Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 601 to 625 of 793 results

Revelation 22:1-6

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever been thirsty? I mean really thirsty? Some of you may remember a cowboy song by a group called the Sons of the Pioneers that went like this: “All day I faced/ The barren waste/ Without the taste of water/ Cool water/ Poor Dan and I/ With throats burned dry/ And so I cry for water/ Cool, clear water/” (1) Now that’s thirst. O.K., let’s see how old you really are. The Sons of the Pioneers sang in motion pictures with which famous cowboy star and his equally famous wife? Somebody tell me. That’s ...

602. Lessons from Rephidim - Being the Lord's Intercessor

Exodus 17:8-16

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Last Sunday we began to talk about Lessons from Rephidim. We said there were three lessons. One, being the Lord’s instrument; two, being the Lord’s intercessor; and, three, being inter dependent with the Lord’s people. We considered only the first lesson last Sunday. Today, we want to look at the other two. Our scripture story is a dramatic one. It was Israel’s first battle. They met the Amalekites at Rephidim. Joshua commanded the forces of Israel, and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up on the mountain to pray ...

603. For Freedom Christ Has Set Us Free

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There is a story that has been around as long as I have been preaching, so the chances that you have heard it are right good. Even so, I share it. A speaker was scheduled to address some cattlemen. A terrible sleet storm struck on the day of the meeting. When the speaker arrived at the meeting place there were just three men present. The three were seated on the front row of seats — two younger cowmen with an old man between them. After waiting in vain for more people to arrive, the speaker said, “Frankly ...

604. Judas, A Person Like Us

Mark 14:43-52

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Would you ever consider naming one of your children Judas? We name our children James and John and Matthew and Peter and Andrew and Thaddeus. You may not have thought of the apostles of Jesus when you gave these names to your sons. You may have been thinking of a father, or grandfather, but the names go beyond that, back to those disciples of Jesus. But Judas! The name is not in our repertoire of treasured names for our sons. Yet, the name was common among the Jews. There are several Judas’ in the Bible. ...

605. Sons of God

Galatians 3:26--4:7

Sermon

King Duncan

On Mother’s day we listed nine things a mother will never say. Today on this Father’s Day we list “Ten Things Dad Will Never Say.” See how your Dad would do: 10. Well, how about that! I’m lost. Looks like we’ll have to stop and ask for directions. 9. You know, pumpkin. Now that you’re thirteen, you’ll be ready for unchaperoned car dates. Won’t that be fun? 8. I noticed that all your friends have a certain negative attitude. I like that! 7. Here’s a credit card and the keys to my new car. Go crazy! 6. What ...

606. Singing With the Saints of Glory

Revelation 5:11-14

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Sing with all the saints of glory, Sing the resurrection song. Death and sorrow, earth’s dark story, To the former days belong. All around the clouds are breaking, Soon the storms of time shall cease. In God’s likeness we awaking, Know the everlasting peace. Easter people have a song in their hearts that the world never gave. They have a peace it cannot take away. At least that’s the way the Apostle John perceived it as he unveils a glimpse of heaven for all to see. Come, let us take a closer look. I. WE ...

607. From Lust to Love

1 Corinthians 13: 1

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

How can a person express their love of basketball, chocolate, their children, God, and their spouse with a single four-letter word - love? That's what I would like us to consider today. In the early part of the 20th century a Jewish philosopher by the name of Martin Buber tried to distinguish between human connections that are mainly "I-It" relationships and those interactions which are primarily "I-Thou" relationships. In "I-It" relationships we seek to acquire and possess. In "I-Thou" relationships we ...

608. The Curse of the Impossible

Mark 9:14-32

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A couple of weeks ago I preached on the theme, “Being Open to the Impossible.” There is a sense in which this continuation of that theme. I couldn’t resist returning to this theme because we simply cannot ignore this chapter in the life of the disciples and Jesus. Let me state the truth as crisply as possible that it may be etched in your mind: “Most of us are cursed with a sense of the impossible, and that is precisely why miracles do not happen.” (Barclay, Mark, The Daily Bible Study, p. 224) But not ...

