Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 101 to 125 of 4935 results

101. Yes, Virginia, There Is a Hell!

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

Today I want to talk with you about one of the hardest subjects in all the world to talk about as a pastor. In fact, experts in church growth tell pastors and church leaders to steer away from this topic because even church people don''t want to hear about it. If you don''t want to lose your congregation, they tell us, don''t talk about this particular topic. But we are duty-bound, we are under commission to talk about this subject because the Lord talked about it so very much in his life and his ministry. ...

102. The Box

Drama

Cynthia Mercati Prigge

Cast of Characters: First Person* Second Person(Female) Third Person* *These parts may be played by either a man or a woman Time: The Present Place: A street corner Setting: A large cardboard box with a false back stands in the center of the playing area. A sign reading MAIN STREET may be hung for effect. Neither costumes nor props are required. [The FIRST PERSON, alone and forlorn, stands inside the box. The SECOND PERSON enters L, and starts briskly across the stage.] FIRST PERSON: Ma'am! [The SECOND ...

103. Who Is Right

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

James Merritt

Two homes in one city, but in two totally different areas with two totally different residents. One home was situated in a very comfortable, gated neighborhood with a well-kept yard with flowers around the mailbox and a mat at the front of the door that said, “Welcome” in soft navy letters. Inside that home lives a minister with his family. At the front of the house are bay windows where the pastor kneels to pray every morning hoping that his neighbors will see him, because he wants to be a witness. The ...

104. Peter Speaks to the Onlookers

Acts 3:11-26

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

Luke’s report of Peter’s speech in Solomon’s Colonnade very likely contains a genuine recollection of what was actually said on this occasion. But in any case we may regard it as typical of what was generally said at this time by Christians in their approach to Jews. The speech exhibits a more developed Christology than that of the Pentecost address—or at least the Christology is expressed in far richer terms, though these are still distinctively Jewish and of the earliest period of the church. Here Peter ...

105. John and Frank

Matthew 11:2-11

Sermon

John Jamison

Have you ever had doubts about what you believe? I mean really had doubts? You were so certain of everything, but over time questions started arising. Or maybe something happened that shook you really hard, and you began to wonder if all that you believed in was real? Can you relate to that at all? That’s where we find John in today’s scripture. He had spent so many years being the powerful preacher, the one proclaiming his faith that everything was about to change for the better. His beliefs had given him ...

106. No Excuse

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

But the leader of the synagogue, indignant be- cause Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” Luke 13:14 When my brother, Brian’s kids were little, he used to coach football. Well, coaching may be too strong a word. These were nine and ten-year-olds and Brian used to say that what the league called coaching was really more like herding cats. The team practiced twice a week ...

107. Shake It Off!

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

Adrenaline pulsed through our bodies as we nervously took our positions in the field. It was an important playoff game, and everyone was feeling the pressure. The second baseman dropped a routine fly in the bottom of the seventh, allowing three runs to score which tied the game. In the third inning the right fielder had uncharacteristically overrun a pop-up after losing it in the sun, permitting the first run. Now it was the bottom of the eight inning, the score tied, runners on first and third with two ...

108. Three Words America Needs to Hear

Acts 24:1-27

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

I read about a woman who had lived out West somewhere, who looked out her window one day and saw a dead burro, on the sidewalk in front of her house. So she called the city sanitation department and they said they would come. They sent some men out to dispose of this dead burro, but when they got there they found that the woman had changed her mind. She didn't want them to cart it off. Instead, she wanted them to take it upstairs and put it in her bathtub. Well, they were mystified, but she said, "I''ll ...

109. On Doing Beautiful Things

Mark 14:1-11

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

That was a beautiful thing which was done in 1989 by the Boy Scouts from Troop 4, sponsored by First United Methodist Church of Ann Arbor, and from Troop 61, sponsored by Domino’s Pizza. They gave money to help the owner of the taxicab which was damaged by rioters celebrating Michigan’s NCAA Basketball championship. (Ann Arbor News, April 19, 1989, p. 1) That was a beautiful thing to do...and I hope that somebody else sees fit to reimburse the poor fellow for the rest of the repair bill for the incident, ...

