Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 101 to 125 of 4938 results

101. Heaven: One Way And One Way Only

John 14:1-6

Sermon

James Merritt

There are so many songs about heaven; so many thoughts about heaven. One song just asked the question, "How far is heaven?" The answer is that heaven can be as close as your heart or it can be an eternity away. Contrary to one world view that says that the only heaven there is, is the happiness that we experience here on earth, Jesus Christ definitely believed in a place called heaven. In the very passage that we are looking at today, He told his disciples - "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; ...

102. Time Out

John 12:1-11

Sermon

Robert Beringer

A woman who worked in a high level job for a major corporation experienced a grueling schedule and a lot of pressure. So when she was offered the opportunity to attend a stress reduction seminar, she quickly accepted. However, she soon realized the seminar might not be as helpful as she first thought. The instructor arrived late, out of breath, and announced, "In order to accommodate everyone's busy schedules, this five-day seminar will be speeded up and completed in two days!" In our study of turning ...

103. Playing One Hand

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sermon

Tom Garrison

In the beginning of any really significant human endeavor, be it a marriage or parenthood or a business venture, there is usually a high level of idealism and hope. We expect to do the thing we are beginning with great success. This was certainly true of Jesus' ministry. Who can read how he emerged out of Galilee saying, "The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, repent and believe the good news," and not sense the excitement and anticipation that was present in that act of beginning? And ...

104. The One Who Made His Cross

Drama

Production Notes "The One Who Made His Cross" may be presented at a worship service of the congregation, or it may be produced in an area of the church building where more elaborate staging is a possibility. In the second case, it may well be that the drama would be offered as a program rather than a worship segment. Characters may costume themselves in first-century attire. While costumes are not required, they will add to the effectiveness of the presentation. Appendix 1 provides a suggested stage ...

105. Should We Wash One Another's Feet?

John 13:31-38, John 13:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

A pastor named Kwanza Yu tells a beautiful story of the death of his father in Seoul, Korea. All six of Pastor Yu’s brothers and sisters were present for his father’s last hours. He says that all of them could feel the pain of his struggle as he tried to communicate with them. But their father had lost the ability to speak. Finally, says this pastor, their father motioned toward their oldest brother as if to say, “Get me a glass of water.” So the oldest son went over to the sink and filled a glass with ...

106. One Commandment, Slightly Used

John 13:31-38

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

We might consider Jesus’ words to His students (disciples) in the Upper Room as sort of a “Last Will and Testament,” a final summing up of all that He had taught them during His brief ministry among them. He begins to speak of His coming death not as a probability but as a certainty, and He begins to talk with new urgency as though the passing moments are infinitely precious and as though he wants to etch every word indelibly on the minds of each of them. And what does He say to them? “I give you a new ...

107. One Word Changed Everything

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

King Duncan

It is amazing that one word could change all eternity. One word. One simple word. What was that word? We'll come to that in a moment. First we must go to Caesarea Philippi where Jesus is asking his disciples one of the most familiar questions in all the Bible, "Who do people say that the Son of man is?" I doubt that Jesus was really all that interested in what the crowd thought about him. He knew the masses of people are quite fickle and easily led astray. There was a glaring example of this not too long ...

108. Many Parts, but of One Body

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Illustration

John R. Steward

"For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ." (v. 12) There was a man who had a dream one night that he had died. In his dream he found himself in a large room. The room had a very large banquet table filled with different kinds of food. There were people seated around the table but they were seated five feet away from the table. In his dream, the people were very hungry and wanted to eat but were unable to get out of ...

109. Membership Has Its Privileges

Acts 16:16-40

Sermon

Rodney Thomas Smothe

Our text today is one of those passages in the New Testament that is well known in the Christian community. The story of Paul and Silas and their dynamic escape from prison has for many years been a favorite among preachers. Many talented and gifted sermon crafters have taken the images of midnight, earthquake, and open doors and painted a picture in the hearts and minds of the faithful. The images of ridicule, imprisonment and deliverance become images of witness, prayer, and the power of God's ...

