Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1326 to 1350 of 1795 results

1326. God’s Toughest Job

Matthew 1:18-25

Illustration

John R. Brokhoff

Dr. Al Lindgren of Garrett Seminary tells of taking his junior high school son fishing. While waiting for the fish to bite, they got to talking. The son asked, "Dad, what was the toughest thing God ever tried to do?" His father answered with a question, teacher style! His father asked, "What do you think was the toughest job God tried to do?" The son replied, "In science class, I thought that creation was God's toughest job. Later in Sunday School we were talking about miracles and I thought that maybe the ...

1327. Love Lifted Me

Psalm 40:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... are having a rousing good time: dice games, dancing girls, tobacco, alcoholic drink. The cartoon has the people greeting Moses, holding the Ten Commandments, with these words: “Well and good, [Moses]. [We] hope this isn’t meant to be a criticism of our current life style.” (2) Well, maybe it was intended to be a little criticism . . . Have you ever been in a slimy pit? The slimy pit could refer to our morals. Morals are important. A priest in the Church of England tells of attending a soccer match a ...

1328. The True Nature of Happiness

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Brett Blair

... the 20th century standards for measuring a man. The criteria were quite interesting and I thought that I might list them for the men here this morning just to see how they measure up. 1. His ability to make and conserve money (That lets me out already). 2. The cost, style and age of his car. 3. (This is my favorite) How much hair he has. 4. His strength and size. 5. The job he holds and how successful he is at it. 6. What sports he likes 7. How many clubs he belongs to. 8. His aggressiveness and reliability ...

1329. Daring Thomas

John 11:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... for him. There is a cartoon character named PONTIUS’ PUDDLE. In one cartoon Pontius is in church. Pontius Puddle is very much like you and me he has good intentions, but he’s not exactly ready to set the world on fire. The cartoonist depicts Pontius’ style of worshipping with a take-off on the lead-in to the old Superman TV show: “Able to drop a quarter in the offering plate without embarrassment . . . Capable of waking from a dead sleep and finding the right song in seconds . . . Look! Out in the ...

1330. What Kind of Pillar Are You?

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... support the stately monuments, temples, and public buildings that adorned their world. Let’s see how well you remember your columns…anyone? I’ll give a hint: Doric is one. There you go. The three are the Ionic, Doric, and Corinthian. These three styles of supportive pillars framed the graceful entrances of some of the most imposing, majestic architectural wonders the world has ever known. Yet today they stand in ruins. Time, decay, wars, earthquakes, floods have left us little to look at except a few ...

1331. You Are God's Temple

1 Corinthians 3:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... The doctor said, “Could it be that your behavior caused you to have a poor opinion of yourself?” This possibility, of course, was rejected out of hand by the patient, and probably by his mother as well. (5) Our schools and many self-styled self-help gurus have done an excellent job of helping people, particularly many young people, develop high self-esteem. This will only serve them well if they also develop good character, for identity and behavior cannot be separated. As Joseph Telushkin says in his ...

1332. Glimpses of God

Matthew 17:1-13

Illustration

John Bedingfield

When I first heard Chet Atkins play guitar, it made me want to be a better guitar player. The intricate way that he played made me want to learn his style and to try to make a guitar sound that way myself. But the first time I heard B.B. King play guitar, one simple note at a time, hung out in the air, sighing breathlessly or screaming in pain, it made my heart hurt – and it made me want to ...

1333. The Five-a-Day Rule

John 20:24-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . His community spirit was strong and healthy. A little doubt could not destroy all the strong, spiritual growth that had bloomed during the course of Jesus’ ministry. Health and well-being take time and attention. Our 21st century life-style has demonstrated that all too well. After decades of over-processed, nutritionally negative, calorie-laden fast foods, our bodies are in trouble. We are overweight. We are battling “lifestyle” diseases like Type-2 diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure ...

1334. Kissing Cousins (Father's Day)

2 Corinthians 13:11-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... ). And Paul wasn’t the only one to talk about people in church kissing. In his first letter, Peter wrote, “Greet one another with a kiss of love” (1 Peter 5:14). Now, before you get too excited about this text, you need to understand that this style of kissing had nothing at all to do with romance. Actually, in the early church, men kissed men and women kissed women. Now, if that makes you a little queasy, let me remind you that there are many cultures today in which it is perfectly acceptable for men ...

1335. Answering Criticism

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Illustration

Kent Moorehead

Think of the things that were said about Lincoln by his contemporaries - the calumnies, the caricatures, the unjust criticisms. But consider the accurate estimate of his style today. With what insight he wrote, when he said, "If I were to try to read, must less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business. I do the very best I know how and I mean to keep doing ...

1336. God's Battleship

John 17:6-19

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... the boat, but with the harmony of the crew. You see, when we first came on board we assumed that everyone here was just like us. But as we have wandered these decks we have found a few curious converts. Some wear uniforms we have never seen. Some sport styles we have never witnessed and we stop them and say, "Why do you look the way you do?" To which they respond, "We were about to ask you the same question!" The variety of dress is not nearly as disturbing as the diversity of opinions. There is one group ...

