Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 651 to 675 of 975 results

651. A New Kind of Authority

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

King Duncan

... and a mere slave to an all-important and all-powerful Lord (2 Cor. 12:5-10). And the same thing can be true of us. Until we submit ourselves to the Lordship of Christ, each of us finds ourselves traveling a dangerous, difficult road. Up until we yield ourselves to God’s leadership, we live our lives puffed up with an inflated sense of our own authority or power, and warped by our own selfishness and self-importance. Even though we may believe we mean well or see ourselves as good people, until we enter ...

652. Keys That Unlock Miracles

Luke 7:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... enough about the centurion to tell him about Jesus. Otherwise he wouldn’t have known where to turn in this time of need. How fortunate we would all be if more people were more open in talking about Jesus. Open sharing of our faith and our friendship will always yield benefits. Have you ever thought of how powerful a word spoken at just the right time is? It is said that on some of the Alpine slopes at certain times in the year guides forbid travelers to speak a word. They fear that the mere tremor of the ...

653. Financial Planning

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... decided to turn this family squabble into a teaching opportunity: He said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain ...

654. Unity and Hope

Romans 14:1--15:13

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... drama. Our closing verse serves as Paul’s desire, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” As we live out our faith fresh hope is instilled in us which yields to joy. Amen. 1. Patty Kirk, “Slower than Christmas” Today’s Christian Woman, December 23, 2008. 2. Delilah, Love Matters (Ontario Canada: Harlequin, 2008), pp. 43-47. 3. “Let There Be Peace on Earth,” The United Methodist Hymnal, 1989, #431.

655. Waiting for Christmas

James 5:7-12

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.” Prophets speak the Word of God but seldom see immediate results. Not only do they not see the fruit of their ministry but often suffer as a result of proclaiming what God has placed on their hearts. Patience yields to trust. In the same way we place our trust in God. We do not know what the future holds for us; yet we place our trust in God. While we patiently wait we follow James’ advice to “strengthen your hearts.” We strengthen our hearts by keeping ...

656. Everyone Is Invited

Romans 1:1-17

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... The righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith.” God keeps God’s promise made to the ancestors of faith in the Old Testament. Because God kept the covenant, all people receive faith in and through Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus Christ yields salvation whereas the law always falls short. Through faith we are set into a right relationship with God. Paul makes his point by quoting the Old Testament prophet, Habakkuk, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.” Faith means believing in ...

657. A Faith to Move Mountains

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... best clothes he had this man stood up and quoted Habakkuk 3:17-18. With deep meaning he recited the words from the Hebrew Bible: “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no food; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls; yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” That dear saint, thought Anderson, has found the secret of real joy! (5 ...

658. Be Patient

James 5:7-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... been a child like that? Any of you ever been that way with your heavenly Parent? The writer of the epistle of James says to his readers, “Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door ...

659. Nicodemus: A Young Old Man

John 3:1-21

Sermon

David O. Bales

... fear behind the face, then depart quickly to arrive home before the wind blows more bitterly. If Jesus can’t sense the searing heart problem, Nicodemus will dismiss his suspicions about the man’s powers. He’ll return, almost relieved, to his sad, old world, yielding to his original faith as threadbare as it is, assuming that faith can’t do much more for anyone. Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above” (v. 5). If Nicodemus was ...

660. Prelude to the Passion

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... ’s relief. But as Marco Polo came to the events of Holy Week and told of Jesus’ betrayal, trial, scourging and crucifixion, the fearsome conqueror became agitated. As soon as Marco Polo spoke the words, “And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit,” the Khan exploded. “What did the Christians’ God do then?” the Kahn demanded. “Did He send His thousands of legions from heaven to smite and destroy those who had so treated His Son?” When Marco Polo explained how God did ...

661. Second Nature through Spirit Nurture

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... whether you correct, through love correct; whether you spare, through love do you spare: In all things, let the root of love be within, for of this root can nothing spring but what is good. When the love of God rules, all of life thought, word and deed will be yielded to that love. If our love of God is real and growing, deep and wide, then truth flows naturally from that love. As Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 16:14, “Let all that you do be done in love.” That means we are to welcome in love the stranger ...

662. The Parable of the Careless Farmer

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... of one kernel of corn. A kernel of corn buried in the soil will produce one corn stalk. Each stalk then will produce one ear of corn. The average ear of corn has 250 kernels, so that a single kernel of corn, under the right conditions will yield a 250% return on investment. We need to be reminded sometimes that when good seed falls on good soil in God’s abundant world, wondrous produce can come forth. All it takes is a tiny seed. Last week we celebrated Independence Day. We celebrated how much our ...

663. Treasure Hunt

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

King Duncan

... ?” Being cheerful is literally as easy as whistling a happy tune. You can choose to be cheerful. (2) Not so with happiness. You can’t choose it, you can’t earn it, and you can’t buy it. You can only open yourself to it. Happiness is yielding control of your life to God. That’s the meaning of the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God (in the New Testament, the two are used interchangeably). Sometimes we are puzzled when we read Jesus’ parables about the kingdom of God. Remember that the Kingdom ...

