Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1226 to 1250 of 4957 results

1226. For Those in Church: Joy and Service

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... , and whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (Matthew 23:12). As the Christian judges things, not keeping the religious rules or showing off your piety, but serving your fellow humans is real greatness. The world may claim that greatness is in commanding others to do things for us, but we claim it is in serving other people. Instinctively the world has accepted these standards. The world will respect, admire, and even fear the person with power - but it will love the person who serves. Ask yourself who ...

1227. While We Watch for the Coming

Matthew 24:1-35

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... church. There are always those who use Christianity to promote themselves and build their own little kingdom, rather than God’s kingdom. There are always those who teach their own version of the truth - spread their own ideas - claim they have a monopoly on God’s grace. Jesus says beware of those who claim to be the Messiah - who point to themselves rather than to God. The real test is to ask, "Is that person like Christ?" The effect of these false leaders is eventual dissension in the church and bigots ...

1228. The Time of Our Visitation

Sermon

Leonard Mann

... even unto death; he has identified himself completely with us, even to taking our own sins upon himself; he has entered into all we can ever feel, and no need of ours is ever beyond his skill. He has come to this world and bought it with his blood, laid claim to it by his love; and he is not going to surrender his world to the greedy, or the mighty, or the power-mad, or the vain, or to any sensual and licentious animal. With compassionate eyes he is pleading; with wounded hands he is beckoning; and he calls ...

1229. He Came to His Senses

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Jon L. Joyce

... his relationship to his father’s household. He tried to escape that, but found his life ending up in a pig pen (imagine the horror of that to a first century Jew) when the relationship was broken. The son came home to his father’s household claiming to be only what he is - a lonely, meaningless man outside of that relationship. Such a sermon could include discussion of one’s self-image as well. Surely, it would include reflection upon the father’s household, as well as the Father, which permits a ...

1230. Thorns and Roses

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... When life delivers a problem or pain, force it to pay dividends. If life gives you a thorn that you and God can't remove, make it produce a rose. The minister Bruce Larson states this principle as follows: "In every disaster, God has a gift for you. Claim it." In chapter twelve of Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, he illustrates this truth in his own life. In verse 7 he tells us: "A Thorn Was Given Me..." What was this thorn? We don't know. It was some very painful, chronic affliction. Sometimes Paul ...

1231. The Level Ground Beneath The Cross

Romans 3:21-31, Romans 3:9-20

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... Cross. My main mission as a Christian minister is to introduce people to Jesus Christ, their crucified Savior, and to help them claim him by faith as Lord, so that they can experience abundant life in this world and eternal life in the next. Therefore, ... chances of going to hell without a Savior are the same as that of the worst drug dealer in New York City. But if by faith I claim Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord, my chances of going to heaven are the same as that of Billy Graham and the Pope. The ground ...

1232. Our Unmanageable God (The Second Commandment)

Exodus 20:1-21, Ephesians 3:14-21

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... first is this: DON'T LET A SYMBOL OF GOD BECOME A SUBSTITUTE FOR GOD. Let's think about the Bible for a moment. At this point in our history, the United Methodist Church needs to take the Holy Scriptures more seriously. I do not agree with those who claim that scripture was tainted by the culture in which it was written or by the maleness of most of its authors. I am mortified by the hatchet job done on our Bible by the widely publicized Jesus Seminar. This is a group of about forty liberal Bible scholars ...

1233. Worthy Is The Lamb

1 Timothy 2:1-15

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... . The devil has no real problem if the church feeds the hungry, as long as we never mention Jesus. But it drives the devil crazy for us to talk about Jesus Christ, God's Son, dying on a cross for the sins of humanity. Some church leaders claim we ought to drop our talk of the cross and get on with a vision more palatable to modern, rational, secular humanity. They urge us to get rid of those unpleasant associations with death, suffering, and execution. A leading united Methodist pastor in Los Angeles said ...

1234. "Hands Off!"

