Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 526 to 550 of 813 results

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Who's your favorite superhero? We've got a lot to pick from this summer. Everybody loves a superhero. Just look at the movies. Our kids' heads are filled with dreams of superhero-dom, as we fill their toy chests with action figures, costumes, and props so they can pretend they're the latest champion of the universe. This summer opened with George Lucas' newest installment in the Star Wars saga: Episode II Attack of the Clones. It re-energized the lore and lure of that extraterrestrial epic our ...

527. Pay It Forward!

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Rosa Parks decided not to move to the back of the bus. · John, Paul, George, and Ringo decided not to get haircuts. · IBM decided to let Bill Gates keep the rights to his software. · Tiger Woods' dad gave his two-year-old a few toy golf clubs. · Rachael Carson decided to go bird-watching and heard a Silent Spring. · A small, bungled break-in occurred at the National Democratic Headquarters in that stately D.C. building, The Watergate. And in the last decades the Internet is perhaps the most obvious ...

528. Your Cheatin' Heart

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... you "saved" on your now deceased hard drive. But like that favorite doll salvaged out of the toilet by the plumber, it never seems to be in quite the same shape when you finally get it back as it was when it went in. Recovered files, like recovered toys, take a lot of cleaning up. Crashing your computer's hard drive is such a disaster because the hard drive is the heart of your machine. When the hard drive is lost, nothing else can function properly. Without its heart, its central core, the complex web of ...

529. Bad or Good?

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

In a syndicated newspaper cartoon, Santa Claus is pictured at his work bench putting a new toy together. From his nearby TV set, he hears a reporter saying, "We continue our look at the real meaning of Christmas – sales indicators. Consumers have dramatically cut back their borrowing which could slow the economy, but which might be a healthy development after their earlier borrowing which boosted the economy ...

530. The Golden Bull or the Old Rugged Cross?

Acts 16:16-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... as different as the pursuit of the good life (i.e. the pursuit of "goods") is from the pursuit of God. Jesus cautioned that "the kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed" (Luke 17:20). Larger houses, glitzy clothing, fancier "toys," do not indicate the presence of the kingdom. Rather Jesus declared, "The kingdom of God is among you" (Luke 17:21). In the spaces between people, in the closeness of the relationships that hold people together, there is found the kingdom. Jim Forest tells ...

531. What's Your Status Symbol?

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of a a trendy restaurant, gracefully emerge and hand the keys off to an impressed and grateful valet. Who among us has not cringed when we've pulled our dirty mini-van up to a valet parking lot, hauled out ourselves, our kids, the stroller, the toys, and then smiling apologetically watched the valet try to and sit down without landing on a gummy bear or an exploding juice box, or something worse. If cars are one of our most easily recognizable status symbols they are certainly only at the top of an ever ...

532. Who Put It There? (Mother's Day)

1 Peter 5:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next. Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys and battery operated devices. Also, must have a highly energetic entrepreneurial spirit, because fund-raiser will be your middle name. Must have a diverse knowledge base, so as to answer questions such as "What makes the wind move?" on the fly. Must ...

533. Life's Four Big 'Ds' and One Bigger 'D'

Galatians 2:11-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... either be a delightful escapist fantasy, or a miserable consumeristic experience in "wannabe-ness." Here are some exclusive, high-end catalogs. These are especially fun . . . and frustrating. For males, there's Sporty's catalog, which offers four and five digit big-boy toys (boats, deluxe grills, golf carts with mini-bars!). Here's Neiman-Marcus (a.k.a. "Needless Markup") for that ankle length fur or double strand of pearls that you "need". My wife's favorite method of catalog shopping is to go through each ...

534. Living Outside the Box

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... now asphalted forests and farmlands. The idea both Woolworth's and Newberry's sold was that you could get virtually anything and get it cheap at their stores. It did seem that they stocked everything from dishes to dresses to tools and toys; from a hundred colors of thread and a hundred types of candy to cosmetics and . . . crocodiles! Yes, crocodiles. Small crocodiles. Okay, they were probably South American caimans. But along with a seemingly endless supply of those remarkably short-lived baby turtles ...

535. Be Ready!

Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon

King Duncan

... . The crisis was over. She would survive. (4) Friends, what our children need this Christmas is not a bunch of things. What they need is time with people who love them, people who will affirm them. What our spouses need this Christmas is not a new electronic toy or a new accessory. What they need is us. This whole world spun into existence out of a desire for relationship--God’s desire for beings to share creation with Him. When God wanted to redeem this world God did it through a baby, His son. It ...

536. The Dash of Discipleship

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Spirit into righteousness. Fruits of transformation will spring forth. Failing to bear fruit testifies to the falsity of repentance. By your fruits you will know them. Not by the amount of annual salary you pull in will you know them. Not by the number of expensive toys you own will you know them. Not even by how many people attend your church, or how or beautifully the choir sings, will you know them. Christians are not a culture of consumers. We're a COMMUNION OF CONCEIVERS. When God instructed us to tend ...

537. Christmas Is Love

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... baby brother in her lap and telling him the story of Christmas. Here is how her account read: “Jesus was born just in time for Christmas, up at the North Pole, surrounded by tiny reindeer and the Virgin Mary. Then Santa Claus showed up with lots of toys and stuff and some swaddling clothes. “The three wise men and elves all sang carols while the Little Drummer Boy and Scrooge helped Joseph trim the tree. In the meantime, Frosty the Snowman saw this star…” It’s easy to see how she could be confused ...

538. A New Calling

Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... is becoming a thing of the past for many people in our society. Many of us are working harder than ever--and we’re not sure why. A recent study indicates that it is in order to keep up with the Joneses. If neighbor Jones can provide the latest toys for his kids, then we’ve got to find a way to provide them for our kids. Heaven help us if our offspring should discover that they can’t have everything everybody else has. So we work harder and harder. And we wonder why something is missing from our ...

