Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3576 to 3600 of 4935 results

3576. A Vision of Freedom

Isaiah 65:17-25

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

Freedom is such a lovely word, a compelling image. What is freedom? How would you define it? What does it mean to you? Webster’s New World Dictionary defines freedom as being exempt from control or from arbitrary restrictions. Freedom is said to be the ability to choose or determine one’s own actions. That was the sort of freedom, escape from foreign intrusion, which the Hebrews sought when our First Lesson was written. There is a lot of debate among Old Testament scholars about the circumstances of its ...

3577. There Could Be, Couldn't There?

Jeremiah 2:1-3:5

Sermon

John W. Wurster

Jeremiah tells us that there was a time and a place when God was upset, when the heavens were shocked, and appalled, and utterly desolate (2:12). It sounds like it was a time and place when God was weeping, a time and a place when God hurt. Can you believe that there could be such a time, such a place, such a God? In this time and place God was upset because the people had strayed. God’s very own people had turned away. They had gone after worthless things (2:5). Things that seemed important, but really ...

3578. He Commanded Us to Preach

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

Opposition to preaching the risen Christ and reaching the Gentiles emerged early in the ministry of the apostles. Peter and the others quickly found themselves on the front lines of defense against attacks regarding the cogency and credibility of the message they were preaching. Emboldened by the presence and power of the Holy Ghost, many of the apostles gained renewed fortitude in proclaiming the message of Christ to Jewish and Gentile communities in the early days of the church. Anytime the gospel is ...

3579. Do You Love Me?

John 21:15-25

Sermon

Brett Blair

Let’s begin with Simon out on his boat fishing alongside the other disciples. He is brooding, thinking deep thoughts not quite sure what to make of all that had happened. Then there is a flashback. He recalls how some months earlier he left his fishing nets at the seashore to become a follower of Jesus and how Jesus liked him and included him and changed his name from Simon to Peter (Petros, the Rock) because Jesus felt that Simon was strong, stable, and solid like a rock. But then all of a sudden, things ...

3580. Civil War Isn't!

2 Samuel 18:1-18, 19--19:8

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Civil War ISN'T! Of course! If it is CIVIL, it is not WAR. If it is WAR, it is anything but CIVIL. And every war that has ever been fought with that designation, from our own a century-and-a-half ago, to some of the horrific conflicts we see on the news from Africa and the Middle East. Our lesson tells the story of Israel's ancient Civil War, the attempted overthrow of King David by his son, Absalom. Absalom was David's third oldest son, the child of a union with the princess of a neighboring city-state,(1 ...

3581. Doing Battle with Demons

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

David E. Leininger

A familiar story. One wag says it is the only one in scripture that deals with "deviled ham." Yuck, yuck. The narrative builds around the sensitivities of Jewish piety. Pigs were the personification of uncleanness.(1) They were easily associated with Gentile uncleanness. Tombs were also a source of uncleanness, and in Jewish areas they were whitewashed so that one might not come in contact with a tomb accidentally.(2) A man with no clothes on would be an outcast since nakedness was shameful.(3) Unclean! ...

3582. Swimming With The Sharks

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

King Duncan

[While King Duncan is enjoying a well deserved retirement we are going back to his earliest sermons and renewing them. The newly modernized sermon is shown first and below, for reference sake, is the old sermon. We will continue this updating throughout the year bringing fresh takes on King's best sermons.] Original Title: Swimming with the Sharks New Title: Transformed by the Transfigured Perhaps you’ve heard the old story that sharks only grow as large as their surroundings permit. I’ve heard that for ...

3583. Light

Isaiah 2:1-5

Sermon

King Duncan

A man was sitting at the breakfast table reading his newspaper when his wife breezed through the kitchen, gave him a light kiss on the cheek and said matter-of-factly, "I'll bet you've forgotten what day this is." The husband answered defensively, "I have not!" He went back to reading the paper while she rushed upstairs to finish getting ready. All the way to work it bugged him, "What day is this?" He knew she was very sensitive about his forgetting Valentine's Day, anniversaries, and other special ...

