Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 3626 to 3650 of 4999 results

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Brett Blair

... at these this morning: I First, we affirm God the Father. The issue is not whether or not there is a God. Ninety-six percent of all Americans, Mr. Gallop tells us, believe in the existence of a God in some form or another. The real question is what kind of a God? According to Thomas Jefferson, for example, God was like a big cosmic watchmaker. He created the universe and wound it up and let it go. The world is now in the process of simply letting itself run down. God has completely detached himself from his ...

3627. Defeating Giants

1 Samuel 17:1-58

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... story of God's power and David's bravery has a message for us all. All of us are meant to be in the giant- defeating business. St. Paul refers to all Christians as "more than conquerors." Here at the beginning of 1997, each of us has some kind of giant facing us. A giant is anything that steals our joy or limits our effectiveness as a Christian disciple. Your giant could be a marriage that is sick or an illness that is threatening or a personal habit that is destructive. Your giant could be a job situation ...

3628. A Risky Lifestyle

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... the Confessing Movement. Some call it divisive, narrow-minded, and over-zealous. That doesn't bother me a bit. We believe that God can revive the united Methodist church, and we are willing to take some risks to help it happen. Let me ask you about another kind of risk. Once you have gotten to know another person, are you willing to ask that person if she or he has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? That involves some risk. The person might take offense, but that's not likely. The person might say ...

3629. God Makes The First Move

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... other end. There is resistance. While God is drawing us to himself through prevenient grace, the enemy- the Evil One- creates all kinds of resistance. The Evil One whispers to you: "If you get mixed up with Jesus, you'll have to quit everything that's ... fun. You will lose some of your best buddies. He might interfere with your hunting and fishing. He might turn you into some kind of hypocrite. He might get into your bank account. You might become a wimp." The resistance will be there. Just count on it. ...

3630. The Witness of the Spirit

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... you were placed in our arms, and we cried tears of joy. We adopted you. Everything we have will be yours one day. It would be impossible for us to love you any more even if you had been born into our family. Do you understand?" That's the kind of conversation you would have with your daughter. Why? Because you would want her to absolutely secure in your family. If you as human parents want your child to feel good and secure about adoption, don't you know that the heavenly Father is even more determined that ...

3631. Marriage: God's Idea

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... most boring thing I've ever heard." No, my partner listens because as best friends and soul mates, whatever is important to one is important to both. Now, if I talk about it too long, she might say discreetly, "Bill, let's listen to another CD" That's a kind way of saying, "Bill, I've heard just about all I need on your summer in North Carolina." Think of it! In a great marriage, you can share anything with your partner, even the jealousy you feel toward your brother because your Mom seemed to cater to him ...

3632. The Snake: A Slick Salesman

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... thought we had an understanding, so I let him move in with me. Last night I started to talk about the kind of wedding I wanted. He looked very uncomfortable. Finally, he blurted out, 'Let's not spoil everything by getting married. ' ... here. There is no food and I am starving. Put me under your shirt and take me down to the valley.' 'No,' said the youth. 'I know your kind. You are a rattlesnake. If I pick you up, you will bite me, and your bit is deadly.' 'No so,' said the snake. 'I will treat you differently ...

3633. The Seeds of Social Conflict

Genesis 4:1-26

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... now I’m just sitting here waiting for more spit.” Many of the social problems in our world, when traced to their sources, point back to the angry little boy or little girl in us, sitting in a closet, so to speak, angry, brooding, jealous, or spiteful. That kind of anger can be traced all the way back to our human origins. In the fourth chapter of Genesis, we have a sad three-act drama introducing social conflict and violence into our world. Let’s try to glean some lessons from it. In Act I, verses 1 ...

3634. Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone?

Luke 9:18-27

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness…” Let’s suppose that you go on a diet and start a work-out program. In two months you lose twenty pounds. You look and feel so much better. Your spouse starts making passes at you in all kinds of unusual places. But, if you stop that diet and work-out program, guess what happens? Those twenty unwanted pounds come right back and you are worse off that you were before, because your self-confidence has been reduced. The same principle works in the spiritual ...

3635. The Burden Bearing Christ

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Brett Blair

... specifically not to do His aunt, sitting on the front porch, very gently called out to him, “Jimmy.” He quickly looked up and found himself caught, like Adam in the Garden of Eden, trying to find a bush to hide behind. And then, lashing out in a kind of uncontrolled rebellion that all too often crops up later in life as well, he jumped up and defiantly shouted: “Its none of your business you old cripple.” He then ran behind the house, free, or so he thought, from the accusing stare of his aunt. He ...

3636. Making a Name for Ourselves

Genesis 11:1-9

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... that’s left of it. I think they called it the Tower of Babel.” Now, come back to the present. Each of us is building some kind of structure with our lives. Your epitaph is being written now. Is your life like a tower of Babel, glorifying self? Or is it like a ... tower of Babel if it gets carried away with self-promotion and institutional advancement. God forbid that we would become a kind of religious country club with lots of little perks for the members. I really doubt that God would be too impressed ...

3637. How to Handle Criticism

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... t amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference.” The Bible says that if the spirit of Christ lives in you, you will produce the following fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, fidelity, gentleness, and self-control. Are you seeing those fruits in your life? If you are a fruit-producing tree, don’t worry unduly about criticism. When you really think about it, we Christians ought to be better equipped to deal with criticism ...

3638. How to Fix the Past

1 John 1:5--2:14

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... . She is a new person in Christ. Each of us has a past; some of it is sordid and ungodly. Unless it is faced and resolved, it will haunt and hurt us as long as we live. And after we die, we will face the judgment of Almighty God. What kind of unsavory luggage do you carry? Perhaps a memory of a little unborn baby aborted? Perhaps you bushwacked a few people at work, making sure they went nowhere in the organization. Maybe your motto is, “Don’t get mad, get even!” Maybe some form of sin has a vice-like ...