110. Only One Thing Is Needed

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

King Duncan

Once upon a time, many years ago, there lived a king who had a beautiful daughter. This princess had many offers of marriage, but she couldn’t make up her mind. A romantic girl, she wanted a man who would love her more than he loved anything else. Finally, she devised a way to test the love of her suitors. An announcement was made and sent throughout the kingdom that on a certain day, there would be a race. The winner of the race would marry the princess. The race was open to every man in the kingdom, ...

111. Love One Another (or Strike Up The Band)

John 13:31-38

Sermon

Lee Griess

A junior high music teacher had just organized a band in her school. The principal was so proud of the music teacher's efforts that without consulting her he decided that the band should give a concert for the entire school. The music teacher wasn't so sure her young musicians were ready to give a concert, so she tried to talk the principal out of holding the concert, to no avail. Just before the concert was ready to begin, as the music teacher stood on the podium, she leaned forward and whispered to her ...

112. If You Had But One Request

1 Kings 3:1-15

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, "Ask what I shall give you." And Solomon said, "Thou hast shown great and steadfast love to thy servant David my father, because he walked before thee in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward thee; and thou hast kept for him this great and steadfast love, and hast given him a son to sit on his throne this day. And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king in place of David my father, although I ...

113. The Little Miracle Before The Big One

Luke 22:47-53

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

If you were a Miracle-Worker, and you had one final miracle to perform before dying, what would you choose as a big, never-to-be-forgotten climax? Suppose you had already done such things as calm a storm at sea, multiply five loaves and two fishes into enough food to feed 5,000 people, walked on water, opened blind eyes, caused the dumb to speak, the lame to walk, and the deaf to hear, turned water into wine, and even raised the dead - now you are about to do one more miracle before you die - what would it ...

114. When the Sermon Turns Sour

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

William G. Carter

I want to let you in on an industry secret. Ready? Most preachers have a difficult time preaching in the congregations where they grew up. It is true for me. I was recently invited to preach in the church where I grew up. My mixed feelings about the invitation were justified. Before anybody heard a word I said, they remembered little Billy Carter, who made paper airplanes out of worship bulletins and dropped them from the balcony when nobody was looking. Even the newcomers who joined long after I moved ...

115. There Is No One Who Does Good: Version 1

Psalm 14:1-7

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Psalm 14 is almost identical to Psalm 53. They appear to have been transmitted separately, the former finding a place in Book I of the Psalter and the latter in Book II. The most obvious difference between them lies in the divine name. Psalm 14 uses the personal name “Yahweh” (rendered “the LORD” in the NIV), and Psalm 53 uses “God” (Hb. ʾelōhîm), as is customary in the Elohistic Psalter (Pss. 42–83). These psalms stand apart from the rest for their universal perspective, their universal condemnation of ...

116. Can You Hear It?

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Sermon

Charley Reeb

There is a monastery in Europe which was built in a most difficult location. To get to it, you must climb into a basket that is connected to a long rope and be pulled up over 500 feet. It is a long way down, and the only thing that keeps you from falling is a rope. So if you are afraid of heights, it is not a very pleasant ride. Years ago, two women were making their first visit to the monastery, and while riding in the basket, they noticed the rope was frayed and torn in places. One of the women nervously ...

117. Sympathizing With The One Talent Man

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

King Duncan

A number of years ago many church youth groups across the country became enchanted with the idea of kissing frogs. Now, parents, don't be alarmed. This wasn't anything like rock star Ozzie Osborne's stunt of biting heads off of bats. In fact, kissing frogs was one of the healthiest ideas to come along in a long time. The idea, of course, was based on the ancient fairy tale of a handsome prince who had been turned into an ugly frog by a mean witch. The only way he could be turned back into himself was if a ...

