Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 26 to 50 of 106 results

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

... a short time before "He was despised and rejected by men." Why? What had Jesus done? Who had he become that there were those to whom he became a threat? According to the information recorded about Jesus in the gospels, he was a man of almost flawless character. Perhaps this was the reason those who despised Jesus wanted to get rid of him and have him crucified. His goodness was a judgment upon their lack of righteousness. His love scorned their prejudice and hate. His devotion to God and to doing only God ...

27. What Do You Think You’re Worth?

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... dates I can handle. My grades are tops and I win everything I try for at school. Something has to be wrong with me because nobody’s perfect. What could it be?" With great wisdom and insight Ann Landers told her that her fault was that she was flawless. Haven’t you met a person who never does anything wrong? Never admits a mistake? Never says, "I am sorry"? If we are so good, then we will not believe in or practice self-control. This is often illustrated in parents who think that their little ones should ...

28. Our Unmanageable God (The Second Commandment)

Exodus 20:1-21, Ephesians 3:14-21

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... made a transcription error in copying the Bible, that does not bother me. And it does not make the Bible one bit less authoritative. We don't worship the book. We worship the God revealed by the book. If you want to identify something as perfect and flawless, point only to the God revealed in Jesus Christ. Some people allow their love for their CHURCH OR DENOMINATION to get out of hand, to the point that the church becomes an idol or God-substitute. But the Bible reminds us that "We have this treasure in ...

29. Is Someone Knocking?

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... only two words: "No room." And, after Mary said something, he was supposed to say a second time, "No room." Finally came the day of the performance and the pageant began to unfold. Mary and Joseph approached the inn and knocked on the door. The innkeeper opened the door and flawlessly proclaimed, "No room." Then Mary said, "But I'm tired and I'm sick and I'm about to have a baby. I must have a place for him to be born." Then she began to cry. Bob paused for a few moments and then said, "I know what I ...

30. What Is Heaven Like?

Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:31-35

Sermon

Brett Blair

... what heaven…the Kingdom of Heaven requires of its followers. I love this last parable because Jesus does not say the Kingdom of Heaven is like a pearl of great price. He says the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant, a merchant who finds a great deal on a flawless stone and does everything in his power to close the sale. That’s commitment to a greater cause. That’s sacrifice and hard work. That’s what heaven is like. Amen. 1. Douglas Hare, Interpretation, Matthew, John Knox, 1993, p. 157

31. See the Resemblance

John 1:1-18

Illustration

Larry Powell

... " and those who "despitefully use you," he gathered his words into action on Calvary. "Father, forgive them," he prayed. He taught so very much more, all of which was personified in his life. He showed that if the "good teacher" is flawlessly consistent, how much more consistent and loving must be our heavenly Father? d. In his resurrection. Here, God unmistakably reveals himself. His power is beyond imagination. His promises are made good. His intentions and purposes will not be overthrown. His actual ...

32. The Technicolor Sign

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

Larry Powell

... cup; see the granulated silver; see the restoration. Now transpose the articles. See the person we used to be; see the person we have become, diminished from our original potential, precipitating in varying degrees toward the bottom, bearing little resemblance to the flawless spirit with which we were endowed. See now the restoration. Yes! In the hands of the Creator, we too can be restored and sing with the Psalmist; "He leads me beside the still waters; he restores my soul." Our belief is not merely ...

33. Resuscitating An Iguana

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... with kids and parents. Suddenly all the children rushed to one side. Had it been a boat, the castle would have tipped over. Cinderella had entered. "Cinderella. The pristine princess. Kenny said she was perfectly typecast. A gorgeous young girl with each hair in place, flawless skin, and a beaming smile. She stood waist-deep in a garden of kids, each wanting to touch and be touched. "For some reason Kenny turned and looked toward the other side of the castle. It was now vacant except for a boy maybe seven ...

