Sermon and Worship Resources

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Acts 24:1-27, Acts 25:1-12

Sermon Aid

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Two years at Caesarea! Today people might regard that as an ideal vacation - warm Mediterranean breezes, a rocky shoreline with some sandy beaches, daily pageantry with the drills of the Roman legions, plenty of sunshine and swimming. Today, only a few miles to the south, the shore is lined with the high-rise resort hotels of Tel-Aviv. Caesarea itself has become a tourist mecca, carefully excavated and restored to indicate some of the amenities of Roman civilization - paved streets, aqueducts to bring ...

377. Faith A New Potential for Life

Romans 4:1-25

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

"(Abraham) staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith ... and therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness" (Romans 4:20, 22). Faith was the only thing that made Abraham different from the other inhabitants of Ur of the Chaldees. They continued in their blindness and unreality. Abraham left home because he was sure there was a real God somewhere, not one of wood and stone. Believing, Abraham left all, determined to find this God who was real. You and I, also, stand ...

378. Faith Opens the Door

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

Faith opens the door in the human spirit that allows an individual to step from one dimension of living into a higher dimension of living. Dr. Charles Allen tells of a desperate layman who called him one morning over the phone and urgently requested him to come to his office. The businessman continued, "Would you tell me what it means to be a Christian? I have got to know." We ministers are challenged by such a request, but how do we answer the question? It all begins with faith. Faith is a personal ...

379. The Snake: A Slick Salesman

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Some years ago a relative of mine adopted a baby raccoon. Herbie was its name. Herbie was the cutest, most cuddly little creature imaginable. He was hooked on oreo cookies. Because Herbie was fed an ample, high calorie diet, he grew rapidly into a rolly-poley prankster. We had been warned that raccoons go through a glandular change at about two years of age and often attack their owners. A 30- pound raccoon can be equal to a 100-pound dog in a scrap. But our response was: "It will be different with Herbie ...

380. Pontius Pilate - Adamant, But Acquiescent

Luke 22:66--23:25

Sermon

Carl E. Zahrte

Was I there? You surely don’t need to ask me that question, do you? You know very well that I was there. Every week of the year, millions of Christians all over the world speak my name every time they confess their faith. They say in the Creed that Jesus Christ, God’s only son, their Lord, suffered under Pontius Pilate. Yes, I am Pontius Pilate, the man who had the authority of Rome, and the armed might of a trained army, but the man who capitulated to an unruly mob in what some claim was the greatest ...

381. OUR LORD SMITTEN

Sermon

E. Jerry Walker

Nearly all the morning hours had been exhausted in the trial which left the centurion with the task of crucifying three condemned men. The sun was pressing toward its meridian, and the desert wind from the east which had prevailed during the night was quiet. A tense, hot stillness hung over Jerusalem, harsh as the dust that fogged the air, raised by the feet of thousands of pilgrims entering and leaving the temple compound. It clung to the skin and caked the nostrils, and the centurion longed for the day ...

382. The Father Who Wanted His Son To Succeed

1 Kings 2:1-12

Sermon

Alton F. Wedel

Every father who is worthy of the name would like to see his son succeed. From the day the child is born, whether son or daughter, through infancy and childhood and the teenage years, Dad wants to be around to train, to guide, to mold, to love, and to enjoy the child who has been given as a heritage from God. He entertains great hopes and visions for the future, when his child will follow in his footsteps, perhaps pursue the same profession, and succeed him in the family business. If he is very wise he ...

383. The Other Side Of Christmas

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

King Duncan

A misprint in a church bulletin read: "The choir will sing, ˜I Heard the Bills On Christmas Day.'" We are on the other side of Christmas. For some of us that means the Christmas bells will soon be turning to Christmas bills. One man had a great idea for his children's Christmas. He ordered the plans for a tree house from a mail-order catalogue. He received instead the plans for a sailboat. His letter of complaint to the company brought this apologetic reply: "While we regret the inconvenience this mistake ...

