Sermon and Worship Resources

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Humor

A Sunday School teacher was teaching the importance of love in the home. She illustrated her point by referring to the commandment, "Honor thy father and thy mother." Then she asked if there was a commandment which taught how to treat sisters and brothers. One little boy from a large family raised his hand quickly. Innocently he asked, "Thou shalt not kill?"

3277. The Picture of Little Big Horn

Humor

An Indian artist was asked to draw a picture illustrating the Indian perspective on Little Big Horn. He agreed. It took awhile, but finally the picture was finished. In the center was a large picture of General Custer. In the bottom right corner was a cow with a halo. In the left bottom corner was a southern plantation complete with ...

3278. The Museum of Failed Products

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... . 1. Matt Woodley, managing editor, PreachingToday.com; sources: Oliver Burkeman, The Antidote (Faber and Faber, Inc., 2012), pp. 151-154; Matt Symonds, “Why MBAs, and B-Schools Need to Embrace Failure,” Bloomberg (7-2-12). http://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2012/december/6121012.html. 2. With Adam Hanft, Dictionary of the Future (New York: Hyperion, 2001), p. 158. 3. Contributed. Source unknown. 4. Moltmann’s writings. Quotes from The Source of Life. The Holy Spirit and the Theology of Life ...

3279. About That Anger

John 2:12-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... his life for us, surely we can reach out in love to forgive others and restore our relationship with them. 1. “Obituaries: Tommy Bolt,” http:// www.telegraph.co.uk/ news/ obituaries/ 2684356/ Tommy-Bolt.html. Cited in Jim L. Wilson, 300 Illustrations for Preachers (Bellingham, WA, Lexham Press, 2015). 2. (Nashville: Dimensions, 1993). 3. “Poll: Americans Say We're Angrier Than A Generation Ago” by Scott Hensley, NPR.com, June 26, 2019. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/06/26/735757156 ...

3280. The Clues Are There

Luke 2:22-40

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

... dramatically in a parable about an obscenely wealthy man who lives in a walled mansion. In the street outside his gate lies a starving beggar. Will the overfed rich man make a move to help feed the beggar? Not on your life. Luke uses the parable to illustrate what for him is a key truth about social standing. Theologians call it the principle of ‘reversal.’ The tables are turned and everything is reversed in the parable of the rich man and the starving beggar. The rich man goes to hell and can’t even ...

3281. To Whom Do You Belong?

Mark 1:4-11

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

... to his father and said, “That nice lady asked me, ‘Who do you belong to?’ Didn’t she know I belong to you?” As suggested at the outset, some of this story is true. It’s a cautionary tale and, in some ways, a scary one. But it illustrates one clear truth. When we know to whom we belong, and we trust implicitly that it is indeed true, it makes all the difference in the world. The story about Jesus’ baptism is about several things. Underlying the story, in this case told by the writer of the ...

3282. Tearing The Sky To Get To You

Mark 1:9-15

Sermon

Timothy W. Ayers

... ripping down through the entire veil to expose the holy of holies to the people. God was tearing that curtain so he could get to his people and so his people could get to him. Christ’s death on the cross was the end of his earthly ministry. To illustrate that Jesus had fulfilled the sacrifice for our sins, the Father tore the curtain that separated him from his people. That tearing was seen by thousands. These weeks before Good Friday and Easter is a time for you to seek God. He will tear the sky to get ...

3283. A Nod of Recognition

John 3:14-21

Sermon

Timothy W. Ayers

... that serpent raised by Moses on a post, those who recognized they would die once bitten, had to look at it with belief in their hearts. Nicodemus struggled with this simple explanation. He struggled because he was in darkness. Some have said that when Jesus illustrated that men do their deeds in the dark, that he was referring to Nicodemus coming at night in the veil of darkness. Although his approach to Jesus was not as the evil religious leaders would intend, it was still to mask his approach. He loved ...

3284. Wash All of Me

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Sermon

Timothy W. Ayers

... Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” As we go through the gospels, we can see a pattern of Christ’s teaching methods. He would instruct and then later he would use a physical situation to illustrate the point. The Passover meal, or the Last Supper, as we call it, had numerous physical lessons but the one we are dealing with today is the humility of a servant. This would be a lesson they understood because the washing of the feet of a guest was done by ...

