Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic

Showing 4526 to 4550 of 4943 results

4526. Dessert in the Desert

Deut 32:10-12 · Ez 37

Sermon

Robert Noblett

On one occasion our family went to a park for a picnic, and as my wife and I sat watching our children play, we beheld the most unsettling of sights. There was a child, perhaps eleven months of age, playing in the sand next to his mother, and he was eating handfuls of sand the way you and I consume handfuls of Planters Peanuts. One of his siblings brought this matter to the attention of his mother and her comment was, "Don’t worry about it; it won’t hurt him!" After watching him wolf down a few handfuls of ...

4527. How Fares Your Christian Sight?

Is 6:8-10

Sermon

Robert Noblett

Some time ago I had my eyes examined. The doctor went through the usual procedures and at their end said this to me: "From a medical point of view, your eyes are fine." I thought that to be a rather curious way of putting the matter, and it reminded me of the fact that one’s eyes might be in top shape medically, but then the medical point of view is not the only point of view. People can have eyes that are medically sound and yet have the most warped and perverted view of life, of other people, of ...

4528. The Therapy of Song

1 Samuel 16:14-23, Exodus 15:1-21, Psalm 5:1-12

Sermon

Robert Noblett

Those of us who make our homes in an urban area are certainly familiar with the whole flood of billboards that populate just about every available place - so much so, that we take them for granted. But every so often we come across one that catches our eyes because of its unusualness. Driving through downtown Boston during the rush hour a while back, I was attracted to one in front of an apartment building which did little to reassure me at the moment. It read: "If you lived here, you’d be home by now!" ...

4529. The Un-Parade

Matthew 16:21-28, Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

Robert Noblett

In the section of the country where we live, February and March are always cold and slushy months. So come April, nothing dampens my ardor for the coming of spring. I’m ready for it! Part of the reason I am ready for it is the fact that warm weather means the return of parades, and as the song says it, "I love a parade!" A community in which we lived some years back boasted the first Bicentennial parade in the nation, and well do I remember a family’s invitation to share that event with them from the bluff ...

4530. Mary of Nazareth

Isaiah 7:1-25

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

"Behold the handmaid of the Lord ..." Mary is very much a part of the gospel story. The mother of Jesus is one of six women so named in the New Testament. Mary is the Greek form of the Hebrew, Miriam, meaning exalted. Moses’ sister bore that splendid name. Mary of Nazareth - has any individual in Scripture suffered more at the hands of the church? Rome has elevated her to goddess - Mariolatry. It really was late in being officially established, not until December, 1854 when Pious IX promulgated the dogma ...

4531. THE GOD WHO LAUGHS

Drama

Marcia Miller

[A Speech Choir Using 4 Voices] The God Who Laughs is a short speech choir piece based on Psalms 2:4-5 and 37:12. Basically this piece is divided into three sections with the laughs as the chorus of the stanzas. These verses should start on a low level and build to the laugh, then start on that low level and build again. These crescendos should be performed as if a musical composition written in 4/4 time. 1 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh 4 God shall laugh 2 He will laugh 2 3 At the plans of men ...

4532. An Unidentified King

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

I have always sensed there was something strange about the original Palm Sunday celebration in Jerusalem. A huge question mark looms in the background. There is a glaring discontinuity about the whole event. Think about it...A crowd estimated to be between 100,000 and 200,000 lines the roadsides to cheer an itinerant preacher from Nazareth named Jesus; yet they are not really sure why they are cheering. They are not even sure who Jesus is. What if a ticker-tape parade were held down New York's Fifth Avenue ...

4533. The Guy With The Donkey

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

There is an old story about a pastor who was having problems and decided to leave the ministry. But he ran into trouble finding another job. Finally, in desperation, he took a job at the local zoo. The gorilla had died, and since it had been the children's favorite animal, the zoo officials decided to put someone in a gorilla costume until a real replacement could be found. To the minister's surprise, he liked the job. He got lots of attention and could eat all he wanted. There was no stress--no deadlines ...

