Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic

Showing 726 to 750 of 1232 results

726. Just Know Him In His Visible Return

Revelation 1:7-8

Sermon

James Merritt

I want to share with you some headlines that actually ran on the front page of American newspapers. Again, as Rush Limbaugh would say I am not making these up: "Something went wrong in Jet crash, expert says" "Police begin campaign to run down jaywalkers" "Plane too close to ground crash probe told" "Minors refuse to work after death" "If strike isn't settled quickly, it may last a while" "Cold wave linked to temperatures" "Couple slain: Police suspect Homicide" "New study of obesity looks for larger test ...

727. The Most Exciting Moment of Your Life

1 Cor 5:1-13, Rev 21:1-27, Rev 6:1-17, Heb 12:14-29, Rev 22:7-21, Phil 1:12-30

Sermon

James Merritt

The great Bible teacher, John MacArthur, told the story of how recently his sister died of cancer, and went to be with the Lord. One of the last times John saw his sister was at the hospital. She was suffering terribly. They talked very candidly about the future. She looked up at him and said, "John, I am going to die very soon and be with the Lord." Dr. MacArthur looked at his sister and made this statement. He said, "Sis, just remember, the worst thing that can happen to a Christian is the best thing ...

728. The True Feng Shui Life

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Our world has been shaped by one image. It may be the most powerful image to come out of the 20th century. If you were asked about the most important image of the 20th century, what would you pick? Here is my pick . . . [if you use screens]. The one picture that did the most to transform our perception of this world was that look-back at Earth from the tiny port-hole window in the first Apollo mission to the moon. Dangling in the bleak blackness of space was this beautiful blue-ball planet — with swirling ...

729. Like a Child

Hebrews 4:1—5:10

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

Angela was still a pre-schooler the Christmas Grandpa Harvey got her the red Radio Flyer wagon, and by summer it had become a popular item in the family's backyard. When her younger sister learned to toddle along sometime later they made a game of pulling each other, often with the help of Mom or Dad. As is known to happen with siblings, one afternoon the cooperative play turned competitive, then became a heated argument. And so it was that Angela informed her little sister in a physical way that this was ...

730. The Unshakable Foundation

Hebrews 7:23-28

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

On Top Sail Island, North Carolina, stands the ruins of a dream in a shell of a house. Before the hurricane, both the house and owner had proudly stood on the oceanfront daring the challenges of wind and wave. Six years before, John (not his real name) had left his wife of eleven years in search of something he could not define — something that would make his life complete and happy. He wanted adventure and fun; he wanted big-boy-toys. He wanted a beautiful home and a beautiful wife, and he was willing to ...

731. Where Is Love?

Hebrews 9:1-28

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

Several years ago, a fellow named Lionel Bart wrote a hit song, "Where Is Love," for the Broadway musical Oliver. Based on the Charles Dickens classic, Oliver Twist, the musical tells the story of an orphaned child struggling to survive the cruelties of the streets of England amidst the Industrial Age. No one seems to care, except those trying to use him for profit. "Where is he, whom I close my eyes to see?" Oliver sings. "Will I ever know the sweet ‘Hello,' that's meant for only me? Where is love?" Few ...

732. Dots on a Screen

Hebrews 9:24-28

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

Several years have now passed since the television series Survivor first debuted to become a summer ratings sensation. The concept was simple: place a group of individuals with diverse backgrounds, skills, and personalities into close proximity with a common purpose, namely survival on a deserted island, and let the audience watch as their relationships develop, or fall apart. This, of course, is not to be confused with a much earlier comedy series based on the "seven stranded castaways" of Gilligan's ...

733. Transformation to the Light

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Once upon a time, a diamond was born. He was nothing striking, but rather rough, like the rest of his family. He lived in the darkness and was very content to do just that. As a young diamond he heard tales of how some of his ancestors had left the darkness to a place of light, but that didn't concern him. One day he began to hear noise in the distance, and it came progressively closer. It was the sound of machinery with men talking and often yelling over the roar of the equipment. As time progressed, an ...