110. Chosen as Witnesses

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. By his great power we have been born anew to a living hope through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead ..." "Thanks be to God who gives us the victory ..." "The Lord God omnipotent reigns and he shall reign for ever and ever. Hallelujah!" It is a glorious day. It is a day which celebrates the pivotal experience in the Christian faith. It is the day on which we celebrate the power of the Living God, not only to give life, but to sustain it ...

111. The Ten Commandments

Deuteronomy 5:1-33

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Introduction to Israel’s Covenantal Constitution: The Decalogue · Here opens Moses’ second discourse (chs. 5–26), the central section of the whole book. It is subdivided into two main parts. Chapters 5–11 are a broad exhortation to covenant loyalty and obedience, following up and amplifying the theocratic and covenantal challenge set forth in chapter 4. Chapters 12–26, with their subheading in 12:1, are more detailed legislation, much of which renews, expands, and sometimes modifies laws already given in ...

112. The Bridge

John 1:1-18, Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7, Luke 1:26-38, Genesis 3:1-24

Drama

H. J. Hizer

Narrator: Opening: Genesis 3:8-15 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him "Where are you?" And he said "I heard the sound of thee in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself." He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat ...

113. Use It or Lose It

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

James Merritt

(Following video clip of Brewster's millions) That indeed is a great and unique story—having to spend $30 million in 30 days in order to get $300 million. Now can you imagine having to spend $30 million in 30 days? I know most men are sitting there thinking to themselves: For my wife that would be no problem. At first you may think that this is just pure Hollywood. But, quite frankly, that clip is closer to reality than you think. We all have gifts from God that are far more valuable than $30 million or $ ...

114. Step Four - Courage

Mt 26:69-75 · Acts 9:1-9 · Ps 139:1-6

Sermon

John A. Terry

Step four: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. The psalmist talks of the God before whom such a searching and fearless moral inventory is both possible and necessary. Ours is a God who, in traditional language, is omniscience and omnipresent, a God who knows all and is everywhere. This Psalm is sometimes called the Psalm of the unavoidable God. We believe that before our God there are no secret thoughts or actions. All is known by our God. I remember hearing a lecture one time where ...

115. The Opportunity of a Lifetime

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

James Merritt

Country singer Darryl Worley once wrote a song about meeting the girl of his dreams and proposing to her. I couldn't help but think of my wife Teresa and my feelings for her when I listened to the song it goes like this: Big brown eyes, soft red lips I'm thinkin' I could get use to this This could be the opportunity of a lifetime My heart melts when you whisper my name I've got a feeling if you're feeling the same This could be the opportunity of a lifetime We've got a chance at real true love We'd have to ...

116. The Man in the Mirror

2 Samuel 12:1-31

Sermon

James Merritt

I will never forget the first time I was able to actually go to see the Master's golf tournament in person. I wanted to follow a young phenom by the name of Tiger Woods. I was right behind him on the seventeenth tee box to see him rip one of those majestic drives. In the split second that he hit the ball, one man in the crowd yelled at the top of his lungs - "You 'Da Man." Every time you go to a tournament you are going to hear someone yell that at Tiger Woods. I don't know how that phrase got its origin, ...

117. Eating in the Echoing Hall

2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33

Sermon

Stan Purdum

Here's a question for you: In considering your life to this point, what things, if anything, do you regret? Regret, of course, is a feeling of disappointment or distress about something you wish could be different, and in reality, not many of us get through life without a few regrets. As Frank Sinatra crooned in his song "My Way": "Regrets? I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention." And that's likely how it is with many of our regrets — we might wish that a certain thing had turned out ...

