Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 526 to 550 of 5000 results

526. Close Up Parents: Be Cheerleaders, Not Jeer leaders

Colossians 3:21

Sermon

James Merritt

... . Marinovich led the Trojans to the Rose Bowl as a red-shirt freshman, but by his sophomore year, there were bugs in the program. This young man, who never touched a Big Mac or watched cartoons, was arrested on drug charges and twice suspended from the team. Sports Illustrated put it this way, "In most ways, Marv, didn't have a life. He had Todd's life. Unfortunately, the two have grown so far apart at this point, that his father cannot even get the son on the telephone." [[3]] Todd did make it to the NFL ...

527. Parenting 101

Ephesians 6:1-4

Sermon

James Merritt

... you want to be a successful teacher to your children, model what you teach and teach it in a positive passion. Prov. 16:21 says in the NLT: "The wise are known for their understanding and instruction is appreciated if it is well presented." Let me give you an illustration of that. There was a company that had an end-of-the-year banquet. They were going to give their top two salesmen an award. But they did it in a different fashion to prove a point. They sent them out of the room and re-arranged tables and ...

528. Who's Number One?

Exodus 20:1-3

Sermon

James Merritt

... not give my glory to another or my praise to idols." (Isaiah 42:8, NLT) Stephen Covey in his book, First Things First, describes a powerful illustration that he has used in workshops to make a point about priorities. He sets a large jar on the table in front of the room ... what is next. He brings sand and then water; now it is really full. He then asks the group what is the point of the illustration. After a few guesses he says, "The point is this. If the big rocks don't go in the jar first, they don't get ...

529. American Idol

Exodus 20:4-6

Sermon

James Merritt

... that was in class and he was drawing a picture. The teacher walked over to him and said, "What are you doing?" He said, "I am drawing a picture of God." She said, "Well nobody knows what God looks like." He said, "They will when I am finished." Let me illustrate it this way, "How many of you have ever seen Mt.Everest?" (Ask for a show of hands). You mean the vast majority of you have never experienced the grandeur and the beauty of the highest mountain peak in the world? Well, I have a treat for you. [Play ...

530. Live and Let Die

Galatians 2:20

Sermon

James Merritt

... me—so that he could live His life in me. I got a letter years ago from a man in our church concerning his four-year-old granddaughter. His son-in-law is a surgeon, and both his grandson and granddaughter were involved in this story which is a great illustration of what I have been telling you. His son-in-law got a call one morning for an emergency surgery. When he got home after the surgery his son asked his dad about the surgery. He said, "Dad, did you have to cut the man open to see what was ...

531. A Cure for the Workaholic

Genesis 2:1-3

Sermon

James Merritt

... that God could have created the world in six nanoseconds, but He took six days and then rested on the seventh? He did it to illustrate the fact that we also need to stop one day a week so we can be refreshed. The Chinese have a legend. They tell of ... commitment for twenty-four hours make any difference in your week? In your work? In your worship? In your walk? One last thing to illustrate how important this whole matter of the Sabbath is in your life - the reason why God sent His son, Jesus Christ, into this ...

532. A New Hope

Jeremiah 18:1-10

Sermon

James Merritt

... anyone who has gone over to the dark side, no matter how far or how deep, can once again reemerge to the light side and the right side. Thousands of years ago God told the Prophet Jeremiah of a land that we could call "The Land of New Hope". To illustrate that land, He told Jeremiah to go down to a potter's house to see how a potter works with clay. Jeremiah did what he was told and went south of the City of Jerusalem, through the Valley of Hinnom, past the place where the city dumped all of their ...

533. Like a Good Neighbor – Jesus Is There

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

James Merritt

... . A little boy returned home from Sunday School, and his mother asked him what lesson the teacher taught? He said, "It was about two preachers who saw a man in a ditch, but they didn't stop because he had already been robbed." Actually, Jesus told this story to illustrate to the lawyer and to all who were listening that he had asked the wrong question. The question is not "Who is my neighbor?" Because he's going to see in a moment you don't need to ask that question. The question is: "Am I a good neighbor ...