734. Momentous Moment

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

David T. Ball

When visiting another church one time, a thought occurred to me as I waited in my pew for communion to be served. It was during the Advent season, and the service had warmed us with words of hope and light. It was also the first Sunday of the month, which in that church meant communion Sunday. As the service shifted from Advent to communion, it struck me that, you know, we do this fairly often. Celebrate communion, that is. Once a month. We celebrate Christmas and Easter only once a year. Advent and Lent ...

735. A Level Playing Field for God

Isaiah 40:1-11

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

I remember some years ago taking one of my first walks in San Francisco with my then three-year-old twins. I looked at the map, and it didn't seem like such a big deal to go from one place to the other. After all, it looked flat on the map! But as my wife and I began the trek we quickly realized that this was going to be no easy stroll. Shouldering backpacks filled with three-year-old paraphernalia and dragging tired twins behind, we climbed high and hiked low. We were quickly exhausted. We stood on the ...

736. False Prophets

Deuteronomy 18:14-22

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

What is a prophet, anyway? The Oxford English Dictionary says that a prophet is "one who speaks for God." Actually the definitions and their roots go on for most of a whole page, but the "one who speaks for God" sums it up as far as we are concerned. Now let me ask you if you have ever known anyone who speaks for God? It seems a pretty tall order, doesn't it? Indeed, we often will look at someone askance who merely speaks for other people, let alone God. You've likely heard it before. "So and so said ..." ...

737. The Devil's Sermon

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

When all about us is change, there are still some things that remain the same. In Indiana, a frustrated taxpayer recently noticed the following sign on a bureaucrat's desk in the county office building: "We Don't Make Change." We sure don't. We resist change or making changes, and the more set our routines of life become, the more we don't make change. I am finding in my own life, as I get older, that it is easier to get in the habit of defending positions rather than making discoveries. Sigmund Freud ...

738. A Life of Trust

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

Tommy Nelson in his book, The 12 Essentials of Godly Success, tells about a young man named Curt. Curt is thirteen years old. But Curt is physically and mentally disabled. He can’t talk. He’s a bit fragile. He’s just now getting to the place where he can go to the bathroom by himself. He can feed himself. He can hug you and love you. But here’s what Nelson loves about Curt. “He is innocent and pure, and he loves people. You can be a big guy or a little guy, a female or a male, any race, any income, ...

739. Chosen by God

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

My dad is 75 years old and lives with my 76 year old Mom in Perry County, Mississippi. Now if you have not been to Perry County, you haven’t really missed anything n the way of exciting life or beautiful geography. But you’ve missed a unique culture. More than that, you’ve missed knowing two great people. My dad didn’t even go to high school, yet I’ve moved among the high and mighty of the land, and have hobnobbed with some of the brilliant people of the country, but I’ve met few people whose wisdom ...

740. The Essence of the Gospel

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I don’t know how It Is with you, but I can recall occasions when a text of scripture grabbed my imagination, gripped my mind, burrowed its way into my soul, and became a part of my being. In many instances, I can relive the setting when that happened, and it energizes my life. Our scripture for this is such a case. It was Senior Recognition Day at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, 1958. From the time I answered the call to preach as a seventeen- year-old country boy in Mississippi, I’ve always ...

741. The Ark of the Covenant

Exodus 25:10-22

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There are three arks mentioned in the Bible: Moses’ ark, Noah’s ark, and the Ark of the Covenant. All of these arks are saving arks. You remember the stories. At the beginning of our journey through this book of Exodus, we talked about how a brave mother reckoned on God. She already had two children, Aaron and Miriam, when Moses was born. The Pharaoh had put out an edict that all male children were to be killed. Something - and I think something even more than a natural mother’s love - some voice whispered ...

742. In the Lions' Den (Dealing with Stress)

Psalm 16:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I don’t know when it began, but the symbol has been a pervasive one for a long time “The Lions’ Den”. It is a symbol for the conflicts in life. “They threw him to the lions,” we say of those who cruelly thrust an innocent, unsuspecting person into the most difficult of all situations. “The Lions’ Den” is the place where our testing comes, where we struggle to keep our integrity; where we wage the fiery battle with ourselves as well as with others and/or forces outside ourselves. It may be the arena where ...

