Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 976 to 1000 of 5000 results

Matthew 5:43-48

Sermon

James McCormick

... to show us how to be good. God watches our every move and records our behavior in a grade book. We receive a gold star for every good deed we do, and a black mark for every bad deed. When we die, God adds up the gold stars and black marks. If we have more gold stars than black marks we go to heaven. If we have more black marks than gold stars then we go to hell. And that’s the gospel! That’s the gospel? The word, “gospel” means “good news”, and I ask you, where is the good news in that ...

977. Knowing the Secret Right from the Start

Mark 1:4-11

Illustration

Thomas Long

... dowager does not know: the strange-looking, ruffled little man is the most celebrated intellect of our time. Some stories gain their power from our knowing the story's secret from the start. The Gospel of Mark is just such a story. The secret of Mark's Gospel is the identity of Jesus Christ. In the very first sentence of the Gospel story, Mark lifts the veil and lets us know the secret when he says that this is "...the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." Jesus is the Son of God, that's the secret, and ...

978. The Compassionate Christ

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... replied that he was just being honest. “You see,” he said, “we doctors don’t ever heal anybody. We may be effective in removing obstacles to healing, such as infections, but the actual healing process is not ours to control.” (5) And that is true. As Mark Twain once said, “God heals, the doctor collects the fee.” We do not understand the ways of God. Why are some people healed and others are not? We don’t know. Truly, only God knows. We know that God is willing. But we also know that God ...

979. An Unnerving Experience

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... with just a few loaves and fishes. They then saw him give vision to a man who was, for all practical purposes, blind. Then he revealed to them his mission as the Messiah and predicted his death and resurrection, and swore them to secrecy. Then, says Mark, “After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone.” It’s nice imagery, if you think about it. Peter, James and John vigorous young men, maybe in their early twenties following their ...

980. The Fork in the Road

Mark 8:31-38

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

... the center point at which the ministry of Jesus takes a decisive turn toward the cross. Jesus seems to know what he is doing and also where he is going (or, better said, where he must go whether he wants to go that direction or not). For the disciples, however, Mark 8 does present a kind of fork in the road. And like Yogi Berra, as they look at the fork in the road, they want to take it. They want it both ways. They want to stick with Jesus and be his followers while at the same time insisting that ...

981. Worship on the Mountaintop...And Everywhere Else

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... something extraordinary was about to happen. It does seem to be true that, while we know the stories of how others have encountered God, we don’t expect anything similar will happen to us. II. The Context in Mark’s Telling of the Story Now it’s important to place what is about to happen in the context of Mark’s version of the good news he experienced in Jesus. In Mark’s telling of the good news story, Jesus heals a blind man before the mountaintop experience and heals a blind man after it ...

982. Epiphany 3

Jonah 3:1-10, 1 Corinthians 7:1-40, Mark 1:1-8, Mark 1:9-13, Mark 1:14-20

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... begin anew the work of Christ. Outline: The time has come – a. To preach the gospel v. 14. b. To repent v. 15. c. To believe v. 15. 3. What did Jesus preach? (1:14-15). Need: Jesus came preaching, but what did he preach law or gospel, or both? Mark gives us a summary of Jesus' preaching. Since we honor and respect Jesus above all other preachers, we would like to know the content of his preaching. What does Jesus have to say to us? The text gives us the answer. Outline: Jesus preached the gospel of God. a ...

983. Epiphany 4

Mark 1:21-28, 1 Corinthians 8:1-13, Deuteronomy 18:14-22

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... Lesson 1. c. Result of authority liberty Lesson 2. 3. Who has Authority? a. The authority of Jesus nature of deity Gospel. b. The authority of a prophet God's Word Lesson 1. c. The authority of a Christian knowledge of God Lesson 2. Gospel: Mark 1:21-28 1. Jesus the exorcist (1:21-28). Need: Our world suffers from people possessed by unclean spirits. This includes the church as well. The evidence for this claim is abundant: rape, murder, theft, perjury, bribery, child abuse and sexual immorality. How can ...

