Sermon and Worship Resources

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John 4:1-26

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... is to our hurt; and yet, we are the people of divided lives and divided loyalties. It is the most common form of psychosis among us, the split personality, schizophrenia. In common terms, we just don’t know who we are. But let’s use a common illustration. On a fine summer Saturday, a wife insists that her husband wash the kitchen walls instead of going out and playing golf the way he had planned. He’s terribly unhappy washing those walls. Why? Because his mind is divided. He’s thinking of what he ...

402. Who Needs a Shepherd These Days?

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Charles L. Koester

... a common sight. Part of life. A major factor in the economy of the land. When Jesus pointed to himself and said, "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep," they knew exactly what he was talking about. His illustration was very apt. It had always been so in biblical times. The unblemished lamb was picked from the flock and sacrificially offered up to God (Jehovah) on the Hebrew altar as an atonement for sin. John the Baptist proclaimed Christ, "the lamb of God that takes ...

403. Whom Do You Sit East Of?

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

Richard L. Eslinger

... sea then ceases from raging and takes a striking likeness to the swan-boat pond in the Boston Commons. And there they are, these now-devout sailors, all fearing the Lord exceedingly, sacrificing to the Lord and making vows. What an ending! What a great sermon illustration this will be! While Jonah sinks slowly to the bottom, these former pagans are all up on deck having church. Except for one thing: Nineveh. The call was to go to Nineveh and prophesy - not to join those lost at sea. So, The Lord appointed a ...

404. Standing in Awe

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

Roger Prescott

... very fortunate, I place my hand gently on a small tree and feel the happy quiver of a bird in full song." And God is revealed, I believe, in the sudden burst of uncontrollable laughter when the sheer surprise of something suddenly hits us. A recent cartoon illustrates it well. It shows an orchestra conductor standing on his podium, looking at the music stand. On that stand is a large hand-lettered note that reads, "Wave the stick until the music stops; then turn around and bow." The fact that my dad was a ...

405. Saved!

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... of God." Salvation "Then who can be saved?" they asked, and with good reason. If we take Jesus’ words at face value (and can we do otherwise?), salvation is beyond all of us. Our faith is rooted in one fact: Only God can save! What better illustration can we find than Jacob. Read Genesis 32:22-32. We find another young man, handsome, urbane; except (unlike the one who came to Jesus) Jacob was a cheat and a liar who stole from his father, his twin brother, and his father-in-law. Eminently successful ...

406. Paul's Thorn In The Flesh

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... gives you a thorn that you and God can't remove, make it produce a rose. The minister Bruce Larson states this principle as follows: "In every disaster, God has a gift for you. Claim it." In chapter twelve of Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, he illustrates this truth in his own life. In verse 7 he tells us: "A Thorn Was Given Me..." What was this thorn? We don't know. It was some very painful, chronic affliction. Sometimes Paul was totally disabled by it. Some cynic has suggested that Paul's thorn ...

407. The Choice Is Always Ours

Ecclesiastes 9:1-12

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... fall upon us?" 3) "Is there life beyond ambiguities, these paradoxical happenings which bring together success and failure, happiness and sorrow, life and death?" But, having acknowledged this, we must follow Saint Paul’s lead, a strategy and a belief dramatically illustrated by his life, to affirm that we must take responsiblity that is ours when defeats, disasters, and tragedies completely overwhelm us. For the "ball-of-fortune" will be returned to our court, and when it does, we will have some "say ...

408. Lift Up Your Heads! - Sermon Starter

Luke 21:5-38

Illustration

Brett Blair

... , happy with his shiny coins. Gordon walked around to the back of the church property, opened the door of the small wire coop, and let the struggling creatures soar into the blue. The next Sunday he took the empty cage into the pulpit and used it to illustrate his sermon about Christ's coming to seek and to save the lost -- paying for them with His own precious blood. "That boy told me the birds were not songsters," said Gordon, "but when I released them and they winged their way heavenward, it seemed to me ...

409. You Just Took The Life of Beethoven

Psalm 139:13

Illustration

Staff

... do you say?" The students gave various individual opinions, and then the professor asked them to break into small groups for "consultation." All of the groups came back to report that they would recommend abortion. "Congratulations," the professor said, "You just took the life of Beethoven!" Note: This well known illustration may have first appeared, at least nationally, in an Ann Landers column. Otherwise it's origins are unknown.

