Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 3376 to 3400 of 4884 results

Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43

Sermon

James Merritt

... the only people that know that you are saved is you and God. Really and truly only God can tell a sinner from a saint. You're going to have both in the church and outside the church. Let me just say this. Jesus never pretended that the church is perfect, and we shouldn't either. We've got people in this church who claim to be saved, but they're not saved. We've got people who are in this church who claim to be Christians but they don't act like Christians. There may be some of you out ...

3377. Use It or Lose It

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

James Merritt

... ambitio which means literally "to go around." It refers to the fact that life is to be a movement around the opportunities God gives you in order to achieve His glory and His honor. There's a great saying I heard years ago which sums it up perfectly. We ought to expect great things from God, and we ought to attempt great things for God. Let me once again tell you what success is. Success is when you simply exercise your responsibility to take advantage of every opportunity to use whatever ability God has ...

3378. The Opportunity of a Lifetime

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

James Merritt

... is true that you only go around once. It refers to the fact that life is to be a movement around the opportunities God gives you in order to achieve His glory and His honor. There's a great saying I heard years ago which sums it up perfectly. We ought to expect great things from God, and we ought to attempt great things for God. Let me once again tell you what success is. Success is when you simply exercise your responsibility to take advantage of every opportunity to use whatever ability God has given you ...

3379. One Step at a Time

Nehemiah 2:1-10

Sermon

James Merritt

... of heaven Himself will prosper us." You've got to believe the work you are doing is God's work. Then you must respond with courage. He said, "Therefore we His servants will arise and build." That is, you've got to believe that you are in the perfect will of God and as His people and His servants, with His good hand upon you, the work will get completed. Then you must respond with confrontation. He said," But you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem." In other words Nehemiah simply said, "You ...

3380. The Dark Side Revealed

Numbers 32:23

Sermon

James Merritt

... you think about it. What we are really saying is we don't really mind the presence of dirt, just as long as it doesn't show. We don't care if we wear a piece of dirty clothing as long as nobody else knows about it. That is a perfect parallel so often of our attitude toward the dark side of sin, because the more we think we can hide a sin, the more likely we are tempted to commit that sin. What matters to most people is not whether or not they can commit a sin or go into ...

3381. With The End In Mind

Philippians 3:7-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... know Jesus Christ. That is why the most important thing in God's universe is to know the God that created the universe. In fact, do you understand that we are going to be spending all eternity with God just getting to know Him better? We will never know Him perfectly, even in eternity. There could be no greater goal you could have for this year than to know God in your private life. Think about it. To know God you've got to spend time with God. Listen to God. Respond to God. Talk to God. Walk with God. As ...

3382. Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow

Proverbs 16:1, 9, Philippians 3:12-15

Sermon

James Merritt

... and be all that you can be, you've got to remember that failure is never final and failure is never fatal. I want to close with a story of two trees. Our son, James, one year gave us a Japanese bonsai tree. It was one of the most beautiful perfectly formed plants I've ever seen. The bonsai tree is small and it remains that way no matter how old it gets. As a matter of fact, the bonsai only grows 15 to 18 inches tall. How does this happen? When the bonsai peaks its head above the ground, the ...

3383. You Can Know What to Do With Your Life

Proverbs 3:5-6

Sermon

James Merritt

... by sailing up a narrow channel between dangerous rocks and shoals. Over the years, many ships have wrecked, because navigation is so dangerous. To guide the ships safely into port, three lights have been mounted on three huge poles in the harbor. When the three lights are perfectly lined up and seen as one light, the ship can safely proceed up the narrow channel. [[3]] God has provided three beacons to guide us. When we can line up these beacons we can know what God wants us to do with our lives. The first ...

3384. Pro-Choice is No-Choice

Proverbs 24:11-12

Sermon

James Merritt

... her family was a reputable family and she did not want to drag the family name in the mud. She did not want her fiancé to know about the pregnancy or else he would have put her away and would have never married her. Now it would seem that the perfect solution to this young girl's problem would have been an abortion. But she didn't have an abortion. She went ahead and had the baby. It was a beautiful little boy. You'll never believe what shame that little baby. She named him Jesus. Never forget this: God is ...

3385. A Song for Tomorrow

Psalm 1:1-6

Sermon

James Merritt

... is no god, but knows he lives that way and it doesn't bother him. As you now know, Hollywood not only flaunts fornication and pre-marital sex both in its lifestyle and in it movies; it actually brags about it. The Hollywood mentality is described perfectly in Proverbs 30: 20, "Equally amazing is how an adulterous woman can satisfy her sexual appetite, shrug her shoulders, and then say, "What's wrong with that?" (Proverbs 30:20, NLT) Finally, we come to the scornful or the scoffer. This is a person that is ...

3386. Things Change

1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... thou who changest not, abide with me.") In reality, some things do stay the same, or relatively so, for a long time, but eventually most things change in some way. God does not change but he often works through the changes in our lives. We have a perfect example of that in this story of Samuel. God took the initiative and broke the silence. The change God then instituted brought fresh opportunity for people to come back to the covenant, to walk in the ways of righteousness, and to hear God's word for their ...

3387. Mourning Our Fallen Tormentors

2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... siblings, schoolmates, and others, some of whom made our childhoods difficult or unhappy or forced us to face too much responsibility too soon. We may even have perceived some of them as tormentors not because they were so bad to us, but because they appeared so perfect themselves that we despaired of living up to the high standards they seemed to model, making us feel like failures. All of those things are dreadful and may have left their mark on us, but one measure of maturity is that we can began to view ...

