Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 451 to 475 of 2332 results

451. Preparing For A Royal Visit

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... Isaiah wrote centuries before: The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be ... that the prophet Isaiah wrote centuries before: "A voice cries: 'In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground ...

452. Surprises

Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

Timothy Smit

... told this to were amused at the thought that God would choose lowly Bethlehem. Why would God choose Bethlehem? It was an unlikely choice. Bethlehem was just a small, grubby little town in the middle of a dry and barren desert. To get to Bethlehem persons had to travel through the desert. The people of Bethlehem weren't the most friendly people on earth either. They looked on their neighbors with suspicion and on strangers with hatred. You might have thought that God would have chosen one of the more popular ...

453. It's A Wonderful Life

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... encounter a Santa with a strong Christian faith who could give her a word of assurance in her time of need. That is what Christmas is all about hope to the hopeless. AND IT IS ABOUT HEALING FOR THE HURTING. Listen again to the words of Isaiah: "The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the ...

454. We Haven't Seen Anything Yet!

1 Corinthians 2:9

Sermon

King Duncan

... buy a nice tie?” the salesman asks. “What would I want with a necktie?” the man growls. “All I want is a drink of water.” The salesman has no water, so the poor man keeps crawling across the sand. Miraculously, out in the middle of that vast desert, he comes upon a beautiful restaurant. At first he thinks it’s a mirage, but as he moves closer he sees that it is real. With his last ounce of energy he struggles up to the entrance of that beautiful restaurant and says to the doorman. “Please, I ...

455. Waiting For The Angels

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... to find the easy way through. We all have to deal with the Temptor. It may be, in fact, that temptation is essential to our spiritual development. We struggle with our passions, our human drives, and out of that struggle comes character. In the stories of the Desert Fathers there is one concerning Abbot John the Dwarf. Abbot John prayed to the Lord that all passion be taken from him. His prayer was granted. He became impassible. In this condition he went to one of the elders and said: "You see before you a ...

456. Rise Above It

Hebrews 4:14-5:10

Sermon

King Duncan

... 'm in favor of it." That's a joke for football fans. What life does to us sometimes, however, is no joke. Pain is an inevitable part of life. SOME PAIN MAY EVEN BE ESSENTIAL FOR OUR EMOTIONAL AND SPIRITUAL GROWTH. All sunshine makes a desert we say. Lucy was essentially right in her advice to Charlie Brown. Some adversity does build character. Consider the unique situation of birds in New Zealand, for example. That island nation has more flightless birds, I understand, than any other country on earth. Among ...

457. Entering Into The Agony

Galatians 6:11-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... to eat and you can be on your way. " The traveler was puzzled. "Why don’t you just go into the town and buy yourself something to eat?" he asked. The man said with a tone of despair in his voice, "I would be shot as a deserter." Then he blurted out how he had deserted from the ranks of the confederate army and had tried to cross over into union territory but had been turned back. Now he lived in terrible fear that he would be captured and die before a firing squad. "Haven’t you heard" asked the stranger ...

458. Surprised On The Mountaintop

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... visit, but the plane that carried him to the glacier was unable to bring him back. Since it was getting late Charles and Izzy, a photographer who worked with him would have to spend the night. Charles admits a feeling of fear swept over him in that strange deserted place. There was a cabin on the mountain not too far from where they were, their pilot told them. They would be able to spend the night there. The men hiked for nearly an hour before they found the simple cabin. The cabin was small, six-sided and ...

459. Getting Your Attention

John 2:12-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... Christ and serving him, there is the temple of the living God. Billy Graham tells of his son Franklin's experience in the Middle East. Franklin was visiting a camp which held nationals from Kuwait. These people had traveled for days across the hot burning desert in buses. He noticed a woman who looked very distressed. She had small children around her. As Franklin began talking with her he discovered that she had given birth to a baby just three days before she and her family were evacuated from Kuwait. The ...

460. Christian Living As It's Meant To Be

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

King Duncan

... sake of her soul, he made a difference in her life. A real difference. Christ calls us to accept others: their strengths as well as their weaknesses, the sinful as well as the righteous, prostitutes as well as pastors. The story is told of a traveler crossing the desert who came at nightfall to a small tent where he asked for food and shelter. "What do you call your god?" the host asked. When the traveler replied that he did not believe in God, the man turned him away. The Lord appeared to the tent dweller ...

461. What Goes Around Comes Around

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... buildings and construct a modern complex with luxury condominiums and a mall. "What about the people living down there?" one of his employees asks him. "What people?" Goddard Bolt asks, "There are only old deserted buildings." What he doesn't take into account are the homeless people living in those "old deserted buildings" and in the alleys. A wager is made that Brook's character cannot live among the street people for thirty days. He accepts this wager. While he is living on the streets, he learns ...

462. Trees

Jeremiah 16:1--17:18

Sermon

King Duncan

... strength. So, when the strong winds come, they hold each other up. I wish we were that wise. It's like a parable about a voyaging ship that was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert-like island. The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agreed that they had no other recourse but to pray to God. However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island. The ...

463. How Many Times?

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

King Duncan

A woman with fourteen children, ages one through fourteen, sued her husband for divorce on the grounds of desertion. "When did he desert you?" the judge asked. "Thirteen years ago," she replied. "If he left thirteen years ago, where did all these children come from?" asked the judge. "Oh," said the woman, "he kept coming back to say he was sorry." Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I ...

