Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 3901 to 3925 of 4884 results

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

James Merritt

... great God. His name is a great name. It’s a name of grace, a name of goodness, and a name of glory. May that name forever be honored, and hallowed forever and ever, Amen. [1] R. C. Sproul, Holy Justice, pp. 146-148. [2] Michael Horton, The Law of Perfect Freedom, p. 106.

3902. Ignite: Set On Fire!

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... added that day about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2:40-41, ESV) They did what every follower of Jesus Christ is expected to do once they receive forgiveness in the Holy Spirit. Once they became a Christ-follower they were baptized. Incidentally, this was the perfect opportunity for Christianity to be stopped dead in its tracks. In that crowd of thousands anybody could have stepped up and said, “Wait a minute! Jesus is dead. I will take you to the tomb. We will open the grave. I will show you His body ...

3903. Ignite: Fire Extinguishers

Acts 15:1-21

Sermon

James Merritt

... rules about the rules… Legalists love rules about who gets to enforce the rules made by the people whom the rules appointed to make the rules about the rules… Legalists really love rules about who gets to interpret the rules that rule… Legalists get perfectly euphoric when they get to enact the rules by punishing people who break the rules as interpreted by those appointed by the rules… In the end, legalists want to rule through rules and weld their rules like weapons to divide the church body into ...

3904. One Thing

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

James Merritt

... New Year’s Day. He gives us the secret on how to make every new season your best ever. He begins by making a candid admission which is the starting point for making your life better on a daily basis. “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” (Philippians 3:12, ESV) What Paul is admitting is he has not arrived. He doesn’t have it all together. Though he has done a lot there is still more to do. Though ...

3905. Up Close & Personal: Seeing Clearly

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

James Merritt

... his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.’” (Isaiah 6:6-7, ESV) What you see here is a perfect illustration of that truth, “God loves a sinner, but hates the sin.” What Isaiah hates in himself God hates even more, but God’s love for the sinner is greater than His hatred for the sin. Isaiah is cleansed and Isaiah is forgiven. The one thing that has ...

3906. Lost Baggage: Flying Standby

Matthew 7:1-6

Sermon

James Merritt

... their hair an untraditional color or piercing their body in a place other than an earlobe. [1] We are in a series of messages we are calling “Lost Baggage.” Everybody carries some baggage with them. None of us grew up in a totally perfect environment. Whether it was because of an inattentive father, an overbearing mother, or being somewhat lacking either in athletic skill or academic ability, or because of a physical imperfection or being bullied, we all have baggage we need to lose. Jesus deals with ...

3907. Lost Baggage: Empty Your Suitcase

Matthew 18:10-14

Sermon

James Merritt

... , hit a nerve, scratched an itch or met a real felt need it is the series that we are concluding today that we have called “Lost Baggage.” As we have said repeatedly, everybody has baggage. Even if you grew up in what you would consider a perfect environment, that environment itself may have loaded you with baggage. What kind of baggage do people carry? Many times it’s relationships baggage. Maybe a failed marriage in your past. Maybe you had sin in your life, or were the victim of sin in someone else ...

3908. Do You Believe In Miracles?

Matthew 15:29-39

Sermon

James Merritt

... things happen at the end of this service. Suppose someone paralyzed from birth was suddenly and miraculously healed and started running all around this building? What if someone who was born blind all of a sudden had 20/20 vision? Suppose that another person, in perfectly good health gives their heart and life to Jesus Christ and trusts Him as their Lord and Savior? Do you know what would excite us more? The physical miracle. Do you know what we would be talking about more? The physical miracle. When you ...

3909. Supernatural: Taken By Storm

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

James Merritt

... started doing something else.” He was wondering why did Tiger react that way? Then he said it dawned on him – “Tiger believed me when I made a promise. All Tiger had to know was I would promise to get it for him and he believed my promise. God has a perfect record of keeping His promises. He hasn’t broken one in eternity past and He won’t break one in eternity future. If you are in the middle of a storm you remember the promise of Jesus. He will get you to the other side. II. Rest In The Presence ...

3910. The Knot: Tied

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

James Merritt

... different. I will say this, “Show me a martial knot that is tied with the strands of a real love like this and I’ll show you a knot that can’t come untied.” So if my love is real… II. I Will Show How Love Lives Verse 7 makes perfect sense when you understand what real love is in the preceding verses, because if my love is real this is what my love will do. “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:7, ESV) Paul uses one Greek noun four ...

3911. She Had Great Faith

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Later, when his parents got home, the meat was still intact. Spike hadn’t touched it. Spike was such a good dog, says Denn, you could leave treats on the coffee table and never have to worry about Spike getting into them. However, Spike wasn’t perfect. One Christmas Denn’s father was standing in the kitchen looking over the half wall that separated the kitchen from the living room. As he watched, Spike came into the living room and carefully looked around to make sure he wasn’t being watched. Then ...

3912. The Ice Bucket Challenge

Romans 13:8-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... since he was born. They are best friends. Noah and Lucas do everything together. Noah doesn’t mince words when he describes his feelings about his younger brother. His feelings are a complete "ice bucket" of commitment. Noah simply says, "I love him. He is perfect!" This last year Noah decided he wanted to do a "kid’s triathalon." No matter that at the time of his decision Noah could not even swim. He started training for the swimming, biking, running marathon he would have to complete. But Noah never ...

3913. Seventy-Seven

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Forgiveness is more than let bygones be bygones. Forgiveness is the hardest kind of “gifting” we can either extend or experience. None of us can truly “forgive” without knowing and accepting the forgiving love that God has given to all of humanity, most perfectly in the gift of Jesus the Christ, the Ultimate Gift, the Present of Presence. No one can be forgiving of others and their human failings until they have felt the power of the forgiveness that comes from the cross, and crosses all boundaries ...

