Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3301 to 3325 of 4963 results

3301. It Is Right To Fight When You Fight For Right

Jude 1:3-4

Sermon

James Merritt

... the faith. When others deny the faith, we are to defend the faith. It is right to fight when you fight for right. John Calvin said, "A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw God's truth being attacked and would remain silent without giving any sound." Now there are those who say, "We don't need to fight, we just need to get along with one another, love one another, accept all differences, and celebrate diversity. We don't need to rock the boat." Well, it is better that belief ...

3302. Don't Forget to Remember

Jude 1:5-7

Sermon

James Merritt

... a massive processing plant which extracts these minerals from the Dead Sea to be used in Israel and around the world. Why do I tell you all of that? Because it is also on this very location that the original cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were located. Now, whatever remained of those cities is buried under a sea called the Dead Sea. Think about it. Buried at the bottom of the Dead Sea is a dead city Sodom and Gomorrah. The Lord Jesus said about Sodom and Gomorrah: "Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot ...

3303. Have You Seen the Light?

John 9:1-41

Sermon

James Merritt

... vv.40-41, "Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, ‘Are we blind also?' Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.' Therefore your sin remains." You see, these Pharisees had seen the miracles Jesus performed, they had heard the message Jesus preached, but they still refused to believe. No one will ever see until they first admit they are blind. Just as light obeyed increases light, light refused increases darkness ...

3304. A Man on the Run

Jonah 1:1-4

Sermon

James Merritt

... but incredibly the madam of this house was his former love, Emelyn Louise Hannon—or Scarlet. She refused to let Rhett see the young woman, so Rhett challenged her to a game of cards. If he won the young girl would be free, if Scarlet won she would remain and Rhett won. Well, the story had a happy ending. The young girl married well and became the matriarch of a leading family in the state. Emelyn was so impressed with the change in Rhett's life, she also became a Christian and joined the Methodist church ...

3305. Who's In Charge Here

Judges 21:24-25

Sermon

James Merritt

... children and not sons). Furthermore, the most successful and independent young men, during the later period of the study, were found to have come from homes that demanded the strictest accountability and responsibility. And as could have been predicted, the family ties remained the strongest not in the wishy-washy homes but in the homes where discipline and self-control had been a way of life. The homes of the high esteem group were also characterized by democracy and openness. Once the boundaries for ...

3306. Like a Good Neighbor, Jesus Is There

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

James Merritt

... Samaritan," two thousand years ago the Jew felt that the only good Samaritan was a dead Samaritan. Jews hated the Samaritans. Why? Because when the Northern Kingdom of Israel was defeated, many Jews were dragged off into exile to Babylon. But those Jews who remained, intermarried with the Assyrians, which was an abomination in the sight of the Jews. They even built their own temple on Mount Gerizim and refused to worship in Jerusalem. One of the greatest insults you could give to a person that day would be ...

3307. Nothing Great Happens Without It

Luke 14: 25-35

Sermon

James Merritt

... named, Mary, who became his wife. She went with him to Africa. As the years past, they had five children. While crossing one of those vast plains of Africa, one of their children died. They concluded that it would be safer for his wife and four remaining children to go back to Scotland. Livingston said that decision was the most difficult of his life. They left and for five years Livingston did not see the faces of his wife and children and the loneliness was unbearable. Finally the day came for Livingston ...

3308. Thou Shalt Not Judge - True or False?

Matthew 7:1-6

Sermon

James Merritt

... lights, shined his little flashlight into that man's left eye, and after a few moments he spotted a tiny sliver lodged in his eyeball. Sometimes when that man blinked, the sliver would begin to float around inside that eye and then become stuck in one place and remain there. He said, "Sir, how long have you had that sliver in your eye?" The man said, "I don't have a sliver in my eye." The doctor said, "Sir, it has to hurt your eye sometimes. It looks like a microscopic two-by-four knocking around in your ...