664. For the Hearing Impaired

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

James Merritt

... In case at this point you are utterly discouraged and wonder, “What is the use of sowing seed at all?” Listen to the last heart. “As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty. He put another parable before them, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.’” (Matthew 13:23-24, ESV) This is the heart that is ...

665. Turning Pity-Parties into Praise-Parties

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... a balloon, stuck it in my face and said: “Here’s something for your pity party.” If anyone had a right to attend if not host a self-pity party, is was blind/dear Helen Keller. Yet she wrote, “Self‑pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world.” How did Paul turn a pity party into a praise party? He shows in this text how each of us can become a “Praise Magazine.” The word “magazine” comes from the Arabic “makhazan” — literally translated ...

666. The Three Shower Gifts

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... first loved me! 2. It tells me of a Savior’s love, Who died to set me free; It tells me of His precious blood, The sinner’s perfect plea. 3. It tells me what my Father hath, In store for every day, And though I tread a darksome path, Yields sunshine all the way. 4. It tells of One whose loving heart Can feel my deepest woe, Who in each sorrow bears a part That none can bear below.

667. Traveling Tables

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... flesh. The first covenant was given on tablets of stone. But Jesus turns stone tablets into heart tables. In the Lord’s Supper, the covenant is laid out like a feast, not in words but in works of flesh and blood. In the Lord’s Supper, the tablet yields to the table, and our bodies became a moveable tabernacle, a moveable table, a moveable feast. Paul’s focus on our physicality in this week’s epistle text might make us uncomfortable. That’s especially true if we have put on a few pounds in the past ...

668. Paradise Lost

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

James Merritt

... , Pennsylvania, sued Norfolk-Southern Railway over injuries she sustained when she was hit by a freight train. In her suit, she argued that the railroad should have warned her that walking along railroad tracks was dangerous and she also charged that the train should have yielded the right of way.[2] Adam is the victim and doesn’t want to take any responsibility for his actions. So, God turns to Eve. “Then the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this that you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The ...

669. Hamburgers Don't Grow on Trees

Mark 4:26-29, Mark 4:30-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... pods on a medium-sized mustard plant. There were 85. The average number of seeds in each pod was eight. Since two crops in a given year could be matured, this gardener figured that it was possible in the interim between February and mid-October to produce a yield of 462,000 seeds, all from one original plant. Here’s what’s amazing. Many other species of plants far exceed that increase. Nature is bountiful beyond all imagining. (2) The Kingdom of God is like that. We may not see it. It may be hidden by ...

670. Poem: Adonais

Eulogy

Percy Bysshe Shelley

... an atmosphere Of stormy mist; so swept her on her way Even to the mournful place where Adonais lay. XXIV. Out of her secret Paradise she sped, Through camps and cities rough with stone, and steel, And human hearts, which to her aery tread Yielding not, wounded the invisible Palms of her tender feet where’er they fell: And barbed tongues, and thoughts more sharp than they, Rent the soft Form they never could repel, Whose sacred blood, like the young tears of May, Paved with eternal flowers that undeserving ...

671. Poem: Elegy Written In A Country Churchyard

Eulogy

Thomas Gray

... from their lowly bed. For them no more the blazing hearth shall burn, Or busy housewife ply her evening care: No children run to lisp their sire’s return, Or climb his knees the envied kiss to share. Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield, Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe has broke; How jocund did they drive their team afield! How bowed the woods beneath their sturdy stroke! Let not Ambition mock their useful toil, Their homely joys and destiny obscure; Nor Grandeur hear, with a disdainful smile The ...

672. A Man Named Many

Mark 5:1-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... who we are, or despair of who we are, can be healed. We can have that peaceful, got?it?all?together expression that Many’s friends found on his face. Christ knows our disappointment; Christ knows our despair??and he can make a difference in our lives if we will yield ourselves to him. But how about those of us who have the good fortune to have good minds and nice clothing, who have our health and a nice home and family and friends, what would Christ say to us? I believe he would say the same thing to us ...

673. How to Get the Job Done

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... people has a multiplying effect. Many people are just waiting to be recognized and given a chance to use their abilities for a greater cause. Thus, the leader who delegates wisely can multiply his effect exponentially — much like planting an apple seed to yield an apple tree with apples and seeds uncountable. When Tom Peters wrote his book Thriving on Chaos, he had something like this in mind: that is, allowing for freedom and creativity by loosening control and delegating. It is precisely what a lot of ...

674. Second Chances

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’” That makes sense, doesn’t it? What good is a fruit tree that doesn’t bear fruit? Notice that it had been three years that the owner had the fig tree growing in his vineyard and yet it yielded nothing. Three years is the length of time that it takes a fig tree to become an established, fruit-bearing tree. That it was not bearing at this point seemed highly unlikely that it would ever bear fruit. So the owner of the vineyard was making a practical business ...

675. Are You Giving Up Chocolate for Valentine's Day?

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... is a master at quoting scripture, almost as good at it as Jesus. At least, that’s my experience. Some of the most devilish people I know like to have a Bible in their hand, usually so they can throw it at people of whom they disapprove. Jesus did not yield to the temptation to take the easy path. He knew his purpose; that he had come as the suffering servant (Philippians 2:7-8). To receive the acceptance of the people without going to the cross was to undermine the plan of his Father. That was exactly the ...

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