Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 976 to 1000 of 4681 results

976. Who Are We, Really?

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... to slay giant dragons, as much as it is to change the climate so that the Gospel may flourish. (4) That’s a wonderful metaphor. The purpose of the church is to change the spiritual, social, moral and political climate of our world so that the kingdoms of this world bear a more striking resemblance to the kingdom of our God. We do this by ministry to individual persons in need, and we do this by the witness of our lives to the world. The church is not a place we go--the church is who we are! We are “a ...

977. A Transitional Object (And So Much More)

John 14:15-21

Illustration

J. Michael Smith

... has it with her. It's usually dirty and ratty because it can't be replaced. It might be a doll, a blanket, a teddy bear, a bottle, a pacifier, an item of clothing--anything! If a child's ‘transitional object' accidentally gets left at church, I usually get a frantic ... when things religious are torn away from us, we can be in as much distress as a small child losing a beloved teddy bear. In the gospel text this morning, Jesus, in all the ways in which he was familiar, is being taken away from his disciples ...

978. Bridges of Friendship

Matt 10: 24-39; John 20:21

Illustration

John P. Jewell

... to join with Christ in solving God's biggest problem. Harvesting cannot be done from a distance. God set the model for harvesting in the incarnation of Christ. As God came in the flesh through Jesus Christ to stand next to us and bear us up - so also we are called to enter the harvest and bear others up in the love of God. Aldrich in his book suggests that the church has developed a style whereby we "call out to the harvest" to come in and be harvested. It is the opposite of how Jesus worked. Jesus left the ...

979. Anyone Feeling Tired?

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... yoke Jesus had in mind. It was a kind of crossbar with two U‑shaped pieces that encircled the necks of a pair of oxen. The easiest interpretation of this text is that when we are yoked to Jesus, he walks beside us andhelps us bear our burdens. We don’t have to bear the weight of our world by ourselves. That is the obvious teaching, and it is a beautiful teaching. But there are many ways in which being yoked to Christ gives us rest. Note, first of all, that there are other forms of fatigue more draining ...

980. Top Ten Things I Have Learned from Gardening

Matt 13:1-43

Illustration

Allen R. Rumble

... In gardening, as in life, cheating does not work. Short-cuts, slipshod efforts, and neglect always show up in the quality of our garden. 4. Like anything worthwhile, beautiful gardens require attention, hard work, and commitment. 3. We cannot rush the harvest. Bearing fruit takes time and patience. Premature fruit is almost always sour. 2. Gardening and growing is a lifetime experience. We can experience growth and beauty until the day we die. 1. Fertilizer happens! In fact, nothing much grows without it.

981. To Tell The Truth

Exodus 20:16

Sermon

James Merritt

... false witness against your neighbor." (v.16) There is no exception stated, there is no equivocation given; we are to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. As we study this topic of lying, of bearing false witness, of being dishonest, we find the Scripture basically says three things: 1. Lying Has A Devilish Source Jesus said in Jn. 8:44, speaking of the Devil, "He is a liar, and the father of all lies." The ancestor of every lie is old Satan himself. You are ...

982. The Only One Who Is Number One

Exodus 20:1-3

Sermon

James Merritt

... of those who are "lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God." (II Tim. 3:4) Many worship the god of finances the god of money. Paul declared this to be idle worship when he spoke of "covetousness, which is idolatry." (Col. 3:5) Our money bears the inscription "In God we Trust." Someone has suggested that we alter it to read "In this god we trust." Well, there is only one God, and that God alone is worthy of our worship, praise, commitment, glory, adoration. When Louis XIV died, they held his funeral ...

983. The Only Way to Fly

2 Timothy 3:15-17

Sermon

James Merritt

... spiral that took the life of John F. Kennedy, Jr. The graveyard spiral is a series of ever-tightening turns that corkscrew a plane toward earth. It is the leading danger when new pilots leave clear weather for clouds or darkness. An inexperienced pilot will lose his bearings and the plane will begin to turn without his even knowing it. By the time the force of gravity begins to warn the pilot the plane is falling, the instinct to pull up only makes the spiral worse. I was fascinated to learn that 83% of all ...

