Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 4326 to 4350 of 4999 results

4326. Pour the Salt and Turn on the Light

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

James Merritt

... with nothing but salt—Morton salt, iodized salt, kosher salt, sea salt, rock salt, garlic salt, seasoning salt, Epsom salts—every kind of salt imaginable. The customer was amazed. "You think that's something. Come over here." He led the customer to a ... It was a half breed. A man came walking by one day and saw this little boy playing with this dog, and he said, "Hey son, what kind of a mutt is that?" The little boy indignantly said, "Why he's a police dog." The man said, "He doesn't look like a police ...

4327. When God Speaks You Better Listen

Jonah 1:1-17

Sermon

James Merritt

... me to swallow Moby Dick, I wouldn't argue, I would get out the tartar sauce! What happened was simply this: Jonah got a whale house for a jailhouse; spent three nights on a foam blubber mattress; and then was spit out on dry land. We don't know what kind of fish it was, and it really doesn't matter. I heard about a preacher that preached on Jonah and the whale, and after the sermon was over, an unbeliever and a critic walked up to him and said, "Preacher, how do you know it was a whale that swallowed ...

4328. Guilt: How to Keep Your Conscience Clear

Psalm 32:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... there is dirt in your heart, there will be drought in your soul. The heavens had turned to brass; God had shut off the showers of blessing and David’s life had become a literal desert. That is exactly what guilt does to a person. You see, there are two kinds of wounds that can come to the human spirit. There is the wound of sorrow, and there is the wound of guilt. Sorrow is a clean wound; it will heal with time. But guilt is a dirty wound; it will never heal until it is treated and cleansed. The burden ...

4329. Why You Should Come Clean With God

Psalm 139:23-24

Sermon

James Merritt

... a party, we show him the kitchen; lust rings the bell, we just change the sheets on the bed. That’s our heart. No matter what kind of a facade you put up on the outside, it is your heart that determines whether or not you are truly right with God, and even ... sin cancer that might be growing in his life. It is so very unusual in this day and age in which we live to see the kind of attitude David has here. To see a man stand up and say, “I want God to reveal anything in me that is harmful; anything that is ...

4330. Matthew 14:13-21

Matthew 14:13-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... this group to seek him out and encourage him to take up a more traditional messianic identity. While dissent and discontent may have been particularly high in the aftermath of John the Baptist’s execution, there is no real evidence for this kind of textual extrapolation. What is emphasized by this huge number following Jesus, then being fed by Jesus, is the authority Jesus wields, the power Jesus controls, the trust Jesus’ followers put in him, and the absolute, overwhelming blessing of abundance that ...

4331. An Unidentified King

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... the parade as he thought of Jerusalem's many lost opportunities. Perhaps he sensed that many of the folks cheering for him that day would be shouting "Crucify him" before the end of the week. He was deliberately presenting himself as a king, but not the kind the world knew. He would wield no worldly, political power. Rather he was fulfilling precisely the prediction made about him by the prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament. (Isaiah 53) He would rule from a cross. From the Palm Sunday event, let me lift up ...

4332. Almost Persuaded

Matthew 19:16-30

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... was really asking, "Do you have a clue as to who I am?" In the Living Bible, Jesus' question becomes this statement: "When you call me good, you are calling me God." Jesus was gently probing to see if there was within the young man a smidgen of faith, the kind of faith that could transform his life. You know, we are almost half-way through 2006. Actually, the year is 2006 A.D. "A.D." means in Latin "Anno Domini" or "in the year of our Lord." In our secular society we usually omit the A.D. Nevertheless, all ...

4333. Stop Fuming, Start Forgiving!

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... is a grudge in my heart that must first be resolved.” In chapter 18 of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus told a little story or parable about forgiveness. A certain king wanted to settle accounts with his servants. One of them owed the King $10,000. The kind and generous king wrote off the debt, just cancelled it, without even taking a tax deduction. The servant should have been grateful. But that same servant had a neighbor who owed him $100. Instead of imitating the King and forgiving that $100, the ungrateful ...

