Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3726 to 3750 of 4977 results

3726. Matthew 15:21-28

Matthew 15:21-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... identity with this title, she can hardly be surprised at his initial reaction of ignoring her plea completely. But the disciples’ recommendation that Jesus “Send her away!” reveals that the Canaanite woman refuses to take his silence for an answer. She “keeps shouting” her request at Jesus and his entourage. It is true that the disciples request to “Send her away” does not openly suggest Jesus get rid of the annoying woman by granting her request. But Jesus’ answer back to them indicates he ...

3727. Overcoming Fear

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... Shepherd with glowing, malignant eyes and pearly-white teeth. I could tell he wanted some of me. I began backing slowly away from that door, in the direction of my car, all the while speaking words of pastoral comfort to the dog. The dog eased in my direction, keeping that same 20 feet between me and him. It must have been a Baptist dog; I never saw a dog in my life have such a problem with a Methodist preacher. Finally I reached my car, jumped in quickly and slammed the door, and offered a quick prayer ...

3728. From Worry To Trust

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... a plane or when you have a tough decision to make. This is what St. Paul meant when he advised us to “pray continually.” (I Thess. 5:17) It is amazing what peace this God-consciousness can bring. The prophet Isaiah knew it. He declared, “(God) will keep in perfect peace that person whose mind is stayed on (him).” (Is. 26:3) The third key to living in day-tight compartments is to end each day with God. Before you go to sleep, say, “Thanks, Lord, for walking through this day with me. Thanks for ...

3729. Never Say What You Won't Do!

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... for over 25 years but had seldom said more to his wife than yes, no, and a few assorted grunts. Then suddenly one day at breakfast he said, “Dear, sometimes when I think of how much you mean to me, it’s almost more than I can do to keep from telling you.” For goodness sakes, tell her! THIRDLY, RESERVE ONE NIGHT PER WEEK AS “DATE NIGHT.” Go out together regularly, even if it’s just to McDonalds. The kids need a break from you, and you need a break from the kids. Sit down together where there is ...

3730. The Treasure Principles

Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... like this—“The greater proportion of a person’s income that he gives, the happier he is. Happiness is not what you keep. That’s a deception. It’s what you give.” St. Paul helped us understand why a giver feels joy. He wrote, “God ... I catch a glimpse of the cross, then my 10 percent of income is so small and inadequate as a way of saying ‘Thank you.’ I will keep trying to find other ways to express my gratitude.” I’m thinking of a young man in Christ Church. He and his wife love the Lord ...

3731. The Secret Of Our Confidence

2 Timothy 1:11-12

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... one of our retired members of Christ Church was sharing with me memories from her childhood. She said, “My Dad owned a rather large boat and keep it moored near what is now Mud Island. We had many fun times on a sandbar up the river, picnicking and swimming. My brother and I ... between him and us. He loves us so much. He has wonderful and mysterious ways of pulling us out of trouble and keeping us secure in him. For that I am so thankful. In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Journal, there is a tender section where ...

3732. Why Is Life So Unfair?

Romans 8:28-39

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... , “The same place he was when his Son died. He was there watching and weeping.” And just as God brought a resurrection after that crucifixion, he can make sure that the final word on our lives is not about unfairness but about victory. God is love, and if we keep the faith, nothing is all creation will be able to separate us from his love. Here is step number two: STAY CLOSE ENOUGH TO GOD TO LET HIM HEAL YOUR WOUNDS. One of Satan’s favorite tricks is to slip up to a hurting person and say, “If God ...

3733. Joshua: Why These Stones?

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... as they "crossed over." One of my favorite authors is the prolific Frederick Buechner. In one of his many books, Buechner says: "Hope stands up to its knees in the past, and keeps its eye on the future." In this historic church, we are "standing up to our knees in the past." These stones witness to what God has done here. And we are called to "keep our eye on the future," to cross over and discover the land God has prepared for us. Well, it was bound to happen. God knew it. Joshua knew it. And we know ...

