Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4501 to 4525 of 4937 results

4501. A Distant Light

Isaiah 2:1-5

Sermon

King Duncan

As we make our journey over the next four weeks toward the stable in Bethlehem one symbol of our faith will be preeminent “that is the symbol of light. Tree lights, candle lights and in the heavens the radiant light of the star the wise men followed on that holy night. It is perhaps a parable of our times that we are rarely without some form of light. We have Thomas Edison to thank for that I suppose. It is said that after thousands of experiments, when he finally achieved this monumental breakthrough that ...

4502. Love In Action

1 John 3:11-24

Sermon

King Duncan

There is a ridiculous old story about a fisherman who was enormously successful. Each morning he would take his small boat out on the lake and within a few hours he would return with a boat loaded with fish. People wondered, how did he do it? One day a stranger showed up and asked the man if he could go along the next time the man went out fishing. The man said, "Sure. Meet me here tomorrow morning at 5:00 and we will go out." The next morning the two of them made their way through the early morning mist ...

4503. God Of Compassion

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon

King Duncan

Savanarola, the great Florentine preacher of the fifteenth century, one day saw an elderly woman worshipping at the statue of the Virgin Mary which stood in his city's great cathedral. On the following day, he noticed the same woman again on her knees before the Blessed Mother. With great interest, Savanarola observed that day after day, she came and did homage before the statue. "Look how she reverences the Virgin Mother," Savanarola whispered to one of his fellow priests. "Don't be deceived by what you ...

4504. In The Valley Of Dry Bones

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

"The toe bone's connected to the foot bone, the foot bone's connected to the ankle bone, the ankle bone's connected to the shin bone...now hear the word of the Lord." That delightful little spiritual brings to mind one of the most dynamic, hopeful images in all the Old Testament. It is Ezekiel's vision of the valley of dry bones. "By the Spirit of the Lord," Ezekiel testifies, "I was set down in the midst of a valley; it was full of bones." Perhaps these were the bones of an army that had been trapped in ...

4505. A Story Almost Too Big To Tell

John 20:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

Sportswriter Red Smith once told a story about novelist and film writer, Laurence Stallings. Though he was not a sportswriter, Stallings took an assignment to cover a football game between the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Illinois. The year was 1925. The brilliant halfback Red Grange was on the field that afternoon and he was dazzling. On a muddy field he broke loose for three touchdowns and set up another. The old hands in the press box were pounding away at their typewriters. Not ...

4506. When Christ Shall Come

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

King Duncan

Only moments after prying open a window and stepping into a dark bedroom a burglar came face to face with a vicious looking Doberman Pincher. The burglar froze in his tracks. Once his eyes adjusted to the dark he noticed a parrot on the back of the dog which squawked "You're gonna get caught!" The burglar hesitated, then ever so carefully lifted an item off a dresser and put it in his sack. The dog watched every move. The parrot said, "You're gonna get caught!" Without any sudden or jerky movements the ...

4507. A Journey To A New Life

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

King Duncan

Danne and Jorge Martinez wanted to raise their eleven-year-old daughter Lizbet to do right. Unfortunately, they had no choice but to teach Lizbet to lie. You see, the Martinez family lived in Cuba. They were members of Castro's Communist Party. But inside their home, these devoted parents complained bitterly about the political situation that was destroying their country. And so, when Lizbet was old enough to attend school, her parents sat her down and explained the facts of life to her. She was never to ...

4508. Yes, But He Started It!

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

In the seventeenth-century, there was a French explorer named Samuel de Champlain. Champlain reported back to the Old World on many of the wonders he encountered while journeying through Canada. In these writings, he told one story of a mixed Catholic and Huguenot community in Nova Scotia that was served by both a Roman Catholic priest and a Protestant pastor. Champlain does detail the doctrinal disputes that arose between these two servants of the Gospel, but he explains the means by which they sought ...

