Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 4326 to 4350 of 5000 results

4326. Repentance

Luke 3:1-6; 13:1-9

Illustration

Paul Lee Tan

The Romans sometimes compelled a captive to be joined face-to-face with a dead body, and to bear it about until the horrible effluvia destroyed the life of the living victim. Virgil describes this cruel punishment: The living and the dead at his command Were coupled face to face, and hand to hand; Till choked with stench, in loathed embraces tied, The lingering wretches pined away and died. Without Christ, we are shackled to the dead corpse of our sinfulness. Only repentance frees us from certain death, ...

4327. For God All Things Are Possible

Luke 3:1-6

Illustration

John P. Jewell

I asked a group of high school young people to write headlines they would love to see and here are the top six from the group: Peace declared all over earth! Hunger and poverty to be eliminated by year's end! No reports of child abuse in the US for over a year! Religious tolerance at an all time high! Vaccine for all forms of cancer discovered! Officials to investigate complete absence of violent crime! "Wonderful dreams, but not very realistic," you say. "Impossible!" And you would be right with such ...

4328. Donkeys in the Church

Luke 3:1-20

Illustration

King Duncan

There is a humorous story about a church having an outdoor nativity pageant using live animals. It was quite a feat, because the church was located in the very heart of downtown in a large metropolitan area. The evening of the pageant everybody was busy making preparations. The donkey that was to be used in the pageant wandered off and trotted down the street. He caused quite a commotion. Finally he entered a nearby bar. Obviously, one of the customers was startled when he saw a donkey come into the bar. ...

4329. Touched by God

Lk 2:1-20

Illustration

King Duncan

Many of you are familiar with the 1957 motion picture The Bridge over the River Kwai starring Alec Guinness. It was selected as one of the 100 great films of the 20th century. It is the story of a group of British prisoners of war during World War II held by the Japanese in northern Burma in very difficult circumstances. Ernest Gordon, at one time chaplain at Yale University, wrote a book called Through the River of the Kwai, which shared his experience as a prisoner in that camp. It is a story of utter ...

4330. Secret Santa

Luke 3:1-6

Illustration

King Duncan

In Kansas City, there is a tradition simply known as the "Secret Santa." Every Christmas, this "Secret Santa" seeks out people who are down and out, and he quietly slips them an envelope with a crisp, brand new $100 bill slipped inside. The recipients are usually astonished at this unmerited act of generosity. A few years ago, someone tracked down this "Secret Santa" and asked him, "Why do you do this?" The man replied how life had blessed him with an extremely successful business venture. But this was not ...

4331. Seeing God

Luke 3:7-18

Illustration

Sally Sedgwick

There is a story going around about a man who wanted to see and hear God. So he went out to a hilltop and yelled and pleaded with God. "Speak to me!" And a bird sang. And disappointed he again begged God to speak to him and all he heard was the sound of children playing in the distance. "Please God, touch me!" he cried and the wind blew across his cheek. And discouraged at not having his plea answered the man prayed, "God, show yourself to me!" And a butterfly flew across his path. And when he got home, ...

4332. The Wayward Bus

Lk 3:7-18; Mt 3:1-12

Illustration

Brett Blair

In John Steinbeck's story "The Wayward Bus" a dilapidated old bus takes a cross country shortcut on its journey to Los Angeles, and gets stuck in the mud. While the drivers go for assistance, the passengers take refuge in a cave. It is acurious company of people and it is obvious that the author is attempting to get across the point that these people are lost spiritually as well as literally. As they enter into this cave, the author calls the reader's attention to the fact that as they enter they must pass ...

4333. Preparation

Luke 3:7-18

Illustration

Brett Blair

Many years ago as the world watched the beginning game of the World Series in San Francisco there was suddenly an interruption of the opening interview. The screen blinked and went blank. When the program resumed: A Special News Bulletin. The San Francisco metropolitan area had experienced a serious earthquake. We all watched the live pictures as the huge fire in the Marina area burned. A remote camera crew was there and we saw the firemen fighting the fires. The scene I remember the most, however, was a ...

4334. Christian Hope Had Changed His Life

Luke 3:7-18

Illustration

James W. Moore

Some years ago a military airplane crashed at Sonderstrom Air Force Base in Greenland. Twenty-two people were killed. The runway and the nearby fields were strewn with bodies. It was a tragic and horrible moment. There was only one chaplain on the base at the time… and the entire burden was laid on him to bring comfort and the Word of Christ to a shocked community staggered by the horrendous accident. But there was little time to mourn that day. The grisly task of gathering up and identifying the bodies ...

4335. Rich Is What You Have Beside You

Luke 3:7-18

Illustration

James W. Moore

Back during World War II, four young American soldiers who had been on the front lines of battle for some time, were sent back away from the fighting to a small French village for a little R & R. When they arrived safely in the village, they suddenly realized that it was Christmas Eve. They began to discuss how they would like to spend Christmas. One of the soldiers said, "You know, as we were coming into town earlier today, I noticed an orphanage on the outskirts of the village. Why don't we go there in ...

