Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 451 to 475 of 900 results

451. Love Requires Commitment

John 21:15-25

Illustration

Brett Blair

Three little boys were arguing about whose mom loved them more. The first boy said, "My mom loves me more because when I gave her a quarter, she gave it back to me and told me to go buy a piece of candy." The second little boy said that his mom loved him more. He argued, "My mom loves me more because if I gave her a quarter, she would give me two quarters back and tell me to go buy two pieces of ...

452. Love the Questions

Luke 20:27-40

Illustration

Brett Blair

Rainer Maria Rilke's was a famous German poet and correspondent with an aspiring American poet. The letters were published in a book titled, "Letters to a Young Poet?" In the letter the "young poet" has many questions about their art form. Rilke doesn't mind. In fact she relishes the questions and says to the young poet: "Love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written ...

453. Love Those Who Pick On You

Luke 6:27-36

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

Exegetical Aim: How to respond when bullied. Props: None Lesson: We’re going to do something a little different today. I want all of you to pick on me. This will do two things: It will help us talk about today’s bible lesson and it will help remind me of my childhood. (laughter) Pretend like I am one of the kids in school or one of the kids in your neighborhood and here is the first thing I want y...

454. Magic Prayers

Luke 11:1-13

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

Exegetical Aim: To teach the children that prayer forms a relationship with God. Props: An empty wallet or purse. Lesson: Good morning. (response) Holding up the wallet/purse, thumb through it and show that it is empty. I want you to look at this! There's nothing in here. I need to do something about this empty wallet. Let's see ... what can I do about this? Show that you are thinking by tapping o...

455. Make Sure You Invite Jesus

John 2:1-11

Illustration

Brett Blair

Years ago when Johnny Carson was the host of The Tonight Show he interviewed an eight year old boy. The young man was asked to appear because he had rescued two friends in a coalmine outside his hometown in West Virginia. As Johnny questioned the boy, it became apparent to him and the audience that the young man was a Christian. So Johnny asked him if he attended Sunday school. When the boy said h...

456. Making Babies Cry

Mark 5:21-43

Illustration

Brett Blair

The Menninger Institute in Topeka, Kansas once had a fascinating experiment. They identified a group of crib babies who did not cry. Let me explain. It seems that babies cry because they instinctively know that this is the way to get attention. Crying is their way of calling out. These babies, however, had been in abusive situations. Their parents let hem cry for hours on end and never responded. ...

457. Making Beautiful Music

Illustration

Brett Blair

Legend has it that Antonio was an Italian boy who loved music, but whenever he tried to sing the music that was in his heart, it came out so badly that all his friends laughed at him. Next to singing, the boy loved to hear the violin. He had a pocketknife he always carried with him and he would whittle all sorts of things with it. One day Antonio learned that the greatest violin maker in all Italy...

458. Making Christmas Last

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Brett Blair

A cartoon in the New Yorker magazine said it all. In the middle of the floor is a dried up, withered, Christmas tree. The calendar on the wall reads December 26. Dad is sitting in his chair with an ice pack on his head. Mom is in a bathrobe and her hair in rollers. The floor is a virtual mountain of torn wrappings, boxes, and bows. Junior is reaching in his stocking to be sure that there is no mor...

459. Making Christmas Last - Sermon Starter

Luke 2:21-40

Illustration

Brett Blair

A cartoon in the New Yorker magazine says it all. In the middle of the floor is a dried up, withered, Christmas tree. The calendar on the wall reads December 26. Dad is sitting in his chair with an ice pack on his head. Mom is in a bathrobe and her hair in rollers. The floor is a virtual mountain of torn wrappings, boxes, and bows. Junior is reaching in his stocking to be sure that there is no mor...

460. Mary, Let's Go To The Barn

Luke 2:1-20; Matt 1:18-25

Illustration

Brett Blair

I love this story: A grade school class was putting on a Christmas play which included the story of Mary and Joseph coming to the inn. In that class was one little boy who wanted very much to be Joseph. But when the parts were handed out, his biggest rival was given that part, and he was assigned to be the inn keeper instead. He was really bitter about this. So during all the rehearsals he kept p...