539. Travel Light

Matthew 10:9-10

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

... should be too many to place in the backpack and gym bag. A few heavy items and a few long spindly items (e.g. a fully extended fishing rod) would help to weigh the child down. Other possible items: frying pan, large flash light, toothpaste, shoes, toys, heavy book, fishing pole, piggybank full of coins, sleeping bag, etc. Lesson: Good Morning. We are going on a trip and I need someone who is willing to wear the backpack. (response) Choose a child small enough to have problems bearing the load. Put the empty ...

540. Filled with Fear, Accepted with Grace

Luke 24:13-35

Illustration

J. Daniel Hester

... being treated like everyone else and his amazement grew. Finally, the chaplain, making his morning rounds, gave the German soldier cigarettes, candy, tooth powder, and soap just like everyone else. The German soldier started to grin and sat up playing with his new possessions like a little boy with new toys. That's what Easter looks like. We are in the hands of a power that we think should destroy us. Instead, God meets us with resurrection.

541. Abundant Life

John 10:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... s gospel to baptize rampant materialism? No, it does not. In our culture we are apt to confuse the “abundant life” that Jesus taught with what is often referred to in our culture as the “good life.” The good life consists of things. The accumulation of toys. Someone once saw an epitaph on a tomb that read like this: “She died of things.” The next tomb said, “He died providing things for her.” Did you know that there are more malls than high schools in American today? In a recent year, more ...

542. A Mother’s Prayer

2 Timothy 1:5

Illustration

... - not godliness. Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh. Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window. Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk. Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys. Love is present through the trials. Love reprimands, reproves, and is responsive. Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, runs with the child, then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood. Love is the key that opens salvation's message to a ...

543. Not Now, Honey

Ephesians 6:1-4

Illustration

... , go watch television.. The most often spoken words in the American household today are the words: go watch television. If not now, when? Later. But later never comes for many and the parent fails to communicate at the very earliest of ages. We give her designer clothes and computer toys, but we do not give her what she wants the most, which is our time. Now, she is fifteen and has a glassy look in her eyes. Honey, do we need to sit down and talk? Too late. Love has passed by." That's the end of the Quote ...

544. Cast-off Items

Matthew 10:40-42

Illustration

King Duncan

... them. She told him the children were eating off the Frisbees, carrying water with them, and even catching fish with them. When the representative explained how the Frisbees were intended to be used, the nun was even more delighted that the children would also be able to enjoy them as toys. On one level, that story is rather amusing. On another, it is very sad. There are people who would prize even our cast-off items, who would be grateful to eat what we throw away.

545. If I Only Had One Wish

2 Chronicles 1:1-12

Sermon

James Merritt

... gift every dad can pass on to his children that will last beyond his lifetime. You can leave your children money, but eventually they will spend it. You can leave your children property, but eventually they will sell it. You can leave your family trinkets and toys, but eventually they will either lose them or give them away. But when you leave them wisdom, it lasts forever! Proverbs 4 is a very revealing picture both of a precious memory in Solomon's mind, and the purpose for Proverbs that was in Solomon's ...

546. The World Needs Less Mother Goose More Mother Teresa

Isaiah 58:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... invented the concept of the individual as we know it today—-an autonomous, self-defined, discreet person who is free to choose a multiplicity of identities and “selves.” You can even hear the individualism of contemporary culture in our technological toys: iTunes, iPods, iToys, iPhones . .. We can’t even do a Wii without two “ii’s.” Third, “stand.” The modern world focused on an understanding of truth as rational principles and propositions that led one to “bear witness” by “taking ...

547. The Only Way to Fly

2 Timothy 3:15-17

Sermon

James Merritt

... . Let me give you some practical illustrations: "If it feels good, do it."—that's VFR—But the Bible says, "Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel." (Prov. 20:17)—that's IFR. "He who dies with the most toys wins."—that's VFR—But the Bible says, "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36)—that's IFR. "All roads lead to God."—that's VFR—But the Bible says, "I am the way, the truth, and the ...

548. It's Not How You Start But How You Finish That Counts

Ephesians 4:1, 11-16

Sermon

James Merritt

... of God. Did you know that the more that a church grows, that the ratio of workers who are needed to continue the ministry of that church grows even greater? The word "edifying" in v.12 is a word that literally means "to build a house." Spiritual gifts are not toys to play with, they are tools to build with. When a believer does not put his gift to work, the body suffers. For God gives each person uniquely and individually to do the work that He has called him to do, and when that gift is not exercised, that ...

549. Bridging the Generation Gap

Ephesians 6:1-4

Sermon

James Merritt

... to obey. The Minnesota Crime Commission issued a report with this finding: Every baby starts life as a little savage. He is completely selfish and self-centered. He wants what he wants when he wants it: his bottle, his mother's attention, his playmate's toys, his uncle's watch, or whatever. Deny him these and he seethes with rage and aggressiveness which would be murderous were he not so helpless. He's dirty, he has no morals, no knowledge, no developed skills. This means that all children, not just certain ...

550. What Child Is This?

Isaiah 9:6-7

Sermon

James Merritt

... at that story, but the truth is that little girl's mixed up perspective of Christmas is not much different than the average person carries around today. Santa has replaced the Savior; Rudolph has replaced the Redeemer; feasting has replaced faith; toys have replaced truth, and glittering lights have replaced God's love. Well, 700 years before Jesus Christ was even born, a prophet of God explained Christmas before anyone had even experienced Christmas. Seven centuries before the cradle rocked, the star shown ...

Showing results