Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 901 to 925 of 1182 results

Romans 6:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... open to all that humanity had to offer. Jesus embraced this “humanity” willingly. Jesus emptied himself of the power and divinity that was rightfully his, and instead chose to live a fallen, fragile, failing human life. There is a classic debate between the “good deaths” Socrates and Jesus both suffered. Both were wrongly accused. Both suffered political sham trials. Both were sentenced to death. But both reacted very differently. Some say Socrates died a “better” death than Jesus. Socrates ...

902. Pastor, Don't Talk About That!

Romans 6:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... s teachings about sin and grace. In Romans 6:2 he describes followers of Christ as “those who have died to sin.” That may be the missing ingredient into today’s church “dying to sin.” Doesn’t that imply changed behavior? It reminds me of a classic cartoon in Leadership magazine several years ago in which two couples are seated in a living room engaged in a study of this very teaching concerning dying to sin. One of the women is speaking. “Well,” she says, “I haven’t actually died to sin ...

903. Be A Good Virus

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to go preach in the slums and prisons and miners’ pits, Wesley said: “You WILL go visit the poor in their hovels, the prisoners in their cells, the miners in their pits. Jesus is already there and he will be with you.” The polio virus is a classic example of how a virus works. The polio virus is spread orally, mostly through feces and water. It used to be that infants were somewhat vaccinated by the virus when they emerged from the womb, or in the first days of life. But then came hygiene, which ...

904. Family Re:Union - Great Expectations

Ephesians 5:22-33

Sermon

James Merritt

... is found in three simple verbs that are found in Ephesians 5. I. Spouses Should Submit Humbly To Each Other “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:21, NIV) The Apostle Paul in this passage is about to launch into, perhaps, the classic text on marriage in all of the Bible. He begins by setting this ground rule. In one sense, in a marriage, submission is mutual. I know to some people “submission” is a dirty word. They almost act as if they are allergic to the very concept ...

905. Up Close & Personal: Coming Into Focus

1 John 1:5--2:14

Sermon

James Merritt

... to sin in your life you don’t have the right to remain silent. You have to confess that sin to God. Understand that confessing sin is more than just admitting sin. You can admit sin without confessing it is sin. Author Kent Crockett tells this classic story about his two year old son, Scott, who was sitting on the floor crying. Kent went into the room to investigate and he noticed a plastic baseball bat on the floor and asked his four year old daughter what happened. His little girl, Hannah, said, “He ...

906. Don’t Be a Trender - Be a Trendsetter

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... find our way and wanting to fit in. Human beings are social by nature. But there is a fine line between “social networking” and a “herd mentality.” The clique culture that causes all “defiant” teens to act like all other “defiant” teens is classic. As they react against being “like” their parents, as they seek to become their own true, unique selves, what do they do? Tweens, teens, and twenties for a while end up looking exactly like everyone else they hang out with. Going “against the ...

907. How to Forgive

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... inflict on one who has hurt us. Why keep hammering away at yourself? Our hating anyone is like burning down our house to get rid of rats. One of the most famous short stories ever written deals with this very subject. Guy de Maupassant, in his classic story, A Piece of String, tells of a peasant in Normandy named Maitre Hauchecorne, who simply could not forgive. One day Maitre was walking through the bustling marketplace when he saw a piece of string on the ground. He stooped down, picked up the string, and ...

908. Prison Theology: Bait and Bail

Philippians 1:12-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... tradition. Some of the most beautiful and exquisite literature ever written comes out of prison…think Cervantes, Voltaire, Diderot, Dostoevsky, Defoe, John Donne, Henry David Thoreau, Oscar Wilde, Jack London. Christianity’s prison literature includes classics like Martin Luther’s translation of the New Testament into German, John Bunyan’s "Pilgrim’s Progress," Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s "Letters and Papers from Prison," Martin Luther King’s "Letter from Birmingham City Jail," Nelson Mandela ...

909. Learning to Live Like Jesus

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” A healthy church is one where people look out for one another. Simon and Garfunkel had a song back in the early seventies that has become a classic: “Like a Bridge Over Troubled Waters . . .” Some of you remember the lyrics: “When you’re weary/ Feeling small/ When tears are in your eyes/ I will dry them all/ I’m on your side/ When times get rough/ And friends just can’t be found/ Like ...

910. What's It Take to Be A Saint? (All Saint's Day)

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... before us, who have been our encouragers, who have left a legacy. (1) That’s what we do on this Saints’ Day. We salute all the saints who have gone before us, whose faithfulness provided us with the faith we have today. In John Bunyan’s classic work, Pilgrim’s Progress, we are introduced to two characters, Christian and Hopeful, who are drawing near to the river of death. As they reach the river they are met by two shining figures whose raiment shines like gold and whose faces shine as the light ...

911. An Announcement in Song

Psalm 98:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... grace/ And makes the nations prove/ The glories of His righteousness/ And wonders of His love/ And wonders of His love/ . . .” There is something about Christmas and music. Even the secular culture recognizes that. Some of you undoubtedly watched the classic animated feature, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Remember how it ends? The Grinch is transformed by the singing and music of the townspeople. Even without presents or possessions the townspeople of Whoville are happy and singing. Amazed at this, the ...

912. Faith’s First Impressions

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... he encountered, his “first impression,” was an action, an outreach, a climax chapter of hope and healing in a long, long story of struggle. Jesus’ “power” was the power love, the power of the divine life force transforming and transcending. In Roald Dahl’s classic children’s story of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” the power act of faith that Charlie must perform is to push a button in a crazy glass elevator that is labeled as “up and out.” Charlie finally summons up the nerve to ...

