Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4276 to 4300 of 5000 results

4276. Prepare The Way Of The Lord

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

No shout in Scripture is more familiar than the shout of the prophet Isaiah. "Get ready!", he is saying, "The Messiah is coming. Prepare the Way of the Lord." Isaiah 40 is one of the most familiar passages in the Old Testament, made so in large part by Handel's MESSIAH. It's the call of Advent: "Prepare the way of the Lord." Now I know that the coming of Christ is always gift, always grace. So we need to think a little about how the spontaneous working of God's grace, unearned, unexpected, undeserved how ...

4277. The Church Of Our Dreams

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

One day a couple by the name of Herman and Mary were riding along in their shiny new car. Mary spoke up and said, "You know, Herman, if it weren't for my money, we probably wouldn't have this wonderful new car." And Herman just sat there and didn't say anything at all. As they pulled into the driveway, Herman turned off the motor and they quietly admired their new home. Then Mary said, "You know, Herman, if it weren't for my money, we probably wouldn't have this new house." And again, Herman just sat there ...

4278. A Long Obedience In The Same Direction

Luke 22:39-46

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A few weeks ago, I mentioned a preacher- writer I have recently discovered. His name is Eugene H. Peterson, and he has served Christ the King United Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland for 27 years. He has a book on the Psalms of Ascents -- Psalms 120 - 134 which he titled, A LONG OBEDIENCE IN THE SAME DIRECTION. He got that phrase from Friedrich Nietzsche. This was Nietzsche's word: "The essential thing in heaven and earth is...that there should be a long obedience in the same direction; thereby, ...

4279. The Art Of Borrowing And Lending A Donkey

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Imagine it. You've just bought a brand new BMW. You have had it a week. It only has 200 miles on it. You are coming to church on Sunday morning and you stop by the bank to get a little bit of cash from the automatic teller. While you are there, two men walk up and tell you that their leader has told them to borrow your car because their master is going to ride in it down Poplar Avenue to the center of the city to demonstrate who he is. They tell you that they will have the car back to you in about three ...

4280. On Level Ground

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A Sunday School teacher was checking with her students one day to see if they knew the people with whom Jesus lived. "How many of you know who Matthew was?", she asked. Not one kid raised a hand. "Well, then," she said, "what about Luke? How many of you know who Luke was?", she asked. And again, the class just sat there and no one said a thing. She tried again. "How about John? Do you know who St. John was?" And still the children just sat there in dead silence. Finally the teacher said, "Well, what about ...

4281. Who Loves More?

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A friend tells about how when he was a small boy his father’s birthday rolled around, and he did not realize it until it was too late to get his father a birthday present. So, he went through all his resources and came up with 17 cents. He put the dime, the nickel, and the two pennies in an envelope and gave it to his father with a note: “I love you, Dad. Happy Birthday. Thanks for being the best dad in the whole world. Sorry I did not get you a gift. This is all I’ve got.” Years later, at his father’s ...

4282. When Jesus Comes

Luke 8:22-25

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

"Jesus walks in church today, Jesus speaks while people pray Touch and hear one bowed in grief Strengthening a weak belief, Healing habits too long King, Showing judgments reckoning, Granting one a new life's start. His garment's hem just brushed my heart. (Quoted by Leonard H. Budd, Jesus Christ My Healer, Church of the Savior, Cleveland, Ohio). Did that take you by surprise? Plunging right in, quoting a poem, every word of which you need to get to get the picture. You who are regular attenders and hear ...

4283. Pay Attention To The Inside

Luke 11:37-54

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A few years ago, a barber's supply association had a convention in Chicago. As a publicity stunt they went out to skid row and found a man living in the gutter, filthy dirty and filthy drunk. They brought him back to the convention center and cleaned him up. They shampooed and shaved him. They washed him with a new kind of soap they were trying to sell. They put cologne on him, bought him a new suit, shirt, tie and shoes - - and then they proclaimed to all the world: "This is what our barber supplies can ...