Exodus 20:1-21, Luke 19:11-27

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... , we must be honest so that we can respect the persons we see daily in the mirror. There are at least a hundred ways to steal, but only one way to be honest. One form of stealing is the submission of fraudulent insurance claims. One estimate is that seventy-five percent of all insurance claims are at least partially fraudulent. How hard it is when reporting storm damage to one's home not to include items that were not really storm related. There are at least a hundred ways to steal, but only one way to be ...

1235. Balaam and His Talking Donkey

Numbers 22:21-41

Sermon

Don Yocom

... There is always someone around to mislead us. There’s one radio preacher now who teaches BRITISH ISRAELISM. It’s the notion that the ten alleged lost tribes of Israel traveled to the British Isles, and we who are of British ancestry can claim to be their descendants, the chosen people of God, thereby bypassing Christ. John the Baptist said, "Repent!" When his critics pointed out that they were descendants of Abraham, John told them that wasn’t enough. God could produce children of Abraham from desert ...

1236. Chapter V

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

... base our systems of values; on who, or to whom, we should look for guidance in determining our lifestyles; what persons ought to stand highest on our list of human beings who matter to us most and who ought to have a high priority within, and claim on, our lives. To "honor" a parent, in the sense this "word" envisions it, is a far-reaching matter. Its implications are tremendous for those who take it seriously. The fact that God gave such a Commandment rests upon at least three basic assumptions. The first ...

1237. Let the Son Shine in

1 John 1:5--2:14

Sermon

Michael J. Anton

... the Christian Church for Christian worship. Perhaps so. But there is an important question yet to ask. How do you measure your faith? How do you test your relationship with God? If a person who is not a member of the Family asks you to produce the evidence for your claim to be part of the Family, what do you offer? What John gives us in his first letter is a test, a means of measuring our fellowship with God. We don’t really care too much for exams when it comes to our faith. We shy away from the subject ...

1238. DOCTOR OF THE LAW

Luke 5:17; Acts 5:34

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... belonged to God, but not in a priestly way. They had nothing to do with worship; their dress was the same as that of the other Hebrews; they did not eat of the sacrificial meat; and, although they did make up a caste, they made no claim to belonging to the blood of Aaron nor the tribe of Levi. In the beginning they were simply the "scribes," but as they devoted themselves more and more to the study of religious questions, they began to be differentiated from the scribes; they felt themselves, and perhaps ...

1239. Parents, Tend Those Lambs!

John 21:15-25

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... , but then the preacher went on: 'Wait a minute,' he said. 'I know who you are. The family resemblance is unmistakable. You are a child of God. ' with that, he patted me on the shoulder and added, "That's quite an inheritance. Go and claim it.” The man in the diner then said to Dr. Craddock: "That one statement literally changed my life." He explained that his name was Ben Hooper, and he had twice been elected governor of Tennessee. Parents, our deepest responsibility is to help that child discover ...

1240. The Kingdom of God Is a Party

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... that you can almost always describe these churches as white or black? How desperately we need more churches that cannot be typed racially. How much more powerful our witness would be if we were more diverse, in terms of racial and socio-economic make-up. We Christians claim that all persons can find unity in Christ. But the world is skeptical. They say, "Show us." And we have a hard time showing them. For example, if you work at a bank and a new vice president is brought to Memphis, invite him or her to ...

1241. Thy Kingdom Come

Luke 17:20-37

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... of bread at the grocery store that I do. If we earn over $100,000 annually from a business that pays some of its full-time employees $11,000 annually, the Lord is going to call us to account one day. He is going to ask this: "If you claimed to believe in the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God, why were you willing to live comfortably while your brother and sister in the same business were barely surviving?" The spirit of the Kingdom of God is better reflected in a statement in the will of our ...

1242. Judgement Day Is Coming

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

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance." God will never allow someone to be condemned to hell unjustly or undeservedly. And God gives to most people many chances to repent of sin and claim Jesus Christ as Lord. HERE IS A THIRD TRUTH: ONLY CHRIST AND HIS ANGELS ARE AUTHORIZED TO JUDGE. No person is authorized to compose a list of those who are going to hell. It is perfectly proper to say out of love, "If you reject the gracious ...