118. Planting Your Feet

Psalm 32:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

Rolling Stone Magazine recently made a list of who they considered to be the greatest, most prolific songwriters of all time. I am going to give you the top nine in their list in reverse order and see if you can guess who was #1. #9 – Elton John #8 – Joni Mitchell #7 – Paul Simon #6 – Mick Jagger #5 - Neil Young #4 - Paul McCarty #3 - Bruce Springsteen #2 - John Lennon Who wants to guess who they said was the #1 songwriter of all time? #1 – Bob Dylan I really have no qualms with that list except for the ...

119. There Could Be, Couldn't There?

Jeremiah 2:1-3:5

Sermon

John W. Wurster

Jeremiah tells us that there was a time and a place when God was upset, when the heavens were shocked, and appalled, and utterly desolate (2:12). It sounds like it was a time and place when God was weeping, a time and a place when God hurt. Can you believe that there could be such a time, such a place, such a God? In this time and place God was upset because the people had strayed. God’s very own people had turned away. They had gone after worthless things (2:5). Things that seemed important, but really ...

120. A Call to Build the House of the Lord

Haggai 1:1-15

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

August: The overlaps between Haggai’s various sayings in verses 2–11, with their repeated resumptive beginnings describing them as Yahweh’s words, suggest that these are sayings Haggai delivered on different occasions and that the narrator has brought them together into a coherent longer account of Haggai’ s challenge concerning the need to take up the task of building the temple. The account thus brings together the fact that the people are living in restored homes when Yahweh is not and the fact that ...

121. Unlimited Forgiveness

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Herchel H. Sheets

I don’t know how much arithmetic Simon Peter knew. But if he did not understand the answer Jesus gave to his question about how many times a person should forgive one who has wronged him, it was not because he was deficient in mathematics, but because he was short on love. In asking the question, Peter must have known that he was speaking for a lot of other people. Injuries of one kind or another are inflicted upon every person at times, and it is not unusual for one to experience injury at the hand of the ...

122. Sing A New Song

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Erskine White

What are the seven deadliest words in the whole history of the Christian church? Not the Seven Deadly Sins, mind you, I'm asking about words. Which seven words have been the most destructive to Christian faith, and have set the church back most consistently over the years? What are those seven words? They are: "We've never done it that way before." That single sentence has shot down more new ideas and murdered more enthusiasm in cold blood than any other words ever spoken: "No, that's a terrible idea and ...

123. The Holy Trinity

Deuteronomy 4:32-40

Sermon

An idea keeps echoing through the Book of Deuteronomy: "Remember!" "Beware, lest you forget." The writer of Deuteronomy knew it isn't always easy to "remember," but also recognized its importance, so he kept emphasizing it. He knew how vital it is to recall our origins, to be aware of where we came from, to remember how we got where we are, and to keep, consciously, before us the recognition of vital things that allowed us to get here. J. Wallace Hamilton tells of a sensitive Jew who wrote a book called, " ...

124. The Repentant Heart

2 Samuel 12:1-31

Sermon

Timothy Smith

Mighty King David acted on his impulses when he saw Bathsheba bathing in the afternoon sun. David committed a sin. David had not given any thought to the consequences of his sin. He thought he could get away with anything. After all, he was the king. David knew right from wrong ” that was why he went to such lengths to cover up his sin. As you will recall, David had Bathsheba's husband Uriah killed in battle. After a period of mourning David took Bathsheba as his wife. David hoped that he could put the ...

125. Grace in the Midst of Guilt and Shame

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

At the beginning of his ministry Jesus had a chance to impress the people he grew up with. According to Luke, chapter 4, Jesus was invited to stand up and read the Bible in his hometown synagogue of Nazareth. And why not? He was the latest sensation. His reputation as a teacher was starting to get around. He was the local kid who had made good. There must have been smiles and gentle ribbing as Jesus got up to read the Scriptures on that Saturday morning a long time ago. "Remember when he was just a child, ...

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