Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4126 to 4150 of 4986 results

4126. Come to Bethlehem and See

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... asked Americans how they would spend Christmas. Here is what people said: 68% would open presents 61% would visit family 39% would attend church 31% would watch a football game 15% would have a fire in the fireplace 10% would leave food for Santa 4 % would stay in bed sick or alone 2% would go caroling You are among the 39% of the American people who on this Christmas will attend church. For some this is familiar territory. You habit these halls, fill these pews. You sing these songs every Sunday. You know ...

4127. What Would Jesus Say About Materialism?

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... in the human situation and we learn it extremely young. I spent most of this last week with my grandson, Caleb, down in south Georgia on a little vacation. He immediately found the toy store that was up the street from the condo in which we were staying. Of course, I took him to see the toy store and to play like good, friendly grandfathers are supposed to do. After he had played with the free stuff he wanted to buy something and naturally I immediately said, “Of course, you can buy something”. He ...

4128. Come, Holy Spirit, Come

Psalm 104:24-34

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... of those people who never go anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a rain coat and a parachute. If I had it to do again, I would travel lighter next time." “If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would go to more dances, I would ride more merry-go-rounds. I would pick more daises." What has life done to your song? Are you still singing all the day long? When the day of Pentecost came, glory came down and joy ...

4129. Believe

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... get, the more I like things to be same. However, unusual situations call for creative thinking. Sometimes we are faced with things in life where the box is too small, where it won’t work anymore. This is where we find Joseph in the story. He can stay in the box, follow the law, be a good Jew. He can be a loving, caring person reaching out to his betrothed wife. But he finds something else. The Lord appears in a dream. Thinking outside the box means thinking beyond the parameters of human consciousness and ...

4130. The Down Side of Christmas

Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... will not forsake you." How does God help us in time of trouble? How is it that God helps us with the danger of the day? We can RUN. The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said—Get up. Take the child. Escape to Egypt. Stay there. The imperatives convey the emergency. Like the Kenny Rogers song says: You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away and know when to run. We will do whatever we need to do to keep our children safe and ...

4131. The Dynamics of Being a Dad

Ephesians 6:1-4, Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... So the next year at her Methodist church in Washington state, Mrs. Dodd led the first known celebration of Father’s Day honoring the “father’s place in the home and his role in the training of children.” This religious celebration, however, did not stay religious very long. The associated men’s wear retailers tried to turn the day into a second Christmas. They promoted ties, fishing tackle, shirts, and tobacco, which in that day the fathers wound up paying for in the long run. A 1920’s greeting ...

4132. Welcoming God Into Our Homes

Revelation 21:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... home. May His comfort come to your soul. May He create in you a new heart and a steadfast spirit that His kingdom may come on earth as it is in heaven. Into our homes, into our homes, come into our homes, Lord Jesus, Come in today, come in to stay. Come into our homes, Lord Jesus.

4133. The Power of a Single Life

2 Corinthians 6:3-13

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... . Suppose Paul applied for a staff position at Brentwood United Methodist Church. Would we have second thoughts about hiring him? He was well educated, but he was also overly zealous and often had trouble getting along with colleagues. He started a lot of churches, but he never stayed very long in any one place. He caused a lot of riots and spent a good deal of time in jail. Paul was too liberal for some and much too spiritual for others. He could hold his own in a debate with the smartest, but chose to ...

4134. The Power of a Vision

2 Corinthians 5:11-21

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... and Transforming Lives. I figure I have one last chance to get it right when it comes to leading a church. With all my heart, I want to build a congregation that honors God and ministers to people. Let me be perfectly clear. It’s not about staying ahead of the Baptists, keeping up with the Catholics, or being one of the largest Methodist churches in the country. My final report will not be made to an annual conference or to a reporter surveying the religious landscape of a growing county. To God and God ...

4135. One Task

Luke 9:51-62

Illustration

Ernest Munachi Ezeogu

A guard in charge of a lighthouse along a dangerous coast was given enough oil for one month and told to keep the light burning every night. One day a woman asked for oil so that her children could stay warm. Then a farmer came. His son needed oil for a lamp so he could read. Another needed some for an engine. The guard saw each as a worthy request and gave some oil to satisfy all. By the end of the month, the tank in the lighthouse was dry. ...

4136. The Power to Rise Again

Mark 16:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... I'm going, Don't cry for me down here. So whatever you are facing today, don't be defeated. Don't wave the white flag of surrender. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead will give you eternal life. Sickness does not come to stay, it comes to pass. No trouble enjoys eternal life. Every problem has a life span. Christians do not live “under the circumstances." They stand on the promises. When trouble comes, as it surely does, when life has stripped me of every worldly possession, and left my body ...

4137. The Power to Make a Difference

Acts 16:1-5

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... minister when Wes was in high school. I've made my fair share of mistakes in ministry, but there is one thing I've always tried to provide. I've always wanted my children to have a safe place to run to when it got too bad to stay at home. So through the years, we've encouraged friendships, worked hard at having effective youth groups, tried consciously to provide relationships that would provide a safety net for our own. I know, it's not something you can force. But it is something you can facilitate. Are ...