4336. Change in One’s Life

Luke 3:7-18

Illustration

The famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright created an idea called organic architecture. He believed that buildings should be blended into the surrounding natural environment. If you stare at the buildings that he designed on the campus of Florida Southern College in Lakeland, it is very difficult to tell where the edifice stops and the environment begins. It merges and blends. Perhaps we should start talking of organic Christianity. If you look at the life of Jesus you see no sharp line of ...

4337. Old Testament Grinches

Luke 3:7-18

Illustration

I have a Grinch tie, which was a present from someone in years past who was protesting prophetic sermons during Advent. And I showed my stuffed Grinch, which I received last year after preaching sermons that called us to prepare not for the coming of Christmas, but to prepare for the coming of Christ. Recently this card was added to my Grinch collection. ["EveryWho down in Who-ville liked Christmas a lot But the Grinch who lived just north of Whoville, did NOT!"] I like Christmas a lot. I love Christmas. I ...

4338. Christmas Means Hope

Luke 3:7-18

Illustration

King Duncan

The late Senator John McCain spent 5 and a half years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam in the 1960s. During that time, he was frequently tortured or held in solitary confinement. He reported that his lowest point came on Christmas Eve 1969. McCain was giving up hope of ever getting out of Vietnam alive. To compound his homesickness, the captors played the song "I'll Be Home for Christmas" over the PA system. Just then, McCain heard tapping on his cell wall. This was the communication code the POWs used to ...

4339. The Hardest Thing God Ever Had to Do

Jn 3:1-21

Illustration

King Duncan

Al Lingren, a professor at Garrett Evangelical Seminary, tells about taking his junior-high-school son fishing years ago. It was one of those days when the fish wouldn't bite, so the two of them had a lot of time to talk. Out of the blue his junior-high son asked, "Dad, what is the toughest thing God ever tried to do?" Al said that the question caught him, a minister, off guard. He didn't know what to say, and so like a good teacher answered a question with a question."What do you think it was son?" he ...

4340. The Meaning of Fame

Luke 3:7-18

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

Have I told you the story of the three executives who were sitting around trying to define the word "fame" what it meant to arrive? One of them said "fame is being invited to the White House for a visit with the President. That's got to be the ultimate expression of fame you've arrived." "No, that's not what fame is", the second one said, "fame is being invited to the White House for a visit with the President, and when the hotline rings, he doesn't even get up to answer it. He just lets it ring! When that ...

4341. God Is the Happiest Being in the Universe

Luke 1:39-56

Illustration

Leonard Sweet

Perhaps we need Santa at Christmas to help us be merry and joyous because we have a flawed understanding of Jesus. From today's gospel text we learn that the first reaction to Jesus' presence on earth, of God-in-our-midst, was joy. Joy so tremendous, joy so utterly overwhelming that it must somehow escape the bounds of earth itself and jump towards the heavens. In John Ortberg's wonderful book The Life You've Always Wanted (Zondervan,2002), he writes: We will not understand God until we understand this ...

4342. Pick Up the Baby

Luke 1:39-45

Illustration

King Duncan

Sam Levenson tells a wonderful story about the birth of his first child. The first night home the baby would not stop crying. His wife frantically flipped through the pages of Dr. Spock to find out why babies cry and what to do about it. Since Spock's book is rather long, the baby cried a long time. Grandma was in the house, but since she had not read the books on child rearing, she was not consulted. The baby continued to cry. Finally, Grandma could be silent no longer. "Put down the book," she told her ...

4343. Don't Let That Be All That There Is

Luke 1:39-56; Mark 1:1-8

Illustration

The message of Christmas is that God intrudes upon the weak and the vulnerable, and this is precisely the message that we so often miss. God does not come to that part of us that swaggers through life, confident in our self sufficiency. God leaves his treasure in the broken fragmented places of our life. God comes to us in those rare moments when we are able to transcend our own selfishness long enough to really care about another human being. On the wall of the museum of the concentration camp at Dachau ...

4344. Divinity Clothed with Dust

Lk 1:39-56

Illustration

King Duncan

It is said that Henry David Thoreau once spent a whole day in Walden Pond up to his neck in the water. His idea was to see and experience the world as a frog sees it. But Thoreau did not become a frog! "Sesame Street" is closer to the Christmas story. They had a skit one time of the old fairy tale where the beautiful princess kisses an ugly frog and the frog becomes a handsome prince. In the Sesame Street telling, however, the princess kissed the frog, whereupon she turned into a frog herself. That is ...

4345. The Real Reindeer

Luke 1:39-56

Illustration

David E. Leininger

According to the US Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year...Male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December. Female reindeer, however, retain their antlers until after they give birth in the spring. Therefore, according to every historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer, every single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen...had to be a female." The comment was included, "We should've known ...

