Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 576 to 600 of 2561 results

576. Don’t Tempt Me—But If You Do I’m Ready

1 Corinthians 10:13

Sermon

James Merritt

Question: Do you ever feel as if the whole world is against you? Well, I've got news for you. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, it is! If you are a friend of God you are an enemy of the world. God expects you, from the moment you get up in the morning until you go to bed at night, to "go out and whip the world." For the next four weeks I want to share with you exactly how to do that in a practical personal way. I want to deal with a problem that we all face every day. It doesn't matter whether you're ...

577. Focus on the Finish

Hebrews 12:1-2

Sermon

James Merritt

It was Mexico City 1968. John Steven Akhwari of Tanzania had started the Olympic marathon with all the other runners hours before, but he finished it alone. When he finally arrived at the stadium there were only a few spectators remaining in the stands. The winner of the marathon had crossed the finish line over an hour earlier. It was getting dark; his right leg was bandaged and heavily bleeding. He was obviously in great pain, but he crossed the finish line suffering from fatigue, leg cramps, dehydration ...

578. Masks

Matthew 23:1-12

Sermon

Chris Ewing

There are going to be a lot of people running around out there with masks on this week. People pretending to be something they're not — or maybe trying on something that in part they are, or want to be. (put on mask)1 Masks are interesting things. We all wear them, you know, and not just on Halloween. We put on the brave smiling mask when our hearts are breaking. We put on a gruff mask to keep people at a distance. We put on a wild and crazy mask to get attention or to avoid responsibility. We put on an " ...

579. God’s Most Troubling Promise

Romans 8:28

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever noticed that life is full of challenges? Have you noticed that, sooner or later, all of us are going to have some pretty steep mountains to climb? I heard about a woman named Jill whose car was unreliable. She called her friend John for a ride every time her car broke down. One day John got yet another one of those calls. “What happened this time?” he asked. “My brakes went out,” Jill said. “Can you come and get me?” “Where are you?” John asked. “I’m in the drugstore,” Jill responded. “And ...

580. What Does It Mean to Be Blessed?

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

“‘I’m so blessed.’ You hear it more and more these days,” notes Pastor Richard Allen. “Most noticeably . . . from famous people, and often in acceptance speeches. Clutching a golden statue they say, ‘I’m so blessed to be here today’ . . . My issue,” continues Allen, “with such usage is not that it is flippant, or even untrue. Actors and politicians can be deeply sincere about feeling blessed. My issue with such usage is that it is so easy. It requires little effort, in a moment of victory, to know oneself ...

581. Paradise Lost

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

James Merritt

Vesna Vulovic made history on January 26, 1972 and in doing so made the Guinness World Book of Records. It is not an honor that she wanted, was looking for, or particularly enjoyed. She was a flight attendant on a DC-9 that was flying over what is now the Czech Republic when a bomb went off and blew the plane apart. She fell 33,330 feet and going 122 miles an hour landed on the side of a mountain and even though she suffered a fractured skull, three broken vertebrae, and two broken legs, and was in a coma ...

582. Oracles of Restoration

Ezekiel 34:1-31, Ezekiel 35:1-15, Ezekiel 36:1-38, Ezekiel 37:1-14, Ezekiel 37:15-28

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

Ezekiel’s Message of Hope and Restoration: Ezekiel 34–48, the second major part of this book, is concerned with a message of hope for the exiles and with the promise of Israel’s future restoration. That message has broken through in a muted sense in chapters 1–33 (11:14–21; 16:53–63; 20:33–44; 28:25–26), but it now becomes the central theme. These fifteen chapters fall into three sections. The first, chapters 34–37, is a series of seven oracles dealing with the restoration of Israel. The second section ...

583. Joey and Nicky at Skull Mountain

Mark 15:42-47

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: Anointing oil (preferably frankincense or myrrh) Joey and Nicky at Skull Mountain -- It sounds like a mystery like Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys, doesn’t it? Or for those with a slightly more sinister flair, a story by E. L. Stine. Intrigue, Mystery, Mayhem, and a good dose of the gruesome. And slightly Spooky. The events surrounding Jesus’ death were certainly strange and unusual. The High Priest and his family of former and future high priests had been pushing to get something done about Jesus ...