3914. Turning Pity-Parties into Praise-Parties

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... book, “Once we can accept that God is in all situations, and can and will use even bad situations for good, then everything becomes an occasion for good and an occasion for God, and is thus at the heart of religion. . . God’s plan is so perfect that even sin, tragedy and painful deaths are used to bring us to divine union. God wisely makes the problem itself part of the solution” (Eager to Love [2014]). God wants to make whatever problem you are having part of God’s greater solution, for you and ...

3915. Night of Light

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Timothy Cargal

... of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (vv. 12-13). The stance taken in this text is one that simultaneously looks back to Christ’s first advent (“grace ... has appeared”) and forward to his second advent (“while we wait”). It is thus the perfect stance for the threshold that is Christmas Eve in the life of the church. But the end purpose of our repentance and redemption is not merely personal piety or even salvation understood as escape from God’s eternal judgment. Christ has redeemed and ...

3916. Odd Ducks in a Rubber-Ducky World

1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... directly related to the rise in illnesses linked to chemical exposures in human populations. Since birds variously live in the air, water, and land, and their diets vary from eating insects, fruits, seeds, berries, worms and grubs, they were the perfect target populations to keep an eye on in order to keep track of these environmental threats. Carson’s work eventually led to an executive order by President Richard Nixon creating the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). “Bird watchers” brought about ...

3917. The Full Advent: Whoa! No Way? Wow!

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to the rich and famous, but to an oddment of outcasts like you shepherds. Just as you wrap newborn lambs in swaddling cloths and elevate them above the dangers of being trodden underfoot by lying them in mangers, so you will find the Messiah, the Perfect Lamb of God that will take away the sins of the world. After the ambush, and after the amusement, came something much more. After the amusement came amazement. This is the third feature of The Full Advent: Amazement. The first miracle of Christmas has ...

3918. The Three Shower Gifts

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , The sweetest name on earth. Oh, how I love Jesus, Oh, how I love Jesus, Oh, how I love Jesus, Because He first loved me! 2. It tells me of a Savior’s love, Who died to set me free; It tells me of His precious blood, The sinner’s perfect plea. 3. It tells me what my Father hath, In store for every day, And though I tread a darksome path, Yields sunshine all the way. 4. It tells of One whose loving heart Can feel my deepest woe, Who in each sorrow bears a part That none can bear ...

3919. I'm Listening

1 Samuel 3:1--4:1

Sermon

King Duncan

... for one such party the hostess greeted him and he explained why he was late. “I had to stop along the way and murder my mistress,” he said, “and it took longer than I thought.” Without blinking an eye, the hostess said she understood perfectly, “I was almost late myself, everyone is quite busy. Enjoy yourself. Have a good time.” As the columnist mingled around the party, someone asked him what he did for a living. He said, “Oh, I am the executioner for the State Penitentiary.” The person ...

3920. Why He Did It

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

King Duncan

... rest of his family escaped out a back window. They all lived. But Vernon Dahmer was overcome by smoke and flames. Hours later, he was dead. (4) You and I live such easy lives compared to many people who try to live out their faith. The Lenten season is a perfect time to reflect on our lives and ask what we are prepared to give for the things we believe. One of the reasons so many people hold the Armed Forces of our country in such high esteem is that we know that the men and women who volunteer for the ...

3921. A Family Celebration - Maundy Thursday

John 13:18-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... Hang in there!” It was a holy moment for both men. (5) Such a reversal of roles might not pass a theological litmus test, but it affirms our oneness before God. The blood of the lamb has been spread over our door. It is the blood of the perfect Lamb of God, Jesus Christ our Lord. We have gathered this evening to feast on him, not as strangers but as his family. And thus we take now the bread and the cup. Let the feasting begin. 1. Edward K. Rowell, Humor for Preaching and Teaching (Grand Rapids: Baker ...

3922. Dust in the Wind

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

Timothy Cargal

... so deep inside your head that it can never be uprooted. Maybe it is the melody or the mood evoked by its musical qualities. Maybe it is the themes and ideas that find expression in its lyrics. If it happens to be both the music and the lyrics perfectly matched to each other, then the effect is particularly strong. Such songs have the ability to become a recurring soundtrack to our lives. One such song for me is Kerry Livgren’s “Dust In The Wind.” Since I first heard this song more than 20 years ago ...

3923. A Watery Grave

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... the later covenants with Abraham, Israel, and David are all between God and people, this covenant with Noah extends to “every living creature that is with you.” Inasmuch as the judgment of the flood afflicted all creatures, not just humankind, it is perfectly appropriate to include the animals in this promise never to flood the world again. It also serves as a very wholesome reminder to us that God is concerned with all of creation. It is easy — perhaps natural — for us to be anthropocentric in ...

3924. Building a New Team

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... . For some, evil was inherent in the system like yin’s twin, yang. For others, humans had incurred the wrath of the gods and were punished through the spread of vices that flowed out of Pandora’s mythical box. Others still believed divine perfection was trapped by a mean-spirited creator into the corrupt and forgetful stuff of human flesh, awaiting magical gnostic liberation. Paul penned this letter while spending the winter in Corinth at the close of his third mission journey. He was preparing to leave ...

3925. I'll Never Forget That Night

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... fellowship of the faith centered on Jesus’ own acts of love and obedience. It is from this “new command,” as expressed in the Latin language, that Maundy Thursday derives its name. Application A “Christ in the Passover” demonstration would be perfect for tonight. Perhaps someone from a messianic Jewish community or a local seminary or Bible school can help reenact the Hebrew Passover and show how Jesus transformed it into the church’s celebration of Holy Communion. Don’t preach too much ...

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