Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 576 to 600 of 975 results

576. How May We Come to God?

Psalm 24:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I spent last Sunday and Monday with my father down in Perry County, Mississippi. He’s 90 years old. It was not a planned visit. His left leg went dead on him -- that’s the way he put it -- his leg went dead on him. The doctors said it was a blood clot. The arteries were too hardened to deal with the clot through surgery and they were afraid they would have to amputate the leg. Thankfully, that has not been the case and we are grateful. Being there with him brought back powerful memories of my mother. She ...

577. Let Not Thy Will Roar, When Thy Power Can But Whisper

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

As most of you know, I have been away for awhile. I hope you know that. It started out to be a two-month renewal leave. It ended up being six weeks – two of those were work, but four wonderful weeks spent in renewal. I didn’t know how desperately I needed it. I had no agenda, other than to walk the beach, relax, read, reflect, and pray. I began that time of renewal with a three-day fast (Jerry and I together). I wanted to disconnect from an arduous work schedule and to connect with unscheduled days, and ...

578. Partners In the Gospel

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Connections are important. Nobody understands the word connection as do United Methodists. When we talk about the larger church we refer to it as “the connection.” Connections are important. I remember visiting with a young man in Nashville 25 years ago -- I was the editor of the Upper Room and this young man was a student at Vanderbilt University. His parents were friends of mine but I had known him only in passing. This was one of those encounters that we have now and then that we sense are charged with ...

579. Power For Christian Living: Am I On My Own?

Romans 3:3-5

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

The glorious good news of the gospel is not only are we pardoned by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live as “new creatures” – “everything old has passed away…everything has become new” (II Cor. 5:17). We are not on our own. After expressing the truth that we are justified by faith and have peace with God through Jesus Christ, (Romans 12:1). Then states a heartening aspect of the gospel: “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that ...

580. People With Shining Faces

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

King Duncan

You don’t have to raise your hand, but is there anyone in this room who worries about your appearance? Most of us, right? You may remember the time-honored story of the woman who was working in her front yard when a moving van pulled up next door. Her new neighbors drove up behind the moving van. While the movers were unloading the van, the new neighbors walked over and greeted the woman. She was a bit self-conscious because she had dirt on her hands and face and was wearing dirty, old clothes. A few days ...

581. The Incredibility of the Gospel

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I don’t know how it is with you but I can recall occasions when a text of Scripture grabbed my imagination, gripped my mind, buried its way into my soul, and became a part of my being. In many instances, I can relive the setting when that happened and it energizes my life. Our Scripture lesson for this message is such a case. I may have told some of you the story. It was Senior Recognition Day at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, 1958, and I was graduating. The dean had invited Dow Kirkpatrick ...

582. Getting Your Politics Right

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

I grew up with the myth, universally absorbed but rarely argued for except by extremists with bad manners, that whites were superior. Exceptions were acknowledged, but only as exceptions that did not change the rule. Racism was one of the unspoken beliefs of my childhood culture before the Civil Rights movement rose up to challenge the great lie with the potent rhetoric of our founding documents, as in The Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal ...

583. Obedience Really Matters

Matthew 7:15-23

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

It is because we are a people of such high intelligence, and perhaps the threat of product liability litigation, that the following warning labels were recently found on consumer products? On a Duraflame fireplace log: "Caution - Risk of Fire." On a children’s Batman costume: "Warning: Cape does not enable user to fly. On a bottle of hair coloring: "Do not use as an ice cream topping." On a cardboard sun shield for a car: "Do not drive with sun shield in place." And, for the first time parent, this label ...

584. The “Sad-You-See” Syndrome

Mark 12:18-27

Sermon

Michael Milton

Today we witness an ancient military war tactic at work—attack in waves, leaving no time for the enemy to recover from the first shot. First came the chief priests, scribes, and elders with their religious question to trap Jesus Christ.[1] They were defeated by Jesus, and they knew it. But it wasn’t over. The scheming conspirators then sent the unlikely alliance of the Pharisees and the Herodians to throw a political net over the Savior, but they failed. Now, in an unrelenting attack, comes a rather ...

585. Spirit Power

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

In 1926, a wealthy Toronto lawyer named Charles Vance Millar died, leaving behind him a will that amused and electrified the citizens of his Canadian province. Millar, a bachelor with a wicked sense of humor, stated clearly that he intended his last will and testament to be an “uncommon and capricious” document. Because he had no close heirs to inherit his fortune, he divided his money and properties in a way that amused him and aggravated his newly chosen heirs. Here are just a few examples of his strange ...

586. Fire Falling from Heaven

Luke 12:49-53

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

Jesus spends much of the twelfth chapter of Luke reassuring and encouraging his followers in the face of possible catastrophic circumstance. "I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more" (v. 4). "Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life" (v. 22). "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (v. 32). The same chapter ends on a far less positive note. Rather than encouraging reassurance, Jesus ...

587. A Deliverer Is Born

Exodus 1:1-22, 2:1-10

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

The River Nile is the longest river in the world, snaking 4,160 miles from Burundi, Africa, to the Mediterranean Sea. And in this beautiful, exotic, life-giving river lives one of the most fearsome creatures in the world -- the crocidilus nilocticus -- the nile crocodile. Twelve species of this strong, ferocious creature watch from the shoals ready to spring and devour an unsuspecting animal or human. Hardly a place to hide a child -- a beautiful child. In fact, nowhere in Egypt was it safe for a Hebrew ...

