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 4851 to 4875 of 4943 results

4851. A Birthday Celebration

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

A mother took her three-year-old daughter to church for the first time. The church was having a special candlelight service. The church lights were lowered; then the choir came down the aisle, carrying lighted candles. All was quiet until this three-year-old started to sing in a loud voice, "Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you . . ." (1) It was only a candlelight service, but it seemed like a birthday party to her. And today [tonight], she would be right! This is a celebration of Jesus' birthday. ...

4852. Christmas Brings Us A New Heart

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

John Pugh

Christmas is a hectic time. One writer on the financial page, commented that our society has been racing through its prosperity so fast we have lost sight of any destination. But Christmas is also a special time defined by gift giving. A kindly 90-year-old grandmother found buying presents for family and friends a bit much one Christmas, so she wrote out checks for all of them to put in their Christmas cards. In each card she carefully wrote, "œBuy your own present" and then sent them off. After the ...

4853. Hurting People Hurt People

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

King Duncan

"Hurting people hurt people," says John Maxwell, and it's true! A father and son walking together in the woods came upon an animal that had been caught in a hunter's trap. The animal was in obvious distress. The son rushed forward to free the animal, but his father stopped him. "Son," he said, "Be careful. A hurt animal will bite those close around--even someone who is trying to help him." What's true of animals is true of people. Hurting people hurt people. We've all seen parents under too much stress ...

4854. Behind Closed Doors

Joel 2:12-17

Sermon

King Duncan

We have come behind closed doors this night. In a few minutes we will have the cross of Christ applied to our foreheads. This ceremony is not for public display. It is for those who love Christ, not for the world outside. This is the one time in the year when we hide our light under a bushel, as it were. Ash Wednesday could be a dangerous time spiritually. It could be a time when we parade our piety for others to see. How inappropriate that would be. Our Lord said, "Beware of practicing your piety before ...

4855. When You're Dreaming One Thing And Living Another

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

King Duncan

Imagine a computer programming class. A young man and a young woman are facing each other working at computers. The computers, of course, sit back to back. A few minutes into the class, the young woman leaves the room; whereupon the young man reaches between their computers and switches the inputs for the keyboards. The young woman comes back and starts typing. Immediately gets a distressed look on her face. She calls the teacher over and explains that no matter what she types, nothing happens. The teacher ...

4856. Extreme Sports, Extreme Fashions, Extreme Faith

1 Samuel 3:1--4:1

Sermon

King Duncan

A high school drama class was performing at a local theater. Somehow an accident occurred and a hole was cracked in the stage floor. Carefully the performers avoided the damaged area until little Joey, juggling bowling pins, accidentally stepped through the hole up to his knee. He apologized to the audience for his clumsiness which caused a heckler to shout, "Don't worry, Joey . . . It's just a STAGE you're going through!" We all go through stages, don't we? One of the stages that Generation X seems to be ...

4857. Surprise!

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

King Duncan

A man wrote into Reader's Digest with an embarrassing story about his former boss. This gentleman was just stepping out of the shower one evening when his wife called and asked him to run down to the basement and turn off the iron she had accidentally left on. Without bothering to grab a towel or robe, the man headed down to the basement. Just as he reached the bottom stair, the lights came on and a dozen friends and colleagues jumped out and shouted, “Surprise!" His wife had planned a secret party for the ...

4858. Living In Sin Or Synergy?

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

King Duncan

One of the most exciting buzz words in business today is the word "synergy." According to the principle of synergy, when two or more people work together, the total effect of their work is greater than if they had been working independently. For example, one horse can pull 2 tons by itself. That means two horses working separately will be able to pull 4 tons, 2 tons per horse. But when two horses are teamed together, we are told they can pull 18 tons. That's synergy. Here's another example. Suppose you ...

