Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 951 to 975 of 1409 results

951. Cleaning House

Mark 1:1-12

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A few years ago I read an Ad in the Thrifty Nickel which read: "We cater to Clutter. Dependable house, apartment or business cleaning." And then there were a couple of phone numbers so you could contact the folks. There's nothing real earth shattering or funny about that ad but what struck me is that ad could be the Church's motto. Any Church's motto. We cater to clutter. We don't cater to the perfect. We don't cater to those who have already made it. We don't cater to those who don't need help. We cater ...

952. You Can't Fool God: Ananias and Sapphira

Acts 4:33 - 5:11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A family from South Carolina went to New York City for their vacation. They told all their friends they were going to attend the Broadway musical, My Fair Lady. Unfortunately, the play was sold out when they tried to get their tickets, and they couldn't get in. They were disappointed, but they were also embarrassed. They didn't want to have to go back home and tell their friends they missed the highlight of their trip. In fact, they were so embarrassed that they decided to make their friends think they had ...

953. Fear of the Cure

Luke 4:21-30

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

In order for Jesus to heal us, He must first expose our sins, prejudices, and myths. That process is not pleasant. It made the folks in Nazareth fighting mad. In order for Jesus to heal them, he had to challenge some of their cherished myths and prejudices. When I was a boy of 7 or 8, I was running through a neighbor's yard one day and stepped on a sling blade. Today's children don't know what a sling blade is, but it was an ancient grass-cutting instrument. My foot was cut rather deeply. I ran and hid. ...

954. Facetime and Facebook

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Last week an amazing event took place. The president of Toyota went on television to apologize publicly for sticking gas pedals and mushy brakes. But he wasn’t just another CEO trying to staunch the bleeding of red ink all over his company’s bottom line. He was also the grandson of Toyota’s founder, and he was desperately trying to “save face”-–for himself and for the past and future generations of his family. In Asian cultures “face” is everything. “Face” is arguably the most positive social value a ...

955. Like the Cry of a Mother

Luke 13:31-35

Illustration

Glenn E. Ludwig

It was interesting to watch a young mother mallard take care of all seven of her ducklings. When anyone approached the lake, she became immediately aware and would gather her little brood together and hustle them along to hide in the reeds and brush that surrounded the edge of the lake. Once, someone went really close to get a better look, and she flew away. It might surprise you at first that a mother was abandoning her young. But then it became obvious what she was up to: She was offering herself as a ...

956. The Cost of Resentment

Luke 15:1-7

Illustration

Jesus is telling this parable to a group of people who are self-righteous "elder brothers," people who were angry with him for celebrating life with the down-and-out poor. Remember the old Amos and Andy radio program? In one episode, Kingfish, instead of shaking hands to greet Andy, affectionately slapped him on the chest. But this infuriated Andy, and as the show went on, Andy became more and more resentful. At the end of the program, Andy came in with a big smile on his face and said to Amos, "I'm ready ...

957. Christ Arose

John 20:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

Pastor Billy Strayhorn tells a wonderful true story about a pastor who was asked to conduct a graveside burial service for a member of his church. The only problem was, the cemetery was more than an hour and a half away from the church. The pastor wasn’t feeling well so he decided to ride with the Funeral Director in the hearse. By the time they arrived at the cemetery, the pastor was truly sick with flu-like symptoms. Feverish and sick, he made it through the service, but he was deathly pale and obviously ...

958. Valley of Suffering (Series: Peace in the Valley)

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

At the tender age of 18, I was appointed to my first church. On Saturday following my first Sunday there, the main man in that congregation, a husband, a father, a grand-father, a leader in the community was killed in a tragic farming accident. Without a single course in theology or pastoral care, I was confronted with the question, “Why do people suffer?” My simple answer as a teenager was “I don’t know.” The number one question people would ask God if they could be assured of an answer is “Why do people ...

