Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 626 to 650 of 813 results

Psalm 8:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... of human nature indeed, particularly with regard to small children. I quote: “Every baby starts life as a little savage. He is completely selfish and self-centered. He wants what he wants when he wants it his bottle, his mother’s attention, his playmate’s toy, his uncle’s watch. Deny him these once, and he seethes with rage and aggressiveness, which would be murderous were he not so helpless. He is, in fact dirty. He has no morals, no knowledge, no skills. This means that all children not just ...

627. Are You Paying Too Much For Your Whistle?

Galatians 1:11-24

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... if not worse. That “game” is called “fame” and a socially acceptable “success.” Is your “whistle” a house in the “right” neighborhood. Is your “whistle” a membership in the “right” club? Is your whistle the next promotion, the newest electronic toy, the latest model luxury car? Or is your whistle giving off a more subtle sound? The sound of influence? The siren song of power over others, of command and control, of making colleagues into subordinates and then making them toe your ...

628. Why Jesus Didn't Perform Funerals

Luke 7:11-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... ever lived. But first of all he needed life abundant life the life only Christ can give. Life is hopeless without Christ. Many people today live in a fool’s paradise. They keep themselves sedated with alcohol and drugs and the accumulation of fancy toys rather than confront the meaninglessness of their lives. They buy self-help books religiously, but despair that so few real changes take place in their life. They seek to cultivate a positive attitude, but deep within they know it is a show a sham because ...

629. A Goodly Heritage

Psalm 16:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... because it put us in line – and hopefully reminds us that we are chosen by God. Have you heard the advice of the geneticist who said the first step toward the good life is to select the right kind of ancestors? Oh, if we could… The geneticist toys with matching genes and playing with the idea of a selective breeding up of the quality of the human strain in his stock. That’s one kind of ancestry – biological ancestry – the kind about which we have no option so far as our ancestors are concerned ...

630. Turning Evil Into Good

Genesis 45:1-8a, 50:19-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... He never said you'd only see sunshine, He never said there'd be no rain, He only promised a heart full of singing, About the very things in life that cause you pain. Give them all, give them all, give them all to Jesus, Shattered dreams, wounded hearts, broken toys, Give them all, give them all, give them all to Jesus, And He will turn your darkness into joy. In all things God is at work for good for those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. You intended to harm me, but God intended ...

631. Unusual Joy

Psalm 126:1-6

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

In a Dr. Seuss Christmas story, the small-hearted Grinch steals food and toys from all the Who's of Whosville in an effort to curb their Christmas joy. Yet on Christmas morn, the tall and the small sang without any presents at all. And the Grinch with his grinch-feet, ice cold in the snow, Stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be ...

632. Finding Answers to Family Feuds

Genesis 25: 21-34

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... I can, as opposed to the notion there is probably enough for all of us, if we could only learn to share it. What happens when culture teaches us, as the bumper sticker I saw on the back of a car says, “The one who dies with the most toys wins”? What happens when culture says bigger is always better? Should we be surprised when God somehow moves into the midst of all of that and inverts the order? Some people say there is a birthright to blame in this family fight. There is nothing new about it. Families ...

633. Will I Really Live Forever?

John 11:18-27, 39-45

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... man contains about enough fat to make seven bars of soap, enough iron to make a medium size nail, enough lime to cover a 20 x 40 foot lawn, enough phosphorous to make about 2200 match tips, enough magnesium for a good dose, and enough potassium to explode a toy cannon, along with a little sulphur. At current rates, (1940’s) these elements could be obtained for about 98 cents.” Is that all there is to human life? That I am dust and to dust I shall return may not make a lot of difference to many people ...

634. Embracing an Endless Line of Servants

1 Corinthians 3:5-23

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... young parent here; they will tell you how demanding a baby can be. The art of maturity is the movement from grabbing to giving, from grumbling to gratitude, from self-centeredness to servant mindedness. Are you making that transition in your life? Dr. Sol Toy taught anthropology at the University of Chicago. One day he was walking across campus with his granddaughter on his shoulders. A colleague who had seen them earlier while the child was still walking on the ground, said to the little girl, “My how ...