410. Oh, How The Mighty Have Fallen! - Sermon Starter

Luke 2:39-56

Illustration

Brett Blair

... righted: the proud have been scattered, the mighty have fallen, and the humble He has lifted. With these events in view let us turn not to the UN, not to any world leader, but to a young peasant girl named Mary, for it is HER words that are illustrated by these world events. Let’s consider that it was SHE that gave birth to the Revolution that is the pattern for all others. 1. The first nature of the revolution is spiritual. 2. The second nature of the revolution is social. 3. The third nature of the ...

411. Hungry People

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... loaves and fish and turn them into a feast. However little I may possess in terms of talent or resources, Jesus whispers: "Bring them to me," and with him, my little becomes a lot. Amen! 1. Leslie B. Flynn, Worship (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983) quoted in Bible Illustrator for Windows, (Hiawatha, Iowa: Parsons Technology, 1994) 2. The idea for this sermon and some of the included material comes from Michael Brown, "Dealing with Feelings of Inadequacy," PEBS, Summer--1993 (pp. 12, 17) 3. Quoted in Bible ...

412. Make It Right!

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... . And come to think of it, Get to it! Jesus makes this additional point: the timeliness of settling disputes with one another. Getting along is not just a matter of letting things go until a bad situation reaches a crisis point. Do not let things fester. He uses the illustration of a trip to court and says get things taken care of before they can only be dealt with by a judge...and for a very practical reason: you might lose. The advice of the letter to Ephesians is apropos here: "do not let the sun go down ...

413. The Incomparable Christ

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... crescendo and which one day will resound through the rafters of the universe. Can you hear it? Louder and louder it gets: "King of kings and Lord of lords and he shall reign forever and ever! Hallelujah!" The Incomparable Christ. Jesus Christ is Lord! Now and always. Amen! 1. Dynamic Illustrations, July/Aug 94 2. Don Emmitte, in Dynamic Illustrations, Jan/Feb 94 3. D. Bruce Lockerbie, The Cosmic Center, (Portland, OR: Multnomah Press, 1986), p. 182

414. The Forgiveness Factor

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... . Mark 1:38 4. Mark 1:45b 5. William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible, CD-ROM edition (Liguori, MO: Liguori Faithware, 1996) used by permission of Westminster/John Knox Press 6. Job 4:7 7. Barclay, ibid. 8. From Today in the Word, March 1989, p. 8 quoted by Bible Illustrator for Windows, diskette, (Hiawatha, IO: Parsons Technology, 1994). 9. James S. Hewett ...

415. A Story Worth Sharing

Mark 8:27-30

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... forget? What if they just fail to tell? What is your alternate plan?" Jesus answered, "I have no other plan."(9) Amen! 1. Morgan Blake, sportswriter for the Atlanta Journal, quoted in Bible Illustrator for Windows, diskette, (Hiawatha, IO: Parsons Technology, 1994) 2. James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988), p. 256 3. Herb Miller, "Are We Inviting?" Invite a Friend Action Guide, (Princeton, NJ: Religion in American Life, 1996), p. 5 4. George Gallup, "Faithful ...

416. A Lesson in the Snow

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child..." Oh, what a beautiful morning, Oh, what a beautiful day. The bread and the wine are a-waiting, Christ Jesus invites us today. Amen! 1. Doug Behm, via Ecunet, "Illustrations for this Week," #447, 9/28/97 2. James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 285. 3. I have seen this story in a number of places so the original source has faded into the ether. The telling here comes from James W. Moore in a sermon ...

417. The Apostles' Creed: "Suffered, Dead, and Buried..."

Mark 15:1-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... it. There is the MORAL INFLUENCE theory. This one emphasizes the effect Christ's sufferings have (or should have) on us. We see what misery he went through on our behalf and we respond in a positive way. An incident in the life of Ghandi can illustrate. In 1922, the independence movement in India was beginning to pick up tremendous momentum and along with it, a deep-seated hatred for the British. Ghandi, of course, was a leading light in that movement and a strong believer in its eventual success but ONLY ...