3584. Walk With Confidence

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

King Duncan

Some years ago TIME magazine reported on a nervous motorist in Lambertville, New Jersey. This man, on being stopped by the police, explained that he had been driving on two hundred and twentyfour consecutive learner's permits over the last twentyfive years. He had flunked his first driver's test and had been unsure of himself ever since! (1) Our theme for today is "Walk With Confidence." Our Scripture lesson is St. Paul's famous admonition, "...Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on ...

3585. If It's The Lord's Will

James 4:13-17

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you heard about the pastor who was out painting his fence one day? He was meditating on this passage from the book of James. He was meditating on the fact that life is so brief. It's just a vapor. About that time, a man came along the road pulling a horse. The pastor looked up and said, "Where are you going with that horse?" The man said, "I'm going to go to town to sell it." The pastor said, "You ought to say you're going to sell it if it be the Lord's will." The man said, "The Lord's will has ...

3586. How Shall We Prepare?

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

King Duncan

(John the Baptist Announces His Coming --Third Sunday of Advent) Howard Hensley was standing in line at the post office. Standing in line is not one of his favorite things to do, especially during the busy Christmas season. This day was no exception. He waited anxiously for the postal clerk to weigh his packages and give him his stamps. His irritation quickly increased when he overheard a shabbily dressed man ask another clerk for $50 worth of Madonna stamps! "What corrupt influence is the government ...

3587. Who Is God Anyway?

2 Corinthians 13:11-14

Sermon

King Duncan

Charles Schultz, the PEANUTS cartoonist, contributed a cartoon to a church magazine years ago. The scene is a church youth meeting. Standing in front of the group is a teenage character wearing a primitive, multicolored, witch doctor's ritual mask. The caption beneath the cartoon read: "My program tonight is entitled, It matters not what you believe, only whether you are sincere or not.' " (1) Most of us believe that it really does matter what a person believes. At the same time, few of us would consider ...

3588. Please Use The Servants' Entrance

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Dr. M. Scott Peck is a respected Christian psychiatrist and noted author. You may have read his best-selling book, The Road Less Traveled. Peck is not a theologian, but listen for a moment to his comments regarding our scripture lesson for the day: What a strange way for the guest of honor to act during a final meal with his friends. What incomprehensible behavior from a ruler who would momentarily announce, "I confer on you a kingdom." In those days, foot washing was considered so degrading that a master ...

3589. Building A Faith

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

A small boy had been told that he must always wait patiently till he was served at meals, and not draw attention to himself. One day he was eating at a friend's house with his mother, and somehow he was accidentally overlooked. Nobody noticed, and for a time he was patient, but at last he could stand it no longer. Leaning across to his mother, he said in an audible whisper: "Mother, do little boys who starve to death go to heaven?" That little fellow was more patient than most of us. I read recently that ...

3590. Standing Tall

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

King Duncan

A few years back, Jim Stovall decided to become a stock broker. Even though he is blind, Jim has a determination and commitment to hard work that has helped him to transcend his disability. Jim also has a wife, Crystal, who supports and encourages him in everything he does. Jim and Crystal studied hard to get through the broker exams, then went through training sessions together. Most of the other students in the training sessions were better educated and better trained than Jim. They had no handicap to ...

3591. What about Spiritual Healing?

John 4:43-54

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

The story is told of a Methodist and a Baptist who were once discussing the subject of infant baptism. The Baptist asked his Methodist friend, “Do you believe in Infant Baptism?” “Believe in it?” the Methodist replied, “Why, man, I’ve seen it!” The same might be said by almost any minister if the question were asked, “Do you believe in spiritual healing?” “Believe in it, why, we’ve seen it!” We may not talk much about such experiences. We may not write books about it or go on television and talk about it. ...

3592. Whatever Happened to those Mansions?

John 14:1-4

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

When the Revised Standard Version of the Bible was first published in 1952, a pastor in North Carolina was so disturbed by the new translation that he gathered up all the copies he could find and had a public Bible-burning. What upset the pastor so much was that while the King James Version of John 14:2 says, “In my father’s house there are many mansions,” the RSV translates it “In my Father’s house are many rooms.” The North Carolina pastor was infuriated at the “cheapskates” who translated the RSV. He ...

