Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1001 to 1025 of 2157 results

John 20:1-9

Sermon

Frank Lyman

... for many of us--a time when despair is replaced with hope. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen. THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE by Todd Outcalt, Health Communications, Inc., Deerfield Beach, Florida, 1998, p. 163. As translated in the King James Version Luke 24:21 Job 14:14 Woodward, Kenneth, "2000 Years of Jesus," NEWSWEEK, March 29, 1999. Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-3 (NEB). 7. CHRISTIANITY TODAY, October 16, 1986, p. 37.

1002. Straight Backs And Rekindled Dreams

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... hanging on with clinched teeth and gives them a new, fresh beginning. Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues one Sabbath day and a woman was there who had been crippled for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up. The New International Version of the Bible says she was crippled "œby a spirit." That's an interesting phrase. I've known lots of people who have been crippled by a spirit. Some of these people, too, are bent over and cannot straighten up. I've seen girls about 12-years ...

1003. One Giant Leap

John 1:1-18, Isaiah 51:17--52:12

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... celebration! This is the religion of the Bible! This is the good news of Christmas! This the leap of the Word from heaven! And there's one more thing: THE GIANT LEAP OF CHRISTMAS IS ALSO A LEAP OF FAITH. Robin Lane Fox wrote a book called The Unauthorized Version. It's a historian's look at the formation of the Christian Bible. And Fox says, right in his introduction, that there's a lot about the Bible that we assume today, just because it's been handed down to us over so many centuries. He says we assume ...

1004. In The Middle Of The Night

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... of the story with the same word, "after." That word is something more than a connecting-link, a bridge thrown over a blank space of days; it is rather the key which unlocks the whole meaning and mystery of the Transfiguration. St. Luke begins his version of the Transfiguration story like this: "About eight days after Jesus said this. . . ." Said what? Let's go back a little, and see. Jesus had asked his disciples what people were saying about him. In response, Peter made his memorable confession--the first ...

1005. Extreme Sports, Extreme Fashions, Extreme Faith

1 Samuel 3:1--4:1

Sermon

King Duncan

... to be going through is a fondness for extremes. Note the popularity of extreme sports--sky diving, ice climbing, skateboarding, paragliding, and who knows what's next. PARADE magazine sometime back described a fad in California (where else?). It was a version of soccer played barefoot with a fiery, gasoline-soaked ball. Supposedly this extreme sport originated in Java, where it is played as a martial-arts exercise. Kicking the flaming ball around is supposed to help players confront their fears. (1) Extreme ...

1006. I Didn't Expect This In Church!

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... to die for him. I like the way Joy Jordan-Lake put it in an article in the CHRISTIAN CENTURY. "Jesus makes me nervous," she writes. "Imagine asking the guy home for lunch . . . Would you impress him more with a menu featuring Maine lobster--an edible version of pouring perfume on his feet? . . . Or would you fare better slapping peanut butter and jelly on Stop 'n' Shop's cheapest bread, carefully calculating the money you saved and buying groceries for a homeless family you'd befriended? "It's that lack of ...

1007. Jerry's Story . . . And Ours

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... , we think if someone really knew us, they wouldn't love us. But check out the first verse of this passage: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart . . . " God really knows you, not just the clean and shiny version of yourself that you present to the world, but the real you. He knew you long before you even had the consciousness to know yourself. And He loves you. As someone once said, "God could not love you more, and He will not love you less." You are special ...

1008. Changing Lives Through Jesus Christ!

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

Linda Richard

... than selling prepaid phone cards! If you want to get excited about a new career in "marketing," why don't you share the good news of God's Love in Jesus Christ with a neighbor and/or friend this week? 1. All Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers c1990. 2. Be a People Person by John C. Maxwell (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1989), p. 20. 3. Aldous Huxley, Brave New World (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1946), p. 285.