4534. It Is Finished

John 19:28-37

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

The last word that Jesus spoke on the cross, as reported by John's gospel, chapter 19, verse 30, is "It is finished." That sentence is just one word in Greek--"Tetelestai." That sentence can have varied meanings depending on the context and the tone. A few years ago a professional boxer named Roberto Duran was locked in an epic championship bout with sugar Ray Leonard. Both fighters struggled heroically with almost superhuman endurance. But finally Duran was too exhausted to continue. He cried out in ...

4535. Can We Really Get Along?

John 4:1-26

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

In 1991 a black man named Rodney King was beaten unmercifully by white police of Los Angeles. Someone captured that crime on video-tape. The acquittal of the police set off a firestorm. On the other side, of that tragedy, Rodney King asked plaintively, "Can't we all Just get along?" That is America's greatest challenge. Can her majority and minority races accept each other as full partners in the American family? It is not only appropriate but indeed obligatory that we ask that question here in Memphis, ...

4536. Jesus Replaced Someone At Calvary

Mark 15:1-15

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

One day a man called a church by mistake. The church receptionist happened to be distracted at the time, and did not answer the phone in the usual fashion. She just said "Hello." The man said, "I want to order one pound of Barbecue, two pints of cole slaw and a dozen hush puppies." The receptionist said, "Wait a minute, sir. We are not a food service operation. You must have the wrong number." The man hesitated a moment and then asked, "What do you sell? What business are you in?" That IS a fair question ...

4537. Don't Be Afraid of the Future

Matthew 28:1-10

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Occasionally I fly back to South Carolina for a trustee meeting at a wonderful Methodist institution called Wofford College. On a recent trip I had an extra hour or two, so I decided to take a sentimental journey back to the little town of Greer. My father was pastor there when I was a little boy. Right away I noticed so many things that had changed. Our old house has been torn down and replaced. The yard has shrunk. I saw the tree from which my little cowboy friends almost hung me, accidentally, and I ...

4538. Easter Headlines

Matthew 28:1-10

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the longest sermon on record was delivered by the Rev. Clinton Lacy of West Richland, Washington, in February, 1955. It lasted 48 hours and 18 minutes, and was based on scripture from every book in the Bible. At the close of the sermon, eight persons were present if not awake. Mercifully, Guinness does not tell us how many were in attendance when the sermon began. Don't worry. I have no plans to challenge the record this morning. That does remind me of a ...

4539. Incalculable Riches by Bishop Roy C. Nichols

Ephesians 3:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Mann

In Ephesians, Chapter 3 and verse 8, Paul says, "To me, least of all the saints, is given the grace to preach the unsearchable riches of the gospel of Jesus Christ." One of our modern translations renders the text thus: "the incalculable riches." I like that better, because it expresses the vastness of the gospel, rather than its "mystery." Paul was sharing this testimony with the members of the churches of the city of Ephesus. They knew him well; for he had first preached in their midst and nurtured them ...

4540. The Unexplainable Reality

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Allan J. Weenink

In more recent times we have become almost nonchalantly accustomed to the sonorous sound of the countdown ... glued to the television screen, we view the drama and hear that even voice charged with vibrancy ... 10, 9, 8 and so on, ending in a crescendo of BLAST OFF! With spectacular power and energized fury, another spacecraft is launched on its incredible journey. With each departure comes a new advance in knowledge and achievement. We have a profound respect for the genius of man and his accomplishments ...

4541. Virtue Won’t Hurt You

Sermon

Harold Warlick

The teenage years are exciting and confusing times. That lovable character too old to be a child and not yet old enough to be an adult rumbles through life forming values and fighting acne. I suppose that I rumbled and stumbled with the best of them during my teenage existence. An especially vivid memory revolves around our junior high school science fair. Now, science fairs were a great deal of fun to us wide-eyed ninth-graders. Every person who visualized himself as a potential scientific genius entered ...

4542. The Most Misunderstood Gift

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

There is no doubt - the most misunderstood God of the Trinity is the Holy Spirit. There is also no doubt - the most misunderstood gift of the Holy Spirit is the gift of speaking in tongues. Nearly every Christian has already chosen his "side" regarding the speaking in tongues. Few people are neutral on the subject - most are either "anti-tongues" or "pro-tongues." Not everybody even wants to hear the pros and cons. They remind you of the woman who said to her husband, during a discussion: "Don’t confuse me ...

