Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 501 to 525 of 1185 results

501. The Problem with Being Idle

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... life, love your work. We can't all have jobs we enjoy. But even the most ordinary and humdrum of jobs is generally better for us than idleness. David Swing wrote recently in FORBES MAGAZINE: "Rest is valuable only so far as it is a contrast. Pursued as an end, it becomes a most pitiable condition." He is right. Ask anyone who has ever spent much time unemployed. It is a bummer. Sociologists tell us that unemployment has very high social costs. Each time the unemployment rate increases by a single percentage ...

502. Christian Living As It's Meant To Be

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

King Duncan

... all over campus. That one grade was the real beginning of his career as a writer, giving him both the self-confidence and the recognition that he needed. To please his mother, Mailer finished his degree in engineering, but from his freshman days Mailer pursued a life of writing. (4) Sometimes one word of encouragement may be all that stands between brilliant success and dismal failure. And the whole purpose of Christianity is to lead others to spiritual success. SO FIRST, WE SET AN EXAMPLE; THEN WE OFFER ...

503. The Secrets Of His Success

Genesis 45:1-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... same officials could happily go back to the business of destroying what they are now salvaging.1 Unfortunately, that same pattern is common to many of us. We obey God intermittently, just long enough to straighten out the last mess we created in our life. We pursue things that are wrong because we feel like doing so, and all the time we know that we will later have to change course and pay the consequences. Many of us simply lack the conviction and determination, the commitment, to live lives that don't see ...

504. Our Damascus Road Experience

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

King Duncan

... 's garment as the mob stoned Stephen to death. Perhaps that is why Saul became even more fierce in his determination to stamp out this new Christian sect. That's the way we sometimes respond to warning lights. We become defensive and we become more determined than ever to pursue our own stupid designs. But God had a message for Saul. God had a ministry for St. Paul. And God has a message and a ministry for each of us. God got Saul's attention. Is God trying to get your attention? Most of us won't have the ...

505. Putting A Face On Jesus

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

Sermon

King Duncan

... a friend. He would have killed the boy, but his knife hit the boy's belt buckle instead of his stomach. After Ben realized what he had done, he was overcome with sadness and fear. He turned to the Bible and found the guidance he needed. He decided to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor. He only had $10 to use for college application fees, so he sent his one application to Yale. And the rest is history. For poor little Ben, the abandoned child, the class cut-up, and the violent young man, grew up to be ...

506. Responding To The Roadblocks Of Life

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... us and motivate us. Dreams can be the most powerful and pervasive force at work in our world. Dreams of freedom and religious liberties propel countless persons to move across oceans and unknown lands. As long as the dream was alive, so were the people who pursued them. Never underestimate the power of an idea. I don't believe you can explain the recent changes in our world without the power of dreams and the people who were claimed and shaped by them. How else can you explain how an unknown shipyard ...

507. Let My Little Light Shine

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... to see what had happened to these boys. With the exception of 20 boys who had moved away or died, the students learned that 176 of the remaining 180 had achieved extraordinarily successful as lawyers, doctors and businessmen. The professor was astounded and decided to pursue the matter further. Fortunately, all the men were in the area and he was able to ask each one, "How do you account for your success?" In each case the reply came with feeling, "There was a teacher." That teacher was still alive, so he ...

508. The Most Difficult Commandment

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... gets in his car each day, he must check it thoroughly for any explosives. The law requires that he must carry a gun at all times, even in church. His life is continually in danger. Yet he is committed to his job. When Mal asked him why he didn't pursue the opportunity to emigrate to another country, the officer replied, "Mal, I would leave tomorrow if it wasn't for the fact that this is where God has called me to be . . ." He has chosen to stay at his post in spite of the danger. (8) Do you think either ...

509. A Misplaced Holy Day

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... at age 106. Two 13-foot crosses marked his reputed grave and that of his supposed brother for nearly four decades until one morning last year, when somebody cut them down with a saw. Local officials are calling the vandalism a "malicious prank," and police are pursuing it as a case of property damage. The local tradition about Jesus springs from an ancient scroll said to have been found in a temple in the 1930s. Believers say Jesus wrote it after he arrived in Japan following a life of adventure. The text ...