913. Dust in the Wind

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

Timothy Cargal

... clear, those charged as “hypocrites” here in the Sermon on the Mount are actually performing these rituals. They are giving alms, praying and fasting; they are not saying one thing and doing something else. So what is the meaning of “hypocrite” here? In classical and Koin à Greek generally, the hypokrites was an actor who played a role in a theatrical production. Thus, in a very real sense his (all actors were male, even those playing female roles) actions were purely for show. They were not true ...

914. Getting to a Teachable Moment

Mark 15:1-15

Sermon

Craig MacCreary

... voice when it came from the lips of those who were able to point in their own way to times and places in their lives when they too had made this discovery. Philippians 2:5-11 Of course, we have to deal here with one of the most classic formulations of the Christian community’s understanding of Christ. Approaching this text I do feel like I am back in school. The voices are saying, “Whatever you do, do not mess this one up!” This is important stuff here. After all, there are those that say this may ...

915. Je Suis Jesus

1 Corinthians 7:1-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Thirty years ago, the big hit movie, the “it” teen adventure film, was called “Back To The Future” (1985). It starred Michael J. Fox and in that now classic film, time travel was made possible by a machine called the “flux capacitor.” This machine was “hot-wired” to the hottest car of that age, a “DeLorian.” Does anyone remember the year that far-distant, fantastic-future-time-traveling teen hero lands in? 2015. Today. Looking back at the vision ...

916. Skull Hill

John 12:20-36

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... aversion have you ever gotten invited by a friend to come and spend an evening at their “pottery class?” Have you ever accepted? Yeah. We really don’t like mud any more after a certain age. Except. If you ever saw the weird, but romantic, classic movie “Ghost.” Demi Moore plays an artist. She sculpts, she paints, she works with clay. When her sweetheart, played by Patrick Swayze, joins her at the potter’s wheel while she is creating a new piece of art, the loving relationship between the clay ...

917. Reliable Witness

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

King Duncan

... , there could be no watch. And without Supreme Intelligence, there could be no universe. There is no way this world with all its immensity and intricacy and beauty could simply have happened. Even a caveman could see that. Do you remember Thornton Wilder’s classic play Our Town? There is a scene in it where Jane Crofut gets a letter from her minister when she is sick. The envelope is addressed like this: “Jane Crofut; The Crofut Farm; Grover’s Corners; Sutton County; New Hampshire; United States of ...

918. Paradise Lost

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

James Merritt

... call a mistake or misjudgment, but if you want to know what sin is you just saw it. Sin is a failure to trust God that leads to a decision to disobey God. From here things go downhill in a hurry and things come apart very quickly. It is a classic case of getting what you wanted, then not wanting what you got. Satan only told a half-truth. He told them in verse 5, “You will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Now they do know the difference between good and evil, but not in the way God does ...

919. Start at the Epicenter

1 John 1:5--2:14

Sermon

James Merritt

... he single-handedly put one of the oldest banks in the world out of business.[1] Why is it so hard for us to tell the truth? To fess up to our mess-ups? Why is it you have to pull it out of people sometimes? Kent Crockett tells a classic story about his early years of parenting. His 2-year-old son, Scott was crying so Kent went to investigate. He noticed a plastic baseball bat was on the floor and he asked his four-year-old daughter what happened. Hannah said, “He hit his head.” Kent said, “On what ...

920. The Challenge to Forgive

Luke 7:36--8:3

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... revenge of the prostitutes in the movie Unforgiven is understood if not justified. The prostitute in our biblical story was more fortunate because she had met Jesus and heard his sermons about God's all-inclusive grace and love. Perhaps she had heard his classic story of the prodigal son and saw herself as the prodigal daughter being embraced, kissed, and welcomed as a whole person by the loving heavenly Father. Perhaps she saw, as did the prodigal son, that despite the goodness of the elder brother, the ...

921. The Good Samaritan (Revised Edition)

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... , Jew and Gentile. Rather, Jesus told him how to be neighborly wherever he was to whomever he could help in need. He told him to go beyond the withdrawn, defensive, legalistic model for life and to be a loving, caring person. II. In Jesus' classic story the religious types are not held up for admiration either. As representatives of the aristocratic, religious elite, the priest and Levite were not, in Jesus' view, good examples of what it means to love thy neighbor as thyself. The priest and Levite were ...

922. Sunday's Here

John 20:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

Many of you are familiar with Tony Campolo’s classic sermon, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s Coming.” It was based on a sermon Tony once heard his African-American pastor preach on Good Friday. This pastor began his message by quietly saying, “It’s Friday and my Jesus is hanging dead on a tree. But it’s Friday, and ...

923. Child-rearing and Discipline

Illustration

Rebecca Lamar Harmon

... less because she has punished you. (She’s wrong.) No child has ever resented punishment he knew he had coming. Discipline is “proof” of love, … Children “know” this. I wish more parents did.113 Susanna Wesley, mother of Charles and John Wesley, is perhaps the classic illustration of one who pursued discipline early in a child’s life. She believed the assertive self-will of a child must be broken at a young age by the parent. One of her rules in her “plan of education” was: “When turned a ...

924. Devil's Fall

Illustration

Michael P. Green

In his classic work Paradise Lost, John Milton describes the fall of Satan from heaven with his host of rebel angels. He depicts this as a great war lasting three days. The first two days of the cataclysm are waged solely between Satan and his demons and the unfallen angels under the Archangel ...

925. Love letters

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... . After ten years of letter writing, Elizabeth received a huge box in the mail. She opened it. To her dismay and heartbreak, the box contained all of her letters to her parents. Not one of them had ever been opened! Today those love letters are among the most beautiful in classical English literature. Had her parents opened and read only a few of them, a reconciliation might have been effected. God’s letter of reconciliation to us can have the same effect. We should open and read it thoroughly and often.

Showing results