Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4626 to 4650 of 4935 results

4626. Love Your Enemies Doesn’t Mean Don’t Make Any

Matthew 21:23-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Mike Rowe has made a career out of doing disgusting stuff. As the host of the Discovery Channel series “Dirty Jobs,” Rowe would muck-out, dig under, flush, slog, and slide through some of the most filthy and foul places on the planet. But whether he has been hanging from rafters or slipping through sewers, Rowe consistently showed his viewers how even the most grungy, grimy, gross job still has its own dirty dignity. Rowe always offered respect to those who were “showing him the ropes,” whether they were ...

4627. Where's Dad?

Matthew 2:13-18

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

Theme: Parenting, fathering (A preaching subject may be on Joseph as a fatherly role model.) Characters: Brad Nelson Bowling Alley Proprietor Stranger Tone: Thoughtful, emotionally painful Setting/Props: Bowling alley setting with bowling balls Table and chairs Soda Telephone Approximate time: 5-7 minutes (Brad Nelson is sitting at a table sipping a soda. Bowling alley noises are heard in the background along with recorded Christmas carols. Bowling Alley Proprietor approaches Brad.) Proprietor: Can I get ...

4628. Watch Your Step

Mark 6:1-6

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

There are two types of travelers. There are those that travel light; and, there are those who pack for self-preservation. Do you take a small bag with the basic essentials and figure you’ll pick stuff up as you go? Or do you cram everything you can into every corner of an extra-large expandable bag, making sure that whatever comes your way on your trip, you are prepared? Parents traveling with small children embody both extremes. They bring enough “kid gear,” emergency medicines, food and drink boxes, ...

4629. Mary AND Martha, Heart AND Home

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

On 10 July 2013 someone posted a YouTube video. Three days later it had 5 million hits. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD6wdrVFc0g The one minute clip shows an amazing life-or-death race. It was shot by some Krueger Park tourists on safari in South Africa. Routinely and sternly, visitors to the park are told to stay in their vehicles at all times. But tourists being tourists, you know the rest of the story. The video shows cars parked along the access road with all their windows and doors ...

4630. You Are God's Child

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

Do You Know Who You Are? A hitchhiker was trying to get a ride one night in Los Angles. A car pulled over to pick him up. When the hitchhiker got into the car he saw the face of the driver and recognized him. The driver was film star Michael Douglas! The hitchhiker was shocked and all he could think to say to Michael Douglas was, “Do you know who you are?” That’s our theme for today: Do you know who you are? I am thrilled to be able to tell you by the power vested in me as a minister of the Gospel who you ...

4631. Jehoram King of Judah

2 Chronicles 21:4-20

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

Jehoram: The previous three kings, Abijah, Asa, and Jehoshaphat, were (mainly) positive role models of the Davidic kingship in both Chronicles and Kings. (For darker episodes, see the turn of events in Asa’s and Jehoshaphat’s reigns in 16:1–14 and 20:35–37, respectively.) However, the Chronicler even enhanced their exemplary profiles with some of his own material. The same does not apply to Jehoram’s history. His portrayal is very negative, with the ominous note already sounding early in the narrative: “he ...

4632. Israelites Fight the Benjamites

Judges 20:1-48

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

Civil War in Israel: The book of Judges begins with war and ends with war. We would be mistaken, however, if we assume that the book’s structure is cyclical, since we have apparently come full circle back to where we started. While Judges 1 and 20 do share some common features, the major difference is not to be ignored. Judges 1 portrays a holy war against foreign peoples, and Judges 20 deals with holy war against a tribe of Israelites, fellow members of the covenant community. The similarity between the ...

4633. Ahijah's Prophecy Against Jeroboam

1 Kings 14:1-20

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

The End of Jeroboam: Jeroboam had been promised a dynasty like David’s (1 Kgs. 11:38). His desire to have also a temple like David’s, however, has led him into disobedience—and we have seen in chapter 13 what happens to the disobedient. First Kings 14:1–20 now describes to us the consequences of Jeroboam’s attempt to possess the two “houses” he wanted instead of the one he was promised, and they do so in a way that makes clear the essential differences between the two kings. 14:1–5 We begin on familiar ...