4859. Beaten Up, But Still Standing

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

King Duncan

Pat Kelly, a major league outfielder in the '70s, was a born-again Christian. One day Pat said to his manager, Earl Weaver, "Aren't you glad I walk with the Lord, Earl?" Weaver replied, "I'd rather you walked with the bases loaded." When one football coach was asked about his offensive team's execution he replied, "I'm all for it." Sports are popular because they are a metaphor for our life experience. You win some, you lose some. Sometimes you feel like the champion of the world. Sometimes you just feel ...

4860. Faith In Conflict

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Eric Ritz

In 1987, Chuck Colson wrote a book titled KINGDOMS IN CONFLICT. Colson was a mover and shaker in the Presidency of Richard Nixon. He was known as Nixon's hatchet man. And he went to jail for his role in the Watergate scandal. While in prison Colson had a genuine conversion experience and today he is a leading spokesperson for evangelical Christianity. He has first-hand experience of kingdoms in conflict. Our story from Mark's Gospel concerns a man caught in a conflict. His name is Herod. Thinking about ...

4861. Balancing Act

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon

King Duncan

A lady opened her refrigerator and saw a rabbit sitting on one of the shelves. "What are you doing in there?" she asked. The rabbit replied: "This refrigerator is a Westinghouse, isn't it?" To which the lady replied "Yes." "Well," the rabbit said, "I'm westing." I guess everybody needs a westinghouse. Everyone needs a quiet spot--a place that they can get away to recharge the batteries, to re-nourish the spirit. In the 1970s, Michael Caine and Sidney Poitier co-starred in the movie Zulu, which was shot in ...

4862. Where Are Your Chickens?

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

A few years ago, a pastor named Harry told about an unusual mission from God. He always began his mornings with prayer. One morning during his prayer time, Harry felt that God was leading him to fulfill a very specific mission: to buy twelve barbecued chickens. Harry didn't know what God wanted him to do with the barbecued chickens, so he drove around town praying and asking God to lead him to people who needed food. He sensed God leading him to five different homes in different parts of town. In one home ...

4863. A Devastating Storm, An Incredible Promise

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

Brett Blair

Announcing itself with shrieking, 130-mph winds, Hurricane Harvey slammed into the Gulf Coast, dumping more than 40 inches of rain over a four-day period, submerging entire neighborhoods up to their roofs. In the days before expected landfall, the Governor or Texas warned that the monster system would be “a very major disaster,” and the forecasts drew fearful comparisons to Hurricane Katrina, one of the deadliest ever to strike the United States. In the aftermath, Harvey is being called a disaster of ...

4864. When the Best People Were Left Out

Matthew 21:28-32

Sermon

King Duncan

There is a wonderful story about a group of military leaders who succeeded in building a super computer that was able to solve any problem large or small, strategic or tactical. These military leaders assembled in front of the new machine for a demonstration. The engineer conducting the demonstration instructed these officers to feed a difficult tactical problem into it. The military leaders proceeded to describe a hypothetical situation to the computer and then asked the pivotal question: attack or ...

4865. Building A Life

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

King Duncan

In a park on the beautiful island of Bermuda there is a rock hanging on a rope with a large sign beside it. The sign reads: “Weather Station . . . Check the Rock . . . If it's wet, it's raining . . . If it's moving, it's windy . . . If you can't see it, it's foggy . . . If the rock is gone, it's a hurricane." Today we check the Rock . . . or better yet, to use the language of our text from I Peter, the Stone--the Cornerstone on which our lives are built. We read, “As you come to him, the living Stone-- ...

4866. Worriers Or Warriors?

John 14:15-31

Sermon

King Duncan

A commercial airline pilot on one occasion made a particularly bad landing. The wheels of the big jet hit the runway with a jarring thud. Afterward, the airline had a policy, which required that the pilot stand at the door while the passengers exited. He was to give each of them a smile and say, "Thanks for flying with us today." In light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment, but no one seemed annoyed. Finally everyone ...

4867. How To Love

John 15:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

You can learn things being around children. Here are some truths one father learned: There is no such thing as child-proofing your house. You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long ways. Glass windows (even double pane) don't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan. If you use a waterbed as a home plate while wearing baseball shoes, it does not leak. It explodes. A king-size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2,000 sq. ft. house almost 4 inches ...

