Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1126 to 1150 of 4936 results

1126. What's Your Hospitality Quotient?

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

King Duncan

A certain county agent had to go to a farm in his jurisdiction to talk with the farmer about a matter of county business. Walking up the dirt road leading to the farm, he encountered signs that read things like: “Trespassers will be shot,” “Beware of Dog,” “Keep Out . . . This Means You!” Finally arriving at the door, he was greeted by a smiling, congenial farmer. When the county agent was ready to leave, the farmer said to him, “Come and see me again sometime. I don’t get many visitors up this way.” Well ...

1127. Workaholics Anonymous

Genesis 2:1-3

Sermon

James Merritt

Are you a workaholic? See how many of these questions you answered yes to: Do you get more excited about your work than about family or anything else? Are there times when you can charge through work and other times when you can't get anything done? Do you take with you to bed, on weekends, on vacation? Is work the activity you enjoy most and talk about most? Do you work more than 40 hours a week? Do you turn your hobbies into money making ventures? Do you take complete responsibility for the outcome of ...

1128. Bring It On

Hebrews 4:15-16

Sermon

James Merritt

The way Rocky faced the Russian is the way every Christian should face temptation; not because we deal with temptation in our strength, but in His strength, that is, in the strength of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now that is true if you believe what Heb. 4:15:16 says about Jesus: "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help ...

1129. With The End In Mind

Philippians 3:7-11

Sermon

James Merritt

One of the best selling books written in the twentieth century and one that made a tremendous impact on my life is a book by Stephen Covey, called The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People. That book has sold millions of copies and even to this day sells extremely well. One of the seven habits Covey says of an effective person is beginning with the end in mind. He begins this chapter with this thought provoking scenario. "Picture yourself driving to the funeral parlor or chapel, parking the car and ...

1130. Paradise Lost

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

James Merritt

Vesna Vulovic made history on January 26, 1972 and in doing so made the Guinness World Book of Records. It is not an honor that she wanted, was looking for, or particularly enjoyed. She was a flight attendant on a DC-9 that was flying over what is now the Czech Republic when a bomb went off and blew the plane apart. She fell 33,330 feet and going 122 miles an hour landed on the side of a mountain and even though she suffered a fractured skull, three broken vertebrae, and two broken legs, and was in a coma ...

1131. Instructions to Timothy

1 Timothy 4:1-16

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

The False Teachings Censured Because of the content of 3:14–16—the statement of purpose climaxed by the hymn—it is easy to think of chapter 3 as bringing us to some kind of conclusion, or major break, in the middle of the letter. But to view 3:14–16 that way is to miss the very close tie between chapter 4 and what has preceded. Paul is about to elaborate in some detail upon the two matters expressed in the charge in chapter 1: the nature of the errors of the false teachers (4:1–5; cf. 1:3–11, 19–20) and ...

1132. Ezekiel's Call

Ezekiel 1:1-28, Ezekiel 2:1-3:15, Ezekiel 3:16-27

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

Ezekiel’s Message of Judgment – Intro to Ezek. 1–33: The first major section of the book of Ezekiel is an unstinting portrayal of God’s judgment, communicating this message in seven parts. First, in chapters 1–3, God calls the prophet and gives him the message he is to bear through a shattering vision of the Lord’s Glory. Second, in chapters 4–7, a series of sign-acts and oracles of judgment convey the inevitability of Jerusalem’s destruction. Third, in Ezekiel’s second vision of the Glory (chs. 8–11), ...

1133. The Power of Patience

Luke 2:22-40

Sermon

Charley Reeb

Let’s be honest. Many folks have a strong faith in God and are seeking his will in everything they do, but they are still waiting on God to answer their prayers. They could be praying for a new job, a relationship, an illness, a problem at work, or a personal struggle. They have prayed repeatedly and have sought God’s will and still there is no answer, no sign, no movement. Maybe you know someone like that? Perhaps that someone is you. If you are honest, you are growing really impatient with God. You don’t ...

