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 851 to 875 of 1232 results

851. What in the World Are We Doing?

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

James W. Moore

Have you heard the story about the young police officer who was on the witness stand testifying in the trial of a man he had arrested for robbery? The defendant was being represented by a hard-nosed attorney who was known far and wide for being tough on police officers. In cross-examination, the tough lawyer was trying to undermine the policeman’s credibility and the exchange between the fiery lawyer and the young policemen went like this. The lawyer speaks first. “Officer… did you see (with your own eyes ...

852. The Death That Ends All Death

1 Peter 3:18

Sermon

James Merritt

Jesus Christ died when he was about thirty-three years old. Other than the fact that he died as a relatively young man, on the surface there seems to be nothing unusual about that statement. The reason why that seems to be a routine statement is because death comes to everyone. When the Irish writer, George Bernard Shaw, completed a statistical study on the subject of death, he said he came to this firm conclusion: "One out of one people dies." Normally that is why biographers seldom spend much time on the ...

853. The Only One Who Is Number One

Exodus 20:1-3

Sermon

James Merritt

This is the beginning of a series of messages on the Ten Commandments I have entitled, "Playing by the rules: God's game plan for godliness." We live in a universe that is governed by certain rules. In fact, if there were no rules, the cosmos would become chaos. If 2 + 2 did not always = 4, mathematics would be impossible; if E did not = MC2 , physics would go out the window. Without rules, football, basketball, baseball, and every other sport would be a thing of the past. If we did not have rules, ...

854. The Scarlet Letter

Exodus 20:14

Sermon

James Merritt

Probably the mother of all misprints in any book, came in the misprint of a Bible. In 1631 someone discovered a word that was missing in a newly published version of the Bible, called The King James Version. The missing word was "not" in the seventh commandment which then made the Authorized Version to read, "Thou shalt commit adultery." From then on, this 1631 addition of the Bible became known as the "Wicked Bible."[1] Well, this seems to be the Bible the world is wanting to read today. Without question ...

855. Better To Be a Loner than a Loser

Daniel 1:1-21

Sermon

James Merritt

Cassie Bernall. With one word this teenage girl became a household name and a part of God's Hall of Fame. On April 20, around 11:30AM, two gun-wielding teenagers at Columbine High School confronted her, and with guns raised, one of them asked her this question: "Do you believe in God?" After a momentary pause, she looked him squarely in the eye and said, "Yes." After he replied simply, "Why?" he shot her and killed her instantly. But at that one moment, with that one word, Cassie Bernall illustrated a ...

856. Winners Never Quit and Quitters Never Win (Fruit of the Spirit: Patience)

Galatians 5:22

Sermon

James Merritt

This first grade teacher, and her class of thirty-two first graders, had watched it rain all day long. The last bell had rung, it was time to go home, and this teacher began putting galoshes on all thirty-two of those first graders. She came to the last little girl and she was so excited that she was about finished with this dirty chore, and she began to put the galoshes on this little girl, and they were unusually tight. She struggled, she strained, she pulled, she tugged, she grunted, she groaned, and ...

857. How to Live the Good Life (Fruit of the Spirit: Goodness)

Galatians 5:22

Sermon

James Merritt

The French philosopher, Jean Jacques Rousseau, once said, "Happiness is a good bank account, a good cook, and a good digestion." That is what he would call today "the good life." There are many today who would agree with him. There are some who say that the good life is physical. They believe it just doesn't get any better than a hot tub, a back rub, and a drink at the pub. But then there are others who say the good life is material. They think that if you've got the mansion, the Mercedes, and the money, ...

858. Like a Good Neighbor, Jesus Is There

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

James Merritt

Which stranded motorist would be helped the soonest: a pregnant woman, a little old lady, a messy hippie, a smartly dressed career woman, or a scantily dressed sex symbol? A Florida Space Coast newspaper decided to find out, and ran a test on U. S. Route One with a twenty-two year old actress, Sally Mullins, who played the distressed driver in five different roles: Career woman: standing by the side of her broken down Pontiac, dressed in a double-breasted suit, holding up a "stop and please help sign" - ...

