Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4426 to 4450 of 4943 results

4426. The Receptive Heart

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

Life is a matter of attitude. All the great motivational speakers tell us that. To succeed in life, attitude is critical. Of course, not everyone has a great attitude. In fact, some people have a downright rotten attitude. The Internet carried an item recently that reflects a rotten attitude. It is called the “Cynic’s Guide to Life.” It’s a clever take-off on some of life’s familiar clichés. See if you recognize any of these: The journey of a thousand miles . . . begins with . . . a broken fan belt and a ...

4427. A Gospel for Losers

Jonah 3:1-5, 10

Sermon

David E. Leininger

A fellow is standing at a bar, just looking at his drink. For a solid half-hour, he just stares at it. Suddenly, a big trouble-making truck driver steps up next to him, takes the drink and chugs it down. The poor schlemiel starts crying. The truck driver says, "Come on, man, I was just joking. Here, I'll buy you another drink. I can't stand to see a man cry." "You don't understand," says the first fellow. "This day is the worst day of my life. First, I slept through the alarm this morning and got into the ...

4428. Fred and Barney

John 10:11-18

Sermon

John Smylie

I grew up in the suburbs, in a community outside of lower Manhattan. There were no sheep in our neighborhood. In fact, there were no farms. In southern New Jersey, there were farms that grew wonderful corn and tomatoes. In fact some might be amused to know that the slogan on New Jersey's license plate has been, "The Garden State." It is amusing, because so many of us who live in this fine country have only had the experience of New Jersey that can be found along the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State ...

4429. What a Way to Start a Church!

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

What a way to start a church! It's certainly not the typical format for new church development. Where is the planning committee, the fund-raising, the arm twisting, the real estate deal acquiring the land, the faithful few who volunteer from other churches to give the whole thing its initial push? Not everyone has the personality to start a church from scratch, but Paul did. "I planted, Apollos watered," says Paul (1 Corinthians 3:6). Some preachers are just good at planting churches and getting them ...

4430. Samuel Was the Search Committee

1 Samuel 15:34-35, 16:1-13

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

I don't know about you but when I was growing up I always loved hearing the story of Cinderella. There was always something magical about it. It was more than Walter Mitty or Lee Iacocca — small-town boy made good. It was more than Prince Charles and Princess Diana in all their regal splendor long before Diana's untimely death. It was like the triumph of the poor and the oppressed over the powerful and the arrogant — the quintessential example of the first shall be last and the last shall be first. It was ...

4431. Doing Your Own Thing

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever had the urge to simply do your own thing without any regard to how the world may view your actions? If you have ever had that urge, you would not be the first to feel that longing . . . or to act on it. In the late 1960s, a group of hippies remember them? living in the Haight Ashbury District of San Francisco decided that personal hygiene taking baths and showers and washing your hair, etc. was a middle class hang up they could do without. So, they quit indulging in these bourgeois activities ...

4432. Rich Man, Poor Man

James 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

It is said that in Hollywood there is an exclusive school attended by children of movie stars, producers and directors. One day a teacher in that school asked her very privileged pupils to write a composition on the subject of poverty. One little girl started her literary piece like this: “Once there was a poor little girl. Her father was poor, her mother was poor, her nanny was poor, her chauffer was poor, her butler was poor. In fact, everybody in the house was very, very poor.” I don’t think that little ...

4433. A Dramatic Rendering Of 1 Kings 19:1-15

1 Kings 19:1-8

Drama

Julia Ross Strope

7 Readers King Ahab Jezebel messenger/servant Elijah servant/friend angel God’s voice (offstage whisper) Props lapel microphones or cordless mics are helpful paper and pen for Jezebel’s letter to Elijah facsimile of tree food tray with loaf of bread, carafe of water and glass cave entrance Costumes Jezebel in seductive contemporary outfit; Ahab in handsome suit and tie; Elijah in khaki slacks and long-sleeve white turtleneck shirt carrying a jacket; servants in blue jeans and black T-shirts (Jezebel is ...