3285. Celebrating the Virtue of Humanity

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... forward. Jesus certainly never held a grudge. On the contrary, he sought to be reconciled even when he was on the cross. We must remember his words, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34a). An apocryphal yet illustrative story aptly describes the humility and forgiveness of Christ: It was the end of the world and all of the saints destined for heaven were climbing a ladder to the pearly gates. Jesus and Saint Peter were there to meet them. After the last person ...

3286. A Costly Cross

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

King Duncan

... A more complete description of crucifixion is found in William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke (Philadelphia: The Westminster press, 1975). 4. Ibid. 5. George E. Vandeman. I Met a Miracle (Nashville: Southern Publishing Association). 6. Adapted from Kerux Illustration Collection - ID Number: 9158 - Source: A Word With You By Ron Hutchcraft #3839 - Title: The Knife And The Nails - Author: Ron Hutchcraft - Date: 9/27/2001. 7. https://www.faithandleadership.com/sermons/scars-hope. 8. Bruce Larson, The Communicator ...

3287. Tale of Three Trees

Mark 8:31--9:1

Children's Sermon

Elaine M. Ward

... Sunday morning the sun shone and Jesus lived again and the tree knew that whenever people saw the cross, they would remember God, for the three trees' dreams had come true.[1] 1. If you wish to show children pictures as you tell the story, see Angela Elwell Hunt's illustrated The Tale of Three Trees (Oxford: Lion Publishing, 1989). (adapted)

3288. Bringing Life to a Party

Luke 24:36b-48

Sermon

King Duncan

... -for-jesus-luke-2436-48. 4. From a sermon by Dr. Joe Harding. 5. Rocky HenriquesSource: The Timothy Report, Copyright (c) 2000 Swan Lake Communications,www.swanlake.twoffice.com WITandWISDOM(tm) - January 15, 2001. 6. Anonymous. Your Sermon Illustration Library: The Preacher’s Tool (Kindle Locations 11372-11376). AAA SMARTWORLD. Kindle Edition. 7. “27 Headstones that defied expectations” by Molly McBride Jacobson Atlas Obscura Oct. 13, 2016. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/headstones-that-defied ...

3289. When Storms Hit Home

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

King Duncan

... https://www.thedad.com/tweet-roundup-the-15-funniest-tweets-about-fathers-day/. 2. Andrew Branch, “A Masterful win for family man Bubba Watson,” http:// www.worldmag.com/ 2014/ 04/ a_masterful_win_for_family_man_bubba_watson. Cited in Jim L. Wilson, 300 Illustrations for Preachers (Bellingham, WA, Lexham Press, 2015). 3. “The wildest, weirdest corporate team-building trip ideas” by Kenneth Kiesnoski CNBC July 26, 2017 https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/26/the-wildest-weirdest-corporate-team-building-trip ...

3290. The Transformative Power of God

1 John 1:1--2:2

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... words any more. Then, the bishop, to the surprise of all said, “I was that young man. That defiant young man was me. I thought that I didn’t need God, but found that I did.” This story is apocryphal, but it is nonetheless a good illustration of how God works in our lives, transforming our hearts, even when we might not want such transformation, to the realization that we cannot live our lives without God. Too often we, sometimes unknowingly, live in darkness and we need to come to the light of Christ ...

3291. Don't Fall

Luke 22:39-46

Sermon

Timothy W. Ayers

... of the door?” Louise answered, “Praise the Lord! On my seventh time around the block there was a parking spot open in front of the door.” Yes, that was a humorous story for some of us and probably a true story for a few others but it illustrates what Jesus was talking about to his disciples in our gospel reading today. Before Jesus slipped off to pray he told his disciples to pray so they would not fall into temptation. In fact, he said it twice because they needed to hear it twice. They weren’t ...

3292. How Does Your Garden Grow?

John 15:1-8

Sermon

Timothy W. Ayers

Our scripture reading from the gospel of John tells of Jesus teaching his disciples about remaining connected to him in order to grow strong in their Christian lives. He used an illustration that people of his day would have understood easily. Grapevines were readily handy and they were most likely grown by most homes as a source of food and drink. The disciples, who were once boys, would have tended to the family’s vines and would know experientially the right ways ...

