Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3626 to 3650 of 4957 results

3626. Best Advice

Matthew 7:24-29

Illustration

Brett Blair

... THIS man? Will you listen to HIM? Will you practice HIS teachings? Will you live as HE directs? Will you? After all Jesus is not talking about building a house here or simply offering this well crafted image of rock and sand as a way to approach life. He is claiming that his Words, his teachings, make the difference between wisdom and folly.

3627. The Burden Bearing Christ - Sermon Starter

Matthew 11:1-19

Illustration

Brett Blair

There is a wonderful legend concerning the quiet years of Jesus, the years prior to his visible ministry. The legend claims that Jesus the carpenter was one of the master yoke-makers in the Nazareth area. People came from miles around for a yoke, hand carved and crafted by Jesus son of Joseph. When customers arrived with their team of oxen Jesus would spend considerable time measuring the team, their height, ...

3628. A Not So Simple Story of Demons and Pigs

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

... slime spewing out of that little girl's mouth). Critics tell me the movie was highly sensationalized ... having little in common with classical exorcism. But how would I know that, given that I know nothing about classical exorcism? But Scott Peck does. Or so he claims. Scott Peck is greatly esteemed in both the Christian and psychotherapeutic worlds. He is the author of The Road Less Traveled and its sequel, Further Along the Road Less Traveled. He is also the author of a little book on the subject of evil ...

3629. A World Without Easter

1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Sermon

James Merritt

... were an enemy of Christianity, I would aim right at the Resurrection, because that is the heart of Christianity." Well Dr. Graham knew what he was talking about because more and more theologians, those who admit to be liberal, and even some who claim to be conservative, are taking dead aim at the truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The founder of the infamous Jesus seminar, Dr. Robert Funk, told Time magazine as well, "The tales of entombment and resurrection were latter-day wishful thinking. Instead ...

3630. The Death That Ends All Death

1 Peter 3:18

Sermon

James Merritt

... himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting Himself for man. Man asserts himself against God, and puts himself where only God deserves to be; God sacrifices Himself for man and puts Himself where only man deserves to be. Man claims prerogatives, which belong to God alone; God accepts penalties which belong to man.3 The great evangelist, Dwight L. Moody, was talking to someone who was trying to deny the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ, and he said: "Do not suppose God has ...

3631. Just Know Him in His Victorious Resurrection

Acts 13:29-39

Sermon

James Merritt

... That indeed is the question of all questions. To say that Jesus Christ died is one thing. Even to say He died on a cross for the world's sin, is another thing. Because even today anybody could do that. Anybody could get themselves crucified and claim to die for the sins of the world. But to say that three days later he rose from the dead, is another thing altogether. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the one element that makes Christianity not only superior to every other religion, but totally different ...

3632. The Church: The Health of a Godly Family

Hebrews 10:22-25

Sermon

James Merritt

... went to a dentist and had them all pulled. He returned and asked again for the daughter's hand in marriage. The woodman said, “No, your claws are too long." He went back to the dentist and had all of his claws pulled. When he returned to claim the bride, the woodman, seeing that the lion was totally unarmed, beat his brains out. If you do not take your family to church and arm them with the church’s enrichment, the church's encouragement, and the church's enlightenment, you leave them to face a world ...

3633. Getting Rid of Grudges

Luke 23:34

Sermon

James Merritt

... $500,000 to the good, but he also wound up with the piece of property! But that is still not the end of the story. He never heard again from his friend until about seven years later. They happened to run up on each other. His earth-wild friend, who claims to be a Christian, was talking as if nothing had happened, and Joe said, "I understand from reading in the paper you just cut a deal that netted you over $5 million." The man said, "That is true." Joe said, "Well, when are you going to pay me the $500 ...

3634. God Really Cares

Matthew 27:46

Sermon

James Merritt

... we go through difficulties in life. Jesus did. But you must remember if you're going to ask God "Why?" do it in the right way. You see, there is the why? of faith, and there is the why? of doubt. Jesus was asking why in faith, because he still claimed his Father as "My God." There is nothing wrong with asking God, "Why?" Just remember the why's of life should not drive you from God, but draw you to God. If you want to know why Jesus was forsaken, go home and look in the mirror. Jesus was forsaken ...

