Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 401 to 425 of 609 results

401. God Is Good, Life Isn’t Fair

Matthew 20:1-16

Illustration

Johnny Dean

I seriously doubt that the story of the early and late workers in the vineyard would make very many folks' Top Ten Parables list. It's the parable most everyone loves to hate. And for good reason! The parable runs against the grain of one of our most deeply cherished values, the value of hard work and just reward: The more you work and the more productive you are, the more you ought to get paid. Let's face it: this parable is just not fair! But, then again, as someone once said, "God is good, but life isn' ...

402. Mushy Mail

Illustration

... missionaries were off on a neighboring island. The captain left the mail with the Marshallese people while he attended to matters of getting stores of water and provisions. At last the Marshallese were in possession of what the missionaries spoke about so often and apparently cherished so much. The people examined the mail to find out what was so attractive about it. They concluded that it must be good to eat, and so they proceeded to tear all the letters into tiny bits and cook them. However, they didn't ...

403. A Wise Husband

Illustration

... job in the world). Pray for her as you've never prayed before (because God hears our prayers). Lower your expectations (you're not going to see fireworks every night). Do the little things (without expecting anything in return). Show her she's the most cherished woman on earth (she'll probably faint the first time you do this). Above all, persevere (you're in this for the long haul). A wise husband builds his mate's self-esteem, realizing that the subtle words and actions of a sinful world constantly ...

404. The Firm Foundation of Despair

Illustration

... doom falls pitiless and dark. Blind to good and evil, reckless of destruction, omnipotent matter rolls on its relentless way; for Man, condemned today to lose his dearest, tomorrow himself to pass through the gate of darkness, it remains only to cherish, ere yet the blow falls, the lofty thoughts that ennoble his little day;. . . proudly defiant of the irresistible forces that tolerate, for a moment, his knowledge . . . and his condemnation, to sustain alone, a weary but unyielding Atlas, the world that his ...

405. Famous False Beliefs

Illustration

Byles Brandreth

Are you strong enough to face how mistaken many of your most cherished beliefs are? Marie Antionette did not say "Let them eat cake." The phrase was attributed to her by those in opposition to Louis XVI, but had actually been used by other prominent figures long before. Charles Lindbergh was not the first person to fly nonstop across the Atlantic. He was ...

406. One Step Forward

James 1:22

Illustration

... read. He took notes during this time and later studied them with great care. Through the week he earnestly tried to apply them to his life. That's the kind of serious-minded response to truth the apostle James calls for in today's Scripture reading. A single revealed fact cherished in the heart and acted upon is more vital to our growth than a head filled with lofty ideas about God. One step forward in obedience is worth years of study about it.

407. Art from Ruins

Illustration

Charles Swindoll

... he took out a knife and slashed it repeatedly before he could be stopped. A short time later, a distraught, hostile man slipped into St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome with a hammer and began to smash Michelangelo's beautiful sculpture The Pieta. Two cherished works of art were severely damaged. But what did officials do? Throw them out and forget about them? Absolutely not! Using the best experts, who worked with the utmost care and precision, they made every effort to restore the treasures. By His sovereign ...

408. Bear the Light

John 1:19-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... center stage in the spotlight. Every year at Advent season we are all reminded to take up John’s mission, to announce to a dark and troubled world that the light is coming. “Decking the halls,” Christmas concerts, cookie baking marathons, shopping sprees, fulfilling cherished family traditions of all kinds — these are all wonderful, but they are not the focus of Advent. They are not the source of the light. What we are doing in our lives is not the reason for the season. What we can buy for others ...

409. After the Parade

Mark 11:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.” These were not words the disciples wanted to hear. In fact, in many ways they refused to hear them. They still cherished dreams that he would overthrow the ruling powers and set up a new kingdom in which they would have favored positions. But they were in Jerusalem now, and his prophecy about his death was about to be fulfilled. The die was cast. There was no turning back. Jesus ...