534. Fault-Finding

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Illustration

Warren Wiersbe

... of Jesus' day, let's stop and look at ourselves. All too many Christians today go to church to find fault, to gossip, and to criticize. Warren Wiersbe, in his book Angry People, wrote, "An incident in the life of Joseph Parker, the great British preacher, illustrates this tragic truth. He was preaching at the CityTemple in London. After the service one of the listeners came up to him and said, 'Dr. Parker, you made a grammatical error in your sermon.' He then proceeded to point out the error to the pastor ...

535. The World’s Favorite Scripture

Matthew 7:1-6

Sermon

James Merritt

... your eye; and look, a plank is in your own eye?' You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." (vv.3-5) Now the Lord Jesus gives a humorous, but brilliant illustration of the problem with judging other people. He speaks of a person trying to remove a splinter out of one person's eye when he has a plank in his own eye. It was Shakespeare who said, "Men's faults do seldom to themselves appear." It reminds me of a ...

536. Never Give Up On God

Matthew 7:7-12

Sermon

James Merritt

... give up on God. I. Follow God's Requirements For Prayer "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." (v.7) Prayer is the only subject Jesus discusses twice in the Sermon on the Mount. This simply illustrates there is no substitute for prayer in the Christian life. There are things that God does by prayer He does not do any other way. If we are going to invite God to fellowship with us, and involve God in our daily lives, we must pray. Now there are three ...

537. Men in Black

Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43

Sermon

James Merritt

... is because of the work of God that a sinner is turned into a saint. It is because of the work of God that the sons of the devil can be turned into the sons of the kingdom. Now it is interesting to note that the Lord chose wheat to illustrate His people. Wheat is a hardy annual with shallow roots that do not go deeply into the soil. Wheat is not deeply anchored to this world. Its destiny is to pass rapidly from the scene in successive harvest. Wheat dies downward as it ripens upward. The stalk and the root ...

538. The Dream Work of Teamwork

Nehemiah 3:1-32

Sermon

James Merritt

... that, but unfortunately it turned into a disaster when he picked the wrong door. The result was they marched with military precision into a broom closet in full view of the mourners and had to do an about face to get out of the church. Now that true story illustrates two things. First of all, if you are going to lead, you had better make sure you know where you are going. Secondly, if you are going to follow you had better make sure you are following someone who knows where he is going and what he is doing ...

539. Repairing Our Lives

1 Corinthians 15:19-26

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... cracked and beyond repair. Then the old man came along and repaired the great gem in ways that the king could never have conceived. Hope was restored; beauty once again reigned. The tale of the king's diamond and the gem master is an excellent illustration of the central message of the Easter story. When all hope was lost, Jesus destroyed death through the resurrection. As we celebrate this great event in salvation history, we must rejoice that regardless of the status of our lives, God can repair them and ...

540. Putting Ourselves in the Picture

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... I mentioned it in reviewing our scripture lesson at the beginning. No price for entry into the kingdom is too great. No price of entry into the kingdom is too great. The kingdom demands our all. A friend of mine told me a story the other day that illustrates this point. A Methodist preacher up in Kentucky had a young son who was an outstanding athlete; he was track star. And this father and son had a, or has a marvelous relationship. The father is totally involved in the son’s life and is present whenever ...

541. A Miracle Child

Exodus 2:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... us? No matter what the circumstances, no matter, no matter how many pharaohs may rise up against us, no matter how many forces Satan may throw in our path, God’s will is going to be accomplished, eventually. Let me share a story, a kind of funny story, that illustrates the fact that, that God’s will is going to be done. It’s a story about an old Methodist bishop named Fisk. It was in 1896 and Bishop Fisk went with two of his friends hunting in northern Maine. One of his friends was a geologist and the ...

