Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4226 to 4250 of 4986 results

4226. A Christian Christmas?

Matthew 1:18-25

Illustration

David B. Curtis

When you think about Christmas, what comes to your mind? Most, if not all, of us have celebrated Christmas in the traditional fashion since we were born. From my earliest memories, Christmas was presents, presents, and more presents. I can remember my brother and I staying up all night waiting for the appointed hour when we could rush to the living room and open our presents. One year my brother and I figured up the dollar amount of all of our gifts to see if our parents had spent the same amount on both ...

4227. The Difference between Cowards and Heroes

Matthew 2:13-23

Illustration

John Thomas Randolph

John Thomas Randolph offers this modern story of running and returning to illustrate our Lord's circumstances. Here is the difference between cowardice and heroism. The coward runs away and stays away. The hero runs away but he always returns at the appropriate time. I have a biography of General Douglas MacArthur that was written by Bob Considine. The picture on the front cover shows the general standing like a boulder, looking off into the distance, with that famous corncob pipe ...

4228. John 1:29-42

John 1:29-34

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... are trying to do the right thing. But they still are not quite on key. John’s loud testimony notwithstanding, they address Jesus, the one they are shadowing, as “Rabbi,” or “Teacher.” They only inquire of him “Where are you staying?” By using the title “Rabbi” John’s disciples demonstrate that they may have internalized their teacher’s conviction that Jesus was superior to John. But they still did not fully internalize the truth of John’s testimony or Jesus’ identity. “Rabbi ...

4229. Miss Donna

John 1:29-42

Illustration

James W. Moore

... . Some of us saw John eyeing the goodies on the reception table – punch and chocolate chip cookies in abundance… and some of us said to him, "John, would you like to walk over here and have some refreshments?" But no, he would not leave Donna's side. "I want to stay here with Miss Donna.," he would say. The love between the two of them was so radiant and powerful in that room. Also in the room that day was a man from Chicago. He had flown all the way from Chicago to Houston to be with Donna. Do you know ...

4230. Essential Personnel

Matthew 4:12-23

Illustration

William B. Kincaid, III

... budget talks collapse and the government shuts down, this is the phrase that is trotted out. When the earth suddenly moves under the people of California, often a certain group of people are called out while the rest are told to stay at home.When tornadoes blow through the Southwest and disrupt everything in their course, only certain people should risk the dangers involved. These are maintenance people, road crews, ambulance drivers, fire fighters, electric and gas company workers, truck drivers, and a ...

4231. Leaving Home

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... That sounds far-fetched to many of us, but there is something about home. We often describe our country as being very mobile, but did you realize that fifty per cent of Americans live within 50 miles of their birthplace? Most people, given a choice, like to stay anchored close to home. Not everybody, of course, but most people are more comfortable in familiar surroundings. For many of us, home gives us a sense of identity. Janet Ross may have gone to Japan to be with her Navy husband, but in a sense she was ...

4232. Let My Little Light Shine - Sermon Starter

Mt 5:13-20

Illustration

King Duncan

... to make a decision." Sutton had visions of being taken off the mound. Then Alston continued. "If the Dodgers are going to win this year," he said, looking Sutton in the eye, "they're going to win with Don Sutton pitching. Come what may, you're staying in the starting job. That's all I wanted to say." Sutton's losing streak lasted two more weeks, but because of his manager's encouragement he felt different about it. Something in him was turning around. He found himself pitching the best ball of his career ...

4233. The Temptation We Face Everyday

Matthew 5:13-16

Illustration

Warren Hudson

... snarled, people were running for the nearest shelter. Looking around they realized that the entire city was in darkness. "There in the darkness we stood," Warren writes, "a little band of Christians, each clutching a light, not sure whether to venture out into the storm or stay inside the church in hopes that the storm would soon blow over." There in the darkness the light of truth struck him. In this most dramatic way he realized what it means to be the "light of the world." He writes, "It occurred to me ...

4234. You Are God's Temple

1 Corinthians 3:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... like the ugly man who met an old woman traveling through a forest. The old woman said, “You’re the ugliest man I ever saw.” “I can’t help it,” the ugly man said. “No, I guess not,” the woman admitted, “but the least you could do is stay home.” One reason Lincoln was a great man was his ability to laugh at himself. One of the most popular films of recent years was a movie about a mentally challenged man named Forrest Gump. In the book by Winston Groom upon which the movie was based, there ...

