Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 726 to 750 of 1044 results

726. Hurting People Hurt People

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

King Duncan

"Hurting people hurt people," says John Maxwell, and it's true! A father and son walking together in the woods came upon an animal that had been caught in a hunter's trap. The animal was in obvious distress. The son rushed forward to free the animal, but his father stopped him. "Son," he said, "Be careful. A hurt animal will bite those close around--even someone who is trying to help him." What's true of animals is true of people. Hurting people hurt people. We've all seen parents under too much stress ...

727. In The Middle Of The Night

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

King Duncan

Life has a way sometimes of slipping up behind and slapping us in the head. Sometimes it is a gentle slap. Other times it is not. A man was driving down the road. He passed a traffic camera and saw it flash. Astounded that he had been caught speeding when he was doing the speed limit, the man turned around and, going even slower, passed the camera again. It flashed once more. He couldn't believe it! He turned, going a snail's pace, and passed the camera one more time. Again, he saw the camera flash. He ...

728. Who Are Your Gentiles?

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Landon Winstead

Dodie Gadient, a schoolteacher for thirteen years, decided to travel across America and see the sights she had taught about. Traveling alone in a truck with camper in tow, she launched out. One afternoon rounding a curve on I-5 near Sacramento in rush-hour traffic, a water pump blew on her truck. She was tired, exasperated, scared, and alone. In spite of the traffic jam she caused, no one seemed interested in helping. Leaning up against the trailer, she prayed, "Please God, send me an angel . . . ...

729. Balancing Act

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon

King Duncan

A lady opened her refrigerator and saw a rabbit sitting on one of the shelves. "What are you doing in there?" she asked. The rabbit replied: "This refrigerator is a Westinghouse, isn't it?" To which the lady replied "Yes." "Well," the rabbit said, "I'm westing." I guess everybody needs a westinghouse. Everyone needs a quiet spot--a place that they can get away to recharge the batteries, to re-nourish the spirit. In the 1970s, Michael Caine and Sidney Poitier co-starred in the movie Zulu, which was shot in ...

730. Worriers Or Warriors?

John 14:15-31

Sermon

King Duncan

A commercial airline pilot on one occasion made a particularly bad landing. The wheels of the big jet hit the runway with a jarring thud. Afterward, the airline had a policy, which required that the pilot stand at the door while the passengers exited. He was to give each of them a smile and say, "Thanks for flying with us today." In light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment, but no one seemed annoyed. Finally everyone ...

731. 'Thanking" About Thanksgiving

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

King Duncan

A teacher, Lisa Trewhitt Earby of Cleveland, Tennessee, tells about reading one-on-one with a first grade student who encountered the words "thank you" for the first time in print. Hoping the student would use some of her newly learned reading strategies, Lisa gave the girl plenty of time to work out the words herself. After a few moments, though, Lisa decided to tell her the word "thank." When she didn't respond, Lisa said more emphatically, "Thank." The little girl responded in her native Tennessee ...

732. On Picking Your Battles

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

There was a church where the pastor and the minister of music were not getting along. As time went by, this began to spill over into the worship service. The first week the pastor preached on commitment and how we all should dedicate ourselves to the service of God. The music director led the song, "I Shall Not Be Moved." The second week the pastor preached on tithing and how we all should gladly give to the work of the Lord. The director led the song, "Jesus Paid it All." The third week the pastor ...

733. How Many Times?

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

King Duncan

A woman with fourteen children, ages one through fourteen, sued her husband for divorce on the grounds of desertion. "When did he desert you?" the judge asked. "Thirteen years ago," she replied. "If he left thirteen years ago, where did all these children come from?" asked the judge. "Oh," said the woman, "he kept coming back to say he was sorry." Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not ...

734. Why The British Coast Guard Doesn't Like Eric, But God Does

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

Last year, newspapers around the world carried the story of Eric Abbott, a British sailor who makes a habit of getting lost. On August 10, 2000, the British coast guard rescued Eric Abbott for the sixth time after he sailed off course and ran aground. You would think after all these mishaps, he would give up sailing. No way. Abbott plans on hitting the water again soon. Some would admire Abbott for saying that he won't give up sailing. The members of the British coast guard don't share that admiration. It ...