3639. Using our Special Talents

Romans 12:6-8

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... and also because it is the shortest month in the year. I have brought with me this morning what I hope will also be a very fun kind of children's sermon which will also help us to learn something about Jesus and the way he wants us to think of him. Do you see ... we will see if it goes any easier. Are you ready? Lift. Wonderful! Terrific! Now you can see how much easier it is when we get the kind of help that we need. You become strong when I help you and we get the job done. That's the way it is for the ...

3640. Forgiveness

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Burton F. Blair

... They simply ignored him. They refused to believe his words or believe who he was. That is ignorance to the fullest. Denial, rejection, and death is the way we, too, live in ignorance. We, too, practice the same kind of ignorance. What is it but ignorance when we grow cold in our loyalty to Jesus? We have all kinds of excuses why we can not be a burning fire for Jesus. Is it not ignorance that causes us to burn with bitter feelings toward another person in the church because of her words? Is it not ignorance ...

3641. The Passover and the Passion

Drama

Denny C. Wise

... the first difference? John: It differs in that on all other nights we eat bread or matza, while on this night we eat only matza. Jesus: And what is the second difference? John: It differs in that on all other nights we eat vegetables and herbs of all kinds, while on this night we must eat bitter herbs. Jesus: And what is the third difference between this night and all other nights? John: It differs in that on all other nights, we do not dip vegetables even once, while on this night, we dip them twice. Jesus ...

3642. Reviving Our Moral Responsibility

2 Chronicles 36:15-23

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... of the twentieth century? And more particularly, what basics for living are called here to our attention in this Lenten period? 1. We are responsible to a moral order that we defy or disregard at our peril. We are living in a time when order of any kind appears to be the least of all realities. Indeed it seems at times that the bottom has dropped out of everything. The ideals and hopes that Christians have held dear seem to be caught up in a whirlwind of opposing forces bent on their destruction. Christians ...

3643. Reconciling Palms and Thorns

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... Christian mission in Uganda, East Africa. He was killed by the natives, but just when the emissaries of the African chieftain came to do him to death, he shouted, "Go and tell your king that I will open up the road to Uganda with my life!" This is the kind of life intimated by a faithful observance of Lent. This is the way the divine love acts. It identifies itself with us in Christ so that by faith we can go on identifying ourselves in his mission with him. And this is no mission for the little men and ...

3644. Service Without Witness

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... and truly sympathetic? Do I say the right word at the right time in the right way? A stranger on a New York city bus turned to me and asked, "Are you saved?" That kind of service at the wrong time in the wrong place deserves to be ignored. 2. Another thought: How do we acquire this attitude, this combination of serving and witness? Isaiah lays his finger on it in verse 4 by "listening to God." None of us can minister to the weary ...

3645. One’s Proper Service

Isaiah 58:1-14

Illustration

Larry Powell

... one’s proper service to God? In Isaiah’s day, the supreme service was considered to be "fasting." Widely practiced as a kind of personal purge and expression of humility, fasting was a common experience among the devout throughout the ancient world. The Israelites incorporated ... 586 B.C. Unfortunately, the Jews mistook this particular gesture as a guarantee of spiritual righteousness; a kind of "automatic purification" which placed them blameless before God. Consequently, it was inconceivable to them that ...

3646. Rules For Living

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Robert Allen

... occasionally, to visit a little old man who gave violin lessons. He had a studio, if it could be called that, a small room set in a long row of rooms where other music teachers taught. "I liked to drop in on him," Douglas said, "for he had a kind of homely wisdom that refreshed me. One morning I walked in and by way of greeting, said, ‘Well, what’s the good news for today?’ " Putting down his violin, stepping over to his tuning fork suspended from a silk thread, he struck it a sharp blow with a padded ...

3647. A Season Of Joy

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

Robert Allen

... experienced joy! It seems to me that joy is something we need to give ourselves. It is better than happiness, although happiness is important. In fact, I hope that there are many times when you are happy during the year. However, joy is something that abides. Joy is a kind of being. Joy is a quality. You know when you have joy and when you don’t. Joy is the sense of security that things are going to be all right in the long run, however painful they might be now, because of who God is. The shepherds went ...

3648. The Gospel In Miniature

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Robert Allen

... never been able to understand or agree with those preachers who continually dwell on the wrath of God. They seem to take some kind of sadistic delight in proclaiming the wrath and punishment of God when the whole message of the Bible is condensed into the first ... think of God as looking at us and waiting for us to make a mistake. It is easy for us to believe that God is some kind of vengeful God who is going to punish us when we step out of line. But the tremendous thing about this Gospel in miniature is that ...

3649. The Richest Hill On Earth

John 19:17-27

Sermon

Robert Allen

... and replied, "Yes, I know Bishop Russell." She asked, "When you see him, will you tell me?" He said that he would, and the woman turned to look around the lobby once more. Then, looking at him again, she asked, "Since you know Bishop Russell, would he be the kind of person who would be late?" He smiled and replied, "No, I don’t believe the bishop would be late at all. If anything, I think he would be early." She thanked him, and he began to wonder how he was going to stop this little charade. He decided ...

3650. Wondering How God Does Things

Luke 1:26-38

Children's Sermon

Erskine White

... only wonder how God does things like that. Then there are other questions we might ask about God. How did God get just two of every kind of animal to go on Noah’s ark and why did He include mosquitoes? How does God put the yoke of an egg inside a ... no end to the questions we could ask and the mysteries we could explore as we wonder about how God does things. We see this same kind of wonder in the Christmas story, when the angel Gabriel comes to visit Mary and tells her she is going to be the mother of God ...

Showing results