Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 3976 to 4000 of 5000 results

3976. The Direction of Icebegs

Mark 1:29-39

Illustration

Staff

Countless icebergs float in the frigid waters around Greenland. Some are tiny; others tower skyward. At times the small ones move in one direction while their gigantic counterparts go in another. Why is this? The small ones are pushed around by the winds blowing on the surface of the water, but the huge ice masses are carried along by deep ocean currents. What moves you? The prevailing wind or deep currents?

3977. God Is Pleased Even with the Stumbles

Mark 1:29-39

Illustration

Staff

In his book The Screwtape Letters C.S. Lewis lifts up another truth when he has Screwtape saying: 'God wants them to learn to walk and if only the will to walk is really there, God is pleased even with the stumbles.'

3978. Where's Jesus? Where Do You Look for Jesus?

Mark 1:29-39

Illustration

You have perhaps heard the story of an elderly man who was quite ill who said to his wife, "You know, Sarah, you've always been with me - through the good and through the bad. Like the time I lost my job - you were right there by my side. And the war came, and I enlisted - you became a nurse so you could be with me. Then I was wounded, and you were there, Sarah, right by my side. Then the Depression hit, and we had nothing - but you were there with me. When our son got into trouble and we didn't know what ...

3979. The Age of Efficiency

Mark 1:29-39

Illustration

Dan Matthews

We have called this the information age but I would give it a different name. I would call us the age of efficiency. We want every process streamlined - we want it efficient. The doctor's office doesn't what you checking in with the receptionist anymore, that is a time waster. Through the miracle of technology, they have streamlined the time wasting process of having you write your name. Now you walk up to a computer terminal and type your name, forget talking to a receptionist. They have efficiently ...

3980. A Vision for Coca-Cola

Mark 1:29-39

Illustration

Gary Nicolosi

At the end of World War II, Robert Woodruff, president of the Coca-Cola Company from 1923 to 1955, had a mission. "In my generation," he declared, "it is my desire that everyone in the world have a taste of Coca-Cola." With a vision and dedication rarely matched in corporate American culture, Woodruff and his colleagues spanned the globe with their soft drink. Why is it all right for people to feel that passionate about a soft drink but not about taking Christ to the world? Are there no people who seek ...

3981. Whatever It Takes

Mark 1:29-39

Illustration

Gary Nicolosi

A motivational speaker once said there are two kinds of people in this world: those who say "whatever" and those who say, "whatever it takes." "Whatever" is the response of the shrug. It's a "who cares?" attitude, one of indifference and apathy. "Whatever it takes" is the response of the committed. It's a "can do" attitude that refuses to give up or give in. Think about those two responses when it comes to the Church's mission. Jesus said to love your neighbor. Whatever. Jesus said to go and make disciples ...

3982. Doing Whatever It Takes

Mark 1:29-39

Illustration

Gary Nicolosi

In the United Methodist Church of Moore, Oklahoma (a part of metropolitan Oklahoma City), a young man in his late twenties by the name of Bill experienced a renewal of faith on a weekend retreat. When he returned to his church, Bill was determined to revitalize the Men's Group by reaching out to the young men in the community. He discovered that a lot of young men in his community like to gather in the fall to watch Monday Night Football on television, but the only places providing that setting were bars. ...

3983. Jesus Did Not Meet Every Need

Mark 1:29-39

Illustration

William Loader

Jesus did not have the need to respond to every need. I have always found it odd that people imagine Jesus met every need. When Jesus was Capernaum, he was not in Bethsaida! People in Bethsaida could have been healed. When he was in the wilderness, people back in town were suffering. Jesus might have met the needs of one or two per cent of the needy in Palestine of the day. Coming to terms with our human limitations in time and space and energy is crucial if we are to survive in ministry and Jesus was no ...

3984. Everyone Is Searching for You

Mark 1:29-39

Illustration

Staff

"Everyone is searching for you," the disciples tell Jesus. Jesus has been busily healing, teaching, and casting out their demons with an authority that had even the scoffers talking. Maybe you have been caught up in a time when your full attention was required by all those around you; maybe you know a little of how Jesus felt as he withdrew to pray. People will seek you out for what you can offer. "Everyone is searching for you," or maybe just "I need you." Every "care-giver" understands the need to be a " ...

3985. Healing and Wholeness to Many

Mark 1:29-39

Illustration

Urban Legend

There's an urban legend about the University of Chicago Divinity School. Each year it is said they have what is called "Baptist Day." On this day each one is to bring a lunch to be eaten outdoors in a grassy picnic area. Every "Baptist Day" the school would invite one of the greatest minds to lecture in the theological education center. One year they invited Dr. Paul Tillich. Dr.Tillich spoke for two and one-half hours proving that the resurrection of Jesus was false. He quoted scholar after scholar and ...