609. Exactly How Wide Is It?

Luke 13:22-30

Sermon

King Duncan

Jesus is making his way to Jerusalem. As he makes his way through the towns and villages, he pauses from time to time to teach those who have come out to see him and to listen to him. In the middle of this journey someone poses a question. We don’t know the identity of this questioner. Was he a scribe or Pharisee? Was he a Jew or a Samaritan? We don’t know? His question is an interesting one, though. “Lord,” he asks, “Are only a few people going to be saved?” We don’t know anything about this person, but I ...

610. A Man of the Moment

Genesis 25:19-34

Sermon

Stan Purdum

Do you remember the movie 1988 movie, Twins? It was comedy that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito as, of all things, twin brothers. Even if you know nothing about the plot of the movie, the mental picture of those two actors standing side-by-side as twins is itself pretty funny. The setup for the move is that the brothers are the result of an experiment to grow a perfect man, who is the Schwarzenegger character, named Julius. But in the course of manipulating his genes when he's in the ...

611. Do You See What I See?

Exodus 14:19-31

Sermon

David J. Kalas

In 1956, director/producer Cecil B. DeMille tried to do in motion pictures what artists had attempted to do for centuries on canvas: capture this moment. It is the ancient writer of the book of Exodus who reports and describes the moment for us. And the children of Israel, in prayers and songs for centuries afterward, remembered the moment, and the God who brought it all to pass. The Hebrew people, newly freed from their slavery in Egypt, had just begun their journey toward the promised land. They would go ...

612. By Whose Standards?

1 Corinthians 4:1-5

Sermon

John N. Brittain

As the current century dawned, Time magazine placed Einstein on the front cover as the Person of the Century. By happenstance, Mohandas Gandhi was on the back cover as part of an advertisement for a computer company. I suppose that says something about our values. What is it that we really think is most important in life? In church we talk about the need for Christians to be "different," a chosen people, a royal priesthood. What does that mean? How do Christians need to be different? Over the years, I have ...

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

Jeremiah 18:1-11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Somebody once said: "We are all made of common clay and that is why we all have the same kinds of problems." But someone else said: "We're all created in the same mold, only some of us are moldier than others." (1) There is a place in India where their legends agree with the Bible that humankind was made from dust. But they think that the upper class (or caste) was made from the fertile soil and the lower class was made from ordinary clay. But even I know, if you are going to create pottery, you want ...

614. Swept Clean

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

You've probably heard that joke about the man who asked his wife what she'd like for her birthday. "I'd love to be six again," she replied. So, on the morning of her birthday, he got her up bright and early and off they went to a local theme park. What a day! He put her on every ride in the park. Five hours later she staggered out of the theme park, her head reeling, her stomach upside down. Right to a McDonald's they went for a Big Kids Meal with extra fries and a refreshing chocolate shake. Then it was ...

615. Come On In The Water's Fine

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Show Clip from "Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?"(Baptism scene, edited for language) That movie has become one of my favorite movies. And I particularly love that scene. As you watch the scene unfold you see the human need, the tugging of the heart and spirit as Delmar sees and recognizes the baptismal procession. He instinctively recognizes his need for spiritual cleansing and renewal. And he acts upon it. And then there's that last line of invitation, "Come on in, boys, the water's fine!" I love that. Every ...

616. Can You Be Popular and Serve Jesus?

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

King Duncan

Chuck Swindoll tells of reading a newspaper article years ago about a guy who earned his living being shot out of a cannon at carnivals. The man’s nickname quite naturally was “Cannonball.” In his younger days Cannonball was blasted out of a cannon 1200 times. He said he did it for the thrill of the crowd’s applause. “Do you know,” he asked, “what it’s like to feel the applause of 60,000 people?” Twelve hundred times shot out of a cannon! (1) We all like to be applauded, don’t we? We all like to hear ...

