Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 651 to 675 of 1285 results

Proverbs 16:32

Sermon

James Merritt

... hostility and anger associated with Type A behavior is the major contributor to heart disease in America."(5) People who have problems with anger are five times as likely to suffer coronary heart disease as the average person. People with heart disease more than double their risk of a heart attack when they get angry.(6) Now there is a difference between anger and mere aggravation. A little girl was doing her homework and asked her father to explain the difference between anger and aggravation. He went to ...

652. Tastes Great, Less Filling - Sounds Good, Not True

Proverbs 23:29-35

Sermon

James Merritt

... fifteen times more alcohol than water. I realize that to take on the topic of drinking, whether in moderation or in excess, is to be a modern day John the Baptist crying in the wilderness. 71% of Americans drink, and the number of Americans who drink has doubled in the last twenty-five years. 75% of all high school students drink, and by the twelfth grade 93% of the boys and 87% of the girls have taken at least one drink. Surprisingly, there may not be as much sympathy for this message from churchgoers as ...

653. The Other Side of Worship

1 John 1:1-4

Sermon

James Merritt

... . 4:9-10 says, "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion." But fellowship also brings enjoyment. Some of you may have heard the old saying that pleasures shared are pleasures doubled, just as sorrows shared are sorrows halved. It is more fun to laugh when other laugh with you, and it is easier to cry when others cry with you. Reader's Digest years ago had an article entitled "What Good is a Tree?" That article explained that ...

654. The Battle of New Orleans

2 Timothy 3:1-4:8

Sermon

James Merritt

... the sacredness of God. The syncretistic eclectic God that more and more Americans worship, bears no resemblance to the thrice Holy God of Israel. There is a battle for the souls of men. Satan's army is on the march even as we speak, and he has re-doubled his efforts to take as many souls to hell with him as he possibly can. He does this by denying absolute truth, desecrating God's word, and defiling the church. Finally, there is a battle for the survival of society. Anyone with a modicum of common sense and ...

655. Let's Get Ready to Rumble

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

James Merritt

... E. Lee, Robert E. Lee. He'll do this, he'll do that, he'll do the other." Ulysses S. Grant heard all he wanted to hear and finally said to them, "I am tired of hearing about Robert E. Lee. You would think he was going to do a double somersault and land in our rear. I want you to quit thinking about what he is going to do to you, and I want you to start thinking about what you're going to do to him. We're in a war. We've got to get ready to rumble ...

656. When the Pressure Is On

John 6:1-14

Sermon

James Merritt

... drink and wash a few dishes it would take 11 million gallons everyday, and a freight train with tank cars 1,800 miles long just to bring the water! Then another thing! They had to get across the Red Sea at night. Now if they went on a narrow path, double file, the line would be 800 miles long, and would require 35 days and nights to get through. So there had to be a space in the Red Sea three miles wide so that they could walk 5,000 abreast to get over in one night. But then there is ...

657. Come On Baby, Light My Fire

Matthew 3:11-12

Sermon

James Merritt

... is fully God. III. The Holy Spirit Is Powerful In His Activity Now we know He is powerful because He is compared in our text to fire. If anybody should know anything about fire it is we who live in the United States of America. Did you know that fire doubles in size every thirty seconds? Did you know that over two million fires are reported to fire departments every year in the United States? New York City alone has more fires than the country of Japan. The United States has the worst fire death rate in the ...

658. Your Word is Your Bond

Matthew 5:33-37

Sermon

James Merritt

... frequently occurring verbal sin. One study found that adults admit to telling 13 white lies every week. My guess is that is probably a white lie, because who wants to confess to being a liar. The fact is, everybody tells white lies. You see, this the day of double talk; putting a spin on something, the forked tongue, the day of "it all depends on what the meaning of ‘is' is." We just can't tell it like it is. We just can't speak honestly, simply, and plainly. For example: Take the business world – One ...

659. The Great Depression

Psalm 42:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... that we are now entering what is called “the age of melancholy.” Depression has become so pervasive in our society it is now nicknamed “the common cold of mental illness.” Just consider the following: Since 1915 the risk of depression has increased, nearly doubling for each successive generation.1 The average 30-year-old American is 10 times more likely to be depressed than his father, and 20 times more likely to be depressed than his grandfather.2 One out of seven individuals in this country will ...

660. This Feels Like Where I Came In

Mark 13:1-8

Sermon

... my brain until I remembered that a tall, gawky kid with a similar-sounding name had been in my high school class, some 45 years ago. But upon being ushered into his office, I knew….just knew….I was wrong. I mean, this balding, graying man with the double chin and a face the quality of old shoe leather was far too old to have been my classmate. But I thought" "What the heck?" No harm in asking him anyway. So I said: "There isn't a chance you attended Mackenzie High School in Detroit, is there?" "Yes ...

661. For Better, For Worse

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... enemy of marital commitment is DIVORCE. While divorce rates have dropped in recent years, the United States still has the highest divorce rate among Western nations. About forty out of every one hundred first marriages will end in divorce. That’s more than double the divorce rate of 40 years ago. (4) With no-fault divorces in many states, we have become a divorce culture, producing disposable spouses. We have turned the sacred covenant of marriage into a contract of convenience. The fall-out from this ...

662. The Treasure Principles

Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... me of a classic song from “My Fair Lady.” Do you remember Eliza’s father singing these words? “With a little bit of luck, with a little bit of luck, you can have it all and not get hooked!” Jesus said a resounding “No” to this double-mindedness. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters…You cannot serve both God and Money.” (Matthew 6:24) Some church members are great pretenders. They give lip service to this creed: “In God we trust.” But their hearts trust more in the money on which ...