735. Worried About Her Child

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

A man was going up to bed, when his wife told him he'd left the light on in the garden shed. She could see it from the bedroom window. But he said that he hadn't been in the shed that day. He looked out himself, and there were people in the shed, stealing things. He rang the police, but they told him that no one was in his area, so no one was available to catch the thieves. He said "ok," hung up, counted to 30 and rang the police again. "Hello. I just rang you a few seconds ago, because there were people ...

736. Sons And Daughters Of God

Romans 8:18-27, Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever done anything really foolish? I mean, something so stupid that years later you still cringe when you think about it. Dr. James Dobson tells of a friend of his during their days in medical school. One day this man was walking across campus laden with books and briefcase. He passed by a fast food stand, and ordered something to eat and a milkshake to wash it down. He balanced it all on top of his briefcase and began looking for an empty table at which to sit. While looking, the milkshake got ...

737. A Platform For Life

Romans 8:28-39

Sermon

King Duncan

Mark Albion, in his book MAKING A LIFE, MAKING A LIVING tells a fascinating story about a practice on the South Pacific island of Pentecost that is very similar to our sport of bungee jumping--except with religious significance. On this island men practice land diving, an ancient ritual designed to please the gods and ensure a good yam harvest. Each man builds his own diving platform. The diver chooses the site carefully. He and he alone is responsible for the construction. The diver also selects his own ...

738. No Plastic Easter

John 20:19-23

Sermon

King Duncan

Author Sheila Walsh writes about her friend, Thelma, who has a fake garden. The thing is, Thelma wants a pretty yard without all the hard work that a garden requires, so she plants plastic flowers in her yard. The flowers look beautiful, and from a distance, no one can tell that they aren't real. But there are no honeybees in Thelma's garden. The bees learned a long time ago that although her flowers look pretty, they have no flavor or nourishment to them. (1) Reading about Thelma's fake garden reminds me ...

739. Why Just Once A Year?

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

I love Thanksgiving. We could celebrate Thanksgiving several times a year as far as I'm concerned. Storyteller Donald Davis had a kindergarten teacher named Mrs. Rosemary who also believed in celebrating holidays more than once a year. She liked a good celebration, and saw no reason to wait until a holiday came along before celebrating it. In fact, every Monday morning Mrs. Rosemary's class celebrated a different holiday. In an average school year, the children might celebrate Memorial Day, Valentine's Day ...

740. Maturity In Christ

Colossians 1:27-28

Sermon

King Duncan

What would you say are the top three tourist spots in the world? Time's up. The three most-traveled-to places in the world are: Rome (the seat of Catholicism and Vatican City), Mecca (the holiest site in the Islamic world), and Orlando, Florida (the home of Disney World). (1) More people visit those three places than any other on earth. I'm not exactly sure what that says about us, but it's an interesting fact. I guess it means that the three most influential figures in the world are the Pope, Mohammad, ...

741. Hungry For God

1 Timothy 6:3-10

Sermon

King Duncan

Bible scholar E. Schuyler English received a phone call one day. A woman's voice said, "Dr. English, I am calling from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The hand of God is here." Excuse me? thought Dr. English. The hand of God is at the museum? Then Dr. English recalled that several months before, he had ordered a replica of Rodin's sculpture, The Hand of God, from the museum gift shop. It had finally arrived. (1) The prophet Isaiah was eager to see the hand of God at work among his people. He implores the ...

742. On Names That Preach

Psalm 16:1-11

Sermon

Siegfried S. Johnson

Perhaps no people were more prone to give names to their children that "preach" than the Puritans of 17th century New England. The names they gave their kids leave us to wonder if, after all, the Puritans were just kidding. I assure you, they were not. Dead serious was the young Puritan couple who named their new baby boy "Kill Sin." So, Mr. Kill Sin Pimple shows up in a marriage list of official county records. (It would be interesting to know whether his friends called him by his first name, Kill; or by ...