34. A Better Than Perfect Christmas

Philippians 4:4

Sermon

King Duncan

... people. Sadly, many people confuse such compulsiveness with Christianity. They take Jesus’ words to be perfect even as our Heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48) to mean that we are to be without a flaw. They forget that if it were possible for us to be flawless, Jesus would never have needed to go to the cross! It is heresy to expect such perfection in this world. Jesus doubtless meant that we are to be perfect in our love even as God’s very nature is love. Some of us may dislike bumper stickers ...

35. Would You Like To Hold The Baby?

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... ; she expressed no real positive emotion. He waited a few seconds, then he asked, "What do you think? Do you like it?" She responded, "I really don't see any improvement." Dr. Maltz said he was stunned. His surgery had been totally successful. Her face was flawless. So he asked, "Would you like to see the pictures of your face before the operation?" She looked at the "before" pictures, then surveyed her new face in the hand mirror. "It looks better," she admitted, "but I don't feel better!" Dr. Maltz wrote ...

36. God Spoke

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

King Duncan

... James Lovell and William Anders—left earth for a breathtaking voyage around the moon and back. Remember, this was 51 years ago. Within months other U.S astronauts would actually set foot on the moon, but this was the pioneering effort. The take-off was flawless. That is remarkable in itself considering the problems in our space program over the years. It is hard to realize how quickly back then we came to take the concept of space travel for granted. Those early successes seemed so easy. “This is Apollo ...

37. Lessons From The Locker Room

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

Lowell D. Streiker

... in our lives, too. Most athletes know what I am talking about. Studies of winners show that before they ever head for the track or the ball field or the gridiron, many of them in their own minds will see themselves performing, effortlessly, flawlessly. The decathlon participant will see himself clearing the hurdles. The wide-out will hear the crowd cheering as he catches the winning pass, the swimmer will feel herself touching the wall just before her competitor. They all will experience the thrill of ...

38. Learning From A Little Child

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... short line. Barry made it perfectly through all rehearsals and the dress rehearsal. Then, on the night when mothers, fathers, friends, strangers, and the whole community sat in hushed silence, reliving the Christmas story, Barry had his chance to "redeem" himself with a flawless performance. He opened the door of the inn and looked straight into the face of Mary and Joseph. Mary sat very sad and pale on a little donkey, which they never used in practice. You could almost hear the cold wind whistling around ...

39. You Can't Please Everybody

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever noticed that no matter what you do, you can't please everybody? Somebody, somewhere is going to criticize your best efforts. Former president John F. Kennedy once told about a legendary baseball player who always played flawlessly. He consistently hit and was never thrown out at first base. When on base he never failed to score. He never dropped a ball and threw with unerring accuracy. He ran quickly and played perfectly. Actually, he would have been one of the all-time greats except for one ...

40. Father? Almighty?

John 14:5-14

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... to prove the non-existence of each other, and perhaps even be convinced by them...and then laugh together over so odd a conclusion.” I think that it is something of the same kind of security we should seek in our relationship with God. The most flawless proof of the existence of God is no substitute for it, and if we have that relationship the most convincing disproof is turned harmlessly aside. If I may say it with reverence, the soul and God laugh together over so odd a conclusion. So, the ancient ...

41. Three Modern Meanings of the Ancient Christmas Story

Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... line. Barry made it perfectly through all the rehearsals, including the dress rehearsal. Then, on the night when mothers, fathers, friends, strangers, and the whole community sat in hushed silence, reliving the Christmas story, Barry had his chance to "redeem" himself with a flawless performance. He opened the door of the inn and looked straight into the face of Mary and Joseph. Mary sat very sad and pale on a little donkey, which they never used in practice. You could almost hear the cold wind whistling ...

42. Cross Connections

John 18:1-11

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... way. What began in fact as a kangaroo court and ended as murder becomes, through hindsight, the very crucible of redemption. Perhaps imagery that helps me more fully understand that will help you also. There is the image of absorption. This image is not flawless. Most of us probably associate the word "sponge" with absorption, but sponge can be a pejorative term. We sometimes refer to someone who takes advantage of us as being "a sponge." But there is a different side to this matter of absorption, and it ...

