Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3476 to 3500 of 4490 results

3476. Advocate and Redeemer

John 14:23-29

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

Imagine the wind rushing through an open door while the roar of the propeller in an aging old Ford Trimotor airplane rattles in your ears. You can smell the smoke from a raging fire hundreds of feet below. You are dressed in thick, padded clothing, wearing an old-fashioned football helmet with a jury-rigged grille in front of your face making it hard to breathe — that is, if it weren't already impossible for you to take a breath because of what is waiting beyond that open hatch. In a matter of minutes you ...

3477. Appointed and Sent!

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

The wheat harvest was glorious that year on our farm in South Dakota. Our pastor even came out from town and shocked grain for us. The two men from Arkansas that my dad hired were less ambitious. When Mom brought lunch out to them she often found them resting in the shade of a shock of grain. Nonetheless, the golden sheaves of wheat were so full and heavy they seemed to bow down to us as we passed by on the road. Soon the threshing machine and crew would arrive to separate wheat from straw. It was an ...

3478. Sister Act(s)

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

Today's gospel from Luke 10 follows the parable of the Good Samaritan. Luke positions the Good Samaritan and the Mary-Martha story back to back for good reason. The parable and the story are examples of the Great Commandment "to love the Lord your God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself." The Good Samaritan parable illustrates "love to neighbor," whereas the Mary-Martha story illustrates "love to God." Meet the two M & M sisters — Mary and Martha. They are two peas in the same pod and yet so ...

3479. Not Just Being Polite

John 6:25-35

Sermon

Scott Bryte

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal." Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works of God?" Jesus answered ...

3480. A Faith That Matters Between Sundays

Romans 3:19-28

Sermon

David E. Leininger

On October 31, 1571, an Augustinian monk by the name of Martin Luther marched up to the castle church door in Wittenberg, Germany, where he was on the university faculty, and posted 95 theses or propositions concerning church policy and practice he proposed for debate. Why there and then? Well, the church door was the community bulletin board — notices and advertisements were regularly placed there, just as they are on the bulletin board today at the grocery store. As to October 31, then and now that is ...

3481. Two Sticker Books and a Cabbage Patch Doll

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

King Duncan

Welcome to this Thanksgiving service. We are grateful to God for all His gifts to us. Our text for today draws us to a gift that sometimes we take for granted. And yet it is one of the greatest gifts God has given us. There was a story in Reader’s Digest years ago about a young man who took his girl home at the end of their first date. Emboldened by the night, he decides to try for that important first kiss. With an air of confidence, he leaned with his hand against the wall and, smiling, he said to her, “ ...

3482. Formula for Eternal Life

1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

Sermon

Richard Gribble

George lives in FortPortal, a town on the western front of Uganda, some fifty miles from the Congo. Like the RwenzoriMountains (the Mountains of the Moon) that surround the town, George is a beautiful man in many ways. He works as a cook, among many other tasks, for a local school. There is actually little that George does not do. He is the one who washes, irons, and mends the students' clothes, cleans the dormitory, fixes what is broken, does the grocery shopping, and takes care of the outside yard. In ...

3483. Not Another Rerun!

Jeremiah 31:27-34

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

Not another rerun! Many of us probably expressed that sentiment at some point during the past summer when we sat down in front of the television for an hour or so of relaxation after a hard day's work. Disappointment then set in as we surfed our favorite channels only to discover that overly hyped unreal "reality" shows and reruns of programs we had already seen were all that was being shown. By the time fall came around we were eager for something new. Our desire for something new extends to more ...

3484. When the Drought Gets Really Bad

Isaiah 55:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

In a book titled God’s Little Devotional Book there is a delightful story of a great drought that struck Baghdad during the reign of Abdullah the Third. Moslem leaders in the land issued a decree that all the faithful should offer prayers for rain. Still, the drought continued. The Jews were then permitted to add their prayers to those of the Moslems. Their prayers didn’t seem to do the job either. Finally when the drought resulted in widespread famine, the Christians in the land were asked to pray. Almost ...