4868. Building A Church

Acts 1:12-26

Sermon

King Duncan

The rest of the world must surely marvel at the nature of religion in America. For example, you may have read in the newspapers sometime back about the newly formed Positive Impact Church in South Centre, Pa. According to Associated Press reports this church advertised a raffle. Two thousand people signed up. Apparently they didn't read the fine print. They had to attend Sunday services to be eligible to win the prize of $1,000. Only about 30 showed up. "Where are all the people?" asked the minister, ...

4869. People Who Inspire Us

2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever noticed that sometimes life can be a little hard? Coming home from his Little League game, a little boy swung open the front door very excited. Unable to attend the game, his father immediately wanted to know what happened. “So, how did you do, son?" he asked. “You'll never believe it!" the young fellow replied. “I was responsible for the winning run!" “Really?" asked his father. “How'd you do that?" Said the little boy, “I dropped the ball." One day in 1990, actress Michelle Pfeiffer was in ...

4870. Is It Time To Tear Down Our Church?

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

King Duncan

Pastor Daniel Bohlman had a problem. The front of his new church was very small only enough room for a pulpit. When a prominent member died, Bohlman had to figure out where to place the coffin for viewing. The most reasonable place seemed to be in the back of the church, where there was more room. All they needed to do was move out one of the back pews for the funeral service, then replace it afterwards. Problem solved or so Pastor Bohlman thought. But certain members of the church were outraged that ...

4871. Take This Job And Love It

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Sermon

King Duncan

Ignace Paderewski, the famous Polish pianist, made his first tour of the U.S. in 1891. He soon won over American audiences with his powerful playing. In one concert in New York, Paderewski severely injured his hand. The injury, which caused him to lose the use of one of his fingers, left him in constant pain, but he insisted on continuing his tour. In all, he played 107 concerts on that tour. In 1892, Paderewski returned to the States for a second successful concert tour. At one point on this tour, he ...

4872. Held Hostage

John 18:28-40

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever thought how you would handle it if you were held captive? There have been endless television shows and movies about hostage situations. Have you ever thought how you would handle it if you were taken captive? Would you be the tough guy resisting your captors each step of the way? Would you be the hero looking for the opportunity to sneak up behind one of the bad guys and take his gun? Would you look for a forgotten passageway where you could escape? History is full of exciting stories of ...

4873. The Tenth Man

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

King Duncan

A 4-year-old boy was asked to return thanks before Thanksgiving dinner. His family bowed their heads in expectation. He began his prayer, thanking God for all his friends, naming them one by one. Then he thanked God for Mommy, Daddy, brother, sister, Grandma, Grandpa, and all his aunts and uncles. Then he began to thank God for the food. He gave thanks for the turkey, the dressing, the fruit salad, the cranberry sauce, the pies, the cakes, even the Cool Whip. Then he paused, and everyone waited--and waited ...

4874. The Ultimate Solution For Sin

Mark 9:38-50

Sermon

King Duncan

In 1939, a coast guard vessel was cruising the Canadian Arctic when the men spotted a polar bear stranded on an ice floe. It was quite a novelty for the seamen, who threw the bear salami, peanut butter, and chocolate bars. Then they ran out of the food. Unfortunately, the polar bear hadn't run out of appetite, so he proceeded to board their vessel. The men on ship were terrified and opened the fire hoses on the bear. The polar bear loved it and raised his paws in the air to get the water under his armpits ...

4875. Insincere Religion

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

King Duncan

Groucho Marx was once asked to review a book. He wrote the author and said, "From the moment I picked up your book until the moment I put it down, I was convulsed with laughter." Then Groucho added: "Someday I hope to read it." That sounds like something Pat Williams, General Manager of the Orlando Magic Basketball team, said about Shaquille O'Neil after Shaq insisted he be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. "I admire Shaq," said Williams, "Besides playing basketball, he is now making movies and writing ...

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