Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 526 to 550 of 3160 results

Romans 12:9-21

Sermon

Larry Lange

... had been run over by a car while he was crossing the highway that no child who lived on our street was allowed to cross — except Michael. His parents let him to do whatever he wanted. They even let his sister listen to Beatles' records! After his accident, Michael sort of disappeared from the neighborhood for about a year. We heard that he had to have many surgeries. Once in a while we'd see him sitting on his front porch with enormous plaster casts on his legs and a pair of crutches at his side, but we ...

527. Fiction Or Nonfiction?

2 Timothy 3:16

Children's Sermon

Marti Kramer Suddarth

... by type. The first thing that a librarian does is decide whether a book is fiction or nonfiction. It’s easy to remember the difference between fiction and nonfiction if you think about the first letter of each word. Books that are classified (or sorted) as fiction are made up. They are false. They didn’t really happen. Sometimes what happens in fictional books couldn’t really happen. Other times, the events in a fictional book could have happened, but didn’t. Either way, if you remember that fiction ...

528. Silly Putty, Play-Doh and Potter's Clay

Jeremiah 18:1-11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... to do with our faith. Well, some folks are like this little toy. And you'd think that was a good thing. And it is, sort of. You see, Silly Putty is pliable, exactly what God wants with our lives. It can be shaped into ball so when troubles come ... Christians. Their life and faith has been molded by god but they offered up the wrong substance. They only came into it half-heartedly. They sort of Play the part but they don't really live the part. As a consequence, pretty soon their faith and their lives dry out ...

529. Swept Clean

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... Martha was do, it was serving Jesus, as Mary was doing. And in that service, they discover the true meaning of life and were able to set priorities for their life. III. Savoring the Best First A. There's an old saying, "Life is short - eat dessert first." That's sort of what Jesus is telling Mary and Martha in this passage. Savor the best first. I'm not saying we shouldn't work hard. I'm not saying we should shirk our responsibilities. No, what I'm saying is this. If you've cleaned the clutter of your soul ...

530. Out Into The Deep Water

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... deep in God's blessing. And all because he had listened to Jesus and "Put out into the deep water." I think life is like that. It's sort of like a swimming pool. There's a shallow end and a deep end. It's like a like, close to shore, is shallow water. It's safe, ... woman: "Go and sin no more." He offered her a second chance at making right choices for God. IV. Dodge, Money On Back That's sort of what the one Dodge commercial was about. You see, we all carry a load of guilt around with us like that monkey on ...

531. Wedding Bell Blues

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... she could count on Jesus. She knew she could count on Him doing the right thing at the right time. She trusted Him and she trusted God's timing. And that was why she pointed out the minor disaster of running out of wine at the wedding feast. It would sort of be like running out of iced tea at a Texas Barbecue. Or having the wedding reception at your favorite Mexican restaurant and them telling you they had run out of salsa and chips. It wasn't a huge deal, physically. But it was a major social blunder. B ...

532. It's Just A Little Thing

Mark 12:38-44

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... Women's Court. There, along the walls, were thirteen large, metal, trumpet-shaped receptacles to receive offerings for various purposes. It was across from this area where Jesus sat to teach. Now you have to remember that the atmosphere of the Temple was sort of like Lord's Acre, Round-Up Sunday, Sunday School, the time between Sunday School and Worship and Revival all rolled into one, all the time. Jesus says that into this miasma of noise, motion, and excitement, people would come to make their offering ...

533. Fast Forward Faith

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... as chaplain at the small thirty bed area hospital. During one of his turns, a baby was born. He went to the hospital and encountered a whole family of folks gathered around the window of the nursery looking at the baby. He met the father who looked sort of worried and anxious and dumbstruck all at the same time. You know that new father look. The baby's name was Elizabeth. As they looked at the baby, she started to squirm and scream. The father looked worried so Dr. Craddock said something about the baby ...

