Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 876 to 900 of 1795 results

876. SHOEMAKER

Exodus 3:5; Luke 15:22

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... soil, hot sands, and sharp stones. These shoes were simply a sole of leather or wood, supported by leather bands around the ankle. Increasing urbanization made the sandals common apparel, thus giving the shoemaker more work. Also, the wealthy became more style-conscious with women wearing elaborate shoes that covered the entire foot. The job of the shoemaker also included restitching defective parts and replacing worn portions with new leather. To do his work, he used knives, shears, awls, and thread. His ...

877. A 12 DAY RUNNING START

Illustration

G. William Genszler

... start giving love and understanding and forgiveness and peace to one another. Give, not grudgingly, but with the joyful abandonment of a child at PLAY. Who knows, by the grace of God that suddenly floods your hearts, you might become addicted to the idea and be "hooked" on a Life Style that means "Fun Forever." Jesus said, "I have come that you might have Life - and that you might have it more abundantly." This can mean a "New Year REVOLUTION for YOU."

878. Parents, Tend Those Lambs!

John 21:15-25

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... is the most eloquent "I love you" that we can speak. Love has another side too, which is firm, tough, and strict. It is called discipline. Dr. Joyce Brothers in an article for Good Housekeeping said that strictness may be coming back into style. She noted a recent study of 2000 fifth and sixth graders, some of whom were reared by strict parents and some by permissive ones. More of the children who had been strictly disciplined possessed high self-esteem and were high achievers, socially and academically ...

879. The Heavier the Purse, The Tighter the Strings

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... his knees in humility, and asked, "0 perfect Master, what must I do to live eternally?" The disciples were shocked. Their usual crowds were decked out in jeans and polyester, so to speak, but here was a fellow in a Brooks Brothers suit with his hair carefully styled. Jesus, always a genius at asking the right questions, asked, "Why do you call me perfect? Only God is perfect." Perhaps Jesus thought the young man might perceive who Jesus really was. But he did not. To check him out, Jesus said, "You know the ...

880. The Greatest Story Ever Told

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... son in the story wanted to be free of his father's influence, free to do his own thing; so, he took his share of the inheritance in advance and headed to a far country. In reality, the far country is not a place; it's an attitude, a life-style. You can go to the far country without even leaving Memphis. You are in the far country when the main purpose of your life is to do your thing rather than God's thing. Most people do not go to the far country because they are atheists. People go to ...

881. Advertised Goodness

Matthew 6:1-2, Matthew 6:5-6

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... , and maybe I helped deliver it. This little poem says it well: "Some Christians jump all over the room; Others are as solemn and quiet as a tomb. Some lift their hands high in the air, But others wouldn't, even on a dare. Christians are different in style and in song; But if they are humble, to Christ they belong." The other great truth presented by Jesus in these verses is this : THE MOTIVE BEHIND THE GOOD DEED IS WHAT COUNTS. Is your dominant desire to bring glory to yourself or to God? God knows the ...

882. Getting on the Active List

John 1:35-42

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... Easter. We are calling this project "operation Andrew." Let me allay a few fears right now. I'm not urging you to preach. Nor will I attempt to lure you out on street corners to ask folks if they are saved. No, I want you to witness in New Testament style. Let's remind ourselves of what that is. Look again to today's text--chapter 1 of John's gospel. There we see how people were brought to Jesus. In verse 35 we read that John the Baptist introduced two of his disciples to Jesus. They spent the day with ...

883. Stand Up Straight

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... TO DEAL WITH A WOMAN WHO HAD HAD A BAD BACK FOR EIGHTEEN YEARS. The bones of her spine were fused into a rigid mass. She was permanently stooped over. Can you imagine what life was like for her? She recognized people by their feet, the style of their sandals. She knew houses by their doorsteps. She recognized streets by the ditches alongside them. Now God is gracious. He put some wonderful things down low where she could see them...like little children and daffodils and birddogs. But this woman was never ...

