Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 626 to 650 of 1182 results

Deuteronomy 6:1-9

Sermon

James W. Moore

... way around. We are so forgetful. We just have a lot of trouble remembering things… and consequently, we have to come up with all kinds of creative ways to remind us of what we need to be doing. - Some, of course, use the classic reminder of “tying a string around your finger.” - Others have gotten more technically advanced… they call themselves on the telephone and leave themselves a message on voice mail or their home answering machine. - Others email themselves a message reminder. - Some rely on ...

627. That's What Jesus Does for Me

Psalm 139:7-12

Sermon

James W. Moore

... of trouble. That’s who parents are. That’s what parents do. They love to be with their children anytime, but they especially want to be with their children when their children are in trouble. Jesus told us that God is like that. That’s what the classic piece, Footprints is about. Remember it. “One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: One belonging to ...

628. There's an Elephant in the Room and Her Name Is Katrina

Exodus 14:10-15

Sermon

James W. Moore

... see several different ways people respond to trouble. If somehow we could get into a time machine and go back in time… to this scene at the Red Sea and listen in – just as the Israelites realize that they are in big trouble… we might well hear them express these classic responses to trouble. First of all, some would say: I. LET’S GO BACK WHERE WE WERE! Let’s go back to “the good old days.” What have you done to us Moses? Why did you have to go and bring us out of Egypt? Why didn’t you let ...

629. Magnanimity: The Essential Spirit of the Christian

Philippians 4:4-7

Sermon

James W. Moore

... because he truly believed that Stanton was the best man for the job. That’s magnanimity! (2) We, also, see it in that famous poem written by Edwin Markham. Markham had been hurt and betrayed by a trusted friend, but he worked through the pain and wrote these classic words: “He drew a circle that shut me out. Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout, But Love and I had the wit to won: We drew a circle that took him in”… that’s magnanimity! (3) Again, we see it in Dr. Booker T. Washington, the great African ...

630. The Three Approaches to Life

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

James W. Moore

... how our Lord taught us to deal with difficulties, is it? As a matter of fact, this way of relating to the church and to life is at best not helpful… and at worse it’s even dangerous. Let me show you what I mean… As you know, many classic pieces of literature came out of the terrible days of the Holocaust in World War II. The words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Ann Frank, Viktor Frankel and other great people of faith have moved and inspired millions of people all over the world for quite a few years now. Do ...

631. His Name Shall Be Called Emmanuel

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

James W. Moore

... to his wife which carried these words: “Honey, seems that I’m lost again. Presently, I am at Market Harborough. Where ought I to be??” As only a spouse could say it, she telegraphed back a one word reply… “Home!” That is precisely what this classic passage in the first chapter of Matthew does for us. It brings us home… Home to the real meaning of Christmas; Home to the most magnificent truth in all of the Bible; Home to our Lord’s greatest Promise… Namely this… “God is with us!” When ...

632. Lewis on Uniqueness of Christianity

John 14:1-14

Illustration

C. S. Lewis

A Christian who understands his own religion laughs when unbelievers expect to trouble him by the assertion that Jesus uttered no command which had not been anticipated by the Rabbis—few, indeed, which cannot be paralleled in classical ancient Egyptian, Ninevite, Babylonian, or Chinese texts. We have long recognized that truth with rejoicing.

633. Don't Worry, The Light Is Still Burning

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... down with the message Jesus preached today: “God loves you; God cares for you; God’s promises are true; God made you for a mission.” “Don’t worry, the light’s still burning.” Animations, Illustrations, Illuminations, Ruminations, Applications Here is a classic church bulletin-blooper: Don't let worry kill you off ‑ let the church help. The American Psychological Association says that 48% of Americans say they are more stressed now than five years ago. The #1 reason for worker sick days in ...

