Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3701 to 3725 of 4977 results

3701. What Should We Do Today?

Matthew 6:25-34

Illustration

Tony Campolo

... with my life? What a question! But I could never answer the question because I'm not sure that Jesus wants us to look that far ahead. I'm convinced that what Jesus calls us to do is to solve this problem: What should I be doing today? He says quite pointedly, "Take no thought for tomorrow what ye shall eat, what ye shall drink. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Are you going to do what God wants you to do today? That's the ultimate question. Every day you should get up and say, "This is the ...

3702. Three Eggs, Not Bad!

Matthew 7:21-29

Illustration

... pastor's wife told him that should she not survive the surgery, he should be sure to check the shoebox under their bed. She went into surgery, he to the waiting room. "Shoebox under the bed?" he thought. Their home was nearby. She would be in surgery for quite a while. He hurried home, discovered the shoebox. In it was about $10,000 and three eggs. The wife came through the surgery just fine. The pastor soon confessed to her that he had checked out the shoebox, and he asked her to explain the contents. She ...

3703. Against All Hope

Romans 4:1-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... at the time was Ara Parseghian. Rudy grew up in Joliet, IL. He was the third of fourteen children. Rudy didn’t have the physical ability to make the Notre Dame team or any other major football team, for that matter, but he had a dream, and he never quit trying to bring that dream to fruition. Teammates say he treated every practice like it was a real game. Over time, he won the respect of his fellow players. He worked so hard at his dream that, at the end of his senior season, the entire team rallied to ...

3704. The Healing Power of Touch - Sermon Starter

Mark 5:21-43; Matt 9:1-8

Illustration

Brett Blair

... Jesus to come. We are told that a large crowd of the curious followed Jesus. Some were hoping he would succeed, others that he would fail; most probably got caught up in the excitement of the parade. In this throng was one woman who was there for quite a different reason. We are told that for twelve years she had been suffering from a bleeding hemorrhage. Some modern scholars have theorized that this was a bleeding cancer. If this were the case she was, of course, beyond all medical help. Mark tell us that ...

3705. Learning Mercy

Illustration

J. Scott Miller

... her to be his spiritual guide. Apparently his execution date was fast approaching, and he wanted some representative of God to be there for support over the next several weeks. Sister Helen hesitates. It is one thing to do charity long distance. It is quite another thing to do mercy face to face with a convicted murderer. Gary had been sentenced to death by lethal injection for participating in the brutal rape of a young woman and the subsequent murder of both her and her finance. Sister Helen recoils ...

3706. We Thought You Said Daddy!

Ephesians 6:1-4

Illustration

... found herself becoming more and more responsible for taking care of the dog. Finally, she decided that the children were not living up to their promise so she began to search for a new home for Danny. When she found one and broke the news to the children, she was quite surprised that they had almost no reaction at all. One of them even said rather matter-of-factly, "We'll miss him." "I'm sure we will," Mom answered, "but he is too much work for one person and since I'm the one that has to do all the ...

3707. How We View Our Fathers

Ephesians 6:1-4

Illustration

4 years: My daddy can do anything. 7 years: My dad knows a lot, a whole lot. 8 years: My father doesn't quite know everything. 12 years: Oh well, naturally Father doesn't know everything. 14 years: Father? Hopelessly old-fashioned. 21 years: Oh, that man is out-of-date. What did you expect? 25 years: He knows a little bit about it but not much. 30 years: Must find out what Dad ...

3708. Getting a Grip on Fear

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... things. “Some years ago, a research psychologist, Dr. Irving Jarvis was looking at surgery in hospitals and asking questions about peoples’ recovery from surgery, and the place that fear had in their recovery. And what he discovered may seem to us in the end to be quite simple or obvious, but it’s really very important. What he discovered was this: Those who had crippling fears didn’t do well when it came to recovery. They didn’t do well at all. “He also discovered that those who had no fear of ...