4634. Saul’s Finest Hour

1 Sam 11:1-15

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

Big Idea: The Lord alone is his people’s Savior and source of security. Understanding the Text In chapter 10 we read of how the Lord gave Israel a king yet placed limitations on him (v. 25). However, not everyone was pleased with this arrangement or with the Lord’s choice of a king (v. 27). Indeed, hesitant Saul appeared to be an unlikely candidate for the job; his apparent qualifications were only superficial. The chapter ends in tension. Would Saul be an effective leader and deliver Israel from their ...

4635. “When You Ascended on High, You Took Many Captives”

Psalm 68:1-35

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: The story of God’s redeeming grace gives us the sense of being present on the journey. Understanding the Text There is no virtue in trying to make a difficult psalm sound easy. It is widely agreed that Psalm 68 is textually and theologically one of the most difficult psalms in the Psalter. Yet most scholars agree that there is a story line that stretches through the psalm, a condensed history of Israel—or we should probably say, of Yahweh’s presence with Israel—from Egypt to Zion. The action on ...

4636. No Longer Orphans

John 14:15-21

Sermon

King Duncan

The Rev. Dr. Stephen Hayner was the president of Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA. Dr. Hayner told a beautiful story about a young teacher he met several years ago in Uganda by the name of Christine Nakalema. Christine grew up in a rural village in Bokeka. When she was five years old and her sister Harriet was seven and her little brother was four, their parents both died within three months of each other of AIDS. The three siblings lived for nearly two years on their own. They had no parents, ...

4637. Jesus Sends Out the Twelve

Luke 9:1-9

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

This section is made up of the sending of the Twelve (vv. 1–6) and Herod’s perplexity about Jesus’ identity and the meaning of his ministry (vv. 7–9). It is probably legitimate to combine these two parts (derived from Mark 6:7–29 and portions of the sayings source) since Luke may have intended Herod’s question to be viewed against Jesus’ Galilean ministry as it reaches its climax in the sending of his men to preach and to heal, the very things that Jesus has been doing since Luke 4. Luke 9 is for the ...

4638. The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

Luke 16:1-15

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

This section includes the Parable of the Shrewd Manager (vv. 1–8a) and various sayings of Jesus related to the parable or to the topic of money in general (vv. 8b–13). This material is for the most part unique to Luke (although Luke 16:13=Matt. 6:24) and contributes to the Lucan concern over proper use of wealth. 16:1–8a Few of the parables of Jesus have puzzled readers of the Gospel more than the Parable of the Shrewd Manager. The main question has to do with why the rich man would commend his dishonest ...

4639. Surrendering to God’s Inescapable, All-Searching Presence

Psalm 139:1-24

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Psalm 139 is perhaps the most intimate of psalms. It displays a striking awareness of God’s interest in individuals. Understanding this psalm as a whole is key to its interpretation. At first it appears to be a meditation on God’s omniscience (vv. 1–6), omnipresence (vv. 7–12), and omnipotence (vv. 13–15). But the sudden shift from sublime wonder at God’s determined interest in the speaker to a denunciation of “the wicked” (vv. 19–22) sounds like an impulsive change of subject. Why are the wicked brought ...

4640. Jesus: The Original Superhero?

John 18:33-37

Sermon

April Yamasaki

When Warner Brothers released the latest Superman movie, part of its promotion included a special online Pastor Resource Site on the Man of Steel. Critics complained it was one more blatant Hollywood attempt to use pastors and churches to market a movie, complete with free screenings for pastors, sermon notes, and movie clips. Promotion aside, is it even appropriate to compare Jesus to Superman? Even if we think of him as "the original superhero," doesn't the term itself reduce Jesus from Christ the King ...

4641. The Three Bs

Luke 3:1-22, Psalm 29

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

Barbara Brown Taylor tells a story about her grandmother Lucy. Lucy would often get strange looks from others. She had lost both her legs to diabetes and had wooden stumps where limbs should be. Her weak eyes demanded that she wear dark glasses and most of the time she dressed like a bomber pilot. But to her granddaughters, Lucy was wonderful. Whenever Barbara would visit her grandmother, grace would abound. In the closet would be wrapped packages — enough for a surprise each day of the visit. The meals ...

