Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 851 to 875 of 2561 results

851. The Sin of Silence

1 John 1:9-10

Sermon

James Merritt

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights?" If you've ever seen a TV show, or a movie, or if you've unfortunately been arrested, you are familiar with what is known as the Miranda warning. Now where does this warning come from? Well, many believe it's not from the Constitution or common law, but it was simply a ...

852. A Bridge over Troubled Waters

Psalm 23:2

Sermon

James Merritt

Is there anyone here today dealing with stress? Just looking out, I see a lot of people who are all stressed up and no place to go. Stress is a problem. Believe it or not, this is a problem for the pastor. In a recent Los Angeles Times article, psychologist Richard Blackmon said, “Pastors are the single most occupationally frustrated group in America.” About 75% of pastors go through a period of stress so great that they consider quitting the ministry; 35-40% actually do. Incidents of mental breakdown are ...

853. Me - A - Missionary?

Acts 1:8

Sermon

James Merritt

It is probably the most well known Bible verse in the world. It has probably been preached on more by the greatest evangelist of modern times, Billy Graham, than any other single verse. Of course, I am referring to John 3:16. There may be some of you who do not know it, so here is what it says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16, NASB) I want you particularly to pay attention to three key words in ...

854. One Year to Live

Jeremiah 28:10-17

Sermon

James Merritt

Years ago on the front page of the human interest section of a Los Angeles newspaper was the picture of a lady named Mrs. Agnes Human. The picture was framed with a heavy black border and over her picture in large black ominous letters were the words, "One Year To Live." Underneath was the explanation: "Mrs. Agnes Human, 30, of Chicago, has only one year to live. Doomed as a result of atomic poisoning contracted in work at the Oakridge, Tennessee Nuclear Plant, she is pondering the fate of her four ...

855. Keep Your Eye On The Ball

Nehemiah 6:1-14

Sermon

James Merritt

There is one thing that seven years at seminary never taught me. I learned a lot about Greek, Hebrew, sermon preparation, counseling, etc. but I didn't learn hardly anything about leadership. Nobody ever told me that the words "pastor" and "leader" are synonymous. Nobody ever told me, specifically about two aspects of leadership. First of all, the pressure of leadership and second the price of leadership. There is indeed great pressure in leadership and a high price for leadership. If you are a leader, I ...

856. Born Again

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Nothing is more revealing of persons than the way they share themselves in conversation. Our Scripture lesson today provides one of the most profound encounters Jesus had with a person —— and the deep conversation they shared. The person is Nicodemus, and we need to refresh our minds as to who this person is. Nicodemus is a Jew, a Pharisee, and a member of the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was one of the most important bodies in Judaism. It was a counsel of 70 men, with the High Priest as its chairman. The ...

857. Barriers to Grace

Exodus 6:28--7:7

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Winston Churchill once described the Soviet Union as “an enigma wrapped in riddle.” Chapters 7-12 of Exodus is that an enigma wrapped in a riddle. It’s the story of God through Moses dealing with Pharaoh, seeking to convince Pharaoh to let the people go. It’s a graphic presentation of the plagues. The Nile River turns to blood and becomes foul; the fish of the river die; swarms of frogs overrun the land filling the houses, even the bedchambers (how would you like to go to bed with a hundred bullfrogs under ...

858. Daring Thomas

John 11:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

Pirates have been in the news over the past few years. Not the romanticized pirates of the Caribbean, but real life pirates in places like Somalia desperate, violent men who have garnered ransoms of millions of dollars by taking hostages from ships. If I were to ask you to name a famous pirate from history, who would it be? My guess is that many of you would come up with the name Blackbeard. Blackbeard was a notorious English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of the American ...

859. Being a Christian “Survivor”

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Survivor — after all these years on television, you are familiar with the concept — castaway contestants on an isolated beach in search of adventure and a $1-million grand prize — sort of Gilligan's Island meets Regis Philbin. They compete in twisted survival games, jungle obstacles, swimming relays, and larva eating. Even more harrowing, they gather for a "tribal council" at the end of every episode, and after, "the tribe has spoken," one more contestant is booted off the island. The last person to ...