4334. For Better, For Worse

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... in her cheek, he had to cut the little nerve. Her young husband is in the room. The woman asks, “Will I always be like this?” The surgeon says yes. She nods and is silent. But the young man smiles. “I like it,” he says. “It’s kind of cute.” The young husband bends to kiss her crooked mouth. Suddenly the surgeon lowers his eyes. He knows that he is witnessing something almost divine. It’s called commitment. (9) Dear friends, the greatest security on earth is in knowing that “nothing in all ...

4335. The Secret Of Our Confidence

2 Timothy 1:11-12

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... deep water, he had to gently pull me to safety. Somehow that rope always made me feel safe because I knew that my Dad was dependable.” As I listened to that story, I thought about the heavenly Father. Though he does not control us like puppets, there is a kind of invisible rope between him and us. He loves us so much. He has wonderful and mysterious ways of pulling us out of trouble and keeping us secure in him. For that I am so thankful. In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Journal, there is a tender section where ...

4336. Not Bad, Just Too Busy

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... per week can you stand without getting frayed around the edges? Suggestion # 3 is REACH BEYOND FAMILY TO SOMEONE WHO NEEDS YOU Jesus said that if we help someone who is near the bottom of the world’s pecking order, that is the same as doing a kindness for him. If you don’t already know of a person or family with special needs this Christmas, our missions department or the Salvation Army or MIFA can help you. Yes, we must be careful in helping disadvantaged persons lest we come across in a paternalistic ...

4337. Holy Habits

1 Timothy 4:1-16

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... the snooze button twice and then growling at it as you trudge toward the shower, your day is off to a rough start. Contrast that kind of beginning with this one—you begin by reciting Psalm 118, verse 24, “This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice ... HOLY HABITS IN 2007 IS THIS—I WILL BECOME A MORE JOYFUL CHRISTIAN. If you want to feel better about yourself, just consider the kind of person your dog thinks you are. If you have a cat, I’m not sure that applies. Cats don’t seem to adore ...

4338. Is There Hope For World Peace?

Matthew 24:1-35

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... , I find three answers to the question: “Is there hope for world peace?” The first response is: THE WORLD IS NOT GOING TO EVOLVE INTO WORLD PEACE. If any Christian believes that peace on earth will just keep gradually increasing until we have a kind of golden age, that person has not read his Bible well. The Bible predicts that things will get worse instead of better. Though our technology is growing by leaps and bounds, though the level of literacy is increasing worldwide, those trends do not create ...

4339. Good News...Really?

Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... high and the mighty, the grand, the splendiferous. Maybe the Mormon Tabernacle Choir accompanied by the New York Symphony, assisted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, or something set to the strains of Handel's Messiah or Bach's St. Matthew's Passion. You would expect this kind of anthem to be accompanied by thunder and lightning, cymbal crashes and rolling drums, a cloud of smoke and a pillar of fire…at least a burning bush! But the fact is, God's praise is placed on the lips of one so common, so ordinary ...

4340. FEAR NOT! You've Got To Be Kidding!

Luke 1:26-37

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... ordinary pregnancy or ordinary baby. This baby is to be the Son of God! How would you like to take on that kind of surrogate parenting responsibility? And if she's still listening, this child is coming for nothing less than taking over the throne ... God who is with us, who comes to us, who stands beside us. "Mary, fear not, the Lord is with thee." If you grew up in the kind of Methodist church I grew up in, you will remember some old hymns which are not in the current hymnal. One of those is the stirring hymn ...

4341. Moses: A Traveling God in a Pop-Up Camper

Exodus 13:17-22, 33:7-11

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... Ever since 1995 when Robert Putnam coined the phrase in a relatively obscure academic journal, the term "Bowling Alone" has become a kind of shorthand for the fact that civic engagement in American culture has declined in recent years. Putnam's point was that though ... with you and me. He wants us on His road, moving down the highway of life." He says we are often deflected into wanting another kind of God…"a God I can predict; a God I can keep in a box; a God who will always be in a certain place ...

