Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 401 to 425 of 2665 results

401. Cheering from the Stands

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... breakup of a marriage, the loss of a loved one, a devastating diagnosis by a doctor, the loss of a job. A friend comes by and says to us, “Hang in there.” And suddenly we realize that this is all we can do. Dropping out of the race is not an option. Not really. So, instead, we drop to our knees and pray, “Lord, have mercy on me. I don’t know if I can make it another day, but people are depending on me. I still want to make my life count for you. Help me to somehow make it through ...

402. Choosing a Master

Matthew 6:16-24

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... enslave us. As an affirmation of the goodness of life, of stewardship for our bodies and as an expression of love to others, let us break free from our slavery to food, clothes, and money. Let us serve God. Amen. 1. "Two Kids Hurt in Money Drop at Minor League Game," AOL Sports News, April 16, 2006. 2. Both illustrations in this paragraph come from the article, "Clergy Choose Path to Fitness," by Bill Fentum in The United Methodist Reporter, July 14, 2006, pp. 1B-2B. 3. Amy Johnson Frykholm, "Soul Food: Why ...

403. Sneak Preview

Matthew 17:1-9

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... among Jesus' disciples. They were three of the first four whom Jesus called. The way Matthew portrays it, they didn't hesitate to follow Jesus when he called (Matthew 4:18-22). All three were busy in the fishing industry when Jesus called, but all three dropped what they were doing to follow when Jesus called, seemingly out of the blue. They have seen and heard enough by this point that maybe the interruption in their careers has been worth the sacrifice. What they see now surpasses all of it. Jesus leads ...

404. The Holy Way

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

Tony Everett

... the little things of daily life become insurmountable obstacles for our fainting hearts and feeble knees. One Advent season, while shopping in a crowded mall, I noticed a group of young people walking the corridors, cheerfully chanting, "Shop 'til you drop! Shop 'til you drop!" My immediate, though silent, response was the "Bah, humbug!" of Ebenezer Scrooge. Exhausted and frustrated with the "busy-ness" of this season, I wanted to crawl into bed and pull up the covers until January second. In our wilderness ...

405. Restoration Frustration

Isaiah 63:7-9

Sermon

Tony Everett

... lament, "Ten percent of the people have been doing ninety percent of the work for too long, and we are exhausted!" These folks, even pastors and staff members, have become tired out, burned out, and ready to drop out. Once proud and vital mainline denominations find themselves dropping from mainline to side line, to flat line: bored, apathetic, and frustrated. This happens with families, friendships, and communities, as well. Maybe it's happening to you. A danger here is to seek desperately for a quick ...

406. A Little Theology at Christmas

Titus 2:11-14

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me?" Business! cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business! It held up its chain at arm's length, as if that were the cause of all its unavailing grief, and flung it heavily upon the ground again. At this time of the rolling year, the ...

407. How, Then, Shall We Live?

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... had such a messy house. When Christ returns, he will also come when we least expect him. Christ came the first time to show us how to order our lives. When he comes again, it will be to see if we have done what he taught us. Guests do drop by sometimes when we are not expecting them. If we had been expecting visitors, we would have been ready. Both we and our house would be looking much better. Instead, we have to invite our guests into a home where piles of clutter are visible on the furniture, apologizing ...

408. A Winning Life

Hebrews 13:1-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... attempt to be kind to strangers. First Lt. Patrick J. Chaisson tells about the first parachute jump he participated in. It was at Fort Benning, GA., home of the Army’s paratroop school. Fort Benning is located near Columbus, GA., but its primary drop zone lies across the Chattahoochee River in neighboring Alabama. Lt. Chaisson learned this on his first jump. After his parachute had opened safely, he looked around and spotted a sign, visible only to descending jumpers. The sign said, “Welcome to Alabama ...