3485. The 5 Worst Things Christians Say After A Tragedy

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

In the immediate aftermath of the Super Bowl, a reporter asked Ray Lewis, star player of the Baltimore Ravens, "How does it feel to be a Super Bowl Champion?" He responded "When God is for you, who can be against you?" Excuse me? God had a favorite team? You mean God liked one Harbaugh brother over the other? Candidate Richard Mourdock in his losing attempt to win a Senate seat in Indiana, said this: “Even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that is something that God intended to happen." ...

3486. Coincidence or Providence?

Acts 16:11-15

Sermon

King Duncan

Way back in 1669 a most unusual occurrence took place. The entire village of Runswick, England, slipped into the sea. Yes, such tragedies occur from time to time. The entire town was swallowed up in the raging tides. Here’s what is interesting, though not a single inhabitant of Runswick drowned! Why? All the residents of the town were attending a funeral in a neighboring village at the time of the catastrophe. (1) Amazing! Now, if you had been a resident of that village where not a single life was lost in ...

3487. Good Hearts

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

“Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!” That was the thunderous directive declared by the “Wizard of Oz” to Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion. Dorothy’s tiny terrier Toto had pulled back the curtain that kept the true identity of “The Wizard” a secret. Instead of being “Oz, the Great and Powerful,” the “wizard” was revealed by the pup to be an ordinary man, a con artist, practicing the art of smoke and mirrors to impress the people with his faked naked powers. Oz may have been a charlatan, ...

3488. Between a Rock and a Hard Rock Thrower

Galatians 1:11-24

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

As a kid were you ever convinced that you HAD to be adopted? I mean, really: how could you be related to your big-mouthed brother when you are so reserved and quiet? . . . Your math genius parents could never have produced your brain — a brain that can’t add up anything without using fingers and toes. . . . How can you be related when you can play almost any musical instrument and your sister is completely tone deaf? As our personalities develop, as our individual quirks and oddities, likes and dislikes, ...

3489. The Gift that Matters

Hebrews 2:5-18

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

As we gather on the Sunday after Christmas we do so with a sigh of relief. The gifts have been opened; our family has come and returned home. The past month typically holds the busiest days and weeks of the year for many of us. It is little wonder why we might feel tired today. It has been a hectic couple of weeks but slowly our lives are returning back to normal, as we settle back into our regular routines. We have celebrated Jesus’ birth. We are reminded that Jesus came to bring salvation to all people. ...

3490. Named, Claimed, and Framed

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

Tony Everett

So, here we are just over one week after Easter Sunday. Vigils are finished. Sunrise services are over. Dishes from the youth breakfast have been washed and put away. Brass and tympani fanfares have concluded. Flowers on the cross have begun to wilt and blow away. Fewer pews are filled. In most communities, spring break is over. Easter vacations have ended. The return of familiar routines begin. The joy of Easter is still there, but it has diminished somewhat with a return to “the real world.” Nevertheless ...

3491. Waking the Giant

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

In 1811, Napoleon Bonaparte was at the height of his power as a military and political leader. On one occasion he called together all of his commanding officers. Their purpose was to review and assess his conquests. He stood before a huge map and pointed to spots marked on the map, highlighting his victories over fallen foes. There was one spot on the map, however, that caused him to pause and issue a solemn warning. “Here lies a sleeping giant,” said Napoleon. “Don’t awaken him. He will shake terribly the ...

3492. Full Immersion

Acts 19:1-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Today our Scripture lesson is from the Book of the “Acts of the Apostles.” There is an old saying that the church needs to move its focus from the “Book of Numbers” to the “Book of Acts.” And if you’re looking for drama, even melodrama, with dramatic plot reversals and somersaulting stories lines, you’re in the right book. There are stonings and shipwrecks, prison breaks and spiritual breakthroughs, trials and betrayals, riots and revivals. That’s why a better name for the “Book of Acts” might be the “Book ...

