Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1051 to 1075 of 2962 results

1051. BANNER MAKER

Song of Songs 6:1-13

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... back as far as recorded history. But - not necessarily in the usage as we know it today. We almost always associate the flag in some way with war or military usage of one kind or another. However, strictly military use was not the primary design of the Hebrews. The only strictly military reference we have comes from the War Scroll found at Qumray and this comes from a different ideology altogether. Actually, for the Hebrews, the word was used both literally and figuratively as a rallying point for God ...

1052. CARPETMAKER

Judges 5:10; Ezekiel 27:24

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... it is almost certain that bark felt was woven into a type of carpet even then! Floor coverings of plaited rushes were in use in Mesopotamia by the 5th or 4th millenium B.C. And by the 8th century B.C. Assyrian carpets had all-over designs that would do justice to a modern carpet maker! In the biblical period, some carpets were made from strips of wool, cotton, and other materials that were braided together. The carpetmaker could chose strips whose colors matched, blended, or contrasted, according to his own ...

1053. EUNUCH

Esther 1:12; Isaiah 39:7; Daniel 1:9

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... ." Daniel 1:9 - "And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs." In earliest times, eunuchs were castrated males who watched over the king’s harem. From the employment of such men, the term came to designate an officer, whether physically a eunuch or not. This word also sometimes translated as officer or as chamberlain. For a time, eunuchs were found in the states neighboring Israel, but not in Israel itself. This was because the Mosaic law forbade those blemished ...

1054. GOLDSMITH

Nehemiah 3:8; Isaiah 46:6

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... guilds, which correspond very closely to the type of union which goldsmiths have today. They enjoyed great benefits from their association with this guild and received protection from it. Their skill was amazing. For a people who lived long before the mechanical aids that we have today, their delicacy of design is remarkable. They were even able to make narrow threads of gold by cutting sheet gold. Surely a ticklish procedure at best!

1055. INNKEEPER

Luke 10:35

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... hotels and motels at which we can stop to rest and refresh ourselves. We don’t have to worry about the hotel manager sneaking in in the middle of the night and stealing our wallets! And certainly the food and accommodations that are offered to us are designed with our comfort and well-being in mind. I have wondered frequently what the innkeeper who cared for the man left lying by the wayside would have thought if he had been sent ahead to the twentieth century and given a hotel to manage. Pipe dreams ...

1056. SERVANT, SERVITOR

Exo. 12:45; 2 Kings 4:43

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... a domestic, in the sense that we use it today. In our usage, a servant is one who works for pay and in so doing attends to the physical needs, in one way or another, of the person who has employed him. But this was not necessarily the designation in the ancient world. Rather, that concept would be more akin to "slave," which implies a forced labor, but is more in keeping with the type of work done by today’s servants. Rather, the ancient servant means merely someone who was in service to another, and this ...

1057. SILVERSMITH

Judges 17:4; Acts 19:24

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... well as making new ones. Silver was heated by an intensive fire until it became softened for easy workability, and then, while squatting on the ground, the silversmith worked with pliers to shape the object; with saws and hammers to make the shapes and designs he wished. Silver used to be extensively used in coinage, but today, although this use has declined, its value in the arts and in industry has soared. Motion pictures would not have been possible without silver, and silver solders are important in the ...

1058. Thy Kingdom Come

Luke 17:20-37

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... the Kingdom of God. He mentioned it over 110 times in the records of the four Gospels. Being a Christian means more than getting saved so that you can go to heaven when you die. When you say yes to Jesus Christ, you enlist in a revolutionary movement designed to turn the world upside down. The stock of the Kingdom of God is not quoted on the New York stock Exchange. Jesus is not recognized in Dunn and Bradstreet nor is he in the Social Register. He does not prop his throne on missiles or greenbacks. But ...

