Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3501 to 3525 of 4935 results

3501. What Happens When You're Not Prepared for What Happens

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

David R. Cartwright

How do you handle what happens when you're not prepared for what happens? Well, sometimes not all that well. I would like to call your attention to a movie, Cheaper By The Dozen, starring Steve Martin. There are numerous scenes in this movie that illustrate how one father tries to take care of things while his wife is away. This movie is about a father who has just gotten his dream job of coaching football at his college alma mater. But this job change calls for him, his wife, their twelve children — yes, ...

3502. The Color Wheel of Blindness

John 10:22-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

When anxious teenagers finally go to get that sovereign rite of passage into adulthood called the “driver’s license,” they have to pass a tricky written test and a nerve-racking driving test. But there is a third test they must pass as well: A vision test. It is one of the odder quirks of the DMV (Division of Motor Vehicles) that the eye exam is often given last — suggesting that knowing the rules and operating a vehicle are more important than being sure you can see where you are going! For most drivers, ...

3503. Characteristics of the Church, Part 2

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Somewhere I read of a Seminary professor whose last years were spent in and out of hospitals, suffering from a debilitating, incurable disease. As he reflected on his ministry, he said that when he began, he thought of himself as the expert, standing upon the bank of the stream of life, shouting instructions to the swimmers down below. In the second stage of his ministry, if he saw someone going down for the third time, he would plunge into the water, get the person started in the right direction again, ...

3504. What Would Jesus Say About Marriage?

Matthew 19:3-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Harry and Martha had been married for fifty years when their friends and family threw an anniversary party for them. At the height of their celebration Harry proposed a toast with these words: “Martha and I have been married for fifty years and never had a fight. The secret to our bliss can be attributed to this. On the night of our wedding we agreed that whenever an argument arose between us, I would take a walk. Which, come to think of it, probably explains why I have lived a largely outdoor life.” ...

3505. Fanning the Flames of Family

Ephesians 5:8-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

“It only takes a spark to get the fires going and soon all those around can warm up to it glowing." Could the lyrics of that old camp song be true for the American family? What happens in your house may be more important than what happens in the White House! The greatest threat to America may not be terrorists abroad, or storms above; our greatest threat may be the disintegration of family to whom we normally turn in times of crisis. So today, let's think for a few moments about fanning the flames of ...

3506. With Our Own Eyes

2 Peter 1:16-21

Sermon

John N. Brittain

Leslie D. Weatherhead, the great British preacher who served many years at City Temple on Holborn Viaduct in London, told the story of the elderly gentlemen who sat on the benches near the church trading stories. As one might expect, in addition to the good old days, a popular topic of conversation was their aches, pains, and ailments. "I have heard that such-and-such a clinic has a very effective regimen of treatment for this," one fellow would say. "Well, I understand that Dr. So-and-So is very ...

3507. Do You Know Your Place?

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The world of sled dog racing is famous for a truism: “If you aren’t the lead dog, the scenery never changes.” In other words, only the lead dog gets to see what is up ahead. Only the lead dog gets to sniff out new possibilities, gets to choose a new path. For the rest of the pack, there is nothing but a view of bushy backsides. No wonder in life we are all constantly striving to be “lead dogs.” Across the political spectrum, there is one common refrain. As the 2012 political races heat up every candidate, ...

3508. Enough Foolishness!

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

King Duncan

Is there anyone in the room who has felt dumb in front of a computer? It’s happened to all of us at one time or another, I suspect. A technical support advisor received a call from a woman who had been told that her computer was infected by a virus! This alarmed her. She wanted to know how she could disinfect it. The tech advisor asked her what software she was using. She sounded a bit confused. What did he mean, software? After a few minutes on the phone, the tech support guy realized that she had ...

