Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3276 to 3300 of 4935 results

3276. The Essence of the Gospel

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I don’t know how It Is with you, but I can recall occasions when a text of scripture grabbed my imagination, gripped my mind, burrowed its way into my soul, and became a part of my being. In many instances, I can relive the setting when that happened, and it energizes my life. Our scripture for this is such a case. It was Senior Recognition Day at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, 1958. From the time I answered the call to preach as a seventeen- year-old country boy in Mississippi, I’ve always ...

3277. This Is In the Bible?

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

My mother saved everything from my childhood — little clay sculptures I made in church school, drawings, odd pieces of clothing, and of course, report cards. I have report cards going from high school all the way back to elementary school days. They make interesting reading, actually. And at times they are even a bit comical. One teacher noted wryly that as I got older I might settle down a bit. Another teacher praised my good spirit but chided my talking and passing notes in class. Then there was one that ...

3278. Power Sharing

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

David O. Bales

Modern people are fascinated with power. We fiddle with a switch on the wall and it delivers the results from dynamos in dams and atomic reactors. We domesticate nature's powers in order to light the den, vacuum the carpet, and brew the coffee. Power is at our fingertips. Technology has opened endless possibilities, chugging along from wood and coal fired steam, converting to petroleum, accelerating to internal combustion engines, and expanding to jets and rockets. We, this living generation, have most ...

3279. Made Perfect In Weakness

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

When Ben Franklin was the ambassador to France for the newly independent United States of America, his quick wit and well-thought wisdom opened many doors for him and for this new country. At one dinner in 1781 where the guest list included the powers of the day, the French foreign secretary began the dinner with a toast to King Louis XVI, "To His Majesty, King Louis, the Sun, whose shining presence radiates the earth of France." Not to be outdone, the British ambassador rose with the toast, "To King ...

3280. Will He Find Faith?

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

Scott Bryte

Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.' For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by ...

3281. Ignite: Burning Love

Acts 5:17-42

Sermon

James Merritt

We all learn sooner or later that “Things are not always as they seem.” Sometimes what we think is bad news is really good news in disguise. That is illustrated by a story of two women who had not seen each other in quite a while. They were catching up and the first woman said, “I just got married.” Her friend said, “That is good news.” She said, “No, it is bad news. He is ugly.” Her friend said, “That’s bad news.” She said, “No, it is good news. He is rich!” Her friend said, “That’s good news.” She said ...

3282. No Excuse

Luke 14:15-24

Sermon

James Merritt

Imagine this: U2 has just made an announcement they are splitting up. They have been at it a long time, made all the money they could ever spend, and they are tired of traveling. To celebrate their long careers one of the most successful bands in the history of music are going to do one last farewell concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City. For one night only, last chance to hear them doing all their best songs, they are advertising it as the greatest show they will ever put on. It is destined to ...

3283. Woe to those Who Rely on Egypt

Isaiah 31:1-9

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

Oh You People Who Rely on Egypt: In the introduction to chapters 28–30 we suggested that 31:1–32:20 is one unit. Chapter 31 is much shorter than the units on either side, chapter 32 has no opening “Oh” like the rest of chapters 28–33, and taken together chapters 31–32 better fit the pattern whereby chapters 28–30 give increasing prominence to reassuring promise on the other side of threat. 31:1–3 In powerful fashion these opening verses sum up the thrust of chapters 28–30 as Isaiah tries one more time to ...

3284. Saul Forfeits a Dynasty

1 Samuel 13:1-15

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

Big Idea: God’s people can forfeit their privilege and blessing by foolishly disobeying the Lord’s word. Understanding the Text As chapter 12 concludes, one hopes and may even expect that Saul will succeed. After all, empowered by the Lord’s Spirit, he defeated the Ammonites, and the rebellious people responded positively to Samuel’s call to covenantal renewal. Yet there was unfinished business. The Ammonites have been defeated, but the Philistine problem remains. The Lord announced to Samuel that the new ...