584. The Rebirth

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Ron Lavin

The story of Nicodemus is fascinating and intriguing. Nicodemus came to Jesus secretly by night, probably because he didn't want anyone to see him. He came to Jesus with a compliment. He said, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him" (John 3:2), thinking that Jesus, like most people, would be impressed by a compliment. He came wanting to discuss theology, assuming that Jesus would be interested in a ...

585. Miracle Three: Healing A Leper

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon Aid

Harold H. Lentz

BACKGROUND MATERIAL There is considerable variety to the miracles performed by Christ. One was performed in a synagogue (curing the demoniac), another in a home (healing Peter's mother-in-law), and this one he performed on a public thoroughfare. While Jesus and his disciples were walking, a man afflicted with the terrible disease of leprosy approached them. Fear of leprosy was so great that strict laws had been passed concerning the actions of one so afflicted. The law demanded that lepers should isolate ...

586. Will The Real Messiah Please Stand Up?

Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

William L. Self

In the early days of television a popular game show, To Tell the Truth, held the attention of the American audience. A panel of interesting and colorful experts was in place, along with an engaging host. They were presented with three contestants, each claiming to be a famous person or a person who had accomplished an unusual feat. The identity of the real person was known only to the host. After a period of questioning by the panel when the panel and everyone else had been given a chance to vote for their ...

587. Whose Work Is It?

Luke 21:5-38

Drama

Pamela Urfer

Cast: Two women, Eeodia and Syntyche, and one man, Clement Length: 10 minutes (The two women are seated on their stools with an empty stool between them. CLEMENT enters excitedly, waving a letter.) CLEMENT: Euodia! Syntyche! Paul has sent us another letter! Epaphroditus just brought it. SYNTYCHE: Oh, Clement! That's so wonderful. I just don't know what we would do without Paul's advice. EUODIA: Yes. It's hard starting a new church as part of a new religion. Harder than I ever expected. CLEMENT: (Taking his ...

588. Whose Work Is It?

Philemon 1:1-7

Drama

Pamela Urfer

Cast: Two women, Euodia and Syntyche one man, Clement Length: 10 minutes The two women are seated on their stools with an empty stool between them. CLEMENT enters excitedly, waving a letter. CLEMENT: Euodia! Syntyche! Paul has sent us another letter! Epaphroditus just brought it. SYNTYCHE: Oh, Clement! That's so wonderful. I just don't know what we would do without Paul's advice. EUODIA: Yes. It's hard starting a new church as part of a new religion. Harder than I ever expected. CLEMENT: (Taking his seat) ...

589. Adam And Jesus See Temptation

Genesis 3:1-24, Genesis 2:4-25, Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

David Belgum

Adam and Jesus were both good and created in the Image of God. It was not inherent evil or original sin that blinded Adam. We read that "God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good"; that included fish, birds, cattle, creeping things, and Adam. "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them." Nothing was lacking. Everything was going along just fine. How like us. All our needs are met and supplied. Chances are very good we have a weather-tight house with a ...

590. King Ahaz,Idolater

Drama

Peter C. Garrison

King Ahaz has a real problem: he's worshiped about everything but the one true God; a blunder of cosmic proportions as we shall see. Could you be making the same mistake? (Please read 2 Chronicles 28) King Ahaz King Ahaz sits outside heaven with a few other people. They are all waiting for something to happen or for someone to come and tell them something. King Ahaz stands up. He walks back and forth. He clasps his hands together and unclasps them. He peers over the shoulders of the others who wait. ...

591. Proper 14

Genesis 37:12-36, 1 Kings 19:9-18, Jonah 2:1-10, Matthew 14:22-36, Romans 9:1-5; 10:5-15

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: How to overcome a contrary wind. The disciples faced a fiercely opposing wind on the Sea of Galilee. So too did Elijah, after his victory on Mount Carmel. Queen Jezebel was after his life. In both instances, they felt overwhelmed. Then, God came to still the storm. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 Joseph, who was given a long robe with sleeves as a sign of his father's favor, was deeply resented by his brothers. One day, Jacob sent Joseph out in the field to find his brothers and they ...

592. Evergreen Wreath And Faded Leaf

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

Harold Warlick

The occasion was a joyous one as the young bride and groom settled into their seats at the head table at the Country Club. Like most wedding rehearsal dinners, the environment was heightened by candles, flowers, special music, expensive clothes, and family and friends who had not seen each other in years. Most likely many would not embrace one another again until the next family wedding or a funeral shivered its way to the forefront. All the proper symbols of hope were present in the room: the greenery, ...