743. When Did We See You?

Ezekiel 34:1-31

Sermon

King Duncan

(Thanksgiving) The juxtaposition is startling--the Thanksgiving feast we have just enjoyed and our text for the day: " . . . I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me water; I was a stranger and you invited me into your homes; naked and you clothed me, sick and in prison and you visited me." (Mt. 25: 35-36 The Living Bible). And yet what better day is there than this one--between the celebration of Thanksgiving, the one day when gluttony is transformed from a sin to a sacrament and Advent ...

744. He Calms The Storms

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

King Duncan

Dr. William Barclay was one of the most respected Bible scholars in the world. His life was devastated at one point when his only daughter drowned just a few days before she was to be married. Sometime later, commenting on our scripture lesson for today, Dr. Barclay said this: "I am not so concerned as to whether Jesus stilled the tempest on the sea. What I do know is He stilled the tempest in my heart." Throughout the last 20 centuries there have been millions of people who have heard Christ speak his ...

745. Discerning The Will Of God

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

In the popular cartoon, Marvin, Marvin's mother looks down at little Marvin who has just taken his hammer and broken his toys into thousands of pieces. "Why must you always break your toys, Marvin?" Marvin thinks to himself and then replies, "I'm just practicing for when I grow up. I'm going to be a broker." I don't think many of us want to spend our lives being "brokers;" we would rather builders and fixers. We want our lives to count for something good, constructive, and lasting. We want to make our mark ...

746. When You Are Uncertain About Your Salvation

1 Kings 3:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

Does it bother you when someone corners you on the street and asks you, "Are you saved?" Do you have an uncomfortable feeling when someone pointedly asks you if you're a Christian? How many times have you answered by saying, "Well, I try to be." Is there uncertainty in your heart about your salvation? If so, you should realize that you are not alone. Many of the best Christians who have ever lived have gone through times when they doubted if their conversion was real. It happened to Martin Luther. It ...

747. Formula For A Glowing Face

Romans 12:9-21

Sermon

King Duncan

In The Winter's Tale, Act 1, Scene 2, the King of Bohemia is told that his suspicious host is plotting against him. He believes it because he recalls the look of enmity on his host's face. The king puts it like this: "I saw his heart in his face." Gilbert Stuart took one look at Talleyrand, the French ambassador, and said, "If that man isn't a scoundrel, God doesn't write a legible hand." A selfish prince once had a magician create a mask that would make him look kind so that he might win the heart of the ...

748. Witness to the Light

John 1:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

On July 23, 2002, nine miners in Western Pennsylvania became trapped in a flooded mine. The injured and desperate men tied themselves together so that the stronger ones could sustain the weaker ones as they waited to be rescued. Journalists from across the nation reported the rescue effort, which took five long days. No one could believe it when all nine miners emerged safely from the mine. On July 30, the people of the small mining community gathered for a worship service to thank God for saving the ...

749. After Katrina

Song of Songs 8:1-14

Sermon

David E. Leininger

"Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it..." The news footage from the Gulf Coast has been something, hasn't it? The devastation is eerily reminiscent of the tsunami that devastated South Asia last winter. The one thing I did NOT see following the Asian disaster was all the gleeful looting. How sad! In a way, that might be somewhat expected. During hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters, those who have the least to lose are often those who lose the most. Their dwellings are ...

750. AN ACT OF WILL

Drama

Angela Akers

SUBJECT: Thanksgiving CHARACTERS: Maria, the mother, Mr. Ramos, an elderly man, Reba, the babysitter, The son, 6-8 years old SETTING: Maria''s apartment PROPS: Some dishes of food (don''t necessarily have to have food in them) Maria: "Reba, thank you so much for watching the kids this afternoon. I''ll be at Mr. Ramos'' house for thirty minutes or so." Reba: "No problem. What''s all this good food for?" Maria: "This is what I''m taking over. Mr. Ramos attends my church. His wife died last year, ...

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