Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 901 to 925 of 1858 results

901. To Live Is To Grow

1 Timothy 4:1-16

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... small fish the ocean constantly brings them. Over a period of about ten days a large pool of warm, stagnant water lacking most forms of marine life remained closer than usual to the bird's feeding area. The birds began starving to death by the hundreds. Area wild life officials were at a loss to prevent it. That is a parable. The auklets were dependent on what the ocean was constantly bringing them. That food was not present in the stagnant waters being left unfed by the tide. Our natural habitat is not in ...

902. Rejected at Home

Mark 6:1-6

Sermon

King Duncan

... that message. But undoubtedly it was an experience he will never forget. It's hard to impress the people at home, isn't it? The whole world may be singing your praises, but at home, folks see you as the shy kid with two left feet. Or as the wild and crazy guy who was always in trouble. Jesus was enjoying unparalleled success all around Galilee. Large crowds were coming to hear him teach and to experience his healing power. But it was time for a little R & R. So he headed back to his hometown of Nazareth ...

903. The Problem with Signs

John 6:25-59

Sermon

King Duncan

... attitude so that I can radiate the kind of cheerfulness that will make this a great day for the people I love." Christian faith is rooted in God's love and God's law. That includes God's moral law. Someone described us long ago as people who sow our wild seeds and then pray for a crop failure. That's not the way life works, unfortunately. Yes, God is a God of grace and forgiveness, but there are laws governing human behavior, just as there are laws governing the rising of the sun. When we run afoul of those ...

904. Putting the Puzzle Together

John 6:60-71

Sermon

King Duncan

... . An avid reader and a lifelong student, Augustine pored over the various philosophical teachings of his day in a vain attempt to understand good and evil, sin and virtue, heaven and hell. And he tried it all. In his own words, as a youth, he "ran wild in the shadowy jungle of erotic adventures." Augustine had been raised in the church, but he found the Old Latin version of the Bible uninviting. And so he explored other avenues of truth. But each of these he discarded as inadequate. Then one day his mother ...

905. From Hurting to Helping

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

King Duncan

Two psychiatrists were at a convention. "What was your most difficult case?" one asked the other. "Once I had a patient who lived in a pure fantasy world," replied his colleague. "He believed that a wildly rich uncle in South America was going to leave him a fortune. All day long he waited for a make-believe letter to arrive from a fictitious attorney. He never went out or did anything. He just sat around and waited." "What was the result?" asked the first psychiatrist. "It ...

906. Learning to Give Thanks

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... alive, not drowned, as all his shipmates were. He was separated from humankind and banished from human society, but he was not starving. He had no clothes, but he was in a hot climate where he didn’t need them. He was without means of defense, but he saw no wild beasts, such as he had seen on the coasts of Africa. He had no one to speak to, but God had sent the ship so near to the shore that he could get out of it all things necessary for his wants. Crusoe thus concluded that there was not any ...

907. The Hinge of History

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

J. Ellsworth Kalas

... could probably have made a place for himself in the king's court where he could have been "dressed in soft robes" (Luke 7:25). Instead, he covered his body with camel's hair and a leather girdle and subsisted on a wilderness diet of locusts and wild honey. His message was as rugged as his garb and his diet: "a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins" (v. 3b). He became a hinge of history. I think the common people discovered him first, especially those whose hearts longed for a deeper knowledge of ...

908. The Divine Opportunity

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

J. Ellsworth Kalas

... It was a figure of speech appropriate to the setting where John preached. The brushwood and stubble which covered the rugged area would sometimes set afire and the flames would leap quickly through the dry nettles. When this happened, vipers and snakes would scurry wildly from their hiding places to escape the flames. John's figure of speech wasn't very complimentary, but it was true to his sense of urgency. John presented his message in a take-it-or-leave-it fashion. I remember an automobile salesman who ...