4284. Turn in an Account of Your Stewardship

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I’ve been thinking a lot about heaven lately. When you minister to the dying and the bereaved, you can’t help but think about what heaven is going to be like. In the midst of all my pondering, I was helped by, of all people, Dennis the Menace. Under a tree, obviously just enjoying life and reflecting, a friend says “I wonder what heaven is like?” In successive frames that conveys seriousness, satisfaction and conviction, Dennis responds, “Well...it probably looks like toy shop.”....Sounds like a carousel ...

4285. O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Isaiah 1:1-31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Back in the early 1980's, there was a best- selling book entitled Blue Highways. The novel chronicles one man's adventures along the back roads and secondary highways of America. His journeys took him into crossroad villages and almost forgotten towns where he met all kinds of interesting people, including a few hitchhikers whom he befriended. Among the hitchhikers was a Bible-toting self styled evangelist, who passed out religious tracts and confronted everyone he met with questions about their salvation ...

4286. The Commitment Question: Will You Lay Down Your Life For Me?

John 13:31-38

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There is a little church on the Appian Way not far from the city Rome that bears the interesting name "The Church of the Quo Vadis". Those Latin words, Qou Vadis mean whither goest thou?A beautiful legend which has it that a few years after the crucifixion of Jesus, Peter had been in Rome and was under the threat of persecution again. He was fleeing for his life -- leaving the city in fear, when he met Jesus. Jesus was headed into the city, so Peter asked Him the question "Lord, whither goes thou?" And the ...

4287. What If

1 Chronicles 7:1-5

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I don't know when the question became so central in my thinking. It didn't emerge full-blown. At first it was at the edge of my consciousness, but now it's at the very center pressing for attention. It became even more clamoring, even more demanding, even more piercing during these past two weeks as we have shared with people behind the Iron Curtain; as we have shared with Christians who have to ask the question and who have to make a response. It's one of those what-if questions -- you know the kind I am ...

4288. The Medicine Of A Cheerful Heart

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

The Bible is a serious book, but it is not deadly serious. Did I say that too quickly for you to get it? The Bible is a serious book, but it is not deadly serious. Have you ever thought that we might have been better off if we had never put the printed word of God -- the Bible -- between black covers? Dostoevski, in his novel The Brothers Karamazov, characterize the artificial life of the monastery as "25 men trying to be saints, who sit around looking blankly at each other and eat cabbage." It's that kind ...

4289. You Can't Tell A Book By Its Cover

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I don't usually recommend the books I have written, and I'm certainly not going to begin now. But I need to tell you about this one. I'm sure none of you have ever seen it. It was edited by the staff of Upper Room and this special edition of it was given me when I left the Upper Room to come here as your pastor 10 years ago. It's a beautiful thing as you can tell, handsomely bound, with embossed silver printing of the title on the shelf-back and cover. All of it was a surprise to me. You can't imagine how ...

4290. All This And Heaven Too

Revelation 21:1-27

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Dick Sheppard was one of the great preachers of England in another generation. He was really one of the British church, a great preacher prophet. His preaching often set all of Britain aflame. The morning after he died, almost all of England mourned his passing, and a London newspaper proclaimed a great truth. The paper carried a picture of the pulpit of the church where Dick Sheppard preached, St. Martin’s in the Field. A soft light shone down on the reading desk where there was an open Bible, and in the ...

4291. When the Doctors Can't Help You

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

King Duncan

A father was talking with his rather rebellious son one day and said, "Every person who lives in the United States is a privileged person." The boy answered, "I disagree." And the father replied, "That’s the privilege." Tuesday we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It is a day we celebrate our freedom. But there is a different kind of freedom that we need to talk about today. Freedom that only Christ can bring. Jesus had attained celebrity status. People were coming from all around ...

4292. Rejected at Home

Mark 6:1-6

Sermon

King Duncan

Steven was a young man who felt the call of God on his life. He came from a really close family. He finished college and then went off to seminary. After finishing seminary he came back home before going to his first church. He visited with all of his relatives for about a week. He stopped by the church and talked to his hometown pastor. The pastor asked him if he would like to preach that upcoming Sunday. Steven felt honored and took the pastor up on the invitation. Sunday morning came and after hours, ...