593. Rainbow In The Sky

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

"My heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky: So was it when my life began; so it is now ..." So wrote Wordsworth. Now we know why. God gave the rainbow, our text informs us, as a sign of the unfailing presence and love of God who assures that the darkness shall never overcome us. Most of us have known the exhilaration of a sudden burst of sunlight through prevailing darkness, a splendid display of color across the sky, and the promise again fulfilled that beyond all darkness is light and beauty. ...

594. Advent 1

1 Corinthians 1:1-9, Isaiah 63:7--64:12, Mark 13:32-37, Mark 13:1-31

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: The return of the Lord. In Isaiah 64:1 the writer earnestly hopes that God will rend or tear the heavens and come down to restore his people and subdue their foes. In Paul's introduction to 1 Corinthians he prays that the Lord would sustain them until the revealing of the Lord Jesus. The Gospel has Jesus warning his disciples to watch closely for his return. COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Isaiah 64:1-9 (C, E); Isaiah 63:16b-17; 64:1, 3b-8 (RC) As the Israelites returned from exile in Babylon, they had high ...

595. A Faith That Burns

Luke 12:49-53

Sermon

W. Robert McClelland

"Conflict" is a dirty word in most churches. As Christians, we seek to avoid it at all costs and do so in the name of Christian love. We call it, "seeking the peace, unity and purity" of the church. And then Jesus comes along and says, "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword (Matthew 10:34)," or as Luke has it, "I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!" The words send us scurrying for explanations to reduce their caustic effect. But who is this whose words intrude ...

596. The Scariest Sound in the World

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Johnny Dean

There’s been a lot of controversy in the past couple of weeks about the decision made by several local counties to move the celebration of Halloween from the traditional date, October 31, which fell this year on Sunday, to Saturday, October 30. The outrage evident in some of the letters published on the editorial page of the Roanoke Times would lead a person to think that some sort of sacrilege had been committed, some grave violation (pardon the pun) of time-honored tradition. And some have pointed the ...

597. There's Blindness, and There's Blindness

John 9:13-34, John 9:1-12

Sermon

Johnny Dean

John Killinger tells the story of a man who visited one day in a classroom for visually impaired children. Troubled by what he saw, the man remarked, insensitively, "It must be terrible to go through life without eyes." One little girl quickly responded, "It’s not half as bad as having two good eyes but still not being able to see." Her point was well made. There is physical blindness, and there is another, even more tragic form of blindness that affects the spirit. Both forms of blindness are present in ...

598. Christmas Eve Candlelight Service

Bulletin Aid

Robert G. McCreight

The Order Of Worship We approach the worship of God this evening with a hushed awareness of Christ's presence in our midst. God again breaks through the calm and darkness to reveal himself to us in the stillness of our hearts. Let the praises of your heart and the songs of your voice be "joyful yet restrained" that we might be sensitive to the quiet indwelling of his Spirit. Organ And Piano Prelude: "And He Shall Feed His Flock"Handel Introit: "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence"The Chancel Choir The Call ...

599. Whose Work Is It?

Philippians 1:1-11

Drama

Pamela Urfer

Cast: Two women, EUODIA and SYNTYCHE, and one man, CLEMENT Length: 10 minutes The two women are seated on their stools with an empty stool between them. CLEMENT enters excitedly, waving a letter. CLEMENT: Euodia! Syntyche! Paul has sent us another letter! Epaphroditus just brought it. SYNTYCHE: Oh, Clement! That's so wonderful. I just don't know what we would do without Paul's advice. EUODIA: Yes. It's hard starting a new church as part of a new religion. Harder than I ever expected. CLEMENT: (Taking his ...

600. The Gospel of the Little Man

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Children of all ages quickly recognize Zacchaeus as the little man who shimmied up a sycamore in Jericho to get a glimpse of Jesus as he passed through town. His story has long been a favorite with the children of the church schools, especially those who have experience in climbing trees. His image is imprinted on the mental screen of everyone familiar with the story, for when pilgrims tour the Holy Land and come to Jericho, to see a sycamore rates high in their priorities, and travel guides who find ...

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