1009. Through The Storm, Through The Night

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

Frank Lyman

... can become instruments of the divine will. That's really what the third commandment is all about. We know it as, "œYou shall not take the name of the Lord in vain," and often associate it with swearing and cursing, but it's more than that. Our New Revised Standard Version translates it, "You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God." When we pray "In Jesus' name" we are praying that what we pray for is within the spirit of Jesus. God is not to be used. God is the ultimate end and not a ...

1010. Setting An Example

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... , medical doctors in India. India has more than three million people with leprosy, and Dr. Paul Brand was the first orthopedic surgeon to treat them. Dr. Margaret Brand is an ophthalmologist. The Brands had one patient named Sadan who looked like “a miniature version of Gandhi." Sadan understood what rejection as a leper was. He was made fun of, kicked, and even turned away from hospitals. Sadan said, “I can still remember when Dr. Brand took my infected, ulcerated feet in his hands. . . . Dr. Brand and ...

1011. When Your Lips Are One Place But Your Heart . . .

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... , as a result, became angry with the church as he understood it. Jordan didn't reject his faith or launch a protest, however. He stuffed his anger deep inside until such time as he could make a difference, which he certainly did in writing the Cotton Patch versions of the New Testament and in founding Koinonia Farm. (2) You and I can relate to Jordan's anger. So can Jesus. IN FACT, TO JESUS, NO ONE WAS MORE REPULSIVE THAN THE PERSON WHO LOVES RELIGION BUT HATES PEOPLE. And we all know that happens sometimes ...

1012. On Forgetting To Do A Business Plan

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... image of “Miss America.” There on the front page of his newspaper was a list of the “vital statistics” of the Miss America contestants. There were fifty-one participants in the pageant. Of those, the paper had combined the various statistics and presented their version of the “perfect woman.” She has brown hair and brown eyes. She knows how to sing and dance. She has the perfect figure: 35-24-35. She is Miss America. She is the ideal. The message trumpeted off the page: “This is the standard ...

1013. A Powerful Testimony

Mark 8:27-30

Sermon

King Duncan

Some time back someone circulated a form called The College Entrance Exam -Football Player Version. This humorous exam consisted of twenty questions and had a time limit of 3 weeks for completion. Let me read you some of the questions: 1.What language is spoken in France? 2. Would you ask William Shakespeare to (a) build a bridge (b) sail the ocean (c) lead an ...

1014. The Bold And Beautiful

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

King Duncan

... the inner courtyard. One prisoner armed with a machete was chasing men around the yard. Gladys stepped up to the armed prisoner and commanded him to hand her his knife. And lo and behold, he did! Then, Gladys lined up all the prisoners, heard their versions of why they had rioted, and set them to cleaning up the yard. Soon afterwards, Gladys instituted a number of reforms in that prison. She also began leading Bible studies there. Her courage in the face of the riots provided a powerful witness among the ...

1015. Counterfeit Christianity

Matthew 7:15-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... Apostle's Creed is great, but apostolic power to produce apostolic faith is even greater. Authentic creeds lead to dynamic deeds. Sound doctrine and sound living walk hand-in-hand. Dr. Clarence Jordan wrote a popular translation of the New Testament known as the "Cotton Patch" version of the Bible. Jordan is a rare man. He earned a B.S. degree in Agriculture from the University of Georgia and a Ph.D. in New Testament Greek. In the midst of the racially segregated south in the 1960s he attempted to build a ...

1016. The Benefits Of Trusting Christ

Romans 10:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... what he referred to as a "new and improved" Krebiozen. There was no such thing; the doctor simply gave him water. The tumors went into remission again! The man then heard that Krebiozen was declared worthless by the FDA and that there was no "new and improved" version. He died a few days later! (5) What you believe can have great power over your life. Even if what you believe is wrong, it can affect you in profound ways. Paul is not advocating a course in the power of positive thinking, though we know there ...

1017. Sons And Daughters Of God

Romans 8:18-27, Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... . He couldn't conceive of redoing his work. He shared his predicament with his friend, poet Ezra Pound. Pound called it a stroke of good fortune! Pound assured Hemingway that when he rewrote the stories, he would forget the weak parts. The new version would be better than the old. He encouraged Hemingway to start over with a sense of optimism and confidence. Hemingway did rewrite the stories and eventually became one of the major figures in American literature. (2) All Hemingway needed was to hear someone ...