410. Let Your Diamond-Light Shine

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... “Lucy” after the Beatle’s hit, “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.” By comparison, the largest earth-diamond, the Golden Jubilee Diamond, is 545 carats — a sandal toe full of diamond “sand” on one of Lucy’s dunes. Diamonds are a chosen and cherished gem because of their sparkle and glow. They ignite with a kind of inner fire when the light hits them. Unfortunately for “Lucy,” that means that the solid diamond core of that dwarf star is as unremarkable and unassuming as any other stone ...

411. Let Your Diamond Light Shine

2 Cor. 4:3-6; 5:1-10

Illustration

Leonard Sweet

... . This "space diamond" was named "Lucy" after the Beatle's hit, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." By comparison, the largest earth-diamond, the Golden Jubilee Diamond, is 545 carats — a speck of sand on one of Lucy's dunes. Diamonds are a chosen and cherished gem because of their sparkle and glow. They ignite with a kind of inner fire when the light hits them. Unfortunately for "Lucy," that means that the solid diamond core of that dwarf star is as unremarkable and unassuming as any other stone. You could ...

412. It Depends upon Today

Eph 5:15-20

Illustration

King Duncan

... , "Yes, but will I be happy?" "Ah," said the fortuneteller, "that has nothing to do with the future but what you do in the present." He was right again. God's will is for us to choose to be happy this day and every day, to believe the Gospel, to cherish the truth that in all things God is with us and we can be victorious in any circumstance. That does not mean that we will not go through difficult times. It means that we will not let our circumstances determine how we look at life. Rather we will let our ...

413. Low-Carb Christians

John 21:1-19

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... , despite the overwhelmingly wonderful experience of the resurrection. Just as we can't get stuck in fad diets and we need to learn how to eat in the real world, so in our spiritual lives we can't stay on the mountaintop but have to learn how to cherish Jesus in our everyday lives. The disciples have gone back to work and work isn't going well. After coming up empty all night they must be exhausted, and that's when this stranger tries to tell them how to fish. Notice what happens when we let Jesus advise ...

414. Epiphany 5

Psalm 138:1-8, Isaiah 6:1-8 (9-13), Luke 5:1-11, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... God, too; together we support ministry on this street corner. Doxology As A Chalice Cost Of Gold (v. 4) When I dance or chant your praise, when I sing a psalm or hymn, When I teach your loving ways, let my heart add its Amen. Let each cherished outward rite thus reflect your inward light. Prayer Of Thanksgiving Great God — in gratitude for your loving presence, we give you our whole selves! Use us and our talents and our money to make your grace tangible on our street. Amen. Intercessory Prayers Thank you ...

415. What Does the Bible Really Say about Divorce?

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... who she was and she didn’t remember who he was. The man said: “I know she doesn’t remember anything, but I do. I remember who she is and I remember who I am. I am the husband who said to her 55 years ago, I will love and cherish you for better or worse and in sickness and health. And I intend to do just that.” (3) What a gift that man was giving to his wife, a gift like unto one that many of us may one day be required to give to the person we love. Even ...

416. Thanksgiving Day

Deuteronomy 26:1-11, Psalm 100:1-5, John 6:25-35, Philippians 4:4-9

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... ! We treasure opportunities to be cocreators with the Creator of the whole cosmos! Leader: We are alert for the subtle voice of the Holy One drawing our attention to this planet and its resources. People: We respect the land and the waters and cherish their life-sustaining qualities. Leader: Don’t forget the variety of wholesome foods that please our palates! People: Red and yellow, green and purple, large and small, sweet and sour, seeded and smooth — all the vegetables and fruits that provide for the ...

417. God as a Consuming Fire

Hebrews 12:18-29

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... person for companionship. You cannot find a sweeter picture of God anywhere in scripture. Still, in the middle of the garden is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The fruit of that tree comes with a warning. If the human, loved and cherished by God, eats of the fruit of the tree, he will die. The threat of death hangs over this beautiful story. When the Old Testament prophets proclaim judgment, they don't sugarcoat it like Genesis does. The prophets thunder about a God angry at the treatment ...

