Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4101 to 4125 of 4939 results

4101. The Problem with Busybodies

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Sermon

King Duncan

One of the earliest newspapers in Paris, France, was created in the 1750s by a woman named Madame Doublet. Madame Doublet had an interesting and effective technique for gathering news: each morning, she sent one of her servants to gather all the gossip from other servants who worked in wealthy households. According to Smithsonian magazine, Madame Doublet’s servant may have been “the first reporter in the history of French journalism.” After making the rounds of all the fashionable neighborhoods, the ...

4102. The Four Marks of Failure

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

When you're a kid there is nothing better than being on the winning team. Of course, when you're a kid there is nothing worse than being on the losing team. Notice that all those great, feel-good Disney-esque movies don't ever end with the hometown team losing the big championship game. No, the whole point of these happily-ever-after stories is that the under-dog, schlubby, gave-it-their-all losers are transformed into top-of-the-heap winners. For adults, except for those few who make their living playing ...

4103. It's My Life, Isn't It?

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

James McCormick

It was in an Ann Landers column some time ago – a letter from a grief stricken mother. Her son had died at the age of 33, weighing 560 pounds. His parents had warned him about the dangers of obesity. But he always replied, “It’s my life. I’ll do what I want with it.” As I read that, I remembered reading about a wife and mother who became bored with her life. One day she left her husband and family to go to Las Vegas with a man who had left his wife. Her only words were, “It’s my life. It’s the only one I’ ...

4104. Christmas 1

Mt 2:13-23 · Heb 2:10-18 · Isa 63:7-9 · Ps 148

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS The Old Testament lesson for the First Sunday After Christmas explores the implications of what it means when we confess that God is actually with us in this world. Isaiah 63:7-9 states how God is able to suffer with us, while Psalm 111 is an extended celebration of this fact. Isaiah 63:7-9 - "A Savior for Hard Times" Setting. The lectionary has isolated the opening verses of a more extended community lament that probably included Isaiah 63:7-64:12. The larger context underscores how ...

4105. Changed Lives - Simon Peter (Maundy Thursday)

John 13:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

Master story-teller Dr. Fred Craddock tells about something that happened many years ago while he was driving cross‑country. He had stopped at a small diner somewhere in the South to refresh himself with an early breakfast and some coffee. He had been driving through the night and now it was getting close to dawn. And he was sleepy. As he waited for his breakfast order to come, Craddock spied a black man who had just come in and had sat down on a stool up by the lunch counter. The diner’s manager then ...

4106. How to Lower Your Temper (-ature)

Proverbs 16:32

Sermon

James Merritt

"When anger enters the mind, wisdom departs." Thomas a Kempis(1) Respiration deepens; the heart beats more rapidly; the arterial pressure rises; the blood is shifted from the stomach and intestines to the heart, central nervous system and the muscles; the processes of the alimentary canal cease; sugar is freed from the reserves in the liver; the spleen contracts and discharges its contents of concentrated corpuscles, and adrenaline is secreted. What does this describe? It is the physiological ...

4107. Plea for Discipline

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

In a way, Christians are all in the Olympics! We are running the race that determines our eternal abode. We run to win and the prize is the most valuable we will ever seek. No money or property will purchase it. Only self-control under the banner of Christ grants a chance for winning. The apostle is very clear and speaks to all who would enter the race that leads to everlasting life with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is an old/new teaching to whom all Christians for twenty centuries can relate. It ...

4108. Parades and Crosses — The Challenge of Ministry

2 Corinthians 4:5-12

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

He had grown up in a fashionable suburb of a large American city, a cosmopolitan area of considerable size and sophistication. He was a winner from the time he was born; you know, one of those babies that comes into the world with a smile and a confident air that life is friendly and meant for success. Oh, yes, he did his share of crying, and as an infant and pre-schooler, he had his share of sickness. But all in all, he was the kind of boy you would expect to see in a prize-winning television commercial. ...

