Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4126 to 4150 of 4977 results

4126. 8 Signs You're Not Reading Your Bible

2 Tim 3:14-4:5

Illustration

King Duncan

... of Luke and a WWII Savings Bond falls out. Your favorite Old Testament patriarch is Hercules. You become frustrated because Charlton Heston isn't listed in either the concordance or the table of contents. Catching the kids reading the Song of Solomon, you demand: "Who gave you this stuff?" You keep falling for it every time when pastor tells you to turn to First Condominiums. And the No. 1 sign you may not be reading your Bible enough: The kids ...

4127. There Will Be Peace

Isaiah 11:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... difference. 7. Instead of nit-picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren’t allowed to wish you a “Merry Christmas” that doesn’t keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn’t make so much money on that day they’d close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families. 8. If you really want to make a difference, support ...

4128. A Small Man Who Was Given a Big Heart

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... happen to you and me. Nancy Leigh DeMoss once put it like this: “When you first look at all the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, it’s hard to believe there’s actually a picture in there. But there’s an important key to working a puzzle. You need to keep referring to the picture on the box. That’s what helps you know what the finished product is supposed to look like. “Do you ever look at the jumbled pieces of your life, wondering how they could ever fit together? God has given us a picture of what we ...

4129. 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... our Lord Jesus Christ.” It is as Christ’s own apostle that these words are issued and that they are expected to be obeyed. The first “command” issued here is directed at the entire community of faith. They are ordered to keep their distance from any who claim to be followers of Jesus yet are “living in idleness.” The term translated here as “idleness,” “ataktos,” has less to do with simple laziness than with being “disorderly” or even “irresponsible.” The rejected behavior upsets ...

4130. Good News about Hair

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... is with us. We are not alone and God’s grace is sufficient regardless of how difficult life may be. It is vital that we keep our mind fixed on that truth. Rev. Richard J. Fairchild tells of going swimming as a child in a lake. There was an area ... how it was coming closer stroke by stroke and finally he made it safely. (5) In the same way, in times of difficulty we need to keep our gaze fixed on Christ’s promise. In times of distress, he is with us. Life is unpredictable. But God is with us. In good times ...

4131. God Renews Our Strength

Lk 21:5-19

Illustration

King Duncan

... people become brave, selfish people become generous. I have seen people care for their elderly parents, for brain damaged children, for wives in wheelchairs, for years, even decades, and I have asked myself, where do people get the strength to keep doing that for so long? Where do they get the resources of love and loyalty to keep going? The only answer I come up with is when we are weary and out of strength, we turn to God and God renews our strength, so we can run and not grow weary, so that we can walk ...

4132. Proper 25, Pentecost 23, Ordinary Time 29

Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18, Psalm 1:1-6, Matthew 22:34-40, 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

... Spirit, your sins are forgiven. Rise now to sing his praise. All: Amen. Hymn Of Praise Holy, Holy, Holy Prayer Of The Day Leader: Gracious God, there is the part of us that the world sees and there are the parts that we keep hidden; and it is in that need to keep that hidden part hidden that we set ourselves above others. Help us to let go. May we find new strength in our vulnerabilities and satisfaction in our service to you, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. All: Amen. Offertory Prayer All: You alone are ...

4133. God’s Gift Comes in Quiet Moments

Mt 3:1-12; Lk 1:26-38; 2:1-20

Illustration

King Duncan

... would bear a child. That child would be the hope of the world. And he is. OR THIS ALTERNATE ENDING: That's how Christmas enters our lives. Not in great leaps but in quiet moments that we can miss if we're not prepared. In Mark Jesus tells us "Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come...And what I say to you I say to all ...

4134. Dream Power

Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... our brain pulverizes and paralyzes the rest of us. That is why in our dreams we can jump out of planes, or run away from monsters, or fly off of mountain-tops. All that our sleeping body does is slightly twitch or flinch. Our brains keep our bodies safe while escaping in amazing dreams. Far from being a time-stopped stupor, our mandatory sleep-dream cycle puts us into a heightened anabolic state that promotes good growth and rejuvenation. In other words, a “beauty sleep” is a real thing! Dreaming boosts ...

4135. The Evangelist Has a Shady Past

John 4:1-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... carrying a heavy water jug back from the well each day. This Jew was promising her a source of water that would never cease flowing and that sounded good. The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” Then Jesus surprised her again. He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” Whoa, he hit a nerve. “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is ...

4136. Stand Up and Raise Your Voice

Deuteronomy 30:11-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... our parents, the first language we speak” – these are givens, these are gifts, not choices. No wonder Jesus proclaimed he did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it. Our Deuteronomy Valentine tells us that, even though people keep getting everything all wrong, God always keeps everything all right. The Torah was loving God. The Law was a life lived loving God. Now Jesus embodied and embedded the Torah in himself. Jesus fulfilled the Law by making a life loving God finally and fully available to ...

4137. He Has Never Forsaken Me

Matthew 6:25-34

Illustration

Eric Ritz

... a diary when he was a 13 year old boy. He was one of 11 children, and what spurred him to keep that diary was that he was sitting at the dinner table one night with his parents and his mother expressed concern about how they were going to pay their bills and how they were going to live. In fact, she fully expected to go to the poor house. Phillips Brooks ...

4138. John 9:1-41

John 9:1-12

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of storytelling. In John’s telling, the healing of the man blind from birth becomes both the story of new sight that becomes sharper and more acute as faith unfolds and the story of deepening blindness when the chance for faith is rejected. In keeping with traditional ancient storytelling techniques, the details of these events are presented in a series of two-character scenes. The first scene is played out between Jesus and his disciples (9:1-5). The text seems to assume the continuation of the same time ...