3709. Never Underestimate the Power of a Cold Cup of Water - Sermon Starter

Matt 10:40-42

Illustration

Brett Blair

... hunger, and persecution, and defeat town after town after town? I'll tell you why, because, in the words of Apostle Paul, they were held captive by the words and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is Paul's way of saying they were slaves to Christ. It is quite likely we shall never be tested to the extent that the disciples were but there are some ways to gauge our commitment. Let's look at a couple this morning... 1. Sacrifice is a sign of mature commitment. 2. Hospitality is a sign of discipleship. 3. A cup ...

3710. The Work of the Righteous

Matthew 10:40-42

Illustration

Roger Ray

... strange because nobody shot at 'em. And after they walked over the beam, suddenly all the fight was out of me. It just didn't feel like I wanted to do this anymore, at least not that day. It must have been that way for everybody, because everybody quit. We just stopped fighting." Of course, I cannot say what any of us are called to do right now. I can only say that anyone who chooses to walk with God may well be completely out of step with the expectations of the office, the neighborhood or the family ...

3711. The Ministry of Hospitality

Matthew 10:1-42

Illustration

J. Scott Miller

... at a church in Elmira, New York, tells a story of what it feels like to be denied hospitality. He and his family were vacationing one summer and decided to worship at a prominent church in the Washington D. C. area. Apparently this church had quite a reputation for the quality of their preaching and corporate worship. The reputation held up, according to Bob and Susan's standards. The sermon was riveting and the music, inspiring. That much did not disappoint them. But the lack of hospitality did. From the ...

3712. Taking the Lead

Matt 11:16-19

Illustration

Jerry Goebel

... want to do?" "It doesn't matter to me, really. Just make a decision." Finally, you find a place to eat and when you finished she would say; "What an awful dinner—you have horrible taste." Sadly enough, our churches are full of "bad dates." Quite willing to say what "not to do" and "what is wrong" with the leaders; yet, unwilling to be involved in leadership itself. Those are the ones that Jesus was confronting in this reading. They were religious observers—the least involved, yet the most critical. The ...

3713. A World Without Easter

1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Sermon

James Merritt

... little boy said, "Preacher, how are you feeling?" He said, "Well, my head hurts." The little boy said, "Well, that's because it's empty; you'd feel better if there were something in it." Well, preaching is empty without a risen Savior. Because if Jesus is dead, quite frankly, I've got nothing worth saying to you, and you've got nothing worth coming to hear. Those of you who know me know that I have no problem with saying what I mean, and meaning what I say. There cannot be any doubletalk about whether or ...

3714. They Lied and They Died

Acts 5:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... can fool all of the people some of the time, and you can fool some of the people all of the time; but you can't fool God any of the time. II. The Detection of the Sin Ananias and Sapphira thought they had committed the fool-proof sin. Quite frankly, they would have gotten away with it except for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit told on them. He uncovered and exposed the whole thing. He gave to Peter the gift of discernment and revealed two things about this terrible sin: a. The Devilish Source of This Sin ...

3715. Sleep With the Lions Without Being Eaten

Daniel 6:1-28

Sermon

James Merritt

... of the captives from Judah, does not show due regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day." (vv. 11-13) You know, recently the NCAA tried to penalize praying on the football field. Quite frankly, the way some football teams are playing, they ought to penalize them fifteen yards if they don't pray. So the inevitable verdict was handed down: "And the king, when he heard these words, was greatly displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel ...

3716. The Scarlet Letter

Exodus 20:14

Sermon

James Merritt

... those days? It changes sometimes after you get married. One man was reading the newspaper and said to his wife, "Did you know that every time I breathe, three Chinese die?" She said, "It doesn't surprise me one bit." I say to you, never quit courting your spouse. d. Self Control There's an old saying, "He who would not fall down should not walk in slippery places." The Bible says "flee fornication." Adultery, fornication, sexual immorality are not sins you should fight, they are sins you should flee. The ...

3717. The Sin of Robin Hood

Exodus 20:15

Sermon

James Merritt

... with tax avoidance, that is, avoiding taxes legally. But there is something wicked and evil about tax evasion; it is simply a form of stealing. My motto with taxes is: Pay as little as you need to, but as much as you have to. c. You Can Steal Personally Quite frankly, I believe stealing from a man's person may be even more serious than stealing from a man's purse. You see, money can be replaced, but oftentimes reputation cannot. One way we steal from a person is by gossip and by slander. Did you know that ...

