Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 601 to 625 of 4936 results

601. "On The Way To The Cross"

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

"And when they drew near and saw the city he wept over it." Luke 19:41 Palm Sunday is a hard day for preachers. At a breakfast gathering for clergy last week the question was asked, "Have you ever heard a good Palm Sunday sermon?" The consensus was no, we had not. We decided that perhaps part of the reason for that is that Palm Sunday is the crowd’s day ... Palm Sunday is the disciples’ day ... Palm Sunday is not Jesus’ day. On Palm Sunday Jesus tried to say something which no one heard. Jesus had ...

602. When Ten Equals Two

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Larry Powell

In the jungles of South America, there lives a peculiar, indolent creature known as the three-toed sloth. Actually named for one of the seven deadly sins, the sloth will spend at least eighteen hours each day sleeping. Even when awake, this lazy creature remains almost motionless. When it does move, its sluggish movements are excruciatingly slow. Being too lazy to indulge in personal grooming, its coarse hair provides a home for two species of bluegreen algae, a cockroach-like moth, and hundreds of beetles ...

603. Power and Compassion

Hebrews 5:1-10

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

Many of you may remember from your grade school days a novel by Mark Twain titled, The Prince and the Pauper. It has been adapted in various forms of Disney productions and even a few cartoon tales. The Twain story begins with two boys with identical features — one a spoiled royal heir, and the other a street urchin surviving on his wits. By chance they meet. The pauper is enamored with the fineries of the palace, while the prince envies the pauper's freedom to come and go as he chooses. Eventually, they ...

604. Dots on a Screen

Hebrews 9:24-28

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

Several years have now passed since the television series Survivor first debuted to become a summer ratings sensation. The concept was simple: place a group of individuals with diverse backgrounds, skills, and personalities into close proximity with a common purpose, namely survival on a deserted island, and let the audience watch as their relationships develop, or fall apart. This, of course, is not to be confused with a much earlier comedy series based on the "seven stranded castaways" of Gilligan's ...

605. Giving Guidelines

Illustration

Paul Borthwick

On the corporate level, ethical purity is mandatory if we are to experience the full blessing of God. George Mueller of Bristol, England, a man known for his prayers of faith and his mighty influence on others, set forth seven statements of ethical commitment. How would modern Christian organizations fare under the light of these guidelines, as quoted by Catherine Marshall in Beyond Our Selves? No funds would ever be solicited. No facts and figures concerning needs were to be revealed by the workers in the ...

606. Joy in Giving

Illustration

Rick Dietrich

Markus Barth reminds us that "early Christian congregations were singing, jubilant, exulting assemblies" like modern-day congregations in parts of Africa. My friend Gerald Stephens writes me from the Congo that he has "never seen so much unmitigated joy during worship." Gerald goes on: "I've been in evangelical churches where folks were well-trained to 'act' joyous...But here, it's no act. It's not Pentecostal ecstasy either, but a kind of reasoned joy. And, probably the most joyous times are the offering ...

607. Finding Our Way Back Home

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

Object: A yellow ribbon Good morning, boys and girls. One of the most familiar sights during the war in the Persian Gulf has been the yellow ribbon. I don't know the original source of this symbol, but I do know that fifty years or so ago there was a story that preachers used to tell. It was about a young man who ran away from home. No one heard from him for many years. Then one day he got homesick. He sent a letter to his family, apologizing to them for all the worry he had caused them. He told them he ...

608. The Spirit of Giving

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

A true story: Two weeks before Christmas a nine-year-old girl was walking with her friend down the street, sliding on the ice. The two of them were talking about what they hoped to get for Christmas. They stopped to talk to an old man named Harry, who was on his knees pulling weeds from around a large oak tree. He wore a frayed, woolen jacket and a pair of worn garden gloves. His fingers were sticking out the ends, blue from the cold. As Harry responded to the girls, he told them he was getting the yard in ...

609. Giving

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

Years ago, a young mother was making her way across the hills of South Wales, carrying her tiny baby in her arms, when she was overtaken by a blinding blizzard. She never reached her destination and when the blizzard had subsided her body was found by searchers beneath a mound of snow. But they discovered that before her death, she had taken off all her outer clothing and wrapped it about her baby. When they unwrapped the child, to their great surprise and joy, they found he was alive and well. She had ...

In almost every marriage there is a selfish and an unselfish partner. A pattern is set up and soon becomes inflexible, of one person always making the demands and one person always giving way.

Iris Murdoch

Be like the bird that, passing on her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing that she hath wings.

Victor Hugo

612. Give It Your Best

Humor

The old man had been sentenced to 145 years in jail for his crimes. He pleaded for mercy. "Your honor, I'm getting on in years, and there is no way I can serve that sentence." The judge looked down and answered firmly, "Do the best you can."

613. All Sorts of Ways to Murder a Person

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

Indifference -- is anything more painful and destructive? In his book The Surrender and the Singing, Ray Ashford wrote, “I once watched a man murder a beautiful and intelligent woman. It wasn’t, mind you, a crime of passion in which he took her life with a knife or gun in a single explosive moment of blinding rage. It was, rather, a crime absolutely devoid of passion, a murder within the law and over a long period of time, four-and-a-half decades. It was murder by indifference and neglect.” What a stinging ...

614. All In: Skin In the Game

Malachi 3:6-18

Sermon

James Merritt

One of the richest men in the United States is Warren Buffet, who is probably the most famous investor in modern times. He said that in his experience the high-ranking insiders and corporate leaders who do the best job in running their company are those people who invest heavily in their own stock. He said the higher up you go on the corporate ladder the more you ought to have “Skin In The Game.” If you are a college football fan, whatever your team might be, you probably at one time or another have or ...

