Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 4451 to 4475 of 5000 results

4451. We Believe You

Jn 20:1-18

Illustration

King Duncan

I ran across a beautiful story about a woman named Rosemary who works in the Alzheimer’s Unit of a nursing home. Rosemary and a colleague named Arlene brought the residents of the home together one Good Friday afternoon to view Franco Zeffirelli’s acclaimed production Jesus of Nazareth. They wondered whether these elderly Alzheimer’s patients would even know what was going on, but they thought it might be worth the effort. When they finally succeeded in getting everyone into position, they started the ...

4452. We Believe You

John 20:10-18

Illustration

King Duncan

I ran across a beautiful story recently about a woman named Rosemary who works in the Alzheimer’s Unit of a nursing home. Rosemary and a colleague named Arlene brought the residents of the home together one Good Friday afternoon to view Franco Zeffirelli’s acclaimed production Jesus of Nazareth. They wondered whether these elderly Alzheimer’s patients would even know what was going on, but they thought it might be worth the effort. When they finally succeeded in getting everyone into position, they started ...

4453. The Reputation of a Lifetime

John 20:24-31

Illustration

John Ewing Roberts

Thomas found a Lord who dealt with him where he was, in his present circumstances but led him beyond the passing into the permanent. I think it is criminal to call him, "Doubting Thomas," for one brief moment of his life. We should remember him for the permanent affirmation Jesus evoked from him. I recall a story my grandmother told of a man in west Kentucky around 1900. He never touched a drop of "Demon Rum" except for one memorable occasion. He got roaring drunk, stole a horse and buggy, and raced down ...

4454. A Year of Rehearsals

Illustration

Johnny Dean

I had a good friend back in Memphis years ago, one of my fellow rock-and-roll musicians, who only attended church on Easter Sunday. I asked him once why he didn't go to church more often than that, and I will never forget his reply. He said, "Johnny, you know how I hate rehearsals. Why should I sit through 51 rehearsals? I want to see the real thing, and that's what happens on Easter Sunday!" An interesting point of view, isn't it? Think about it. Easter is without a doubt "show time" for the church! ...

4455. Do You Love Me? - Sermon Starter

John 21:1-14

Illustration

Brett Blair

Let's begin with Simon out on his boat fishing alongside the other disciples. He is brooding, thinking deep thoughts not quite sure what to make of all that had happened. Then there is a flashback. He recalls how some months earlier he left his fishing nets at the seashore to become a follower of Jesus and how Jesus liked him and included him and changed his name from Simon to Peter (Petros, the Rock) because Jesus felt that Simon was strong, stable, and solid like a rock. But then all of a sudden, things ...

4456. Keeping the Wheels Turning

John 21:1-19

Illustration

John E. Harnish

Years ago, preacher friend Stan Bailey sent this story around in his church newsletter. It's a story about a visitor to a heavy-duty grease factory. He says the visitors were ushered into a large room and a tour host introduced them to the company history and the number of employees at work producing the best machine lubricants in the world. They toured the noisy factory, with lots of machinery and wheels whirling, mixing, packaging-incredible activity. As the tour ended, one of the visitors said, "I didn' ...

4457. What Do You Know?

John 21:1-19

Illustration

Eric Ritz

Dr. Carlyle Marney was one of the great preachers in the South during the time after the Second World War. He was a mentor and role model to many pastors. One of the stories attributed to the rich legacy he left behind took place on a seminary campus where he was invited to be the speaker for a distinguished lectureship. One of the students asked, "Dr. Marney let us hear you say a word or two about the meaning of the resurrection." It was a fair question and an appropriate one from a future preacher to one ...

4458. A Chance to Wipe the Slate Clean

John 21:1-19

Illustration

Donald B. Strobe

Some years ago the London Daily Telegraph carried a letter written by an eleven-year-old boy to his mother while he was on vacation in Switzerland. He wrote this: "Dear Mom, yesterday the instructor took eight of us to the slopes to teach us to ski. I was not very good at it, so I broke a leg. Thank goodness, it wasn't mine! Love, Billy." Now, that mother had only a limited insight into what actually happened on the ski slopes of Switzerland that day. And you and I have only a limited insight into what ...

4459. The Golden Hour

Jn 21:1-14

Illustration

King Duncan

Artist Bill Herring loves his home state of Texas. He sees beauty in the landscape, even in the dry desert ground and the dull, green bushes that squat along the horizon. Ordinarily, this landscape is dry and ugly. But then there comes what Herring calls the "golden hour." Sometime in the fall, these bushes bring forth gorgeous yellow flowers. Just before sunset, when the fading sunlight washes over the caramel soil and the lush yellow flowers, it lends everything a shimmering, golden glow. What once ...