4109. The Heart of the Matter

Psalm 51:1-19

Sermon

King Duncan

“Let’s say it’s 4:17 p.m. and you’re driving home alone after an unusually hard day on the job. Not only was the workload extraordinarily heavy, you also had a disagreement with your boss, and no matter how hard you tried he just wouldn’t see your side of the situation. You’re really upset and the more you think about it the more uptight you become. All of a sudden you start experiencing severe pain in your chest that starts to radiate out into your arm and up into your jaw. You are only about five miles ...

4110. Decoding the Da Vinci Code (Part One - Exploring the Fiction)

1 Timothy 1:4

Sermon

James Merritt

I don't watch a whole lot of television, but one of my favorite shows is CSI. CSI is one murder mystery after another that uses state-of-the-art technology and forensical analysis to find out "Who Done It?" I have yet to see a show that does not absolutely fascinate me with what science and technology can do. That is why I can understand why The Da Vinci Code would appeal to so many people regardless of its religious content, because it is a murder mystery. The victim is the curator of The Louvre Museum in ...

4111. Total Recall

Deuteronomy 6:20-25

Sermon

James Merritt

On June 24, 1826, Thomas Jefferson sent a letter to Roger C. Weightman, declining an invitation to come to Washington, D.C., to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It was the last letter that Jefferson, who was gravely ill, ever wrote. In it, Jefferson says of this date celebrating America's independence: "May it be to the world, what I believe it will be...the signal of arousing men to burst the chains...and to assume the blessings and security of self-government. That ...

4112. Jesus: The Promise Received

Luke 2:10-14

Sermon

James Merritt

Jessica was four years old and she had had a perfect Christmas. She got all the presents she wanted. Her cousins were with her to share the holidays. She had eaten her favorite food all day long and as her mother tucked her in for bed she looked up at her at smiled and said, "Mom, I sure hope Mary and Joseph have another baby next year." After Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph did go on to have several other babies. However, the first baby born to Mary was not one that they had. It was one that Mary had by ...

4113. Anxiety Alert – The Fear of the Future

Matthew 6:34

Sermon

James Merritt

Ever since 9/11 we have instituted in this country the Homeland Security Advisory System. Though you haven't memorized it, I am sure you are familiar with it. It looks like this. [Put on Screen]. These levels are assigned based on information gathered by our intelligence agencies to help us be prepared for potential terror attacks in the future. Whether you know it or not, you use this same system every day of your life to chart your level of anxiety. Follow this scenario and chart your "anxiety alert ...

4114. The King and His Castle

Matthew 16:13-18

Sermon

James Merritt

There were seven of them, and in their day they were the greatest tourist attractions in the history of the world. What were they? Well, here is the list of them: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon The Stature of Zeus at Olympia The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus The Mausoleum in Egypt The Coliseum of Rhodes The Lighthouse of Alexandria The Great Pyramid of Gaza You may recognize this list as comprising what is now known as the "Seven Ancient Wonders of the World." The reason why they were called wonders is ...

4115. A Miracle Child

Exodus 2:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I’m sure that our parents here today would identify at least with the sermon title today, A Miracle Child. The truth of the matter is that every child is a miracle. Where did you come from baby dear? Out of the everywhere into the here. Where did you get those eyes so blue? Out of the sky as I passed through. Whence that three cornered smile of bliss? Three angels gave me at once a kiss. Where did you get this pearly ear? God spoke and it came out to here. Where did you get those arms and hands? Love made ...

4116. Altar Your Presence

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

One of the words we use a lot in the United Methodist church is the word Connection. Generally, when we use the word Connection we are talking about the connection between the local church to the District, the Annual Conference, the Jurisdictional Conference, the General Conference all United Methodist Churches around the world. Our founder John Wesley realized there was power in this idea of connection. John Wesley understood the communal nature of the church and of faith. He planned and designed ways for ...

4117. This Is the Day!

Psalm 118:1-29

Sermon

King Duncan

I want to begin with a suggestion. Tomorrow morning when you wake up, I want you to stand up tall in front of your bathroom mirror, give yourself a big smile and declare with great gusto that wonderful verse from Psalms, “This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!” Bio-feedback experts suggest that this single act can do wonders for our mental state. The relation between our body and our mind is an interesting one. We don’t smile because we feel great, these experts tell us; ...