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

Colossians 3:21

Sermon

James Merritt

I am wondering right now how many frustrated people are in this building, or maybe watching by television, whose memories hearken back to parents that you could never totally please. Most every one of us in this room knows someone that is driven to succeed to the nth degree, because they are haunted by the ghost of unrealistic expectations that one or both parents placed on them. There are others in this room who live in perpetual sadness because of a parent that never showed them the affection and the ...

616. The Road Less Traveled

Matthew 7:13-14

Sermon

James Merritt

Are most people going to heaven? Well, most people think they are. According to researcher, George Barna, 98% of Americans believe they are going to heaven. When read the statement, "When you die you will not go to heaven," only two out of a hundred agreed.1 The Lord Jesus disagreed. He said, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there ...

617. I Love My Church

1 Chronicles 29:3

Sermon

James Merritt

Recently someone sent me a list entitled, "Satan's Beatitudes." They said if the devil were to write his Beatitudes they would probably go something like this: Blessed are those who are too tired, too busy, too distracted to spend an hour once a week with their fellow Christians—they are my best workers. Blessed are those Christians who wait to be asked, and expect to be thanked—I can use them. Blessed are the touchy. With a bit of luck they may stop going to church— they are my missionaries. Blessed are ...

618. The House on The Rock

Lk 6:12-49 · Mt 5:1-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (Psalm 18) Props: river stones (rocks) passed out among the people at the beginning of the service or beginning of the sermon OR small tools (such as small hammer, nails, concrete trowel) OR bricks Setting: Consider holding your service outdoors on the lawn today. One option may be to read the entirety of Jesus’ sermon (scriptures ...

619. Elihu Makes His Appearance

Job 32:1--37:24

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

Big Idea: The young Elihu claims to know the truth that has escaped Job and his friends. Understanding the Text After Job concludes his words in 31:40, the reader expects to hear Yahweh speak to resolve the debate between Job and his friends. Instead, a young man named Elihu bursts upon the scene, and for the next six chapters he holds the stage. In his long, uninterrupted speech, Elihu summarizes the points made by Job and the friends, often quoting or alluding to their specific words. He agrees with them ...

620. Trials and Temptations

James 1:1-18, James 1:19-27

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

Wisdom for Life’s Tests 1:1 The letter from James opens with a simple and direct greeting. The writer identifies himself simply as James, a servant of God. There was only one James so well known in the early church that he would need no other form of identification, and that was James the Just, brother of Jesus, leader of the church in Jerusalem. The readers are expected to recognize the name. Yet for all his prominence and important position in the church (so important that the letter from Jude begins, “ ...

621. Listening and Doing

James 1:19-27, James 1:1-18

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

622. Mother's Day Gifts

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

R. E. Lybrand

How hard it is to find a capable wife! She is worth far more than jewels! Her husband puts his confidence in her, and he will never be poor. As long as she lives, she does him good and never harm. She keeps herself busy making wool and linen cloth. She brings home food from out-of-the-way places, as merchant ships do. She gets up before daylight to prepare food for her family and to tell her servant girls what to do. She looks at land and buys it, and with money she has earned she plants a vineyard. She is ...

623. Job's Third Reply to Bildad

Job 26:1--31:40

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

Sarcastic Introduction Job’s response to Bildad’s third speech is extended (six chapters long)—even for the usually loquacious Job! Many commentators divide up the chapters attributed to Job to supply an extension to Bildad’s brief speech, as well as to wholly reconstruct a missing third speech for Zophar. Such reconstruction, however, can only proceed on a presumptive assumption of what each speaker would have said—and is thus controlled ultimately by the reconstructor’s theory rather than challenged and ...

624. Prayers for the Sundays After Easter

Bulletin Aid

Rolland R. Reece

Our Creator, how we enjoy the arrival of spring. Lush green grass rises in our lawns decorating our streets with home to home carpeting. Bird songs, silent in winter, now fill the air with enchanting melodies. The brown loam of our gardens and fields warms in preparation for the coming seeds and plants. The brilliant colors of jonquils, tulips, and hyacinths edge our flower beds and ring our trees. Who are we that you lavish upon us such splendor? The air warms as the sun dispatches the winds of winter. ...

625. The Law and the Promise

Galatians 3:15-25, Galatians 3:1-14

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

3:1–2 The apostle begins this section of his letter by addressing his readers as foolish Galatians! This designation appears to have been a common one for the Galatian tribes who were often considered barbarians and “foolish.” The ancient Greek writer Callimachus (c. 305–c. 240 B.C.), for instance, uses the word as if it were a standard epithet, writing: “the foolish tribe of the Galatians” (Hymn 4, To Delos [Mair, LCL]). Paul uses this epithet to remind the Galatians that they need not be as they once ...

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Showing 601 to 625 of 4936 results

601. "On The Way To The Cross"

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

602. When Ten Equals Two

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Larry Powell

603. Power and Compassion

Hebrews 5:1-10

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

604. Dots on a Screen

Hebrews 9:24-28

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

605. Giving Guidelines

Illustration

Paul Borthwick

606. Joy in Giving

Illustration

Rick Dietrich

607. Finding Our Way Back Home

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

608. The Spirit of Giving

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

609. Giving

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

In almost every marriage there is a selfish and an unselfish partner. A pattern is set up and soon becomes inflexible, of one person always making the demands and one person always giving way.

Iris Murdoch

Be like the bird that, passing on her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing that she hath wings.

Victor Hugo

612. Give It Your Best

Humor

613. All Sorts of Ways to Murder a Person

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

614. All In: Skin In the Game

Malachi 3:6-18

Sermon

James Merritt

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

Colossians 3:21