4509. Thanksgiving: Where Are You Looking For It?

Deuteronomy 8:1-20

Sermon

Eric Ritz

A little girl whose father was a disc jockey, a radio announcer, was invited to a friend's house for dinner. When she arrived, the mother asked the little girl if she would honor them by saying the blessing. It delighted the little girl. She cleared her throat, looked at her wristwatch, and said, "This food, friends, is coming to you through the courtesy of almighty God." Well, she was right, all food that we eat comes through the courtesy of almighty God. (1) Thanksgiving is a special time of year. Can't ...

4510. Passing The Baton

Deuteronomy 11:1-32

Sermon

King Duncan

Denis Rainey, in his book THE TRIBUTE, has some wonderful stories about family life. One of the best is an Associated Press story datelined Grand Rapids, Michigan. At age 2, Robin Hawkins already is a home wrecker. When she is old enough to ask for an allowance, her father intends to show her a bill for almost $2,300 worth of family belongings she has destroyed in a two-month rampage. It all started when Alice the Cat went down the drain. "I heard her saying, Bye-bye, fluff-fluff, bye-bye,'" her father, ...

4511. When The Going Gets Tough

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

King Duncan

Two country boys, Zeke and Zeb, decided to build a Bungee Jumping tower down in Mexico to see if it would make them some money. After they got it set up, they noticed that the crowds gathered around but nobody was buying tickets. Zeke said to Zeb, "Maybe you should demonstrate it to them so they get the idea." After Zeb was strapped on he jumped and fell almost to the ground before springing back. As he came back up Zeke noticed that Zeb's clothes were torn and wondered what that was all about. Zeb went ...

4512. Whatever It Takes

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

King Duncan

Pastors are used to being the targets of jokes. It goes with the territory. A parishioner had undergone a serious operation and was still under the influence of the sedative when his pastor came, so the pastor just said a prayer and left. The next day he returned and asked the patient if he had been aware of his visit. “I vaguely remember your visit yesterday. I remember opening my eyes and thinking 'I can't be in Heaven because here is my pastor!" We are accustomed to being the targets of jokes and we are ...

4513. Counterfeit Christianity

Matthew 7:15-23

Sermon

King Duncan

Sometime back the United States Treasury tackled one of its most vexing problems. Sophisticated, hi-tech resources now available to the average citizen have become real problems to the Treasury Department. With the introduction of high quality ink jet printers, computer scanners and other office equipment into homes and offices across the nation, the amount of counterfeit money almost doubled in the years between 1992 and 1997. Counterfeit money became hard to distinguish from the real thing. Thus, in 1998 ...

4514. Time For A New Vision

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Angela Akers

Before her death in 1997, Jeanne Calment was the oldest living human whose age could be verified by official documentation. This remarkable French lady claimed she owed her longevity to chocolate, olive oil, and port wine. On her one hundred and twentieth birthday celebration, someone asked Ms. Calment, "What is your vision of the future?" With a twinkle in her eye, Ms. Calment replied, "Very brief." (1) Let's talk about vision. Someone has compiled a list of forty "Killer Phrases," the things that people ...

4515. How A Christian Grieves

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

In a technological society, we often need instructions for using new products. But where do they find the people to write these instructions? Some instructions are hopelessly vague while others seem totally unnecessary to anyone with even minimal brain power. For example: On a camera were these instructions: “This camera only works when there is film inside.” Well, duh! Big surprise there. These thoughts were found on a package of airline peanuts: “Open packet and eat contents.” Do they really think we ...

4516. Casting Out Demons

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

An Upbeat Word for a Downbeat World, #5 (Alternate) The Lord has authority over demons. That's the good news for the day. No demon can stand up to Christ. Now obviously, few of us are conscious of being demon possessed. You may have heard about the preacher who asked one elderly lady how it was with her soul. "Oh," she replied, "the old devil has been giving me a rough time." Immediately her husband protested. "Now hold on," he said, "she's not too easy to live with herself." Is there a demon that is ...