461. Matthew’s Loss and Gain

Matthew 9:9-13

Illustration

Brett Blair

When Matthew made the decision to follow Christ he lost a great deal but William Barclay recognizes what he gained. He says: He lost a comfortable job, but he found a destiny. He lost a good income, but he found honor. He lost a comfortable security, but he found an adventure the like of which he had never dreamed. It may be that if we accept the challenge of Christ, we shall find ourselves poore...

462. Maundy Thursday: Seeing Ourselves in the Disciples

Matthew 26:17-30

Sermon

Brett Blair

We come together this evening to recall in our hearts and minds the events that occurred on Thursday of what the church calls Holy Week, the last week in the life of our Lord. One-third of all the events that we have about Jesus’ life occurred during this week: Reminding us of the great significance of these last days. The disciples have gathered in a home, whose we are not sure, but we do know th...

463. May I Take Your Order

John 6:1-15

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

Exegetical Aim: Jesus as miracle worker. Props: Small flip notebooks or order pads along with pencils or crayons. There should be enough for all the children. Lesson: Good Morning! (response) Hand out the Pencils and Pads. I want you to look out at the congregation. Look at all the people out there. How many do you think there are? (response) That’s a lot! Look at them. Turn to a couple of the c...

464. Megatrends Was Right

Illustration

Brett Blair

John Naisbitt book Megatrends was written in 1982. He opens the book with a chapter on society's explosive "megashift" from an industrial to an information society. Remember this is written in 1982. He said back then that the communication technology available for the sharing of information is almost magical. When President Lincoln was shot, Naisbitt says, it was five days before London heard the ...

465. Memorial Day

Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

Sermon

Brett Blair

Anwar Sadat, the late prime minister of Egypt, once noted that there were two experiences in life that were so traumatic, so far reaching in their scope, that having experienced them, one's life could never be quite the same. One was prison; the other was war. As we are gather here this morning, on the week of Memorial Day, I would like to address ourselves to the latter. While there are many wars...

466. Messages From God

Matthew 3:13-17

Illustration

Brett Blair

A few years ago there were billboards scattered throughout the United States with messages from God. Some guy had purchased the space and conducted an advertising campaign for God. Actually, the person responsible for these "Messages from God" chose to remain anonymous. The Smith Agency in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, launched the advertising campaign in September 1998. Andrew Smith, the agency's pre...

467. Miracles

Matthew 14:13-21

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

Exegetical Aim: To convey the compassion and power of Christ. Props: Two slices of bread and a plate. Lesson: Good morning! (response) This morning I have brought this bread to feed us. But first I need to know how many of us there are. Could you help me count? (response) All right everyone stand up and turn around and I want you to count everybody in the church. You might wish to send them out in...

468. Misleading Questions

Luke 20:27-38

Illustration

Brett Blair

Misleading Questions: Luke 20:1-2 Chief Priest and Elders question Jesus about his Authority Luke 20:20 Spies are sent to catch him in a slip of the tongue Luke 20:27-33 Sadducees All are insincere tricks but Jesus proves to be more than a match for his adversaries. With the third misleading question, the Sadducees try to expose the resurrection as a ridiculous theological concept by posing an ...

469. Missing the Obvious

Luke 14:25-35

Illustration

Brett Blair

Martin Marty, in "Context" (November 1997), spoke of a financial planner who observed after many years of advise giving "When clients talk to me about their estates, they usually say, 'If I die,' not 'when I die.' Even 80-year-olds use the conditional."

470. Mixed Metaphors

John 21:1-25

Illustration

Brett Blair

English professors love to catch mixed metaphors, when grading papers. Here's list from some students papers: He swept the rug under the carpet." She's burning the midnight oil at both ends." It was so cold last night I had to throw another blanket on the fire." It's time to step up to the plate and cut the mustard." She's robbing Peter to pay the piper." He's up a tree without a paddle." Beware ...