409. Help Me, I'm Lost

Luke 15:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... farther and farther away if we are still keeping Christ at arm’s distance and have never opened ourselves fully to him. Don’t worry I’m not a backwoods evangelist softening you up for an altar call. I am burdened, however, that so many people who drop in at church from time to time are so casual about their faith. They’ve never made it central to their lives. And so, when Gallup does his polls, he discovers that church people have the same prejudices as the world outside, church people have the same ...

410. Broken Lives and Broken Chains

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... tell you about Blackie. When I was doing my internship at First UMC, Dimmitt, my supervising Pastor, Howard Quiet, introduced me to the wonders of Ann's Cafe. Every small town usually has one, especially the small towns in West Texas. The thing about the Cafe was that you could drop in at different times of the day and meet different crowds of people. Howard and I got more visiting done in Ann's Cafe than we did all during the rest of the week. You see, you could go in about 10:00 am and meet some of the ...

411. Step By Step

Acts 11:1-18

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... which will allow and challenge them to take risks. And most of all, we want them to have a desire for godliness. We want them to have a deep passion for God and the gospel. But they learn these things Step By Step, not by our lecturing, not by our dropping them off at church and Sunday School, not by our teaching but by OUR EXAMPLE, AND THE STEPS WE TAKE. You see, what we do, proves what we think is important. IV. Sow Love And finally one of the most important steps is that we SOW LOVE. Someone has written ...

412. Fresh Grilled Forgiveness

John 21:1-19

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... deeper water and caught the miraculous catch of fish. Afterwards Jesus told them he would make them fishers of people and they dropped their nets and followed him. B. Here it is, three years later, they followed. They witnessed everything up to the crucifixion ... collected his pay and stuck out his thumb again. This time he was picked up by a couple of marines headed to Los Angeles. They dropped him off and he checked into a flea bag motel. He stayed there two nights, that's all the time he had the money for ...

413. What Should We Do?

Luke 3:7-18

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... their presentation. You will be lifted up by the message of the season as it's shared through song. If you haven't felt like you've gotten to do enough with the Angel Tree this year, then give to the Salvation Army. Carry extra quarters and dollars to drop in their buckets. Send an anonymous Christmas card with a little cash, to a family you know that's in need. "What should we do?" PARTICIPATE. II. Persist Then persist. So many times, this time of year causes us so much stress. There is so much to do. So ...

414. Eyes To See, Ears To Hear

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

James McCormick

... you never thought to look before, in letters from friends, in comic strips, in movies, in burning bushes, in wilderness camp sites, and maybe even in a manger in a stable. Someone wrote about “finding love letters from God dropped daily in the streets”. Have you experienced that? Have you found love letters from God dropped daily in your streets? Well, in order to do that, you’ve got to be able to recognize them when you find them, and you’ve got to know Who they’re from. I love the way Elizabeth ...

415. Totally Immobilized

Luke 19:1-10

Illustration

King Duncan

... In order to protect the floor, she very carefully placed around the edges a strip of Scotch tape-the kind with adhesive on both sides. It was her plan to place a drop cloth over the floor and secure it with the tape. Having succeeded in placing the tape around the entire surface, she went back inside the house to get a drop cloth. Returning to the porch sometime later, she found that all of her carefully placed tape was gone. She was completely mystified. Where could it be? Who would possibly have taken the ...

416. The Strength of the Taxman

Luke 19:1-10

Illustration

John Wayne Clarke

... that they were stronger than the owner of the place. Here is how it worked. This muscle man would squeeze a lemon until all the juice ran into a glass, and then hand the lemon to the next challenger. Anyone who could squeeze just one more drop of juice out, would win the money. Many people tried over time - other weightlifters, construction workers, even professional wrestlers, but nobody could do it. One day, a short and skinny guy came in and signed up for the contest. After the laughter died down, the ...

417. Eyewitness News

John 20:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... will always be a light in the window of our house to remind you that you are always welcome home.” According to both versions of the story, Johnny went to New York and he had a very horrible experience. Life went from bad to worse, and the bottom dropped out and he ended up penniless and friendless. He finally remembered: “I’ll go home. There will be a light in the window for me.” But . . . in the new version of the story, the young man returned to his village in Pennsylvania and he came up over the ...