859. How to Turn the Ballot into a Blessing Box

Proverbs 29:2

Sermon

James Merritt

William Paterson, one of the signers of the United States Constitution, and a Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, said that juries should always be reminded of the text I'm preaching on today: "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules, the people groan." (v.2) I would go on to add that not only should juries be reminded of it, but also judges, lawyers, doctors, ministers, teachers; in fact, the entire nation should remember it. There is a crisis in America, I ...

860. Won't You Come Home, George Bailey?

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

This being the MotorCity, let's start with a pair of transportation tidbits. Several years ago, I told you that since the gospel makes nary a mention of camels, I was willing to speculate that the three kings drove to Bethlehem in a Honda. For tradition has it that "they were of one accord." But now I am able to offer an eyewitness report that Santa Claus (or his brother who dresses like him) drives an Audi ... a beige Audi ... a beige Audi wagon ... complete with a cell phone. For I followed Santa south ...

861. An Unidentified King

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

I have always sensed there was something strange about the original Palm Sunday celebration in Jerusalem. A huge question mark looms over the whole event. Think about it...A crowd estimated to be between 100,000 and 200,000 lines the roadsides to cheer an itinerant preacher from Nazareth named Jesus; yet they are not really sure why they are cheering. They are not even sure who Jesus is. What if a ticker-tape parade was held on New York's Fifth Avenue for an unidentified celebrity...and a half-million ...

862. Matthew 15:21-28

Matthew 15:21-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Once again, Jesus has been accosted by Pharisees for failing to strictly follow the traditional rituals for washing and eating. Once again, Jesus patiently explained the larger concept of “defilement” to a clueless crowd and even denser disciples. Little wonder an exhausted Jesus decides to “get out of Dodge.” Leaving Galilee and heading northwest, Jesus’ departure took him to the Mediterranean coast, the pagan territory of Tyre and Sidon. Both these cities have to their scriptural record several ...

863. The Song of an Awe-Filled Life

Psalm 138:1-8

Sermon

John E. Harnish

Free Press writer Julie Hinds coined a phrase in trying to answer the question: "Why is reality TV so popular?" Why do civilized human beings enjoy watching other supposedly-civilized human beings: eat worms writhe in a bed of dead fish swap moms throw themselves at a self-centered bachelor or bachelorette and in a hundred and one ways, make fools of themselves? Hinds says the answer lies in what she calls the "ick factor…the strange yet effective tool that lures audiences to the maggot-eating competitions ...

864. John 10:11-18

John 10:1-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

John’s gospel is known for its “I Am” sayings. Among the most familiar of all Jesus’ “I am” sayings is this one: “I am the good shepherd.” This comforting, caring image of the good, guardian shepherd is imprinted on the youngest children in Sunday school and carried forward into adulthood by the crozier, the shepherd’s crook, held by popes, cardinals and bishops. Sheep and shepherds are everywhere in the Old Testament. Abraham, Moses, David—all took their turn at shepherding. It doesn’t seem surprising, ...

865. It’s Humble or the Umbles

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

You know you’ve crossed into some new station in your life when you visit the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art and realize as you are leaving that you completely skipped all the paintings. That’s right, the entire Renaissance wing just was not on the agenda. Suddenly it hits you: You are no longer a student, or a tourist, or an art lover. No, you are a parent of small, squirming children who need to see something big, and strong, and hard-hitting. So your museum tour was through the pyramids. Your ...

866. Belling the Cat

John 6:60-71

Sermon

King Duncan

Aesop once told a fable about a group of mice who lived in a barn. Life was wonderful, except for a sneaky cat. Hardly a day went by without a poor mouse being chased or even eaten by the cat. Finally, the head mouse called a meeting. “Ladies and gentlemen, youngsters and baby mice,” he stated. “The time is now come to resolve our problems with the cat. Does anyone have any solutions?” The mice were abuzz with ideas and suggestions, but none seemed to solve the problem. Then a young mouse got up, took the ...

