Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1251 to 1275 of 2962 results

2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... in the church primarily as a service to God rather than a means to fulfill personal needs. Social service. Members are serving others outside the congregation. This includes direct personal involvement with the poor and needy, or in programs designed to help the needy. Social justice. Either through the congregation as a whole or through specialized Christian agencies, members are striving to make changes in sociopolitical structures that will contribute to a more moral and just society. (4) What ...

1252. Is Suffering Really Necessary?

Hebrews 4:14-5:10

Sermon

King Duncan

... placed halfway down the upper wing. These little blades that stick up from the otherwise smooth wings are called "vortex generators." They are put on the plane for the purpose of creating turbulence in the airflow that passes over the wing. The plane designers had discovered that the Boeing 707 would not steer accurately when the air current was too smooth. (8) Perhaps that is true of our lives. Perhaps suffering is essential to make our souls fit to spend eternity with God. CERTAINLY SUFFERING REMINDS US ...

1253. Embedded In Bedrock Or Destroyed By A Typhoon

John 18:25-27

Sermon

Dale Dickerson

... guide dog, Orient. When interviewed on television, Bill shared the following, "I was called to travel the Trail by God, to demonstrate how faith can overcome difficulty." Christianity is not a mathematical theorem to be proved. It is a life to be lived. Christian faith is designed for times of difficulty. If we trust God, God will help us through any situation. Peter is at a time of decision. Will his fear overwhelm him, or will he put his faith into action? Now one of the high priest's servants, a relative ...

1254. April Sky

John 20:1-9

Sermon

Frank Lyman

... no prayers, no comforting hymns, and no mention of God. Mr. Bush was close to the casket when Mrs. Brezhnev came forward for her final good-bye. He related what he saw: "(Mrs. Brezhnev) walked up, took one last look at her husband and traced the DESIGN OF THE CROSS ON HER HUSBAND'S CHEST . . . In that single act," says Bush, "God had broken through the core of the Communist system." (7) God still breaks through the cores of systems which enslave. The stones of hatred and oppression, violence and genocide ...

1255. Straight Backs And Rekindled Dreams

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... with an ugly face--who was sent to Vietnam to build dams and roads for the military. But Homer refused to build the dams and roads until the government first solved some of the problems of their own people. At the suggestion of his wife, Homer designed a bicycle treadmill pump to get water up to the hillside paddies on which the people depended for food. For centuries this water had been carried laboriously by pails. Homer's wife Emma was curious about the fact that every woman over sixty had a bent back ...

1256. Trees

Jeremiah 16:1--17:18

Sermon

King Duncan

... eight years. The white oak can go ten years without bearing fruit. But the champion in delay is the bamboo which bears fruit only every 120 years! (7) Each tree is true to its own nature. None bears the same fruit, only the fruit for which they were designed. Jesus questioned the value of a tree that does not bear fruit. Of course, he wasn't really talking about trees at all. He was talking about his followers. Are we bearing fruit in our families, in our community, in the world? Trees bear fruit by their ...

1257. Skating To Where The Puck Is Going To Be

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Frank Lyman

... Jesus speaks of is found when Jesus says, "Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation." (Luke 6:24) Is he not implying that those who seek their own security through wealth have nothing to look forward to? We are not designed to live merely for the pleasure of today, we live with an eye to the future. F.R. Maltby captured this when he wrote, "Jesus promised his disciples that they would be completely fearless, absurdly happy and constantly in trouble." Christians anticipate the future ...

1258. Passing The Test!

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... the middle of the bridge, where it stayed an entire day. One worker asked, “Are you trying to see if we can break this bridge?" “No," the builder replied, “I'm trying to prove that the bridge won't break." In the same way, the temptations Jesus faced weren't designed to see if he would sin, but to prove that he wouldn't. Like steel which is tested by fire to see if it can bear the stress and strain of the load that it will be called to bear, Jesus was tested to see if he could carry the ...