3718. The Sword of the Lord

Hebrews 4:12-13

Sermon

James Merritt

... Jesus definitely did not predict his death on the cross, nor his return to earth in a second coming. How did they make these decisions? Every scholar was given beads of four different colors. If a scholar thought Jesus said something, he cast a red bead. If he wasn't quite sure, he cast a pink bead. If he didn't say it, but it represented something he may have thought, he cast a gray bead. If he definitely didn't say it, or would even have thought it, he cast a black bead. They have now published their own ...

3719. The Church: The Health of a Godly Family

Hebrews 10:22-25

Sermon

James Merritt

... sent me a newspaper article recently entitled, "Religion is good for your health." It is by a lady named Mally Gallagher. It was so impressive and so encouraging that I want to share most of it with you. Is God Good For You? Until quite lately, the opinion of the cultural elite has been, with some qualifications, no. Under the widespread influence of thinkers like Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud, intellectuals have tended to view faith as a form of irrational superstition, a distraction for the oppressed, or a ...

3720. High and Lifted Up

Isaiah 6:1-8

Sermon

James Merritt

... them; a God who gives us everything and never expects anything in return; a God who honors all religions and sees one way to Him just as good as another; a God who is so sweet that He eventually is going to let everybody into heaven. Well, quite frankly, any of those visions of God might be absolutely on target, except for one small fact-God is a Holy God. Even with the booming economy, and the peace we have both at home and abroad, relatively speaking, an overwhelming majority of Americans, with some polls ...

3721. The Supreme Worth of the Second Birth

John 3:1-9

Sermon

James Merritt

... Billy Graham doesn't understand everything about salvation. That shouldn't bother you. Don't have the idea you've got to understand everything that you believe and accept. There are a lot of things I don't understand that I accept. I don't understand electricity, but I quit putting my fingers in sockets a long time ago. I don't understand how a black cow can eat green grass and turn out white milk and yellow butter, but I'm going to enjoy milk and butter whether I understand it or not. Jesus did not say you ...

3722. Love Them Before You Leave Them

John 19:25-26

Sermon

James Merritt

... He is dying, surely we can honor our parents while we are living. There is a thinking today that old parents are like old shoes, and they ought to just be discarded when they are too much trouble to bother with. I heard about a mother who was becoming quite old, and it became necessary for her to move in with her son's family. Things were not working out too well because the older woman did not always put items away, and she had a tendency to drop things. One night at dinner, while passing her plate, the ...

3723. Getting Rid of Grudges

Luke 23:34

Sermon

James Merritt

... Douglas Fairbanks, the swash-buckling actor, said: "I've never felt better!" Franklin D. Roosevelt said: "I have a terrific headache!" George Washington said: "Doctor, I die hard, but I'm not afraid to go."[1] John F. Kennedy said: "My God, I've been hit!" Quite frankly, there have even been some humorous famous last words: William Palmer, a person who murdered people by poisoning them, was about to be hung. They put the rope around his neck, and when he was told to step out on the trapdoor, he asked: "Are ...

3724. After the Casket Is Closed

Luke 23:46

Sermon

James Merritt

... 's Easter Sunday. You are thinking to yourself Easter's about the empty tomb and the resurrection, and that is true. But if there had not been a cross there would not have been an empty tomb. Had there not been a death there would not have been a resurrection. Quite frankly, Easter is not only to get you to think about being raised from the dead, it's also to get you to think about being dead before you're raised. I heard about a preacher that went to visit a man in his community who was lost and without ...

3725. A Deserter in God's Army

1 Timothy 4:9-10

Sermon

James Merritt

... pick me up; if I retreat shoot me." Did you know that one deserter can cause the defeat of an entire army? Did you know that when one Christian backslides the whole suffers? Friend, we are all members of one body. When one finger on my hand quits working, it affects the whole hand. When one Christian in our church backslides, it means some work will not get done, some witnessing will not get done, some worshipping will not get done. But there's an even greater tragedy. Because he loved the world, and ...

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