3734. Moses: A Traveling God in a Pop-Up Camper

Exodus 13:17-22, 33:7-11

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... in that beautiful phrase, "God heard their groanings, and God remembered..." And when God remembers, God acts, because God always keeps his promises. Enter Moses.... God calls him out of a burning bush to go to Pharaoh and say "Let my ... road, moving down the highway of life." He says we are often deflected into wanting another kind of God…"a God I can predict; a God I can keep in a box; a God who will always be in a certain place when I need Him." But he says: "The living God is much more demanding. He ...

3735. The Shepherd's Song

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... even when it means going against the current, against the tide. John Wesley's last letter before his death was written to William Wilberforce, an almost lone voice waging a campaign against slavery in the British Empire. With his last breath, Wesley encouraged him to keep on the "right path:" Unless God has raised you up, I see not how you can go through your glorious enterprise in opposing that execrable villainy, which is the scandal of religion, of England and of human nature. But if God be for you, who ...

3736. Only Matthew…Only Joseph

Matthew 1:1-13

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... 't believe…for all your reading of the scriptures, you don't believe. Joseph: Mary, I do believe. I do believe God will keep his promises. The Christ will come, someday. But not now, not to us in our time, in our town, to us and our ... happen far away, to other people. That will make it credible and safe. People will not have it—they will not have evidence that God will keep his promises, not if it is personal. Personal involvement in God's plan is too terrible. It costs too dearly. [3] Ah, Joseph, you are ...

3737. Why Not Now?

Acts 8:26-40

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... finally the man asks the question. And at that point, it says "Philip opened his mouth," which is to suggest he had been keeping his mouth shut until then! And when the man asked, then he said, "Let me tell you about Jesus." That's the kind ... be undone. Thank you all, and may God continue to bless this church. Well, when the Ethiopian heard the story, he responded, "What is to keep me from accepting Christ right here and now? What's to stop me from becoming a believer? What's to prevent me from being baptized ...

3738. Barnabas Found the Way

Acts 4:35-5:16

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... take a disaster to teach us this simple lesson? Remember the story Jesus told of the farmer who had a bumper crop—great harvest, bountiful season. So the farmer said to himself, "Self, what shall we do? I know, I'll build me some bigger barns… keep it, hold it, hoard it all." And Jesus said, "Thou fool…tonight your soul will be required of thee, then whose will all these things be?" (Luke 12:18) When you realize you could lose the whole harvest overnight, you've learned how precious all these things ...

3739. High Noon

Psalm 91:1-16

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... lose sight of the vastness, the grandness, the incredible immenseness of God, and we die in the noonday heat with our petty notions of God's boundaries in our lives. O God, at high noon, don't let me settle for a narrow faith and a stifled spirit. Keep me growing and alive, ready to discover new insights, new visions, new breadth and height and depth to your love. The Psalmist knew: knew there is danger in the dark, terror in the night knew there are arrows that fly by day But perhaps the most insidious of ...

3740. Breakfast on the Beach

John 21:1-14

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... a pin. Here John is recording a simple statement of fact: the size of the catch. Carl Price asked, "Did you ever know a fisherman who couldn't tell you how many fish he caught?" It is to say that counting matters. Counting members. Counting attendance. Keeping track. But get it straight—our business is not accounting, it's fishing. And the bottom line is, how many people we are reaching for Jesus Christ? The great story-telling preacher Fred Craddock tells the story of Frank, a man he met in Washita Creek ...

3741. Worship Like A Wesley

Philippians 4:4-9

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... Do not bawl, so as to be heard above or distinct from the rest of the congregation, that you may not destroy the harmony; but strive to unite your voices together, so as to make one clear melodious sound. VI. Sing in time. Whatever time is sung, be sure to keep with it. Do not run before nor stay behind it; but attend close to the leading voices, and move therewith as exactly as you can; and take care not to sing too slow. This drawling way naturally steals on all who are lazy; and it is high time to drive ...