4139. What’s With the Fork?

John 14:1-4

Illustration

Alan Carr

... my right hand." The pastor stood looking at the woman, not knowing quite what to say. The woman explained. "In all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners, when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, 'Keep your fork.' It was my favorite part of the meal because I knew something better was coming—like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. "So, when people see me in that casket with a fork in my hand and they ask, 'What's with ...

4140. The Scope of Love

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , everything hangs together in a divinely tuned harmony. The singleness of God’s Spirit prevails. The miracle of this second creation is that everything in it is brought into unity and community by love. Jesus’ “Prime Directive” is straightforward. Love me by keeping my commandments. And Jesus’ last commandment to his disciples is unambiguous: Love one another as I have loved you. Love IS the breath of life. Love IS the Spirit of truth. Love IS the electro‑shock that kick started eleven moribund ...

4141. The Rewards Program for Christians

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and devour a S’more in the office microwave. Take a furtive walk through the park and soak in the beauty. As Jesus’ disciples we are still counted among those who are called to “welcome” Jesus’ missionary messengers. If life is sweet for you today, keep a look out for co-workers or companions who are suffering through a sugar-free desert. Offer them a “reward” of a “thank you,” offer them the sweetness of encouragement, offer them the pick-me-up of praise. I’m going to guess this morning ...

4142. A Lesson from Dr. Seuss

Romans 6:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... seemed moved by the sermon, and wanted to talk to Barnett afterwards. Elvis knew that he needed to repent of his lifestyle and return to his Christian faith. But the allure of show business was so strong that he felt like he had no choice but to keep going in the same direction. With tears rolling down his face, Elvis asked, “. . . what if I renounce show business and find that serving God won’t bring joy to my heart?” (8) Sounds like a sensible question, doesn’t it? Of course, we all know what show ...

4143. Super-Size Your Faith

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... no power, no life or death, no height or depth that can place a divide between our faith and the salvation that Christ’s death and resurrection have offered us. [To conclude your sermon, either pass out coinage with palm-branches for people to keep as little icons of remembrance that “faith IS the victory,” or sing the Ira D. Sankey gospel song, “Faith is the Victory”] Note: I encourage you to consider passing out some kind of coinage with palm branches to every person in the congregation. This ...

4144. God’s Most Troubling Promise

Romans 8:28

Sermon

King Duncan

... Gary Hobson to some tragedy that was going to happen within the next 24 hours. He, in turn, would attempt to keep this tragedy from occurring. Pastor Susan Langhauser tells about one episode, which she calls her favorite. It begins with a morning ... world of natural law. This is how creation functions as well as it does. For example, we can always count on the law of gravity to keep us from floating off into space. That law will never fail us. At the same time we can also count on the law of gravity to ...

4145. We Have Nothing Here

Matthew 14:13-21

Illustration

David E. Leininger

... ." It is the response of the small business owner in the face of a changing economy. How can he compete with the big chain store that has just opened, one that advertises "Twenty thousand items under one roof?" He is hungry for answers about how he can keep the little family-owned store open? After all, he doesn't have 20,000 ANYTHING; he has "nothing here but five loaves and two fish." It is the response of the employee whose boss makes life miserable and never has a good word for anyone. In fact, there ...

4146. Send Her Away!

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... a despised religion has appealed to him as the messiah. This is something new. He is processing this in his mind, and at first he doesn’t answer her. His disciples can see that she is troubling the Master. “Send her away,” they urge him, “for she keeps crying out after us.” He answers quietly, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” This is an important statement. There is no evidence in the Gospels that Jesus even so much as entered a Gentile home. His mission was to bring salvation to ...

4147. Laugh, Thomas, Laugh!

John 20:19-31

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... would be returning to the bosom of the Father, but he was doing it so these twelve, as well as all the countless others who would believe throughout history, would be able to join him there. It might have been very easy for them all to just let Jesus keep on talking in hopes that they would somehow begin to understand. You can almost climb inside a disciple's mind as he hears about "My father's house" and "many dwelling places" and "going to prepare a place" and so on, wondering just what in the world Jesus ...

4148. Understanding Bible Prophecy

Deuteronomy 18:14-22

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... " — John 13. All scripture, but, frankly, you can prove anything you want using scripture if you are willing to use it incorrectly. Remember this: A text without a context is a pretext. I'm going to repeat that. A text without a context is a pretext. Keep that in mind as you listen to Jack Van Impe or any other of these prophecy "experts." I do not mean to pick on Van Impe because, quite frankly, he is just carrying on a tradition that goes back centuries. Our text from Deuteronomy has Moses addressing ...

4149. The Forgiveness Factor

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... where Jesus is to be found). The place is packed ... every preacher's fondest dream. And packed to such an extent that the people who need to get to Jesus cannot. Too crowded. It is an interesting image of the church: a place so jammed with onlookers that they keep out those who desperately need to be there. But, finally, through the persistence of those who care about their friend, a way is found to bring the man to Jesus. The roof. It was regularly used as a place of rest and of quiet, and so there was an ...

4150. Look Up and Live

Numbers 21:4-9

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... , as the years wore on, that brass serpent became an idol to which the people brought sacrifices. Finally, the practice became so outrageous that good king Hezekiah smashed the thing to pieces (2 Kings 18:4). It is easy to lose focus. That is a good lesson for the church —keep the focus. Look and live. And to remember how contagious that sort of thing is: look up, and everyone else wants to look up with you. What a witness! "The main thing is to ...

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