464. Would You Please Listen To Me?

John 1:19-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.'" John drives this point home by altering the wording slightly: "I AM the voice of one calling in the desert, "˜Make straight the way for the Lord.'" Don't they get it? It's not about me, John is saying. Who cares who I am? I'm telling you about the Messiah. That's the whole point. "I baptize with water," John replies, "but among you stands one you ...

465. Choices

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... a year, their business was out of debt and growing. (4) "Today's challenges and crises are tomorrow's credentials." Jesus faced down the most seductive lies in Satan's arsenal, and he did it by relying solely on God's word. And when Jesus emerged from the desert, he did so in triumph, ready to preach the good news of the coming of God's kingdom. Jesus had shown that he was fully ready for the ministry to which God had called him. By enduring this challenge, he had earned his credentials. A few years ago ...

466. If God Is For Us

Romans 8:28-39

Sermon

King Duncan

... was where God always is--working in the lives of people to fulfill God's sacred promises. Pharaoh and all his armies could not hold captive those whom God determined to free. There they go, led forth by the hands of Moses and Aaron. They cross the desert until they come to a sea--the Red Sea. The mighty sea billows before them. Pharoah's armies are gaining fast--but the Lord has made a promise. Thus the sea divides and the children of Israel march uncertainly but safely on. Now they are in the wilderness ...

467. A Visit To Millennium Manor

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... the final strategic push. Major Halt prayed, Dear God, help me lead my troops wisely. Watch over us and keep us safe. He walked from one group of soldiers to the next, talking to them about the mission and trying to keep their spirits up. The harsh desert wind was at their backs as these Marines wrote what would possibly be their last letters home. Just before dawn the next day, Major Halt gave the order to move out. The skies were clear as they loaded their gear into the Humvees and advanced toward the ...

468. Streams Of Living Waters

Psalm 16:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... listen to the message, and after the benediction, they leave their seats and they leave God behind as well. Please don't misunderstand me. They don't go out and commit gross sin. No, they're good and decent people. The tragedy is that they are living in a desert, when they could be living beside a stream of living water. If they would perceive God's presence at work, at play, at home, as they perceive Him in that hour of worship, what a difference it could make in their lives. Come to grips with the sin in ...

469. When Did We See You?

Ezekiel 34:1-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... send me? Some oak for me to rend; some sod, Some rock for me to break; Some handful of His corn to take And scatter far afield, Till it, in turn, shall yield Its hundredfold Of grains of gold To feed the waiting children of my God? Show me the desert, Father, or the sea; Is it Thine enterprise? Great God, send me. When did we see you? Open your eyes, my friends. The opportunity to see Christ lies all about each of us. 1. Thanks to Dr. John Bardsley for this illustration. 2. From a sermon by Dr. Joe Harding ...

470. He Calms The Storms

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

King Duncan

... that has helped many people regain their perspective on life: "two men looked out through prison bars. One saw mud, the other saw stars." The young woman took the hint. She began to find ways to make friends with her neighbors. She became somewhat of an authority on desert plants and eventually wrote a book about them. As Robert Schuller would put it, "she turned her scars into stars." It's not nearly so important what happens to you as it is what happens in you. I hope it doesn't seem that I am minimizing ...

471. Preparing the Way

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is written in Isaiah the prophet: ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way a voice of one calling in the desert, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan ...

472. To Care for the Earth

Leviticus 25:1-7

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

... it. The former we have done with diligence. The latter we have regarded with dangerous neglect. INDEED A VERY GOOD CASE CAN BE MADE THAT WE ARE DESTROYING THE VERY LAND, WATER AND AIR UPON WHICH WE DEPEND FOR SURVIVAL. Unless you have been living on a desert isle the past few years, you are aware of the scope of the problem. One study shows that the United States alone generates 150,000,000 metric tons of hazardous waste each year. That includes nuclear wastes that can remain deadly for 250,000 years. We ...

473. Who Counted the Fish?

John 21:1-14, John 21:15-25

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... East in Biblical times and even today, the way you become reconciled with your enemies is to share a meal with them. For a while it seemed as though Jesus’ closest friends had become His enemies. Peter had denied Him, and “All of (the rest of) them deserted Him and fled,” according to the Gospels. (Mark 14:50) But Jesus was still their Friend, and he invited them to break bread with Him on the seashore in the epilogue of the Fourth Gospel. This is what is called the “Meal Covenant.” In the Hebrew ...

474. On Panicking Close to Shore

John 6:16-24

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... and gives life to the world. There are all kinds of parallels to John’s narrative to be found in the Psalms, especially Psalms 77 And 78, but the most striking parallels are to be found in Psalm 107. There we are told of a people wandering hungry in desert wastes. The Lord fills them (the exact same word that John uses). Some go down to the sea in ships, a stormy wind comes up, the people are frightened and cry to the Lord for help, and the Lord delivers them to safe haven. Of course, we cannot prove ...

475. Afraid of Sanity

Mark 5:1-20

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... in his right mind...they were afraid!” (v.15) III. DO YOU SEE WHAT MARK IS SAYING? THEY WERE AFRAID OF SANITY! Craziness they could live with, but not sanity. 1600 years ago there was a group of early Christians, known as the “Desert Fathers...monks who lived in the Egyptian desert seeking in solitude to be closer to Christ. Some of them got pretty weird, living out there all alone. But one of them, perhaps the most famous and wisest of them all, a man named Anthony, made a prediction for the future. He ...

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