635. Why Am I A United Methodist?

I Timothy 1:12-17

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... grandchildren to eat at the throne of the golden arches they insist on ordering a happy meal, at least my grandson does. I can say to him, “Why don’t I buy you the chicken McNuggets and the fries and I’ll take you out and buy you a real toy on the way home?” He screams at the top of his voice and says, “No, I want a happy meal!” We are not selling food. We are marketing happiness. The problem with a happy meal is that the happiness soon wears off. As we get older our happy meals get ...

636. Where Is He?

Isaiah 60:1-6, Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... went looking for one thing and found another. Most of all they discovered they had not come to Him but He to us. Maybe it’s because I am a pastor, but I sense there is a spiritual hunger in America of fast growing proportions. We can’t buy enough toys, have enough money, travel enough places to fill the void inside. We hunger for meaning and purpose. We want to know that life matters and that we can make a difference. We want to know God so we search for him and feel for him though he is not far ...

637. The Power to Make a Difference

Acts 16:1-5

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... a mixed bag at Timothy's house. His mother was a Christian; his father was a Greek. He missed the ritual of circumcision. Invest in values that last, not fads that fade. If everybody's doing it, it's probably not that important. Your children outgrow toys, but truth endures. “From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ (II Timothy 3:15). II. TIMOTHY WAS MENTORED IN THE FAITH. An itinerant preacher by the name of Paul came to ...

638. The Forgiving Christ

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... or be content to scratch in the hen house with the chickens? We were made in the image of God. To betray that image is to miss the mark of our high calling. Are you going to live to give or live to get? People who die with the most toys don't win, they leave it all behind like everyone else. According to Jesus the questions on the final exam are going to be: I was hungry—did you feed me? I was naked, did you clothe me? I was in prison, did you visit me? I was a stranger ...

639. Daniel: The Problem of Power

Daniel 6:10-16

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... one of several physicians. In one corner of that waiting room, there sat an elderly lady crying. At first, she cried quietly, but as the hopes and fears of all years gushed forward she began to weep openly. There was a little boy sitting across the room playing with toys he found in his mother's purse. As the elderly lady wept, the little boy was moved. He climbed down from his chair and toddled over to the lady and touching her on the cheek said, “It's all right, it's all right, everything is going to be ...

640. From Greed to Generosity

Mark 10:17-27

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... the center of attention, the star of the family. When Brad called the other night, I asked, “How's Ella handling the new addition to the family?" “Well, so-so!" said Brad. She likes to count Caroline's toes, but when it's bedtime, she gathers up all her toys and hides them in her bedroom so Caroline can't play with them. Greed. It runs in the human family. We are born to be greedy, to get. We are taught to be greedy. It's the American way. ABC pulled KFC's latest advertisement off television because of ...

641. The Lord of All

Revelation 1:4-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... around." Psychologists say, “Look within." John says, “Look up, look up all the way up, until you catch a glimpse of Christ in charge of eternity." Sandy and I enjoyed a quiet Thanksgiving. We did go out to Opryland to see the Rocketts. I enjoy the precision dancing, the toy soldiers, the rag dolls, but none of that was really why I wanted to go. I wanted to go to see again the Nativity scene and hear the story of the One Solitary Life. As December dawns upon us, I need to be reminded, it's not about ...

642. Valuing Life Without Playing God

John 10:10-15

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... enough fat to make 7 bars of soap, enough iron for a medium size nail, enough sugar to fill a bowl, enough lime to whitewash a dog house, enough phosphorus for 2,200 match tips, a single dose of magnesium, enough potassium to explode a toy cannon, together with a little sulphur. All this sold at 1940 prices would come to about 98 cents." Is that all we are? Last year my medical bills amounted to about 1/2 million dollars. Some might rightly question, especially those whose insurance premiums increased ...

