Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1251 to 1275 of 2332 results

1251. Where Can I Be Safe?

Psalm 46:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... THING. Fear keeps us from living life to the fullest. It keeps us from pursuing our dreams. Fear causes us to settle for second best in life. I was reading recently about a pair of dice which are enshrined on a velvet pillow under glass in the Las Vegas Desert Inn. It seems that back in 1950 an anonymous sailor made twenty-seven straight wins with the dice at a game of craps. Now some of our more worldly people will have to tell the rest of us exactly what that means, but according to the report I read ...

1252. The Young And The Restless

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... change in our lives if there are people surrounding us with love. Don't you wonder how Sarah, Abraham's wife, dealt with the drastic change God and Abraham subjected her to? To move from the security of a great walled city, to become nomads in the desert, to leave the familiar comfort of family and friends--that required both faith and resilience. If you read the rest of the story in Genesis, you will discover that Abraham was not an ideal husband. He put Sarah at risk more than once. Still, it is obvious ...

1253. All My Children

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Frank Lyman

... laws, but quite another to change human hearts. When it comes to changing hearts, you won't find a better example than John the Baptist. He prepared the way for Jesus, but his techniques and his appearance were peculiar. His home was in the Judean desert. His diet of locusts and honey was not featured in "Gourmet Magazine," and his attire of camel's hair never earned him mention in "GQ." His strange demeanor underlined his brazen message. He called the esteemed religious leaders of his time "a brood of ...

1254. The Servant-king

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Angela Akers

... here? "My love for you knows no end. You are precious to me, so precious that no sacrifice is too great for you." As you picture Jesus kneeling in front of his disciples, remember this: He knew that within a matter of hours, all of these men would desert him. At his hour of greatest need, they would fail him. Judas was already plotting against him. Peter would soon deny him. What did Jesus think he was doing? That's easy. He was showing them "the full extent of His love." In this moment, Jesus is giving ...

1255. Memorial Day

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Angela Akers

... are expected to be willing to do the same for others. This kind of love is not motivated by our emotions. It does not come naturally. It is a radical choice. Secretary of State Colin Powell tells in his autobiography of an incident during Operation Desert Storm that deeply affected him. Newscaster Sam Donaldson was interviewing a young, African-American private. "How do you think the battle will go? Are you afraid?" The private replied, "We'll do okay . . . I'm not afraid because I'm with my family." As he ...

1256. Why Did I Do That?

Romans 7:7-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... learned to ignore the chickens. Weeden Scott's father argued that you "couldn't cure a chicken killer," but Weeden challenged him and they agreed to lock White Fang in with the chickens all afternoon. Listen as Jack London describes the scene: "Locked in the yard and there deserted by the master, White Fang lay down and went to sleep. Once he got up and walked over to the trough for a drink of water. The chickens he calmly ignored. So far as he was concerned they did not exist. At four o'clock he executed a ...

1257. Set Free Through Forgiveness!

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... the key hindrances to peace in the Mideast in the modern world. Many years ago, Colonel Jeff O'Leary served as part of the UN peacekeeping forces in the Sinai Peninsula region. While there, he encountered a number of Bedouin people, a nomadic people who travel this desert region. One afternoon, Colonel O'Leary had tea with a group of Bedouin men. Colonel O'Leary couldn't help but notice that his host kept staring at a man who was tending his camels. The host pointed out the man and hissed at Colonel O'Leary ...

1258. Willing And Able

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Yet the people still came to him from everywhere." Surely Jesus knew he was asking the impossible from this man. Don't tell anybody? He had been healed from leprosy. Leprosy was one of the worse diseases ever to plague humankind. Lepers were exiled to the deserts and trash heaps outside the city. No well person could touch, or even stand near, a leper for fear of becoming unclean. The threat of uncleanness from lepers was so great that we even read in Leviticus 14 that lepers' houses were taken apart and ...

1259. Light Shines Into The Darkness

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... says, "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." A number of years ago, a Navy jet fighter plane shot itself down over the deserts of Nevada while testing a new cannon mounted on its wing. The plane was flying at supersonic speeds, but the cannon shells were subsonic. The fighter actually ran into the shells it had fired seconds before. The jet was traveling too fast. That's happening to a lot ...

1260. Beautiful Words Of Life

John 6:60-71

Sermon

King Duncan

... beginning were falling by the wayside. Perhaps the novelty had worn off. Perhaps, with opposition rising, people were becoming afraid to be identified with the Man from Galilee. Whatever the case, it was a time of decision for those who were left. Jesus surveyed those who had deserted him. Then he asked the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?" As so often, it was Simon Peter who answered for the rest, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you ...

1261. It Isn't Easy Getting Ready For Christmas

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... throw them on, like you do the icicles. You're worse than your father." (2) It's not easy getting ready for Christmas. Luke, in his narrative concerning the coming of Christ quotes the words of Isaiah the prophet: "A voice of one calling in the desert, `Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God's salvation.'" (NRSV) That's what we ...

1262. God, The Promise Keeper

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... their hearts. So we say with the renewed Ebenezer Scrooge, "Come up here, boy, or girl. Come up here, Dad, or Mom. I've got something wonderful for you." Christ is the fulfillment of everything God has promised. 1. John Trent, Ph.D. The Desert Experience (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001), pp. 145-147. 2. "Song of Defiance" by Fergus M. Bordewich, Reader's Digest, April 2003, pp.142-147. 3. Mark Bryan. Codes of Love (New York: Pocket Books, 1999), pp. 27-30. Compiled by Alice Gray (Sisters, OR ...