3593. The Servant Who Delivered the Mail

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Today I want to share the story and testimony about one of God''s most faithful servants. His name is Epaphroditus. According to some scholars who share his name, it was common in the era and culture he lived in. It is certainly not a common name today. As Max Lucado shares: "`Epaphro-what-us?'' you say. Just ask the apostle Paul. He''ll give you the correct pronunciation. He''ll also give quite a character reference. To describe this fellow with the five-syllable name, Paul used more succinct words, like ...

3594. The Face that Launched a Thousand Lives

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

You will recall the ancient myth that lies behind our sermon theme for today. Helen, the wife of Sparta's king Menelaus, was acclaimed the most beautiful woman of Greece. The Greeks fought the Trojan War in order to get her back from Troy, where Paris, the son of King Priam, had taken her. In Christopher Marlowe's Dr. Faustus, the question is asked concerning Helen, "Was this the face that launched a thousand ships and burned the topless towers of Ilium?" Today's text speaks of a far greater face, a face ...

3595. Resting at the Mediocre Inn

John 12:20-36

Sermon

King Duncan

On the way to the top of the highest peak in the French Alps there is a small inn. This inn provides rest and respite for mountain climbers. It is called the Mediocre Inn, which in French simply means “halfway.” "Imagine coming off a day of climbing in the icy, windy French Alps,” says Dr. Jay Strack. “The cold has seeped into your bones. You’re exhausted, and every muscle in your body hurts. At the Mediocre Inn, you find a hot meal and a warm bed. You begin to relax, put your feet up, get comfortable. Who ...

3596. The Eternal Question

Matthew 27:11-26

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I hope you know by now that I believe that all preaching should have about it a note of Paul, an invitation to become a part of that great fellowship, which is the fellowship of the church. But more than that, that intimate call to be related to Jesus Christ. While I hope that that’s a part of all my preaching, my preaching today is specifically to that end. A great text like this one we’ve read helps us to really come to grips with it, to rehearse it in our own life and get the scene in which it is set ...

3597. Epiphany: A Faith to Work Miracles

John 2:1-11

Sermon

J. Ellsworth Kalas

I consider it divine good fortune that we have a scripture lesson so early in the year which encourages us to ponder a miracle. You and I need to become more sensitive to the possibility of miracles. Such a sensitivity will help us recognize present miracles, which we either do not see or which we take for granted; and it will prepare us to receive still more miracles. Walt Whitman felt that "each part and tag" of his own person was a miracle, and that "a mouse is miracle enough to stagger sextillions of ...

3598. Partners In the Gospel

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Connections are important. Nobody understands the word connection as do United Methodists. When we talk about the larger church we refer to it as “the connection.” Connections are important. I remember visiting with a young man in Nashville 25 years ago -- I was the editor of the Upper Room and this young man was a student at Vanderbilt University. His parents were friends of mine but I had known him only in passing. This was one of those encounters that we have now and then that we sense are charged with ...

3599. The Cloak

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8

Sermon

Rick Brand

If you can't refute the argument, then you can attack the person, and the best way to attack a person is to question the motives. So Paul is responding to attacks upon the Good News of Jesus Christ by those who have attacked him and questioned his motives for coming to Thessalonica. He rejoices that when he came to preach, people heard the message joyfully. Paul says he preaches because he has to. He preaches to please God. But, of course, there were some who suggested that Paul was really preaching from ...

3600. Lord of the Dance

Mark 2:13-22

Sermon

Mark Trotter

The song we have just sung, "Lord of the Dance," declares that the proper response on learning the meaning of the Gospel is to celebrate, to dance. This hymn is one of the less traditional hymns in our hymn book, written in the 1960's, which you may have guessed, when the Church began experimenting with new music. It was finally included in the 1988 hymnal. It was written by an Englishman, a man named Sydney Carter, who put the words to the arrangement of the American Shaker hymn, "Tis a Gift to be Simple ...

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