588. The Glory of God and Our Neighbor’s Good

Romans 15:4-13

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

Call To Worship Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. (Romans 15:7) Collect One: Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. All: Blessed be his glorious name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth. Amen and Amen. One: May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness. All: Lord, defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor. One: While the ...

589. The Light Is Still Shining

Isaiah 60:1-6

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

Call To Worship All: Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Collect Let the nations come to you, Lord. Let the nations come to us, to join us in our sanctuary, as we celebrate your light that shines in the darkness, brightening this day and all eternity. Amen. Prayer Of Confession One: Judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. All: May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills in righteousness. One: Defend the cause of ...

590. Call on the Name of the Lord

Romans 10:5-15

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

Call To Worship One: Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts. All: Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. Women: Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Men: Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky. Younger: The Lord will give what is good, and our land ...

591. No Prejudice in God’s Family

Matthew 15:(10-20) 21-28

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

Call To Worship One: May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us; Selah. That your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations. One: Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. All: Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah. One: Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. All: The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, has ...

592. Credit Where Credit Is Due

Psalm 43:1-5, 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

Call To Worship Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people; from those who are deceitful and unjust deliver me! For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you cast me off? Why must I walk about mournfully because of the oppression of the enemy? O send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; and I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God. Why ...

593. An Enclave of Resistance

Hebrews 1:1-14; 2:5-8

Sermon

Mark Trotter

Our scripture for this morning from Hebrews is one of the great affirmations in the Bible. The author writes: It has been testified somewhere, "What is man that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man, that thou carest for him? Thou didst make him for a little while lower than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet." Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. As it is, we do not yet see everything ...

594. For Those Who Can't Pray

Genesis 32:22-31

Sermon

Mark Trotter

Have you tried to pray, and found it difficult? The words hard to come by? Or, have you ever been asked to pray in public, and panicked, saying, "I can't do that"? Well if you have had that experience, and most of us have, then we are amazed when we hear someone stand up in public and deliver a beautiful, eloquent, lengthy prayer. I heard about a man down in Texas who was a "professional prayer." For a fee he will come to your convention, meeting, or club, and give an invocation. His pious eloquence has ...

595. Two Women

Luke 1:39-45

Sermon

Mark Trotter

Our text for this morning is about two women who come together to tell their stories. They are cousins, distant cousins. Elizabeth, the city cousin, Luke says, lives in the hills of Judea. Her husband, Zechariah, is the priest in the Temple. It must have been a big city to have a temple. Perhaps it was Jerusalem, and if so, then Zechariah would have been one of the priests assigned to the Temple in Jerusalem. Which would mean he was a man of some importance. It says they lived in the hills of Judea. That ...

596. Will You Be in that Number?

John 11:32-44

Sermon

Mark Trotter

I want to tell you about a grave in Peru. I shared this story with you about ten years ago when a grave of a warrior priest was discovered near the pyramids of the ancient Moche Indians. The Moche Indians preceded the Incas in Peru. Their graves have yielded a treasure trove of artifacts, and a thriving black market for the residents in that isolated, northern part of Peru. The inhabitants up there regularly loot the graves and sell the artifacts to collectors. The government decided to crack down on the ...

597. The Garden Is Doing Fine?

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

Remember the nursery rhyme about little contrary Mary? It asks the question, "Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?" This parable of Jesus asks the church the same question. It's all about seed and four different soils that receive it. It's a parable of how different people respond to the gospel. Stolen Seed Jesus said, "A sower went out to sow his seed, and as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trodden underfoot. And the birds of the air devoured it." Anyone who has ever planted a ...

598. Things to Come!

Matthew 13:47-52, Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

I'd quit the ministry were it not for what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 13! Here Jesus is brutally honest in telling his ministers both then and now what to expect. In the best of times ministry is difficult. In the worst of times it is downright intolerable. But there is hope! For in Jesus Christ, nothing is wasted! Matthew 13 is a unique Bible chapter. It is all but the first time in Matthew's Gospel that Jesus used parables to teach. And, clearly, these parables comprise a single sermon, at that! The ...

599. Faith's Curious Dynamic

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

You know that old saying, "Be careful what you wish for, because it might come true"? We see examples of that again and again in life. During the war in Iraq, Hampton Sides, a journalist who had been slated to be "embedded" with one of our frontline Marine battalions, gave an interview on NRP (National Public Radio). At almost the last possible moment, Sides decided not to go with the Marines, but instead to report from Central Command in Qatar. The interviewer asked Sides when he began having doubts about ...

600. Keep on Praying

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Anyone here this morning trying to housebreak a new puppy? If you've ever tried to housebreak a new puppy, you know that the key to success is consistency. You must always take the puppy out the moment it wakes. You must never let it whine and look like it needs to go without whisking the little creature outside. And if you let the puppy get away with any indoor accidents, you can bet that it will return to the scene of the crime for a repeat version of its indiscretion. The same absolute consistency is ...

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