510. Getting The Proper Nourishment

Jeremiah 16:1--17:18

Sermon

King Duncan

... her husband's funeral. Did Jesus really mean them to apply to her life? "Oh, yes," Jesus replied, "I wrote that for you." Jesus continued around the room, talking to each sorrowing person. In each case, he heard tales of people turning away from God to pursue riches, ambition, lusts, pride. And in every case, Jesus answered them with a letter meant specifically for their lives. Colleen Evans asks, "Have you read Jesus' letter to you?" (4) How sad it is to live like shrubs in a parched land when help is so ...

511. Bound By A Promise

Genesis 15:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... sense of selfesteem. In speaking of the painful experience later, he noted, "In fact, that experience drew me closer to God." Mel Pender, a man of deep faith, decided that he would rise higher in the ranks and become a commissioned officer. He also decided to pursue his dream of the Olympics. An injury kept him from the 1964 Olympics, but, by the 1968 games, he was ready. The 1968 Olympics were not long after the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy. Race relations in the U.S ...

512. April Sky

John 20:1-9

Sermon

Frank Lyman

... are football players, and Homer is no football player. But then comes a night in 1957 when Homer looks up into the October Sky and sees the Soviet satellite Sputnik passing over his town of Coalwood. IT IS A VISION WHICH INSPIRES HOMER TO PURSUE A BETTER LIFE. Enlisting the support of three other boys, Homer becomes obsessed with rocketry. A gifted teacher encourages them in their quest, and the boys become so proficient in rocketry that they win a national science competition. All four boys receive college ...

513. Don't Look Down

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... pain, and it plays a role in the sensations produced by some addictive drugs. The researchers found that people with the gene for the D4 dopamine receptor were likelier to seek new experiences than people without this receptor. How they pursue their novelty seeking, however, will be determined by their experiences. A novelty seeker encouraged to be athletic, for instance, might try bungee jumping, while someone from a cerebral environment might become an inventor. The drive for excitement can also be ...

514. Christmas Brings Us A New Heart

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

John Pugh

... too is shocked by the revelation and stunned by the ache in the man she has come to love. She runs away. After several weeks there is no reconciliation. She follows an early dream and leaves for Italy to study painting. Working through his grief he admits his love. He pursues her and they're reunited in Italy. From the mixture of pain and joy they're granted the gift of new life. The gift comes and we hold it in our hands, but we can never package it, or set it on the mantel to display. We never completely ...

515. Behind Closed Doors

Joel 2:12-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... touching scenes in the book, Anderson, a fallen-away Catholic, confesses his sins to Father Jenco, a fellow prisoner. Anderson confesses that he has wandered away from the church and that he is not a good man. In fact, he concedes that his drinking and pursuing other women were largely to blame for the failure of his marriage. This is a very emotional time for both Anderson and Father Jenco, and soon the room is littered with tear-stained tissues. This was Anderson's first confession in 25 years. Father ...

516. Jerry's Story . . . And Ours

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... wrote in to the "Ask Marilyn" column in Parade Magazine (July 30, 2000) and asked her to answer the age-old question: what is the purpose of our life? The questioner included his own opinion that the purpose of each individual's life is to pursue his or her own happiness and fulfillment, regardless of the means of reaching this goal. What did Marilyn, who is listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as having the highest recorded IQ in the world, reply? Well, fortunately, this brilliant lady was wise ...

517. The Gates of Hell

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... god Baal. We often think that the only exposure to religious faith that the people of Jesus' time experienced was the Jewish faith. But Jesus was from Galilee, a province in the northern part of Palestine where there were still pockets of people who pursued other gods beside Yahweh. Caesarea Philippi was one of these places that still included Baal worshipers. The entire land was also ruled, of course, by the Romans. So, a common expression was "Caesar is Lord." In other words, there were multiple gods that ...