909. The Best Advice He Could Give

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... do with John the Baptist? Bad hair wouldn’t even begin to describe John’s distinctive appearance. According to Matthew’s Gospel John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. (3:4) And when he preached, he outright insulted his congregation. He called them a brood of vipers! Imagine if I began my sermon by addressing you as snakes. “Listen up, you lizards!” Obviously John never read Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends ...

910. On Defeating the Devil

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Frank G. Honeycutt

... the devil in the strength of forty days of fasting. And I use the word "strength" in a way that has surprised me this Lenten season. "I have always thought," writes Mark Buchanan, "that the devil was coming to Jesus at his weakest moment: Jesus gaunt, raw-boned, wild-eyed, ready to scavenge any moldy crust of bread or scrape any meat shreds off a lamb's bone ... But I'm not so sure anymore. The more I learn from fasting the more I see that Jesus actually stood at his strongest when his belly was empty ...

911. Jesus, Desirous

Luke 13:31-35

Sermon

Frank G. Honeycutt

... kind of chance is this hen going to have against the likes of a fox such as Herod? Some friendly Pharisees warn Jesus this morning that Herod wants to kill him. No surprise there. Herod has already chopped off the head of John the Baptist at a wild party where anything went. A chicken's head won't matter much. Put it on the chopping block and be done with all this squawking about peace and poor people. How annoying. Herod, by the way, was a character with a notorious reputation for bizarre immorality and ...

912. The Waster

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Frank G. Honeycutt

... of it, many would call him a "waster" too. For who would spend so much so foolishly? Especially on somebody who doesn't deserve it? I don't know what you'd call it. I'd call it a huge waste. But even though you may have sown a few wild oats in your past, grateful to be taken back and forgiven, my guess is that you probably identify most with the older brother in this old story. Jesus definitely wants his listeners to see the folly in the older brother's behavior, but, darn it, slip into his shoes for ...

913. Endings

Isaiah 43:14-28

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... forth, do you not perceive it?" (v. 19). God has a future for his exiled folk beyond their wildest imagination. According to our text, he will lead them once more out of slavery in a new exodus event. Waters will flow forth in the desert and even the wild beasts will praise his act (vv. 19-20). God will return to his people and lead them into a new life, defending them by his mighty right arm, but also feeding them like a shepherd, carrying them tenderly in his everlasting love, and gently leading those who ...

914. Generic Christianity Is Not Enough

Romans 12:1-8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... There are those who would say that it’s too exclusive to claim Jesus as the way. There are all sorts of ways, they say. Did you see the TV segment about the orphanage in Albania? A young man, Mark Nyberg, is the director. Burning, looting, and wild tirades of killing forced our government to evacuate American citizens from Albania -- but Nyberg would not leave. He moved into the orphanage and is staying with the children. He is there, he says, out of his love for Jesus. Ask him about the way. I’ve been ...

915. On the Road Again

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... on Saturday – scared for their skins, too stunned even for grief, uncertain and limp, all their dreams in ruins. This man, their man, was dead. There were rumors whispered about that his tomb was empty, that the women had come back after sunrise with the wild story about an angel speaking to them, about the stone being rolled back, and the grave clothes laying limp in the cave. But rumors are rumors. In their depressed state of mind, such stories seemed like “idle tales.” So, Cleophas and Simon headed ...

916. Power For Christian Living: Am I On My Own?

Romans 3:3-5

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... of a man who was controlled by an “unclean spirit” (Luke 8:26-39): (For many times [the spirit] had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him” (Luke 8:29-30) Jesus’ power prevailed over these spirits. The man was freed. When people came out to see what had happened, “they found the man from whom ...

917. Playing to the Right Audience

Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... a distraction from the real stuff, the kingdom stuff, the chance to move deeper into God’s work in the world. CONCLUSION In one area of Africa where Christianity began to spread, converts were zealous about daily devotions. They would find a spot in the wild thickets and pour their hearts out to God. The spots soon became well-worn; paths were created. Without a thought, one's prayer life was made public. If someone began to neglect his or her prayer life, it would soon be noticed. Believers would gently ...