860. When the Going Gets Tough

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

The golf course was crowded with golfers one pleasant fall morning. Bob was standing in front of a tee preparing to swing at his ball. He visualized hitting a beautiful shot that would carry hundreds of yards. As he was standing there lost in his thoughts, an announcement came over the public address system: “Would the gentleman standing at the women’s tee please back up to the men’s tee?” Bob ignored the announcement. He continued his pre-shot routine. Again, the announcement came across the PA system: “ ...

861. Be Patient

James 5:7-12

Sermon

King Duncan

One Christmas season when Shirley Duncanson’s daughter was nearing her third birthday, Duncanson decided to take her along with her brothers ages 1, 4, 6, 8 out shopping. The little girl saw a doll that she wanted. Nothing Duncanson could say or do would alter her desire. She wanted that doll and she wanted it then. No reminder that Christmas was coming that she needed to be good because Santa Claus might be watching had any impact on her. With a one-year-old in the cart, and three other children to keep ...

862. The Kingdom Is at Hand

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

King Duncan

If any of you are Will Ferrell fans, you may be familiar with the 2006 film, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Ferrell plays the role of Ricky Bobby, a dimwitted daredevil who is also the most successful driver on the NASCAR circuit. In typical Will Farrell fashion, Ricky Bobby is morally and ethically bankrupt. The only things that matter to Ricky Bobby are winning races and self-indulgence. But Ricky Bobby is religious, after a fashion. He even prays when it suits his desires. In one scene he ...

863. Everything Must Go: “Abandon Ship!”

1 Chronicles 29:1-9

Sermon

James Merritt

In America, it is called a dollar. In England, it is called a pound. In Europe, it is called a euro. In Israel, it is called a shekel. In China, it is called a yen. Different countries call it different things, but we all know it is money. It is everywhere. Money has been around forever. Interestingly, we didn’t start using paper money until the mid-1600’s, before that it was gold, silver, and bronze. Before that it was a unit of weight like barley or bread. By itself money really is nothing. It is just ...

864. Lost

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

James Merritt

Have you ever lost something of value that was really, really important that really mattered to you and you couldn’t find it? Once you realized it, what did you do? You dropped everything you were doing and immediately went looking for it. Do you remember when you found it? Do you remember the joy, the relief and the happiness that you felt? Maybe it was your car keys or your wallet or a credit card or even a wedding ring. How many of you have ever lost a kid? I can tell every one of you this. If you have ...

865. To the Rescue

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

James Merritt

Some of you may remember the most famous advice communist of all time. Her name was Ann Landers. For decades, her answers to every question you could imagine from all over the country was read in hundreds of newspapers. Her byline “Dear Ann”, became famous all over the world. Towards the end of her career, she sat down for an interview with NBC and she was asked this question, “Of all the questions you have received over all of your years what is the most frequent question you have been asked?” Her answer ...

866. A Rebellious Nation

Isaiah 1:1-31

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

Introduction--Jerusalem Judged and Restored: Chapter 1 introduces both the message of Isaiah ben Amoz over three decades and the book as a whole. The people have paid the penalty for abandoning their relationship with Yahweh (vv. 2–9) and need to own the fact that they have perverted their life with Yahweh by practicing religion but not justice (vv. 10–20); judgment can then be a creative purging that restores justice as well as the relationship (vv. 21–31). 1:1 The fact that the word vision always denotes ...

867. Miscellaneous Oracles of Judgment

Ezekiel 21:1-32, Ezekiel 22:1-31

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

In the Hebrew Bible, a new chapter starts at 20:45—appropriately, as 20:45–49 is less in continuity with the preceding judgment God pronounced on the leaders of the exilic community than with the following oracles God directed against Jerusalem (21:1–17, 18–24; 21:1–16; 22:1–16) and its leadership (21:25–27; 22:23–31; see the discussion below of the curiously-placed oracle against Ammon, 21:28–32). While it is difficult to find unity in this section, there are clear signs of intentional arrangement here: ...