1259. Hey, You Can Only Be Young Twice!

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... exact length of a year. After a few years, it became obvious that the calendar was not keeping pace with the actual changing of the seasons. It wasn't until 1582, nearly 800 years after the establishment of the Julian calendar, that Pope Gregory the 13th designed a new calendar that better matched the true length of a year. The only problem with using the new Gregorian calendar was that it dropped ten days off the Julian calendar. For this reason, many countries refused to follow it, even though it was more ...

1260. I'm O.k.; You're A Little Suspect

Luke 6:37-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... was Pine's caustic and confrontational style with his guests. These guests were, for the most part, a collection of exposure-hungry entertainers, would-be celebrities, and representatives of fringe political or social organizations. The host's abrasive approach was designed to provoke his guests into arguments, to fluster them into embarrassing admissions, and generally to make them look foolish. It was not uncommon for Pine to introduce a visitor and launch immediately into an attack on the individual's ...

1261. Finding The Right People

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... he was afraid. He was fearful of losing what he had. There are times in the life of every Christian when we must go for broke." Peter Marshall, put it more pointedly: "Church members," he said, "in too many cases, are like deep sea divers, encased in suits designed for many fathoms deep, marching bravely to pull out plugs in bath tubs." (4) Both men are right. We are not people engaged in turning the world upside down. We're more interested in securing what we have--as if we had never heard Christ's words ...

1262. A Healthy Body

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... Vanderbilt University, combined his knowledge of teamwork and medicine to describe how a body is supposed to work in unity. He observed that the various cells of the human body--muscle cells, blood cells, organ cells, bone cells, and all the other cells--are designed to work together to enhance the health and life of the entire body. But occasionally, a cell can begin growing and functioning out of sync with the other cells. It begins growing for its own purposes, and no longer follows the same blueprint as ...

1263. I Didn't Expect This In Church!

Mark 1:21-28

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... do you like the best? The one filled with the pretty flowers? Why do you like that best? It's a lot prettier, isn't it? The vases look the same on the outside, don't they? They're the same size and shape, they have the same (or similar) design on them. They are the same color. But what makes them different is what's on the inside. In this vase are pretty, fresh flowers. They look so good. But in this vase are ugly, dead flowers and old sticks and stuff. Yuck. Not very pretty at all. So it ...

1264. Living In Sin Or Synergy?

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... example. Suppose you were seated around a table with some of your friends and each member of the group was given five pieces of Tinkertoys and asked to construct something. You would each probably come up with a really small, likely not very impressive "design." But, if each of you brings your five pieces to the group and combines the pieces, you start bouncing ideas off one another, one idea "sparking" another, then you have synergy. Synergy allows us to accomplish with the help of others much more than ...

1265. Beaten Up, But Still Standing

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

King Duncan

... were assigned to a prayer group. The remaining 201 were not. Neither the patients, nurses, nor attending physicians knew which group the patients were in. Dr. Byrd recruited Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish groups around the country to pray for the designated 192 patients. They were given the patients' names, something of their condition, and were asked to pray for these persons by name once each day. No other instructions were given. The results were startling. The prayed-for patients were five times ...

1266. July 4th Weekend

Mark 5:21-43

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... own free country, not under the control of any other country. This is the flag that symbolizes our country, the American flag. The American flag was created over 200 years ago. The person who created the American flag didn't just choose any old colors or designs for the flag. For instance, the colors of the flag are very important. The red stands for courage, for being brave and standing up for what's right. The white stands for purity or innocence. The blue area stands for justice, which means fairness and ...

1267. What Are You Tied To?

John 15:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Habits like self-discipline, personal responsibility and positive attitudes. Studies show consistently that the happiest and most productive young people are those whose parents expect them to live within certain guidelines. These guidelines are flexible, they're reasonable, but they are designed to bring out the best in young people. By the way, I have some good news for you about today's young people. In a recent survey, four out of five teenagers describe themselves as "happy" and almost three-quarters ...