3509. Another Mary, Another Martha

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

December 6, 2002, was my birthday, and I had no idea what a great birthday present was in the offing, if I had just waited. I'm a Lakers fan, and when I got home that evening the Lakers were down 70-46. I was disgusted. At the start of the fourth quarter they were down by 28 points. I didn't wait to see what would happen. I turned off the set. I missed one of the greatest comebacks in basketball history, as the Lakers won 105-103. It was my own fault. I wasn't constant. I wasn't there. In order to witness ...

3510. A Road Straight to Your Heart

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

King Duncan

Somewhere I read about a meeting of a group of software designers. They were using typical technical jargon to discuss a data exchange interface with a vendor. One engineer said the programming that had been ordered was delayed because the vendor was suffering from a “severe nonlinear waterfowl issue.” Curious, the team leader raised his eyebrows and asked, “What exactly is a severe nonlinear waterfowl issue?” The engineer replied, “They don’t have all their ducks in a row.” On this second Sunday of Advent ...

3511. Saint and Sinner

Romans 3:21-31

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

"Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). In the mid-1920s there was a successful, young, stockbroker who made it big on Wall Street. Really big! He had it all, materially speaking; money, country club membership, wealthy friends. He also drank. A lot! When the crash hit in 1929 and lasted for several years, he lost everything ... except his bottle of gin. His wife had to go to work only to come home day after day exhausted to find her husband drunk on the couch again. He ...

3512. 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. ...

3513. All In: Calling Your Bluff

Romans 12:1-8

Sermon

James Merritt

Financial advisors will tell you that the wisest way to invest money is to be diversified. As the old saying goes, “don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.” Yet when it comes to the most important investment you will ever make which is your life—God’s strategy is just the opposite. The strategy is not diversification but concentration—taking all of your life and giving it completely to Jesus Christ. We are in a series called “All In.” Our theme verse is Luke 9:23, “And he said to all, ‘If anyone would ...

3514. An Announcement about Our Future

Mark 13:32-37

Sermon

King Duncan

The Reverend Richard L. Pearson at one time served the Crescent Park United Methodist Church in Sioux City, Iowa. For several years that church had a living nativity scene. On one particular night it was Pastor Dick’s job, along with a man who had a pick‑up truck, to get a pregnant ewe, which was bedded down in the parsonage garage, to the church. They went to get her about a half hour before performance time. Due to her delicate condition they carefully lifted her into the bed of the truck, and Dick rode ...

3515. The Desperate

John 9:1-12

Sermon

James Merritt

I have a friend in Chicago, Illinois, that pastors one of the largest churches in America. His name is James MacDonald. He is a great preacher and has built an incredible church. I had the privilege of hosting him a couple of years ago in my home and took him to play some golf (which we both love). We were talking about church as pastors always do and I asked him to tell me some things he had learned that had helped him build the church he started at a very small size into the gigantic work for God it is ...

3516. Paradise Lost

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

James Merritt

Vesna Vulovic made history on January 26, 1972 and in doing so made the Guinness World Book of Records. It is not an honor that she wanted, was looking for, or particularly enjoyed. She was a flight attendant on a DC-9 that was flying over what is now the Czech Republic when a bomb went off and blew the plane apart. She fell 33,330 feet and going 122 miles an hour landed on the side of a mountain and even though she suffered a fractured skull, three broken vertebrae, and two broken legs, and was in a coma ...

3517. Jesus the Bread of Life

John 6:25-59

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

The discourse begins as a dialogue between Jesus and the crowd, and becomes more and more of a monologue as it continues. The crowd had begun following him because of the miracles he had done (cf. 6:2), but since the multiplication of the loaves, they have been pursuing him as one who can satisfy their physical hunger and (they hope) their political ambitions as well (cf. 6:15). They think they have found him, but they have not. They have been fed, yet they have not begun to receive what Jesus has to give ...

