Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 4076 to 4100 of 5000 results

4076. A Church Is a Family

Jn 17:6-19

Illustration

King Duncan

A hundred years ago Rev. Charles E. Jefferson described the difference between an audience and a church. He said, "An audience is a crowd. A church is a family. An audience is a gathering. A church is a fellowship. An audience is a collection. A church is an organism. An audience is a heap of stones. A church is a temple." And he concludes, "Preachers are ordained not to attract an audience, but to build a church." I hope that everyone in this room understands that critical difference. If a business, non- ...

John 17:6-19

To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.

Karl Barth

4078. First, Greatest, and last

John 17:6-19; Matt 28:16-20

Illustration

The first command Jesus gave his disciples was "Follow me!" The greatest commandment Jesus gave us was "Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor and love each other, too." The last commandment Jesus gave before he was taken from our sight was, "Be my witnesses."

4079. Heavenly Orientation

Luke 24:44-53

Illustration

Staff

When men were still traveling to the moon there was an astronaut, named David Scott, who looked up into the heavens at the planet he was from. As he stepped outside his spacecraft, on to the moon's surface, he said, "I can look straight up and see the earth." At the same time, millions of Americans heard these words on their radios and TV's and could look straight up to see the moon. From the moon above, you could look "up" and see the earth below. And from the earth below, you could look "up" and see the ...

4080. Anything to Declare?

John 17:6-19

Illustration

Tim Chesterton

Many years ago when you were travelling to a foreign country and going through customs, it was common to hear a uniformed officer ask you "Have you anything to declare?" If you said, "Yes", you knew you were in for some questioning! So, many people who actually had some illegal product to declare actually said, ‘No', to save themselves the trouble. Some got away with it, and some didn't. Today I often wonder if the world is unconsciously putting this question to the Christian Church: ‘Have you anything to ...

4081. Funny Things Can Happen in Church

John 17:6-19

Illustration

King Duncan

Funny things happen in church sometimes. Sara Jo Bardsley, a pastor's wife in Huntington, New York, was telling the children of her first-grade Sunday School class the parable of the seeds. She explained that God said we can plant a seed. If the sun shines on the ground and it rains, or we water it, the seed will grow. However, everything we plant does not grow, because sometimes the seed blows over the fence and falls among weeds. If we do not take care of it, it dies. Then she explained that people are ...

4082. Jesus’ Prayer for Us

John 17:6-19

Illustration

Daniel D. Chambers

Everyone knows. I thought I could conceal it for a few more years, but it's too late now. Whether they saw me in aisle 15 or in aisle 26, from a distance or from the back or right up close chatting in a deep voice with a guy in a red vest on a stocking cart, they'll have picked up on it right away. I am an impostor in at least half the aisles at Home Depot. I might be able to say "3/4 inch anti-siphon valve with union," but I don't know how to install one and I know that they know that I don't know. I know ...

4083. Prayers for Strength

John 17:6-19

Illustration

King Duncan

Terry Anderson is no stranger to difficult times. He was held hostage longer than anyone else in Beirut: for seven long years. Not everyone would have been able to survive what Terry did, day after day, week after week, year after year. Terry will be the first to tell you that he survived because of prayer. After a month of captivity, Terry and the other hostages were given Bibles. With nothing else to occupy his time, Terry read and reread the Bible. He was particularly drawn to the Apostle Paul. Paul ...

4084. A Violent Wind

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

In May of 1997, a powerful tornado swept through parts of Texas, flattening buildings and overturning cars. Shoppers at the Albertson’s supermarket in Cedar Park, Texas, were in a state of panic. Then a commanding voice come over the intercom, the voice of Larry Fore, the manager of Albertson’s. This is what he said: “Don’t leave the store or you will die . . . Your only chance of survival is to do exactly what I tell you.” Fore then directed the shoppers to enter the nearest meat locker. They did just as ...

4085. When the Person Is Right

John 3:1-17

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

One rainy Sunday afternoon, a little boy was bored and his father was sleepy. The father decided to create an activity to keep the kid busy. So, he found in the morning newspaper a large map of the world. He took scissors and cut it into a good many irregular shapes like a jigsaw puzzle. Then he said to his son, "See if you can put this puzzle together. And don't disturb me until you're finished." He turned over on the couch, thinking this would occupy the boy for at least an hour. To his amazement, the ...