3635. When Satan Comes Out of the Closet

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12

Sermon

James Merritt

... about in a storm. In other words, they were all shook up. Where there should have been confirmation there was confusion; where there should have been celebration there was consternation. Now what had happened? Well, someone had preached a sermon, and evidently produced a forged letter claiming to be from Paul, saying that the day of the Lord had come. Now why would this be a cause of concern for the church? Because v.1 tells us that there are two great events on the Christian's calendar: One is the return ...

3636. Saving Private Ryan

Acts 1:8

Sermon

James Merritt

... Christmas 1944. Carmen, eighteen, was blown apart by a minefield in the Rhinelands in March of 1945. The following month, Bernard, thirty-two, died in Holland when a German plane bombed his truck. In four short months, Mary and Steven saw the war claim three of their four sons. As each son died, the Campagnones, aided by Representative Thomas J. Lane, asked the Army to keep their remaining sons off the battlefield. But the couple's requests were turned down by Army Brass, because military policy provided ...

3637. Doing Right When You Have Been Done Wrong

Ephesians 4:31-32

Sermon

James Merritt

... appetite for teaching the Bible and living the Bible. He was making an unbelievable impact in that village and that surrounding area until tragedy struck. A young woman whom this minister had tried to help through some terrible difficulties, came forward and claimed that he had tried to force himself upon her sexually. The word spread like wildfire across the countryside. The sentiments of the people were with the young girl. His ministry was finished. His reputation was in shambles. The worst part about ...

3638. A Trip to God's Woodshed

Hebrews 12: 5-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... , you are lost and you need to be saved. "But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons." (v.8) The word illegitimate there literally means "bastards." You know there are some people who claim to be saved, who think they are saved, but it is obvious they are not saved, not because they are sinning, because even Christians sin, but because their sinning does not bother them. The church today has single Christians who are sleeping around, and ...

3639. What Child Is This?

Isaiah 9:6-7

Sermon

James Merritt

... the Mighty God he is in complete control over this universe. He is mighty in his presence, for He is Omnipresent; He is mighty in his power, for He Omnipotent; He is mighty in his perception, for He is Omniscient. There is a group of people who walk around claiming to be worshippers of only Jehovah. They will tell you that Jesus is the Mighty God, but He's not God Almighty. Well, Isaiah said just one chapter over in V.21, "The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the Mighty God." (Isa. 10:21) The ...

3640. The Surety of Security

Jude 1:1-2

Sermon

James Merritt

... President of a Baptist university. Recently he wrote a book detailing his understanding of Jesus, the Bible, and the truth of Christianity. I found in that book three key marks of every apostate: An apostate pretends to speak for Jesus, but denies His unique deity. This man claims to know Jesus and to love Jesus. But then he says this about Jesus: "Like Israel, our first temptation is to make Jesus into an icon of devotion. We want to see God, touch God, clutch God, and make sure that God belongs to us. So ...

3641. The Loss of the Harvest

Jeremiah 8:20

Sermon

James Merritt

... these statistics. The unevangelized population of the earth called "World A" is growing at a rate of 23,600 persons per day faster than they are being evangelized. Of the 95 invitations given to people to become disciples of Christ, 87 will be extended to people claiming to be Christian already (World C); 7.7 will be extended to people who have already been evangelized, but are non-Christians (World B); only .3 will be extended to individuals who have never heard the gospel (World A).2 There are 4.4 billion ...

3642. The Thrill of Victory Beats the Agony of Defeat

Judges 7:1-17

Sermon

James Merritt

... , they were outnumbered four to one. Now Gideon didn't think he had enough men, but God thought he had too many. Notice why. "And the Lord said to Gideon, ‘The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me,' saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.'" (v.2) There is a great lesson that we need to learn about our great God recited in Isaiah 42:8, "I am the Lord, that is my name; and my glory I will not give to another ...

