Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 4101 to 4125 of 5000 results

4101. We Plow the Fields

Mark 4:26-34

Illustration

Matthias Claudius

In 1782, Matthias Claudius wrote the following poem that later became a hymn and a moving song in the movie Godspell: We plow the fields, and scatter The good seed on the land, But it is fed and watered By God's almighty hand; He sends the snow in winter, The warmth to swell the grain, The breezes and the sunshine, And soft refreshing rain. All good gifts around us Are sent from heav'n above; Then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord For all His Love. We thank Thee then, O Father, For all things bright and ...

4102. Calming of the Tempest - Sermon Starter

Mark 4:35-41

Illustration

Brett Blair

Victor Hugo, who is famous for his novel the Hunchback of Notre Dame, also wrote a story called "Ninety-Three." It tells of a ship caught in a dangerous storm on the high seas. At the height of the storm, the frightened sailors heard a terrible crashing noise below the deck. They knew at once that this new noise came from a cannon, part of the ship's cargo, that had broken loose. It was moving back and forth with the swaying of the ship, crashing into the side of the ship with terrible impact. Knowing that ...

4103. We Are All in the Same Boat

Mark 4:35-41

Illustration

In the GardinerMuseum in Boston there is a painting by Rembrandt entitled "The Storm on the Sea of Galilee." It is Rembrandt's interpretation of this scene. It shows panic etched on the faces of the disciples, as their small vessel is being raised up on a high wave, about to be crashed down. Two of the disciples are attempting to rouse Jesus who is asleep in the stern of the boat. But if you look more closely, you will discover that there is something that is not quite right. There are too many people in ...

4104. Thrown into the Fire

Mark 4:35-41

Illustration

James Merritt

I read a story about an Ohio gentleman whose oil well caught fire, and he put out an all-points' bulletin for help, to make sure that anybody and everybody would come and help him. He offered a $30,000 reward to whoever could put out that fire. With all the large firehouses from cities like Newell, Chester, Wellsville, Dillonvale sent help. They sent their best companies accompanied by the most modern fire- fighting equipment available, but not one of the trucks could get within 200 yards of the blaze ...

4105. Searching for Peace

Mark 4:35-41

Illustration

Dante, the great poet of the Renaissance, was exiled from his home in Florence, Italy. Depressed by this cruel turn of fate, he decided to walk from Italy to Paris, where he could study philosophy, in an effort to find a clue to the meaning of life. In his travels, Dante found himself a weary pilgrim, forced to knock at the door of Santa Croce Monastery to find refuge from the night. A surly brother within was finally aroused. He came to the door, flung it open, and in a gruff voice asked, "What do you ...

4106. Little Faith in a Great God

Mark 4:35-41

Illustration

Donald Deffner

There was a woman in a community who was well known for her simple faith and great calm in the midst of many trials. Another woman who had never met her but had heard of her came to visit one day. "I must find out the secret of her calm, happy life," she thought to herself. As she met her she said:" So you are the woman with the great faith I've heard so much about." "No," came the reply. "I am not the woman with the great faith, but I am the woman with the little faith in the great God." Can you say the ...

4107. Now I Lay Me

Mark 4:35-41

Illustration

Donald Deffner

A little girl was about to undergo a dangerous operation. Just before the doctor administered the anesthetic, he said: Before we can make you well, we must put you to sleep. The girl responded: "Oh, if you are going to put me to sleep, then I must say my prayers first." And she folded her hands, closed her eyes, and said: "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake; I pray the Lord my soul to take. And this I ask in Jesus' sake. Amen. Later on the surgeon ...

4108. A Lot of Thunder

Mark 4:35-41

Illustration

A cartoon strip shows Dennis the Menace in bed between his mother and father, with the blanket pulled up to his chin, "A little thunder doesn't scare me," he says. "It's just a lot of thunder that makes me afraid."

4109. From the Efforts of One Man

Illustration

Brett Blair

The thought of trekking 250,000 miles around Britain on horseback is something likely to deter even the most enthusiastic traveler. Add to this task the preaching of 40,000 sermons – mostly in the open-air – often confronting angry protesters as you go, and it's not a job for the faint-hearted. The man who did just this was John Wesley (1703-1791) whose work and that of his brother Charles led directly to the foundation of the MethodistChurch. On June 17, 1703 he was born to Rev. Samuel and Suzanna Wesley ...

4110. They Had a Secret

Mark 4:35-41

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

Some years ago the late, great Norman Vincent Peale visited Europe. In Belgium he went to what used to be a Nazi prison camp, between Antwerp and Brussels. His guide that day told him that he remembered the morning when the Nazis arrested his own father. They brought him to this very camp and shot him. Dr. Peale asked the guide, "How did those prisoners stand up against the awesome fear that must have haunted this place day and night?" The guide replied, "They had a secret." The guide took Dr. Peale to a ...