4086. Too Short to Be Saved

John 3:1-17

Illustration

After his grandfather's death, Donald Hall, once the poet laureate of New Hampshire, went into his grandfather's attic and found many, many boxes, one of which was filled with short pieces of string. The box was marked in an old hand: STRING TOO SHORT TO BE SAVED. He was astonished. The box of string had caught him completely off-guard. And from his off-guardedness and unguardedness, he was able to write a beautiful poem. The poem states the obvious: his grandfather had saved the string that was too short ...

4087. Where the Spirit Moves

John 3:1-17

Illustration

Donald B. Strobe

I once read something called "Deal's First Law of Sailing." It goes something like this: "The amount of wind will vary inversely with the number and experience of the people you have on board the sailboat." And the second law is like unto it: "No matter how strong the breeze when you leave the dock, once you have reached the farthest point from the port from which you started, the wind will die." Those who have the hobby of sailing can attest to the validity of these "laws." In fact, the art of sailing is ...

4088. We Are Not in Control

John 3:1-17

Illustration

Keith Wagner

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. The man prayed for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none came. The man was exhausted but he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood for protection and a place to store his provisions. But one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived at his temporary home to find it in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened. Everything was lost. He was stunned with ...

4089. I Looked Into His Face

John 3:1-21

Illustration

Brett Blair

One of the best photographs from the WWII era is a photo of King George the VI inspecting a bombed out section of London. He stops to talk with a little boy, who is sloppily dressed and has his cap on crooked. The King is bending on one knee and looking directly into the face of the child, and even though it is a profile shot of the king you can see that his is a look of compassion. Tell me that that child's life was not changed. Tell me that if he lived to be a hundred he forgot that day? I would suggest ...

4090. God in Three Persons

Jn 3:1-17

Illustration

King Duncan

St. Augustine, one of the most astute thinkers the Christian Church has ever produced, was walking along the seashore one day while pondering the doctrine of the Trinity - Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. He seemed to hear a voice saying, "Pick up one of the large sea shells there by the shore." So he picked it up. Then the voice said, "Now pour the ocean into the shell." And he said, "Lord, I can't do that." And the voice answered, "Of course not. In the same way, how can your small, finite mind ever hold ...

4091. What In The World Did You Do Today?

John 3:1-17

Illustration

One afternoon a man came home from work to find total mayhem in his house. His three children were outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard. The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house. Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room ...

4092. Born Again

John 3:1-21

Illustration

Brett Blair

Mark Leyner, a prolific modern writer out of New Jersey, asked a question asked a question in a national magazine (Time). It's a question we've all pondered: "Can a person really, and I mean fundamentally, change?" Mark Leyner says, No. There is no such animal, he says, as a changed man. "I don't believe in epiphanies, personal growth, midlife crises, or death bed conversions." He's convinced that the assumptions behind psychiatry, prison reform, and religion are all false. That we are who we are through ...

4093. My Life Was Changed

John 3:1-21

Illustration

Donald Deffner

World-famed pianist Arthur Rubenstein took aback prime minister Golda Meir and a national audience once when he professed faith in Jesus Christ over Israeli television. According to a report in the Mount Zion Reporter, the incident took place while Mrs. Meir was interviewing the American-Jewish virtuoso. She asked him to name the "greatest event in your life." "When I received Yeshua Harnashiach (Jesus the Messiah) into my heart," he replied. "Since then my life was changed. I have experienced joy and ...

4094. Take a Risk

John 3:1-21

Illustration

Brett Blair

Nicodemus took a huge risk in his secret night time visit to see the Teacher Jesus, but risks are sometimes necessary for growth and change. Alex Haley, the author of "Roots," said this about taking risks, "Nothing is more important. Too often we are taught how not to take risks. And when we are children in school we are told to respect our heroes. What we are not told is that these leaders were in fact rule-breakers. They were risk-takers in the best sense of the word; they dared to be different." (Alex ...

4095. A Mystery to Many

John 3:1-17

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

When Jimmy Carter was President, the press often described him as a "born-again Southern Baptist." Everybody knew what a Southern Baptist was (just a Methodist unafraid of water and willing to tithe). But the term "born again" was a mystery to many. There was something different about Jimmy Carter. Even his political enemies detected in him an inner peace, a spiritual depth, and a transcendent commitment. Perhaps Jimmy Carter's difference had to do with this business of being born again.

