Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 626 to 650 of 928 results

626. What Are You Looking For?

John 1:38

Illustration

Susan R. Andrews

... . But I want you to think about brain surgery. You'll keep a lot of people from dying. And you'll make a lot of money." To which Potok responded, "No, Mama, I want to be a writer." But, "No," is not what Mama wanted to hear. So, every vacation break for four years she would repeat her comments about his becoming a brain surgeon and keeping people from dying and making a lot of money, and always his response was the same. Finally the son had enough, and, when the same mantra began, he cut off his mother ...

627. Take an Ember Day

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... for a rest"? "Resting" goes against our grain. Resting is "laziness," "sloth," "wasteful," "non-productive," "idleness." If you want to get ahead, be successful, stay afloat, keep your edge, or remain competitive, there is no such thing as "rest," "time off," "vacation," "hiatus" or "down time." Sometimes there isn't even anything known as "sleep." Wearing ourselves thin, wearing ourselves out, has become a status symbol in itself. Rest is no longer something we assign to the "wicked" it's much, much worse ...

628. Give me a C...

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... where we are on the economic ladder, we emphasize just how deep the hole was that we started in. "We were so poor, I never had a new pair of shoes until I went into the army." "We were so poor, putting screens in the windows was our summer vacation" (To which one can innocently reply - "Oh, you had windows?"). "We were so poor, I was 19 before I knew what a steak looked like - and 25 before I actually got to eat one." "We were so poor, our street was called 'Hungry Hill.'" No matter how self-denigrating ...

629. The Ride of Your Life

1 Peter 1:17-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... definition of your personal success? ... How many evenings, weekends and holidays have you given over to advancing your career? How many times have you opted for a late night at the office instead of a night out on the town? How many birthdays, anniversaries or vacations have you missed in order to get more "work done"? We all choose to invest in some sort of lifestyle. Only the degree of investment and the ratio of real life-substance to empty lifestyle varies. The challenge we are faced with is whether we ...

630. Is There Room for One More?

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... isn't the only consuming binge marked by Thanksgiving. Isn't this weekend the biggest shopping weekend, with the biggest sales, in your community? Those who "have" even more to splurge celebrate this long Thanksgiving weekend as time for the first skiing vacation of the winter, and with enough time and enough money, we can find snow somewhere. For the "have nots," Thanksgiving marks a new beginning as well. In the "have-not" culture, Thanksgiving is the first disappointment of the upcoming holiday season ...

631. The Resolution to End All Resolutions

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... a craftsman working with stone and wood, undoubtedly had projects awaiting his attention. Mary would have had the hundreds of time-consuming tasks it took to keep her family fed and clothed. Like most of us at the end of an extended vacation, they were probably looking forward to getting back to the comfortable familiarity of their own hearth and home. But the young Jesus refuses to let his relationship with God be regulated according to some prearranged, culturally imposed schedule. Instead of going along ...

632. A Theology of Linguistic Linguini

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... -A-Wish people. Sue Fenger came to visit the now fifteen-year old John. As a long time volunteer Fenger had heard lots of wishes. She had handled wishes for trips to DisneyWorld, wishes for being on the set of “American Idol,” wishes for tropical vacations, wishes to meet famous movie stars, pop singers, and presidents. But Fenger was unprepared for John Halgrim’s wish. Are you ready? Here is his wish: “I want to open an orphanage in Africa.” “John, that’s a really big wish,” she said. “I ...

633. Three Fishing Stories

Mark 1:14-20

Illustration

Jacob M. Braude

... you ever saw iced down in the baggage car. By the way, who are you, sir?" "I'm the state game warden. Who are you?" Said Twain, "Pleased to meet you. Who am I? Only the biggest liar in these United States." 3. Two ardent fishermen met on their vacation and began swapping stories about the different places they had fished, the kind of tackle used, the best bait, and finally about some of the fish they had caught. One of them told of a vicious battle he once had with a 300-pound salmon. The other man listened ...

634. Eight Days until Eternity

Mark 11:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... it was necessary to show how much God cares for you and me. A father, Tim Miller, writes about a time when he experienced what God surely experienced that day on Calvary. Miller’s nine‑year‑old daughter Jennifer was looking forward to their family’s vacation. But she became ill, and a long anticipated day at Sea World was replaced by an all‑night series of CT scans, X‑rays, and blood work at the hospital. As morning approached, the doctors told this exhausted little girl that she would need to ...

635. Being Christian

Mark 1:29-34

Illustration

King Duncan

Gorman Williams spent most of his life as a missionary to India. In 1945 he purchased tickets for a long-awaited vacation back to the United States. He had counted down the months and days until he would be home. A few days before he was to leave he heard about some Jews who had escaped the wrath of the Nazis. They had traveled by boat to India seeking refuge. Since it ...

636. Decisions, Decisions

John 17:6-19

Illustration

Paul W. Kummer

... it? Other decisions are harder and much more life impacting. Should we invest in a new car or not? Which one? Buy or lease? New or used? Is it time to put our child in a private school? Should we close in the garage or save the money for a vacation? Do I really want to join this church? Is this the woman God wants me to marry or am I just in lust? Should Grandpa live on his own or with us, or be put in a retirement home? Should I bail my troubled kid out of jail or show ...

637. A Mother's Love

John 15:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... starting a family.’ ‘We’re taking a survey,’ she says, half‑joking. ‘Do you think I should have a baby?’ “‘It will change your life,’ I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral. “‘I know,’ she says, ‘no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations . . . .’ “But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes. I want to tell her that the physical wounds of ...