4138. The New Road

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... a brand new year. It's not hard to find a seat on the Sunday after Christmas. The crowds have gone home, but like wise men from the East we have come to worship Christ the new-born King. For us, Christmas did not come to pass. It came to stay. There is a text from this ancient visit of Royalty that I want us to ponder today. (Verse 12) “And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road." What would it mean for you and me to take ...

4139. The Compassionate Christ

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... arms wide open, He'll pardon you. It is no secret, what God can do." Desmond Tutu says, “If you are going to be compassionate, be prepared for action." Compassion creates a problem for Jesus. ...“He can no longer go in and out of town freely. So he stays outside in the lonely places" (Verse 45). Jesus has no desire to be a superstar. He isn't looking for coverage on the evening news. He doesn't want to announce His healing powers across the globe, so He retreats to the “lonely places" to restore His ...

4140. The Forgiving Christ

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... . By the grace of God and a little help from your friends, you can carry the thing that has carried you. He breaks the power of canceled sin, He sets the prison free. His blood can make the foulest clean, His blood availed for me. C. Go Home. Don't stay for the rest of the sermon, don't wait for the benediction. Go home. When the prodigal son came to his senses, he got up and headed home. It was time for this weary paralytic to go home. Henri Nouwen in his book Finding My Way Home reminds us that ...

4141. The Exalted Christ

Mark 9: 2-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... would come. I can see them now, by the tour bus loads, they will gather here. We could charge admission and make little replicas of the temples we are building and they would buy them and take them back home as pilgrims do from place to place. Let's just stay up here. It is wonderful. Then Verse 9 says, “As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders to keep quiet and go to work." Life is not lived on the mountain top. It's hammered out in the valleys among the people where they hurt and ...

4142. From Lust to Love

1 Corinthians 13: 1

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... with each other in the eyes of the Lord. (I Samuel 20:4) That friendship stood the test of time when Jonathan's father, Saul, swore that he would kill David. David goes in exile trying to save his life. The friendship between David and Jonathan stuck and stayed true. When Jonathan died, David said: I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women. (II Samuel 1:26) We need a friend or two like that. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once ...

4143. The Power to Begin Again

Acts 3:12-19

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... use a spiritual lift like that. In a Jim Davis cartoon, Garfield the cat is lying in his box trying to coax himself into getting up. “It's time to spring into action," says Garfield to himself. But as his paw pounds the ground the rest of him stays put. Finally, in defeat Garfield laments, “The spirit is willing, but the springer is weak!" Sometimes my soul has a weak springer. How about you? I could use some refreshment in my soul. Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and find drink ...

4144. The Power to Do Good

Acts 10:34-38, 44-48

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... . Have we that kind of compassion? Are we that aware, tuned in, responsive, to the cry of the needy? Fred Craddock may be the finest preacher alive today. His mother was a pillar of the church, but his father wanted nothing to do with organized religion. He stayed home on Sunday and complained of all the hypocrites who went to church. When a new preacher would come to visit him, Mr. Craddock would say, “You're not really interested in me; all you want is another name on your roll and a pledge for your ...

4145. Develop Leaders—Humbly

Colossians 3:12-17

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... 15 we read, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one body you were called to peace." When it comes to conflict, are you a turtle, a skunk, or a real person? Turtle-like people avoid conflict at all cost. They stay in their shells pretending there is nothing wrong. It's hard to relate to people in a shell. Skunk-like people create conflict; they like to stink up the place. With the least provocation they make life miserable for everybody and leave their odors behind for people ...

4146. Make Disciples—Intentionally

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... edges, trying to find out what a disciple might really be. Sam Shoemaker some years ago jotted down this creed for his life entitled “I Stand by the Door." The first three or four lines of it are: I stand by the door, I neither go too far in, or stay too far out, The door is the most important door in the world. It is the door through which men walk when they find God. A disciple is one who searches and checks out the scene. What they need most at that moment of life is not a sermon from ...

4147. Luke 10:1-11; 16-20

Luke 11:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Jesus instructs his envoys to abide by the traditional rules governing hospitality. Like a parent he admonishes them to eat and drink whatever is offered to them, a directive that also suggests this will still be a Jewish mission. He instructs these messengers to stay in one home for the duration of their visit. Unlike some shady characters whose motives might be less than honest, the people of the village would always know where to find Jesus’ emissaries while they were in town (see Matthew 10:11; Luke 9 ...

4148. Something to Brag About

Galatians 6:11-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... children and our grandchildren. We boast about our work. We boast about our athletic accomplishments. We boast about the places we’ve been and the things we’ve done. On this July 4, we boast about the land of our birth. An American was staying in London. He was introduced to a man from Edinburgh, Scotland. The Scotchman asked him, “An’ what country do you belong tae?” “The greatest country in the world!” replied the American. “Mon! So dae I,” replied Scotsman, “but you donna speak like a ...

4149. Bragging

Gal 6:14

Illustration

King Duncan

4150. The Kingdom of God Is Here

Luke 10:1-24

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

... and glory and power of that kingdom was right there, but if they kept it at arm's length, it would do them no good. Their lack of participation did not weaken the power of the kingdom. But it did land them in an unhappy (and unnecessary) spiritual situation of staying in the dark when the light of the world was right there.

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