663. Is There Hope For World Peace?

Matthew 24:1-35

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... account the evil in the human heart. Today there are wars or rumors of war in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Lebanon, and Palestine, just to name a few places. Recently USA Today reported that trafficking and mishandling of nuclear material has more than doubled in the past ten years. Nuclear material is becoming a marketable commodity. (2) Another prediction of Jesus, in verse 7, was that there would be FAMINES AND EARTHQUAKES before the end of history. In the 1940’s, there were 51 earthquakes measuring ...

664. Bugles in the Afternoon

Philippians 2:1-11, Psalm 46:1-11

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... mornings in Ann Arbor when the largest crowd gathers in the largest stadium—106,000 Maize and Blue faithful. Then the voice of the announcer echoes across the multitude: "Band, take the field." The drum cadence begins and the band prances out in double time, instruments held high. Then the drum major raises his baton and they break into the brilliant strains of the "Michigan Fanfare"…the thrilling sound of "trumpets in the morning." And you might as well know that on football Saturday mornings, you are ...

665. The Revelation Code V: Cruisin' Toward the Dream

Revelation 21:1-27

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... Claudio believes his beloved Hero is dead, and he weeps at her tomb. But then the bad guys are led away, Hero is found to be alive, Benedict and Beatrice stop their bickering and fall madly in love, and the movie ends with this glorious double wedding. The music rings, laughter fills the halls, and everyone dances for joy through the gardens of Tuscany with flower petals streaming down. That's John's final vision of the future to come. Scottish preacher James S. Stewart was one of the greatest preachers ...

666. Sadness in the Heart of God

Matthew 20:1-16

Illustration

John Claypool

... your Maker. He wants to do for you what he did for your ancestor Abraham. He wants to bless you. Therefore, make any three requests that you will of God, and he will be pleased to give them to you. There is only one condition: your neighbor will get a double portion of everything that is bequeathed to you." The farmer was startled by this revelation and woke up his wife to tell her all about it. She suggested that they put the whole thing to a test. So they prayed. "Oh, blessed God, if we could just have a ...

667. Blue Christmas

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... families. Blue Christmas. (1) “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God,” writes Isaiah. “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins. A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become ...

668. Caring for the “Little Ones”

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

George Reed

... hesitate, but reached out and took her hand and called her to get up. When she got up he reminded the parents that they needed to give her something to eat. One can imagine that by now they were delirious with delight and might not be thinking clearly. In this double story, Jesus leads us to understand that there is no one who is not worthy of the love and grace of God. In spite of what people may say about someone, no matter how vile they seem, God declares that they are God's own beloved child. No one is ...

669. Stepping Out on Faith

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... to his ability. Then the wealthy man went on his journey. Immediately the man who had received five talents went and put his money to work and gained five talents more. He was a remarkably astute manager of money. I would like to find an investment where I could double my money in a short time, wouldn’t you? But he wasn’t alone. The one with two talents gained two talents more. But here is the sad truth about human nature: the man who had received only one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and ...

670. The Bonds of Love

1 John 4:7-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... other the gift of love, continue to grow and mature together, offer a strong home to children, and accept all their years together ... even when bearing children ruins the shape, when age brings lines in the face, when the passing of time turns dimples into double chins, and when one must finally stand by the casket of the other." (Ross Marrs, "Marriage: An Act of the Will") One group of people paid to think about the ingredients that combine to create love, or at least an atmosphere where love can develop ...

671. In Christ, or in a Jacuzzi Jesus?

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... love a foreigner, or pick fruit with a migrant farm worker. I want ecstasy, not transformation; I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please. (With double discount coupons, if possible!)" The promise to those truly "in Christ" is that everything will become new. How many of us long for just such a fresh start on life, a second chance at becoming the person we always hoped to be. That is what Paul's Jesus offers ...

672. Protecting Your Valuables

James 3:13-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... "buys," cheap "specials." Christians need to reclaim the spiritual meaning of this word, which once had a moral, not monetary or commercial connotation to it. The valuables we are to protect are listed in James 3:17. The word "value" has a double meaning in today's increasingly economically influenced language. On the one hand we use "value" to describe items of great worth and desirability either materially (oil, gold, or real estate in Aspen or Beverly Hills) or more philosophically (truth, wisdom, and ...

673. Home Alone

Revelation 21:10, 22-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . It concluded: "Never before has one generation of American teenagers been less healthy, less cared for or less prepared for life than their parents were at the same age." Increasingly we are finding ourselves, whatever our age, whatever our family - whether "double" parents, "single" parents, or "triple plus" (extended) parents - alone. Even in the best marriage, one must learn to live alone. But there is a vast difference between learning to live alone and being home alone. Old Russian peasant log houses ...

674. Three Wise Gifts

Matthew 2:13-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... inflammatory properties that make it a useful dressing as well as being a bronchial dilator that helps in lung infections and asthma. Myrrh is biochemically similar to frankincense, though its value in the ancient world was many times higher. A drop of myrrh could double the price of cheaper perfumes, and Egyptians used myrrh to embalm royal mummies. The opening of Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922 released wafts of air so rich in myrrh's scent that it almost bowled the researchers over. Myrrh was prescribed for a ...

675. Keep the Stars in Your Eyes

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... living in a secular society but a spiritual culture." We are one of the most religious nations in the industrial world, yet at the same time one of the most secular (Thomas Reeves, "Not So Christian America," First Things, October 1996, 16-21). This double ring can be confusing, as it was in The New Republic (September 12, 1994), where on the same day, and on the same page, one story read "Spiritual Renewal Flourishes" while another story was headlined, "Religion's Influence May Be Fading." Jessica Lipnack ...

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