4235. Worry Not

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... bad they never had the right car for us.” She said he was absolutely serious. (2) What do you do with people like that? Some people can see the dark side of any cloud, even one with a silver lining. They are worriers. They fume, they fret, they stay stressed out. Do they ever read the words of Jesus? “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look ...

4236. Life’s Three Guides on the Pilgrim Way

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... or presence of angels (Acts 23:8). Jesus didn’t. An angelic “above” ground guide is any presence that helps to cloth our minds in the divine wash of beauty, truth, and goodness. Unless you annoy the guide above insistently and consistently, your angel stays with you. Angels are ministering spirits, not our personal genies. God’s angels need no wings. Whenever the hug of a small child melts our soul, we can be assured that a guide from above has visited us. Whenever the glory of creation astounds ...

4237. Rock Solid

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

King Duncan

... Bobby asked, “Dr. Brown, would it be okay if I say the Twenty‑third Psalm while you stick me?” “Of course, that would be fine,” Dr. Brown said, and they began the procedure. Bobby recited beautifully. There were no tears and he stayed perfectly still. The procedure went well. Afterward Bobby said, “Dr. Brown, that really didn’t hurt much.” The doctor and the nurses knew better. Then Bobby caught the doctor by surprise. He asked, “Dr. Brown, do you know the Twenty‑third Psalm?” “Well ...

4238. Hear Him

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... I do.” When you can say that, and mean that, you will have discovered the pearl of great price. You will have found the buried treasure you have been searching for. You will have fulfilled your fondest hopes, your wildest dreams. Will you fall in love with Jesus, stay in love with Jesus, and die in love with Jesus? Jesus Love is the love that determines our destiny, both in the here and now and in the world to come. “Hear him” He speaks the truth “Hear him” To know the truth “Hear him” To obey ...

4239. There Are Other Worlds to Sing In

John 3: 1-17

Illustration

James W. Moore

... what John 3 is all about. “There are other worlds to sing in"… in this life and, yes, even beyond this life. When Jesus said to Nicodemus that night: “You must be born again." “You must be born from above." That's what he meant… you don't have to stay the way you are. You can make a new start. You can have a new life. You can become a new person. There are other worlds to sing in.

4240. Are We Brave enough to Bet It All?

John 20:1-18

Illustration

Thomas Long

... card that Thomas had hidden in his hand. If Thomas had held any other card, he would have won, and won big. In other words, Fred was betting everything everything on the tiny chance that Thomas held this one losing card. Dumbfounded, Thomas thinks to himself: Fred had stayed, then, against me when only one card in the deck ... could have made my hand a loser to his. Two truths dawned upon me: He was crazy. He had won. He had raised not on a reasonable faith but on a virtual impossibility; and he had been ...

4241. We Don’t Have to Sneak In

John 10:1-10

Illustration

Adrian Dieleman

The night before a camping trip one boy was staying at the home of another when suddenly he realized he forgot his fishing gear. "Let's run to my house and get it," he said. "Isn't it too late?" asked his friend. "Everybody will be sleeping." "We'll sneak in," said the first boy. "Come on." When they got ...

4242. Family Resemblance

John 14:5-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... , “My mother told me to look for someone who looked exactly like me. This mirror is the only way I can compare faces. You don’t look at all like me.” However, he accepted this man as his friend. The man even gave him a job. For six months they stayed together while he worked in his new friend’s shop. One day the young man realized he had been so busy and so happy that his promise to his mother had been forgotten. He again took his mirror and stool to search for his father. Before he left the shop ...

4243. A Caring Presence: I Will Not Leave You

John 14:15-21

Illustration

John H. Pavelko

... to even open your eyes, but you will be perfectly conscious and you will hear and you will know everything that is going on around you.. During those six hours, I will be at your side and I will hold your hand exactly as I am doing now. I will stay with you until you are fully recovered. Although you may feel absolutely helpless, when you feel my hand, you will know that I will not leave you." The next day the surgery went exactly as the nurse had told him. When Tom woke, he could do nothing. Before he ...

4244. Acts 2:1-13

Acts 2:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... in Jerusalem. A couple even decided to high-tail it out of town and headed for Emmaeus. Only after those escapees encountered the risen Lord did they turn back and return to Jerusalem. True, the disciples did obey Jesus’ final directive to stay in Jerusalem. But they continued to keep a very low profile, not calling attention to themselves or their relationship with the crucified one. They remained cloistered in their rooms, upper room shut-ins, “constantly devoting themselves to prayer” (Acts 1:14 ...