3643. Tastes Great, Less Filling - Sounds Good, Not True

Proverbs 23:29-35

Sermon

James Merritt

... and drinking, the attitude of many is: "Don't confuse me with the facts, my mind is made up." So if you are one of those people, would you "unmake" your mind long enough to listen to this message. Alcohol is a drug that claims more addicts than any other drug in America. Alcoholics outnumber drug addicts ten to one, and alcoholic deaths outnumber drug overdoses three to one. Alcohol causes more deaths than Aids, heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and crack combined.1 There are those who protest the classification ...

3644. How to Turn the Ballot into a Blessing Box

Proverbs 29:2

Sermon

James Merritt

... not by polls. I tell you, a person who governs by polls and leads by opinion, is nothing more and nothing less than a coward. I am reminded of a World War II American Air Force pilot who was vacationing in Hong Kong, and he met a Japanese man who claimed he had been a Kami Kaze pilot in World War II. The Japanese man said, "War all over now—we be friends. My name Chow Mein." The American said, "Wait a minute. Kami Kaze fliers were suicide pilots. If you are a Kami Kaze pilot why aren't you dead ...

3645. God, Elvis, and O.J. Simpson

Psalm 139

Sermon

James Merritt

... player to do it in fourteen games. After his pro career O. J. ran right into the Pro-football Hall of Fame. But O. J. still wasn't through running. He went on to do a few movies, worked as a sports broadcaster for NBC. But his real claim to fame after football was being the spokesman for the Hertz Rent a Car Corporation. Many of us still remember that Hertz commercial where O. J. Simpson is running through the airport. He leaps over luggage and chairs with a single bound. I can still remember one commercial ...

3646. Just Know Him In His Visible Return

Revelation 1:7-8

Sermon

James Merritt

... only the father." (Mark 13: 32) It is both futile and foolish to speculate about the precise date of the second coming of Jesus Christ. We're not to speculate on dates or days. The hallway of church history is littered with corpses of false prophets who claimed to have figured out the exact date of the second coming of Jesus Christ. God has not put us on the program committee; he has put us on the welcoming committee. But neither is it to be a subject of argumentation. Paul warned us "not to strive about ...

3647. God's Will: Don't Leave Home Without It

Romans 12:1-2

Sermon

James Merritt

... . When they are in the office they tell dirty jokes just like everybody else. When they give a wedding reception they will serve liquor and champagne just like the world does. They let the world squeeze them into its mould. May I say a word to all of us who claim to love the Lord Jesus Christ. God is looking for us to live on Monday what we say we believe on Sunday. We are not to be conformed, we are to be transformed. We not to be conformers, we are to be transformers. The Greek word for transform can be ...

3648. The World's Greatest Body Builder

1 Corinthians 12:13

Sermon

James Merritt

... , that is exactly what Jesus did with the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. He moved the fence and included every believer in His Body. What kind of a job has he done? Well, starting with 12 disciples 2000 years ago today, one-third of the world, over two billion people, claim Jesus Christ as Lord and are a part of His Body. It is now the world's largest religion and that's why I call him the world's greatest body builder.

3649. Love: The Happiness of a Godly Family

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Sermon

James Merritt

... a long fuse. It takes a long time to get real love angry, and it takes only a short time for real love to get over it. How our homes need more of this kind of patience. It is interesting that we are most impatient with the people we claim to love the most. Someone has observed that "happy homes are built with the bricks of patience." "Love is kind." (v.4) How does kindness relate to love? Well, someone has defined kindness as the ability to love people more than they deserve.14 In other words, be gracious ...

3650. The Battle of New Orleans

2 Timothy 3:1-4:8

Sermon

James Merritt

... be silent. There is a cultural rebellion we must confront. That is a battle worth fighting. II. There Is a Doctrinal Recklessness We Must Condemn In verse 8, Paul warns about people in the last days who will "resist the truth." In the last days we will find people who claim to be on the same side of the fence as we are, at least supposedly. But in reality they will not just flippantly ignore the truth, but fiercely resist the truth. That is why in the next book over, Paul said to Titus in Titus 2:1, "But as ...

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