918. Joy in the Journey

119:129-136

Sermon

Michael Milton

... Word. He became an obedient son, and he began a new life. There is a song by Michael Card, Joy in the Journey, that I think of here: There is a joy in the journey, there's a light we can love on the way. There is a wonder and wildness to life, and freedom for those who obey. All those who seek it shall find it, a pardon for all who believe. Hope for the hopeless and sight for the blind To all who've been born of the Spirit and who share incarnation with him; who belong to eternity ...

919. Maximizing Your Potential

Isaiah 5:1-7

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... sent judges, kings, and finally prophets to govern and assist the people, and to proclaim God's word to them. Even with all this, however, the fruits of the vineyard, that is the works of the Hebrews, were not good. On the contrary, the vineyard produced wild grapes. God expected more from his chosen people. What more could the Lord have done? The Hebrews did not use the gifts they had been given wisely. They had the land, the law, and the special protection of God. They were given all they could possibly ...

920. Strategic Planning

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... made plans are knocked askew. It happens to us all. It’s like the story of two explorers who were on a jungle safari when suddenly a ferocious lion jumped in front of them. “Keep calm,” the first explorer whispered. “Remember what we read in that book on wild animals? If you stand perfectly still and look the lion in the eye, he will turn and run.” “Sure,” replied his companion. “You’ve read the book, and I’ve read the book. But has the lion read the book?” That’s how some of us feel ...

921. A Messianic King

Isaiah 11:1-10

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... kind of violence will be eliminated (vv. 6-8). Throughout the Bible, human sin is said to ruin the natural world (Genesis 3:17-18; 9:2; Jeremiah 12:4; Romans 8:19-23). But the messiah will establish peace in the animal kingdom, and peace between the wild beasts and human beings. The serpent of our sin, referred to in verse 8, will become a harmless plaything for children, and the peaceable kingdom will be one in which no one will ever again hurt or destroy (v. 9). The whole earth will obey and reverence God ...

922. A Reassuring Prophecy

Isaiah 7:10-16

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... the child Immanuel is able to have adult discernment between good and evil, Syria and Ephraim will be defeated, but Judah too will be devastated by Assyria, and the only food available will be not agricultural products, but curds from the herds and wild honey from the forests (vv. 15-16). Certainly the prophecy by Isaiah proved true. In 721 B.C., the Assyrian Empire under Sargon II defeated Syria and northern Israel, and the inhabitants of the northern kingdom were taken into exile and disappeared from ...

923. Shalom Shattered

Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

... to plan murder. The third and final crack in the family shalom is to get rid of Joseph. "They said to one another, â€˜Here comes the dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams' " (Genesis 37:19-20). Reuben, obviously possessing compassion for his brother, convinces the brothers not to kill Joseph, but just to throw him into a pit. Reuben would secretly rescue Joseph and ...

924. Forgiveness and Reconciliation at Last!

Genesis 45:1-15

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

... 's church, said of their healing, "We know the pain the boys and their families are feeling. We felt it was our responsibility not only to forgive them, but also to help them put their lives back together. Absolution is what churches are for." 1. George Bogan, editor, W. A. Wilde Co., Publishers, Holliston, Maine, January, 1973. 2. Richard J. Leider and David A. Shapiro, Net Results magazine, January, 2000.

925. Bloody Lintels — Broken Bread

Exodus 12:1-14

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

... I feel like motherless chile, A long ways, long ways, long ways from home. Oooo. Those Hebrew yearnings ran deep. "We want to be free -- free at last!" Moses arrives on the scene, the dust of the desert caking his face, his hair stringy and wild from the wind, the smell of sheep in his robe. He strides into the royal chamber and shakes his staff at mighty Pharaoh, "Let my people go!" Like two belligerent billy goats on a narrow bridge, stubborn Pharaoh rebuffs Moses who continues to defiantly insist ...

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