634. Building a Successful Life

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

King Duncan

... are half-hearted about our faith. Therefore we only reap a minuscule portion of the benefits God has for us. Some of you may be familiar with the name of Christopher Parkening. Christopher Parkening is regarded as one of, if not the world’s greatest classical guitarists. He’s played guitar with orchestras the world over, even for the president in the White House. He’s also a world‑class fly‑fishing and casting champion. Not a bad way to live--playing guitar and fly fishing. But there’s more to ...

635. Anyone Feeling Tired?

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... at a high school in Greenwich, Connecticut. The club is called the Power Nap Club! A group of students go to a room at the end of the school day where they turn off the lights, put their heads on their desks, plug in a tape of quiet classical music, and take what they call a “power nap” for about a half hour. “Their club tee‑shirts are decorated with a cardinal (the school mascot) wearing a little nightcap on his head. Inscribed on the tee‑shirt is a new version of an old Latin motto, ‘Veni ...

636. To Tell The Truth

Exodus 20:16

Sermon

James Merritt

... free. [i] James Patterson and Peter Kim, The Day America Told the Truth, (New York: Prentice Hall, 1991), p. 200. Also, "Lying is Just a Way of Life," USA Today, April 29, 1991. [ii] Albert M. Wells, Sr., compiler, Inspiring Quotations, Contemporary and Classical (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1988), p. 90. [iii] R. Kent Hughes, Disciplines of Grace , (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1993), p. 154. [iv] "A Nation of Liars?" U.S. News and World Report, (February 23, 1987), p. 54. [v] "Lies, lies, lies," Time ...

637. The Scarlet Letter

Exodus 20:14

Sermon

James Merritt

... feels good, we are going to do it, and you keep your nose out of our private lives. What we do behind closed doors is none of your business." Nobody perpetrates this attitude more than Hollywood. Over a hundred years ago, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote the classic novel, The Scarlet Letter. In that book shame and guilt are rampant, both with the preacher and with the heroine who commit this terrible sin. In fact, in the end the guilt and shame finally kills the minister. But in Hollywood's version, the adulterer ...

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

Ephesians 4:1, 11-16

Sermon

James Merritt

... free of the head, for without the head the body dies. The head is over the body to guide it, and the body is under the head to do what the head tells the body to do. We have been saved that we might serve. The Hanging Tree was a classic Gary Cooper western film. In that film a young man had been shot and he was dying. Cooper takes out a knife, digs into this young man and pulls out the bullet, stops the bleeding, and bandages him up and nurses this young man back to life. Later on, after ...

639. You've Gotta Believe

Hebrews 11:1-6

Sermon

James Merritt

... …that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible." (v.3) Now you cannot reconcile evolution with real faith. Because evolution takes for granted that what is here now evolved from something that was there then. The real true classical theory of evolution believes, and must believe, that matter is eternal. Now there are some who try to work God into the picture, and say that God took matter that was already here and shaped it and molded it through the evolutionary process into ...

640. A Man on the Run

Jonah 1:1-4

Sermon

James Merritt

One of the all-time classic novels and movies, as you well know, is Gone with the Wind. You may not know, however, that the original story had more than just a kernel of truth in it. There was a Rhett Butler, but his real name was Rhett Turnipseed. Scarlet O'Hara was Emelyn Louise Hannon. ...

641. Dad: The Head of a Godly Family

Joshua 24:15

Sermon

James Merritt

... and wives and children. When young males are torn either from the discipline of their fathers or the social obligation of marriage and child rearing, they lose all sense of obligation to the larger society. That's why as George Gilder points out in his classic work, Men and Marriage, though single men comprise only 13% of the population, they make up 40% of the prison population, and commit 90% of our violent crimes. Single men, even when they become adults, are five times as likely as married men to commit ...