1059. Judgement Day Is Coming

Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 13:36-43, Matthew 13:47-52

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... to have winners and losers. In such a society, it sounds strange to hear about a final Judgment Day and eternal punishment and weeping and gnashing of teeth. Jesus told two simple parables or stories to illustrate the truth about Judgment Day. These stories were designed to be familiar to people who depended on agriculture and commercial fishing for a living. A farmer planted good wheat seed in a field. But under cover of night, an enemy came in and planted weeds. At first no one noticed. There was a common ...

1060. Marriage is Forever

Matthew 5:31-32, Matthew 19:1-12

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... standing behind me. I looked around and it was my wife, Gloria. I said to her, "What in the world are you doing here?" She replied, "If you're going to get blown away, I'm going with you." That is what "one flesh" means according to God's design. One of my favorite poets, Archibald Rutledge, years ago wrote a poem entitled "Final Proof." On every Valentine's Day, I generally give Gloria a copy of this along with a gift. It's a testimony to Jesus' view of marriage: "I do not need some tremendous miracle to ...

1061. A Personal God in an Impersonal World

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... of his car, and yelled to the worker that he had an emergency and needed to use the off- ramp. The worker said, "Follow me, officer." That bulldozer scooped up a huge load of dirt and instantly created a way to exit. Les drove quickly three more blocks to the designated address. There was a woman on a front porch with a child in her arms who had turned sky blue. Les grabbed the child, placed it across his knees as he had been trained to do, and popped it sharply across the back. A button flew out of the ...

1062. The Greatest Story Ever Told

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... there is a basic discontent in your life. '. Then it often comes, suddenly or gradually, in church or anywhere, that flash of truth, that wondrous moment when you look in the mirror and say, "What I've been is not who I should be. Essentially and fundamentally, I was designed to be a child of God." To realize that is to regain consciousness. That brings us to Act III of the Prodigal's drama. Verse 20 is the heart of the story. "And he arose and came to his Father." Hey, that was tough to do, to go back and ...

1063. God Makes The First Move

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... a Christian. Notice Jesus' promise in John 6:44...those who respond with faith to God's drawing will find that at the end of their lives or at the end of history (whichever comes first) Jesus will raise us up to eternal life. This sermon is designed to raise these questions: Have you felt God's grace pulling you to himself? Have you responded? Are you responding? Let me close with a story that was told to me by my colleague Gene Barnes. The great composer Alexander Borodin had a little granddaughter who was ...

1064. Only One Superpower

1 Chronicles 29:1-9

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... . Wal-Mart is the single largest seller of pop music in the country. Its refusal to stock albums with lyrics or cover art it finds objectionable is affecting the production of music. Because of Wal-Mart's clout, record companies and bands are designing different covers, omitting certain songs from their albums, and even changing lyrics in order to gain a place on Wal-Mart shelves. Other companies like K-Mart and Blockbuster are following this trend, instituting standards on their own that draw the line for ...

1065. Marriage: God's Idea

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... were married. Someone asked her later why she was so insistent on marriage. She replied, "A man may love his lover, but he will cherish only a wife. And I wanted to be cherished." Marriage---that life-long union between man and wife---is an institution designed and blessed by God. None other can substitute for it. Let's protect it, honor it, celebrate it, advertise it, and thank God for it. This prayer by Warren Molton celebrates the greatness of a "one flesh" marriage: "0 God, my wife is still the miracle ...

1066. Building According To Code

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

Brett Blair

... , Jesus said, you must build upon something solid. There are no words more solid on which to base your life than these words from the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon has been called the Christian Magna Charta, the Christian Manifesto, the Design for Life, and the Rules for Christian Living. It contains the Beatitudes, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Golden Rule. It deals with murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, revenge, and worry. It gives instructions on prayer, giving to the poor, fasting, judging others, and ...

1067. The Healing Power of Touch

Matthew 9:18-26

Sermon

Brett Blair

... here of how your life has been touched by someone] If we are out of touch with people, then perhaps we are also out of touch with God. I have never believed that Bible studies and worship services in the church are as important as nurture is. Programs are not designed to be an end in themselves. These things are to equip us and energize us to go out and touch the lives of people. I am a Christian social advocate and I make no apologies about it. I believe that as the family of God we are called upon to ...