4245. Wrong!

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to believe the first reports of the empty tomb and the resurrection. Wrong! They hid in Jerusalem as upper room shut-ins, or even tried to get quietly out of town. Wrong! Until they saw the risen Christ. Until they obeyed Jesus’ directive to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the gift they had been promised. Until the Holy Spirit danced upon their hearts and souls and minds and transformed all their ”wrong-headedness” into a “right Spirit.” Until all that had divided and weakened the disciples was ...

4246. A Lesson from Dr. Seuss

Romans 6:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... notes that the human being is the only creature on earth that is not the prisoner of its programming, but is the master of it. Birds are programmed to fly south in the winter. They don’t suddenly decide that because of the bad economy they had better stay home this year. Beavers build dams. Fish swim in schools. Only humans decide to build a dam or to go back to school. We have the power to decide. That doesn’t mean, of course, that we always make good decisions. Some of you will remember an episode ...

4247. The Parable of the Soil

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , the “greatest Generation.” Why were they so “great?” Yes, the soil they grew and lived in was rich with possibility. But it was also ripe with deadly thorns. Yet so many of this generation managed not to be “choked out” and stayed true to the life of faith. The temptations that come with extreme poverty, the temptations that come with great triumphs, the temptations that come with extreme comfortability — escaping all those “temptations” is the goal of the seed of God’s kingdom that ...

4248. Super-Size Your Faith

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... his twenty-first century readers in Duluth [insert your city here] to know is that despite all that happens to us, faith itself is the ultimate victory, the supreme triumph. Whatever the battle is we face, the final outcome is never in question if we stay connected to Christ. The world’s eyes may record distress, famine, and even death. But the eyes of faith see that there is nothing “neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth ...

4249. The Kingdom Belongs to Those with the Guts

Matthew 13:44-46

Illustration

Will Willimon

... Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island" is a favorite book to many. The adults in "Treasure Island" were unlike many adults we know--grownups who staked all, risked everything, for nothing more than some map scrawled on a piece of paper. The adults most of us know stay home, keep their heads down, go to work in the morning and then they come back again in the evening. But in "Treasure Island," they risked, they lied if needed, and they had great lives and exciting deaths. A speaker at a graduation ceremony once ...

4250. When the Caterers Weren’t Available

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... into each room and give a flower to each patient.” The next week the man came to his session in an elated state. “I had a wonderful time giving those flowers away,” he said. “Those people appreciated them so much and I made so many friends. I can’t stay today for my session since I’m going back to visit the new friends I met.” (6) Are there some fishes and loaves or pillowcases or flowers in your life that you can use to bring joy into someone else’s life? Christ has compassion for our needs ...

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Showing 4226 to 4250 of 4986 results

4226. A Christian Christmas?

Matthew 1:18-25

Illustration

David B. Curtis

4227. The Difference between Cowards and Heroes

Matthew 2:13-23

Illustration

John Thomas Randolph

4228. John 1:29-42

John 1:29-34

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

4229. Miss Donna

John 1:29-42

Illustration

James W. Moore

4230. Essential Personnel

Matthew 4:12-23

Illustration

William B. Kincaid, III

4231. Leaving Home

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

4232. Let My Little Light Shine - Sermon Starter

Mt 5:13-20

Illustration

King Duncan

4233. The Temptation We Face Everyday

Matthew 5:13-16

Illustration

Warren Hudson

4234. You Are God's Temple

1 Corinthians 3:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

4235. Worry Not

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

King Duncan

4236. Life’s Three Guides on the Pilgrim Way

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

4237. Rock Solid

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

King Duncan

4238. Hear Him

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

4239. There Are Other Worlds to Sing In

John 3: 1-17

Illustration

James W. Moore

4240. Are We Brave enough to Bet It All?

John 20:1-18

Illustration

Thomas Long

4241. We Don’t Have to Sneak In

John 10:1-10

Illustration

Adrian Dieleman

4242. Family Resemblance

John 14:5-14

Sermon

King Duncan

4243. A Caring Presence: I Will Not Leave You

John 14:15-21

Illustration

John H. Pavelko

4244. Acts 2:1-13

Acts 2:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

4245. Wrong!

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

4246. A Lesson from Dr. Seuss

Romans 6:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

4247. The Parable of the Soil

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

4248. Super-Size Your Faith

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

4249. The Kingdom Belongs to Those with the Guts

Matthew 13:44-46

Illustration

Will Willimon

4250. When the Caterers Weren’t Available

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

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