4434. When God Adds Insult to Injury

Colossians 2:6-15

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

So many things separate Christians into groups: denominations, different ways of practicing the sacraments, different understandings of how to organize the church, different attitudes toward social issues like sexuality and money, even different perceptions of who Christ was. With all of that disagreement and separation, what unites us? Is there any common ground among us, other than simply calling ourselves Christians? Are we hopelessly divided, or can we push aside some of these barriers and embrace as ...

4435. Making Ourselves At Home

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

In a scene from the romantic comedy, ‘While You Were Sleeping', "Ox" Callaghan is waxing eloquent at the breakfast table one morning about those rare moments in life when everything seems to be going just right and falling into place. "In that one minute," he says, "you have peace." But his son, Jack, who is Ox's partner in the family business, has finally decided it is time to break the news to his dad that he wants out to start his own business, and so he bursts his father's bubble, saying, "Pop, this ...

4436. A New Kind of Authority

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

King Duncan

Former President George H. W. Bush, the elder Bush, was speaking to an appreciative audience some years back, immediately after leaving office. He explained what it was like to go from being Vice President for eight years and President for four years, to being a private citizen. “The first day I woke up,” he said, “I reached over to push the button to get somebody to bring me some coffee, but there was no button, and there was nobody to bring any coffee.” Then he added, “Barbara said, ‘Get out of bed and ...

4437. When Fishermen Don't Fish

Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

King Duncan

In his book In the Eye of the Storm, Max Lucado tells about something that happened to him while he was in high school. Every year, he and his family used to go fishing during spring break. But one year, his brother and his mom couldn’t go, so his dad let him invite a friend. Max and his Dad looked forward to this vacation with great anticipation. They pictured the sun shining down on them as they sat in the boat in the middle of the lake . . . the yank of the rod and the spin of the reel as they wrestled ...

4438. Will this Be on the Test?

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

Tony Everett

What do you think might be the most common questions teachers in all grade levels hear from their students? You are correct if you were thinking of something to do with passing examinations. Will this be on the test? What do we have to know to pass the test? What happens if we fail? Do we get another chance? Beginning soon after birth (some folks might say soon after conception) children are measured and compared to arbitrary standards of physical, mental, social, and even emotional well being. Parents and ...

4439. Get Off Your

Romans 12:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Sin is less something we succumb to or fall into than it is something we are seduced by. And the greatest seduction is pride. Pride is holy halitosis. Like all bad breath, you’re the last person to know you have it. Last week in Zurich, the pride of a gold medal champion, a 3000 meter steeplechase runner, managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. French runner Mahidine Mekhissi, already a two time European champion, found himself in the final 100 meters of his race. He was well ahead of the rest ...

4440. When Is Enough...Enough?

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

King Duncan

Comedienne Joan Rivers who died last year once said something with which many people would agree. “People say that money isn’t the key to happiness,” said Joan Rivers, “but I always figured if you have enough money, you can have a key made.” “I always figured if you have enough money . . .” says Joan Rivers. How much is enough money? That is a good question. A Hollywood film editor once said, “I had this date the other night with a woman who wanted to walk along the beach. I’m wearing a twelve?hundred ...

4441. Brushing Your Teeth with Oreos

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

King Duncan

Having a family is a challenge. One poor mom described the challenge she has keeping a clean house like this, “Cleaning house with kids around,” she said, “is like brushing your teeth with Oreos.” Yucky! Sounds kind of gross to me. Those of you with small children, however, will have to tell me if she got it right. Humorist Robert Orben asks, “Who can ever forget Winston Churchill’s immortal words: ‘We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in ...

4442. I Don't Get No Respect

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

King Duncan

Some of you will remember the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield who made a handsome living with the phrase — “I don’t get no respect.” “I don’t get no respect,” Rodney would say, adjusting his tie. “I tell ya when I was a kid, all I knew was rejection. My yo-yo, it never came back . . . With my dog I don’t get no respect. He keeps barking at the front door. He don’t want to go out. He wants me to leave . . .” Said Dangerfield, “I asked my old man if I could go ice-skating on the lake. He told me, ‘Wait till ...