3285. An Attitude of Gratitude

John 6:25-35

Sermon

Molly F. James

My favorite yoga teacher ends each class with an invitation: "You are now free to roam the earth in an attitude of gratitude." An attitude of gratitude — those are wise words. Might the world be a different place, might the kingdom of God be more fully realized, if more of us lived into that invitation? Like most wisdom, that invitation is found across traditions, and most assuredly, we Christians can affirm that Christ invites us to live our lives in gratitude. There is no doubt that we each have much to ...

3286. Hungering for Some Time Off

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Sermon

King Duncan

How many of you have a hard time taking a vacation? We all want a vacation. We all need a vacation. But do you have trouble finding the time for one? Do you have trouble leaving work back at the office when you go on vacation? Do you feel like your vacation is re-charging you or draining you? Futurist and author Faith Popcorn claims that, compared to the rest of the world, Americans suffer from a condition called “vacation starvation.” The average employee of a large business gets about two, maybe three, ...

3287. Perks for Following Jesus

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

King Duncan

What would you say are the best employee perks in your workplace? Some places offer “casual Fridays,” where the dress code is less formal. For most workplaces, that’s as cutting-edge as they get when it comes to employee perks. But other business owners go out of their way to offer unique benefits to attract and retain employees. Patagonia, the outdoor equipment company, encourages their employees to get outside on their lunch break and go surfing. They even offer a companywide weather report each day ...

3288. Treasure Hunters

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

When my children were young, one of the things I loved was preparing treasure hunts for them. I used to spend hours getting ready for these wonderful, rowdy events. Their Mother would take them with her to help with the grocery shopping while I remained home working to lay out a series of elaborate clues. The clues would be written in puzzling rhyme, leading from one place to the next on our five-acre property in the California Sierra Foothills. Clues were hidden in jars buried in the garden, in the ...

3289. The Voice

John 10:22-30

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Everyone loves the show “The Voice,” now in its 22nd season in the US. The show is exciting not only because of its fabulous music, competitive spirit, and engaged crowd, but because it catapults everyday people who love to sing into possible fame and stardom. At the very least, it gives them stage time in front of the entire country and a shot at something more. Every week hundreds of thousands of Americans gather around their televisions, phones, or computers to watch not just the singers but the ...

3290. The Best Seat in the House

Luke 14:1, 7-14

Sermon

Lori Wagner

We live in a culture that lauds narcissism in the guise of assertiveness. Let me say that again. We live in a culture that lauds narcissism in the guise of assertiveness. Don’t misunderstand. To be assertive can be a very good thing, especially when one needs to be heard. Sometimes, it’s a grave mistake to keep silent when things need to be said. But we can draw a fine line between healthy self-promotion, the kind of assertiveness that helps us look out for ourselves, and our desire to be and have “the ...

3291. Teach Us to Pray

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Will Willimon

“Teach us to pray” was one of the few things the disciples” asked of Jesus. He gave them a model prayer; “Our Father who art in heaven...” Tertullian calls the Lord's Prayer “an epitome of the whole gospel.” On Sundays, we, like those disciples before us, come to Jesus asking, “Teach us to pray.” The Prayer of Intercession comes right after the sermon and scripture because the word helps us to discern between true and false prayer, between praying as a pagan and praying as a Christian.” It tell us what it ...

3292. The Kings of the South and the North

Daniel 11:2-35

Teach the Text

Ronald W. Pierce

From Persia to Greece (11:2-20): Big Idea: Often working behind the scenes, God foresees and oversees the struggles of his people with hostile world forces. Understanding the Text See the unit on 10:1–11:1 for a discussion of the larger context, structure, and comparisons of chapters 10–12. Against this backdrop, 11:2–20 (the extended unit’s second section) divides into two parts: a summary of the transition from Persia to Greece (11:2–4) and a description of key events in the Ptolemaic and Seleucid wars ( ...