1268. On "supersizing" Our Vision

Mark 12:41-44

Sermon

Siegfried S. Johnson

... ). The small, 4 inch wide, 3½ inch tall, OSTRACON seems to be a receipt for a donation to the temple of three shekels of silver. The most fascinating part of the inscription are the words, BET YAHWEH, the "House of Yahweh," a term designating the temple. This is a term which has been found complete in only one other extra-biblical inscription. Evidently, several scholars are convinced through scientific and orthographical analysis that the piece is authentic, and may date to as early as 835 B. C., during ...

1269. When Your Lips Are One Place But Your Heart . . .

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... weapon against those whom you despise. THE WORD JESUS USED IS HYPOCRITE. The word hypocrite was used in the theater to mean "one acting a part." In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus cries "Hypocrite!" in three broad situations: 1) when someone's actions are designed solely to impress others; 2) when someone is too focused on the trappings, on the outer rituals of religion, but does not have the right attitude; 3) when someone has impure motives, and covers up those inauthentic motives with lots of religious talk. (4 ...

1270. On Picking Your Battles

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... the world's best female athletes, who holds the world record in the heptathlon, and is a three-time Olympic gold medalist, and her husband, Bobby, have a unique solution for discussing problems. Off the side of their house is an office which they've designated the "Mad Room." Whenever they have a serious disagreement, Bobby and Jackie go to the "Mad Room" to discuss it. Neither is allowed to leave that room until the matter is settled. (5) What a great idea! This couple is committed to making certain their ...

1271. On Forgetting To Do A Business Plan

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... . But you don’t have to be a criminal to be poor at planning. You could be a bureaucrat. According to Time magazine, the American Center in Paris was forced to close just 19 months after opening its dazzling new $41 million building designed by West Coast architect Frank Gehry. Why? Construction costs ate up the center’s entire endowment, leaving nothing for running the literature, language and dance classes that had made the center the pre-eminent showplace for American artistry in Europe. (4) It’s ...

1272. How Many Times?

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... he did to me and my family," said McDonald. The reason McDonald's story was being replayed in the newspapers last year was that he was beginning a nine-day trip to Belfast, Ireland where he hoped his story could inspire a country devastated by revenge. "God has his design and he wants me to be his legs," McDonald said after he wheeled his chair up a paved hill in Central Park where he returned to make his announcement. "It's worth it all if I can help one person . . . if I could change the heart and mind of ...

1273. Dirty, Rotten Scoundrels

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... win easily. After all, Jay Wilkinson was an All-American at Duke who married a Miss America finalist after graduating from Harvard Divinity School. Young, handsome, and idealistic, Jay was a perfect subject for Madison Avenue wizardry. A television commercial was designed which pictured Jay and his wife walking hand-in-hand through an Oklahoma pasture. As they walked, they looked soulfully upward at the sky to the accompaniment of soft music with the ad "A Better Tomorrow for all Oklahomans." The incumbent ...

1274. How To Be Truly Wealthy

1 Timothy 6:3-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... truly life,” he never looked back. A few years ago, the founder of Domino’s Pizza, Thomas Monaghan, experienced a “spiritual re-awakening” when he realized that all his wealth was not making him happy. Monaghan began selling off his “stuff”: three houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Detroit Tigers baseball team, and thirty vintage automobiles--one of which was a $13 million Bugatti. He was quoted as saying, “None of the things I’ve bought, and I mean none of them, has ever really made ...

1275. General Hospital

John 9:1-12

Sermon

Frank Lyman

... . The physically and mentally challenged are being brought into the mainstream of society. Much of what we now take for granted: ramps, curb breaks, lightweight braces, leaps in medical science, broader special education, closed captioning, assistance for the hearing impaired and designated parking spaces are recent developments that acknowledge the place of persons in our society who once were relegated to the fringe of society. The disciples speak of the blind man as if he wasn't there and then have the ...

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