4111. The Boat Is a Symbol for the Church

Mark 4:35-41

Illustration

The boat is a symbol for the church. It has been that way from the beginning. The ship has always been a symbol for the church. The logo for the ecumenical movement in our day is the symbol of a ship upon the sea. The Roman Catholic Church refers to itself as "the bark of Peter" which means "the ship of Peter." Architecturally, that part of the sanctuary in which all of you sit is called the "nave." Up front we have the chancel. Out back we have the narthex. That's "churchspeak." But where you are is the ...

4112. The Ride of Your Life

Mark 4:35-41

Illustration

Leonard Sweet

It is easy for me to poke fun at liberal biblical scholars, because I am one of them. Over the years, we have tended to come at scripture with the notion that, above all else, scripture ought to make sense. So, in order to make the Bible make sense, we have tried to rationalize everything in the Bible that sounds irrational. Now I suppose the idea of a man standing in boat and rebuking waves of that magnitude borders on the irrational. Which is why we are fond of saying: "Ah! Jesus was not talking to the ...

4113. The Healing of Jairus' Daughter and the Hemorrhaging Woman - Sermon Opener

Mark 5: 21-43

Illustration

James W. Moore

A business executive became depressed. Things were not going well at work, and he was bringing his problems home with him every night. Every evening he would eat his dinner in silence, shutting out his wife and five-year-old daughter. Then he would go into the den and read the paper using the newspaper to wall his family out of his life. After several nights of this, one evening his daughter took her little hand and pushed the newspaper down. She then jumped into her father's lap, wrapped her arms around ...

4114. Get the Ball to Me

Mk 5:21-43

Illustration

King Duncan

Whether you are a basketball fan or not, you are probably familiar with the name Larry Bird, the former basketball great of the Boston Celtics. During a retirement party for Larry Bird in Boston Garden, former Celtics Coach K.C. Jones told of diagramming a play on the sidelines, only to have Bird dismiss it, saying: "Get the ball to me and get everyone out of my way." Jones responded: "I'm the coach, and I will call the plays." Then Jones turned to the other players and said: "Get the ball to Larry, and ...

4115. How to Fail Successfully - Sermon Starter

Mark 6:1-13

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

It's amazing what we do with funny stories. We apply them to whomever we wish. For instance, you might hear one funny story with the legendary coach Bear Bryant as the primary actor. When you hear it again, the primary actor may be Johnny Majors. I heard a marvelous story sometime ago about Thomas Wheeler, Chief Executive Officer for the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company in fact, he told the story on himself. Lately I've been hearing it about President Clinton. So the story goes with the new ...

4116. Failure

Mark 6:1-13

Illustration

Mickey Anders

Failure is a word that strikes fear in the heart of everybody. Our society has become so success-oriented that we have very little tolerance for failure. We glamorize Lebron Jameses of the world, and ridicule misfits and also-rans like you and me. There was one of those reality television shows on with several young people placed in a house together for weeks. One of the girls made the candid remark, "I have never failed at anything I have ever tried to do." It was one of those sentences that makes you ...

4117. Failing (in order) to Succeed

Mark 6:1-13

Illustration

Have you ever heard of Choglit soda or OK soda? Maybe you remember Surge, which was around for a few years and tasted a lot like Mountain Dew? No? All three of these sodas were launched by Coca-Cola and all three were complete and utter failures. In April, CEO E. Neville Isdell reminded shareholders of these failures in order to shake up Coca-Cola's "risk-adverse" culture. "As we take more risks, this (failure) is something we must accept as part of the regeneration process." Many big businesses are ...

4118. Our Burdens

Mk 6:6; 2 Cor 12:9

Illustration

King Duncan

St. Paul writes in II Corinthians 12:9, "And God said unto me, 'My grace is sufficient for thee . . .'" What a hard thing that is for us to accept. We are like the old man riding down the road on a donkey while he carried a 200 pound sack of wheat on his shoulder. Someone asked him why he didn't take the weight off of his shoulders and strap it to the donkey. "Oh, no!" he protested. "I couldn't ask the donkey to carry all that weight." Many of us are carrying burdens today that we do not have to carry. ...

4119. Glued to Our Faults

Illustration

King Duncan

James S. Hewett once gave an apt example of people not getting the respect they deserve. Especially young people. He tells about his son, who was using one of those super-adhesive glues on a model airplane he was building. "In less than three minutes," says James Hewett, "his right index finger was bonded to a shiny blue wing of his DC-10. He tried to free it. He tugged it, pulled it, waved it frantically, but he couldn't budge his finger free." Soon, they located a solvent that did the job and ended their ...