4443. Moses Flees to Midian

Exodus 2:11-25

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

The second half of Exodus 2 (vv. 11–25) begins with Moses walking among the Hebrew laborers. Three times in these verses he intercedes on behalf of weak persons who had been wronged, thereby showing himself to be God’s friend. Nevertheless, in addition to demonstrating the gifts God had given him, these three short scenes also reveal what was lacking in Moses’ character and education. Each encounter shows who he was and also changed him in significant ways. In striking down the Egyptian Moses encountered ...

4444. Possessions and Choice in the New Kingdom Community

Mark 10:17-31

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: This section is about choices and the effects emanating from them. The wealthy man chooses his possessions and therefore will be “last” in God’s kingdom. Those disciples who choose to “leave everything” will be made first, blessed now and vindicated for all eternity. Understanding the Text Wives and children (10:1–16) had very little social status, and Jesus elevated their place in God’s new community. Now he turns to rich and poor. The rich man, though with high moral standards, chooses the ...

4445. Table Talk

Luke 14:1-14

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: The kingdom of God reverses our conventional ideas of who really matters. Understanding the Text This is the third time Luke has depicted Jesus as an invited guest at a Pharisee’s table (see also 7:36–50; 11:37–54), and on each occasion Jesus makes things uncomfortable, challenging the social conventions and the moral values of his hosts and fellow guests. In this case, the meal setting continues into 14:15–24, in which Jesus will use the motif of a special meal as the basis for a parable about ...

4446. The Choice: Obedience or Punishment

Lev 26:1-46

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

Big Idea: Obedience and disobedience have profound consequences. Understanding the Text Leviticus 26 is a continuation of Leviticus 25. The two chapters have a common introduction (25:1–2a) and conclusion (26:46), both emphasizing Mount Sinai. Leviticus 26 refers back to Leviticus 25’s instructions to give the land its Sabbath rests (26:34–35, 43). Its command to keep the Sabbath (26:2) naturally follows Leviticus 25’s Sabbath Year theme. But in a broader sense this chapter sums up the entire holiness code ...

4447. When Lazarus Leaped and Laughed

John 11:1-45

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

This gospel according to John is filled with a series of vivid verbal masterpieces of the genius, glory, and grace of Jesus Christ, God's Son. Bible scholars have long believed that each of the four New Testament gospels is targeted at a particular group. Matthew writes his gospel to the Jews. We see that in his frequent references to the Old Testament. Mark writes his gospel with the Romans as his primary target. Hence, Mark is succinct and to the point. His is the first written among the four gospels. ...

4448. Eliphaz's Second Speech to Job

Job 15:1-35

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

Sin Prompts Your Mouth The “second dialogue cycle” begins here as we return to the argument of Eliphaz, from whom we last heard in chapters 4 and 5. There Eliphaz operated from the assumption that humans are “born to trouble” (5:7) and therefore “reap” what they “sow” (4:8). It is impossible for “a mortal to be righteous before God.” Since even God’s servants, the angels, are untrustworthy, “how much more” are humans subject to “error” (4:18–19). As a result, Job must deserve his suffering. His only hope ...

4449. Zophar's Second Speech to Job

Job 20:1-29

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

Rejection of Discipline 20:1–3 Zophar, in his second (and final!) speech, makes little attempt to respond to the words Job has just spoken. After an initial angry reaction to what he perceives as Job’s attempts to “discipline” (NIV rebuke, at the beginning of v. 3) an already established group of sages, he launches into a traditional wisdom discourse on the fate of the wicked. His obvious assumption is that Job is firmly entrenched in this category and has little, if any, chance of avoiding a similar fate ...

4450. Job's Second Reply to Zophar

Job 21:1-34

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

The Inexplicable Prosperity of the Wicked In chapter 21, Job responds to Zophar’s accusations by thoroughly deconstructing the foundation on which they rest. Zophar has claimed that the wicked perish both in an ultimate sense and in their relentless quest for that which does not satisfy—the gnawing greed that consumes the wicked from the inside out. Job assesses Zophar’s claims as so much “nonsense” and “falsehood” (v. 34) when held up to the mirror of real life as Job both knows and describes it. Far from ...

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