4517. Do You Know This Man?

John 6:25-59

Sermon

King Duncan

Actor Tony Randall, famous for his role as Felix in The Odd Couple, once had an experience that surely was the inspiration for a current credit card commercial. Randall was in a jewelry store in New York City. The store's owner recognized him and became very excited. He declared that Randall was his all-time favorite actor. What a treat it would be for his wife, the man said, if she could talk to the Tony Randall. Randall graciously agreed. So the man called his wife, and Randall had a short, pleasant ...

4518. It's Not About Us

Revelation 22:1-6

Sermon

King Duncan

In his book Rewriting the Family Script, Roger Hillerstrom notes that young children are egocentric. This means that their view of the world is so small that they think they are the center of things. Hillerstrom says that as a child he and his family took a drive one evening. He remembers assuming that, as they traveled, the moon followed them home and then stayed there all night hovering over their house. Wouldn't that be nice? Your own personal moon? An acquaintance whose last name is Steele told ...

4519. To Whom Shall We Go?

John 6:60-71

Sermon

King Duncan

Some of Jesus' followers were beginning to leave him. His teachings were too difficult for them. So he turned to the 12 and asked, "Will you also go away?" Peter's plaintive reply lives forever, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God." "Lord, to whom shall we go?" We can scarcely imagine anyone other than Peter saying this. It seems unlikely that this would have been the first response from the critical ...

4520. An Empty Cup

Job 23:1--24:25

Sermon

King Duncan

Series on the Book of Job, #2 Suggested song for silent meditation: "The Day is Dawning" Suggested video clip: "Shadowlands" About 90 minutes into the movie. Scene starts in the cloakroom at the cathedral. C.S. Lewis (Anthony Hopkins) is putting on his robes while speaking to a colleague. The move "Shadowlands" tells the true story of C.S. Lewis, one of the most influential Christian theologians of the 21st century. Late in life, Lewis fell in love with a woman named Joy Gresham. Not long after their ...

4521. Son of Man; Son of God

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

King Duncan

There was a news story a couple years back in The Associated Press about a novel experiment by the University of Minnesota to foil Christmas tree thieves. It seems that the year before the university lost seven evergreens to poachers. So the university began spraying balsam fir, Scotch pine and anything that could pass for a holiday tree with skunk scent. Yes, I said skunk scent. For years, according to this report, Christmas tree thieves have been sawing down trees in the middle of the night. But in 2002 ...

4522. The Living Hope

1 Peter 1:1-12

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

Hope is one of the necessary ingredients for human life. The Bible is a book of hope. It comes from the God of hope. An English writer called hope the "Nerve of Life." Everyone knows something of the hurt of a lost hope. To lose hope is to lose heart and to lose our nerve. Nothing seems to rob us of hope as does death. Visitors to the Fiji Islands tell of a strange custom. It is known as "calling to the dead." The one who has suffered bereavement climbs to a high tree or a cliff, calls out the name of the ...

4523. Whose Hand Is On Your Shoulder? (Part 4)

1 Chronicles 4:1-23

Sermon

Eric Ritz

We continue today our study of the prayer of Jabez: "Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, ''Because I bore him in pain.'' And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, ‘Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!'' So God granted him what he requested." (1 Chronicles 4:9-10) (NKJV) The key words of this passage of scripture are those ...

4524. Emptying and Exalting (Part XI)

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Dr. Harold Brack, the much beloved professor of Speech and Communications at Drew Theological Seminary, often shared with us that there are some Biblical texts which should be approached with great awe and reverence and preached only with fear and trembling, because no matter how much we share, it is only a glimpse or a snapshot of a much greater picture of truth. St. Jerome once said, "The Bible is like a stream in which elephants must swim and lambs may wade." This is especially true of this passage. As ...

4525. Taxes and Tightwads

James 5:1-6

Sermon

Eric Ritz

A cartoon in the New Yorker magazine reveals two very well-dressed businessmen having an exotic lunch in an expensive eatery. One of the men has a look of horror on his face as he says to the other, "I had the most terrifying dream last night. I dreamed that the value of the dollar had slipped so low that it was no longer worth worshiping!" This is exactly what James is addressing and correcting in his challenging words. Most of us here today know that money is a poor substitute for a living relationship ...

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