1134. Less Is More

John 1:(1-9) 10-18

Sermon

Charley Reeb

I want to share with you a simple biblical message about how to find contentment. So often our lives get out of control because we fall under the spell of a terrible myth. The myth is that more is better — the more we have, achieve, attain, or buy the happier we will be. This myth is no more powerful than during the Christmas season which has just come and gone. We saw all the ads promising utopia if we bought the perfect Christmas present. Many of us bought those presents and still no utopia. How long did ...

1135. Sycamore Blues

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13) There are no secret sins. But oh, we LOVE our secrets, don’t we? We have secret rendezvous, secret accounts, secret passwords, secret societies, secret meetings, secret diaries, secret pasts, and secret habits. Some of us even have secret desires and secret aspirations that we never share with anyone but our closest and trusted friends. All to ...

1136. Have You Seen a Buck Flying Past?

Luke 16:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

A young man named Andrew was working at his first job, and he had made a few mistakes. One day, his boss called him into the office and demanded an explanation for his poor work. Andrew began making excuses, claiming that his mistakes were the fault of his co-workers. His boss suddenly pointed out the window and exclaimed with alarm, “There it goes!” As Andrew turned to look, his boss announced, “It’s a buck flying past!” Have you ever seen a buck flying past? When we are called to account for our mistakes ...

1137. A Man with Leprosy

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

We have before us this week another healing story as the One who brings God's reign explodes into ministry with God's life- giving power! This time it is an unclean leper who comes to Jesus. This has been characteristic of the healings and exorcisms in Mark's first chapter: people come to Jesus for help. One wonders at times if this is Mark's story-formed way of telling us what faith is. Faith is people in deep need who come to Jesus in their desperation! In the case of the leper we could add to this ...

1138. Is Christianity Practical?

Jeremiah 17:19-27

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

Text: Jeremiah 17:5 - Thus says the Lord: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm, whose heart turns away from the Lord." Let's face it, we are paradoxical, a people who, while expressing our trust in Almighty God, are motivated by the apparent conviction that humanity is more to be trusted. That which is real is that which is pragmatically, empirically proved to be of value to humanity, and it is almost without exception something that humanity has produced. We have closed our ears to ...

1139. The Cost of Being Christian

Acts 7:54--8:1a

Sermon

What is the dominant image you have in your mind of Jesus? In reality, these are the only true pictures we have. All of the others are simply portraits or caricatures, which the artist has painted from the image the artist has in mind of the same Jesus. Very often the artist also reflects something of the art style of the period in which the picture was drawn. So your picture, at least in terms of your own faith and development, is as important to you as any other picture you might see. How then do you see ...

1140. The Preparers

Luke 1:57-66

Sermon

Theodore L. Yewey

If there is one short word that would describe the people of this day as we make our way through the days leading to Christmas, it would be the word "Preparers." We all are quite busy with a multitude of preparations. We are busy preparing for Christmas programs, gifts, family gatherings, parties, special activities, and special guests. We are the preparers! And we spend much of our time, energy, effort, and money during this month of December, preparing. Even in the Church we regularly go through a season ...

1141. The Devil Is a Liar

John 8:42-47

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

I once heard of a preacher in Chicago who advertised three sermons on the devil. The titles of the sermons were grammatically strange, but guaranteed to get attention: “Who, the devil, he is,” “What, the devil, he does,” and “How, the devil, he does it.” I am not trying to emulate that preacher, but only trying to make some sense out of Jesus’ dialogue with His audience in the 8th chapter of John. You recall that immediately after Jesus told His listeners that “The truth will make you free,” they protested ...