3742. Secret Revealed

Romans 16:25-27

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... enough to make us reliable experts on much of anything. We may act like that is not true and parade our resumes across the Internet for all to admire. The reality is if the Creator of the universe and the Father of our Savior and Lord wants to keep a secret, there is nothing we can do about it! Therein lies our security and peace, as we humbly acknowledge his greatness and our littleness. Dare we talk about or perhaps even debate the timing of the event? As we understand history, we might very well conclude ...

3743. Training for a Purpose

Titus 2:11-14

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... his sheep and lambs. Through this endeavor we act as vehicles or channels of "bringing salvation to all." Isn't this what we are always to be about? Indeed, how else can we justify our existence as those professing the name of Jesus the Christ? Funny how we keep evading and avoiding that which is of the essence of our being in Christ, as Saint Paul put it. Loving others in a sincere and wholesome way, bears fruit in ways people can view. The Spirit will seek to guide them to accept and understand that this ...

3744. Deep Calling to Deep

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

Wow, our text is not only challenging, it is a momentous portion of scripture that keeps spreading and giving! The profound theology expressed is in some ways more than we are able to ... faith may not be blasphemous or heretical but it will undoubtedly be minimal. This we must shun and be on our guard against. Our spiritual growth demands we keep moving on, hopefully upward. As a boy, I remember honest people during the time of testimonials saying exactly the same thing at each and every service. It is ...

3745. Plea for Discipline

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... leads to everlasting life with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is an old/new teaching to whom all Christians for twenty centuries can relate. It is couched in terms both familiar and relevant. For you and me, now early in the twenty-first century, it keeps us in touch with sublime revelation that remains at once practical and dependent on faith. As one ponders the brevity of one's life, the truth shines in all its splendor. This brief period of living on planet earth is but a dressing room for the main ...

3746. Gift of Positive Thinking

2 Corinthians 1:18-22

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... be God. It is a circumstance that is not unusual. Perhaps it is best illustrated by the little boy who prays (with his hands behind his back and fingers crossed) for the good of his playmate! We know the problem, clergy and laity are summoned to keep working at it until we do better — much better. The coming of the kingdom in many lives is thwarted by those who, knowingly or unknowingly, have their crossed fingers behind their backs. "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done" awaits our humble co-operation. We ...

3747. Parades and Crosses — The Challenge of Ministry

2 Corinthians 4:5-12

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... as much as our minister, easily, and so could you. No minister dares make much more than the average salary of his congregation, no matter how good he is. You remember the old trustees prayer which goes like this: 'Lord, you arrange to keep our minister humble, and we'll arrange to keep him poor.' People are funny that way. For some reason they think money and ministry are incompatible. You'll have no financial future in the ministry, my son." "I know, Dad. It seems strange to me that it is okay for lay ...

3748. Jesus Is the Recipe for Eternal Life

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... , bitterness, and wrath. We must not allow the sun to set on our wrath. In other words, we must let go of the things that keep us apart from one another. We are to live peaceably. The next ingredient in Paul's recipe is the need for honest work. Paul was ... friend asked her, "How many times do you come to church in a year — over 400?" The question intrigued the women, so she decided to start keeping count. She bought a large box with a lid in which she cut a whole and put a lock on it. She hid the key in ...

3749. Prayer: A Way of Life

James 5:13-20

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... , Saint Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, made explicit a fundamental tenet of prayer: "Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18). In his Letter to the Colossians he put it this way, "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving" (Colossians 4:3). Paul in essence was telling his fledgling Christian communities that they must make prayer a way of life. Today Saint ...

3750. Forgiveness Written in Stone

Matthew 18:21-35

Illustration

Brett Blair & Stephen Felker

... erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, it's our duty to engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it. So real forgiveness leaves the sins of others and our hurts in the past. Yet Jesus understands the difficulty of such forgiveness. To keep on forgiving is a God-like characteristic. It is contrary to human nature. So he tells the parable of an unmerciful servant which will help us obey His commandment to ...

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