4460. Mixed Metaphors

John 21:1-25

Illustration

Brett Blair

English professors love to catch mixed metaphors, when grading papers. Here's list from some students papers: He swept the rug under the carpet." She's burning the midnight oil at both ends." It was so cold last night I had to throw another blanket on the fire." It's time to step up to the plate and cut the mustard." She's robbing Peter to pay the piper." He's up a tree without a paddle." Beware my friend...you are skating on hot water." Keep your ear to the grindstone." Sometimes you've gotta stick your ...

4461. Central to Our Mission

John 21:1-14

Illustration

John E. Harnish

James Collins' books on leadership have become classics: Good to Great and Built to Last. In Built to Last, his primary theme is "Preserve the core/Stimulate progress." He says the core ideology, the reason a company exists, must be balanced with a willingness to change and grow in order to fulfill the mission. If an organization is to meet the challenges of a changing world, it must be prepared to change everything about itself except its basic beliefs... The only sacred cow in an organization should be ...

4462.

Humor Illustration

King Duncan

The difference between a hunter and a fisherman is that the hunter lies and waits and the fisherman waits and lies. Someone else asked, "What happens to lying fishermen when they die?" The answer, "They lie still."

4463. A Defeated Babe Ruth

John 21:15-25

Illustration

Brett Blair

Babe Ruth had hit 714 home runs during his baseball career and was playing one of his last full major league games. It was the Braves versus the Reds in Cincinnati. But the great Ruth was no longer as agile as he had once been. He fumbled the ball and threw badly, and in one inning alone his errors were responsible for most of the five runs scored by Cincinnati. As the Babe walked off the field after the third out and headed toward the dugout, a crescendo of yelling and booing reached his ears. Just then a ...

4464. Getting Out of the Comfort Zone

Jn 21:1-14

Illustration

King Duncan

It's like those inspirational sayings found on motivational posters. Sayings like: "No pain, no gain." And "When the going gets tough, the tough get going" etc. Recently I saw a list of slightly more honest sayings for office walls: Hang in there, retirement is only thirty years away! When the going gets tough, the tough take a coffee break. Aim Low, Reach Your Goals, Avoid Disappointment. Many people live their lives according to that last motto: "Aim Low, Reach Your Goals, Avoid Disappointment." But when ...

4465. Billy Graham Interview

Mt 28:16-20; Jn 21:1-14

Illustration

Brett Blair

SCHULLER: Tell me, what do you think is the future of Christianity? GRAHAM: Well, Christianity and being a true believer you know, I think there's the Body of Christ, which comes from all the Christian groups around the world, or outside the Christian groups. I think everybody that loves Christ, or knows Christ, whether they're conscious of it or not, they're members of the Body of Christ, and I don't think that we are going to see a great sweeping revival that will turn the whole world to Christ at any ...

4466. The Trouble with Self-atonement

John 10:22-30

Illustration

Eric Ritz

A gentleman wrote into Readers' Digest and told of this real life encounter. "While I was sitting in my parked car on the street one day, a young woman in the car ahead came over and asked me if I had a hammer that she could borrow. When I said no, she got one from the man in the car in front of hers. She then proceeded to smash out the vent pane on the side of her car. After returning the hammer, she opened her door, took out the keys and waved them at us with a triumphant grin. As she drove away, the ...

4467. He Knows Our Names

John 10:1-30

Illustration

Donald B. Strobe

There is an old story of a census taker who was making his rounds in the lower East side of New York, who interviewed an Irish woman bending over her washtub. "Lady, I am taking the census. What's your name? How many children have you?" She replied, "Well, let me see. My name is Mary. And then there's Marcia, and Duggie, and Amy, and Patrick, and..." "Never mind the names," he broke in, "just give me the numbers." She straightened up, hands on hips, and with a twinkle in her eye, said, "I'll have ye know, ...

4468. What Is Unique About Christianity?

John 10:22-42, Ephesians 2:1-10

Illustration

Brett Blair

The story of Jesus sitting and debating the Law with rabbis reminds me of another debate that took place in a comparative religions conference, the wise and the scholarly were in a spirited debate about what is unique about Christianity. Someone suggested what set Christianity apart from other religions was the concept of incarnation, the idea that God became incarnate in human form. But someone quickly said, "Well, actually, other faiths believe that God appears in human form." Another suggestion was ...

4469. Outside of God

John 10:22-30

Illustration

Donald B. Strobe

I often think of the words of the late Dr. Leslie Weatherhead of City temple in London, who was asked on a radio program near the end of his life, "What have you learned from life?" He replied that he had learned many things from the rough and tumble of 45 years in the Christian ministry, but the one outstanding thing he learned was this: "Life will only work out one way, and that is God's way. (God) made it like that. Every other way has across it a barricade bearing a notice which says No thoroughfare ...

4470. When It Comes to Humility

John 10:22-42

Illustration

Donald B. Strobe

Some years ago I found myself at a clergy conference among a bunch of bishops. (I don't know what else to call them. I know about a "gaggle of geese" and a "flock of birds" but what do you call a gathering of bishops? I settle on "bunch.") There was some sort of unintentional pride involved in the proceedings, for in front of the various clerical dignitaries, along with their names, were written their titles, the "Most Reverend" so-and-so, the "Right Reverend" so-and-so, and the "Very Reverend" so-and so. ...