418. The Man Who Wasn’t There

Acts 16:9-15

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... he was. Before that night was over, a providential earthquake had broken open their chains and cells. By morning, the jailer and his entire household had been converted and baptized. And within a few years, the church in Philippi had grown into one of Paul's most cherished and happy partners in ministry and fellowship with him. But what of the vision? Was there, in fact, some person who wanted Paul to go to Macedonia or not? Indeed, there was, but it was not a man from Macedonia. It was the God who loved ...

419. Shepherds Who Will Shepherd

Jeremiah 23:1-6

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

... been used to represent most countries or kingdoms in human history? The lion for England, the bear for Russia, and for the United States, not the turkey (as suggested by Benjamin Franklin, believe it or not!), but the bald eagle. For God's people, though, the most cherished and meaningful image was that of the shepherd, a rich combination of both power and gentle care. The metaphor of the shepherd was rooted in the nomadic past of God's people as well as in God's choice of Moses — himself a herder when ...

420. The Cross Burden or Blessing?

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... way we participate personally in Jesus’ mission in the world. To the old rugged cross I will ever be true, Its shame and reproach gladly bear; Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away, Where His glory forever I’ll share. So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross, Till my trophies at last I lay down; I will cling to the old rugged cross, And exchange it some day for a crown. COMMENTARY Christian faithfulness confounds the “wisdom of the world” in so many ways. Love your enemy. The first shall ...

421. Hope from a Stump

Isaiah 11:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... in . . . Hope puts a smile on our face when the heart cannot manage . . . Hope puts our feet on the path when our eyes cannot see it . . . Hope moves us to act when our souls are confused of the direction . . . Hope is a wonderful thing, something to be cherished and nurtured, and something that will refresh us in return . . . And it can be found in each of us, and it can bring light into the darkest of places . . . Never lose hope . . . (6) Hope is based on our faith in God. God is a loving God who watches ...

422. What If You Truly Were Born Again?

John 3:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... pair of eyes. He truly saw the world through his Father’s eyes. He saw the world as God sees the world, and so we can only guess at the full meaning of the new values that the Kingdom life would entail. Probably many of the things that we cherish most our possessions, our nice homes, our affluent lifestyles would have less interest if we truly were born again. The things that this world could buy would dim in their glitter and glory. Our eyes would be fixed on a new world, a new heaven, a new earth. I ...

423. A Breath of Fresh Air

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Sermon

Tony Everett

... ? Are most of your verbs in the past tense? Do you spend most of your time thinking about what it was like in the past? Do you often grumble about the present and yearn for a future that will never be? Do your memories of a glorious and cherished past seem to be gone forever? Do you sometimes feel so used up and dried up that you have given up all hope? Some scholars claim that congregations belonging to mainline denominations are now on the decline, watching life from the sidelines, reacting with a ho-hum ...

424. Fear of Missing Out

Matthew 5:38-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... invited you to God’s table. When you find your identity in God, and you realize God’s opinion of you, you will feel the pleasure and blessings of God, and you won't think about envying anyone else. You will know and feel you are chosen and cherished. Your identity is not dependent on things and places and people. Your identity is in Christ. An identity-less person is a person filled with fear, who longs for everyone else's life and approval. Powering down means you let go of control and relax into faith ...

425. Prescription on a Pole

John 3:1-21

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... Israelites in the wilderness, whose grumbling against God began with the grumbling of their stomachs — we have been “following the desires of flesh and senses.” Numbers 21:4-9. “Bound for the Promised Land.” Israel’s exodus experience has long been cherished as a meaningful metaphor for the Christian life. We begin as slaves, where God finds us and saves us. The Christian life is a journey, and we are dependent upon his guiding and providing throughout all of it. Some of the journey may feel ...

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