1263. Two Women Of Faith

Luke 1:39-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... Gabriel left her, Mary grabbed up her things and headed to Elizabeth and Zechariah's home. This was no leisurely stroll. We're told that the hill country between Nazareth and the place where Elizabeth lived was rather bleak. "The eastern slopes were mostly impassable desert, stretching 10 to 15 miles from their highest point, 3000 feet near Hebron, down to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth at 1,300 feet below sea level. The vast wasteland was broken only by imposing cliffs and canyons and a few forts ...

1264. Eavesdropping On Eternity

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... of God. 1. "Classic conversation stoppers," Lexington Herald-Leader, Wednesday, October 6, 1993, p. 25. 2. The Executive Speechwriter Newsletter, Volume 7, Number 5, p. 5. 3. By Tony Campolo in Ten Great Preachers, edited by Bill Turpie (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), p. 15. 4. Nancie Carmichael. The Desert Experience (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001), p. 71.

1265. More Than Skin Deep

Joel 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... modern churches. As he said, "There ought to be enough divine electricity in every church to give everybody in the congregation either a charge or a shock! . . . What do you mean by singing "˜Onward Christian Soldiers' when most of your army has deserted? . . . I agree with Joel," says Havner. "I'm embarrassed when pagans walk by our empty churches, look in on our feeble ceremonies, see us swapping members from church to church, moving corpses from one mortician to another, preaching a dynamite gospel and ...

1266. Boldly Going . . . Nowhere

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

In Operation Desert Storm a few years ago, for camouflage purposes, a division of soldiers had to repaint their Humvees to the color of the surrounding sand. The result was that the Humvees suddenly acquired a distinctly pinkish cast. As you can imagine, this became quite a source of humor for the soldiers. ...

1267. Haunted By The Cross

John 18:1-11; 18:33-19:16; 19:28-42

Drama

King Duncan

... . And Jesus Christ was God. A man could get killed for saying something like that. But it's true. It has to be true. "As I wrapped the strips of linen around his lifeless body, I recalled his words to me, "˜Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.' (4) "Why is it that the man who promised me new life is lying dead in my arms? I don't know. Lord Jesus, I trust that you were speaking the ...

1268. No Plastic Easter

John 20:19-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... reaching for your hand. (6) There's nothing plastic about that. This is the heart of why we are joined in celebration today on Easter Sunday. He is alive. Life has meaning. Death has been defeated. We have a story to tell people. 1. Sheila Walsh, The Desert Experience (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001), p. 68. 2. From a sermon by the Rev. Johnny Dean. 3. Do's and Taboos of Humor Around the World by Roger E. Axtell, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1999, p. 13. 4. Adventist Review, August 31, 2000 ...

1269. It's Not About Us

Revelation 22:1-6

Sermon

King Duncan

... ? The Reverend Bob Morgan tells of an experience as a student pastor in North Carolina. He was asked one Sunday to fill in at the 11:00 service for a pastor who was ill. When he got to the church (about 10:45 a.m.), the grounds were deserted. By 10:55, the place was like the Charlotte Race Track in season. Reverend Morgan and his wife were greeted by the Lay Leader who presided as the service began. The Lay Leader, whom Morgan describes as a "dedicated aging servant of the Lord," ably conducted the service ...

1270. The Forward Look

Luke 9:57-62

Sermon

King Duncan

... to a story in Life magazine, he wasn't looking for glory or publicity; he simply wanted to face the awful memories and emotions associated with this wartime incident. So, at the age of 72, George Bush hired a plane to fly him out over the Arizona desert, where he made a successful jump. Now, after all those years, he could put that part of his past to rest. (8) Sometimes you need to do something just about that radical to get rid of painful memories that are interfering with present happiness. Of course ...

1271. A Life Without Apology

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

King Duncan

... our church. And, of course, our most important commitment is to God. I want to read something that author and pastor Lewis Smedes once wrote. It puts the matter quite plainly. He writes, "I want to say to you that if you have a ship you will not desert, if you have people you will not forsake, if you have causes you will not abandon, then you are like God . . . When a person makes a promise, she reaches out into an unpredictable future and makes one thing predictable: she will be there even when being there ...

1272. Do Not Disturb

Isaiah 35:1-10

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... weren't in prison, but it wasn't a very happy time for them either. But Isaiah tells them things won't always be so dismal. He tells about a time when God will work wonders in the world. "The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing." That is the promise God makes to all people who are suffering. Hang in there. You are not forgotten. This is the third Sunday in Advent. God sent Jesus to show ...

1273. The Bread Of God

Exodus 16:1-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... sense. The Jews recalled the story of Moses producing the manna, and implied that the Messiah would be expected to repeat the miracle. Christ accepts the challenge. He tells them that he not only gives, but that he himself is all that the manna was for those ancient desert wanderers and more, and that he is for all people's souls. He came to us like manna from heaven, but in a much more profound sense! He is food, like the manna. But unlike food, he can forever end the craving of the famished soul; unlike ...

1274. Casting Aside His Garment

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

King Duncan

... on under the hood of a car. Today, most cars come with all kinds of standard features, such as power steering, power brakes, air conditioning, and cruise control. But these features make things a lot more complicated than they used to be. Suppose we have car trouble on a deserted road? We open the hood of the car, but what do we see? We'll probably see a meaningless mass of stuff. We throw up our hands in frustration and call for a tow truck. A mechanic at the garage looks under the hood, but he doesn't see ...

1275. Lord, What A Bountiful God!

John 6:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... , the old prospector wandered over to speak to some of his friends. Before he came back, a man came in wearing a black threadbare coat. He walked up to the bartender and timidly said, "Sir, I'm a poor traveling Methodist circuit rider. I've just made it across the desert. I'm bone dry. Could you let me have that foamy glass of milk I see you've just poured?" "Take the milk," said the bartender with a twinkle in his eye. "We're glad to have you in our town. Take that glass of milk and drink it up ...

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