642. Nothing Great Happens Without It

Luke 14: 25-35

Sermon

James Merritt

... eat dog food or filet mignon depends on how high price you're willing to pay for the meal. In other words, greatness depends upon sacrifice. Sacrifice is what Jesus is speaking of in the passage we are going to study today. In fact, in classic sermonic form, Jesus, first of all, gives an explanation of sacrifice. Then He gives an illustration of sacrifice. Then He makes an application of sacrifice. Verse 25 says that Jesus was speaking to "great multitudes." He was not speaking to just his core followers ...

643. In Defense of the Offense

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Sermon

James Merritt

... is the power of the cross; not only to save you, and not only to separate you, but to sanctify you and to make you all that God wants you to be. I remember when I was in high school, I was assigned the task of reading John Bunyan's classic allegory The Pilgrim's Progress. If you have read it, you remember the scene of the hero whose name is Christian. His shoulders are hunched, he is plodding through life straining with every step, and throughout most of the book he is carrying this great burden on his back ...

644. Love: The Happiness of a Godly Family

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Sermon

James Merritt

... of meaningful touching by their fathers early in life. Dr. Ross Campbell said in How to Really Love Your Child, "In all my reading and experience, I have never known of one sexually disoriented person who had a warm, loving, and affectionate father."12 I think a classic example of all of this was the sex symbol, Marilyn Monroe. You may or may not be aware of the fact that during her early years she was shuffled from one foster home to another. She gave an interview once and a reporter asked her, "Did you ...

645. How to Handle the Mess of Stress

Exodus 18:23-27

Sermon

James Merritt

... , it doesn't matter which number you press; no one is going to answer. Have a good day." Well, stress was no stranger even to the saints in the scripture. Moses, as we are going to discover, was the first "stressed out" person in the Bible. He was a classic case of burnout, and from him we learn exactly how to handle the mess of stress. I. Sense Your Limits What exactly is the problem of stress? It is the gap between demands that are placed upon us in everyday life, and the strength we have in meeting those ...

646. The Tincture of Time

Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 13:36-43

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... We want to do something to change that imbalance, up-end the wicked, knock the nasty down a few notches. Something must be done to make time wound all heals. The new summer hit "Hancock" features actor Will Smith as a bad-good guy. He is a classic Gen-X "super hero:" a "super-hero" who is so bad tempered, destructive, and unconcerned with the damage he does while supposedly saving others that the whole city hates him. The judgment of the masses is that despite the fact that he can catch the really murderous ...

647. The Compassionate Christ

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

A few years ago, flight attendants for Southwest Airlines began spicing up their pre-flight instructions to passengers with humor. Soon other airlines followed suit. After all, why talk to passengers when they’re not listening? Here are a couple of classics: One flight attendant began her routine this way, “In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child traveling with you, secure ...

648. The Superhero Miracle of Humor

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to me than super-powers. Aside from the cape and the tightly-fitting, pulled-up pants, Batman was a user-friendly super-hero. In the dim and distant past of the “flower-power” 60s, the comic book hero “Batman” was reborn as a classic, “high-camp,” tongue-in-cheek, fun-to-watch TV show. Even the comic book “balloon” commentaries, “bam!,” “whoosh!,” “bash!,” “bop!,” decorated the fight scenes of the Adam West/Burt Ward weekly Batman show. It was fun. It was silly. The good guys ...

649. The True Feng Shui Life

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... water of Life, take us to unexpected, unlooked for new places. We may flounder and even fall, but God will never fail us. There is no place the wind can blow us, or the waves can wash us, that is beyond the saving grasp that Jesus always offers. The classical world believed that all winds originated in caves. Can you trust the winds of your life to have originated in the caves, the cave where Christ was born and the cave where Christ was risen? Which brings to the third test of whether or not you are living ...

650. Hanging by an Inch

Matthew 14:22-33

Illustration

King Duncan

There is a character in the classic work Don Quixote named Pancho Sanchez. Pancho Sanchez hangs in fear from the ledge of a window all night long, too frightened to let go. When morning dawns he discovers his toes are only an inch off the ground. It's amusing to think of Simon Peter climbing out of ...

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