959. Resurrected Place (Series: Living on the Resurrection Side of Life)

John 14:1-4

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Swiss psychiatrist Paul Tournier opens one of his most popular books with these words. “Basically we are always looking for a place–for somewhere to be.” I think the good doctor is right. From the first breath of birth to the final breath of death we are in need of a place, a place to be. Maybe that’s why John 14 is such a beloved passage of the Bible. “Let not your hearts be troubled. In my Father’s house are many rooms. I am going there to prepare a place for you.” Jesus is providing a place for you, a ...

960. What Matters In the Light of Eternity: “Life Matters”

Luke 9:18-27

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Living is a thing we do, now or never, which do you? Yesterday is a memory, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift, that’s why we call it the present. Jesus said, “What shall it profit a man to gain whole control and lose his own soul?” Life, what a wonderful four letter word. Life, what a gift. Life, what an opportunity. Life, what a trust. It is one of those things that matters in the light of eternity. I’d like to take this brief time to share with you my thoughts on living a life that really ...

961. Come and See

John 1:43-51

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

I ran across a story about a young woman who wanted to go to college, but her heart sank when she read the question on the application blank that asked, "Are you a leader?" Being both honest and conscientious, she wrote, "No," and returned the application, expecting the worst. To her surprise, she received this letter from the college: "Dear Applicant: A study of the application forms reveals that this year our college will have 1,452 new leaders. We are accepting you because we feel it is imperative that ...

962. Discover The Joy Of Christmas

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

I sure hope the next 12 days of Christmas aren't like that for you and your family. There are truly 12 days until Christmas. Can you believe it? We've still got leftover Halloween Candy and wasn't yesterday Thanksgiving? Time screams by this time of year. This is a hectic time of year. That's why paying attention to the signs of Christmas and getting our hearts and souls ready is so important. If we don't we might miss it. A few years ago I read an Ad in the Thrifty Nickel which read: "We cater to Clutter ...

963. Do You Have Beautiful Feet?

Romans 10:5-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A teenage boy kept begging his father to let him drive the car to school which was only three blocks away. Exasperated his father replied, "Drive to school? Why do you think God gave you two feet?" The boy answered, "One foot is to put on the brake. The other is to put on the accelerator." (1) One day a grandmother noticed something wrong her five year old granddaughter's feet and said: "Honey, you've got your shoes on the wrong feet." The little girl looked down and then said: "But Grandma, these are the ...

964. Follow Your Mentors (Series: An Invitation to Christian Discipleship)

John 14:15-31

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

The famous preacher and poet, John Donne said nearly 500 years ago, “No man is an island; no man stands alone. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less. Any man’s death diminishes me.” When God Almighty created the world and everything that is in it, he failed to get it just right the first time around. He who made the beasts of the field and the birds of the air discovered Adam lacked a suitable helper. The Lord God said to himself, “It is not good for man to be alone, I will make a helper ...

965. No Evidence Necessary

John 20:24-31

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

When Thomas was first told about the meeting with Jesus that he had missed, he was understandably guarded. The notion that a dead man was back alive again was not exactly something you grabbed hold of and easily believed in a minute or two, not today and not 2,000 years ago, either. Modern scholars sometimes pet the disciples as such naïve bumpkins that they’d believe anything. Not so. They knew the dead stayed dead and this was not a fact you revised on a whim. So Thomas plays it safe but also then ...

966. Mixed Metaphors

John 21:1-25

Illustration

Brett Blair

English professors love to catch mixed metaphors, when grading papers. Here's list from some students papers: He swept the rug under the carpet." She's burning the midnight oil at both ends." It was so cold last night I had to throw another blanket on the fire." It's time to step up to the plate and cut the mustard." She's robbing Peter to pay the piper." He's up a tree without a paddle." Beware my friend...you are skating on hot water." Keep your ear to the grindstone." Sometimes you've gotta stick your ...

967. The NFL of Grace

Matthew 17:1-9

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

I read that once, during Vince Lombardi's years at Green Bay, the Packers were resoundingly defeated by an opposing team. They did everything wrong. The very next day at practice, Coach Lombardi stood up and said, "Gentlemen, I've seen about enough. We're going to start over, right at the very beginning! The object I am holding in my hand is a football." One of the players, a jokester of the bunch, is supposed to have said: "Coach, please don't go so fast." (1) It has been told that the Chicago Bears were ...