4096. Understanding Grace

John 3:1-17

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

A fifteen-year-old girl went to a youth conference in Oklahoma. She was short and a bit overweight. She was not too attractive, and she had been crippled from birth. When a dance was held one night at the conference, she simply put her crutches by a chair nearby, sat down in another chair and spent the evening watching the others dance. All the time smiling, but who knows the pain that was going on inside. My friend, Norman Neaves, who tells the story says, "The music was the kind that peals the skin off ...

4097. Surprised by Joy

Luke 24:1-12, 36-48

Illustration

Staff

Few authors have shared the good news of the Christian gospel as compellingly as C.S. Lewis in the Chronicles of Narnia. In one passage the characters Eustace, Jill and Aslan weep over the dead King Caspian. After Aslan is wounded with a pierced paw and his blood splashes on the dead king the king is wonderfully revived; "his sunken cheeks grew round and fresh, and the wrinkles were smoothed, and his eyes opened, and his eyes and lips both laughed, and suddenly he leaped up and stood before them—a very ...

4098. Extraordinarily Ordinary

Mark 4:26-34

Illustration

Brett Blair

To what ordinary object would Jesus compare the reign of God today — an object that we would recognize without having to have two minutes worth of explanation before we understand? How about these: 1. The reign of God is like a tiny pebble. It doesn't look like much, but it can bring the strongest man to a stop if it's in his shoe. 2. The reign of God is like a wasp. A wasp is a tiny insect that can be crushed with a fist. You wouldn't think that it's very strong. But introduce one into a crowded room and ...

4099. Trifles Make Perfection

Mark 4:30-34

Illustration

King Duncan

Michelangelo, one of the world's great artists, was also a great sculptor. One day a visitor was looking at a statue that Michelangelo was making. The visitor said, "I can't see that you have made any progress since I was here last time." Michelangelo answered, "Oh, yes, I have made much progress. Look carefully and you will see that I have retouched this part, and that I have polished that part. See, I have worked on this part of the statue, and have softened the lines here." "Yes," said the visitor, "but ...

4100. A World of Difference

Mark 4:26-34

Illustration

King Duncan

There comes a time in everyone's life when they are just about at wit's end. Teachers have certainly experienced this. Helen Mrosla remembers teaching a ninth grade class "new math" a number of years ago. Her students were working hard, but she could tell that they just didn't understand the new concepts. And they were growing more frustrated and edgy with each passing class. Then one Friday afternoon Helen decided to depart from her lesson plan. She instructed each student to list each person's name in ...

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Antonyms: deficient, imperfect

Showing 4076 to 4100 of 5000 results

4076. A Church Is a Family

Jn 17:6-19

Illustration

King Duncan

John 17:6-19

To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.

Karl Barth

4078. First, Greatest, and last

John 17:6-19; Matt 28:16-20

Illustration

4079. Heavenly Orientation

Luke 24:44-53

Illustration

Staff

4080. Anything to Declare?

John 17:6-19

Illustration

Tim Chesterton

4081. Funny Things Can Happen in Church

John 17:6-19

Illustration

King Duncan

4082. Jesus’ Prayer for Us

John 17:6-19

Illustration

Daniel D. Chambers

4083. Prayers for Strength

John 17:6-19

Illustration

King Duncan

4084. A Violent Wind

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

4085. When the Person Is Right

John 3:1-17

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

4086. Too Short to Be Saved

John 3:1-17

Illustration

4087. Where the Spirit Moves

John 3:1-17

Illustration

Donald B. Strobe

4088. We Are Not in Control

John 3:1-17

Illustration

Keith Wagner

4089. I Looked Into His Face

John 3:1-21

Illustration

Brett Blair

4090. God in Three Persons

Jn 3:1-17

Illustration

King Duncan

4091. What In The World Did You Do Today?

John 3:1-17

Illustration

4092. Born Again

John 3:1-21

Illustration

Brett Blair

4093. My Life Was Changed

John 3:1-21

Illustration

Donald Deffner

4094. Take a Risk

John 3:1-21

Illustration

Brett Blair

4095. A Mystery to Many

John 3:1-17

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

4096. Understanding Grace

John 3:1-17

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

4097. Surprised by Joy

Luke 24:1-12, 36-48

Illustration

Staff

4098. Extraordinarily Ordinary

Mark 4:26-34

Illustration

Brett Blair

4099. Trifles Make Perfection

Mark 4:30-34

Illustration

King Duncan

4100. A World of Difference

Mark 4:26-34

Illustration

King Duncan

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