534. What'll You Have?

Mark 8:27-38

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... all solemnly say, "My name is Joe Schmoe." Then host read article about his life. Then the questions would begin and at the end, the panel would have to guess. Then there was "I've Got A Secret" hosted by Gary Moore. "Will the contestant sign in please." It was sort of a reverse of the I've Got A Secret." In this one, you knew the person's name, but there was something else you had to guess about him or her. Their unusual job, a hobby, the item he or she invented. Something like that. Today's passage has ...

535. Dress For Faithfulness

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... away from all that." And pointed to the kids. It worked. Don't you wish you had a something to get you away from all that with? As much as the commercials touted it, Calgon doesn't work. Don't you wish you had a suit of armor or some sort of invisible shield to protect you from all the confusion of the world? Wouldn't it be great if you could get up every morning and put on this special suit that would protect you and your family from the confusion, harshness, brutality and coldness of the everyday world ...

536. Stop Speculating!

Luke 21:5-19; 1 Thess 3:11

Illustration

Gary L. Carver

... us from faithfulness to "the first things." There is a legendary story about a warrior who was struck one day by a poisonous arrow. This man happened to be a speculative sort of person, so as he lay on the ground, with the poisonous arrow buried in his leg, he mused to himself: "I wonder what kind of wood this arrow is made of? What sort of birds, do you suppose, the feathers come from? I wonder what type of man shot this arrow — tall or short, dark or light." His comrades, who saw his plight, could ...

537. The Parable of the Soil

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... in nutrients and sustain life even when the life above ground is sufferingly severe. Sometimes life is good. The “soil” you find yourself in is rich and hearty and life enhancing. You grow well and strong. But that same environment is open to all sorts of other factions. NBC Newscaster Tom Brokaw dubbed the generation which grew up during the Great Depression, came of age during World War II, and lived in their prime during the Cold War and the tumult of the Sixties, the “greatest Generation.” Why ...

538. Laugh, Thomas, Laugh!

John 20:19-31

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... to that is this tradition of designating the second Sunday of Easter (which some liturgical calendars call "Low Sunday") as "Holy Humor Sunday." We bring bells and noisemakers of all sorts and use them heartily at any points in the service that reflect celebration — "alleluia" and "joy." The resurrection is comedy of the best sort, the unexpected reversal of expectations. Mary comes to the tomb on Easter morning expecting to find a dead body. Her train of thought keeps barreling along one track, and she ...

539. A Winsome Witness

Acts 8:26-40

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... about reaching others for Christ, and want a truly biblical model for evangelism, this is it — one person telling another about someone very special: Jesus. Do you want to be as winsome a witness as Philip? Then just tell the story. Tell about Jesus, not as some sort of ultimate fire insurance, but tell about him as you have come to know him ... in your own life, in your family, in your church. No need to theologize. If a specific question is asked, answer it. Other than that, tell your story. By the way ...

540. The Forgiveness Factor

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... there. But, finally, through the persistence of those who care about their friend, a way is found to bring the man to Jesus. The roof. It was regularly used as a place of rest and of quiet, and so there was an outside stairway or a ladder of some sort which ascended to it. With arms no doubt weary from bearing the weight of a man's paralyzed body, they made their way up. The construction of the roof lent itself to what these ingenious friends proposed to do. The roof consisted of flat beams laid across from ...

541. What Doors to Unlock

Matthew 16:13-20

Illustration

Gary Charles (adapted)

... door right now or to lock every door right away. No one cares that the keys aren't labeled and there are a thousand of them to sort through. You've got the keys. You're in charge. Act like it! I can't tell you how Peter felt that day when Jesus promised him ... 's a major part of my problem. To the extent that you and I are key holders to the church of the risen Christ and provide some sort of access to the glorious realm of God, we've got a key problem and a much more serious one than how to haul all of them ...

542. Time’s A-Wasting

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Robert J. Elder

... clean the fish, eat the fish, sell the fish, cast the net, gather the fish, clean the fish, eat the fish. That's how life is, apart from a few occasional festivals and other distractions, there is a lot a repetition — a lot of repetition. But into that sort of humdrum, there came Jesus. His coming had a sudden cast to it, and here Mark uncorks one of the first of his favorite phrases from the gospel that's always in a hurry to tell the story: "And immediately...." Mark uses the word "immediately" 27 times ...