418. Created For Freedom

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... has set us free," says St. Paul. "Stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. 1. "Hard Times," LIFE, Oct. 1992, p. 21. 2. SUCCESS, February 1991, p. 8. 3. BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR. 4. EMPHASIS ON FAITH AND LIVING, Jan./Feb. 93. 5. THE PREACHER'S ILLUSTRATION SERVICE. Contributed by Wayne Rouse. 6. Allen Dixon, Columbus, Ohio, THE READER'S DIGEST, November 1977, p. 136. Cited in C. Thomas Hilton, RIPE LIFE, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993), p. 7. Bill Hybels, DESCENDING INTO GREATNESS ...

419. Destined To Have A Great Year

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... on it. She would first hold up the cloth with the lovely embroidered side showing ” all the threads forming a beautiful crown. This she would describe as the plan God has for our lives. Then she would flip the cloth over to show the tangled, confused underside ” illustrating how we view our lives from a human standpoint. (3) There is a pattern to life, she would say, a pattern we may not see. Corrie Ten Boom believed in destiny. She was one of that company of people who believe that there is a divinely ...

420. Finding Calm In The Storm

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

King Duncan

... to safety. "Don't be afraid," her father said. "I've been watching you all the time." (6) Those are Christ's words to us. He is not sleeping. He is watching over us. Why are we afraid? Have we no faith? 1. Contributed. Source: ILLUSTRATION DIGEST, Sep/Oct/Nov 92, p. 5. 2. Mary Ellen Clark, "Dizzying Heights," GUIDEPOSTS, January 1997, p.4 3. Mickey Brown, "Lone Defender," UPPER ROOM, July/August 1993, p. 8. 4. Hazel Goddard, HOPE FOR TOMORROW (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, 1971), pp. 53-55 ...

421. You Shall Call His Name Jesus

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... him "Muscles." Rocket Rod Laver and Ken Muscles Rosewall became champions in the tennis world. Their coach saw more in them than they saw in themselves. You remember the wonderful story of the Wizard of Oz. In the story several characters illustrate how persons learn and believe in unfounded assumptions about their personal limitations. Dorothy and her dog Toto want to return to Kansas, the Scarecrow wants a brain, the Tin Woodman wants a heart, and the Cowardly Lion wants courage. The Scarecrow learned ...

422. Narrow Doors-limitless Horizons

Luke 13:22-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... FOR EXAMPLE, EDUCATION IS A NARROW DOOR. There is a lot of concern about education nowadays. Jaime O’Neill is a college teacher in Washington. He decided to give his students a basic facts test; not trick questions, mind you, but a simple test to illustrate to his students that they needed to get serious about learning. Here's what he found from a survey of college students. "Ralph Nader is a baseball player. Charles Darwin invented gravity. Christ was born in the 16th century. J. Edgar Hoover was a 19th ...

423. Don't Apologize For Success (but Give Thanks)

Luke 19:11-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... about a college basketball coach who was shaving when his wife called upstairs to tell him that SPORTS ILLUSTRATED was on the phone. The coach was so excited he nicked himself shaving. He was so eager for ... our accountability to Him who is the Source of all we have. 1. Milch, Robert J. "Work Horse of the Skies," American History Illustrated (June, 1967), pp.2330. 2. Dr. David Stoop, LIVING WITH A PERFECTIONIST, (Nashville: Oliver Nelson, 1987). 3. QUOTE 4. David Frost, BOOK OF WORLD’S WORST ...

424. Help Wanted, Dad. Ask For Calvin And Hobbes.

1 Kings 19:1-8

Sermon

Lowell D. Streiker

... something besides tigers, can't you? Hobbes: Sure, Leopards, pumas, ocelots....you name it. (Time passes and we find Calvin in bed with his stuffed tiger, ready to be tucked in by his father.) Calvin: Here Dad, read this story tonight. I wrote it and Hobbes illustrated it. Dad:...Um. OK. (He reads aloud.) "The Dad Who Lived to Regret Being Mean to His Kid." Hobbes: What are you pausing for. Keep reading. Dad: Barney's dad was really bad. So Barney hatched a plan. When his dad said, "Eat your peas!" Barney ...

425. When God Speaks

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... act on the part of God's will that we do know. There are many things in my life I believe to be God's will for me. Finding the power to act on what I already know to be from God is my biggest obstacle. Recently SPORTS ILLUSTRATED published a profile of Bill McCartney, who had just resigned as football coach at the University of Colorado. McCartney, 54, is the founder of PROMISE KEEPERS, the fast-growing Christian men's movement. McCartney quit coaching, he said, to spend more time with his wife. "I see an ...

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