118. The Disciples' Grief Will Turn to Joy

John 16:17-33, John 16:5-16

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

The second farewell discourse runs most closely parallel to the first precisely where it is most properly a “farewell” (i.e., where it addresses directly the question of Jesus’ impending departure; cf. 13:33). Here, inevitably, is also where the differences between the two discourses become most noticeable. Whereas the first discourse was largely structured around a series of questions by various disciples, here the question-and-answer method seems to be consciously abandoned. The earlier discourse began ...

119. The Called Ones

Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

Joe Pennel

The Gospel lesson for today makes me want to fuss at Jesus. It makes me want to fuss at Jesus because the message of the text is so radical! It is radical to believe that people would actually leave their place of business to follow after a teacher who said, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." After Jesus had finished preaching a sermon in Capernaum, he took a stroll along the banks of the Sea of Galilee. As Jesus walked by the sea side, he noticed two brothers - Simon, who is called Peter, ...

120. Day One: a New Beginning

Genesis 1:1-5

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

Well I don't know about you, but I took down my Christmas tree on New Year's Day. I rallied the troops and my family and I did what we have come to call "de-Christmasing." The ornaments are removed from the tree, wrapped carefully, and placed in their boxes. The lights come off the tree and are placed under the basement stairs where they go. The angel on top of the tree, a gift from a member of my first parish, comes off last and is lovingly wrapped and placed in a box as well. Then comes the garland ...

121. If You Really Want to Be Number One

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

King Duncan

The politician was sitting at his campaign headquarters when the phone rang. He listened intently, and after a moment his face brightened. When he hung up, he immediately phoned his mother to tell her the good news. “Mom,” he shouted, “the results are in. I won the election!” “Honestly?” she asked. The politician’s smiled faded. “Aw, Mom, why bring that up at a time like this?” We all like to win, don’t we? We all want to be part of the crowd chanting, “We’re number one! We’re number one.” “Winning isn’t ...

122. Turn Out the Lights! The Party's Over!

Daniel 5:1-31

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Many of you sports fans will remember Dandy Don Meredith, former great quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, and later an announcer for Monday Night football. At that moment in a game when Don felt that one team was too far ahead for the other teach to catch, he would sing a little ditty with these words, "Turn out the Lights! The party’s over." Never was that song more appropriate than in the scene depicted in the fifth chapter of Daniel. Let me give you the historical setting. Old King Nebuchadnezzar, whom ...

123. The Turning Point

John 13:31-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

In 1977, a movie came out starring Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft called “The Turning Point.” In the movie, Deedee, a former ballerina, decides to leave the ballet to get married and raise children. Now fast forward –her best friend Emma, who stayed in her ballet career, invites Deedee’s daughter Emilia to join her ballet company. This sparks both pride for her daughter but envy, regret, jealousy, and nostalgia for Deedee. The movie follows Deedee’s painful coming to terms with her past decisions and ...

124. Only One Superpower

1 Chronicles 29:1-9

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

America is on a roll following her 221st birthday! She is the only national superpower. Though the Middle East is always fragile and Saddam Hussein bears watching, no war clouds can be seen on the horizon. The soaring stock market sets a new record every week or so, while inflation and unemployment remain low. New millionaires are being created at a breath-taking rate; one can only hope that some of them are Methodist tithers. Some responsible experts are predicting that we may actually see a balanced ...

125. God's Gift Is For All

Acts 11:1-18

Sermon

Rodney Thomas Smothe

"Jesus Loves Me This I Know, For The Bible Tells Me So." What ever happened to those words in our understanding of sharing God's gift with others? Our society today, much like the society in the time of Peter, has some very strong feelings regarding not only what is right and what is wrong, but who is right and who is wrong. Many of our religious crusades are rooted in a zealous interpretation of what we think the gospel says from our viewpoint. Sometimes in our zealousness we miss opportunities to hear ...

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