3986. Looking for Help

Mark 1:35-39

Illustration

King Duncan

Some people are so superficial when it comes to their understanding of prayer. "Hey, Father," said a man talking to a priest. "You got it all wrong about this God stuff. He doesn't exist. I oughta know." "Why's that, my son?" asked the priest. "Well," the man said, "when I was ice-fishing in the Arctic far from the nearest village, a blizzard blew up with wind and blinding snow. I was a goner. So I got down on my knees and prayed real hard, begging God for help." "And did He help you?" asked the priest. " ...

3987. Being Christian

Mark 1:29-34

Illustration

King Duncan

Gorman Williams spent most of his life as a missionary to India. In 1945 he purchased tickets for a long-awaited vacation back to the United States. He had counted down the months and days until he would be home. A few days before he was to leave he heard about some Jews who had escaped the wrath of the Nazis. They had traveled by boat to India seeking refuge. Since it was a time of global war, the Indian government denied their request to immigrate. They were granted permission to stay for a short time in ...

3988. Don’t Forget to Fly the Airplane!

Illustration

Brett Blair

Charles R. Swindoll, in his book "Dropping Your Guard" tells of Flight 401 bound for Miami from New York City with a load of holiday passengers. As the huge aircraft approached the MiamiAirport for its landing, a light that indicates proper deployment of the landing gear failed to come on. The plane flew in a large, looping circle over the swamps of the Everglades while the cockpit crew checked out the light failure. Their question was this, had the landing gear actually not deployed or was it just the ...

3989. When God Is at Work - Sermon Starter

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

Brett Blair

They really didn't understand it. But, of course, they really had no means to. How could they possibly know that it was contagious only after long periods of very close contact? The only thing they knew about it was what it looked like and what it did to a person in the advanced stages. That they knew well. They understood how it maimed and disfigured. And that was enough for fear to take over. I'm talking about the disease of leprosy. In a world and a time in which the disease has all but been eradicated ...

3990. Healing Is a Mystery

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

Mark Trotter

Healing is a mystery. We don't understand it. All we can do is to prepare our bodies to receive it. That's what doctors do. They do it with surgery, with medicine, and therapy. They prepare our bodies to receive the gift of healing. And that's all you can do too. You can prepare to receive the gift through faith, through prayer, and through openness to the power in creation that heals.

3991. Loneliness

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

We need a community around us. Years ago, when speaker of the house Sam Rayburn heard that he had terminal cancer, he shocked everyone when he announced that he was going back to his small town in Bonham, Texas. Everyone said to him: They have got the finest facilities in Washington, D. C., why go back to that little town. Rayburn's words have been quoted so often that some of you have probably heard them. He said: "Because in Bohman, Texas, they know if you're sick and they care when you die. We need ...

3992. What I Am Preaching Today

Mark 1:40; Luke 5:12

Illustration

Staff

The story is told of the cold winter Sunday morning when the parking lot to the church was filling up quickly. Church members were whispering among themselves as they walked into the church, skirting around the man leaning up against the wall outside the church. He was almost lying down as if he was asleep. His long trench coat was almost in shreds and a hat concealed his face. He wore shoes that looked 30 years old, too small, and so holey that his toes stuck out. He was homeless, asleep, and ignored. The ...

3993. The Biggest Lie

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

A pastor was walking down the street when he came upon a group of kids. The group surrounded a dog. Concerned that the kids might be hurting the dog, he went over and asked, "Hey guys what's going on?" One the kids replied, "This dog is just an old neighborhood stray. We all want to take him home, but only one of us can. So we've decided that the one who can tell the biggest lie gets to keep the dog." Of course the pastor was taken aback. "You kids shouldn't be having a lie-telling contest!" He then ...

3994. Humble Servanthood

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

Nothing succeeds in America like success, they say. We like winners and brush aside losers. Let me throw out some names for you: Alfred Landon, James Cox, John Davis, Charles Hughes, Alton Parker. Sound familiar? Probably not. Yet every one of them was so important and well thought of that at some point in the twentieth century each was a nominee for President of the United States. Millions voted for them, for a while their names were plastered all over the place. But then each one lost, of course, and in ...

