Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4426 to 4450 of 4977 results

4426. Getting Off the Merry-Go-Round

Romans 8:1-11

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... happening over and over, and we can't seem to do anything about it. Perhaps some of you saw that comedy of some years ago, Ground Hog Day with Bill Murray of Saturday Night Live fame. In that film, the same thing keeps happening again and again in quite humorous ways and Bill Murray is unable to do anything about it. Being stuck on a merry-go-round seems to be a picture of our lives. The biggest health crisis facing America today is obesity and the various kinds of health problems it precipitates. We spend ...

4427. The Armor of Light

Romans 13:8-14

Drama

Larry Lange

... ) 163 D batteries, Harry? Couldn't you just plug it in? Harry: How could I go anywhere with it then? Margaret: (had returned to reading paper, but now looks over the paper again) And just where were you planning on going dressed like that, Harry? Halloween isn't quite here yet. Harry: You're mocking me, Margaret. I can tell. Margaret: (puts paper down) Oh! No! Far be it from me to mock a man dressed in aluminum foil! No, really, Harry, I always thought silver was your color. So what is that thing for anyway ...

4428. Just a Crazy Story

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Larry Lange

... Airport, but he was very anxious just to be in the Olympic Mountains, just to smell the cedar-scented ocean air. He rented a car right away and headed south on I-5. At about two in the morning, in the middle of the Olympic National Forest, the car just quit running. Being God you'd think he could have just snapped his fingers and repaired the car just like Bruce did in the movie, but this wasn't a movie. It was reality. Because computers ran all the car's systems (which God had not created), Zack couldn't ...

4429. The World According to Paul

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

Book clubs have become quite popular in recent years, largely due to Oprah Winfrey and her outstanding selections of quality books. The Book of the Month Club has been around for generations, but did you know that book clubs originated in the seventeenth century?1 I certainly didn't. Some readers feel that novels are ...

4430. A Spiritual “Re-formation”

Romans 3:19-28

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... . As a Christian, he still wants to uphold the law, but he no longer regards it as definitive for knowing what God requires. Instead, Paul contrasts the righteousness that is given through faith in Jesus Christ with what the law provides. Paul lays out the human predicament quite clearly: We all have fallen short of the glory of God. No matter how well we abide by the rules, we miss the fullness of life if we do not accept God's gracious unconditional love. The letter of the law is tempered by grace. There ...

4431. A Winning Life

Hebrews 13:1-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... that’s true. But there is reason for concern. The New York Times carried a report about a New Jersey high-school class in which students were asked their opinions on the conduct of a young woman who found one thousand dollars in the street. Quite remarkably, she turned it in rather than keeping it herself. All fifteen of the students said she was a fool. A reporter asked why the students’ guidance counselor didn’t offer his opinion. He explained, “If I come from the position of what is right and ...

4432. How Will the Church Be Lighted?

Luke 14:25-35

Illustration

James W. Moore

... church until it was finished. At its grand opening, the people gathered and marveled at the beauty of the new church. Everything had been thought of and included. It was a masterpiece. But then someone said, "Wait a minute! Where are the lamps? It is really quite dark in here. How will the church be lighted?" The nobleman pointed to some brackets in the walls, and then he gave each family a lamp, which they were to bring with them each time they came to worship. "Each time you are here'" the nobleman said ...

4433. Like A Potato

Ephesians 4:11

Children's Sermon

Marti Kramer Suddarth

... It’s a potato! I love potatoes. They taste good, they’re full of vitamins and minerals that help us stay healthy, and there are many different ways we can cook them. Another way that I like to eat potatoes is to make hash browns. Now, hash browns aren’t quite as good for me as baked potatoes and mashed potatoes. Hash browns have to be fried in grease or vegetable oil, which adds a little fat to them. But I still like to eat them. In fact, hash browns sound so good that I think I’ll take this potato ...

4434. Compound Interest Your Life

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... end his own life by jumping off the thirty-ninth floor of his upper west side apartment building. Miraculously, he landed on a parked Dodge Charger, which broke his 400 foot fall and, though seriously injured, saved his life. The car’s owner didn’t count this blessing in quite the same way as the young man’s family. Her reported response was, “I want to meet [Tom Magill] and say ‘Why? Why my car out of all the cars in the city?’” The car owner lamented her car “I miss it. It’s my baby. I ...

4435. Specializing in Misdemeanors

Lk 15:1-32

Illustration

King Duncan

... , Emory Potter was assigned a client who had been accused of criminal trespass. Mr. Potter probed his client with some general questions of background. He asked if he had any previous arrests or convictions. The man ashamedly said, "Yes, sir. I've got quite a few." The thorough attorney then asked, "Any felonies?" The man indignantly replied, "No sir! I specialize in misdemeanors!" That sounds like many of us. We know in our minds that we are sinners, but we specialize in misdemeanors not in felonies "in ...

4436. Peace and Quiet

1 Timothy 2:1-15

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... keep disruptions and disturbances at bay. They are looking to find something positive. They are searching in life for some “peace and quiet.” Or if “quiet” is too much to ask, just some “Peace.” The Russian Orthodox church introduced a word which is now quite popular in a variety of Christian circles. The Russian word is poustinia, and it refers to a remote cabin or place for prayer, even a hermit’s hut in the woods where you can encounter God in silence, serenity and peace. Who doesn’t want ...

4437. The Purpose of Wealth

Luke 16:1-15

Illustration

Donald M. Tuttle

... that toll? Those who attacked the World Trade Center succeeded in striking a blow to the economy and well being of this country. As one stock market guru put it at the time, "If you were planning on your airline stocks for retirement, you best not quit your job anytime soon." Money that many thought they would have was no longer there. Confidence in the future was been shaken. And that is scary. But this crisis presented us with an opportunity. It invited us to reflect on the purpose of the wealth we ...

