Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3276 to 3300 of 4977 results

3276. When Life Tumbles In

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... to stand up to your foes. This sounds almost contradictory--fall back on your faith, but stand up to your foes. It is not contradictory. It fact, it is a necessary part of faith. How can you say you are falling back on your faith, if you give up and quit and let life defeat you? Heartache and failure are part of life. No one avoids them forever. It's like the story of a man who lived in the Midwest. After several tornados came near his home he decided to build a storm cellar. He decided to go first-class ...

3277. A Visit To Millennium Manor

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... of our hearts. Everywhere we look we see something that tells us to remember the "reason for the season" and that's not bad advice. The meaning of Christmas can sometimes be found in the most unlikely places. One year the Wizard of Id ran quite a remarkable comic strip on Christmas day: Hearing a cutting sound from within the cell, the Spook in the dungeon was asked by his jailer what he was up to. "Trimming the tree," was the reply. "Very funny," intoned the jailer. Then the jailer looked inside ...

3278. Two Women Of Faith

Luke 1:39-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored," Elizabeth continued, "that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy." That's quite a witness. Two women of faith were chosen by God to elevate the human race. Christmas elevates women. Even more important is the fact that Christmas elevates faith. Notice again Elizabeth's amazing testimony: "Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to ...

3279. Children Of Dust Or Children Of God?

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... with God. The roots of the word say it all. "En theos." Filled with God. Now, again, please do not misunderstand. We're not talking about the power to become a financial success. You don't need God's enthusiasm to do that. The world's enthusiasm will do quite well. No, we're talking about power to become a child of God. Author Chuck Swindoll in his book, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity, gives a beautiful example of a man who had that kind of power. Swindoll tells how as a little boy he attended church ...

3280. I Am Only . . .

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... into the street and find homeless children. Thomas was worried about the influence of The Edinburgh Castle Gin Palace and Music Hall. He set up a tent near the Hall and began preaching to the crowds. Hundreds of people came to Christ, and many vowed to quit drinking. Eventually the Hall had to close down, due to decreasing business. Thomas wanted to buy the Hall, but he didn't have the necessary 4,000 pounds. He signed the contract anyway, in perfect faith of God's plans. Two weeks later, 45 minutes before ...

3281. I Am Unworthy

Jeremiah 1:1-19, Jeremiah 6:1-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... climbing into the icy waters just above the rushing waters of Niagara Falls. Evidently, he hoped to be swept over the Falls and killed. But at the last minute, the man changed his mind. I wonder how many people who commit suicide change their minds on the way down. Quite a few, I suspect. This man was luckier than most. He grabbed hold of a rock in the freezing waters just above the Falls. A helicopter crew was dispatched to rescue him. The crew threw a safety line to the man, but as he reached for it, he ...

3282. It Doesn't Matter What I Do

Jeremiah 17:19-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... his parents had never seen him play. They didn't care. They gave him no love, no encouragement, no support. This good family became concerned about the boy. They took him home with them for the night. The next day, they contacted the school and found that quite a number of students were in similar predicaments. It was just a small town, but some of the kids didn't have any love or help at home. So in cooperation with the school and the church, this couple formed a support group to help these young people ...

3283. Eavesdropping On Eternity

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... conversation stopper: "Contagious? Contagious?" I asked the doctor. "Really contagious," he tells me. Now wouldn't that make you want to hear more--or at least move farther back on the bus? Here's another: "So that's it! As of this morning, I quit my medication! . . . Homicidal tendencies, my foot!" Now we move way back! And the last guaranteed conversation stopper read like this: "You're sitting in it now." (1) Not that we would do it deliberately, of course, but sometimes it can be interesting just to ...

3284. A Terrifying Darkness

Genesis 15:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... . And then, Abram had a vision. God came to Abram to affirm the promise that God had made to him years ago. God said to him, "Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them." Then God said, "So shall your descendants be." That's quite a promise to make to a man of Abram's age. Here he was an old man. He didn't even have a child, and God was promising that his descendants would be like the stars in the heavens. Get real, Abram thought to himself. Actually, that's not what ...

3285. Boldly Going . . . Nowhere

Philippians 3:14

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

Object: Bring a token metal with a ribbon to go around the person's neck. These can be purchased quite inexpensively in a craft/hobby store or ordered from a craft magazine. How many of you like to go to track meets? We can watch them on television or actually go to a track meet. Have any of you ever been in a track meet? What do you think is ...

3286. "yes, And..."

Luke 24:44-53

Sermon

King Duncan

... introduced her to Jesus. Not me!" "But," said the father, "all we wanted was for her to be a Presbyterian." Willimon replied, "Well, sorry, sir, but you messed up. You've gone and made a disciple!" The father was a "Yeah, but...." follower, and didn't know quite what to do when his daughter said, "Yes, and...." How about you? What is your response to God today? I pray that like those early disciples, your response is, "Yes, and...." 1. George Burns. Gracie, A Love Story (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1988 ...

3287. What Do You Really Know?

John 16:5-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now . . ." That is an interesting insight, don't you think? The disciples were not ready to receive what Jesus had to give. That's probably true of us as well. Legendary business leader Lee Iacocca once said something quite interesting. He said, "It's a good thing God doesn't let you see a year or two into the future, because you might be sorely tempted to shoot yourself. But He's charitable. He only lets you see one day at a time. When times get tough, there ...

3288. The Forward Look

Luke 9:57-62

Sermon

King Duncan

... their lives are so deeply affected by an incident or a series of incidents in their past. Psychotherapist Pat Pearson had a client named Susan--a gifted young woman who achieved success early in her career. For a woman who was raised in near poverty, this was quite an accomplishment. At first, Susan's family and friends were supportive of her career. But soon, they began to make snide comments about how Susan was getting too fancy. She wasn't like them anymore. Who did she think she was? And so Susan began ...