4118. Samaria and Our Spiritual Journey

John 4:1-26

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Edward DeBono is a man who travels all over the world, giving seminars on how to think. He teaches what he calls “lateral thinking,” and he illustrates what he means by that from an experience in an early life. Some thirty years ago he was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. One night he attended a party in London. The party lasted late, and he got back to Oxford after the gates were closed. Traditionally in that college the gates were locked at twenty minutes past midnight. So, in order to get to his room, he had ...

4119. Sons of God

Galatians 3:26--4:7

Sermon

King Duncan

On Mother’s day we listed nine things a mother will never say. Today on this Father’s Day we list “Ten Things Dad Will Never Say.” See how your Dad would do: 10. Well, how about that! I’m lost. Looks like we’ll have to stop and ask for directions. 9. You know, pumpkin. Now that you’re thirteen, you’ll be ready for unchaperoned car dates. Won’t that be fun? 8. I noticed that all your friends have a certain negative attitude. I like that! 7. Here’s a credit card and the keys to my new car. Go crazy! 6. What ...

4120. Fulfilling the Vision

Acts 2:14-21

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

God said “I will pour out my spirit on all kinds of people and your sons and daughters will prophesy and your young men will see visions and your old men will dream dreams and whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved". A vision. Without it a church flounders and with it a church flourishes. A vision is, in essence, a picture of God's preferred future. And the vision I want to share with you today is as old as the prophet Joel, as powerful as the one on the day of Pentecost and is as current as ...

4121. Doing What Disciples Do

John 15:12-17

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

The new pastor of a congregation preached his first sermon from the text, “Love one another.” The people were pleased. The next Sunday the pastor preached the exact same sermon from the exact same text, “Love one another.” The people were surprised. When the pastor preached the same sermon the third week from the same text , the people were angry. The Staff Parish Relations chairperson confronted the new pastor with the obvious question, “Why do you preach the same sermon every week?” The pastor replied, “ ...

4122. The Power to Be Saved

Acts 4:5-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

In the church of my childhood, the opportunity to get saved came once a year at the annual Revival Meeting. Skilled evangelists came to the protracted meetings loaded with all kinds of bait to reel in the least and the lost. Being a sensitive teenager, I was always fair game, so I usually got saved about once a year. Over the years I've expressed my share of cynicism about such manipulative evangelism. But I have not come to criticize but to connect. It would be easy to strike up a strong debate right here ...

4123. The Loving Friend

John 4:1-15

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

With apologies to Carole King, I'd like to describe my friendship with Jesus Christ in a paraphrase of a popular song: When you're down and troubled And you need someone to care And nothing, no nothing, is going right, Close your eyes and think of him And soon he will be there To brighten up even your darkest night. You just call out his name And you know wherever he is He'll come running, to see you again. Winter, spring, summer or fall All you've got to do is call And he'll be there, yes he will. You've ...

4124. Get Down and Dirty for Lent

John 9:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

[For this sermon, you will need aprons. Invite the matriarchs and patriarchs of your church to let you use their well-used aprons as props. Or better yet, conduct a fashion show of the aprons used by people in your church.] Unless you have lived in a rural area, you might not know the joys of keeping that most unruly, unpredictable, but absolutely crucial-to-life “pet” known as . . . a septic tank. There are some unbendable rules for septic tanks. 1) They will always back up the day your daughter’s wedding ...

4125. Right-Handed Sinners!

Mark 9:42-50

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

For the above title, I reach back across Matthew's more detailed record of the same message where he recalls that Jesus specified the right hand, "If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off" (Matthew 5:30). That might be significant because research indicates the somewhere around 85% of humans are right-hand dominant, and it could mean that Jesus is not just saying that a sinning hand should be excised but that even if it is the dominant hand that sins it must go! Let us think about it, and ...

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