418. The Scope of Love

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of fear in the community it serves. A Spirit-of-truth community can detect the presence of a quickened pulse from hopelessness long before that gloom can transform a nation. A Spirit-of-truth community can discern the drop in heart rate that foretells a deathly drop in vision and vitality. A Christ‑breathed love acts on its discernment of these heart failures, offering itself as a remedy against these ailments. Second, Christ‑breathed love has the stability of a gyroscope. No matter how many hard ...

419. A Lesson from Dr. Seuss

Romans 6:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... , toward safety but her face was turned backward. She was looking back toward something that was just beyond her outstretched hands. The archeologists wondered what she was looking for. As they dug, they found a bag of pearls. Maybe she dropped this bag of pearls as she ran for her life. Maybe someone else dropped them, and this lady saw the chance for instant wealth. But, one way or another, with her life on the line, she thought it was worthwhile to stop and pick up some pearls. She turned to pick them up ...

420. The Receptive Heart

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... called the “Cynic’s Guide to Life.” It’s a clever take-off on some of life’s familiar clichés. See if you recognize any of these: The journey of a thousand miles . . . begins with . . . a broken fan belt and a leaky tire. I believe for every drop of rain that falls, a flower grows . . . and a foundation leaks and a ball game gets rained out and a car rusts and . . . [You get the idea.] Follow your dream! . . . Unless it’s the one where you’re at work in your underwear during a fire drill. Do ...

421. The Ad Vent Wheat

John 1:1-18

Drama

Frank Ramirez

... : Well, of course not. I will lay this aside until the teachers get here. (holds up the nativity set) Look here! I’ve got a gravity set! Bradley: Don’t be silly. That’s not a gravity set. That’s a nativity set! Garrison: Then how come when I drop it (drops it) it falls? I think it’s a gravity set. Alex: What’s a gravity set for? Courtney: It’s for the Baby Jesus! We put in the manger, see? And the Baby Jesus! Alexis: And Mary and Joseph! Bradley: And sheep and cows! Garrison: And the angel and ...

422. Time’s A-Wasting

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Robert J. Elder

... they left their nets and followed" (v. 18). Jesus called out to them, and suddenly doctors stopped doctoring, traders stopped trading, taxi drivers pulled over and turned on their "not in service" lights, teachers stopped teaching, fishermen quit fishing, baseball players dropped their mitts and bats and ran to the stands to collect their families, the king quit his throne, the Congress adjourned, the doors to the Supreme Court were locked, and everyone knew what they hadn't known before — that if they ...

423. Do You Love Me?

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

... invisible after an industrial accident. Afterward, he can only be seen when rain pours down on him or powdered concrete or something that falls on him from above. That's true for us, too. We don't really know the value of a person until something drops down from above. God dropped something, and it was so powerful we couldn't miss it. God grabbed our attention and showed us one more time how much he loves us. The irony is that God's answer comes in suffering. Job told us all about it. When we are suffering ...

424. Having Trouble Sleeping Through the Night

1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

... nightmare of all — he was torn, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" But at the very end he was at one with the Father, at peace. Picture him there praying the old Jewish prayer that a child would say the last thing before dropping off to sleep, "Into thy hands I commit my spirit." "Here I am, Lord. I am yours completely and fully." Having trouble sleeping through the night? Quit playing games with yourself, others, and God. Take the first step toward wholeness and peace. Say, "Here I am, Lord ...

425. When Necks Break

2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33

Sermon

Donna Schaper

... are placed incorrectly in the flashlight. Get the nodes right and stuff happens. We may have to train our stomachs and our vocabularies to be the tough dove that we are in meetings and fights. Training is good. It begins, for me, in humming an old hymn, "Drop thy still dews of quietness, 'til all our conflicts cease...." I call it my Bob Newhart tactic. Newhart is one of my favorite comics and the reason is his timing. It is absolutely brilliant, also a beat behind the trouble. Newhart waits. He listens. He ...

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