Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4526 to 4550 of 4946 results

4526. Coming Home

Luke 15:1-3,11b-32

Sermon

Mark Trotter

I have preached the Prodigal Son parable many times, and when it came around this year in the lectionary I thought I would give it a rest. I turned to the Epistle lesson this morning, from Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, which I have also preached many times, but not as many as the Prodigal Son. It goes like this: "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and calling us to a ministry of reconciliation, God making his appeal through us." When I ...

4527. God Never Gives Up

Luke 15:1-10

Sermon

Mark Trotter

“Amazing Grace” is always listed among the favorite hymns. It is an old one. It goes back to the 18th century, written by John Newton, who was on the sea from the time he was a little boy. When he was a young man he became the captain of his own ship, a ship that brought African slaves to the colonies to work the plantations. Back in England, between voyages, he went to hear George Whitefield preach and was converted. He realized the evil of his occupation, left it, and became a priest in the Church of ...

4528. Landing Instructions

Isaiah 40:25-31

Sermon

Mark Trotter

We were all attracted to the story of Lance Armstrong winning the Tour de France last weekend, that grueling bicycle race. It is one of the great endurance races in the world today. Lance Armstrong won it in record time, two years after undergoing surgery and then chemotherapy for cancer that spread throughout his body, including to his brain. It is a testimony first of all to the wonderful advances that medicine has made in curing cancers, but everyone recognizes as well that it is a terrific testimony to ...

4529. Until It Dawns on You

Matthew 17:1-9

Sermon

Mark Trotter

Lord Dunsany said, "It is seldom that the same man knows much of science, and about the things that were known before science." That has been my experience, and I think there is a reason for it. You can blame it on the Darwinians, and their assumption that life is always evolving into higher, more complex forms, so that what is now is better and more sophisticated than what was before. That was brought home to me when our children pointed out to me, "This is the 80s." They said that back in the decade in ...

4530. What Time Is It?

Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon

Mark Trotter

As the year wears down, the days become shorter, the nights longer and darker. All people, both in our time and in ancient time, turn to questions of human mortality and the future of the earth. When I was in Mexico at the end of October, I saw the preparation for El Dia de los Muertos, "The Day of the Dead." Shrines were being erected in anticipation of November 2. The picture of the deceased loved one will be placed in the middle of the shrine, the frame of the shrine will be decked with beautiful yellow ...

4531. Faith's Curious Dynamic

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

You know that old saying, "Be careful what you wish for, because it might come true"? We see examples of that again and again in life. During the war in Iraq, Hampton Sides, a journalist who had been slated to be "embedded" with one of our frontline Marine battalions, gave an interview on NRP (National Public Radio). At almost the last possible moment, Sides decided not to go with the Marines, but instead to report from Central Command in Qatar. The interviewer asked Sides when he began having doubts about ...

4532. Set in the Dark Places

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

I learned a song in Sunday School that has stayed with me for lo these many years. The song is "This Little Light of Mine, I'm Gonna Let It Shine." Anybody else go to the same Sunday School? (Sing it here, or better yet, have them join in singing it with you.) As we've just heard, the song has three verses. Two of the three verses are theologically profound. One verse is theologically bankrupt. A. I'm Gonna Let it Shine The first verse is "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine." Where does the ...

4533. By God’s Spirit

Zechariah 4:1-14

Sermon

James McCormick

I believe that God is here. I believe that God wants to meet us here and speak His word of life and give His gift of grace. I really believe in the presence and power of God! There is no more urgent task confronting the contemporary Church than the intensification of the experience of God at the heart of our life together. Not God as an interesting relic of the past… not God as object of learned discussion…not God as obligatory word uttered and then forgotten… and not God assumed but not central. No, none ...

4534. Be Kind

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

James McCormick

Since before I can remember, I went to Vacation Bible School every summer. I loved Vacation Bible School and I have many fond memories of my experiences there. I remember rousing games of “Red Rover” in which the boys tried to impress the girls. I remember making first century houses out of clay. There were times when we dressed up in bath robes and re-enacted Biblical dramas. I remember spatter painting – I loved spatter painting! We would get a leaf or a flower or some other object and put it on a piece ...