984. Proper 22

Job 1:1-5, Job 2:1-10, Hebrews 1:1-14, Hebrews 2:5-18, Mark 10:1-12, Mark 10:13-16

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... become members of God's family. The Son and the children of God became one in the Father. Thus, we have the privilege of being brothers and sisters. It is more than a family of human beings, but a family with the God-man. PREACHING POSSIBILITIES Gospel: Mark 10:2-16 1. Is divorce a sin? (10:2-12; Psalm 130:3-4). Need: In America approximately one million divorces occur annually. Many of these are church people, including clergy. One of the dreadful aspects of divorce is the guilt feeling accompanying it. Is ...

985. Proper 4

2 Corinthians 4:1-18, 1 Samuel 3:1--4:1, Mark 2:23-3:6

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... not listen to a sermon or read a gospel, but looks at Jesus-people to learn the gospel. Paul claims that even in our afflictions we portray Christ. What kind of a Christ do we reveal is it a clear or a distorted view of Christ? PREACHING POSSIBILITIES Gospel: Mark 2:23-28 1. A radical view of Sunday (2:23-28). Need: In this passage Jesus shows himself as a radical in his treatment of the Sabbath. He comes to the defense of his disciples who were breaking the Sabbath law by plucking and eating grain. In our ...

986. Born Again

John 3:1-21

Illustration

Brett Blair

... parents did to mold him made him who he is. That seems a bit contradictory but ok. Let's give him that. Evolution and early social influences creates a person. The die is cast. A personality is formed. Irrevocable. You might find this surprising but I agree with Mark Leyner. You and I cannot change. Even if I had a death bed experience or someone came back from the grave to warn me of the judgment to come, it would not fundamentally change my behavior. I would continue to live as I always have. (Luke 16:30 ...

987. Workaholics Anonymous

Genesis 2:1-3

Sermon

James Merritt

... with what He had done and He evidently thought it was so important that He take a break and set aside a day just to rest that we are told He, "blessed the seventh day." Now, we are not told that He blessed the other six days, but He marked off this day of rest as extremely special. We know a lot about this concept of rest from the very Hebrew word it comes from because that Hebrew word gives us the English word, "Sabbath" and it literally means, "to cease" or "quit working." We will talk more about ...

988. What’s the Big Deal about Baptism?

Mark 1:9-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He was the heavens parting and the Sprit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven. "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Mark 1:9-11 If you went back in time, two thousand years to the days of Jesus, you would have heard a Greek word used in every day language to describe a variety of situations. That Greek word is the word Baptizo. The word meant to immerse, dip, or ...

989. Called by a New Name

Isaiah 62:1-5

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... the parents of Claudia's friends, as well as her teacher at school, instructing them to call her Mary George. Her Cinderella stint was over, and she felt like a charmaid in rags once again. A clergy couple, pastors Mark and Johanna, were raising three teenage sons they had named Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Then, oops, they found themselves parents again of a baby daughter. The name they chose for her was Heaven, to be a daily reminder of a glorious eternal paradise. Once Heaven was well into her terrible twos ...

990. The Whole Family Survival Kit

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... who baptizes with the Holy Spirit’” (John 1:33). John, Jesus’ forerunner, his Elijah, needed his shirt-tail cousin Jesus to be pointed out to him. After being born in some relative’s back room, Jesus didn’t grow up a spoiled single child either. Mark’s gospel gives a partial listing of Jesus’ big family. Astounded at the words and deeds Jesus is performing, his hometown crowd wonders, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not ...

991. The Word that Changed the World

John 1:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... Wellman. He went before Wellman, placing their pitons and finding the best crevices for climbing. He would climb up and scout the best path for Wellman to take, then climb back down the mountain so the two men could make the climb together. (7) Christ is our Mark Corbett. Christ came to make God accessible to us. Christ is the one who whispers in our ear, “Let me introduce you to my Father.” Christ translated God’s love into human flesh. When you have seen Christ, the Word of God, you have seen God. 1 ...

