Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 26 to 50 of 87 results

Exodus 24:3-8, Mark 14:12-16, 22-26, Hebrews 9:11-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... unethical attorney. Jesus is our advocate, our attorney, says the writer of I John. If anybody needs a good lawyer when standing before a holy God, it is you and I. But we don’t need a tricky lawyer. What we need is a lawyer who is impeccable--who is totally believable when he says “my client is not accountable for his or her misdoings.” All of heaven and earth know that this is true. Why is Christ’s client not accountable? Because Christ himself has already paid the penalty. This may sound like ...

27. Good Taste Or Good Religion?

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... the former was better educated, perhaps, had better taste? You know, I have never heard of people listening to rap music while they sent their neighbors to be gassed by the millions in ovens. But the Nazis did. And some of these Nazis had impeccable taste and manners. Good manners is not the same as good religion. Dwight L. Moody was one of the greatest Christian preachers who ever lived. When Moody began his ministry, though, he was criticized often. Why? Because of his lack of polish and sophistication ...

28. Driven To Serve

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... tells about going into a gift a shop one Christmas. The place was elegant. Lovely pieces of crystal, exquisite glass statuettes, and a wide assortment of imported china were beautifully displayed on freshly dusted glass shelves. It was one of those impeccable shops where you feel like holding your breath as you glide from aisle to aisle. Your greatest fear is to disturb the delicate balance or inadvertently bump the corner of a shelf holding several expensive patterns. Several small signs throughout the ...

29. Looking For Happiness In All The Wrong Places

John 4:1-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Of course, she sought medical aid. After a period of intense testing it was found that she was suffering from arsenic poisoning. But from what source? Every one on her staff was given further security checks. It was soon established that each had impeccable credentials and could surely be trusted. None of her staff were trying to poison her. Where was the poisoning coming from? Finally they found the cause. On the ceiling of her bedroom were beautiful designs of roses ornately done in bas relief. They ...

30. In Praise Of Doers

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... about, "Amen! Praise the Lord! or Hallelujah!" His word was "Hot dog!" and he was praising the Lord with the only vocabulary he knew. His religious vocabulary may have been lacking but his understanding of what was happening to him that day was impeccable. "Hot dog!" "Hallelujah!" Isn't it great to be alive and to know that we belong to God? Life is a giftan inexpressibly wonderful gratuity bestowed by a benevolent Creator. "The test of all happiness," said Chesterton, "is gratitude." Jesus said it best ...

31. How Do We Choose?

Acts 1:12-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... in a good leader. Don't fall victim to what I call the `ready aimaimaimaim syndrome.' You must be willing to fire." Business guru Tom Peters tells about a businessman whom he admires whose motto is `anything worth doing is worth doing poorly.' "The logic is impeccable," says Peters. He points out that the plane the Wright Brothers flew at Kitty Hawk was nothing to write home about. Alexander Graham Bell's first telephone was not exactly up to Bell Lab standards. Yet if Bell hadn't foisted that piece of junk ...

32. What Are You Sitting On?

Jeremiah 16:1--17:18

Sermon

King Duncan

... deliriously limp from being part of her drama." (1) She had been sitting on her ticket the whole time. The story is told of a farmer and his wife in the dusty panhandle of Texas. They had eked out a meager living for 30 years. One day an impeccably dressed man driving a fancy car came to their door. He told the farmer that he had good reason to believe there was a reservoir of oil underneath his property. If the farmer would allow the gentleman the right to drill, perhaps the farmer would become a wealthy ...

33. Thanks For All You've Done

Colossians 1:15-23, Colossians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... at a major university in this country who was a deeply committed atheist. His primary goal for one required class was to spend the entire semester attempting to prove that God couldn't exist. His students were always afraid to argue with him because of his impeccable logic. For twenty years, he had taught this class and no one had ever had the courage to go against him. Sure, some had argued in class at times, but no one had ever "really gone against him." Nobody would go against him because he had ...

