Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1201 to 1225 of 4977 results

1201. No Doubt about It

John 20:24-29

Sermon

James Merritt

... , I took it upon myself to be his personal Billy Graham and show him the light and bring him to God. I walked in, quite frankly, full of pride, thinking that the conversation wouldn't last too long until he would be on his knees, weeping, giving his heart ... over, this seasoned veteran skeptic, had me so confused that when I walked out of his office, I wasn't even sure there was a God. Quite frankly, if I had walked into his office, the way I walked out, I might have walked out the way I walked in. He asked me ...

1202. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Luke 2:8-12

Sermon

James Merritt

... He would say, "Sand". For a while, they would cut the bags open and they would find nothing but sand. Every day for three years that boy would ride that bike to the Mexican border, give the same answer and they would let him through. After three years, Juan quit showing up and one of the border guards met him at a cantina in Mexico. He walked up to him and said, "Juan, something is driving me crazy. I know for three years you were smuggling something across the border and I thought about it for three years ...

1203. Broken Pieces

Matthew 1:3, 5, 6

Sermon

James Merritt

... David, fully human, born of a virgin and thus the sinless Savior of the world. Most of the names in either list, quite frankly, are just a bunch of no names. To us they are nobodies - people we have never heard of. Closer examination reveals a ... of dirty laundry. You would think the lineage of Jesus would be a roll-call of the rich, the famous, the elite and the admired, but quite frankly some of it reads more like a police line-up and the inmates at the county jail. The first thing that would have caught the ...

1204. Don’t Be a Hypocrite

Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

James Merritt

... on a Sunday for what he did on Saturday and is going to do it again on Monday."[[2]] Many, many people today quite frankly connect ministers and pastors with hypocrisy, so it is nothing new. The word that Jesus used for hypocrisy is the Greek word ... time that really, really got me to thinking. He said there are four phrases that we use in our praying that we ought to quit using. Think about this. He said instead of saying, "Forgive me." We ought to put, "Thank You for forgiving me." Instead of saying, "Bless ...

1205. Like a Good Neighbor – Jesus Is There

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

James Merritt

... his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.'" (v.30) The Jericho road is a 17 mile very narrow dangerous winding road that is bordered by steep cliffs on one side, and barren hills on the other side. Even to this day, if it has rained quite a bit the road is impassable. As a matter of fact, the road was so dangerous that in those days it was called "the way of blood." But it was dangerous for another reason. Bible scholars estimate that there were at least 12,000 thieves in that Judean ...

1206. RSVP—By Invitation Only

Luke 14:15-24

Sermon

James Merritt

... great news. When God invites you to salvation He doesn't invite you to a funeral, He invites you to a feast. One of the greatest myths we have to battle with non-Christians, is the belief that somehow for Christianity faith and fun are mutually exclusive. Quite frankly, a lot of Christians give that impression. The way some of you worship the expressions on your face look as if you are getting ready for a gall bladder surgery. I know some church members who if they were to smile one time I believe their ...

1207. The King and His Castle

Matthew 16:13-18

Sermon

James Merritt

... one sense they are right. Jesus has called the church out; He is sending the church out; and one day He will take the church out. Quite frankly, the church is not on the way out; it's on the way up. But the truth is, if you're going to be ... ago. When God builds a house for His people, it will last forever. But when we try to build something for God it doesn't last quite that long. King David thought the best thing he could do to honor God was to build a magnificent temple that would stand forever. But he ...

1208. Houston We Have a Problem

Nehemiah 1:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... are broken down. Maybe the walls of your family are broken down. Nehemiah is the expert in rebuilding broken down walls. Quite frankly, even though God has given us an incredible opportunity on this piece of property we are standing on today, I ... did it to remind himself of what God had said and to remind himself that God does what God says He will do. Nehemiah couldn't just quit his job and move as you are going to see. He needed three things from the king in order to rebuild the walls. He needed the king' ...