4471. Any Favorites?

John 10:22-30

Illustration

Donald B. Strobe

A mother of eight children was once asked if she had any favorites. "Favorites?" she replied. "Yes, I have favorites. I love the one who is sick until he is well again. I love the one who is in trouble until he is safe again. And I love the one who is farthest away until he comes home." Jesus said, "That is what God is like. God is a Divine Parent whose love never stops, a Parent whose love will never give up. You may stop loving God, but God will never stop loving you. You may run away from God, but you ...

4472. How Do You Know My Name?

John 10:1-21

Illustration

John R. Claypool

I've always loved the little story about the boy who's trying to learn the Lord's Prayer, so he kneels by his bed, and says: Our Father, who are in heaven How do you know my name? Such individualized affection will always remain a mystery to us mortals, and at the same time, let us never forget we're made in the image of that extraordinary love. And doing what Jesus did in loving each one he ever met as if there were none other in all the world is at least an ideal toward which we can reach even if it ...

4473. Jesus Always Makes Us Better

John 13:31-35

Illustration

Edward F. Markquart

This past week, I again read a quotation by Morris Niedenthal, who teaches and preaches at the University of Chicago. He says that Jesus accepted people just the way they were, but he never left people just the way they were because he loved them. Jesus always made them better. So often on Sunday morning, I say to a child at the communion rail as I bless them and trace the sign of the cross on their forehead, "Receive the sign of the cross upon your forehead so that you would know that you are baptized and ...

4474. The Energies of Love

John 13:31-35

Illustration

Edward F. Markquart

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, the Roman Catholic theologian, once wrote: "Sometimes after the mastery of the winds and the waves and the tides; after the mastery of the sun and the sea and the laws of gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And when we harness the energies of love, for the second time in human history, we shall discover fire." … What if we harnessed atomic fusion? Wow! But what if we harnessed the energies of love? The world would then be transformed.

4475. Love of Christ

Matt 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27; John 13:34

Illustration

G. Curtis Jones

Legend has it that a wealthy merchant traveling through the Mediterranean world looking for the distinguished Pharisee, Paul, encountered Timothy, who arranged a visit. Paul was, at the time, a prisoner in Rome. Stepping inside the cell, the merchant was surprised to find a rather old man, physically frail, but whose serenity and magnetism challenged the visitor. They talked for hours. Finally the merchant left with Paul's blessing. Outside the prison, the concerned man inquired, "What is the secret of ...

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Antonyms: deficient, imperfect

Showing 4451 to 4475 of 5000 results

4451. We Believe You

Jn 20:1-18

Illustration

King Duncan

4452. We Believe You

John 20:10-18

Illustration

King Duncan

4453. The Reputation of a Lifetime

John 20:24-31

Illustration

John Ewing Roberts

4454. A Year of Rehearsals

Illustration

Johnny Dean

4455. Do You Love Me? - Sermon Starter

John 21:1-14

Illustration

Brett Blair

4456. Keeping the Wheels Turning

John 21:1-19

Illustration

John E. Harnish

4457. What Do You Know?

John 21:1-19

Illustration

Eric Ritz

4458. A Chance to Wipe the Slate Clean

John 21:1-19

Illustration

Donald B. Strobe

4459. The Golden Hour

Jn 21:1-14

Illustration

King Duncan

4460. Mixed Metaphors

John 21:1-25

Illustration

Brett Blair

4461. Central to Our Mission

John 21:1-14

Illustration

John E. Harnish

4462.

Humor Illustration

King Duncan

4463. A Defeated Babe Ruth

John 21:15-25

Illustration

Brett Blair

4464. Getting Out of the Comfort Zone

Jn 21:1-14

Illustration

King Duncan

4465. Billy Graham Interview

Mt 28:16-20; Jn 21:1-14

Illustration

Brett Blair

4466. The Trouble with Self-atonement

John 10:22-30

Illustration

Eric Ritz

4467. He Knows Our Names

John 10:1-30

Illustration

Donald B. Strobe

4468. What Is Unique About Christianity?

John 10:22-42, Ephesians 2:1-10

Illustration

Brett Blair

4469. Outside of God

John 10:22-30

Illustration

Donald B. Strobe

4470. When It Comes to Humility

John 10:22-42

Illustration

Donald B. Strobe

4471. Any Favorites?

John 10:22-30

Illustration

Donald B. Strobe

4472. How Do You Know My Name?

John 10:1-21

Illustration

John R. Claypool

4473. Jesus Always Makes Us Better

John 13:31-35

Illustration

Edward F. Markquart

4474. The Energies of Love

John 13:31-35

Illustration

Edward F. Markquart

4475. Love of Christ

Matt 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27; John 13:34

Illustration

G. Curtis Jones

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