4535. The Power of Partnership

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Sermon

James Merritt

In 1948 two brothers, by the names of Richard and Maurice McDonald, converted their barbeque drive-in with carhops, into the world's first McDonald's limited-menu self-service drive-in in San Bernardino, California. One restaurant serving one community. In 1954 a man by the name of Ray Kroc mortgaged his home and invested his entire life's savings to become the exclusive distributor of a five-spindled milkshake maker called the Multimixer. He heard about this McDonald's hamburger stand in California that ...

4536. The Right Connection

John 15:1-8

Sermon

James Merritt

Larry Walters was a truck driver. But his lifelong dream was to fly. When he graduated from high school, he joined the Air Force hoping to become a pilot, but his poor eyesight disqualified him. When he finally left the service, he had to simply be contented with watching others fly fighter jets over his backyard. One day, sitting in his lawn chair, he dreamed about the magic of flying. Then one day Larry Walters got an idea. He went down to the local Army-Navy Surplus Store, and bought a tank of helium ...

4537. God's Favorite Day

Psalm 118:24

Sermon

James Merritt

Do you know what God's favorite day is? I can tell you unequivocally, and without hesitation, that God's favorite day is today. Now I don't mean Sunday. I would say that if today were Monday or Thursday or Saturday. You see, I trust that God did work in your life yesterday. I know He wants to work in your life tomorrow. But the only day He can work in your life is today. The only day you can better the past, or prepare for the future, is today. Listen to this statement: Our Lord knows that the most ...

4538. A Bridge over Troubled Waters

Psalm 23:2

Sermon

James Merritt

Is there anyone here today dealing with stress? Just looking out, I see a lot of people who are all stressed up and no place to go. Stress is a problem. Believe it or not, this is a problem for the pastor. In a recent Los Angeles Times article, psychologist Richard Blackmon said, “Pastors are the single most occupationally frustrated group in America.” About 75% of pastors go through a period of stress so great that they consider quitting the ministry; 35-40% actually do. Incidents of mental breakdown are ...

4539. Why You Should Manage Your Time

Psalm 118:24

Sermon

James Merritt

The subject I am going to talk about today was described by the following: Sometimes it flies, sometimes it crawls, but it always passes in inexorably. We mark it, save it, waste it, bide it, race against it. We measure it incessantly with a passion for precision that borders on the obsessive.1 We are obsessed with it; we never seem to have enough of it; and yet scientists don’t even know how to explain it. When St. Augustine was asked to describe it, he said: “If no one asks me, I know what it is; but if ...

4540. Won't You Come Home, George Bailey?

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

This being the MotorCity, let's start with a pair of transportation tidbits. Several years ago, I told you that since the gospel makes nary a mention of camels, I was willing to speculate that the three kings drove to Bethlehem in a Honda. For tradition has it that "they were of one accord." But now I am able to offer an eyewitness report that Santa Claus (or his brother who dresses like him) drives an Audi ... a beige Audi ... a beige Audi wagon ... complete with a cell phone. For I followed Santa south ...

4541. The Lost And Found Collection

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Every place where the public gathers has to have a lost and found collection. The church is no exception. Worshippers are always leaving things. We have volunteers at Christ Church who tidy up the worship areas after each service. They bring me interesting things they find. Often they find notes written on bulletins. Surely these were not written during sermon times. A typical message will say something like, “Don’t you think Beth is cute?” or “Go Vols!” Occasionally we find a bulletin with a beautifully ...

4542. From Selfishness to Servanthood

Matthew 20:20-28

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

I never thought I would say this but, apart from news and sports, the best things on TV might be the commercials. Whoever invented this charming little green lizard to sell insurance is an absolute genius. Let me test your memory regarding another commercial. The flight attendant on this airplane speaks to the pilot through the intercom. “Captain, we are out of Colombian coffee.” Immediately this large aircraft, with its white vapor trail, makes a U-turn and flies back in the opposite direction. Now I ...

