they often smoked pot and listened to violent heavy-metal music. The leader of the pack also claimed that he had given his life over to Satan. He stated that Satan told him, "Just open the door once and I promise I'll never let you go." Evidently, he opened that door in his mind, and this action bore horrible fruit in the lives of many people ...

3254. Immanuel

Isaiah 63:7-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... as she returned to her seat carrying the free gift. The pastor launched with enthusiasm into his text, Romans 6:23: "The gift of God is eternal life. Believe. Receive. It's free!" When the service ended and most of the people had gone home, the woman who claimed the poinsettia came to the platform, where the pastor was picking up his Bible to leave. "Here!" She held out her hand. "This flower is too pretty to just take home for free. I couldn't do that with a clear conscience." The pastor looked down at the ...

3255. Made For The Light

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... to "move the cow." But the face we see in this passage is not the face we expect to see. In Isaiah 8, the prophet declares that a day is coming when the northern kingdom of Israel will be devastated by the army of Assyria. In verse 17, he claims that because of the people's disobedience, the Lord is hiding His face from them. But then in chapter 9 of Isaiah, the tone changes, and God gives the Israelites a glimpse of His future plan for their salvation. See if you recognize these words: "The people walking ...

3256. He Was Afflicted

Isaiah 63:7-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... his new insights. Perhaps Dickens was saying that Scrooge was experiencing a new birth, something like the new birth Jesus told Nicodemus that he must experience. It's quite a remarkable thought that God became a baby. No other religion makes such an astounding claim. God became flesh. He experienced what we experience. "[So] he was their Saviour. In all their affliction he was afflicted . . ." There is an ancient story about a good and wise king who once ruled in Persia. He loved his people. He wanted to ...

3257. Drowning In A Sea Of Stuff

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... be blind to our own prosperity. We always think that the wealthy are those with a little bit more than we have. Our abundance of choices creates stress, and our fixation on material goods leaves us searching for some deeper meaning in life, claims Easterbrook. But his final theory as to our discontentment revolves around a lack of gratitude. Numerous studies show that a sense of gratitude results in feelings of well-being and optimism. Cultivating a sense of gratitude may be the key to finding contentment ...

3258. You Can't Please Everybody

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... businessmen who had defrauded people in the computer industry. In investigating their backgrounds, the Journal learned that these two men were seemingly quite devout. In fact, some time before, they had broken with one Orthodox synagogue and established another. Why? They claimed that the barrier separating the men's and women's section at the first synagogue was too low. Apparently, says Rabbi Telushkin, referring to the fraud charge, it is easier for some people to cross moral barriers than ritual ones ...

3259. Winners And Losers

Luke 13:22-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... noticed a woman standing nearby, and asked the man if she were his girlfriend. Yes, this was his girlfriend, the woman he was living with. As the man said, "We have a special relationship that the Lord understands." At this point, Pastor Cymbala had to confront the man. He claimed to be a Christian, yet saw nothing wrong in living with his girlfriend. He was expecting God to hear his prayer and bless him, but he didn't want to live by God's rules. Pastor Cymbala had to break the news to him that God doesn't ...

3260. Who Did He Praise?

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... I'll just stop bathing too. Stage three: Geez, I'm not qualified for any of these jobs, but the house sure is clean. Stage four: Maybe I'll try a whole new career. I wonder who's on "Oprah" today? I've got to put something on my unemployment claim this week. Stage five: The capitalist running dogs want me to fight for their filthy money? I'm going to weave hats out of palm fronds and sell them on the beach. I won't participate in this sublimation of true human needs. Stage six: "You'll pay how much ...

3261. Marks Of A Champion

1 Timothy 6:3-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... --righteousness includes all the good qualities that grow out of having a right relationship with God and with your neighbor. This is the absolute minimum requirement for championship Christian living. Being righteous won't earn you salvation, but it is very difficult to claim a covenantal relationship with God if you have not made a commitment to right living. The story's told of Sir Ernest Shackleton and three companions who set out for the South Pole way back in 1908. The Antarctic is challenging today ...

3262. Who Are You?

Psalm 16:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... Potemkin, Catherine the Great's paramour and the prime minister of Russia, performed one of the most impressive scams in history. For years the Russian empress supplied him with money to build new settlements in Siberia. But he pocketed the money while claiming that the construction was taking place, although not one shack was ever erected. And Catherine, confined to her royal routine, never knew she was fooled. Then, unexpectedly, she announced that she wanted to see one of her new towns. So Potemkin ...

3263. On Names That Preach

Psalm 16:1-11

Sermon

Siegfried S. Johnson

... ad for the "Lost and Found" column in the local newspaper. He first wrote, "Golden Lab, male, approximately nine months old, no collar, very friendly, found on Rockbridge Road." But Susan was worried that the excessive detail might encourage just anybody to claim the dog. She asked her husband to abbreviate the ad. With each rewriting she suggested that the clues still provided too much information. Susan sent him back to try again. Growing frustrated at his wife's editorial rejections, he continued to trim ...