1142. A Life Hidden With Christ

Colossians 2:6-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I've told you this story before, but it's been a long time. And even if it had not been, it's the most appropriate story I know to introduce our theme for today. It's the story of one of my most meaningful experiences. I have a friend who is a Benedictine monk. The way we live out our lives is vastly different, but I feel a real kinship, a oneness of spirit with Brother Sam. One of the most meaningful memories, to which I return often in my mind, is an evening he and I spent together alone, sharing our ...

1143. Why Being A Christian Has Worn You Down v1

1 John 4:7-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A mild little boy, not known for being ugly or mean, was being chastised and about to be punished for pulling a little girl’s hair. His mother asked him, “Son, why did you do it? That’s just not like you.” “Mama,” he responded, “I just got tired of being good all the time.” It happens to all of us, doesn’t it? We get tired of being good. But it’s not just a periodic getting tired now and then – the truth is we get worn out – being Christian and practicing ministry wears us out. We talk about fatigue in all ...

1144. In the Cross of Christ We Glory

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

Michael Milton

Patrick Morley has said that the turning point in our lives is when we stop seeking the God we want and start seeking the God who is. Peter would come face-to-face with the God who is. This would be a turning point in the life of the disciples. And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But ...

1145. A Defiant Response to a Dangerous Theology: Does God Desire to Wipe Us Out?

Gn 6:1-8. 9:6-17

Sermon

Illinois. Michigan. New York. Massachusetts. The rest of New England and the northeastern seaboard. Buffeted by snow. Buried in snow. Blitzed with a blizzard of snow. It is clear that God is venting his wrath and visiting his payback upon the blue states. If, at the last minute, the storm were to miraculously bypass Ohio, there are some of you….or a few of you….well, maybe two or three of you….who might actually believe that. And when the next storm misses us….by riding north of us or dipping south of us…. ...

1146. When I Grow Up

Ephesians 4:15

Sermon

James Merritt

A man took his young daughter to a carnival and she immediately ran over to a booth and asked for some cotton candy. As she got this huge ball of cotton candy that was almost as big as she was, her father looked down at her and said, "Honey, are you sure you can eat all of that?" She looked up at him and said, "Don't worry Daddy. I'm a lot bigger on the inside than I am on the outside." That story captures perfectly God's third purpose for your life. We are in the middle of a tremendous forty days that we ...

1147. Choosing

Joshua 24:1-27

Sermon

Argile Smith

Do you remember the generation gap that existed between you and your parents when you were a teenager? Do you sense the same kind of gap widening between you and your children? When we consider the story of Joshua in his old age calling on Israel to serve the Lord, we have to factor in the reality of a generation gap. It presents a challenge for people of different generations when they try to communicate with each other. Parents who grew up in the seventies and eighties regularly have difficulty talking ...

1148. The Right Connection

John 15:1-17

Sermon

James Merritt

It is amazing how valuable a vine can be. The vines, like the ones we saw here at Chateau Elan bring in $40 billion of business a year in the United States. Americans this past year bought 267 million cases and drank 800 million gallons of its fruit and that number increases every year. Wineries and vineyards are the second most popular tourist attraction in California after Disneyland. The United States is the largest retail wine market in the world and this industry employs 35,000 people. As important as ...

1149. Miscellaneous Laws

Deut 23:15–25:19

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Community Laws: Defining and Protecting the Community · These last chapters (23-25) of the central law code have a “flavor” of concern for a compassionate and caring community that takes seriously the claims of kinship and the needs of the weak and vulnerable. That community itself, however, needs clear definition and measures to protect its religious distinctiveness and purity. This need explains the presence, alongside laws that immediately appeal to us by their charitable nature, of other laws that ...

1150. Jesus Sends Out the Twelve

Matthew 10:1-42

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

10:1–4 Jesus called together his twelve disciples and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. The distinction between exorcism and healing suggests that they are two different functions. This is the first mention of the twelve disciples in Matthew. He assumes they are known to the reader. That there are twelve disciples follows from the fact that they represent the new Israel: the twelve tribes of Israel find their counterpart in the twelve disciples. ...

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