4346. All Part of a Package

Lk 1:39-56

Illustration

King Duncan

Elizabeth and Mary both were selected to give birth to these very special babies because of their faith in God. They did not have affluent homes or great educational advantages. All they had was simple faith. And that's important. Happy families don't just happen. They are part of a package. Some of you young people may complain that your parents expect too much from you. They have too many rules and regulations. Maybe your parents are a little old fashioned, a little behind the times. Let me clue you in: ...

4347. God’s Great Grace to Each of Us

Luke 1:39-56

Illustration

Mark Trotter

A man in the hospital is being treated for cancer. He is estranged from the Church. He has this long list of things he can name for you in his indictment. He doesn't like the Church in its present institutional form. But he is in the hospital. One day a priest walks into his room. He didn't invite him in, he just walked in. The priest asked him, "Do you want to be anointed?" That is the Catholic rite for the sick. The man said, "Yes." Then he wrote this. "Lying on my narrow, hospital bed, feeling the oil ...

4348. Jesus Is with Us Forever

Luke 1:39-56

Illustration

David E. Leininger

In 1994, two Americans answered an invitation from the Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics (based on biblical principles) in the public schools. They were invited to teach at prisons, businesses, the fire and police departments and a large orphanage. About 100 boys and girls who had been abandoned, abused, and left in the care of a government run program were in the orphanage. They related the following story in their own words: It was nearing the holiday season and it was time for ...

4349. Sermon Opener - When Our Children Teach Us

Luke 2:41-52

Illustration

James W. Moore

Some years ago, the Journal of the American Medical Association published an article by Dr. Paul Ruskin on the "Stages of Aging." In the article, Dr. Ruskin described a case study he had presented to his students when teaching a class in medical school. He described the case study patient under his care like this: "The patient neither speaks nor comprehends the spoken word. Sometimes she babbles incoherently for hours on end. She is disoriented about person, place, and time. She does, however, respond to ...

4350. School Is a Part of Life

Humor Illustration

King Duncan

A young woman named Donna who got good grades in high school was in her first year of college. She had done poorly on one of her courses. In an attempt to prepare her parents she wrote her mother, "If you see an unfamiliar letter on my report card, remember it's just my first initial. Signed, Donna." As the time neared for grades to be sent home, Donna began to worry. Her worst fears were confirmed one evening when her mother called her. Donna said, "Hi, Mom." Her mother replied coldly, "Hello, Frank."

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Antonyms: deficient, imperfect

Showing 4326 to 4350 of 5000 results

4326. Repentance

Luke 3:1-6; 13:1-9

Illustration

Paul Lee Tan

4327. For God All Things Are Possible

Luke 3:1-6

Illustration

John P. Jewell

4328. Donkeys in the Church

Luke 3:1-20

Illustration

King Duncan

4329. Touched by God

Lk 2:1-20

Illustration

King Duncan

4330. Secret Santa

Luke 3:1-6

Illustration

King Duncan

4331. Seeing God

Luke 3:7-18

Illustration

Sally Sedgwick

4332. The Wayward Bus

Lk 3:7-18; Mt 3:1-12

Illustration

Brett Blair

4333. Preparation

Luke 3:7-18

Illustration

Brett Blair

4334. Christian Hope Had Changed His Life

Luke 3:7-18

Illustration

James W. Moore

4335. Rich Is What You Have Beside You

Luke 3:7-18

Illustration

James W. Moore

4336. Change in One’s Life

Luke 3:7-18

Illustration

4337. Old Testament Grinches

Luke 3:7-18

Illustration

4338. Christmas Means Hope

Luke 3:7-18

Illustration

King Duncan

4339. The Hardest Thing God Ever Had to Do

Jn 3:1-21

Illustration

King Duncan

4340. The Meaning of Fame

Luke 3:7-18

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

4341. God Is the Happiest Being in the Universe

Luke 1:39-56

Illustration

Leonard Sweet

4342. Pick Up the Baby

Luke 1:39-45

Illustration

King Duncan

4343. Don't Let That Be All That There Is

Luke 1:39-56; Mark 1:1-8

Illustration

4344. Divinity Clothed with Dust

Lk 1:39-56

Illustration

King Duncan

4345. The Real Reindeer

Luke 1:39-56

Illustration

David E. Leininger

4346. All Part of a Package

Lk 1:39-56

Illustration

King Duncan

4347. God’s Great Grace to Each of Us

Luke 1:39-56

Illustration

Mark Trotter

4348. Jesus Is with Us Forever

Luke 1:39-56

Illustration

David E. Leininger

4349. Sermon Opener - When Our Children Teach Us

Luke 2:41-52

Illustration

James W. Moore

4350. School Is a Part of Life

Humor Illustration

King Duncan

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