384. Walk In Love

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

An insurance agent filed this claim on behalf of one of his clients: The Insured operates a dude ranch and we insure all of his ranch buildings and his pickup truck. He had been having trouble with coyotes and had rigged up an ingenious sapling cage trap to catch the animals, after which he would shoot them. This time he decided to try something different, and instead of shooting the coyote, he tied a stick of dynamite to its neck and lit the fuse, opening the cage door at the same time. The coyote ...

385. You Are A Winner!

Romans 5:12-21

Sermon

King Duncan

Some people like stories about winners. It gives them something to aspire to. Some of us prefer stories about losers. Losers help us feel better about our own lives. Like Mrs. Dora Wilson, an English housewife. On February 18, 1981, Mrs. Wilson looked out her window in Harlow, Essex, and saw a group of men loading her neighbors' priceless collection of Persian carpets into a moving van. "What are you doing?" she called, knowing her neighbors were on vacation. "We're taking them to be cleaned, madam," the ...

386. Jerry's Story . . . And Ours

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

King Duncan

Once upon a time, there was a young man named Jerry. Jerry's dad was a pastor, and all his life it was assumed that Jerry would be a pastor too. His grandma said it: "God's got his hand on you, Jerry. Someday, you're going to wear those fine velvet robes, and put that shiny cross around your neck. And you're going to step into the pulpit and preach the Word, just like your daddy does. And we'll be so proud." Jerry's uncles and aunts said it: "I'll tell you, that boy has a good strong voice. I could hear ...

387. The Difference Between Looking Good And Being Good

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

King Duncan

Is there anyone in this room who doesn't enjoy looking good? We all do--whether we admit it or not. And when we feel like we don't look good, it affects how we feel about ourselves. There was a study done by researchers at Yale University sometime back on what are often called "bad hair days." This study found that on those days when our hair just won't cooperate, we feel less smart, less capable, more embarrassed and less sociable. What was surprising to the researchers was that men, not women, were most ...

388. The Coming Of The Spirit

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Dr. Halford Luccock, a famous pastor in New York, was asked by a friend of his who was a New York policeman what the "D.D." printed after his name meant. He informed the officer that it meant "Doctor of Divinity." The policeman replied: "Do you know that `D.D.' is the most common charge written on the police blotter? It means `Drunk and Disorderly.'" Dr. Luccock assured his friend that was only a coincidence. But on his way home, he began to think about it. After all, weren't the saints at Pentecost ...

389. The Laying on of Hands

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

In 1865, in a small town in Wisconsin, five-year-old Max Hoffman came down with cholera. Three days later, the doctor pulled the sheets over the boy’s head and pronounced him dead. Little Max was laid to rest in the village cemetery. That night, his mother awoke screaming: she had dreamt that her son was turning over in his grave. Trembling with fear, she begged her husband to go to the cemetery and immediately raise the coffin. Mr. Hoffman did his best to calm his wife, assuring her that while her ...

390. What Goes on When He Comes in?

Acts 19:1-22

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

As we grapple with the meaning of our first text for today, Acts chapter 19, how appropriate is the oft-used phrase, "We only get one chance to make a first impression." Unquestionably the disciples of John the Baptist, whom Paul met early in his visit to Ephesus, seemed to lack some evidence of God's Spirit in their lives. Their "first impression" was spiritually deficient! Christian scholars throughout the centuries have sought to determine what Paul sensed in these disciples that caused him to question ...

391. God Is Like A Mother

Isaiah 66:1-24

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

People often ask me what my real name is. They can't believe that Maxie could be anyone's real name. They want to think it's a nickname, or short for something like Maxwell or Maximillian. Can you imagine me being named Maxwell? That's far too predictable, far too strong. And Maximillian? That's far too grandiose for me. And folks who don't know me, when they see my name in print, often think I'm a female. I suppose they think Maxie is some sort of abbreviation for Maxine. When I was at The Upper Room, I ...

