Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 526 to 550 of 4937 results

526. God So Loved

John 3:16-17

Sermon

Will Willimon

Driving through the mountains of North Carolina, winding my way carefully along a narrow, circuitous mountain road, I looked up and saw painted on a rock, large white letters: PREPARE TO MEET THY GOD – READ JOHN 3:16. Fortunately, I already knew John 3:16; but I shuddered at the thought of some other motorist madly thumbing through his Bible trying to find John 3:16 when he should have been watching the road! Right after I saw the painted religious rock, the next hairpin curve took me to the very edge of a ...

527. Clean House

John 2:12-25

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

The portrait of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Gospel appointed for this day has proven to be something of a conundrum for interpreters through the years. What we see is the Lord Jesus in a violent rage driving animals and people out of the Temple. Years ago Bruce Barton, in a very popular book, The Man Nobody Knows, used the story to demonstrate how virile the Lord Jesus was. He surmised that the Lord Jesus was capable of herculean strength and prowess because of his outdoorsy lifestyle and vigorous ...

528. Giving Up Our Monkeys

Hebrews 12:1-13

Illustration

Several years ago the news media reported on a man who was, for a prolonged period of time, marooned alone on a small Pacific island. A passing ship was prepared to rescue him, but he refused to go. It seems that while there he had acquired a pet monkey which he was unwilling to leave behind, and the ship's regulations would not permit it on board. Here in church today we meet Christ, our rescuer, our deliverer. He says, "Come, go with me." He comes to set us free - and he will, if we are willing to give ...

529. A House for God

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

Gary W. Houston

I remember as a small boy sitting in a small country church with seats in auditorium style that you flipped up when you got out. Outside the window, where I sat, some wasps were buzzing around in the sunshine. From time to time one would fly in, then back out the window. People were fanning themselves with fans donated by a local funeral home; they had pictures of Jesus on them. My dad was preaching and he spoke of two houses, one built on sand and one built on rock. I could not understand why anyone, even ...

530. Give Us A New Name!

Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

Frederick C. Edwards

What’s in a name? Apparently more than we sometimes realize. Our names are important to us. They carry the message of who we are. Parents think carefully of what to name a new child. How is it going to sound when that child grows to adulthood? Will it be dignified? Distinctive? Pleasant? We want names that will not be embarrassing or cause people to make jokes of them. Probably all of us have been amused by someone’s unfortunate name; one probably chosen by a parent who failed to think of the long term ...

531. In Quest of Fire

2 Chronicles 36:15-23

Sermon

Larry Powell

Shortly before the turn of the century, Reverend Theodore Cuyler authored a little book titled "Cedar Christians," a volume which contains personal ruminations upon various scriptural themes. Elaborating upon Paul’s admonition, "Quench not the Spirit," Cuyler focuses attention upon a party of Artic explorers. The gathering darkness finds them exhausted following a long, treacherous march through driving snow storms and bitter cold. They huddle together beneath an ice ledge to draw forth the single match ...

532. Prepare the Way

Psalm 85:1-13

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

Object: Read (or re-read) all or part of Psalm 85 Can anyone tell me what a “blessing” is? . . . A blessing is something good given to us, usually from God. What blessings do you have in your life? . . . parents, homes, church, food, shelter, friends, etc. In Psalm 85, we read about some other blessings. “Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.” That sounds kind of silly, doesn’t it--righteousness and peace kiss each other”? This is the Psalmist’s way of saying that if ...

533. The Best Advice He Could Give

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

King Duncan

Humorous newspaper columnist Dave Barry once made an interesting observation: “If there really is a God, who created the entire universe with all its glories,” wrote Barry, “and He decides to deliver a message to humanity, He will not use, as his messenger, a person on cable TV with a bad hairstyle. Barry’s probably right. I certainly would not look to a TV preacher--even one with a good hairstyle--to bring me an accurate depiction of God. But I have to ask what would Dave Barry do with John the Baptist? ...

534. Your Face Gives You Away

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

King Duncan

Welcome to worship on this Valentine’s Day, 2010. That’s a reminder to the husbands in the congregation, just in case you forgot. According to one source, it is easy TO TELL YOU FORGOT VALENTINE’S DAY. Here are some dead giveaways: The kids tell you that Mom “went to bed early” and “locked the door” . . . while you were taking out the trash. Hallmark calls, offering discounts on apology cards. You wake up with a florist’s ad stapled to your forehead. (1) Just a friendly warning. And I also need to say ...

535. “No One Can Redeem the Life of Another or Give to God a Ransom for Them”

Psalm 49:1-20

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: In the face of death, wealth cannot buy God off, but he can and does redeem (spare) our lives from the power of death at his own will. Understanding the Text Psalm 49 has typically been classified as a wisdom psalm and dated anywhere from the tenth to the second century BC (see the sidebar “Wisdom Psalms” in the unit on Ps. 37). Kraus prefers the category of didactic poem because this psalm, like Psalms 73 and 139, aims to reflect on a problem.1In the same frame of thought, Craigie imagines that ...

536. For Someone Who Will Be Terribly Missed

Job 19:23-27 · John 12:23-26 · John 14:1-6 · Acts 1:21-26

Eulogy

Richard E. Zajac

The Doctor and His Dog [Tell of what they’d wish for us to do, how we can carry on from where their life had ended.] In one of his books, John Braille tells of an old country Doctor who made his rounds in a horse-drawn carriage. The Doctor’s dog would go along for the ride. One day, the Doctor went to visit a man who was critically ill. “How am I, Doctor?” the man asked. The Doctor replied: “It doesn’t look good!” Both men were quiet for a while. The man then said: “What’s it like to die, Doctor?” As the ...