4120. Believing with the Heart

Mk 6:6

Illustration

King Duncan

A cynical young medical student confronted a pastor: "I have dissected the human body," he announced, "and I found no soul." The pastor said, "That's interesting. When you dissected the brain did you find a thought? When you dissected the eye did you find vision? When you dissected the heart did you find love?" The student answered thoughtfully, "No, I did not." The pastor said gently, "Of course you believe in the existence of thoughts, of vision, and of love. The human soul is the totality of man's ...

4121. How Life's Pressures Affect Good Judgment - Sermon Starter

Mark 6:14-29

Illustration

Brett Blair

In the opera Faust, there is a fight to the finish between Satan and the young man Valentine. During the course of the fight, Satan breaks Valentine's sword and he stands poised to slay him. But the young boy takes the two pieces of his sword and fashions them into a cross. Confronted with this symbol of faith, Satan becomes immobilized and Valentine is saved. It is an interesting concept: A dramatic demonstration of faith. Unfortunately such resolution of faith does not always save you. In fact, it might ...

4122. A Christian Understanding of Worth

Mark 6:14-29

Illustration

Eric Ritz

When we attempt to live a life worthy of the Gospel it is because our understanding of "worth" is far different from the world's. John the Baptist was not beheaded because he went along with the status quo. John gave his life because of his commitment to truth as he understood it, much like Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his struggles with Nazism and Hitler. Being a pastor in the German Lutheran Church, Bonhoeffer was forced to choose between his loyalty to God or to an insane ruler. He was executed in 1945 for ...

4123. Public Pressure

Mark 6:14-29

Illustration

Brett Blair

Lloyd J. Ogilve, in his book Life without Limits, tells the story of a pastor who in the space of one week heard the following comments from various people: A woman said, "I'm under tremendous pressure from my son these days. I can't seem to satisfy him, however hard I work. He really puts me under pressure." A young man said, "My parents have fantastic goals for me to take over the family business. It's not what I want to do, but their pressure is unbearable." A college woman said, "I'm being pressured by ...

4124. 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 ...

4125. Brave Soldiers

Mark 6:14-29

Illustration

Craig Brian Larson

Tim Bowden, in his book One Crowded Hour, tells about an incident that happened during the confrontation between Malaysia and Indonesia in 1964 A group of Gurkhas from Nepal were asked if they would be willing to jump from transport planes into combat against the Indonesians if the need arose. The Gurkhas had the right to turn down the request because they had never been trained as paratroopers. Bowden quotes an account of the story: "Now the Gurkhas usually agreed to anything, but on this occasion they ...

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Antonyms: deficient, imperfect

Showing 4101 to 4125 of 5000 results

4101. We Plow the Fields

Mark 4:26-34

Illustration

Matthias Claudius

4102. Calming of the Tempest - Sermon Starter

Mark 4:35-41

Illustration

Brett Blair

4103. We Are All in the Same Boat

Mark 4:35-41

Illustration

4104. Thrown into the Fire

Mark 4:35-41

Illustration

James Merritt

4105. Searching for Peace

Mark 4:35-41

Illustration

4106. Little Faith in a Great God

Mark 4:35-41

Illustration

Donald Deffner

4107. Now I Lay Me

Mark 4:35-41

Illustration

Donald Deffner

4108. A Lot of Thunder

Mark 4:35-41

Illustration

4109. From the Efforts of One Man

Illustration

Brett Blair

4110. They Had a Secret

Mark 4:35-41

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

4111. The Boat Is a Symbol for the Church

Mark 4:35-41

Illustration

4112. The Ride of Your Life

Mark 4:35-41

Illustration

Leonard Sweet

4113. The Healing of Jairus' Daughter and the Hemorrhaging Woman - Sermon Opener

Mark 5: 21-43

Illustration

James W. Moore

4114. Get the Ball to Me

Mk 5:21-43

Illustration

King Duncan

4115. How to Fail Successfully - Sermon Starter

Mark 6:1-13

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

4116. Failure

Mark 6:1-13

Illustration

Mickey Anders

4117. Failing (in order) to Succeed

Mark 6:1-13

Illustration

4118. Our Burdens

Mk 6:6; 2 Cor 12:9

Illustration

King Duncan

4119. Glued to Our Faults

Illustration

King Duncan

4120. Believing with the Heart

Mk 6:6

Illustration

King Duncan

4121. How Life's Pressures Affect Good Judgment - Sermon Starter

Mark 6:14-29

Illustration

Brett Blair

4122. A Christian Understanding of Worth

Mark 6:14-29

Illustration

Eric Ritz

4123. Public Pressure

Mark 6:14-29

Illustration

Brett Blair

4124. No Going Back

Mark 6:14-29

Illustration

Staff

4125. Brave Soldiers

Mark 6:14-29

Illustration

Craig Brian Larson

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