4543. Cross-Bearing

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

The time was close to the time when Jesus was crucified. The Scripture tells us that Jesus had just told the disciples that he was going to have to suffer and be put to death. Peter couldn’t stand that idea and told him, "This shall never happen to you" (Matthew 16:22b). Jesus told Peter that he was thinking the way people thought rather than the way God thought. Then Jesus told his disciples what the Christian life was all about. It is one of the recurring themes of Jesus’ teaching. He said these things ...

4544. On Being a Tenant

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

All the details of the story that Jesus tells about being a tenant and owning a vineyard would have been familiar facts to the people who heard him tell it. I have on several occasions seen the vineyards of Israel, which are surrounded by a stone wall. On top of the wall is placed brambles that keep the wild animals from coming into the vineyard. They also protect the vineyard from thieves climbing over the stone wall. Many of the vineyards that I saw had a wine-press located right on the spot. A tower was ...

4545. Minute Accounting

Matthew 12:22-37

Sermon

Herchel H. Sheets

"I tell you, on the day of the judgment, men will render account for every careless word they utter." Really? A number of questions arise immediately when one hears that statement. One has to do with the logistics of accounting. A lot of careless words are spoken. Are we to believe that God (or some of his assistants!) keeps a verbatim record of all of these words and then confronts each person with the ones he or she has spoken at the final reckoning? Another question involves the justice of such a policy ...

4546. Hindering Riches

Matthew 19:16-30

Sermon

Herchel H. Sheets

Shortly after the opening of the popular off-Broadway show, Godspell, in the summer of 1971, Cheryl A. Forbes made an interesting observation about it. She said that the show was for the young, in conception and spirit. It was written, acted, and sung by young people to give young people an answer to their despair. But she pointed out that not many youth were there to get the message; the audiences were mainly adult. "The probable reason," she said, "is that the kids can’t afford to come, since ticket ...

4547. Ghosts - 1951

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

Kent Moorehead

The key idea that unlocks the haunting theme of Henrik Ibsen’s undying drama, Ghosts, is succinctly stated by Mrs. Alving when she exclaims: Ghosts! When I heard Regina and Oswald in there, I seemed to see ghosts before me. I almost think we’re all of us ghosts, Pastor Manders. It’s not only what we have inherited from our father and mother that "walks" in us. It’s all sorts of dead ideas, and lifeless old beliefs, and so forth. They have no vitality, but they cling to us just the same, and we can’t get ...

4548. Achieving An All-In Victory - 1952

1 John 5:1-12

Sermon

Kent Moorehead

We have talked so much about winning an "all-out" victory during the years of World War II that our attention has been focused and our interest centered upon mass behavior. We speak of the world as having gone mad. But madness is a malady of the human mind. The world outside cannot go mad; only the world inside is capable of sanity and insanity. We talk of the Government’s having full responsibility for making all the decisions. But the Government is not an abstraction. It is composed of individuals. And ...

4549. Your Image of Tomorrow

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Mann

"Among those who are born of women ..." If you are thinking of the human race, this is a rather inclusive statement; I can’t think of very many people it leaves out! And this is a statement of Jesus as he offers a summa cum laude of highest praise to one of his associates in the dissemination of truth and light. He says, "Among those who are born of women, there has not arisen a greater prophet than John the Baptizer" (Matthew 11:11; Luke 7:28). What was it that was so great about John - this son of ...

4550. The Time of Our Visitation

Sermon

Leonard Mann

You know how it was that Jesus of Nazareth began his career as a teacher and public figure in Galilee. You know how John came out of the wilderness and preached to the people who gathered around him on the banks of the Jordan. You know how for many long centuries the Jewish people had looked for the coming of their Messiah. When John appeared, their scholars speculated that perhaps this impassioned wilderness man might, actually be the Expected One. They sent their representatives to inquire of him ...

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