3309. Till Death Do Us Part

Matthew 19:1-9

Sermon

James Merritt

... % of children from divorce homes suffered from an acute sense of shock when the separation occurred, including profound grieving and irrational fears. 50% reported feeling rejected and abandoned. One-third of the boys and girls feared abandonment by the remaining parent, and 66% experienced yearning for the absent parent with an intensity that researchers described as ‘over-whelming.' Most significantly, 37% of the children were even more unhappy and dissatisfied five years after the divorce than they had ...

3310. Put Up and Shut Up

Proverbs 18:21

Sermon

James Merritt

... ever handed down by the Supreme Court was the Miranda decision. That decision said that every suspect in a crime had a constitutional right to be advised of the availability of counsel, and part of the Miranda rights reads as follows: "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can, and will, be used against you..." That is a right we ought to exercise far more often in everyday living. Sometimes the wisest words are those words that are never spoken. I don't know who said this, but I agree ...

3311. What to Remember When You're Having a Bad Hair Day

Romans 8:28

Sermon

James Merritt

... that all things work together for good." But you can know it whether you can see it or not. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean he can't see it. Never doubt in the dark what God has told you in the light. But the question remains "How can this really be true?" II. Remember God's Providence over You Behind every promise of God is the providence of God. Some of the oldest and best manuscripts have the verse reading this way: "God works all things together for good." Whether or not that reading is ...

3312. Faithful Fathers Fortify Families

Deuteronomy 6:1-15

Sermon

James Merritt

... excuse for my hypocrisy. I ask them to help me change as children should, and to expect me to help them change in the methods expected of a parent. Others may look to the under thirty crowd for the wisdom to throw away the past, and to say what will remain for future generations; others may let the children in the house determine the food, the music, and the spending of the household, but come what may, with God's help, I am going to stay a father. With God's help, so am I, and I pray with God's ...

3313. What to Wear to the War

Ephesians 6:13-17

Sermon

James Merritt

... thrust Satan through. Our problem is, too many people keep their sword in the sheath and never pull it out. Just last week, in the Sunday edition of the Atlanta Journal, there was an article entitled "Losing Touch with Scripture." The sub-line said, "The Bible remains a bestseller, but many people know little about it." Then it told this story: Not long ago Jay Leno, on the Tonight Show, was moving through his audience asking people what they knew about the Bible. He said to one man, "Name one of the Ten ...

3314. How to Handle the Mess of Stress

Exodus 18:23-27

Sermon

James Merritt

... thick plate glass windows, they saw fish! They were amazed because they did not know how fish could survive at that type of water pressure. You see, the bathysphere compensates with plate steel several inches thick. But these fish had extremely thin skin, yet they remained supple and free. They finally figured out that the fish compensate for the outside pressure through equal and opposite inside pressure. I want to tell you that you don't have to be hard and thick skinned to handle the mess of stress. But ...

3315. Focus on the Finish

Galatians 6:7-10

Sermon

James Merritt

... shadow will accompany you everywhere and forever. Forgiveness won't erase it. Your fall will give others license to do the same. The inner peace you enjoyed will be gone. You will never be able to erase the fall from your (or others') mind. This will remain indelibly etched on your life's record regardless of your later return to your senses. The name of Jesus Christ whom you once honored will be tarnished, giving the enemies of faith further reason to sneer and jeer. Put simply, don't give in to sinning ...

3316. The Pride Is Right

Jeremiah 9:23-24

Sermon

James Merritt

... 90s. He served for more than twenty years on the bench of the Superior and Municipal Courts of California. Listen to what he said: Taken for granted in America and Great Britain, trial by jury, one of the strongest safe guards against government's arbitrary authority, remains a rare privilege in much of the rest of the world. But long before the Magna Charta where did it gain its first rough expression? That's right—from the Bible. To be precise, Leviticus chapter 19:15 where we read, "You shall do no ...

