Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4326 to 4350 of 4934 results

4326. What Do We Do Now That We’re Happy?

Isaiah 62:1-12

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

There are a few times in our lives when long periods of planning and expectation are fulfilled. We cram months upon months with preparation. At last the coveted day arrives and our cup runs over. Weddings are such days. Long periods of activity go into getting ready. Each activity and emotion is carefully choreographed. When the day finally comes, the anticipation is so intense and the emotions so high that we expect life to go into overdrive. We will be lifted out of ourselves. A mysterious ingredient ...

4327. A Prayer of Wonder

2 Samuel 7:18-29

Sermon

Roger Prescott

Introduction David went into the tent which housed the Ark and sat before the Lord. This attitude of devotion seems not to be mentioned elsewhere in the Old Testament, but it is a characteristic posture of prayer in the ancient East. It may be seen in Mohammedan worship to this day. Both David and his nation were "on a roll." The enemies of the past were crushed (especially the Philistines); the Israelite tribes were uniting and beginning to prosper; and now Jerusalem had become the religious center. David ...

4328. What Would We Do Without Friends?

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

Brett Blair

After Jesus had completed his tour of the synagogues he returned to Capernaum to rest for a few days. The news got out quickly that he had arrived and soon the house was filled to overflowing with people and people even spilled out into the streets. Into this crowd came four men carrying on a stretcher a friend of theirs who was paralyzed. So jammed was the narrow street that they could not get through. But they were as resourceful as they were determined. Thus, we read, that they climbed on top of the ...

4329. The Promising Child

1 Samuel 2:12-26

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

The Holy Gospel appointed for this First Sunday after Christmas was chosen to help us understand the development of that Holy Child whose birth we have just celebrated with joy and high delight. However, in Bible classes pastors generally have difficulty handling the protests of mothers who think that the behavior of the twelve-year-old boy Jesus was quite reprehensible. Mothers normally contend that no matter how impressive Jesus may have been with the teachers in the Temple, he gets poor marks for the ...

4330. Preparing for the Unexpected

Luke 12:35-48

Sermon

King Duncan

Joe Claro tells a great story about the making of one of Cecil B. DeMille's epic films. The film was a biblical extravaganza with a cast of thousands. Normally, movies are filmed in tiny pieces, but this day's scene was going to be shot live, with all six hundred or so actors and extras going into action at once. DeMille had stationed eleven cameras at various points to pick up the action. They had started work at six in the morning and the complete scene had been rehearsed four times. After each rehearsal ...

4331. You Shall Call His Name Jesus

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

King Duncan

You may remember that story of the man hearing a choir sing "O Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world," and he thought to himself, "If only he COULD take away the sins of the world. What a tremendous and joyful thing that would be “no more wars, no more broken homes, no more abused children, no more hatred, envy, bitterness and strife. If only he COULD take away the sins of the world." Christmas has become more of a secular holiday than a sacred one. It has become an occasion for blatant ...

4332. What Are You Afraid Of?

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

"You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear," writes St. Paul, "but you have received the spirit of sonship." The question for the morning is this: What is it that you are afraid of? Our little friend Charlie Brown in the comic strip "Peanuts" knows about fear. "I've developed a new philosophy," he said. "I only dread one day at a time." In the play YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN, Charlie Brown explains why he hates lunchtime: I think lunchtime is about the worst time of the day for ...

4333. The Pearl Of Great Price

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

King Duncan

There are some things in life that are worth any price. How much would you take for your health? For one of your children? For your good mind? Many of us do not appreciate the really important things in life until we lose them. But there are some things that are priceless, though we may not realize their worth at the time. When Joseph Haydn worked for years as a composer for a certain Prince Paul in Germany, the Prince's advisors constantly advised him that the money could better be spent on fortifications ...