643. Conversion or Credentialing?

Acts 9:1-5, 10-12, 17-19

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... Maybe there are other things we need to let go of today. Not the things that make us, but the things that break us. The anger, hurt, rage that we take out on others The guilt, the doubt, the shame we inflict on ourselves The shattered dreams, wounded hearts, broken toys At the feet of Jesus are we willing to lay them down? II. CONVERSION IS A NEW WAY OF SEEING. “Ananias laid his hands on Saul and said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit ...

644. Finding Our Place in the Body of Christ

1 Corinthians 12:12-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... that assumes we have to do it ourselves and initiated into a community that lives by a new set of values. Old Life Says: Look out for number 1. Grab all you can. Don't get angry, get even. Compete at all costs. The one with the most toys wins. New Life Affirms: Find yourself by losing yourself. Give all you can. Forgive as God has forgiven you. Cooperate with all people. The one who knows Christ lives. We can focus on Christ. Colossians 1:18 says, "Christ is the head of the body, the Church; He ...

645. Fanning the Flames of Family

Ephesians 5:8-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... at the age of 82, made a living joking about disrespect. “I tell ya, I get no respect," growls Dangerfield. “Last week I told my psychiatrist I was contemplating suicide. He asked me to pay in advance. I get no respect. I could tell my parents hated me; my bath toys were always a toaster and radio. I get no respect. My uncle's dying wish was to hold me in his lap as he was strapped into the electric chair. I get no respect." Lack of respect in our relational lives is nothing to laugh about. It would be ...

646. Exactly How Wide Is It?

Luke 13:22-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... most often spoken words in the American household today are the words: go watch television.” Keeshan continues. “If not now, when? Later. But later never comes for many and the parent fails to communicate at the very earliest of ages. We give her designer clothes and computer toys, but we do not give her what she wants the most, which is our time. Now, she is fifteen and has a glassy look in her eyes. Honey, do we need to sit down and talk? Too late. Love has passed by.” (4) Listen, Dad. Listen, Mom ...

647. The Horror before the Blessing

Matthew 2:13-23

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... , even if only for a few days this time of year. Matthew reminds us that we will not get such a break. The evil of the world keeps right on going. Christmas time even seems to make some of it worse, as we read of thieves making off with toys or money intended for charity. Some years, even Salvation Army bell ringers are not safe. For the families of the children who were killed in Bethlehem, the birth of the Savior made life worse in the short run. They experienced a grief that never would have happened if ...

648. Ecological Politics

Matthew 14:22-33

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... left behind. He faces the wolf and the lion and the bear and the snake and the other wilderness creatures alone. Only there is no distress in his voice, no panic in his cry. Instead, he coos and clucks with delight at these mighty furry and scaly toys that have come to play. He claps his hands and bounces his feet and giggles with animation. As the caravansary is suddenly pulled from its panicked zigzagging by the tinkle of the child's good humor, all the adults stop and turn, expecting the wild things to ...

649. A Career in The Kingdom

Matthew 21:23-32

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... discipline and focus, according to social researcher, Reginald Bibby. His book, Fragmented Gods (Ontario, Canada: Irwin, 1987), declared that historic Christianity was all but dead. People today are consumers, he reminded his readers. They go shopping for this and that, a new toy here, a new emotion there, a new sensation each time around. When one pastime doesn't excite them anymore they move on to a new one. Those same people have become religious consumers in the vast array of church supermarkets, said ...

650. Losers, Weepers

Isaiah 49:8-16a

Sermon

Tony Everett

All of us have experienced the pain of loss in many different forms. We have lost wallets or purses; keys or address books; tools or toys. Some of us have even lost our automobiles in crowded parking lots. Have you ever watched young children participating in their first organized athletic competition? Winning brings loud cheers and high fives. Losing brings jeers and tears. Losing hurts. It can be devastating to lose even what seems to be ...

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