Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 376 to 400 of 4946 results

376. Learning to Be Patient

Matthew 15:23

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: Ice cubes and paper cups Good morning, boys and girls. How are you on this wonderful Lord’s day? Sometimes I can hardly wait for the next Sunday to come so that we can get back together. I begin to think about what we’re going to do next Sunday and then it’s all that I can do to just wait. When that happens, someone has to remind me to be patient. Do you know what being patient means? (Get several answers) It means to wait for the right moment. I want to show you what I mean. All of you know what ...

377. Phony Excuses

Luke 14:19

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: Paper money such as that used in Monopoly set (or some slugs), some real money I want to take a good look at you this morning. Let me see what you have on. (Look them over closely) Let’s see if any of the boys have anything in their pockets that they consider to be really valuable. (Wait until they have produced something and then comment on the value, showing that you really think it is important. Indicate what you might give for it) Oh, boy, there are some wonderful things here this morning. I ...

378. Fishing Takes Practice

Matthew 4:18-22

Illustration

Samuel G. Candler

Ernest Hemingway loved fishing as much as he loved writing. He would never have been a great writer had he not fished, and he would never have been a great fisherman had he not written. Maybe his great work "The Old Man and the Sea" is so powerful because it is at one time so dramatically simple and also so dramatically deep. But "The Old Man and The Sea" is only one of Hemingway's great stories about fishing. His favorite saying apparently was this--something he learned while fishing and writing: il faut ...

379. Going Back on One’s Word

Jeremiah 34:1-7, Jeremiah 34:8-22

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

34:1–39:18 Review · Case Studies in the Failure of Leadership: Incidents from the reigns of two kings, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah, are told in chapters 34–39. The actors include Jeremiah, princes, and the Rekabite family. The stories, not chronological, are prelude to the fall of Jerusalem (chap. 39). “Fire” and “burning” are key words. The stories are a forceful commentary on ungodly leadership and on spiritual rebellion. Here is the account of the total rejection of the word of God, whether received via a ...

380. How Can We Restore the Christian Home?

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

Donald Macleod

And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" He answered them, "What did Moses command you?" They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to put her away." But Jesus said to them, "For your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female.' 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' ...

381. How Does Religious Conduct Work?

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

Donald Macleod

Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech; and they besought him to lay his hand upon him. And taking him aside from the multitude privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." And his ears were opened, his tongue was ...

382. News Too Good To Keep

Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Note The shepherds, having heard the angelic message, go to Bethlehem; and, having beheld the holy family for themselves, they return whence they came, but now ''glorifying and praising God,'' not only for the baby whom they had seen, but also for the angels' words that had revealed his true identity" Liturgical Color White Suggested Hymns God, Whose Almighty Word Silent Night, Holy Night Lo, How A Rose Is Growing, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing The Bells Of Christmas Christmas Eve This is quite a ...

383. When Is It Tolerable to Be Intolerant?

Mark 9:38-50

Sermon

Donald Macleod

John said to him, "Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he was not following us." But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is for us. For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose his reward. "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be ...

384. Holy Diet

John 6:24-35

Sermon

Donald Macleod

So when the people saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for ...

385. Turning Away from Temptation

Matthew 4:7

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: A book of matches or enough for all the children with the match heads removed. Well, here we are at the last Sunday in February and it seems as if the month only started. This week was the birthday of a very famous man. Do you know who it was? (Wait for them to say George Washington) Does anyone know anything about George Washington? (See if you can get the story of the hatchet out of the children) Sometimes even the best people do things that are wrong. We wonder why people do things that they ...

386. Willing Servants

Luke 22:26

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: Picture of a tree, some things made from trees, such as paper, logs, boards, furniture, etc. (if you can, you might contact a nursery and see if they would give you enough tiny plantings for each child - many will) Good morning, servants. How about that, has anyone ever called you a servant before? No one has? Would you like people to call you a servant? You might not want to now, but in a minute you’ll be glad that I did. Let me show you a picture of a huge tree in my front yard. Isn’t that a ...

387. Keeping Our Perspective and Priorities Straight

Luke 6:17-26

Illustration

Brett Blair

Leith Anderson, a pastor, shared an experience: As a boy, he grew up outside of New York City and was an avid fan of the old Brooklyn Dodgers. One day his father took him to a World Series game between the Dodgers and the Yankees. He was so excited, and he just knew the Dodgers would trounce the Yankees. Unfortunately, the Dodgers never got on base, and his excitement was shattered. Years later he was engrossed in a conversation with a man who was a walking sports almanac. Leith told him about the first ...

388. Follow Me…

Matthew 4:1-11

Illustration

Samuel G. Candler

"Follow me, and I will make you fishers," said Jesus. Fishing takes practice, preparation, discipline. One must learn how to best throw the net, how to make the mouth of the net come open too. I can throw the actual cast net a long way, but I can't always make the net come open so that it will actually form a circle around the fish. One must learn how to cast the line on a rod. Again, some folks can cast a long way, but their accuracy is awful. There may be fish on the right, but they know only how to cast ...

389. Regret & Comfort

John 14:1-14; 1 Cor 15:8-9

Illustration

J. Ellsworth Kalas

Regret. It has powerful strength to trouble our hearts. Some of our most painful regrets are for opportunities lost. As John Greenleaf Whittier said: Of all sad words of tongue or pen. The saddest are these: It might have been! How many people go under a dark cloud by thinking, even momentarily, of the person they almost married, the investment they almost made, the position they nearly won. But for every person who is filled with regret for an opportunity lost, there is another who regrets a deed done, a ...