3264. The Christ Of Healing

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

King Duncan

... 's healing power, there are three important truths that we have to understand. First is that sickness is not God's will. Henry B. Getz has an interesting argument that it must be God's will for us to be well. He says that if we accept, as some people claim, that "it is God's will that I be sick," or whatever, and if we want to do God's Will, then why would we ever consult a doctor, or take medicine, or pray to be healed? Isn't that be seeking to thwart God's will? The God that ...

3265. Strategy For Greatness

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... be doing more, achieving more, and giving more but we're not willing to pay the price. Ferdinand Foch reminds us that "the most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire." Greatness is born when someone proclaims, as John Knox did when he set out to claim Scotland for Christ: "Give me Scotland or I die!" Commitment is the ultimate sign of inner character and the first step toward achievement. As someone once said: "A grade A man with a great B idea is better than a grade B man with a grade A idea ...

3266. The Grief Of God

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

King Duncan

... God's will that our world be a brotherhood, and not a battlefield. Therefore, I cannot consider war as in any sense the will of God, and I believe that the phrase "Holy War" is an oxymoron if ever there was one! In the current conflict with Iraq, both sides claim to be fighting on the side of God. God must weep. In my funeral sermon for the young man who died in Vietnam, I told the family of the good news that there is a God behind everything who can bring good out of evil, victory out of defeat, life ...

3267. That Believing Ye Might Have Life

John 20:24-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... small! We are like grasshoppers compared to them." This caused the people to tremble in fear. Because of their fear they went back and stayed in the wilderness for 38 years. They had to wander there until every last one of the original group died before returning to claim the Promised Land. Far too often we see only the problems and not the great problem solver who is right there with us! Nothing is beyond Him, and yet we tend to focus on the problem at hand. We focus on the giants infesting the land, and ...

3268. A Church Fueled By Prayer

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... War II, only about 5% of the population was Christian. Ten years ago the figure was at least 20% of the country's 40 million population. Church membership is increasing by about 10% a year, especially among the young. One church in Seoul, with 370,000 members, claims to be the largest congregation of any kind, anywhere. (4) That same success story can be told in many places in the world today. Somebody must be praying. Such phenomenal growth can only come from God. God is not stone-deaf. SO IF GOD ISN'T ...

3269. Excited, Motivated, Changed!

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

King Duncan

... jobs. Many are not. And these statistics ignore still other people who have also "quit" their jobs but keep coming to work. In fact, in a survey of workers across the United States, nearly 85% said that they could work harder on the job. More than half claimed they could double their effectiveness "if (they) wanted to." (2) If we could do better, why don't we? Ah, that's the question, isn't it? If we could answer that question, we could write a best-selling book and retire for life. Everybody is asking ...

3270. Hey, Gang, We're Moving!

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... relationship. When we move through different stages of life, we leave behind some friends and gain new ones. But there is no way to follow God's call if we insist on clinging to our old way of life. In his book Shattered Dreams, Pastor Larry Crabb claims that we are motivated to seek God's face when we have lost everything else that is secure in our lives. Pain is often the pathway to greater understanding of God. Crabb also charges that our churches are full of people who are too comfortable to seek God ...

3271. The Divine Family

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

King Duncan

... , he began to smile a big smile of recognition. `Wait a minute,' he said, `I know who you are. I see the family resemblance. You are a son of God.'" "With that he slapped me across the rump and said,`Boy, you've got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.'" The old man looked across the table at Fred Craddock and said, "That was the most important single sentence ever said to me." With that he smiled, shook the hands of Craddock and his wife, and moved on to another table to greet old friends. Suddenly, Fred ...

3272. Living The Kingdom Life

1 Kings 3:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Faith that God is with us in the power of the Holy Spirit. Faith that in all things God works to the good for those who love him. Author Robert Dale relates the story of a country church that is located by a clear spring. Community leaders claim that the spring originated years ago when a slave woman and her children were dying of thirst during a drought. In despair of finding water, the slave woman prayed. Then she found the spring. From that day the spring has never dried up, even during the longest ...

3273. Drinking From His Cup

Matthew 20:20-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... ; when it becomes destructive to the truly important values in our lives. Obviously some people do abuse the drive for greatness. On New Year's Day in 1967, a military officer, Colonel Jean-Bekel Bokassa, seized power in the Central African Republic. He claimed his act was designed to keep the Communists from power. His country was small, landlocked, and underdeveloped. It had the dubious distinction of being one of the poorest nations on earth. Its 2.2 million inhabitants had a per capita income of only ...

3274. Witness to the Light

John 1:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... the miners’ lives. At the ceremony, there were ten miners’ lamps set up on the altar, even though there were only nine miners. According to the pastor who presided over the worship celebration, the tenth lamp represented God’s presence, which the miners claimed they could feel as they waited to be rescued. It was this “10th Man” they honored as they read Psalm 103: “Praise the Lord . . . Who redeems your life from the pit.” (1) Welcome to this celebration of our “tenth man”--the One who ...

3275. Son of Man; Son of God

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... speaks of Christ coming into the world like this, “When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death--and the worst kind of death at that: a crucifixion.” God became human flesh. God emptied himself and became a helpless babe. GOD CAME DOWN TO LIFT US ...

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