Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 726 to 750 of 928 results

726. God Will Be With Us

Isaiah 7:1-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... work, more pay. (Uh, oh . . . I’m going to start a brawl with that one.) Wrinkles add character. Wedding dress $5000. Tux rental-$100. New shoes don’t cut, blister, or mangle your feet. “Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can open all your own jars. You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend. “Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. Three pairs ...

727. Can You Be Popular and Serve Jesus?

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... black cook, Zephyr Wright, who was considered a part of the family. One day at LBJ’s home in Washington, Johnson told Zephyr that he wanted her and her husband, Sammy, to pack up and drive to the LBJ ranch in Texas to prepare for the Johnsons’ vacation stay. “I’m not going to do it,” Zephyr told Johnson defiantly. She explained that on the two‑day trip, she would have to substitute the bushes on the road for a rest room, brown‑bag it from restaurants that would not serve blacks, and her ...

728. A Man Who Could Get the Last Quarter Out of You

Luke 19:1-10

Illustration

Brett Blair

A man on vacation was strolling along outside his hotel in Acapulco, enjoying the sunny Mexican weather. He heard the screams of a woman kneeling in front of a child. The man knew enough Spanish to determine that the boy had swallowed a coin. Seizing the child by the heels, the man held him ...

729. Worry Not

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... the substituted car was an upgrade far nicer than the car they had expected. It was amazing, she said. After the Mustang, they had been given a Mazda MR‑10, a Lincoln Town Car, and finally, a Mercedes, all with the most sincere apologies. The vacation was absolutely wonderful and on the plane back, she turned to her husband, thanking him for all he had done to arrange such a memorable time. “Yes,” he said, pleased, “it was really nice.” Then, much to her amazement he added, “Too bad they never ...

730. Get Down and Dirty for Lent

John 9:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... yard. 2) They will overflow and need to be re-dug immediately after you’ve just completed re-landscaping. 3) The septic tank alarm always goes off between 1-5 a.m. 4) Your neighbor’s septic tank alarm goes off when they have gone on vacation. But the most important thing about a septic tank? Like any living thing, you must “feed” them regularly. Every month or so you must flush down a new packet of lovely little bacteria, a new infusion of the little critters that digest waste and keep the septic ...

731. Easter Fits All

John 20:1-9

Illustration

Steven Molin

... of 1981, the president of national hotel chain was speaking at a conference in Atlanta Georgia, and while he was there, he decided he needed a haircut. While sitting in the chair of a neighborhood barber, he struck up a conversation. "What are you doing for a vacation this summer?" The barber's face brightened, "My wife and I are taking a road trip, and we're driving to Phoenix." "Really" the hotel president asked, "and where are you going to stay while you're on this road trip?" The barber said "Well, on ...

732. The Five-a-Day Rule

John 20:24-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... everydayness of life. It is when we are most “low” in energy, in desire, in hope that we start to entertain the most doubts about ourselves, our lives, our choices and our faith. With Spring Break lines behind them and a long time until summer vacation, even the most serious student can start to doubt the value of slogging on and staying in school. As spring and new growth bursts all around us, the same old job, the dullness of deadlines, the grind of every-day work, can fertilize furtive doubts about ...

733. Family Resemblance

John 14:5-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... good point about child-rearing. Three Jewish mothers were bragging about their sons. “My son is a wealthy lawyer,” said one. “For my birthday he gave me this fur coat.” Said the second: “My son is a medical doctor and last winter he gave me a vacation in Miami Beach.” The third thought for a moment then blurted out, “My son sees a fancy psychiatrist each week. He pays the psychiatrist $100 an hour. And guess who he spends his time talking about ME!” She did not realize that the fact that her ...

734. A Gift of Marbles

John 14:15-31

Illustration

O. Garfield Beckstrand, II

A minister on vacation went to visit a boyhood friend who operated a candy and novelty store. While they were reminiscing, a little boy about six years old came in and asked if the man sold marbles. The owner showed him where the marbles were. The boy asked, "How much, mister?" "Ten cents a ...

735. God’s Most Troubling Promise

Romans 8:28

Sermon

King Duncan

... help you withstand the most severe storm and will place your feet on solid ground once again. In Decision magazine years ago there was a story of a young couple who were quite successful: three children in private schools, a mansion, two luxury cars, a vacation house on the lake, etc. Life was sweet, and money made their world go round. Then one day the bottom dropped out of this couple’s life. A partner in their business embezzled nearly half a million dollars, and their business collapsed. In the midst ...

736. There Is Always More Need

Matthew 14:13-21

Illustration

Roger G. Talbott

... The two of you haven't had a night out without the kids in weeks. You finally get away. The waiter has just brought your appetizer when the baby-sitter calls and tells you the youngest has a high fever and has started throwing up. You've been planning this vacation for six months. Your reservations are all made and three days before you are scheduled to go your mother calls and says your Dad is going to have a quadruple bypass as soon as the doctors can get his sugar stabilized. You haven't had a day off in ...

737. God's Day Off

Mark 2:23-3:6

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... make contact with a loving God, a Savior who meets and serves humanity through his body, the church — you and me — then the tide might be turned. It will take creativity, discipline, commitment, planning, and setting priorities — the best holidays (holy days) and vacations always do. There are even some reasonable things not to do included in all that planning. A contemporary parable comes from the pen of Dr. Leslie Weatherhead who for years was the minister of London's City Temple. He wrote: Near my ...