43. Alive In Christ

Colossians 2:6-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... , I’ll put on your cap and uniform and you will introduce me as your chauffeur and yourself as me. Then you can give the lecture.” For a while that evening, everything went according to plan. The chauffeur delivered the lecture flawlessly. But as the lecture concluded, a professor in the audience rose and asked a complex question involving mathematical equations and formulas. The quick-thinking chauffeur replied, “Sir, the solution to that problem is so simple I’m really surprised you’ve asked ...

44. Constantly Abiding

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... there, I’ll put on your cap and uniform and you will introduce me as your chauffeur and yourself as me. Then you can give the lecture.” For awhile that evening, everything went according to plan. The chauffeur delivered the lecture flawlessly. But as the lecture concluded, a professor in the audience rose and asked a complex question involving mathematical equations and formulas. The quick-thinking chauffeur replied, “Sir, the solution to that problem is so simple I’m really surprised you’ve asked ...

45. Fathers in Their Generation

Psalm 103:13

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... a curiosity to me that the Old Testament tells their stories so realistically. The fathers of the faith were all imperfect men. They all had faults, they were all sinners. You would expect the nation to doctor its history so that the heroes would appear to be flawless. And in fact every nation does that, even this nation does that, it alters its history to make it look better than it actually was. But it was especially done in the ancient world. The stories of the kings and the fathers of the nation were ...

46. Wondering Wonder

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... makes everyone's heart flutter and tattle. Or maybe it was the choreography (especially for the teenagers present), with a Radio City Rockettes-like segue that moved the musical from Silent Night to Joy to the World. It was almost too perfect - lines delivered flawlessly (if sometimes giggly), solos pitched-true and pure, duets harmonized like Sonny and Cher. Then came the "littlest shepherds." Each one was dressed in a white toga, with a metallic blue frilly sash tied at the waist and a robin's egg blue ...

47. Don't Fit In, Fit Together

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... t see each cell working with every other cell to form specialized tissues, fluids, organs, and systems within the body. It all fits together so perfectly that we take the miraculously coordinated symphony of systems for granted--as long as they function flawless. We call this state health. We call this state fitness. It's only when something goes wrong, something malfunctions and the body ceases to be perfectly in tune with itself, that we become aware. We call this altered, bad-fitting, uncoordinated state ...

48. What Names Are You Naming?

Isaiah 49:1-7

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the same angle, a hundred fans of tail-feathers catching exactly the same updraft. As you watch the cloud of individual creatures move left and right, up and down, sideways and across, it's as though they were just one entity. Their performance is flawless. Anyone who has ever tried to turn a corner in a marching band, or even tried to participate in one of those stadium-wide waves, knows how hard it is to coordinate individual movements with those of a larger unit. Scientists now think the successfully ...

49. By Heart

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8, Deuteronomy 30:11-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... ? Remember the words "Draw swords," which is when you lifted your Bible like you were throwing a spear? After a Bible verse was announced, you waited for the word "charge," and then competed to see who could locate the verse, stand and read it flawlessly. Or how many of your earned gold stars, or jewels for your "crown," or Awana bucks for reciting from memory a new list of Bible texts every week? Bible memorization used to be the cornerstone of Sunday School curriculum. Little children who spent Monday ...

50. Are You Running?

John 12:12-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . There's an old saying: "Put it to a vote, and they'll always vote to go back to Egypt." There's something about the anonymity of crowd decisions, the headlong, headstrong energy of the pack, that makes wrong decisions seem so right, bad choices seem so flawless, cruel actions seem so sensible. Time and again in Scripture, in story after story, when the crowd spoke and its majority vote was taken, it was a big mistake: 1. Adam and Eve's fateful decision in the Garden (They were a majority); 2. The building ...

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