4642. Can't vs. Can Do Attitudes

Philippians 4:10-20

Illustration

Unknown, Edited by Brett Blair

CAN'T CAN DO We've never done it before...............We have the opportunity to be first It's too complicated...........................Let's look at it from a different angle We don't have the resources............Necessity is the mother of invention It will never work...............................We'll give it a try There's not enough time...................We'll reevaluate some priorities We already tried it.............................We learned from the experience There's no way it will work ...

4643. The Good Yoke

Matthew 11:25-30, 1 Kings 19:1-8, 1 Kings 19:9-18, 1 Kings 19:19-21

Sermon

Lori Wagner

What kind of yoke are you wearing today? Not this kind you say! Are you sure? Indeed, we may not get up in the morning and fit ourselves into a wooden harness like the one you see here –although sometimes our clothing may feel like that if we’ve gained a few pounds, no? But we all do bear a yoke. We yoke ourselves to ideas, concepts, issues, material things, relationships, belief systems. Our yokes in a sense bear the markings of those identities that we are willing to take on as our own identity, the ...

4644. Daddy's Love

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

King Duncan

Some first graders were asked to draw a picture of God in their Sunday school class. Their finished products contained some interesting theology. One child depicted God in the form of a brightly colored rainbow. Another presented him as an old man coming out of the clouds. An intense little boy drew God with a remarkable resemblance to Superman. The best entry, however, came from a little girl. She said, “I didn’t know what God looked like, so I just drew a picture of my daddy.” (1) Today is Father’s Day. ...

4645. Prisoners of Hope

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

We humans are really good at excuses. We’ve had lots of practice since Adam and Eve started the ball rolling by first blaming each other, then the serpent, and finally even blaming God for their rebellion against their Creator. Give us enough time and we can justify or rationalize away just about anything we do, especially when it comes to our relationship with God. Let me give you a true-life example. A number of years ago, our family went white water rafting down the New River in West Virginia. At one ...

4646. Don't Worry--Give Thanks

Matthew 6:25-33

Sermon

King Duncan

What are you worried about today? If you are like most people, you are probably worried about your weight. That might not be at the top of your list, but according to a survey by Beneden Health in the United Kingdom, that’s the # 1 concern for most people. Here are the Top Ten Worries according to this survey (counting down from #10 to #1): 10. Diet 9. Job security 8. Rent/mortgage payment 7. Credit card debt 6. Low energy level 5. Overdrafts and loans 4. Overall fitness 3. Lack of savings/financial future ...

4647. The Readiness Potential

Luke 21:25-36

Sermon

Lori Wagner

What’s your RP? That is the prime question as we get ready for Advent. In other words: “Are you ready?” RP is the abbreviation for “Readiness Potential,” a term in cognitive science which technically stands for your brain’s potential readiness which precedes volitional action, the brain signal linked to voluntary movement, your awareness or readiness that occurs before conscious intention. Sounds complicated. But it’s actually not. It simply means that humans have a kind of preparation or expectation that ...

4648. The Accounting

Luke 16:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Repentance is an interesting thing. It sometimes requires an equally interesting or unusual catalyst. Sometimes what appears to be a terrible occasion can turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to you. Ever lose a job and then an amazing door opens? Ever go through a terrible ordeal in which something you had done, whether intentional or not, has come back to bite you? And then suddenly you realize, you’ve been giving your loyalty to the wrong thing, the wrong people, the wrong goals the entire ...

4649. Singing the Lord's Song

1 John 3:16-24

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A father took his little girl to Church for the very first time. After the service he asked her if she liked it. She replied, "I liked the music, but the commercial was too long." I promise that this mornings commercial won't be very long. We are celebrating Heritage Sunday. As Methodists part of our heritage is music. So this morning, I would like to take Wesley's directions for singing and interpret them for everyday life through this passage from John's first letter. In 3:18 John writes: "Little ...

4650. Weeds

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Sermon

William G. Carter

One summer day, it was my turn to mow the yard. The dew had burned off, the grass was dry. I fired up the Briggs and Stratton, lowered the blade, and took it for a spin. The job took about 45 minutes and it was done. Yet as I circled the front yard for the first time, I realized my lawn is full of weeds. Now I knew there were a few. A weed-and-feed expedition earlier in the spring eliminated most of the dandelions. It seems other undesirables have invaded our plot of land. That is a big deal in the town ...

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