738. Cross-Bearing

Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

David E. Leininger

While vacationing in Mexico sometime back, my wife and I attended worship in a church that is served by one of our Mexican minister friends. Following the service, we and too many others piled into a small vehicle to go to our friend's home for some refreshments. In the front passenger ...

739. Beating Babel

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... of any other consideration, and we should all chip in to make sure that no one falls through the cracks. Same word ... justice ... vastly different meanings. Sometimes misunderstandings are accidental. Consider this little vignette. A little old lady planning a vacation wrote a letter to a particular campground to inquire about its facilities. She could not bring herself to write the word "toilet" so she finally settled on the term, "BC," which, to her, meant "bathroom commode." The initials baffled the ...

740. The God Who Is Always There

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22

Sermon

David E. Leininger

The always-there God? Do you wonder which God that might be? It could not possibly be the God of heaven ... our God, could it? Our God is on vacation ... someplace. So it seems ... sometimes. Where is God when life starts to crumble and the burdens begin to crush? Could Queen Esther have ever felt that way? She would have had every reason. Perhaps that is why, in the entire Old Testament book that bears her name, the name of ...

741. It’s Anybody’s Guess

Mark 4:30-34

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

... , as though he held the future — and the seed, and you — in the palm of his hand. That's how much he trusts you to go on planting the seeds: a mother's prayer, a father's encouragement, a little girl's joy, a young boy's imagination, a vacation Bible school teacher. That's how much Jesus trusts God to bring in the harvest. Just keep planting the seeds of the kingdom. Leave the outcome in God's hands. Pope John XXIII was one of the great leaders of the last century. Someone said that he ended his ...

742. God’s Anthills

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

... nations where people are starving for lack of food. Like the disciples, we say, "It's too big a problem, Lord. I am just one person. We are just a few people. Send the hungry away to take care of themselves." And Jesus, who interrupted his one-day vacation to give them what they need, says, "Go and see what you have to share." For a long time, scientists didn't understand how ants managed to live and thrive in the midst of a terrible drought and famine. But then one man studying them discovered the reason ...

743. The Inconcealable Christ!

Mark 7:31-37, Mark 7:24-30

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... , they do all they can to avoid going that way. It is a remote place sustained by commercial fishing and, if we can imagine, all the attendant odors are present every day. It is not far from the sea but it is not a vacation destination by any means. This woman whose daughter Jesus healed is described as "a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia" (v. 26). The area where she lives is called Syrophoenicia to distinguish it from the much more desirable North African coastal region called Lybophoenicia. Matthew calls ...

744. The Final Exam

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Steven Molin

... so carefully in this life. When you leave this place today, maybe the primo parking spot at the mall won't be so important, perhaps the treasure your neighbor's dog left in your yard won't upset you so and hopefully the disappointment of a job lost or a vacation cancelled will not rock your world. The Savior loves you, he's claimed you for eternity, and now you are free to live. Class is over! Thanks be to God. Amen.

745. Spiritual Gifts: God’s Gift of Fulfillment

1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

... the first thing you need to know." Do you know what you are good at? Sometimes other people tell you. Sometimes you take an aptitude test. Most of the time you have to figure it out by trial and error. In my first church, I helped out with vacation Bible school one summer. Since they were having difficulty recruiting volunteers, I told them to put me anywhere there was an opening. I was placed with fifth-grade girls. I was great with the games. I was an expert at the Bible study. The four chords I can play ...

746. Witness: More than Judgment

1 Corinthians 9:16-23

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

... ? How do I speak? How do we become a Jew to the Jew or weak for the weak so that more can hear and believe? That's where we all need help. We have a neighbor who moved in sometime early this summer. It was just before we went on vacation and then school started and the fall race began. You understand how that is. He is right next door and I still haven't had a meaningful conversation with him. And I want to, I want to as a neighbor and I want to as a Christian. But now it ...

747. Who Will Vouch for Me?

2 Corinthians 3:1-6

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

... we don't know someone, we look for a recommendation. There is a true story recorded in the popular book, Chicken Soup for the Soul. It is a story about a man who wrote a letter to a small hotel in the Midwest. He planned to stay there during his vacation and wrote the owner this letter. "I would very much like to bring my dog with me. He is well-groomed and very well-behaved. Would you be willing to permit me to keep him in my room with me at night?" An immediate reply came back from the hotel ...

748. Words That Wound, Words That Heal

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

... things that no one else had looked quite far enough to find. I love you because you are helping me to make of the lumber of my life not a tavern, but a temple, out of the works of my every day not a reproach, but a song. During these vacation days of summer, let us all take some time to reflect upon our language, upon words that hurt and words that heal, remembering this good exhortation of Saint Paul, "Let no bad word pass your lips, but only what is helpful for building others up, according to their needs ...

749. Reconciliation Day

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... . My brother tried that for years. When someone would tailgate him, he’d stop the car in the middle of the road, get out, walk around and ask if there was a problem. After being punched in the nose five or six times, and paying off the vacation homes of several local plastic surgeons, he finally gave up and now leaves the lessons to the police. That’s what you need to do, too, Cliff . . . When something like this happens, remember that people ultimately get what they deserve, even if it isn’t at that ...

750. Jesus Would Do What?

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

A woman named Naomi Magdanz in Lodi, California tells about her 6-year-old grandson, Joshua. Joshua attended a Vacation Bible School with the theme, “What Would Jesus Do?” To remind the children of the theme, they made little armbands with WWJD on the band. One evening Joshua’s mother asked him to change his clothes. Joshua looked at his armband and said, “WWJD - What would Jesus do?” His mother ...

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