3293. As You Sent Me, Then I Send Them

John 17:6-19

Sermon

Timothy W. Ayers

... and I am willing to sacrifice myself for you.” The boy scout waited patiently for a second, then, rolling his eyes, he said, “Cool it, Reverend The world’s smartest man just grabbed my backpack and jumped out the door.” That is a perfect illustration of the world we live in. We have thousands and millions of really smart people jumping out airplanes with nothing but backpacks. And we, the ones Jesus has sent, have the parachutes they need. You are being sent to hand out parachutes to those really ...

3294. When We Are Weak

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... the World” by Margherita Cole on February 2, 2020, My Modern Met, https://mymodernmet.com/bethany-noel-murray-migraines-in-nature/?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=etcetera. 3. Jones, V.C. “Patrick Henry: A Personality Profile,” American History Illustrated, (January, 1969), pp. 12-24. 4. “An Infectious Joy: The resilient life of Kristen Fersovitch” by Robert Jones. Rev. Robert W. Jones is the senior pastor of North Pointe Community Church in Edmonton, Alberta. He blogs at http ...

3295. Walking in the Way of Love

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Sermon

King Duncan

... -Missions @Laugh & Lift - http://www.laughandlift.com/ MONDAY FODDER, http://family-safe-mail.com/. 5. “He Turns Boys into Men,” by Jeffrey Marx, Parade, August 29, 2004, pp. 1-4. 6. Fosdick, Harry Emerson. The Meaning of Service. Unknown. Kindle Edition. 7. Biblical Illustrator. 8. https://agonyride.org/. 9. “More than a fundraiser: Annual Agony Ride changes lives” by Jennifer Palmer, The Union, July 25, 2018, https://www.theunion.com/sports/more-than-a-fundraiser-annual-agony-ride-changes-lives/.

3296. Can You Deny Yourself?

Mark 8:27-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... Ledsom, Forbes, November 18, 2020. https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexledsom/2020/11/18/french-radio-accidentally-announces-death-of-100-of-worlds-most-famous-people/?sh=3287e5a325e8&utm_source=morning_brew. 3. Brenda Goodine in Edward K. Rowell, 1001 Quotes, Illustrations, and Humorous Stories (Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group, 2008), p. 318. 4. “The 'Fake Wealth' Industry Making Influencers Look Rich” by Nana Baah, Vice.com. December 17, 2020, Vice.com, https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7a7mw/the ...

3297. A Non-anxious Presence

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... world. Scores of innocent people were convicted and imprisoned by fearful, ill-informed juries, and ignorant judges. But reasonable fear, properly informed and considered in a rational, non-anxious way, can also bring us together. Probably nowhere is this better illustrated than in Nina Gilden Seavey’s documentary film, “A Paralyzing Fear: The Story of Polio in America.” The polio virus afflicted tens of thousands of children in the United States and around the world from about 1915 until 1952 when ...

3298. Desperation to Hope

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... priest and a champion of the very people he had enslaved and killed. We cannot earn hope. We cannot create it for ourselves. We cannot build it or win it or take it. Hope is always a gift, a gift of grace. Jairus’ Daughter Mark illustrates this very point in his gospel through two stories of healings, both of which were, without the intervention of Jesus, hopeless. Interestingly, he sandwiches one story into another. Watch what he does: Jairus was a leader of his church — a member of the church council ...

3299. Lazarus, Arise!

John 11:1-44

Sermon

Will Willimon

... isn't a sickness unto death. It's for the glory of God so that the Son of God might be glorified by means of it." Now, we don't know if that made Lazarus feel a bit better to know that his sickness was going to provide a sermon illustration for Jesus. All we know is that, upon receiving the news of Lazarus's illness, Jesus just stays there for two days longer. He doesn't rush to Lazarus' bedside, no matter how close a friend he was. Finally, he says to his disciples, "Let's go back to Judea ...

3300. Abiding by the Word

John 6:51-58

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , we can make untrue or confusing interpretations that misinterpret Jesus and effect the ways we live our lives and the ways we encourage others to do so as well. Just as it is important to understand that Jesus spoke in parables and metaphors in order to illustrate for us spiritual truths, it’s important always for us when we read the scriptures, the language of our faith, to understand that most of it is written in spiritual metaphor in order to tell us important truths about our past and our faith, our ...

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