3289. Don't Be Ashamed . . .

2 Timothy 1:8

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

Object: A rake or a broom Have you ever done something really nice for someone? I brought this [rake] with me to remind me of some things we might do to help others. Suppose we heard that someone in our neighborhood was quite ill"”and we offered to rake their lawn for no pay. That would be nice, wouldn't it? Or suppose we ran errands for an elderly person? Or went out of our way to be kind to disabled person, etc?) But suppose after doing this good thing, we were punished ...

3290. A Life Without Apology

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Those who are married have commitments to their spouses. All of us have commitments to our community and to our church. And, of course, our most important commitment is to God. I want to read something that author and pastor Lewis Smedes once wrote. It puts the matter quite plainly. He writes, "I want to say to you that if you have a ship you will not desert, if you have people you will not forsake, if you have causes you will not abandon, then you are like God . . . When a person makes a promise, she ...

3291. Winners Every One

2 Timothy 4:9-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... will be judged not by where we start, but where we finish. Now, you and I should not think that we need to be a St. Paul in order to be a worthy servant of Christ. Theologian and seminary professor Dr. Fred Craddock said something once that is quite noteworthy. Craddock said, "To give my life for Christ appears glorious," he said. "To pour myself out for others . . . to pay the ultimate price of martyrdom--I'll do it. I'm ready, Lord, to go out in a blaze of glory." "We think," Craddock continues, "giving ...

3292. About Work

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

Sermon

King Duncan

... I know that in many cases that is true. But that's not what God intended. Work is intended to be a gift. Before you dismiss that idea, let's ask, How did you end up in such a bad job? Did you make bad choices when you were younger? Quit school early, perhaps? Have you simply been afraid of testing the waters elsewhere to find a job you would enjoy? Have you had some physical or emotional problems that held you back? Nobody should be in a job they hate. That is not God's will. Some of us, I ...

3293. About Christ

Colossians 1:13-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... the time. The first time Mary Hollingsworth, who had written the play, saw Rick in his Jesus costume, she almost laughed in his face because it seemed so out of character for him. Still, at that point, he appeared to be taking his job quite seriously; so she contained herself and congratulated him on his unusual interpretation of the role. When Vacation Bible School week finally arrived, Rick played his role to the hilt, yelling in his Southern accent at the money-changers to "Git outta here! . . .You cain ...

3294. Made For The Light

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... ' television--as the king of Israel. Tonight is a time to celebrate the coming of Jesus, the true king of Israel, the Word made flesh, the Light of the world, the Messiah. Tomorrow morning, many of you will be opening new presents. Some of them will be quite sophisticated. Every year it seems like there are more and more high-tech gadgets on the market. We all know how exciting new technology can be. There is no end in sight to the amazing ways in which technology is changing our homes, or businesses, even ...

3295. Teach Us To Pray

Luke 11:1-13

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

Object: Bring a "praying hands" picture, necklace, or plastic model for demonstration. As an option, one for each child. These can be purchased quite inexpensively at a craft store or Christian bookstore. Today we are going to talk about prayer. What exactly is prayer? Prayer is the act of communicating or talking with God. When you visit with your friends, you both talk, don't you? It wouldn't be much of a visit ...

3296. Hugging The Coastline

Hebrews 11:1-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... sea, she struggled on--hour after hour--while millions watched on national television. Alongside Florence in one of the boats, her mother and her trainer offered encouragement. They told her it wasn't much farther, but all she could see was fog. They urged her not to quit. She never had . . . until then. With only a half mile to go, she asked to be pulled out. Still thawing her chilled body several hours later she told a reporter, "?Look, I'm not excusing myself, but if I could have seen land I might have ...

3297. He Left Them Where?

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... nibbling away at the grass and never looking up. People are like that. Have you ever been nibbling along one day, and all of a sudden you looked up and thought, "How did I get here?" Some middle-aged people and older say they have that problem quite often. And sheep are born followers. They'll follow you anywhere. Mary Alice Dyess of Phoenix, Arizona, wrote to Guideposts magazine with a story about her pet lamb, Beatrice. One day, Beatrice broke out of her pen and led the neighbor's sheep out of their field ...

3298. Who Did He Praise?

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... you can fly like eagles. You can soar into the skies! Ducks! You have wings!" All the ducks yelled, "Amen!" and then they all waddled home. (5) No one flew. Friends, there's just too much truth to that little fable. It's time for the children of light to quit waddling. It's time for us to soar. If there is something honorable that you and I need to do to better our own situation or to better the world, it's time for us to get into action. No more wringing our hands helplessly saying, "What will I do ...

3299. Marks Of A Champion

1 Timothy 6:3-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... But Paul was using the language of the world. "Fight the good fight," he said. He wasn't telling Timothy to punch out the leader of the persecuting Romans. But he was employing the imagery of the determined boxer who goes the full ten rounds and does not quit until he is victorious. What does it mean to "fight the good fight of the faith?" What are the marks of a champion from a Christian perspective? In the preceding verse Paul lists the qualities God is looking for in men and women of faith. They form a ...

3300. Hungry For God

1 Timothy 6:3-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... that someone else was approaching, the kindly, but almost blind clergyman stepped aside. So, naturally, did the image. Again Gordon's friend moved forward and once more met himself. Again the old pastor retreated. A hush fell on spectators in the store who did not know quite what to say or do. On his third advance, Gordon's companion realized he was facing a mirror. "Why!" he cried, "it's only me!" He made a grand bow to his reflection. "Good to see you, old boy! Merry Christmas!" The whole store exploded ...

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