1243. The Trinity

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Brett Blair

... preach doctrinal sermons. They are boring he asserts and people do not understand or relate to them. Further, he claimed, I am a preacher and not a theologian. I get down do the practical issues and simply preach Christ ... think about God. Well, shouts one person, I don’t believe In God. That then is your theology. I would also take issue with him when he claims that he does not preach theology but gets down to practical issues. In my thinking there is no difference in good theology and good practice. Good, ...

1244. Getting on the Active List

John 1:35-42

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... has influence with some people. My big question today is this--Are you using your influence for Jesus Christ? Are you commending him openly, by word and deed, when you have opportunities? Have you ever introduced another person to Jesus Christ, and helped him or her claim Christ as Savior and Lord? If not, why not? Anyone who finds Jesus Christ to be the answer to his or her deepest needs will find it difficult to keep that discovery a secret. I say difficult, not impossible. The main reason that the United ...

1245. The Wolf and the Lamb Inside Us

Isaiah 11:1-16

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... across the country. It is the opposite of the gaudy and tacky style that is popular in many places. The single candle in the window is beautiful in its simplicity. It declares that in this home and in these hearts, Jesus Christ comes first. Anytime a person claims Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, he or she resembles that single candle, a sentinel for the Kingdom of God, a clear sign to the world that one day Jesus will return in glory. Then the wolf and the lamb will lie down together. "Every knee shall ...

1246. The Mission of Christ Church

Nehemiah 6:1-14

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... about Chris: "Everybody loved him, but ultimately that wasn't enough, because he didn't love himself. " How can we love ourselves with all our imperfections until we first know that God loves us? So much that he provided a way to cleanse us from all sin and to claim us as His children for all eternity. That's what God has done through Jesus. And we have the privilege of sharing that good news with people and helping them receive it by faith. The most important task that all of us have is to share the good ...

1247. The Burden Bearing Christ

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Brett Blair

... unexplained grace. He walked over to her, and she threw her arms around him and embraced him. Jimmy’s little rebellious heart testifies to the rebellion and indifference of all of God’s children. My friends, we are all blinded to sin. None are guiltless And for those who claim that they can see, then one day you will be held responsible for what it is that you say you see. There is not one of us this morning who does not need to plead mercy before Christ for the great burden that we have placed upon Him ...

1248. Jesus and Judgment

Romans 2:11-16

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... still casts its glorious shadow across all the centuries, past and future, advertising the most significant choice of our lives. Jesus will either be for you a Savior or Judge. He wants to be your Savior, but the choice is yours. If you don't claim him as Savior, he will be your judge. Recently, after the movie "Titanic" won all of those academy awards, I was thinking about that awful tragedy of 1912 that still grips our imaginations. Just suppose that the day before that ship departed from its British ...

1249. All You Need To Know About Heaven

John 14:5-14, John 14:1-4

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... or hopelessly sentimental, tell that person this: Only when I have my long-term future secured can I live fully in the present. If I don't know my final destination, I’ll be mighty confused along the way. The most significant things we can do on earth are to claim Christ as Lord, share him with others, and try to make this world look more like heaven. But we must remember all the while that this world is going to go up in flames one day. So, even a Swiss bank is not a safe place to stash your valuables ...

1250. How to Fix the Past

1 John 1:5--2:14

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... ’m here to turn myself in.” Me, too, Dennis, me too. When I first turned to God in repentance, he saved my soul, and began to change my values. But I still find the old Bill expressing his old sin-nature again, “Lord, I must make another claim on your forgiveness, through the Christ who died for me.” The Bible assures us that if we confess, he will forgive. Corrie Ten Boom, the late great Danish Christian, used to say that when we confess our sins, God casts them into the ocean, gone forever. Corrie ...

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