3518. Sermon on the Mount: Giving, Prayer, and Fasting

Matthew 6:1-4, Matthew 6:5-15, Matthew 6:16-18

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Jesus expects his disciples to practice a covenantal piety that centers on a longing for God’s kingdom to arrive and strives to please God, not humans. Understanding the Text Following on the heels of Matthew’s instructions about keeping the law, this passage indicates right ways of enacting religious practices of giving, prayer, and fasting. In each case, believers ought to act “in secret” to receive divine rather than human approval. Their behavior is to contrast with “hypocrites” who care ...

3519. David Spares Saul’s Life—Again

1 Samuel 26:1-25

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

Big Idea: The Lord vindicates his chosen servants when they look to him for justice. Understanding the Text For a second time in the story, the Ziphites report David’s whereabouts to Saul (cf. 1 Sam. 23:19). Earlier Saul confessed David’s innocence and even asked the Lord to bless David (1 Sam. 24:16–21), but now again the king is ready to hunt David down and kill him. David decides once more to demonstrate his loyalty to Saul. Though the Lord again seemingly delivers Saul into his hands, David refuses to ...

3520. “Truly My Soul Finds Rest in God”

Psalm 62:1-12

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: God is our “all in all,” and that truth prompts us to invite others into our faith. Understanding the Text Psalm 62 is an individual psalm of trust.1 (See sidebar “Psalms of Trust” in the unit on Ps. 16.) The crisis that has called forth this marvelous expression of faith is not clear. However, we can be confident of this much: David has been assaulted by the unscrupulous attacks of his enemies, who flattered him with their words but cursed him in their hearts (62:3–4). Their erroneous assessment ...

3521. Wisdom from the Spirit

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

These verses form something of an excursus on the wisdom of God and the spiritual discernment of Christians, although the discussion is symmetrically similar to 1:18–25. In these verses, however, Paul seems to be describing reality from God’s point of view. To avoid misunderstanding Paul’s thought in these lines one must recall that he designated his message “the word of the cross.” Paul would tell about the cross, and he would explicate its meaning. Clearly, Paul interprets the saving significance of the ...

3522. Warnings from Israel's History

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

Having raised the serious, frightening prospect of disqualification at the end of chapter 9, Paul moves immediately to deliver a midrash on the exodus that is laced with scriptural allusions. The introduction of the story of the exodus wanderings of the Israelites in the wilderness may seem peculiar, but the development is logical; for as Paul used himself and the apostles as a personal lesson on Christian rights and responsibilities in chapter 9, and as he drew images from the athletic games to illustrate ...

3523. All for Some Dumb Sheep

John 10:11-18

Sermon

King Duncan

There was a best-selling book in 1995 by Daniel Goleman called Emotional Intelligence. This book provided us with many examples of the effects that our emotions can have on our rational brain. The book begins with the story of Gary and Mary Jean Chauncey, who were in an Amtrak train that crashed into a river after a barge hit and weakened a railroad bridge in Louisiana. Gary and Mary Jean were trapped in their compartment as they tried desperately to save their eleven year-old wheelchair ridden daughter ...

3524. The Year of the Woman

Genesis 2:18-24

Sermon

King Duncan

Pastor Billy D. Strayhorn tells about a certain church which held a Sunday service patterned after those in colonial America. The pastor dressed in long coat and knickers, and the congregation was divided by gender: men on the left side of the aisle and women on the right. At collection time, the pastor announced that this, too, would be done in the old way. He asked the “head of the household” to come forward and place the money on the altar. The men instantly rose. To the amusement of the entire ...

3525. The Thorn of Discontent

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

DISCONTENT Like a thorn in the flesh, like a fly in the mesh, Like a boat that is chained to shore, The wild unrest of the heart in my breast Tortures me more and more. I wot not why, it should wail and cry Like a child that is lost at night, For it knew no grief, but has found relief, And it is not touched with blight. It has had of pleasure full many a measure; It has thrilled with love's red wine; It has hope and health, and youth's rare wealth-- Oh rich is this heart of mine. Yet it is not glad--it is ...

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