4334. The Awesome Power Of Believing

John 1:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

I am convinced that this can be the best year of your life if you will simply accept one principle: WHAT YOU BELIEVE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHAT YOU HAVE OR WHO YOU ARE. Can you accept that? The most important matter in your life is not what is happening to you, but what is happening in you. The story is told about a man on a train crew who was accidentally locked in a refrigerator box car. The rest of the crew did not notice that he was missing and went home for the night. When the man realized that he ...

4335. From Foolishness To Power

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

King Duncan

Jonathan Rauch once wrote an article titled, "Why Is Japanese Baseball So Dull?" The article is not about baseball at all. It is about business. In it he discusses some differences between the Japanese and American ways of doing business. He tells of interviewing a well-known Japanese political scientist who became very excited when he discussed American meetings. The source of his enthusiasm was the fact that in American meetings he could jump up and down and call out, "I disagree! I disagree!" In Japan, ...

4336. A Family Celebration

Hebrews 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

Bob Morely was a counselor for a senior high summer camp in California. One summer Bob was between regular jobs, and was therefore rather short of cash. Word of his situation spread around camp, and the campers took up a special collection and raised a hundred dollars which they presented to him. Now the camp had a tradition of having a farewell party on the last day, Friday night. The youth would usually pool their money together, and one of the counselors would go to town and purchase snack food for them ...

4337. Wayward Children - Father's Day

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

Sue Monk Kidd was telling the story of Jonah to her six-year-old vacation Bible school class, and the children fell into a discussion about how they would manage to escape if swallowed like Jonah. "I'd start a fire in the whale's stomach, and he'd cough me out!" declared one fellow, no doubt remembering the scene from Pinocchio. "I'd stomp on his tongue till he spit me out," said another. The suggestions grew wilder by the minute. Suddenly, a thoughtful little girl spoke up: "I'd call my daddy and wait ...

4338. That's What Friends Are For

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

King Duncan

The story's told that at a celebrity party, singer Stevie Wonder met golf champ, Tiger Woods. Wonder mentioned that he, too, is an excellent golfer. Tiger was a bit skeptical that the blind musician could play golf well, but he was too polite to say anything. "When I tee off," the singer explained, "I have a guy call to me from the green. My sharp sense of hearing lets me aim." Tiger was impressed, and Stevie suggested that they play a round. When Tiger agreed, Stevie asks, "How about if we play for $100, ...

4339. Immanuel

Isaiah 63:7-14

Sermon

King Duncan

Since it is so close to Christmas, could you forgive a really bad joke? Snow White took photos of the Seven Dwarfs and their surroundings. She took the film to be developed. After a week or so she went to get the finished photos. The clerk said the photos were not back from the processor. Needless to say, she was disappointed and started to cry. The clerk, trying to console her, said, "Don't worry, Snow White. Someday your prints will come." We've already noted that the people of Israel were awaiting their ...

4340. Do You Know What Time It Is?

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Eric Ritz

It is January! Praise the Lord! Can''t you feel the excitement and energy as we tear off the last page of the 2006 calendar and began the year of 2007? Did I hear someone say, "Baloney? Big deal! So what! Did the preacher come back again from one of those New Life Missions or Spiritual Retreats? Didn''t anybody tell the preacher just because we changed the calendar, we didn''t change the circumstances that existed on December 31?" Greek mythology has the image of "Time" being likened to a person, with long ...

4341. Easy to Say, Hard to Do

1 John 4:7-21

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

"Love is a many splendored thing...." Or so we heard Don Cornwall and the Four Aces sing time and again. Of course you or I might have other words to describe love, depending on our situation. Love. "I love you." "I love to play golf." "I just love pistachio lush!" "It's tough to love some people." "Jesus loves me, this I know." Love. What can be said about love that has not already been said? The writer of the first letter of John obviously thought deeply about love and did his best to write about it. ...