968. Thanks, But No Thanks

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

There's an old "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strip in which Calvin is talking to his stuffed tiger Hobbes (whom he imagines to be real and his best friend). He says: "People are so self-centered." Then he adds philosophically, "The world would be a better place if people would stop thinking about themselves and focus on others for a change." Hobbes sort of rolls his eyes and thinks aloud, "Gee, I wonder who that might apply to." Calvin answers, "Me!. Everyone should focus on me!" (1) Bill Watterson's cartoon ...

969. Acts 2:1-21

Acts 2:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

“Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” That truism seems ready-made for a sappy greeting card. But nothing could be “truer” of the impact Pentecost had on Jesus’ disciples. In an instant, twelve disciples were transformed and recreated. Confused first followers became confident apostles of the new Body of Christ known as the church. After Jesus’ ascension, the disciples followed part of their master’s directive, “Stay in Jerusalem.” (Actually, the phrase means more than “stay put;” it means “ ...

970. No Instant Maturity

Matthew 7:15-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A man went into a department store, picked up a game of chess took it to a salesman and said, “Tell me how to play it as you wrap the package.” That’s descriptive of our situation. We want to know how to do it quickly. We don’t want to take the time to follow each necessary step. No fascination is keener than our fascination with short-cuts. We want to be “saints suddenly”. We dream long for instant maturity. And that’s what I want to talk about today as we continue our consideration of Christian growth. ...

971. Dealing with Stress Creatively

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

James W. Moore

One Sunday morning, a mother said to her ten-year-old son: “Billy, I’m not feeling well enough to go to church today, but I do want you to go on as usual… and then you can tell me all about it.” Obediently, Billy carried out his mom’s wish. When he returned home, his mother asked: “Well, Billy, how was church?” “Fine,” Billy responded. “Where did you sit?” Mom asked. “O, I think I sat in about the same place we always sit.” Billy’s answer was just vague enough to make mothers suspicious. “What was the ...

972. On the Road with Zacchaeus

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

James W. Moore

When our granddaughter Sarah was 12 years old, she tried out for cheerleader at her Middle School. After her try-out we asked her how she did. She said – “in a word ‘flawless’ and she said ‘the judges really liked me.’” Evidently she was right because she did make the cheerleader squad. Well, Zacchaeus was not flawless… and he was not liked by anybody until Jesus came into Jericho that day. When Jesus came over to him and reached out to him with love and acceptance, Zacchaeus was bowled over… and he came ...

973. A Curse for Our Redemption

Galatians 3:1-14

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us.” (verse 13) This is one of the most diff cult verses in the New Testament. How do we translate it in order for it to make sense to us today? There’s a marvelously funny story about translation that comes out of Texas. There was a certain Mexican bank robber by the name of Jorge Rodriguez, who operated along the Texas border around the turn of the century. He was so successful in his forays into Texas, that the Texas rangers put a ...

974. He Leadeth Me

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There was a story being circulated back in the days when President Carter was in the White House. He was meeting with the Prime Minister of Israel about the negotiation of a peace in the Middle East. Since both were religious men and worshiped the same God they thought it would be a good idea to consult God on the matters that were before them. Carter offered to use his private phone to do it, pay the charges. So they placed the call, talked to God for five minutes. When the call was completed Carter asked ...

975. The World's Best-Known Widow

Mark 12:41-44

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I had finished my hospital calls one day, and I could not help noticing a sharp-looking, late-model sports car which stopped at the traffic light alongside me. Visually, it was a thing of beauty! It sat there in sleek elegance, testifying by its design and engineering to its exclusive price tag - undoubtedly some where in at least the $55,000 to $75,000 range. Its driver’s identity lay hidden behind shaded windows. But the mere presence of it bespoke a certain air of individuality and distinction for its ...

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