1209. Finish the Drill

Nehemiah 4:1-23

Sermon

James Merritt

... the end brings me out wrong, ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference." The only way the critic ever wins is if you quit. The devil's two favorite words are these, "Give up." Is the devil tempting you right now to give up? To give up on your marriage ... just to build a church for His glory, but an opportunity for Him to build us for His glory. I warn you, it is easier to quit than commit. It is easier to throw in the towel than to stay in the game, but God has called us to finish the drill. I ...

1210. Jesus, The One And Only

Philippians 2:5-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... s creative powers. Time, the great destroyer, is powerless to extinguish this sacred flame; time can neither exhaust its strength nor put a limit to its range. This is it which strikes me most; I have often thought of it. This it is which proves to me quite convincingly the Divinity of Jesus Christ. [1] What Napoleon so eloquently said, I will simply say: There never has been, there is not today, and there never will be, anyone like Jesus. I began to think months ago about my last sermon from this pulpit to ...

1211. I’m Movin’ On

Philippians 3:12-14

Sermon

James Merritt

... lot about determination, perseverance and endurance. Our generation has the attitude that when the boss gets unreasonable you quit; when the subjects get too difficult, you just drop out of the class; when the marriage gets unbearable, you simply get a divorce. Well, if ... you're going to move on, you can't quit. Historians now concede that Abraham Lincoln was one of the two or three greatest presidents in our history. Let me tell you ...

1212. Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow

Proverbs 16:1, 9, Philippians 3:12-15

Sermon

James Merritt

... stage there in his left hand was that polished brass letter "V." May I just say this very quickly. You will tend to discount everything I am saying in this message if you are a senior adult or older in life. I beg you never ever quit dreaming and never ever quit setting goals. Caleb was 85 years of age when he said, "I want that mountain." Colonel Sanders discovered "finger-licking good" chicken at 70. Ray Kroc introduced the "Big Mac" after he was 70 years of age. Casey Stengle was the Manager of the New ...

1213. Jealousy: Cancer of the Heart

Proverbs 27:4

Sermon

James Merritt

... for the button that would bring the night nurse running, but he couldn't find it. The other man could have helped him, but he didn't make a move, he just watched. The coughing racked the darkness—on and on—choked the man off and then stopped. The man quit breathing and died while the other man just continued to stare at the ceiling. The next morning the day nurse came in with water for their baths and found the other man dead. They took away his body and as soon as they came back, the man asked if he ...

1214. Stopping Pettiness

Mark 9:38-41

Illustration

Jerry Goebel

... . This is the harvest time and we need laborers. Let's be one and pray for more! 2. Quit defending the faith and take the offense in outreach. Rest with Gamaliel, the wise Pharisee who trained Saul. In Acts 5:38 he said that God doesn't need us to defend ... his name; he is quite capable of that himself. If someone's work is of God, it will continue. If not, it will cease. 3. Recognize the signs of pettiness ...

1215. Bethlehem: Where Extremes Meet

Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)

Sermon

Gary L. Carver

... enters our lives, we will have to change and be judged by him and live in a different way. There is in each one of us, I think, something akin to both the heart of the shepherds and the heart of King Herod. C. S. Lewis acknowledges this quite openly in his spiritual autobiography. On the one hand, he traces how all through his life he thirsted after the Ultimate. He wanted to know God, to learn the secret of life, to possess that supernatural joy that comes from being at one with the Father. Yet, when the ...

1216. Prophet or Profit?

Luke 4:14-21

Sermon

Gary L. Carver

... little community, was often seen in the late hours of the night in some of the darker places of our little town. The rumor circulating over breakfast every morning at the city cafe, was that Mae June had a male companion. Mae June had a boyfriend. They were seen quite often, not only at night, but in the daytime and on the streets of the little city. Then came the night that Mae June came to the church where I served as pastor. She and her male companion came and sat down near the front. The church had what ...

1217. The Bible: Head and Heart

Luke 4:21-30

Sermon

Gary L. Carver

... and we know it to be true, but to hear it with our hearts, believe it, and do it, that is something quite different. The longest journey you will ever make will be the journey from your head to your heart. We've read the Bible over and over again and we know ... it in our heads, but to know it in our hearts is quite another thing entirely. We know that men and women ought to be treated equally in the work place because the Bible says so. But we say, " ...

