Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 701 to 725 of 4999 results

Ruth 1:1-22

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... in-law. If there is any accepting to be done, the daughter- or son-in-law must do it. There is that classic story of the woman who was being congratulated by a friend after both her son and daughter were married within a month of each other. "What kind of boy did your daughter marry?" asked the neighbor. "Oh, he's wonderful," gushed the mother. "He makes her sleep late, wants her to go to the beauty parlor everyday, won't let her cook and INSISTS upon taking her out to dinner every night." The neighbor said ...

702. Regis and Jesus

Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... that lies even behind the Greek. When SINGLE eye and EVIL eye are taken together, the contrast is not between ways of seeing; it is between degrees of generosity. Someone with a so-called "evil eye" was someone who was a cheapskate. We have the same kind of thing in English when we compare someone who is "open-handed" as opposed to someone who is "tight-fisted." Nothing to do with this five-fingered instrument attached to a wrist; we are talking about whether someone is generous or not. Jesus simply used ...

703. The Discipline of Discipleship

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... fellow's HEAD was not up to it; what he learned was too uncomfortable. He could never commit to that. And that is why he failed. What kind of commitment to learning do you have? Is it the kind that the rich young ruler had, the kind that wants to know nothing more than that what you are doing is sufficient, the kind that wants only some personal affirmation? Or is it the kind that responds to a commitment to keep on learning even though it is going to take effort and even though what you learn might not be ...

704. On Being Mistaken For A Mannequin

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

King Duncan

... preoccupied with the mechanics of the organization. Activities loom larger than love. He calls such a church "the Church of the Holy Fidgets." Marked by busyness, it never gets down to the real reason for its existence. He described a church in Chicago that is another kind of church. Named St. Stephens, it is called "the Church at the End of the Road." Luccock concluded that "the end of the road" is a fitting location for a church. There are so many people at the end of life's road whose strength and hope ...

705. Ready Or Not

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... In Advent we anticipate the coming of a conquering Christ in the future. He will come! But in Advent we give attention to a God who comes to us and our world in the present. He comes! He comes to us every day in the scriptures but also in all kinds of ways. `How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given.' Or as another hymn writer says, `He speaks to me everywhere.' He comes to the world through ordinary people like you and me and in ordinary ways. Luther said, `Let no one give up the faith that God ...

706. Crying On Palm Sunday

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... ages could do no less. But most of all He wept because they did not recognize the day of their visitation. He brought to them the glad good news of the kingdom of God in their midst, but they missed it. They were trying to force Him into being the kind of King they wanted. "When he drew near and saw the city we wept over it, saying, "Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace..." He still weeps. And if Christ is crying, why are we not? Remember what Adlai Stevenson said when he lost his ...

707. The Wondrous Possibility Of Change

Galatians 1:11-24

Sermon

King Duncan

... result, he became a highly paid lecturer and toured the world telling of his adventures. (2) You and I may not be driven by the passions that drove John Goddard. But we do need some idea of where we are headed. Our goals may seem minor but we need some kind of measuring stick for personal progress. If I can set a goal of spending one half hour in Bible study each day, I know that one year from now I will be 182 hours better informed about God ™s Word than I am right now. Change takes place through desire ...

708. Who's The Blind One Around Here?

John 9:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... Jesus "Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," Jesus told his disciples, instead "he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him." JESUS WANTED HIS DISCIPLES TO SEE THAT THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF BLINDNESS: BLINDNESS OF THE EYES AND, FAR WORSE, BLINDNESS OF THE HEART. Jesus spit and made some mud which he rubbed on the blind man's eyes. Jesus told him to go and wash it off in the Pool of Siloam. The blind man made his way through ...

709. How Do You Get To Heaven?

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

King Duncan

... love, acceptance, forgiveness, cleansing and hope." It really is difficult once you have sinned to actually feel forgiven by God. It seems far too easy to simply ask for forgiveness and believe it will be granted. Many of us would like to have some kind of prescribed penance. But here is what we need to see: JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT THE CHARACTER OF GOD. In a recent issue of GUIDEPOSTS magazine, Fulton Ousler, Jr. told a beautiful story that I believe is appropriate here. Young Ousler was ...

710. Like The Love Of A Mother

John 10:27-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" (Matthew 7:9-11) God is a giving God. A mother took her six-year-old boy into a doctor's crowded waiting room. As they waited their turn, he began to ask her all kinds of questions. In half an hour he managed to cover almost every subject known to humanity. To the wonder of all the others sitting in the room, his mother answered each question carefully and patiently. Inevitably, he got around to God. As the other people listened to his ...

711. Why Do We Call Him Good?

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Dr. Ronald Love

... dead. Possibly they were just in a hurry and did not want to be inconvenienced. Whatever the reason, they both turned their back. The Samaritan was good because he turned his face on the man, not his back, and he showed him simple human kindness. Mark Twain once wrote, "Kindness is a language that the deaf can hear and the blind can read." He was right, of course. Everyone can understand the language of love. It can be spoken in any dialect and still be comprehended by a person of any nationality, by the ...

712. The Terrible Burden Of Judging Others

Romans 14:1--15:13

Sermon

King Duncan

... So, Paul felt obligated to say something about it. He wanted them to "cool it." The church was big enough for all kinds of opinions. The important thing is that whatever their beliefs, their lives were to give glory to God. Out of this ... had a girl who was so rude that she had her back turned to Father Mulvaney as she blithely went on with her own conversation! Finally, this kind and good but very tired and frustrated man singled out the girl with her back to him, and in an exasperated tone he said, "Look, I' ...