984. How to Keep Your Head When Others Are Losing Theirs (Fruit of the Spirit: Peace)

Galatians 5:22

Sermon

James Merritt

... of trousers here; please fill them with a man. One of the reasons why we are loaded down with burdens and cares and worries and have no peace, is because we do not take everything to God in prayer: What peace we often forfeit, What needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer. Notice the gratitude of this prayer. For Paul says we are to pray "with thanksgiving." The one ingredient that must never be lacking in the recipe of prayer, is thanksgiving. I Thess 5:18 reminds us ...

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

Galatians 5:22

Sermon

James Merritt

... forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things." Goodness is not a matter of what you know, nor what you do. It is a matter of what you are. Goodness is not a deed that you do; it is fruit that you bear. It is the fruit of the Holy Spirit living in you. The fruit of the Spirit ripens, but it never rots. No matter how good you are, as you grow in the Lord and walk closer to the Lord, you will find that your goodness will get even better. Good ...

986. Gentle On My Mind (Fruit of the Spirit: Gentleness)

Galatians 5:23

Sermon

James Merritt

... the true Christian and the God-blessed Christian is the one who simply says, "Lord, I surrender all. All to you I give. Everyday for You I live. Take me, cleanse me, fill me, use me, for Your glory and honor." Now you only say that when you are bearing the fruit of gentleness and meekness. III. Meekness Is an Action We Should Demonstrate A meek person is not passive, he is proactive. Gentleness and meekness do not affect so much what you do, as they affect how you do it. You see, we are to carry out certain ...

987. Nobody's Perfect--Except Jesus

Hebrews 4:15-16

Sermon

James Merritt

... he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,' and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.' And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God." (vv. 9-12) Here was the temptation to look out for number one and be number one. Satan was tempting ...

988. You've Gotta Believe

Hebrews 11:1-6

Sermon

James Merritt

... stage the forerunner of the modern olympics called the Isthmian games. Now the highlight of those games was the relay race. The competitors lined up side-by-side at the starting line, each bearing a torch. In the distance waited another line of men, and still farther on other lines of men. When the signal was given the men would begin to run bearing their lighted torches. When a runner reached his partner in the next line, he would pass on his light and that man would then go and pass on the light until the ...

989. Once Save - Always Saved

John 10:27-29

Sermon

James Merritt

... my wife, and I know my children. In Mt. 7:23 Jesus talked about certain people who would stand before him one day, thinking they were going to get into heaven. But Jesus is going to say to them, "I will declare to them I never knew you." It bears repeating that Christianity is not a religion, it is a relationship. Salvation is not attained by what you know; it is in who you know. You are not a Christian because of who you are, but because of whose you are. Furthermore, true sheep look to the shepherd. Jesus ...

990. Nothing Great Happens Without It

Luke 14: 25-35

Sermon

James Merritt

... and ahead of finances. That is a sacrifice that you have to make. II. There Is a Price That Must Be Paid "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." (v. 27) I want to emphasize that although salvation is free, it is not cheap. ... do not want to pay the price. But Christ will not compromise and He will not negotiate."[1] Now, when Jesus speaks of bearing a cross, you have to understand what a cross represented 2000 years ago. Today we would talk about the electric chair or ...

991. It Was the Birthday of a King

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

James Merritt

... the virgin birth. But it is impossible to be saved and deny the virgin birth. b. The Majesty of His Birth "Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ‘Behold a virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, ‘God with us.'" (vv. 22-23) We are given here one of the names of Jesus, the name Immanuel, which means "God with us." Now this name refers to his person. This baby recorded in the ...

992. The Law of the Harvest

Psalm 126:5-6

Sermon

James Merritt

... have not seen people come to Christ. For the Bible says in Gal. 6:9, "Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." b. Sow Consistently Now as we go, the psalmist says we are to be "bearing seed for sowing." Literally translated it says "leaving a trail of seed." Here is a farmer pictured walking up one row and down the other, up this furrow and down the next one, just continuously dropping seed. Now that is the only job God has given to the soul-winner ...