537. What Kind Of King Is This?

2 Samuel 6:1-23

Sermon

Charles Curley

Around the end of November, just after Thanksgiving, we celebrate the beginning of the season of Advent: the advent, the coming of God into the world in a most unlikely form and in a most unlikely place. For we celebrate God coming as a baby, in a manger, in a stable, in the little town of Bethlehem. Today's scripture from 2 Samuel 6 is also about a kind of advent, which may serve to remind us that God's advent - the coming of God's presence into our world and into our lives - is something to be celebrated ...

538. THE ONLY WAY OUT

Illustration

John H. Krahn

You are because I am. I was there from the beginning. My Father, God, and I fashioned the world that you enjoy. We hung the stars in the sky, scooped out the lakes, formed the mountains. But our genius was no more evident than when we made you. You are so magnificent. Consider yourself - your ability to think and reason. Do you realize how special you are? We had such a great thing going in the garden. Unfortunately, the devil talked your forebears into trying to be like God, and they both fell for it. My ...

539. Jesus and Andrew

John 1:35-42

Sermon

James W. Moore

Back in the 15th century in a tiny village near Nuremberg, Germany there lived a family with eighteen children. That’s right… eighteen! In order merely to keep food on the table for this large family, the father (who was a goldsmith by profession) worked almost eighteen hours a day at this trade and any other paying job he could find in the neighborhood. Despite their seemingly hopeless condition, two of the older children had a dream. They both wanted to pursue their talent for art, but they knew full ...

540. A New Way To Escape From Prison

James 1:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

According to II Timothy 3:16, all scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. Paul might have added, "and for jimmying locks on jail cells." That's what happened in Dorchester County, Maryland according to a recent news story. Two inmates in the Dorchester county jail discovered that a stiff cover on a Bible left in their cell was just the tool they needed for prying back the defective lock on their jail cell door. That door led ...

541. The Widow's Oil

2 Kings 4:1-7

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

Elisha’s Miracles: The Moabite affair has further established Elisha’s credentials as a prophet in the line of Elijah. Both are now firmly associated with the God who provides water at will (cf. 1 Kgs. 18), whether by orthodox means (wind and rain, 1 Kgs. 18:45) or not (neither wind nor rain, 2 Kgs. 3:17). In this chapter we shall read of a number of further miracles, both of provision and healing, that remind us of Elijah in the same way. 4:1–7 The first of these is occasioned by a crisis facing the widow ...

542. The Shunammite's Son Restored to Life

2 Kings 4:8-37

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

543. Death in a Pot

2 Kings 4:38-41

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

544. Feeding of a Hundred

2 Kings 4:42-44

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

545. And They Lived Happily Ever After... or Did They?

Mark 10:2-16

Sermon

Rick McCracken-Bennett

This is a story I tell from time to time at weddings. It's based on a Moroccan folktale.[1] Once upon a time there was a much beloved king who was so rich that he measured his wealth in bushel baskets. Sadly, his wealth did not prevent him from contracting a fatal illness and in time the man lay on his deathbed. He called his only son to his side and said, "Son, you are all I have left. Your mother is gone, you have no brothers or sisters, and so in a short time you will become king. Besides my hope that ...

546. The Peace that Jesus Gives

John 14:15-31

Illustration

Lee Griess

There is a road in southern Italy that begins in the city of Eboli and ends in the mountain village of Gagliano. To anyone who makes that journey, it is an ascent to hell. Gagliano is no more than a scattered cluster of fallen down whitewashed old buildings, hanging desperately to barren slopes near a rocky cliff. The village has been there for centuries and for as far back as the oldest person can remember it has always been a place of severe poverty, unrelenting disease, frightening superstition, ...

547. The Problem With Giving Up Chocolates

Mark 8:34-38

Sermon

King Duncan

The story is told about a gung-ho drill sergeant who always demanded the best from his soldiers. One day he stared in pained disbelief at a sloppy squad of new recruits wearing their uniforms for the first time. For a moment the sergeant was speechless with rage. Then he screamed in frustration, "Just step out here and look at yourselves!" Now, I don't know how he expected them to do that ” "step out and look at themselves" ” but his basic concept was on target. There is a time when all of us should step ...

548. Don't Give Me that Bible Stuff

Luke 4:14-21

Illustration

William G. Carter

Clarence Jordan, founder of Koinonia Farm in Georgia, started a peanut farm and tried to run it the same way he thought Jesus would run it. He believed in a good wage for an honest day's work. He believed in taking care of the land and those who work it. And he believed that all people— black and white — could work together and stand together. It was the early 1950s, and his local Baptist church did not agree with his thoughts on racial equality. One time, an agricultural student from Florida State ...

549. Give and Take

Illustration

James Packer

What is meant by fellowship in this verse? Gossip? Cups of tea? Tours? No. What is being referred to is something of a quite different order and on a quite different level. "They met constantly to hear the apostles teach, and to share the common life, and break bread and to pray. A sense of awe was everywhere. All whose faith had drawn them together held everything in common. With one mind they kept up their daily attendance at the temple, and, breaking bread in private houses, shared their meals with ...

550. Give Me New England

Illustration

Staff

Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) was a brilliant theologian whose sermons had an overwhelming impact on those who heard him. One in particular, his famous "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," moved hundreds to repentance and salvation. That single message helped to spark the revival known as "The Great Awakening" (1734-1744). From a human standpoint, it seems incredible that such far-reaching results could come from one message. Edwards did not have a commanding voice or impressive pulpit manner. He used ...

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