638. It’s Humble or the Umbles

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... doing all you can to live life full. There are freeways, and factories, and families full of people who are just trying not to die. These people keep going to work, keep going on. But they don’t know why. Weekends and vacations become blurry, frantic “festivals” — parties devoted to trying to celebrate something other than the mere survival of another week, another season, another year. For Christians who feel the (enlightening) protective weight of “God’s armor,” there is a different goal: to ...

639. Explore the Evidence

Acts 1:1-3

Sermon

James Merritt

I heard a story the other day about a man that went on vacation to the Holy Land with his wife and mother-in-law. Half way through their trip, the mother-in-law dies, so this guy goes to an undertaker who explains that they can ship the body home, but it will cost $5,000 or they can bury her in the ...

640. Baptism - FAQ's

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

James Merritt

... we want them to see? What do we want them to hear? What do we want them to feel? What do we want them to experience? I read a story about an elderly lady who was very cultured and very refined. She and her husband were planning a week's vacation in Florida, and they wanted to find a campground that was suitable for them. She wanted to make sure the campground was fully equipped, but she didn't know how to ask about the toilet facilities. Being such a refined lady she just could not bring herself to write ...

641. Marriage 101

Ephesians 5:22-23

Sermon

James Merritt

... player. She has no input there. I decide who ought to be the President of the United States. She has no input there. Now she makes all of the little decisions in our marriage. For example: How we are going to spend our money, where we are going on vacation, whether or not we are going to remodel the house etc. I can tell you that arrangement has worked out beautifully for us. But let me tell you seriously what I mean by leadership. I mean by leadership the way you live before your wife and children, the way ...

642. What Do I Do When The Load Is Too Heavy?

Exodus 18:13-27

Sermon

James Merritt

... t do what we ought to do when we ought to do it or we are just plain lazy and let things go undone. Moses was not lazy. He was getting into the office before sunup and not leaving until sundown. He was working six days a week with no vacations and no time off. He was the classic workaholic. His fuel tank was empty. He had not only reached his limits; he had exceeded his limits. Now he had to see his limits. In the 19th Century the shipping industry was having a very difficult time because ships were sinking ...

643. Choose Life

Exodus 20:13

Sermon

James Merritt

If you ever travel to Florida on vacation you don't have to look very long until you will see license plates with the message "Choose Life." Several years ago, Marion County Commissioner, Randy Harris, was driving behind a vehicle with a specialty license plate, when he envisioned a Choose Life specialty license plate. It took a while ...

644. A New Beginning for Everyone

Exodus 35:4-29

Sermon

James Merritt

... the North work we will move into the state of the art facilities for preschool, children, and youth. We are going to provide full programming for the entire family. We're going to have many of the ministries that we have now such as Awana, Vacation Bible School, Youth Camps and Retreats. But we are also excited about starting new ministries such as Family Retreats, Leadership Training, and we intend to become a globally mission-minded church. This church will be far more than a Sunday morning church. We're ...

645. The Masterpiece

Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-28

Sermon

James Merritt

... aren't boring – they are absolutely fascinating if they meet one criteria. Do you know what that is? It is your genealogy. If you found on your doorstep tomorrow, your family tree that went back the last two thousand years, I guarantee you would take all the vacation time you could to bone up on who you are and who came before you. Genealogies aren't boring – boring is somebody else's genealogy. I spent some money to study my genealogy and believe it or not, my name is an English name, whose original ...

646. The Great Divide

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

James Merritt

... fixed that can never be crossed. There is a road that leads into hell, but there is no road that leads out of hell. The road that leads into hell is a one-way dead-end street. There will be no missionary journeys to hell, and there will be no vacation trips to heaven. There's no such thing as purgatory. There's no such thing as a "second chance." Baptists are fond of talking about the eternal security of the believer. That is, once a person is truly saved he is always saved. But the Bible also teaches the ...

647. The Weakest Link

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

James Merritt

... have the tendency to think more highly of ourselves than we should. Several years ago former Miami Dolphins coach, Don Shula, was at the height of his popularity, and had difficulty with going anywhere without anyone recognizing him. Shula and his wife went up to vacation in a small town in the state of Maine, in the hope of not being recognized, and getting some rest. They decided to go to a movie. As they entered the theatre everyone in attendance stood and applauded. Shula could not believe it. He leaned ...

648. One Step at a Time

Nehemiah 2:1-10

Sermon

James Merritt

... get completed. Then you must respond with confrontation. He said," But you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem." In other words Nehemiah simply said, "You have three choices - lead, follow or get out of the way." I was down at the beach enjoying some vacation time this summer and I was out in the ocean enjoying the waves and I noticed on the beach a little boy flying a kite. That kite was rising higher and higher and higher. I also noticed as the kite was rising higher, the boy was turning ...

649. In God We Trust

Proverbs 3:5-6

Sermon

James Merritt

... are to be looking for God. You ought to think about every decision in these terms. What does He want? What does He desire? What would be the wise thing to do - whether we are going to play or pray, to work or to worship. Are we going to on vacation or to our vocation? We are to acknowledge the Lord. To make this as simple as I can, here is what that simply means. Always keep God in mind. That is more than just reading your Bible and it is more than just praying. What this means is that every ...

650. What’s So Amazing about Grace?

2 Samuel 7:1-14a

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... Donald Tippett — the grace that saved even an undeserving wretch like him? "I once was blind, but now I see." The third concerns what happened after Roy and Karen Pike from Columbus, Ohio, were killed in a traffic accident while on a vacation trip to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. Their three sons, aged twenty, seventeen, and sixteen, found themselves taking roses sent for the celebration and using them instead for memorial flowers. It fell to seventeen-year-old Kevin Pike, to make the burial ...

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