884. The Biggest Blessing of All

Deuteronomy 11:1-32

Children's Sermon

Tim Carpenter

Exgetical Aim: God’s love for us is the biggest blessing of all. It is a curse not to know his love. Props: A really big picture of a valentine style heart and a small picture of a valentine heart. Lesson: Good Morning. (response) Today I want to talk to you about two things: a blessing and a curse. God has commanded us to love Him and serve Him with all our heart and all our soul, right? (response) Right. We ...

885. God's Design for Marriage

Ephesians 5:22-33

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... second child. Garth Brook understood his priorities and responsibilities. Husbands, surely it is confession time for us. We have not been noted as the primary servers around the house. Our wives have. If we aspire to be leaders, in the New Testament style, it begins with service. One reason that some feminist groups have misunderstood Promise Keepers is that they don't understand the meaning of New Testament leadership. Promise Keepers don't seek to dominate women, but simply to serve them better. Husbands ...

886. The Forgiving Father (Father's Day)

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Brett Blair

... there was nothing left in him that could motivate the father to love him. If the father loves him, then it is only because that is the nature of the father. The boy has done nothing to merit it at all. The son finally realizes the futility of his life style and decides to return home. It is interesting that there is no mention of him cleaning himself up first, there is no mention of him getting his life together, and there is no mention of him earning the money to pay back his father. All we are told is ...

887. Friction Points

John 17:6-19

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... were so methodically different in their lifestyle. When I was in college, there was a young man on our campus who really stood out. Each day he wore shirt and pants of the same bright color...red, purple, yellow, or green. He was so out of style it hurt. According to the story I heard, this young man had very high squeaky voice. His parents, both of whom were psychiatrists, reasoned that if we wore clothes guaranteed to be noticed, that would divert attention away from his high, squeaky voice. Did it work ...

888. What Is Christianity Without the Cross?

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Brett Blair

... Jew who some labeled as Messiah but who did not establish a Kingdom of Heaven nor a kingdom on earth. It would leave us with a poor Palestinian peasant who got the attention of Rome but who never occupied a seat of power. It would leave us with a self styled prophet who warned of the end times but whose message was silenced by the passage of time. Without the cross we are left without a savior. We do not need more teachers; we have plenty of those. We do not need additional parents; we have had those. We do ...

889. Servants Without Fiber

Isaiah 42:1-9

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... has a high purpose, but knows that the character of the means will determine the character of the ends. The servant’s intention is to heal and repair whatever and whoever is hurting or broken, but it will not be done through a rough-and-ready style. Every act of helplessness must be done with a larger and higher purpose in mind. This leads us to re-think much of the social action and public welfare programs of our day. In the face of the crying needs of our time - poverty, homelessness, joblessness ...

890. The Vicarious Servant

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... as "God’s Friday") and one can safely claim it to be probably the most solemn day of the Church Year. By the same token, our scripture lesson today is certainly one of the greatest religious writings of all time in its relevance, lofty literary style and deep spiritual sentiment and devotion. Some persons among us may never have read it, but many remember those familiar lines in the aria and chorus of Handel’s Messiah: "He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief ...

891. Song of the Vineyard

Isaiah 5:1-7

Illustration

Larry Powell

... ": 1. It was a song. That is to say, it was a marked variation in the prophet’s manner of proclamation. Isaiah was an eloquent, forthright orator, not a balladeer. It has been suggested that the reason for this temporary departure in style may have been the circumstances at that particular time. Deuteronomy 16:13-16 describes the carnival-like atmosphere which occurred in the ancient Feast of Booths. Some commentators have surmised that Isaiah rendered this specific message at such an occasion, in a ...

892. What Does God Expect Of You?

Micah 6:1-8

Sermon

Robert Allen

... to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God? This particular passage is a profound statement of faith. It is known as one of the four mountainpeaks of spiritual faith in the Old Testament. It presents religion in an easy and understandable style. Micah points out that the only demands which God places on us are to do justice in our daily relationships, to show kindness to other people, and to walk humbly with God. This may sound like a very easy and simple way to live. But, it is ...