3493. A Guide to a Rich and a Joyous Life

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

Leland Gregory, in his book Stupid History, tells of a colossal error that once occurred in transmitting the Ten Commandments. In 1631, King Charles I ordered 1,000 Bibles from an English printer named Robert Barker. Printing was not an exact science in those days, and sometimes mistakes were made and usually overlooked but not in this case. Barker inadvertently left out a single word in the Seventh Commandment in Exodus 20:14 the word “not.” Readers were shocked to find out that God had commanded Moses “ ...

3494. The God of Second Chances

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

King Duncan

A national magazine for pastors once carried a rating system for sermons similar to the rating system we’re all familiar with for movies. It went something like this. The person who designed it was a little bit cynical. Here is the rating he gave to various kinds of sermons: “G” - Generally acceptable to everyone. Full of inoffensive, childlike platitudes; usually described as “wonderful” or “marvelous” by those who leave church to shake the hands of the pastor. “MC” - For more mature congregations. At ...

3495. Starting Over

John 12:20-36

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

A college professor presented his class syllabus on the first day of the new semester. He pointed out that there were three papers to be written during the term, and he showed on which days those assignments had to be handed in. He said that these dates were firmly fixed, and that no student should presume that the deadline did not apply to her or him. He asked if the students were clear about this, and all heads nodded. When the first deadline arrived, all but one student turned in their papers. The one ...

3496. Right Answer - Wrong Conclusion

Mark 8:27-30

Sermon

King Duncan

One of the most important frontiers being explored by today’s scientists is that of artificial intelligence--that is, teaching computers to think like humans. In fact, there are many reputable scientists who believe that by the middle of this century computers will be able to think more efficiently and effectively than human beings. At that point the sci-fi horror movies of robots taking over the planet will have some credibility. But there are skeptics. The great computing science pioneer Alan Turing-- ...

3497. Discipleship: Backward or Forward to God

Luke 9:51-62

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God. — Luke 9:60 It was Thomas Wolfe who made the saying famous: "You can't go home again." He said these words that have been repeated and quoted thousands of times since. It has some affinity with another saying, "You cannot step into the same river twice." Life, like a river, is an ever-flowing and ever-changing reality. One philosopher altered the familiar saying to "you cannot step into the same river once," meaning ...

3498. Overseers and Deacons

1 Timothy 3:1-16

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

Qualifications for Overseers To this point, Paul has addressed some concerns related to the community at worship and corrected some abuses generated by the activities of the erring elders. Now he turns to the elders themselves and sets forth some qualifications for “office.” He begins, in verses 1–7, with a group called episkopoi (“overseers”); then moves in verses 8–13 to a group called diakonoi (“servants,” “deacons”), with a note also about some “women” in verse 11. It is altogether likely that both “ ...

3499. Love of Money

1 Timothy 6:3-10

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

Paul is about to bring the letter to its close. One more time he exhorts Timothy: These are the things you are to teach and urge on them. But before he concludes, the exhortation to teach and urge these things leads Paul to go back over the two dominant concerns one more time: the false teachers and Timothy’s role. In this section he presents the final exposure and indictment of the false teachers. Much that is said in the first paragraph (vv. 3–5) is reminiscent of the language of chapter 1. But much is ...

3500. Suffering for Being a Christian

1 Peter 4:12-19

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

Suffer Cheerfully for God 4:12 Dear friends signals the beginning of a new section, as Peter returns to the subject of suffering, though in particular to suffering on account of being a Christian. That a painful trial should come to those who have committed their lives to God’s keeping should not cause surprise. Conversion does not bring exemption from troubles, though it does assure believers of divine assistance through troubles. To have been born again into new spiritual life (1:3) will inevitably ...

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