4543. Make the Most of God’s Gifts

Ephesians 5:15-20

Sermon

Richard Gribble

John Harding had it all; his credentials were impeccable. He had a wonderful family. His wife, Sally, was one of those people everyone enjoys meeting. His eight-year-old son, Rick, was a good student, enjoyed athletics, and obeyed his parents. John himself had moved up the corporate ladder. After graduating from Arizona State University, where he played baseball well enough to be offered a professional contract, he moved to California's "Silicon Valley" and signed on with one of the many software companies ...

4544. Christ’s Twin

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

I want to begin by stating categorically that Christ did not have a twin brother, in case you were misled by today’s sermon title. There are so many people around who are conspiracy theory buffs that you can’t be too careful. I can see the author of The Da Vinci Code weaving a complete novel out of the idea that Jesus secretly had a twin. So let me state categorically that Jesus did not have a twin. However, today’s lesson from Philippians provokes an interesting question. If Christ had a twin what would ...

4545. The Parable of the Choices

Matthew 21:28-31

Sermon

Shirley Gupton Lynn

In 1897 Remington Arms Company chose not to buy a patented "writing machine." The Underwood Company bought it instead and has sold millions of typewriters since. Remington Arms made a bad choice. In the 1950's Sam Phillips made a record for a young man who wandered into his Memphis studio. The fledgling singer wanted to record his voice for his mother. In 1955 Sam Phillips chose to sell his exclusive recording contract with Elvis Presley to RCA for $35,000. Bad choice. Former President Nixon chose to ...

4546. Where Is Your Trust?

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

George Reed

If it was not Jesus who was asking the question, our reaction to the speaker would probably be something like, "What? Are you nuts? There's a storm out here!" Of course the disciples were afraid. They are in an open boat on a stormy lake without a global positioning beacon, life rafts, or the Coast Guard nearby. The lake is big enough that they would have little chance of being able to swim to shore in a dead calm and here the waves are high and breaking over them while they are still in the boat. It is ...

4547. Give me a C...

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The church needs some new cheers. If we're going to boast about anything, let's boast about Christ. The boasts will sound like foolishness to the world. The Beatitudes are an example of "foolish" sounding cheers. Have you ever been swept up in a wave? No, not an ocean wave at the beach, but the kind of "wave" that sweeps through a football stadium, or the baseball stands or a hockey rink. It's an exhilarating crowd experience to see the wave created by thousands of people standing with their arms raised ...

4548. Sleep Loose

2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Relax and trust God's Spirit. It used to be that when we took a family member or visitor to the airport, there was plenty of time for formal, cordial good-byes. Saying good-bye was an art. You had to work up to a high point, a final message, a last hug, at just the right time. Too soon and you would have to endure those last minutes knowing everything had already been said. Too late and you would end up shouting crucial messages at someone's back down the jetway. Timing was everything. Curbside check-in ...

4549. Jesus Radical Prescription

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

Mike Ripski

We’re still sitting on the hillside with those whose lives Jesus’ has changed with the miracle of God’s love. He’s teaching us about God’s new world, where God’s love reigns. Jesus has just told us that he came to fulfill the law, not to abolish it. For example, “The law says, ‘Do not murder.’ But I say that not killing someone doesn’t go far enough. God is concerned about how you feel toward others, how you perceive them, how you relate to them. Therefore, beware of your anger toward others. Beware of ...

4550. Excellence in Giving

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

In today’s lesson Paul talks about “excellence in giving.” It’s tough to talk about giving when the country is going through uncertain times. I don’t know how you felt as you watched the stock market meltdown last fall. For some people it was a very helpless feeling. Some of you watched the money in your retirement accounts slowly disappear. One guy said he took a kind of Zen attitude towards it all. He started off with $50,000 Zen he had $40,000, Zen he had $30,000, Zen he had... Another man said his ...

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