4342. Sometimes It Is Okay to Be Absentminded

Isaiah 43:14-28

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

All of us have heard of the absent-minded professor. I have a friend who is the full embodiment of the absent-minded professor. On one occasion he became so absorbed in a chess game that he failed to show up for his Contemporary Theology class. This professor's wife told of asking him to get her a couple of aspirin because of a splitting headache. He left to go retrieve the aspirin and water so she could find relief. When he returned a few minutes later, she inquired as to the aspirin and water. According ...

4343. The Christian Life Defined By Prayer

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

My grandmother Dunham came to live with us when I was four or five years old. She was a quiet, gentle woman who spoke very little. But her presence was like a benediction to our entire household. I remember Grandma as she sat on the swing on the front porch. Now you don’t know anything about the South, unless you know that swings on front porches are very important. She would sit in the swing on the front porch, reading the Bible. During our play, we often found her with her hands folded over the open ...

4344. 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 ...

4345. Pass the Pigweed

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Bill Mosley

They tell a story about a hurricane blowing through Galveston, LaMarque, and Texas City heading straight toward Houston. A man's farm, his home and all he'd worked for, all he'd ever owned was directly in the storm's path. He didn't want to leave, and he believed the Lord would take care of him. A bus came by and a Red Cross volunteer told the man they were evacuating everyone in the path of the hurricane. The man sat tight on his front porch and said, "The Lord will provide." The water came up and the man ...

4346. Free Living Water for All

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

Travelers near the Badlands of South Dakota were surprised and intrigued in 1936 to see a sign which read, "Get a Soda ... Get Root Beer ... Turn next corner ... just as near ... to Highways 16 and 17 ... Free Ice Water ... Wall Drug." It all began out of frustration when the drugstore was on the brink of closing in Wall, South Dakota. One Sunday afternoon when Dorothy Hustead couldn't sleep, she got up and told husband Ted, "I think I finally see how we can get all those travelers to come to our store." " ...

4347. Proper 18

Exodus 12:1-30, Romans 13:8-14, Matthew 18:15-20, Ezekiel 33:1-20

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Exodus 12:1-14 The Passover feast is inaugurated. In preparation for leaving Egypt, Yahweh instituted the Passover. Each family was to roast a sheep or goat and eat unleavened bread. The blood of the animal was to be placed on the doorposts to keep the angel of death from entering their homes. This is to be an annual feast to remind the people of God's deliverance. Old Testament: Ezekiel 33:(1-6) 7-11 He who warns the wicked shall live. Epistle: Romans 13:8-14 Christians are to ...

4348. Transformed in Christ

John 3:1-17

Sermon

Richard Gribble

"Hoke, you are my best friend." It took Daisy Werthan almost twenty years to make that statement; it wasn't easy. The relationship between Daisy and Hoke was not mutual or cordial at the outset. Daisy had driven her beautiful new 1948 Packard into her neighbor's backyard. Boolie Werthan, Daisy's son, thought that such an incident was sufficient evidence to warrant that his mother stop driving; she needed a driver, a chauffeur. Hoke Coleburn, a middle-aged black man, was Boolie's choice for the job. Daisy, ...

4349. Singing at the Table

Joel 2:21-29

Sermon

John E. Harnish

Joel. One of what are called the "Minor Prophets," not because they are the "minor league," less important, but simply because of their size. The Major Prophets are the heavy-hitters—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel. It took up a full scroll to record them. But these little guys played shortstop. They were the quick-read, the USA Today version—short enough for all of them to be recorded on one scroll. So they came to be known as "The Twelve" or the Minor Prophets. In Joel's day, it seems the worst had come to ...

4350. Exodus 32:1-14

Exodus 32:1-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Perhaps Moses and Yahweh should have been prepared more for the awful human behavior exhibited by the Hebrews in this week's "tales from the script." After all, this was the same crowd that watched the 10 plagues descend on Egypt, escaped slavery, received a personal escort service of a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night only to stand on the edge of the Red Sea and wail, "What have you done to us? ... Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians" (Exodus 14:11,12). Once again God would intervene in ...

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