3317. Star Witness

John 1:35-51

Sermon

James Merritt

... Lord. "Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, ‘What do you seek?' They said to Him, ‘Rabbi' (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), ‘where are You staying?' He said to them, ‘Come and see.' They came and saw where He was staying and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour)." (vv. 38-39) After these disciples had made a commitment to follow Jesus, I want you to notice that they took time to fellowship with Jesus and get to know the Lord Jesus. We are told ...

3318. It Ain't Over Til It's Over

Matthew 5:31-32

Sermon

James Merritt

... happiness you better think about sticking it out. 86% of unhappily married people who stay together find that five years later their marriages are happier. Three-quarters of people who have characterized their marriages as "very unhappy" but have nevertheless remained together, report five years later that the same marriages are either "very happy" or "quite happy." In the words of two prominent experts: "Permanent marital unhappiness is surprisingly rare among the couples who stick it out."11 So what does ...

3319. No Fear

Psalm 23:4

Sermon

James Merritt

... story of how this great preacher was brought before one of the pagan rulers and commanded to give up his Christian faith. Chrysostom refused. When he did, he was brought before the Roman Emperor. The Roman Emperor threatened him with banishment if he remained a Christian. Chrysostom said, “You cannot banish me, for this world is my Father’s house.” The Emperor said, “Then I will slay you.” Chrysostom said, “You cannot slay me, for my life is hid with Christ in God.” The Emperor said, “Then ...

3320. Why You Should Study the Bible

Psalm 119:105

Sermon

James Merritt

... him to lose strength, it will cause him to become susceptible to disease and even death. Just as babies need physical milk to grow and mature, we need spiritual milk to grow and mature. Just as a baby goes from milk to meat, so should we or else we will remain babies. That’s why Paul said to the Corinthians in 1 Cor. 3:2, “I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able.” One of the purposes of reading the Bible ...

3321. Do You See the Light?

Romans 1:16-20

Sermon

James Merritt

... became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Romans 1:21 Now here’s the principle. When a person refuses the light he is given he loses even the light that he has. Did you know that when someone hears the truth they never remain the same? When you hear the truth you either move forward in your understanding or you move backward. You either grow or you shrink. You either get closer to God or you get further away from God. Now Paul says you can see how people deliberately move ...

3322. The Empire Strikes Back

Jude 1:14-15

Sermon

James Merritt

... Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.” (v.16) The Resurrection of the Saved: “And the dead in Christ will rise first.” (v.16b) The Rapture of the Saint: “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” (v.17) Now I don’t know if Enoch understood the second part of prophecy or the third part, but he certainly understood ...

3323. Neglect

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Illustration

King Duncan

... 1984, an unemployed cleaning woman noticed a few bees buzzing around the attic of her home. Since there were only a few, she made no effort to deal with them. Over the summer the bees continued to fly in and out the attic vent while the woman remained unconcerned, unaware of the growing city of bees that was taking up residence just above her ceiling. The whole attic became a hive, and the ceiling of the second-floor bedroom finally caved in under the weight of hundreds of pounds of honey and thousands of ...

3324. Deal with It, Get over it, and Get Help

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... when “the next best thing” too fails to fulfill. There is a less well-known behavioral syndrome that has been dubbed the “Stockdale Paradox.” Admiral Jim Stockdale was a prisoner of war at the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” during the Vietnam War. He remained a prisoner there from 1965-1973, eight endless years. He was the highest ranking US military officer imprisoned during the Vietnam War. He is perhaps better known as the running mate for H. Ross Perot in the 1992 presidential election. During his ...

3325. The Superhero Miracle of Humor

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... today’s text Jesus dares his disciples to be his Robin: feed the people gathered before them. Jesus then uses the scant provisions the disciples can muster to feed the mulling multitude. And here’s the final punch line: twelve baskets full of leftovers remain after the five thousand have been filled to capacity. God does not just “provide” with enough for us to eke out an existence. God provides beyond all our needs, beyond all our wildest imaginings, with enough for us to enjoy the “abundant life ...

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