34. Building A Home

John 14:15-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... a middle seat between two people who would most likely hog the arm rests. But nothing good can come from a bad attitude, so she turned her attention to a polite young man on one side of her. His name was Michael. Patsy guessed correctly from Michael's impeccable manners that he was a member of the armed forces. Turns out, he was just returning from a year and a half in Desert Storm. Michael was nervous about returning home, afraid that his family would be expecting a hero. He was afraid of crying in front ...

35. Good Neighbors

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... money from passersby. She impressed many people with her neat uniform and simple appeal: "Would you like to help the Good Samaritan?" Who could say no? Only years later did Hunter learn that there was no Good Samaritan charity, that in fact the elderly lady in the impeccable uniform was pocketing the money for herself. (2) There it is--the fear that many people have--that if they try to be The Good Samaritan and help someone else, they will be taken advantage of. And so, as we come to the text for today ...

36. Day People

1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11

Sermon

King Duncan

... . This man counted numerous wealthy, powerful, influential men and women among his colleagues and friends. Yet he couldn’t think of a single leader who demonstrated integrity in both his professional and his personal life. Even those CEOs who demonstrated impeccable integrity in their businesses often had moral lapses in their private lives. (4) That’s a frightening situation. There’s something happening to us as a people. The moral foundations are crumbling. St. Paul compares the christian life to a ...

37. Christmas and the Condensed Bible

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... of one particular religious sect, or if the text were being tampered with for some ulterior purpose. The text of the Reader’s Digest Condensed Bible has been supervised by Prof. Bruce Metzger of Princeton Theological Seminary, and he is a scholar with impeccable credentials and a devoted Christian, although the fundamentalists had a field day with the fact that his surname “Metzger” in German means “butcher.” So I guess I am not opposed to the notion of condensing the Bible per se, although I was ...

38. The Seventh Commandment: Indecent Proposal

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Eric Ritz

In the year 1632 the British Corporation of Barker and Lucas produced a handsomely bound edition of scripture. Unfortunately they made one significant mistake in the hundreds of pages of impeccable print. At the inclusion of the Seventh Commandment of the decalogue, they inadvertently omitted the negative from the verse so that the law read, "Thou shalt commit adultery." The printers were so heavily fined for their carelessness that the mistake put them out of business. This famous edition has forever ...

39. Making Compassion a Verb

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon

David G. Rogne

... ministry of compassion, and if we are faithful to it, it will cause us to weep with those who weep. But it is not enough simply to feel the pain of others, we also need to act to relieve it. In Albert Camus' novel, The Fall, an established, impeccable French lawyer has his world totally under control until one night when he hears the cry of a drowning woman and he turns away. Years later, ruined by his failure to act, he winds up reliving the experience in an Amsterdam bar: "Please tell me what happened to ...

40. Have You Gone Far Enough?

Mark 8:27-30

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... it's not salvation until you invite him into your own life by a prayer of faith. Have you done this? Will you do so now? I tell you, one does not have to commit intellectual suicide to do so! The credentials of Christ are impeccable. As George Bancroft states, "Christianity has attracted to itself the profoundest thinkers of the human race, and is in no way hindered by the ever-advancing tide of human knowledge." Novelists Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Defoe became Christians. So did poets T. S. Eliot and Emily ...

41. Count It All Joy

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... sermons preached by James, the brother of our Lord, and then recorded in this fashion. In fact, there is one theory of authorship which has it that this was a sermon preached by James in his Aramaic tongue, taken down by someone who translated it into impeccable Greek, edited it, judiciously added to it with loving care, and issued it to the Church at large. I have little or no problem with this theory of authorship. We are going to center on these pungent points James the preacher made, elaborate them, and ...

42. Costly Extravagance

John 12:1-11

Sermon

Frank G. Honeycutt

... now sits with Jesus, eating fried chicken and sipping sweet tea. How grateful are the sisters? We aren't told the specifics about Martha but she has a track record in the Bible for whipping up some marvelous meals. I've no doubt that the table was set impeccably. And I'm sure that a plate of her award-winning biscuits graced the feast that night and certainly one of her desserts she cranked out only for the most special occasions. She was a grateful sister. Her brother was back. We know more about Mary's ...