390. No Going Back

Mark 6:14-29

Illustration

Staff

When Julius Caesar landed on the shores of Britain with his Roman legions, he took a bold and decisive step to ensure the success of his military venture. Ordering his men to march to the edge of the Cliffs of Dover, he commanded them to look down at the water below. To their amazement, they saw every ship in which they had crossed the channel engulfed in flames. Caesar had deliberately cut off any possibility of retreat. Now that his soldiers were unable to return to the continent, there was nothing left ...

391. Missing the Meaning of Success

John 6:1-15

Illustration

J. Ellsworth Kalas

We don't necessarily recognize success when we see it. When HamiltonCollege celebrated its centennial, one of its most famous alumni, Alexander Woolcott, was asked to give a major address. Woolcott opened his speech this way: "I send my greetings today to all my fellow alumni of Hamilton College, scattered all over the world. Some of you are successes, and some of you are failures only God knows which are which!" It's hard to recognize success. We don't always know it when we see it. Jesus was able to ...

392. Giving Away the Nail

Illustration

Steve Farrar

An old parable told by a Haitian pastor makes the point. A certain man wanted to sell his house for two thousand dollars. Another man wanted to buy it very badly, but he was a poor man and didn’t have the full price. After much bargaining, the owner agreed to sell the house to the man for one thousand dollars. But the reduced price came with a stipulation. The owner would sell the house, but he would keep ownership of a large nail protruding from over the front door. Several years later, the original owner ...

393. All the Way to Hell

Luke 17:1-10

Illustration

J. Ellsworth Kalas

Without forgiveness, we will be destroyed ourselves--we have a basic duty to forgive. Whatever you do, don't let those who have wronged you remake you in their image. When three young men were brought to trial in a West Memphis, Arkansas, court for killing three eight-year-olds, the father of one of the victims suddenly rushed at the young man screaming, "I'll chase you all the way to hell!" We can understand the father's fierce anger, but there is something almost prophetic about his words. If we allow ...

394. Staying Alive All Your Ministry Life: Will You Finish Well?

Exodus 32:1-33:6

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There are some experiences or encounters that are so solidly lodged in our memory they continue to invade our consciousness – to haunt us – to help us or to hinder our Christian walk, to call and challenge us to be more than we are. John Birkbeck is a person around whom for me a whole cluster of memories is gathered – memories that invade my immediate awareness now and then. John was a Scot Presbyterian preacher. During a part of my tenure as the World Editor of The Upper Room, he was the editor of the ...

395. Reveille

Mark 6:7-13, Matthew 10:1-42, Luke 9:1-9, Luke 10:1-24

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: video of the introduction to “Star Trek” (you may want to put a space / stars backdrop up during the sermon) We recently saw the return to theatres yet another “Star Trek” movie. Trekkies are everywhere. There are trekkie conferences, and trekkie clubs. And still millions flock to the movies to see the new generation of “Jim” and “Spock,” “Bones,” and “Scotty” venture into unknown space. Star Trek was one of the first shows to have a diverse cast and to ask questions about what it means to love, to ...

396. The Art of Living Until

Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon

Leonard Mann

There are many things about your life which I do not know. But one thing I do know: you are living in an interim. And so am I. We are in time-in-between; we are between what has happened and what will happen. We know a great deal about the former and very little about the latter. What has been is past, and we are moving away from it, going on to what is to be. How we make this journey is very important, the attitudes with which we travel, the guiding stars we follow. So I want to speak with you about The ...

397. Who's Number One?

Exodus 20:1-3

Sermon

James Merritt

9/11 - All of us know that date. Because of that date, another cabinet level department was created to serve the President of the United States - Department of Homeland Security. Note the keyword in that department which is home. The greatest way to protect the homeland is to protect the homes in that land. That is why I am beginning a series of messages I am entitling "Homeland Security." We are going to be dealing with the Ten Commandments, because the greatest way to protect our homes is to teach our ...

398. Poem: In Memoriam

Eulogy

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Preface Strong Son of God, immortal Love, Whom we, that have not seen thy face, By faith, and faith alone, embrace, Believing where we cannot prove; Thine are these orbs of light and shade; Thou madest Life in man and brute; Thou madest Death; and lo, thy foot Is on the skull which thou hast made. Thou wilt not leave us in the dust: Thou madest man, he knows not why, He thinks he was not made to die; And thou hast made him: thou art just. Thou seemest human and divine, The highest, holiest manhood, thou. ...

399. Why Every Christian Should Be an Optimist

Psalm 121:1-8

Sermon

James Merritt

Are you an optimist, or are you a pessimist? I heard about an optimist that was talking to a pessimist, and he said, "Isn't this a beautiful sunny day?" The pessimist replied, "It may be, but if this heat spell doesn't stop very soon, all the grass is going to burn up." Two days later the optimist said to the pessimist, "Isn't this rain wonderful?" The pessimist replied, "Well, if it doesn't stop soon, my garden is going to wash away." The next day the optimist invited the pessimist to go duck hunting. The ...

400. Glory Guaranteed

Jude 1:24-25

Sermon

James Merritt

Before Woodrow Wilson became President of the United States, he was President of Princeton University. One day he had to endure an hour-long interrogation by an anxious mother who wanted to be sure that Princeton was the best place to send her son. He patiently tried to answer every one of her questions, and assuage every one of her doubts, but finally, his patience came to an end. He held up his hand and looked at her and said, "Madam, we guarantee satisfaction, or you will get your son back."1 There is ...

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