518. Invited To A Feast

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... us who are keeping very busy, but we are not accomplishing very much. We are like the proverbial octopus on roller skates. We are here, then we are there, ultimately we are all over the place, but we are not getting anywhere specific. We pursue many pleasures, but find little that brings us lasting happiness. In 1984, Greg Anderson's doctor informed him that he had metastatic lung cancer. At most, they believed he would live another month or two. Anderson refused to accept his doctors' diagnosis. He began ...

519. A Question We All Ask

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... Teacher," he says. Immediately Jesus is on guard. The young man is beginning with idle flattery. "Good Teacher," he asks "what must I do to get to heaven?" Notice the focus of the young man's question. He's not interested in pleasing God or growing in spirituality or pursuing truth. He figures he's got it made in this world now how can he ensure a firm hold on the next life? "Why do you call me good?" Jesus asked. "Only God is truly good!" This should have been a signal to the man about the inadequacy of ...

520. Where Can I Be Safe?

Psalm 46:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... been armed. Can you imagine teachers going to school carrying semi-automatic weapons? Some of you teachers have probably thought about it. Just kidding. But people are afraid. FEAR IS A TERRIBLE THING. Fear keeps us from living life to the fullest. It keeps us from pursuing our dreams. Fear causes us to settle for second best in life. I was reading recently about a pair of dice which are enshrined on a velvet pillow under glass in the Las Vegas Desert Inn. It seems that back in 1950 an anonymous sailor made ...

521. Why The British Coast Guard Doesn't Like Eric, But God Does

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... life for herself. But one day, Terri came home to find that her key no longer worked in her apartment door. She broke a window pane and got in, only to discover that all her possessions were gone. Everything. The police showed up shortly, but rather than pursuing the criminal who stole all her stuff, they started to arrest Terri for breaking and entering. Seems Terri's roommate had taken Terri's rent money, but never paid the rent with it. Terri's roommate had been evicted that day by the landlord, and when ...

522. How To Be Truly Wealthy

1 Timothy 6:3-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... to spend our lives striving after something that is not going to satisfy us? ACCORDING TO OUR SCRIPTURE, WE’LL FIND TRUE CONTENTMENT WHEN WE GIVE UP STRIVING FOR EARTHLY PLEASURES AND INSTEAD STRIVE FOR ETERNAL GOALS. I Timothy 6: 11 says, “Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.” These are the eternal qualities that will bring true contentment into your life and mine. In Matthew 6: 33, Jesus encourages us not to worry about our finances and our possessions. Instead, He ...

523. Temptation Island

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

King Duncan

... : he must prove that he could withstand being tempted. Maybe we ought to find a wilderness where we could send our celebrities and politicians for a similar test before they enter the public arena. If they could resist temptation, then they would be worthy to pursue their career. This, by the way, might be the most constructive way to look at temptation--as a test. The best way to become strong spiritually as well as to build your self-esteem is to pass the test of resisting temptation. But why do people ...

524. Building On A Firm Foundation

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... 't you? However, you and I are free to choose any foundation we like. We can make financial security the foundation on which we build our lives. We can make the esteem of our family and friends the foundation. That is certainly worthy. We can pursue power and prestige. There are as many possible foundations as our imagination will allow. HOWEVER, THERE IS BUT ONE CORNERSTONE THAT WILL NOT FAIL. THAT CORNERSTONE IS CHRIST. Remember the old Gospel song? "On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is ...

525. The Difference Between Looking Good And Being Good

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

King Duncan

... daughter announced that God was calling her to serve as a missionary in Uganda. At first, he refused to let her go. Don't you know that Uganda is a very dangerous place for Christians? he asked. After two years, the young woman finally set out to pursue her calling. As the pastor watched her plane rise into the sky, he commented that he had wanted his daughter to be a respectable Christian--not a real one. (8) What makes the difference between a respectable Christian and a real one? Jesus makes that very ...

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