893. Create Your Own Happiness

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Robert Allen

... secret to happiness. For some reason, the other day I was remembering the first sermon I prepared for preaching class in seminary. We would prepare a sermon and then preach in the chapel with all of the other students in class evaluating our preaching style. Later, we would go one at a time and watch ourselves on video tape with the professor. Since I was in an academic setting, I threw in as many impressive sounding theological words as I could work into that sermon. I used phrases like "Heilghischitika ...

894. The Wallenda Factor

Illustration

C. W. Bess

... fateful day in 1978 when his show ended. Wallenda plunged 75 feet to his death before an audience of thousands in San Juan, Puerto Rico. What happened? His widow explained that Karl had never been one to know fear. Self-confidence marked his style until he started worrying. Little details of safety preoccupied his mind. He checked and double-checked the tightrope to make certain that everything was secure. This was a different Karl. For the first time, instead of putting his energies into walking the wire ...

895. Call Waiting

1 Samuel 3:1--4:1

Sermon

Frederick C. Edwards

... television talk show a few years ago, Eydie Gorme told some things about how her career got started. Her inspiration and idol was Judy Garland. So Eydie Gorme studied and tried to copy everything that Judy Garland did - the sound of the voice, the style, the mannerisms. Eydie Gorme’s first big break came at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, where she played to packed houses, and received rave reviews. Her next booking was not so elegant. It was somewhere around Pittsburgh in a not-so-classy nightclub ...

896. Coming Down The Mountain

2 Kings 2:1-18

Sermon

Frederick C. Edwards

... who are in search of excitement. Contrary to the enjoyable fiction perpetuated in films from "Going My Way" to "Sister Act," excitement is not something that is "produced," as though it were a function of the songs we sing, nor by an evangelistic style of preaching, or decoration of churches with banners, or hand-pumping or hugging friendliness. Those may all have their place. The assumption underlying the question seems to be that whenever we worship together it ought to be highly charged with emotion. We ...

897. Mary - Weeping Woman or Bold Believer

John 20:10-18

Sermon

Carl E. Zahrte

... six weeks of Lent, some of you know that I have been preaching in the Wednesday services from the point of view of one who was there, at the scene of the suffering and death of Jesus. This morning again I wish to speak to you in a first-person style, taking the part of one who was there, Mary Magdalene. Please listen, then to what I say, not as a sermon by a pastor, but as a message from a woman who knew Jesus well, and who was the first to see him on that day when he rose in ...

898. We Do Not Have To Stay The Way We Are!

Joel 2:1-11

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

... us out of ourselves into more faithful, useful and joyful living. We begin our Lenten journey with the prophet Joel. We know very little about this prophet. Joel’s book contains no calendar references and it is completely silent about kings or empires. Yet the style and content of the book would suggest that Joel is one of the later prophets, probably living and working about 400 years B.C., during the time of the Persian Empire. Chronologically (because of its late date) this is not the best place to ...

899. Courageous Preaching

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

... we are permitted to enter and settle down the best we can. So we are no longer refugees. Now we are exiles, learning how to start over in a foreign land. It is hard! We are accepted but with great suspicion. In addition we have the language problem. Their style of life and religious practices are strange to us and vice versa. We live "frightened" most of the time. We don’t want to run any risks which might antagonize our hosts. At home we had everything. Here we have next to nothing. Not even a church to ...

900. Christian Courage

Acts 4:1-22

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

... courage is not just for the pulpit, but also for the pew. Most of us like to be liked a lot more than we want to admit. It begins in childhood. How hard it is to be different than our friends. We have to like the same movies, music, hair styles, and clothes. And it doesn’t change all that much as we get older. "What will the neighbors think?" is usually much more persuasive than our pulpits. H. G. Wells said, "The trouble with so many people is that the voices of their neighbors sound louder in their ears ...

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