992. Braveheart

John 20:24-29

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

John 20:24-29 (NRSV) [24] But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. [25] So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe." [26] A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be ...

993. Unstoppable Determination

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... with opposing players hanging all over him, you can keep plunging toward the goal line. St. Paul could not be stopped because of his faith in Christ. Indeed, he wrote, “I live, but not I, but Christ Jesus liveth in me.” (Galatians 2:20). Pressing toward the mark. Struggling toward the goal line. “You’ll have to shoot me to stop me.” Not giving up in the face of any obstacle. “If I couldn’t kick it out of the end zone, I’d make the tackle.” Out of such persistence are purposeful lives made ...

994. They Said 'Yes!'

Ephesians 1:11-23

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... glory. [13] In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; [14] this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to ... said: 'Yes!'" At some point in time, we said: "Yes!" to God. And when we say "Yes!" to God then like the Saints before us, "marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit." And that's the only thing that sets us apart from the rest of the world. ...

995. Whatever Happened to Respect?

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... along the way they drank some contaminated water, and the young bride died before they could reach Fort Kearney. Heartbroken the young man took her body to the highest hill and buried it, using the wagon bed to make a coffin. He drove down some wooden stakes to mark the grave, thinking that he would go on west and later come back. But as he thought about it, he said to himself, “I’ll forget where this is. I will never remember it.” So he retraced his steps all the way to St. Joseph, Missouri. He found ...

996. Taking the Shape of Christ

Galatians 4:8-20

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... you want to, you can make me clean.” Then, there is packed into one be sentence almost everything Jesus was, and was about. “Jesus was filled with pity for him, and stretched out his hand and placed in on the leper, saying, “Of course I want you to be clean!” (Mark 1: 41) (Phillips). That tells it all. Let’s stay with that encounter for a moment to get the full impact of it. By law the leper had no right to even draw near Jesus, much less speak to him. How, we do not know, but the leper knew that ...

997. The Unforgivable Sin

Mark 3:20-30

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... , the prince of demons. It’s not quite like saying that he’s crazy, something like it, but not quite. It’s more like saying he’s duped. He may not realize what he’s doing, but he’s doing the devil’s work. So the scene is set and Mark wants us to make up our mind. Where would you be in this scene? Would 9 be inside with those who listened with open minds and eager hearts? Or would we be outside with those who say, “He is beside himself.” Where would you be? Those questions suggest this side ...

998. The Forgiving Christ

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins… He said to the paralytic, ‘Get up, take your mat, and go home.'" Forgiveness is free. A. Get up. The words get up are a powerful words. They're the same words used in Mark 16:6 to describe the resurrection of Jesus. “He is not here, he got up." Like calling a dead man out of the grave, Jesus says to the paralytic lying at his feet— “Get up, your sins are forgiven." He speaks and listening to his voice, New life the dead ...

999. From Lust to Love

1 Corinthians 13: 1

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... It led to the secret life of massage parlors and strip joints and cyber-sex. Eventually he crossed the line with a client and all of his life fell apart. He lost his job; he had to deal with his wife. With his life shattered and his marriage in shambles, Mark sought help and healing. He had a family that dared to stick with him. Today, though still tempted, he is winning the war with his addiction. Living with lust is like being shackled to a lunatic. Lust is the craving for salt by a person who is dying of ...

1000. Cheering from the Stands

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... help us get that chain off our legs, get rid of that sin, so that we can be what God has called us to be. So, the writer encourages us to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and . . . [to] run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” That’s the first thing we need to see. The heroes of the Bible were not perfect, but God did not give up on them any more than God gives up on us. They believed God and God forgave them their sin and helped them overcome the ...

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