4438. The Art of the Con Man

Luke 16:1-15

Illustration

King Duncan

... shows through the years in which the hero is a former con man now using his creative skills for the greater good. Jesus once told a parable about a man with that kind of wily disposition. He, too, was something of a con man. Most of you know the story quite well.

4439. Silly Putty, Play-Doh and Potter's Clay

Jeremiah 18:1-11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... scripture anymore. And they are so pliable, that the least little nudge and they're out of shape. And pretty soon, they're just a little blob again. II. Play-Doh A. Then there's Play-Doh. Remember getting that new can of Play-Doh? There is no other smell quite like that, is there. Play-doh was first sold in 1956 and came in a 1 ½ lb tub in only one color, off-white. In 1957 three more colors were added, yellow, red and blue. And the three can pack was introduced on both Miss France' Ding Dong School and ...

4440. Radiate Love

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... we might change their lives. B. There's on old movie, 1940, starring Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogard and Ann Southern. Brother Orchid is about Little Johnny Sarto, a big time racketeer who grows tired of the gangland activities. He tries to quit and pursue his quest for real class and refinement. After a not so successful trip to Europe Johnny finds his old haunts and colleagues not so welcoming. Johnny finds himself a marked man and narrowly escapes being murdered after the Humphrey Bogard character ...

4441. Broken Lives and Broken Chains

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... said his buddies had brought him in Sunday night. They'd been drinking and he passed out. It wasn't unusual for him to pass out, but not after only two drinks. The doctor told him that morning that he had a heart condition and that if he didn't quit drinking he'd die. Then he said something I didn't think I'd ever hear him say: "Preacher, I'm scared. I don't remember a day that I didn't drink. That's all I remember doing, ranching and drinking. It cost me my wife and family. But ...

4442. Tears, Perfume and Forgiveness

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... up dented cans and open packages? For the budget minded, in some stores you can actually go to a shopping cart filled with dented cans or cans without labels and buy them for about 10 cents apiece. But most people don't. And a lot of stores have quit bothering to put the dented cans out. They just send them back. Why? "Damaged Goods." Just like the woman in today's Scripture. She was Damaged Goods. Do you remember the musical, "The Music Man?" Professor Harold Hill came to a small town in the Midwest to ...

4443. Step By Step

Acts 11:1-18

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... we're parents ourselves, we have a heavenly Father who adores, shelters us, and holds us when we need to cry. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (2) A mother's job is to SOW LOVE. Most mothers do that quite well, some do not. In a perfect world all mothers would SOW LOVE. But for those that do not, we're called lift them to God. And we're called to offer forgiveness. And being forgiven ourselves, we're called to follow Jesus STEP BY STEP into wholeness and ...

4444. LENT: The Passion of Christ: "Raised"

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... by the theology of the movie. It has all the makings of a Messiah story. And in the process of telling the story of how Neo, discovers he is "The One," Neo overcomes all kinds of odds to save the world and bring peace. It's really quite fascinating. At the very conclusion of Matrix Revolutions, the last of the trilogy there is a wonderful scene where three of the characters are talking about what happened. Watch. Without going into a lot of detail; one character asks the Oracle: "Did you always know." I ...

4445. Good and Mad

Luke 4:21-30

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... the other guy's out dancing." (2) A guy was on his death bed, all of a sudden his heart was filled fear because he had harbored anger and hatred against another man. He sent for that individual. They dying man made overtures of peace. It was really quite moving. At the end, the two men shook hands in friendship. But just as the visitor was leaving the room, the sick man roused himself and said, "Now remember, if I get over this, the old quarrel still stands." (3) There's a whole lot of difference between ...

4446. Luke 16:19-31

Luke 16:19-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... as “my God helps.” In fact the namelessness of the rich man was corrected by later translations by inserting the name “Dives,” which is simply a derivative of the Latin translation of “rich man.” Though nameless this rich man is quite the fashionista. Dressing in purple was a sign of both tremendous wealth (the Tyrian purple dye was prohibitively expensive) and social stature. The association of purple with priestly vestments has led to some speculation that this “rich man” may be a ...

4447. Habituation

Luke 16:19-31

Illustration

King Duncan

A noisy elevated train used to run along Third Avenue in New York City. After it was torn down, "many people in the neighborhood began to call the police quite late to report something strange occurring "unusual noises, suspected thieves or burglars. . . . The police determined that these calls took place at about the time the former late-night train would have passed these people's houses. What they were hearing' was the absence of the familiar noise of the train." ...

4448. The Grateful Samaritan

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... . He says, “Players complain to me all the time about how hard it is to constantly sign autographs or talk to the press or spend time with amateurs,” he said. “I tell them all the same thing: ‘If you don’t like it, don’t walk out the [clubhouse] door. Quit. No one is forcing you to do this.’” He sighed. “A lot of players just don’t understand how lucky we all are to be doing what we do. I look at my life and all I can do is be thankful for everything I’ve been given by so ...

4449. It's Just A Little Thing

Mark 12:38-44

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

One Sunday morning in a little church, the sermon just seemed to go on and on. Unlike me, the preacher kept circling the point but never quite getting there. One of the little boys in the service that day was getting more and more restless. Mom was having a hard time getting him to sit still. Finally, in a whisper loud enough for the whole congregation to hear, he said: "Mommy, if we give him the money ...

4450. What'll You Have?

Mark 8:27-38

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... not to tell anyone about him. [31] Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. [32] He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. [33] But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things." [34] He called the crowd ...

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