392. The Stone Was Rolled Away (easter)

Luke 24:1-12

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

"One day a teacher was asking the kids in her fourth grade class to name the person whom they considered the greatest human being alive in the world today -- and the responses were quick in forthcoming and also quite varied too.A little boy spoke up and said, "I think it's Joe Montana. He led the 49ers to another Super Bowl win this year." A little girl said, "I think it's Mother Teresa because she cares for people who are dying and doesn't get paid for it at all." Another little girl said, "I think it's ...

393. Spirit Power

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

In 1926, a wealthy Toronto lawyer named Charles Vance Millar died, leaving behind him a will that amused and electrified the citizens of his Canadian province. Millar, a bachelor with a wicked sense of humor, stated clearly that he intended his last will and testament to be an “uncommon and capricious” document. Because he had no close heirs to inherit his fortune, he divided his money and properties in a way that amused him and aggravated his newly chosen heirs. Here are just a few examples of his strange ...

394. Only One Thing Is Needed

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

King Duncan

Once upon a time, many years ago, there lived a king who had a beautiful daughter. This princess had many offers of marriage, but she couldn’t make up her mind. A romantic girl, she wanted a man who would love her more than he loved anything else. Finally, she devised a way to test the love of her suitors. An announcement was made and sent throughout the kingdom that on a certain day, there would be a race. The winner of the race would marry the princess. The race was open to every man in the kingdom, ...

395. The Death That Ends All Death

1 Peter 3:18

Sermon

James Merritt

Jesus Christ died when he was about thirty-three years old. Other than the fact that he died as a relatively young man, on the surface there seems to be nothing unusual about that statement. The reason why that seems to be a routine statement is because death comes to everyone. When the Irish writer, George Bernard Shaw, completed a statistical study on the subject of death, he said he came to this firm conclusion: "One out of one people dies." Normally that is why biographers seldom spend much time on the ...

396. One Word: Jesus

Matthew 16:13-20

Illustration

King Duncan

William J. Bausch tells a story that says it as well as it can be said. The story says that God created the heavens and earth and everything in them. He created them by His words. God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. This happened with everything. God was proud of His work. He was especially proud of the man and woman which He made. But the devil was jealous and angry. One day when God was enjoying the man and woman, the devil slithered up to God and asked him why he liked those strange ...

397. The Last Parable

Mark 12:1-12

Sermon

James McCormick

It took place during that first Holy Week. For about three years Jesus had been teaching and healing and living among his followers. He had been preparing the disciples for the time when he would no longer be with them. He sensed that they were ready, so he went to Jerusalem to confront those who opposed him. On Sunday he made his entry into Jerusalem – that was Palm Sunday which we will celebrate next week. He did it in such a way that his claim to be the Messiah was unmistakable. He had ridden on a ...

398. Eight Days until Eternity

Mark 11:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

A little girl came home from worship. It was Palm Sunday. Her father asked what she had learned that day. She told him she learned all about the crowd waving their palm branches and singing a song to Jesus. The father was pleased that she had learned so much. He asked, “What was the song they were singing to Jesus?” The little girl paused, then said, “I think it was ‘O Susanna’.” Palm Sunday is the celebration of that momentous day when crowds of people welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem and the crowds sang, “O ...

399. Sowing and Reaping

Galatians 6:1-10

Sermon

John Jamison

These words certainly sound like a threat, don't they? You will reap what you sow! So you'd better watch out! Don't think you can mock God and get away with it. God is watching with this big club, and if you get out of line, Whap! It may be sooner or it may be later, but you won't get away with it, that's for sure. One of these days ... Pow! Sorry. I kind of got carried away there. But is sure sounds like that is just what Paul is saying to the Galatians. You will reap what you sow. These were not new ...

400. John the Baptist: Parable and Prophet

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

The other day I received a very flattering and enticing letter, offering me what was called a “highly valued” membership in a very select group. Let me share with you a part of that letter. Dear Dr. Dunnam: I believe you’ve earned this privilege. You’ve worked hard and have been recognized for your efforts. Now it’s time for you to carry the card that symbolizes your achievements - the Gold Card. Only a select group of people will ever carry the Gold Card. So it instantly identifies you as someone special ...

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