471. Monkey Business

Matthew 20:1-16

Illustration

Brett Blair

It seems that even monkeys, if they could read, would get indignant about this parable. In the Australian newspaper "The Melbourne Age," there was an intriguing report from the University of Atlanta called: "Monkeys want to see justice done." At the University of Atlanta, researchers have been testing capuchin monkeys. They gave them the task of picking up a small granite stone and bringing it to...

472. Monuments To Self

Luke 16:19-31

Illustration

Brett Blair

There is a strange group of tombstones in the Mount Hope Cemetery in Hiawatha, Kansas. A man named John Davis, a farmer and self-made man, had them erected. Davis began as a lowly hired hand and by sheer determination and frugality he managed to amass a considerable fortune. In the process, however, Davis didn't make many friends. When his wife died, Davis erected an elaborate statue in her memor...

473. Moses’ Seat

Matthew 23:1-12

Illustration

Brett Blair

The Jews had a tradition that stated that angels gave the law to Moses. Moses, in turn, passed it onto Joshua; Joshua passed it onto the elders; the elders passed it onto the prophets; and the prophets passed it onto those who led the synagogue, i.e., the Pharisees and the scribes. So, because the law originated with Moses, the position of being a teacher of God's law became known as Moses's eat. ...

474. Mother's Can Be Shrewd

2 Tim 1:5; 2 Ki 4:8-37

Illustration

Brett Blair

Former president Jimmy Carter spoke at Southern Methodist University and related an incident that occurred after he left the Whitehouse. A woman reporter came to Plains, Georgia, to interview his mother in relation to an article about Mr. Carter and his family. His mother really didn't want to be interviewed, but was being gracious. So when the reporter knocked at her door, Mrs. Carter invited her...

475. Mother's Day

Romans 16:1-27

Sermon

Brett Blair

I must candidly confess that when I was in seminary the 16th chapter of Paul's letter to the Romans didn't do much for me. It struck me as being boring nothing more than a long presentation of people's names, most of whom I could not pronounce; I usually skimmed over that part so I could get to what I considered to be the real Gospel. Over the years I have greatly changed my attitude about this pa...

Showing results

Showing 451 to 475 of 900 results

451. Love Requires Commitment

John 21:15-25

Illustration

Brett Blair

452. Love the Questions

Luke 20:27-40

Illustration

Brett Blair

453. Love Those Who Pick On You

Luke 6:27-36

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

454. Magic Prayers

Luke 11:1-13

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

455. Make Sure You Invite Jesus

John 2:1-11

Illustration

Brett Blair

456. Making Babies Cry

Mark 5:21-43

Illustration

Brett Blair

457. Making Beautiful Music

Illustration

Brett Blair

458. Making Christmas Last

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Brett Blair

459. Making Christmas Last - Sermon Starter

Luke 2:21-40

Illustration

Brett Blair

460. Mary, Let's Go To The Barn

Luke 2:1-20; Matt 1:18-25

Illustration

Brett Blair

461. Matthew’s Loss and Gain

Matthew 9:9-13

Illustration

Brett Blair

462. Maundy Thursday: Seeing Ourselves in the Disciples

Matthew 26:17-30

Sermon

Brett Blair

463. May I Take Your Order

John 6:1-15

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

464. Megatrends Was Right

Illustration

Brett Blair

465. Memorial Day

Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

Sermon

Brett Blair

466. Messages From God

Matthew 3:13-17

Illustration

Brett Blair

467. Miracles

Matthew 14:13-21

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

468. Misleading Questions

Luke 20:27-38

Illustration

Brett Blair

469. Missing the Obvious

Luke 14:25-35

Illustration

Brett Blair

470. Mixed Metaphors

John 21:1-25

Illustration

Brett Blair

471. Monkey Business

Matthew 20:1-16

Illustration

Brett Blair

472. Monuments To Self

Luke 16:19-31

Illustration

Brett Blair

473. Moses’ Seat

Matthew 23:1-12

Illustration

Brett Blair

474. Mother's Can Be Shrewd

2 Tim 1:5; 2 Ki 4:8-37

Illustration

Brett Blair

475. Mother's Day

Romans 16:1-27

Sermon

Brett Blair

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