3995. Touch

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

The Memminger Institute in Topeka, Kansas once had a fascinating experiment. They identified a group of crib babies who did not cry. Let me explain. It seems that babies cry because they instinctively know that this is the way to get attention. Crying is their way of calling out. These babies, however, had been in abusive situations. Their parents let hem cry for hours on end and never responded. Do you know what happened? The babies eventually quit crying. It is almost as if they had learned that it was ...

3996. Love without Condition

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

George Carlin

Do you realize that the only time we like to get old is when we are kids? "I'm four and a half." You're never 36 and a half...but you were four and a half going on five. In our teens we live for the future. "I'm going to be 16. You could be 12, but you're gonna be 16. Then that great day of your life comes...you become 21. Then you turn 30. Sounds like spoiled milk. He turned 30. You become 21. We turn 30. Then you're pushing 40. You reach 50. Then you make it to 60. By then you've built up so much speed ...

3997. The Power of Touch

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

King Duncan

Marcel Gerber was sent by a United Nations committee to study the effects of protein deficiency on Ugandan children. She found, to her surprise, that Uganda's infants were developmentally the most advanced in the world. It was only after two years of age that the children began to be seriously damaged by such things as tribal taboos and food shortages. Ugandan infants were almost constantly held by their mothers and mother surrogates. They went everywhere with their mothers. The physical contact with the ...

3998. Surely Goodness and Mercy

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

King Duncan

A touching story has been circulating on the Internet. It's about a little five-year-old boy named Timmy. Timmy's Mom loved him very much and, being a worrier, she was concerned about him walking to school when he started kindergarten. She walked him to school the first couple of days, but when he came home one day, he told his mother that he did not want her walking him to school every day. He wanted to be like the "big boys." He protested loudly, so she had an idea of how to handle it. She asked a ...

3999. Mr. Macho & Forty Days of Love

Mk 9:2-9

Illustration

King Duncan

Have you ever been confronted with a message that changed your perspective? One church chose as its Lenten theme, "Forty Days of Love." Each week members of the congregation were encouraged to show their love and appreciation in different ways. The first week they were encouraged to send notes to people who had made positive contributions to their lives. After the first service a man in the congregation wanted to speak to his pastor. The pastor describes the man as "kind of macho, a former football player ...

4000. Who Is That Guy In The Beanie?

Mark 9:2-9

Illustration

Did you ever hear the story about the man named Fred Schmoltz. He had a wager with a friend that there was no one in the world who didn't know him. First, they went down to City Hall, and the Mayor ran over to greet him. Fred's friend was not too impressed, so they went to Charleston. When they walked into the capitol building, the State Police said, "Good morning, Mr. Schmoltz. Would you like to see the Governor?" And Fred and his friend were escorted in to where Fred and the Governor exchanged small talk ...

Showing results

Antonyms: deficient, imperfect

Showing 3976 to 4000 of 5000 results

3976. The Direction of Icebegs

Mark 1:29-39

Illustration

Staff

3977. God Is Pleased Even with the Stumbles

Mark 1:29-39

Illustration

Staff

3978. Where's Jesus? Where Do You Look for Jesus?

Mark 1:29-39

Illustration

3979. The Age of Efficiency

Mark 1:29-39

Illustration

Dan Matthews

3980. A Vision for Coca-Cola

Mark 1:29-39

Illustration

Gary Nicolosi

3981. Whatever It Takes

Mark 1:29-39

Illustration

Gary Nicolosi

3982. Doing Whatever It Takes

Mark 1:29-39

Illustration

Gary Nicolosi

3983. Jesus Did Not Meet Every Need

Mark 1:29-39

Illustration

William Loader

3984. Everyone Is Searching for You

Mark 1:29-39

Illustration

Staff

3985. Healing and Wholeness to Many

Mark 1:29-39

Illustration

Urban Legend

3986. Looking for Help

Mark 1:35-39

Illustration

King Duncan

3987. Being Christian

Mark 1:29-34

Illustration

King Duncan

3988. Don’t Forget to Fly the Airplane!

Illustration

Brett Blair

3989. When God Is at Work - Sermon Starter

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

Brett Blair

3990. Healing Is a Mystery

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

Mark Trotter

3991. Loneliness

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

3992. What I Am Preaching Today

Mark 1:40; Luke 5:12

Illustration

Staff

3993. The Biggest Lie

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

3994. Humble Servanthood

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

3995. Touch

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

3996. Love without Condition

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

George Carlin

3997. The Power of Touch

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

King Duncan

3998. Surely Goodness and Mercy

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

King Duncan

3999. Mr. Macho & Forty Days of Love

Mk 9:2-9

Illustration

King Duncan

4000. Who Is That Guy In The Beanie?

Mark 9:2-9

Illustration

Showing results