3293. That Horse Called Style

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Once a man attended a fair and saw another man leading a fine, well-groomed horse. He asked, "Is that a saddle horse?" "No," the owner replied. "This horse will buck off a saddle. Nothing can stay on its back." "Well," the man asked, "Is he a driving horse?" "Nope," said the owner. "He was hitched up once to a cart, but he tore it all to pieces." "Well, what is he good for?" the man asked. The owner replied, "Style, man, style. Just look at the picture he makes." That same man attended a church the ...

3294. The Glory of the Cross

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Hubert Beck

If someone said they would "glorify" you, what would you expect? Honor? Wealth? Power? Fame? Although some of you - perhaps most of you, for that matter - will immediately recognize the words and know their context, play a little guessing game with me for a moment. In what context would you expect these words of Jesus to have been spoken? "Now is the Son of man glorified, and in him God is glorified." Stress the "now" in the sentence so that your guessing is almost pinpointed to an instant in time, for the ...

3295. But When God ...

Galatians 1:11-24

Sermon

April Yamasaki

In the early Christian church, there were no pulpits. It wasn't until the Middle Ages that pulpits were first introduced in churches and not until the Protestant Reformation of the 1500s and 1600s that the pulpit became a central symbol for the authority of scripture and the preaching of the word. But it hasn't always been that way. Instead, the very first Christian churches were house churches, where there were no pulpits, and everything was done face-to-face without a piece of furniture in between. The ...

3296. Who Are You Following?

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Roy Howard

“If any want to be my followers, let them deny themselves, take their cross and follow me.” The first thing that needs to be said is that this is a difficult teaching of Jesus. We should not fool ourselves. It’s better to confess this at the beginning than to pretend otherwise and lose our way in the end. The honesty with which we hold our lives before God is the measure of our desire to be followers of Jesus and not merely religious spectators. The second thing that needs to be said is that it’s the end ...

3297. The Gift of Peace

Sermon

Alan Bacon Bond

Scripture: Psalm 37:1-4; 37-40Ephesians 2:11-222 Chronicles 14:1-7John 14 (selections) Text: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you." John 14:27 At the drive-in window of the bank there is a pneumatic tube. The transaction slips, checks, and money are put in a capsule, which is dropped into the tube. As air is sucked out from in front of the capsule and pressured behind it, the container is pushed through the tube. I used the tube one day. It came as no ...

3298. Watering The Garden Of Our Life (communion Meditation)

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Across Northern Africa stretches the largest desert in the world, the Sahara, almost as large as the United States. From east to west, it measures thirty two hundred miles, farther than the distance from New York to San Francisco. Mile after mile of scorching, shifting, sand dunes make up the Sahara, where temperatures reach 130 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer -- so hot that breathing is nearly impossible. Yet at the eastern edge of this mammoth oven lies one of the richest, most fertile valleys know ...

3299. Celebrate This!

Mark 12:38-44

Sermon

Steven Molin

He was a Lutheran pastor from central Iowa, but with an avocation for carpentry, and that's why he was spending a month's vacation on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. His goal that month was to build a new bathroom for the community there. On the last day of his vacation, a small Indian girl approached him and, in her outstretched hand she held a nickel. "Here," she said, "I want you to have this." "No" the pastor said, embarrassed. "I can't take your nickel. You keep it." "Please take it ...

3300. The Great Thanksgiving

1 Timothy 2:1-7

Sermon

Patrick J. Rooney

It is not only Thanksgiving Day, but a day of thanksgiving. It is a day set apart in the life of this nation in which we offer thanks for all the blessings bestowed upon us. I was not raised in this land and therefore I am not a native here. Thanksgiving Day as a special day set apart was not something that I grew up with for the first thirty years of my life. Even though I have now lived in the United States for almost as long, I still find it strange at times to celebrate this holiday of thanksgiving. It ...

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