867. The Clone Zone: The Bible and Cloning

Genesis 1:26-28

Sermon

James Merritt

If I've ever dealt with a topic that is hot, it will be the topic I will deal with in this message. If you don't believe me, John Cusey, Director of the Pro-life Caucus in the House of Representatives said, "I believe the cloning issue will be the most contentious issue before Congress in the next ten years." Coming from a Congressman, and with the state of politics as they are today, it doesn't get any hotter than that. On June 26, 2000, scientist Francis Collins and J. Craig Venter joined Bill Clinton at ...

868. Are You A Satisfied Customer?

John 6:35-42

Sermon

James Merritt

Did you know that neon signs can be hazardous to your health? There is one neon sign that is hazardous to mine. It is the one that flashes "hot" in bright red on the window of Krispy Kreme. If you have ever eaten, some really great, hot, Krispy Kreme doughnuts oozing with that glaze that is so wonderful for your cardiovascular system, you know there are always two problems in that box of doughnuts: (1) one is never enough (2) no matter how many you eat eventually you'll always want more. For so very many ...

869. You Can Know What to Do With Your Life

Proverbs 3:5-6

Sermon

James Merritt

Two hundred years ago, banks invented checks so they could transfer money between company accounts and between banks themselves without actually having to risk moving large sums of cash. Eventually, someone came up with the idea of allowing individuals to use checks so they, too, could forego carrying large amounts of cash on their person that they could either lose or someone could rob. People began to learn that you could take a check from one person to a bank and then the bank would redeem the check and ...

870. Why Must We Carry a Cross? - Sermon Starter

Mark 8:27-38

Illustration

Brett Blair

Can people change instantly at salvation? Some traditions call it repentance and renewal. Some call it Sanctification of the believer. Whatever you call it most traditions expect some quick fix to sin. According to this belief, when someone gives his or her life to Christ, there is an immediate, substantive, in-depth, miraculous change in habits, attitudes, and character. We go to church as if we are going to the grocery store: Powdered Christians. Just add water and disciples are born not made. ...

871. What Gift Do You Bring?

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Gary L. Carver

I remember watching a football game between Kansas State and Ohio State. Kansas State was evidently favored to win because they had clobbered Oklahoma just a few weeks earlier, but they were not doing very well. In fact, they were behind by quite a bit and then in the last half they mounted a comeback and midway through the fourth quarter they were doing quite well. They were only behind fourteen points and were deep in Ohio State territory. Then it happened — a senseless, silly, stupid penalty. It was a ...

872. History Hangs in the Balance

Luke 23:1-49

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

One would be hard pressed to find a historical event with so many ramifications equal to these words from Saint Luke's Gospel. In fact, for the devout Christian there is no other! It is a moment when the universe seems to come to a standstill and the angels watch in troubled awe. You and I observe from afar, indeed, a great distance. Unless we figuratively or literally read the passage on our knees, we are not apt to catch this sublime, serious moment. Yes, and our appreciation may very well remain at ...

873. A Good-bye Topping All Others

Luke 24:44-53

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

Those bidding good-bye are around us all of our lives. Sometimes there are almost unbearable feelings and other times merely a shrug of the shoulders. We may sense terrible lostness. Occasionally, it may be a matter of saying under our breaths that it is good riddance. Perhaps most of us have been there and done all of that. In the case of our dear Lord's ascension, we discover quickly that this is not a usual parting which is common to our experience. There is something very different here! We weren't ...

874. Minding the Store of Our Lives

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sermon

Richard Gribble

A man lived in an old stone cottage that was badly in need of repair. He made do, day-by-day, and got on with his life, struggling to wrench a living from the meager land. Eventually the rain that leaked in on him got too heavy and the wind around his ears was too cold. He had to do something about the gap in his wall. Up on the hillside there was an ancient Celtic cross. It had stood there since time immemorial. It was silent and uncomplaining in the Atlantic gales that swept over it, but its very silence ...

875. Home at Last

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

One of the more colorful eras of our country's past is the old Wild West. We can visualize cowboys chasing stagecoaches over rough, barren terrain, and sheriffs swaggering down dusty main streets. Towns sprang up virtually overnight around regions rich in natural resources such as lumber, borax, silver, and especially gold, the glitter that inflamed a continent. These thriving little communities "out west" revolved around a general store, blacksmith shop, livery stable, prospectors' office, saloon, jail, ...

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