713. Wouldn't You Prefer Real Freedom?

John 8:31-41

Sermon

King Duncan

... they came to the ocean. "Now, with no place else to go, we are leaving each other," says Goodman. This kind of freedom is very popular these days freedom from anything that would limit our personal autonomy. Freedom from social constraints ... years of neglect. But we need to see that this is not only true of athletes. People with advanced training and ability of any kind enjoy this same kind of freedom. Some people spend their whole lives in one job and can't change no matter how much they may desire to ...

714. The Bridge Builder

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... Friend advised against it. None of my socks match. My chocolate-appreciation class meets that night. I have to study for a blood test. We could come up with more than 101 reasons why we can't love our enemies, why we can't turn the other cheek, why this kind of living is just irrational in today's world. And it is irrational. It was just as irrational in Jesus' day. But Jesus doesn't leave us any room for excuses. We are left with only one option: to respond with love. And before we protest that this is too ...

715. Faith In Conflict

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... ARE INTERNAL. They are conflicts that go on in our own mind and heart. Others may not even be aware of the battle we are fighting within. Should I do this or should I do that? Should I give this up or should I give that up? We see this kind of conflict taking place in Herod. Even though Herod has locked up John the Baptist in prison, he feared John, protected him, and actually sought his guidance. Here we see a strange mixture of error and truth battling for control of the mind and spirit of this man, Herod ...

716. Building A Church

Acts 1:12-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... print. They had to attend Sunday services to be eligible to win the prize of $1,000. Only about 30 showed up. "Where are all the people?" asked the minister, George Lane, after an hour of religious songs and a humor-filled sermon in a school cafeteria. "It's kind of embarrassing." Lane said he was hoping to get about $1,000 in contributions. He got about $100. A woman who was present won the $1,000 but told Lane to keep the money for his ministry. Despite the low turnout, Lane said he's going to keep trying ...

717. Passing The Test Of Faith

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

King Duncan

... who have an infatuation with a pale imitation of Christian faith and never experience the real thing. There are many people who say, "Oh, yes, I believe in God. I read my Bible. Every night I say my prayers." But let something unpleasant happen--a setback of some kind, a heart break, a scare--and you will find them wringing their hands. "Oh, dear me," they say, "What will I do? What will I do?" How about trusting God? That's a novel idea, isn't it? How about leaning back on the everlasting arms? How about ...

718. The Servant-king

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Angela Akers

... obnoxious drunk? How would you feel about mopping vomit out of your car? At what point would you say, "I don't have to take this anymore. This guy can take a hike?" But Pastor Mehl didn't have the heart to tell him off. It took years of this kind of love before Jim finally came around. But eventually, he gave up the booze and became one of Pastor Mehl's most committed, fruitful church members. (6) If we could peek into the lives of those around us, we would see many acts of agape love in everyday lives ...

719. Ready For A Change

Genesis 2:4-25

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... of the animal and a special day to visit the animal. For example, you can adopt an African elephant for $3,000. I don't believe I could afford that, do you? You can adopt a Brazilian cockroach for $10, but that doesn't appeal to me very much. What kind of animal do you think you might adopt? (Let them answer.) I love animals, don't you? I am glad we have zoos where we can see animals, and I am glad there are people who are willing to adopt an animal and see that it is taken care of ...

720. Memorial Day

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Angela Akers

... act of love in history. And as Jesus' followers, we are expected to be willing to do the same for others. This kind of love is not motivated by our emotions. It does not come naturally. It is a radical choice. Secretary of State Colin ... now. It is this: "˜Greater love has no one than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.'" (7) What kind of love would give itself up for another? What kind of love would be willing to die for you and me? It is certainly greater than mere human love. It is the love ...

721. Why Jesus Didn't Hire A "Public Relations Guy"

Mark 8:27-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... Please listen to God." It was signed, and there was a phone number. The minister dialed the number. A 19-year-old man answered and told his story. He was a runaway who had been drifting from place to place, involved in drugs. He had gotten into all kinds of trouble and sordid behavior. The night before, he had hit rock bottom. There had been a street fight and he had almost killed someone. After making sure that his victim was recovering in a nearby emergency room, the young man came to the church, found an ...

722. Another Great Love Story

Genesis 29:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then the Lord shall be my God." (Gen. 28: 20) Jacob's commitment is a conditional commitment. It's the same kind of commitment that many of us have. "If God will be with me, then God will be my God." Later, at Penial, Jacob's faith will move a step higher--to an unconditional faith in God. Still, you can see Jacob grow in spiritual understanding and character. His experience at ...

723. A Ministry of Encouragement

1 Thessalonians 2:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... discover all the abundant life that is their birthright. That’s the Gospel. That’s the good news. And that’s why God created the church. To be a light in a dark world. To send out love in a world of hate, hope in a world of despair, kindness in a world of cruelty. That’s who we are and what we’re about. Oh, I know. Some churches have been known for the foul smell of criticism and negativism that has permeated the air, the stinkin’ thinkin’ we were talking about earlier. But usually it’s just ...

724. Day People

1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Only problem was, his wife wasn’t sitting on his right. She was on his left. He had been resting his head in the lap of a woman visitor. (2) That could happen to any of us if we do not get enough sleep. Still, there seems to be two kinds of people, morning people and night people. Some of us simply don’t function well in the mornings--at least not until our third cup of coffee. Others of us have difficulty functioning in the evening. We start falling asleep about 8:00 p.m. Does this sound like anyone ...

725. Forgiveness: Human and Divine

Matthew 6:12-15

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

... or that sin is a tool that preachers and churches use to take all the fun out of life for people, or that it''s just a psychological maladjustment, or that it''s just a product of bad environment; a society like that and people who live in that kind of society do not have any clue as to what makes them so miserable, and what makes the world such a rotten world. If we do not acknowledge the fact of sin, we cannot understand ourselves; we cannot understand the condition of the world; we cannot understand the ...

Showing results