868. Blood: Right and Wrong Uses

Leviticus 17:1-16

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

Big Idea: Blood and sacrifice are important, though they can be abused. Understanding the Text Leviticus 17–27 forms a major unit in Leviticus in which “holiness” is emphasized, for which reason it has come to be labeled the “laws of holiness.” Leviticus 17 introduces this unit by emphasizing the holiness of proper sacrifice, the prohibition of idolatry (sacrifice to goat-demons), and the proper use of blood. John Walton describes this chapter as “maintaining holiness from outside the camp” (see “ ...

869. “Taste and See That the Lord Is Good”

Psalm 34:1-22

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: Having experienced God’s goodness, we invite others to “taste and see that the Lord is good” and thus experience the assuagement of their fears. Understanding the Text In addition to being an alphabetic acrostic,[1] Psalm 34 shares at least three other features with Psalm 25, another acrostic: (1) the waw (the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet) is missing from both poems; (2) each closes with a supernumerary verse beginning with the Hebrew letter pe; and (3) the same verb begins each of these ...

870. Family Ties and Good-byes

Mark 3:31-35

Sermon

Ron Lavin

Jesus experienced family ties and good-byes. So do we. According to Mark 3:20-35, Jesus was about to be confronted by his frustrated and conflicted family as crowds gathered around him to hear his stories, behold his miracles, and observe with great interest the conflicts he had with religious leaders from Jerusalem. Conflict. But there were also good, tender, and beautiful joys in Jesus' family. Look at the tenderness at the time of his birth. Good-byes and ties. All families have stress, as well as ...

871. Should We Wash One Another's Feet?

John 13:31-38, John 13:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

A pastor named Kwanza Yu tells a beautiful story of the death of his father in Seoul, Korea. All six of Pastor Yu’s brothers and sisters were present for his father’s last hours. He says that all of them could feel the pain of his struggle as he tried to communicate with them. But their father had lost the ability to speak. Finally, says this pastor, their father motioned toward their oldest brother as if to say, “Get me a glass of water.” So the oldest son went over to the sink and filled a glass with ...

872. Shockwaves of Joy

Matthew 28:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

One of the most spectacular characteristics of the Hollywood film industry is special effects. How many times have you walked out of a theater thinking “Wow! How did they do that?” For example, those of you who are James Bond fans might already know that the biggest stunt explosion in movie history was in the 24th Bond movie, Spectre. It’s even listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. It’s an impressive scene. It took over 2,000 gallons of kerosene, 300 detonators, 24 explosive devices and a mountain ...

873. How Does Your Garden Grow?

John 15:1-8

Sermon

Timothy W. Ayers

Our scripture reading from the gospel of John tells of Jesus teaching his disciples about remaining connected to him in order to grow strong in their Christian lives. He used an illustration that people of his day would have understood easily. Grapevines were readily handy and they were most likely grown by most homes as a source of food and drink. The disciples, who were once boys, would have tended to the family’s vines and would know experientially the right ways to trim, groom, prune, and train a vine ...

874. Faith and Freedom

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

During World War II, a General and one of his Lieutenants were traveling from their base to a base in another state. They were forced to travel with civilians aboard a passenger train. They found their compartment, where two other folks were already seated. There they found an attractive young lady and her grandmother. The four of them had a friendly visit for most of the trip, at least until the train entered a long and rather dark tunnel. Once inside the tunnel, the passengers in this particular car ...

875. Playing Outside the Rules

Luke 6:27-38 · Genesis 45:3-11, 15

Sermon

Lori Wagner

It’s no surprise that God is an “out of the box” thinker, is it? After all, God is the ultimate “outside of the box” God –can’t be confined to a tabernacle, won’t be pleased by a simple sacrifice, definitely won’t tolerate other gods, makes relationships in terms of covenant, creates humankind in God’s own image, gives people more than 1,000 chances to get it right…. and the list goes on. God can’t be confined or defined by our rational or calculating minds nor described in terms of our limited, “rational ...

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