993. Love: The Happiness of a Godly Family

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Sermon

James Merritt

... boy came home from a life of rebellion and sin, the Bible says in Luke 15:20, "his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him." The Greek language is even stronger because what he really did was give him a bear hug and kissed him over and over and over. Jacob and Esau were two grown men, brothers, who had had a falling-out; they had become mortal enemies, but they reconciled. After many years of being apart in bitterness and anger, when they came back together we read in ...

994. The Battle of New Orleans

2 Timothy 3:1-4:8

Sermon

James Merritt

... human life been valued so lowly. There is a battle for the sacredness of God. The syncretistic eclectic God that more and more Americans worship, bears no resemblance to the thrice Holy God of Israel. There is a battle for the souls of men. Satan's army is on the march ... verse 1, "But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come." The word "perilous" literally means "hard to bear," or "hard to deal with." The last days are going to be dangerously difficult days. Economic indicators may go back ...

995. Come On Baby, Light My Fire

Matthew 3:11-12

Sermon

James Merritt

... Practically every Christian knows something about baptism with water, but the vast majority of Christians know nothing about the baptism with fire. It is interesting that in vv.10-12 fire is mentioned three times. In v.10 we see purging fire. For "every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." In v.12 we see punishing fire. For He will "gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." But here in v.11 we see purifying fire, for "He will ...

996. Murder in the First Degree

Matthew 5: 21-26

Sermon

James Merritt

... at the wife and said, "Have you ever thought about divorce?" She said, "No, but I have thought about murder on a number of occasions." It is possible to have the seed of murder in your heart whether or not you ever actually sow that seed and let it bear fruit. A perfect illustration is the prodigal son. You remember the prodigal son comes to his father and says "I want my share of the inheritance and I want it now." Well, in Bible days, the only way that you could get a share of the inheritance was if ...

997. O Holy Night

Philippians 2:5-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... goes on to say in v.6, "…but being in the form of God…" Again, the word "form" is a word that referred to a Roman stamp. In Bible times an official government document was sealed with wax while the wax was hot. You would press the ring bearing the emperor's insignia into the document, and the impression in the wax would be the exact representation of the insignia on the ring. What Paul is telling us is that Jesus is the exact representation of God. That is exactly what Jesus Himself said again when He ...

998. He's Everything I Need

Psalm 23:1

Sermon

James Merritt

... said something about worrying that I think we can all relate to. I’ve always worried a lot, and frankly I’m good at it. I worry about introducing people and going blank when I get to my mother. I worry about a shortage of ball bearings; a snake coming up through the kitchen drain. I worry about the world ending at midnight and getting stuck with three hours on a twenty-four hour cold capsule. I worry about getting into the Guinness World Book of Records under “Pregnancy: Oldest Recorded Birth.” I ...

999. From Worry To Trust

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... 6 of every 10 children in Memphis now live in a single-parent household or with a relative, usually a grandmother. This year, about 4,000 single mothers younger than 19 will have a baby in Memphis. When we get busy trying to bring the grace of Christ to bear on these problems, our own personal worries tend to slide into the background. We are distracted in a positive way. THE SECOND PART OF JESUS’ PRESCRIPTION IS THIS—FOCUS ON EACH 24-HOUR DAY. You've heard this before but we forget it so often that it ...

1000. Do I Really Matter To God?

Psalm 139:1-24

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... is the holiest object you will ever see. (1) When you looked in the mirror this morning, you were gazing at an original and eternal creation of Almighty God. Here is the second reason for believing that you are special in the sight of God—YOU BEAR AN AMAZING RESEMBLANCE TO GOD. You were made in the image of God. That does not mean that we are miniature gods. But it does mean that human beings have some godly capacities. We are spiritual, rational, moral, and immortal creatures. Though sin has soiled and ...

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