4342. The Revelation Code II: Crash, Crisis and Christ

Revelation 5:1--7:17

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... to suggest there might be some authority greater than the Emperor was considered treasonous, this letter was a bombshell. In that kind of a day, to suggest that there was another king, another Ringmaster who holds the future in his hands, was a message that challenged the powers ... that ruled the world. Do you see why in that kind of a day, this letter was subversive and dangerous…and do you see why it is so applicable to our day as well? Yet, ...

4343. Bart and Homer, Father and Sons

1 Samuel 20:24-42

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... classic dysfunctional American father, King Saul has him beat in spades. He is a larger than life, Shakespearian figure with a kind of Nixonian paranoia which drove him to deceit, vengeance and violence. Poor King Saul... so concerned about protecting his own ... this job, there is one role that means more to me than this…my love for my sons. And I hope we will model that kind of love for all of our children, all of God's children, all the children of the world. Note: My brother's book mentioned in the ...

4344. Resolving Fights

Matthew 18:15-20

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... s whistle. Boys and girls, I have with me this whistle (blow on the whistle). This is the kind of whistle a referee would use to stop play in a ball game. I’ll bet sometimes your ... with each other. That is simply part of being in a family it is not good and we hope to outgrow it. We have to really try to be patient and loving and kind, but we can do it. Our lesson today is about maintaining relationships. One way we do this is to forgive one another. When your brother or sister does something you don’t ...

4345. Thanksgiving and Thanksliving

1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... the Christ to share with others. Our beginning point can be his birth to a Jewish maiden and all that surrounds this one of a kind breaking into history. After all, who wants to shun a lovely and holy young woman's baby boy? There is a certain magnetism about this ... interacting with others. Paul says, "In every way you have been enriched by him, in speech and knowledge of every kind." Yes, it is time for "show and tell!" "Extension ministries" or something similar is common terminology to most of us. ...

4346. Deep Calling to Deep

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... . Naming the gospels and the golden rule may be about as far as it gets. I am not trying to be unkind. Certainly my purpose is not to be judgmental. My great concern is how can such persons defend our precious faith. It becomes "oh you know" kind of thing. We all have wide and deep gaps in our knowledge of spiritual matters. We can rightfully excuse ourselves upon occasion. However, to drift along in some dreadful bliss can be a disaster. For example, how can we answer basic questions asked us by inquiring ...

4347. Being Single-minded

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... here and we may try to be more than we are intended to be. Frankly, I don't think we should be overly worried about this. Remember, to pray that every day is successful in God's sight and not ours. This is a brilliant conditioner that allows us a kind of holy objectivity, which can immensely aid our spiritual growth. To live every day in his shadow is not to live in darkness but in light the world scoffs at and finds mostly meaningless. Christ beckons for us to be fully open to him. 2. All our bets are ...

4348. Gift of Positive Thinking

2 Corinthians 1:18-22

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... the place of the here and now and eternal "Yes." There is no substitute for the eyes of faith. Truly, it is how we see things and people that make the decisive difference in the way we live. There are different types of blindness. The spiritual kind is the worst and eventually the most influential in determining both how we live and die. Encouragement among our brothers and sisters may be the best contribution we can make to, and for, them. Please, let me help you see and, at least, partially understand God ...

4349. From Father Failure to Divine Father

Romans 8:12-17

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... is it that lives without a support system of some sort? Who is it that is truly independent, truly self-made, truly self-reliant? We all are dependent to some degree, but the religious question has to do with the nature of our dependency. What kinds of dependency and independency are there? II Consider, for example, abnormal dependency. As we have seen, discovery of the weakness and failure of the earthly father may lead us then to project an ideal heavenly Father who has no weakness, who never fails, and ...

4350. Are You a Taker or a Giver?

2 Corinthians 8:7-15

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of liberality on their part" (2 Corinthians 8:2). It is a strange anomaly, but often the poor are better givers than the rich. Sometimes poverty breeds more generosity than wealth. The poor often are remarkably kind to neighbors in trouble, in part because they know what it is to suffer, and in part perhaps because their sympathies are not deadened by abundance. The poor tend to out give the rich on the larger scale also, at least as far as churches ...

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