543. A Whole City at The Door

Mark 1:29-39

Sermon

Robert J. Elder

... and its purpose. I can't tell you how many hundreds of conversations I have had with people over the years about the things the church ought and ought not do in order to fill the pews, to get people to want to come out to church. More of this sort of music, less of that, more pizzazz, less dogma and doctrine, more entertainment, less preaching and teaching. I've heard it all, and I've heard it a hundred times. Then I look at the example of Jesus in this simple story. He healed, he cast out demons, and right ...

544. Looking Up: Looking Out

Mark 9:2-9

Sermon

Robert J. Elder

... coffee in my lap during a moment of turbulence, he took that as the opportune moment to pop the inevitable question for ministers riding on airplanes: "Are you a pastor?" In the course of our conversation, I learned that he was what I took to be a sort of statistician with his own business. He had helped develop an internet website with a unique purpose. It is a site where people can make contributions to good causes that have captured their attention, where all the money they give will go to the cause they ...

545. The Ear, the Tongue, and the Temper: A Lesson in Spiritual Anatomy

James 1:17-27

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

... Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like" (James 1:22-24). James was a pragmatic sort of fellow. He saw clearly that the majority of people are not moved by theoretical persuasion, but are looking for practical answers, for purpose and meaning, and for direction in the midst of ethical problems and challenges. Before he has even finished his first few verses of ...

546. A Four Word Memoir

Philippians 1:12-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... player wouldn’t jump at an opportunity like that? For one, Wesley Britt. He said it didn’t sound like the sort of thing he should do. Britt takes his faith seriously. He spends a lot of time visiting churches and speaking to ... lose it all.” “To live is to be in the best of health, to die is to lose my life, what now?” (9) It is a sobering thought. It sort of sums up what we said earlier, Without Christ, why bother? Could we sum up our lives in the way St. Paul summed up his? “To live is Christ; ...

547. Do Not Forget Your Servant

1 Samuel 1:4-20

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

... 10:11-25, locates the fulfillment of that promise in the Christ. It says that, having sacrificed himself for us, Christ has sat down at the right hand of God, and since then, is waiting until his enemies will be made a footstool for his feet. This is a different sort of empire we await. It is the power of the lamb, the one who is trustworthy. So, like Hannah, we present ourselves before the Lord. In the words of the psalm for today we pray: Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord ...

548. No Pleasing Some People

John 12:1-8

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... much a year's salary. Do you own something worth a year's salary — some piece of jewelry, a book, a car, a boat? What sort of use are you getting out of it? Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, offers a one time only gift for Jesus. Because once ... direction of death it should be aiming directly at life eternal. Actually things are worse than they seem. Mary breaks all sorts of barriers in the society and shocks people when she ministers to Jesus. There are social, cultural, and religious taboos that ...

549. How Much of an Honor?

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... three items, but what do you grab. What's crucial? What is the one thing you need? (Let parishioners talk about this for a moment.) What sorts of things did you grab? What was the thing you needed? Did it ever occur to you that there is only one thing we truly need ... who were about to receive their Master of Divinity degrees and go out into the ministry. The result was published as Flockfood, a sort of consumer guide to sermons. As a member of the flock Durnbaugh had to admit he wasn't flattered by the ...

550. The End of The Beginning

Acts 1:1-11, Luke 24:50-53

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... of Jesus — it's a time for blessings and farewell. But the account in Acts is the beginning of our part of the story, a book that is still being written today by every Christian who works as a missionary, volunteers in a soup kitchen, sorts clothes at a domestic violence shelter, or teaches in a Sunday school. Far from being symptoms of some strange gospel that ignores the divinity of Jesus and his imminent return, these actions are proof that we take his words seriously and are doing exactly what we ...

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