1018. Are You Ready For Your Inheritance?

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... Paul was known for a sort of single-minded enthusiasm. He was extraordinarily enthusiastic when he wrote the passage from Ephesians which we read a few moments ago. In our Bibles, this passage is broken down into nice, neat paragraphs with proper punctuation. In the original Greek version, however, it is a 220-word run-on sentence written by a man who was so excited that he didn't even stop long enough to throw in a comma. It's an English teacher's nightmare! What was St. Paul so excited about? He was ...

1019. Finding Peace

John 20:19-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... he asks, "What does "˜forsake' mean?" In the Greek it means, "to leave one in a helpless state, to disregard." It also can be further expanded to include "not relaxing my watchfulness over you." To this point, then, says Strand, our verse, in the full, amplified version reads: "I will never, no not ever, no never give up on you, abandon you, leave you behind, cause you not to survive, leave you helpless, nor shall I ever relax concerning keeping my presence with you!" In other words, we can relax. God will ...

1020. Trust Your Upbringing

2 Timothy 3:14-15

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... you know your parents love you. You know that they don't want anything in the world to hurt you.) Today we are reading about Paul and Timothy again. Paul is telling Timothy to trust those who taught him about Jesus. (Read vs. 14 and 15 in a children's version of the Bible.) Sometimes it is not easy to be faithful to God's ways but Paul says to remember that we can trust those who teach us. When we remember the lessons we have learned before, it is easier to trust and go ahead. Prayer: I just thank You ...

1021. Who Am I Supposed To Hate?

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... 's ashes," came the reply. "I am sorry," apologized the agent, "I didn't know he was deceased." "He isn't," she said. "He's just too lazy to look for an ashtray." We all get frustrated with those we love. But hate them? No way. This is Luke's version of the story. It's interesting to note that when Matthew reports Jesus' words, he softens them a bit. In Matthew Jesus says, "He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy ...

1022. In A Time Of War

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... SAY IS THAT WAR IS NOT GOD'S WILL. Our reading from the Old Testament for this third Sunday in Lent is a recitation of the Ten Commandments. And in the middle of these commandments is this stern warning: "Thou shalt not kill." The New Revised Standard Version translates these words as "You shall not murder." That gives us some comfort, but still we are left with the stark truth that God is repulsed when one human being takes the life of another. G.A. Studdert-Kennedy was in the mud-filled, blood-spattered ...

1023. On Names That Preach

Psalm 16:1-11

Sermon

Siegfried S. Johnson

... Hebrew word translated "virgin." The word used is "˜almah' young woman," not bethulah, "virgin." (4) (The RSV of 1952 got it right when it translated the word as "young woman," though that accurate translation didn't do much for the popularity of the new English version of the Bible). This prophecy had an immediate fulfillment in Isaiah's day, recorded a few verses later in chapter 8, when a son was born and named, Maher-shalal-hasbaz, "quickly to the spoil." Does a proper translation of Isaiah 7:14 leave ...

1024. The Grief Of God

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

King Duncan

... dies in a crib death or a teenager is killed by a drunken driver, or hundreds die in a plane crash, it is somehow God's will. We may not understand now, but "bye and bye He will make it plain." We might call this view a theological version of "Father Knows Best." Another view that was popular at the beginning of the last century is that suffering is a tool of God's teaching. It is sort of God's Sunday School lesson. According to this view, God gives handicapped children to teach the world compassion. God ...

1025. Taking Time To Love

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... in despair. And finally he hangs on a cross. "Surely this man is the Son of God," whispers the centurion. He was all that and more. St. Paul writes, "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. . ." Clarence Jordan, in his Cotton Patch version of the Scriptures, translates it something like this: "God was in Jesus hugging the world to himself. . ." Love is woven into the very fabric of creation. We are not surprised, then, that when Jesus was asked what the great commandment was, he answered, "Thou ...

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