617. Sermons In Stones

Psalm 19:1-14

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Shakespeare scholars will recognize the source of this title. The banished duke seeks to reassure his companions in As You Like It, saying, "And this our life, exempt from public haunts, finds tongues in trees, books in running brooks, sermons in stone, and good in everything." Sermons in stones ... do you find them there? You can, you know. Or in the towering trees or fragrant flora or starry nights. Words of Joyce Rupp come to mind. Listen: One winter morning, I awake to see the magnificent lines of ...

618. Transitions

2 Kings 2:1-12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

This is one of those passages that has its roots deep in the mythology of ancient Israel. It is at least a little bit familiar to us because this is where the film Chariots of Fire gets its name, and this is where we find the origin of the expression, "passing on the mantle of leadership." The story also gives us one of the earliest uses of the term "Father" as a title for a religious leader (if you have ever wondered where that designation in some churches came from). The story is one of transition. ...

619. The Inconcealable Christ!

Mark 7:31-37, Mark 7:24-30

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

In this amazing passage of two miracles, we find just one message. The first miracle is the healing of the daughter of a Greek woman, born in Syrian Phoenicia. In many ways, it is among the most significant of Jesus' miracles not just because the child received healing. Syrophoenicia is not a candidate region for the zip code 90210. The "pretty people" do not take up residence there. In fact, they do all they can to avoid going that way. It is a remote place sustained by commercial fishing and, if we can ...

620. Baptism: The Light Shatters the Darkness

Genesis 1:1-5

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Winston Churchill, the famous British statesman who led England as prime minister through the horrors of World War II, was a man who prepared the people for future joy. He was born in 1874 to a British Lord and an American heiress. His heroics during the infamous Boer War in the last days of the nineteenth century made him a national hero and greatly aided his election to Parliament in 1900. In only four years he renounced his aristocratic background and joined the Liberal Party. During World War I and the ...

621. A Table Like No Others

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

King Duncan

The earliest recounting of the event we commemorate this evening comes from the Apostle Paul. In 1 Corinthians 11, he writes, “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of ...

622. John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

John 16:5-16

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

The gospel text for this Day of Pentecost provides some of Jesus’ own words about the promised coming of the “Paraclete,” the divine “Companion” or “Advocate” whose arrival is celebrated on this day. Even though the event described in Acts 2:1-21 was startlingly revolutionary, it was an event the disciples had been anxiously awaiting. Biding their time in Jerusalem, they expectantly anticipated that which Jesus had promised he would send. That promise is articulated three times during the so‑called “Final ...

623. Good Gossip

James 3:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

One of the most popular shows from last season is returning this fall with ads asking potential audiences, “What would you do if your weren’t ‘handicapped’ by sight?” “The Voice” is a talent show that keeps the judges in the dark, so to speak. It requires them to judge all the contestants only on the quality of their voices. The judges’ backs are turned and they never see the performer. Power, poise, presence, emotion, erudition, excitement — it all has to be conveyed to the judges only by the sound of the ...

624. James 3:1-12

James 3:1-12

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Twice already in James’ brief epistle readers have been admonished to mind their tongues. In 1:19 the epistle writer advocated being “slow to speak,” while in 1:26 James affirmed that an unbridled tongue could lead to religious faith that was “worthless.” In this week’s epistle text James sets forth a carefully constructed, organized argument about the need for those who would call themselves members of the community of faith, to tame their tongues. James surprisingly begins with some negative career ...

625. Prelude To A Sacrament

Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14

Sermon

David J. Kalas

We have a table before us. It is a familiar table; we have gathered around it together countless times before. It features the cherished elements of bread and wine; and taken together, those elements on this table form a sacrament. Across the many traditions within the Christian church, we call this sacrament by different names. The Roman Catholics refer to the Mass, while the Eastern Orthodox church uses the Divine Liturgy. A number of Protestant denominations call it the Eucharist, others holy ...

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