43. Keeping Our Souls

John 13:18-30

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... , the popular Bible teacher and author John MacArthur gave a lecture. He spoke in the chapel of Master’s College on the subject, “What We Learn From the Fall of Jimmy Swaggart.” He said a lot of good things. His reason and logic were almost impeccable. I found myself agreeing with about 90% of what he said. But I have to confess in the first part of the lecture he came through to me like a Pharisee. He indicted the entire Charismatic movement, taking the position that the fall of Swaggart was ...

44. Look Who Is Standing at the Door

James 4:1-12; 5:1-12

Sermon

James L. Killen

... next table overhear and are honestly jealous. They, too, are trying to achieve a similar kind of success. They share hushed comments about how they intend to crash that "good old boys' club" and make them take notice. The waiter overhears too and, in spite of his impeccable courtesy, he does not admire. He recognizes one of the men, but is not recognized by him. He once worked for his company. He had received a commendation for his work two weeks before he was laid off as a part of the company's program of ...

45. The Four Marks of Failure

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... is from the movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. In this Peter Weir adaptation of one of Patrick O'Brian's twenty best-selling Captain Jack Aubrey novels, a mast collapses during a storm and a seaman is thrown overboard. Captain Aubrey, played impeccably by Russell Crowe, has to make a split-second decision. Either he must try to save the castaway who is clinging to the mast that is dragging the entire ship under water, or he must chop the rope that is causing the entire ship to sink, with ...

46. Conviction with Compassion

John 8:1-11

Sermon

James McCormick

... moral judgments, but we must never become proud and judgmental. Admittedly, that is a difficult balance to maintain. How easy it is to become unloving and ungracious in the name of moral standards. I am thinking at this moment about an accountant who has impeccable moral standards. His ethical behavior is above reproach. But he uses ethical standards like a club with which to punish people. He is so unloving, so unforgiving, so ungracious in his morality. I like the prayer of a little girl: “O God, make ...

47. Be Kind

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

James McCormick

... right things. They say all the right words. They espouse the right values and work for the right causes. They do so many right things, but do them in wrong ways. I remember a man who was a member of a former congregation. He had high standards. His ethics were impeccable. But he beat people over the head with his standards. People hated to see him coming. He was right about what he said and what he stood for, but so wrong in how he did it all. He was not very kind. I love the prayer of the little girl ...

48. A New Calling

Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... commented on the phenomenon of wake-up calls in hotels. He says: “Here’s a little tip from me to you as an experienced traveler: Wake-up calls--one of the worst ways to wake up. The phone rings; it’s loud; you can’t turn it down.” Then with impeccable timing Shandling adds, “I leave the number of the room next to me, and then it just rings kind of quiet, and you hear a guy yell, ‘What are you calling me for?’ Then you get up and take a shower. It’s great.” (1) True story. A man had ...

49. The Prosecutor Perry Mason Can't Beat

John 16:7-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... verdict." The Holy Spirit is God's public prosecutor who brings His case against the human race. Now there is a warning in order here. Every case the Holy Spirit tries, is open and shut. If he prosecutes He never loses. The evidence is airtight, His witnesses are impeccable, and He always gets a verdict of "guilty." This is, however, great news. For no one can go to heaven unless the Holy Spirit does His convicting work as God's prosecutor, and shows us our need for Jesus Christ. If you do not know that you ...

50. Why You Should Be Afraid of Sin

Numbers 32:23

Sermon

James Merritt

... two people have the same set of spiritual fingerprints, and you leave your fingerprints on every sin you commit. One day, either in time or in eternity, an infallible detective will bring those fingerprints before an inerrant prosecutor who will present his case before an impeccable judge and you can be sure your sin will find you out. The London Times reported a true story of a strange crime several years ago. A lady found on her doorstep a basket that contained a pigeon. An attached note said that if the ...

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