1218. Recognizing His Disciples

John 13:31-35

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... an ideal. But is that what Christ had in mind? We can talk back in well-phrased rationalizations and indicate Jesus really did not mean what he said in the strictest sense. It is one of those teachings when we say, "He meant well," but the reality is quite different. Therefore, we only attempt to live up to this lofty pattern of living. In the profane and mundane ways of the world, we are tempted to scale back the highest and best virtue yet known to humankind. We do not ignore it really. We do place it ...

1219. A New Continuing

John 14:8-17, 25-27

Sermon

David R. Cartwright

... John's Pentecost story. In John's Gospel, Jesus promises a Pentecostal experience to his disciples. In the part of the lesson we heard this morning, the disciples have just learned that Jesus is going away. He's returning to the Father. Upon hearing this, they are quite distraught. Questions and thoughts race through their minds. Questions and thoughts like these: "How are we ever going to get along without him? What are we going to do? We're not ready for this. We're not up to this. You can't mean what you ...

1220. What Happens When You're Not Prepared for What Happens

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

David R. Cartwright

... is, Jesus has just arrived by boat on the Sea of Galilee. No sooner has Jesus stepped ashore than he's met with this man possessed by demons. By the time Jesus meets him, the man has been ill for a very long time. From all signs, the man was quite a case. The man had come to the point of no longer being able to live like a normal person in the village. For one thing, he lived in a graveyard, and ran around naked, yelling and screaming. To protect him from himself, and to protect the villagers from what ...

1221. Family Ties and Good-byes

Luke 12:49-56

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... itinerate preacher? Possibly so. Wasn't the oldest son supposed to take care of the family when the father died? Yes, he was. Why didn't Jesus fulfill his duty as the oldest son? Good question. Was there jealousy in the family because of Jesus' popularity? Quite possibly. What we know is that there was conflict in Jesus' family and the conflict was about who he was and what he was teaching. On another occasion, Jesus was told that his mother and brothers and sisters were present in a crowd that had gathered ...

1222. Gratitude: A State of Mind

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

... to do enough for God — impossible! We have already established that these lepers were in an unapproachable position. Here are these men living shut-out lives. But we have good news. The good news is that although the Levitical Law says one thing, Jesus says something quite different. What the law declares out of bounds, Jesus declares within bounds. When the law passes on the other side, Jesus makes it a point to make contact and listen. Jesus came to show us a better way to live life. He went this way on ...

1223. Putting Eternity to the Test

Luke 20:27-38

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

... of the Sadducees is admit that death is inevitable. You see, the Sadducees, and many people today are living for death. In Jesus' day, there were no fancy funeral parlors. The body was anointed, if the family had the money, but generally death was quite stark and quite painful. There were no hospitals where people went to die. There was no special make-up to make the dead look like they were only sleeping. Death was stark and it was unavoidable. Death and questions about it were right out in the open ...

1224. The Prodigal Father

Romans 8:14-17

Sermon

John Jamison

... "Grab the boy, Charlie, there's gonna be a whoppin' today!" It was the perfect ending to the perfectly bad situation, with the perfect lesson to be learned in the process, because they all knew exactly what was going to happen. And the father knew as well. The law was quite clear on this kind of thing. He really had no choice in the matter. The older brother, the one who had stayed home and minded his p's and q's, also knew the law, and on his way out of the house grabbed the big bullwhip hanging by the ...

1225. Itchy Ears

2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

Sermon

Donna Schaper

As usual, the epistle is a little more graphic than we can quite grasp. Itchy ears: what a concept just in physical terms. Experience it for a minute. You itch, you scratch, you sort of know you shouldn't scratch because it will ... and not just the bad. All and each have fallen short of the glory of God. We know we are in the middle and the muddle of disappointing our maker quite frequently. We don't distort the evidence to make it fit our self-perceptions. We let our ears itch and find our way back to God.

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