4293. Smart Living

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

King Duncan

A fifty-five-year-old man was arrested in Buffalo, N. Y. sometime back for stealing a $270 case of liquor. He wouldn't have gotten caught except that as he ran away, he dropped his ill-gotten goods and shattered all the bottles. He still wouldn't have gotten caught except that, after leaving the scene, he returned with a straw to suck up the pool of booze. He was still on his knees when a police officer showed up. He tried to escape, but was caught and arrested. (1) Obviously he's not the smartest candle ...

4294. Putting the Puzzle Together

John 6:60-71

Sermon

King Duncan

I normally don't tell blonde jokes. Some of my best friends are blondes. And there is a sexist element to such jokes, I will admit. But sometimes one comes a long that's really funny. A certain young lady calls her boyfriend and says, "Please come over here and help me . . . I have a jigsaw puzzle, and I can't figure out how to get it started." Her boyfriend asks, "What is it supposed to be when it's finished?" The young lady says, "According to the picture on the box, it's a tiger." Her boyfriend decides ...

4295. Concerning Miracles

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

King Duncan

A mother and her three-year-old son were playing in the front yard. There were squeals and giggles galore. Dad came to the door and asked them to play a bit more quietly so he could get his work done. The three-year-old put his hands on his hips and said indignantly, "Daddy, I don't do quiet!" That is true of a lot of three-year-olds. They don't do quiet. A cartoon shows a large van. On the side are the warnings, "Danger! Explosives!" Inside are two men. The driver of the van turns to his buddy and says ...

4296. What God Has Joined Together

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

A young woman named Sally was driving home from a business trip in Northern Arizona. She saw an elderly Navajo woman walking on the side of the road. As the trip was a long and quiet one, she stopped the car and asked the Navajo woman if she would like a ride. With a silent nod of thanks, the woman got into the car. Resuming the journey, Sally tried in vain to make a bit of small talk with the Navajo woman. The old woman just sat silently, looking intently at everything she saw, studying every little ...

4297. When God Comes with a Blessing

Luke 1:39-45, Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

John P. Jewell

With this fourth Sunday in Advent, we have arrived at the dawn of another Christmas Eve. It is almost mind boggling to realize that we stand at the beginning of the third millennium since the good news of God's blessing the world through the Christ child was proclaimed. Yet, the words of the angel Gabriel, Elizabeth and Mary continue to stir the hearts of Christian people around the world today as they have for countless generations. Though ancient, these words come to us with the newness of a fresh ...

4298. From Hurting to Helping

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

King Duncan

Two psychiatrists were at a convention. "What was your most difficult case?" one asked the other. "Once I had a patient who lived in a pure fantasy world," replied his colleague. "He believed that a wildly rich uncle in South America was going to leave him a fortune. All day long he waited for a make-believe letter to arrive from a fictitious attorney. He never went out or did anything. He just sat around and waited." "What was the result?" asked the first psychiatrist. "It was an eight-year struggle," ...

4299. And the Word Is...Love

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

King Duncan

Moses Mendelson tells the story of a woman who came to a great teacher and asked him: "Teacher, how do I know which religion is the right one?" The teacher replied with a story of a great and wise King with three sons. This King had a precious gift--a magic ring that gave him great compassion, generosity, and a spirit of kindness. As he was dying, each of his sons went to him and asked the father for the ring after his death. And he promised to each of the sons that he would give him the ring. Now how ...

4300. The Perfect Man

Hebrews 10:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

You’ve probably heard the story. A perfect man meets the perfect woman. After a perfect courtship, they have a perfect wedding. Their life together is, of course, perfect. One year, just before Easter, they see a beautiful rabbit hopping along the highway. It is the Easter bunny bringing colored eggs to all the boys and girls. While they are thinking to themselves that it is such a perfect event, to encounter the Easter bunny on such a perfect day, a terrible tornado comes and smashes into this perfect ...

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