743. The Gospel Through the Person

Galatians 4:8-20

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Here is one of Paul’s most tender passages. Yet, there is in it a harshness to it. Paul is firm in his confrontation, and calls a spade a spade. Listen to him again in verse 16: “Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?” But despite that tough confrontation, Paul pulls back the curtain of his own inner soul, revealing his anguish and pain, his personal limitations, his feelings of failure, his overwhelming sense of appreciation. Can’t you just feel the deep emotion and tenderness in ...

744. Characteristics of the Church

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

In one of his novels, William Faulkner wrote, “That which is destroying the church is not the outward groping of those with in it, or the inward groping of those without, but the professionals who control it and have removed the bells from its steeples.” (quoted by Dr. Lovitt H. Weems, Jr., at his Inaugural Address as President of St. Paul’s School of Theology, December 11, 1985.) I don’t know everything that Faulkner meant by that. He may have been talking about the fact that the professionals within the ...

745. Peter, Our Folk Hero

Mark 14:27-31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Some of you may know the name Roy Riegels. Many who don’t know his name will identify him as I tell his story. The year was 1929. The University of California was playing Georgia Tech in the Rose Bowl. Stumpy Thomason, Georgia Tech’s halfback, had the ball and was hit hard by Bennie Lom, so hard that he “coughed up the ball,” - that’s the way the sportswriters would say it. He fumbled and Roy Riegels picked it up, which you could do in college ball in those days. Riegels began to run. But Stumpy Thomason, ...

746. When Christians Pray

Acts 1:12-26

Sermon

King Duncan

There is a story by Hugh Price Hughes titled, “The City of Everywhere.” In this story a man arrives in a city one cold morning. As he gets off the train, he sees that the station is like any other station except for one thing everyone is barefoot. No one wears shoes. He notices a barefoot cab driver. “Pardon me,” he asks the driver, “I was just wondering why you don’t wear shoes. Don’t you believe in shoes?” “Sure we do,” says the driver. “Why don’t you wear them?” asks the man. “Ah, that’s the question,” ...

747. The Heart of the Matter Is the Heart!

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

Traditionalism is the living religion of the dead or the dead religion of the living. Tradition imagines that nothing worthwhile will ever again be done for the first time because everything worth doing has already been done. Therefore, traditionalism repeats what it imagined always was and what it imagines always will be. The problem with tradition for tradition's sake is a terminal case of spiritual heart disease. In this scripture reading, a delegation of religious leaders makes their way from Jerusalem ...

748. When God Says, “No”

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Steven Molin

There is a candy shop in the city of Keystone, South Dakota, just a few hundred yards down the mountain from that infamous Mount Rushmore monument. I can't tell you the name of that candy store, but I can certainly recall the sign on the counter that stands at just about eyeball-level for the average seven-year-old. The sign says this: "If Mom says, ‘No,' ask Grandma!" Within the obvious humor of that single sentence, there are two truths revealed. The first, and more obvious of the two, is that all ...

749. Three O’Clock at the Temple

Acts 3:12-19

Sermon

Ken Lentz

A church caught on fire. An elderly man came running to join the others who had come to throw water. After the fire was under control, the minister said to the old gent, "Why, John, this is the first time I've ever seen you at church!" John replied, "This is the first time I've ever seen this church on fire." Many have reduced the number of visits to the neighborhood church. They are, perhaps, tired of unpolished, irrelevant sermons. Perhaps the worship is done by rote and boring, not inspirational, but ...

750. Ascension Answers

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Ken Lentz

Many folks, especially preachers, don't know what to make of Luke's accounts (Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:1-11) of the ascension of Jesus. The other three gospels don't mention it and, frankly, the story seems a little too mythical for twenty-first-century readers. Educated people of the western world have discarded the three-tier cosmology. In the understanding of today's universe, it's not possible to know what is up and what is down. People looking up into the skies today might be looking at other beings on ...

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