1068. Judgment Day is Coming (Adapted)

Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 13:36-43, Matthew 13:47-52

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... biblical. I little later I want to show you how it is not based on the bible. For now let us look’ at Jesus depiction of the final Day of Judgment. Jesus told two simple parables or stories to illustrate the truth about Judgment Day. These stories were designed to be familiar to people who depended on agriculture and commercial fishing for a living. A farmer planted good wheat seed in a field. But under cover of night, an enemy came in and planted weeds. At first no one noticed. There was a common weed in ...

1069. What Is Heaven Like?

Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:31-35

Sermon

Brett Blair

... gases from escaping. Whether it was the unusually cold weather, a contaminate introduced into the zinc putty used on them, any number of potential compression problems, or human error during manufacturing, these two miniature o-rings failed to do what they were designed to do, and the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded before the watching world, 73 seconds into her flight, claiming the lives of all seven crew members. It's the little things. Tiny viruses the size of a pin head, heart valves no larger than ...

1070. The Voices Of Christmas

Drama

Jerry Nordstrom

... MAN - Heavy-drinking party-goer (male) *CHILD - Greedy little girl (female) WORKING WIFE - Frazzled victim of the Christmas rush (female) *May be read, in character, by an adult. Presentation time: about half an hour Using irony and humor, this work is designed to reveal the realities of Christmas - both the detrimental and the divine. This is not a play with scenery and characters who speak to one another. Cast members address visualized listeners as if no interruptions from other characters or changes of ...

1071. Advent II - Children’s Sermon

Matthew 2:1-12

Children's Sermon

Susan Hedahl

... us that God created the heavens and the skies. God has made the sky full of light both in the day and at night. What do you see in the sky at night that gives light? Yes, and we human beings have even looked at the stars and made designs out of them, calling them constellations. Some stars in a group are called The Big Dipper and another group of stars is called Orion, The Hunter. They all look like certain shapes of people or things. In Africa there is one particularly beautiful set of stars that people ...

1072. Song of a Poet Laureate

Psalm 2:1-12

Sermon

Gordon Pratt Baker

... to take advantage of the fluid situation marking the changeover. Threatening as these conspiracies against Israel may be, however, they are fatally flawed. For in plotting the nation’s overthrow at her coronation of the Lord’s vice-regent her foes are designing fruitless assaults on heaven itself. Indeed, the very thought of their even contemplating such a conquest sets God laughing. He that sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord has them in derision. (Psalm 2:4) Let none be misled. The conspirators can ...

1073. Song of a Stargazer

Psalm 8:1-9

Sermon

Gordon Pratt Baker

... dreamer; and he is dreaming at this point of an ideal humanity. He makes no prophecies. He offers no panaceas. Instead, he holds before his hearers the vision of a new race rising from the old once men and women respond to the Almighty’s design for them. A Transcendant Love The Eighth Psalm is foremost a celebration of transcendant love. How easy it would have been for the psalmist to center his attention on the weakness and wickedness of the world. Certainly, he sees evidence of both readily at hand. In ...

1074. What Does God Expect Of You?

Micah 6:1-8

Sermon

Robert Allen

... is the name of a man that may not be familiar to you today. But, several years ago, he made headlines around the world. For the last fourteen years, Ben Powers has worked for NASA. He has been working on the solid rocket motor design and is considered an expert in his field. In 1987 the ill-fated Challenger blasted off for outer space. This was a special mission which included six astronauts and one school teacher, Christa McAuliffe. The astronaunts were to carry out scientific experiments and Christa ...

1075. Religion In A Nutshell

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Robert Allen

... with loving God. I wouldn’t know where else to begin. Belief in and love of God are the basic ingredients, the foundations in any definition of religion. Several years ago, an architect was given an enormous and almost impossible task. He was to design and build the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, Japan. Because Japan is a country that frequently experiences tremors and earthquakes, the financial backers wanted a building that would be able to stand up when the quakes came. No construction job like this had ever ...

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