3388. A Hearing Heart

1 Kings 2:10-12, 3:3-14

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... during one of those visits that God came to Solomon in a dream and made this carte blanche offer, saying in effect, "Name what you want, and it's yours." Talk about hitting big on the lottery! Well, what would you have asked for? Wealth? Fame? Perfect health till the day you die at a ripe old age? A lifetime of happiness? Freedom from troubles? A compliant mate who would cater to your every whim? What Solomon asked for was "an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and ...

3389. First Things First

Luke 21:25-36

Sermon

Gary L. Carver

... in the life of a parent is more awesome than when a child leaves home for the first time and as you watch them walk away, you wonder: "Have I prepared this one adequately for all he or she will face?" Because none of us complete the parenting task perfectly, it is not unusual that sooner or later those same children come back and ask: "Why did you not tell me thus and so? I never heard a word about that growing up — why did you not warn me?" This happens to ministers, as well as parents, in relation ...

3390. Bethlehem: Where Extremes Meet

Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)

Sermon

Gary L. Carver

... it soon loses its power to fascinate and intrigue. Human curiosity is ever moving on toward what it does not know and unless there is something inexhaustible in simplicity, it is bound to fade in time. My contention is that the Christmas story is a perfect balance of these two essential factors. Call it what you will — a simple profundity or a profound simplicity — it holds in tension the immediate and the inexhaustible, the certainty of the known and the beckoning of the unknown; and this is one of the ...

3391. Our Task: Acceptance and Challenge

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

Gary L. Carver

... where this all started. What do children need of us, as adults, as parents, as members of the community of faith called the church? To be sure, they need many things and we must never fall into the illusion that we will perform the raising task perfectly. But for me, two words — acceptance and challenge — sum up our task. By acceptance, I mean communication to these little ones that their very presence here is a great value, that they do belong, that they are the objects of our delight. To accept is "to ...

3392. A Frightening Friday

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... could be called a major player or actor but it was certainly the Father's stage and the Father, contrary to what some may say, was doing all of the directing. Yes, we see only in a mirror dimly but God has the total picture, which he sees perfectly and in its totality. The majority of Christian worshipers across the globe say Pilate's name. Mary, his mother, was given to a trusted and loving apostle. Can we even begin to imagine Mary's thoughts and feelings during these hours? She watched her son undergo a ...

3393. Mary Magdalene’s Day

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... Magdalene and Jesus were married and had children but otherwise his messiahship remained intact as recorded, how would you and I respond? For many this is not only an awkward inquiry but one causing us to vomit at the mere articulating of it. Jesus was celibate, perfect in all ways, and there is no reason to test — really test — it by thinking along the lines of marriage and family. The dialogue today is heated and may not go away any time soon. Opportunists are always with us and at times they can be ...

3394. A Good-bye Topping All Others

Luke 24:44-53

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... of mind and behavior is all about us. Some of our best and brightest people do some of the best and brightest misleading! But let us be patient and compassionate. We are obligated, at least, for a time to hear what they have to say. The only perfection you and I can claim is most certainly found in our willingness to repent and receive forgiveness. There is cause to pause and give thanks. Deeply ingrained in the fall of humankind is the penetrating reality that we are not what we were originally intended to ...

3395. Compassion Can Do More Than You May Think

Luke 7:11-17

Sermon

David R. Cartwright

A teacher was fond of asking students in his counseling classes this question: "What can you know about a perfect stranger the moment you meet?" After the students had a go at the question, the professor shared his own answer, "You can bet that the stranger has just lost something." That person has just lost a job, a promotion, a loved one, a home, a car, a girlfriend, a boyfriend, ...

3396. Ready or Not, Here I Come

Luke 12:32-40

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... . Jesus told his followers that he would return. He told them to be ready for his return at the end of time. He also urged us to be ready for our end time, when we die and come before his throne of grace. He doesn't ask us to be perfect. He asks us to wait with faith and hope and act faithfully with obedience to what he has taught us. He wants us to be ready. In the child's game of Hide and Go Seek there's a countdown. There's also a countdown in life. "1-2-3 ...

3397. Faithquakes

Luke 17:5-10

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... and at church make the task of forgiveness seem impossible, especially when we know what the numbers "seven," "seventy-seven," and "seventy times seven" mean. The numbers "seven," "seventy-seven," and "seventy times seven" have nothing to do with arithmetic. Seven is the perfect number in the Bible. Seven is the number of days in creation. Seven means "whole" or "complete." Seven came to be the number which the Hebrews associated with being like God. In our story, the use of numbers means that we should act ...

3398. Father, Forgive Them!

Luke 23:33-43

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

... a cursing, mocking priest shouting "Crucify him! Crucify him!" and say, "I'm going to forgive you whether you want to be forgiven or not." Sisters and brothers in Christ, the death of Jesus on the cross is not a matter of an angry God requiring a perfect offering or sacrifice; a case of one member of the Trinity being sacrificed for another. Nor does it represent some kind of an agreement between God and Satan. The cross is at the center of Christian faith now and forever because the cross is a window into ...

3399. Triumphing over Obstacles

2 Corinthians 5:20-6:10

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... pray! I don't know what to say." Some feel unworthy to stand before God. We should not fear, however, for as Jesus says when the situation is most problematic, we will be given the words we need (Luke 21:14-15). Lent is the perfect time to renew our prayer lives, remove obstacles that hinder our progress, and stop making excuses for our failures to grow. The basic necessity of prayer is followed by the related ideas of fasting and almsgiving. Members of many Christian traditions choose to give up something ...

3400. Carrying the Burdens of Others

Philippians 2:5-11

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... obedient to the Father's will, even to the point of enduring an agonizing and ignominious death on the cross. As the author of the letter to the Hebrews tells us, "Although he was a Son, he [Jesus] learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him" (5:8-9). For a Jew, there was no more undignified way to die. As the book of Deuteronomy states: "Anyone hung on a tree is under God's curse" (21:23b). The humility of Jesus ...

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