542. Plenty Of Room

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... in our life, we've slipped away from God and lived as an heir of the Kingdom or child of God. We may even think God no longer claims us. But we're wrong. B. One more illustration from Toy Story 2. Remember Woody has been taken and is being made ready to sell. The toy store owner calls in the Restorer and fixes Woody's torn arm, cleans him up and makes him like ... , Etc. (Saratoga Press, P.O. Box 8, Platteville, CO, 80651, September 1984 2. Thanks to Kathryn Self, Plano TX for the idea behind this illustration

543. Jochebed: Save The Baby, Save The World

Exodus 2:1-10, Numbers 26:59

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... was titled "Nothing But Nets," and his appeal raised $1.2 million! The effort quickly got the attention of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and we soon found the United Methodist cross and flame lined up beside the logos of the NBA, Sports Illustrated, the UN Foundation, then other partners began getting involved in the "Nothing But Nets" effort to provide bed nets. The first night of Annual Conference this year, our offering raised over $45,000. The next day in the business session in matter of ...

544. The Law of the Pendulum

Mt 14:22-36; Mk 6:45-56

Illustration

Brett Blair

... so fast in my life. He literally dived from the table. Deftly stepping around the still-swinging pendulum, Ken asked the class, "Does he believe in the law of the pendulum?" The students resounding response was, "NO!" A SHORTER VERSION OF THIS ILLUSTRATION: The physics professor had just finished his lecture about the pendulum, wherein he had shown the mathematical proof that an untouched pendulum will always swing in ever-decreasing arcs. He then asked for a volunteer to demonstrate this fact by standing ...

545. We Are Weak, But He Is Strong...

Romans 8:26-39

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... . We are Held and Strengthened. Conclusion "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose." And we are called "to be conformed to the image of his Son." Lyle Arakaki in Fresh Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching writes how in Hawaii, because of the time difference with the continental U.S., the NFL Monday Night Football game is played in mid-afternoon, so the local TV station delays its telecast until 6:30 in the evening. When his favorite ...

546. You Hung the Fodder High!

John 21:1-19

Illustration

Staff

Dr. John Deschner taught at Perkins School of Theology, the United Methodist seminary at Southern Methodist University. Sometimes to illustrate a point he would tell stories about his father, a Methodist pastor in Texas in a German speaking community before the First World War One of my favorite images of a sermon feeding the flock was shared by Dr. Deschner when he remembered the words of an old dairy farmer, ...

547. Don't Settle for Half A Glass

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... you and I. He spent 40 days in the wilderness wrestling with what and how He should carry out God's will. And the whole time he thirsted for the full glass of the answer, Satan tempted Him with half a glass. One of the Verizon Commercials illustrated this quite well. (Chimp banana phone, Verizon). This is an ad about cheap imitation. That's what giving into Temptation is all about. Had Jesus given in and bowed down before the Tempter so He wouldn't have to face the cross, the Kingdom established would have ...

548. The NFL of Grace

Matthew 17:1-9

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... to have said: "Coach, please don't go so fast." (1) It has been told that the Chicago Bears were losing a football game at half time. They were in the locker room receiving some words of encouragement from Mike Ditka, their coach. To graphically illustrate his concern for them to learn to be tough and tenacious, Mike reached his hand into a bucket. He removed his hand with a snapping turtle clamped securely to it. It was not a pretty sight. With the snapping turtle hanging onto his wounded hand, Ditka ...

549. The Babysitter

John 14:23-29

Illustration

Brian Stoffregen

James Somerville presents a unique illustration of the Paraclete: When my wife puts her hand on the doorknob, her coat over her arm, my children look up from what they are doing to ask: "Who will take care of us?" and she gives them the name of one of their regular babysitters. All of them are ...

550. Give Yourself

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... of joy, and have come alive in the depth of their faith. Now I don’t want to talk too much about those because I don’t want to violate a confidence. So, let me tell you another story of another time and another place that will illustrate what I am talking about. I never will forget an evening I spent in a hotel room in Peking in China in February, 1979. Two other American Christians and I spent that evening with two Chinese Christians, a husband and wife, who had come rather clandestinely. As we ...

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