1337. Understanding Bible Prophecy

Deuteronomy 18:14-22

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... a group what they might like to do for a Bible study, the hands-down request winner is Revelation. The truth is the book of Revelation is not that difficult to understand if you have some basic background. It is written in a unique style called "apocalyptic" which is unfamiliar in our day, but was much better known during the period between the Old and New Testaments. Apocalyptic writing, with all its wild imagery — ten-horned, seven-headed beasts, dragons, wild animals, and so on — functioned as a kind ...

1338. Beating Babel

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... to hear what they want to hear than what they don't. Any wife who has ever asked a husband to mow the lawn during the telecast of a World Series game could say, "Amen," to that. It is the Tower of Babel, twenty-first-century style. Unfortunately, the problem is just as bad in the church. There are communication gaps all over the place ... gaps between denominations, gaps between the pulpit and the pew, gaps between young and old, gaps between rich and poor, gaps between liberal and conservative. If anyone ...

1339. Jesus Christ, Superstar

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... would be legitimate, but it is not — this is a secular production that seeks to entertain ... and it does. Some of the music is wonderful and found great success in record sales. My particular favorite is "King Herod's Song" done up in Vaudevillian style with banjo accompaniment. It is hilarious. But by the turn of the century, the furor over the play had died down so greatly that it is now often performed by church groups. It has become appreciated simply as an established secular production concerning ...

1340. Transitions

2 Kings 2:1-12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... office and turns the word of God loose on yet another generation.[1] How will a new generation hear the word? Every indication is that it will not be in just the same way that previous generations have heard. There is new music, new worship styles, new technology that has come into play. There are new understandings of what God is calling people to be and do. The transitions are not always comfortable, but they surely are inevitable. It is intriguing that we encounter this story at precisely this moment in ...

1341. It’s Anybody’s Guess

Mark 4:30-34

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

... it was the week before Father's Day and the children and I were looking for a gift for their dad. As we strolled through the men's section of a department store our eyes spotted the perfect gift at the same moment. It was a bright, splashy Hawaiian style shirt with matching shorts. We giggled as we purchased it because Dan is a pretty conservative dresser. As I was handing the money to the woman at the cash register, I asked our oldest daughter, "But, do you think he will actually wear it?" She shrugged her ...

1342. Tough Talk for Tentative Disciples

John 6:56-69

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... inside today's church who want to rewrite the gospel. Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code is a typical example of this. From the outset, Brown claimed that his book had merit in its historical accuracy. In fact, it is nothing more than a speculative novel in the style of so many before it, written by one who rejects the claims of Christ and of the ancient scriptures. Moreover, it is not original in its attacks on the gospel. Rather, it is one of the latest volumes in a long list of heretical writings. There are ...

1343. The Heart of the Matter Is the Heart!

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... church and leave feeling good does not necessarily guarantee us that worship in that church pleases God. Real worship is not measured by how it pleases me but by how it measures up to God's word. Today we use the term "seeker-sensitive" to define certain styles of worship. We must be alert to the inherent danger in this approach to worship. In our desire to be "seeker-sensitive," we must be careful to remember that our primary focus is not on the "seekers" but on the Savior, the Lord of the church. We ...

1344. A Plea from The Heart

2 Corinthians 6:1-13

Sermon

Gibson “Nibs” Stroupe

... also mentioned in this list. Those of us who have been in the church for the long haul recognize this as a central virtue. The point of life together in the church is not so much a matter of being right as it is to set a tone and a style where we can all be transformed by the loving and disciplining Spirit of God working through all of us. When I first began my counseling ministry, I made many mistakes because I was filled with anxiety. A central source of my anxiety was my mistaken belief that I had to ...

1345. The Right Spirit

Matthew 20:1-16

Illustration

Philip W. McLarty

... New York Yankees were at their peak and were negotiating contracts for the next year. A group of reporters interviewed players as they emerged from the owner's office, and one of them asked Yogi Berra about the terms of his contract. In his characteristically, plain-spoken style, he said, "I'm gonna get to play baseball again next year for the Yankees, and would you believe it, they're gonna pay me besides!" That's the spirit of gainful employment, doing what you love to do and do well and getting paid for ...

1346. Matthew 21:23-32

Matthew 21:23-27

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... responded with an assertion of divine authority at this point in time, he would immediately have been denounced as a blasphemer and arrested as such. Instead of offering a straightforward answer to their question, Jesus opts for a familiar rabbinical debate style and answers their question with a question of his own. Jesus’ question deflects the focus from his authority to the authority of a previous, very popular, and familiar figure: John the Baptist. John’s preaching and baptizing mission had been in ...

1347. God, The Good Ally

Exodus 20:1-17

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... returned "no forwarding address." He was not angry at the church council and was not offended by changes in worship. He had no bone to pick with his pastor. He just didn't find church "exciting" anymore. Devotion to orthodox Christianity cramped his style. He decided to move on. He sought more interesting friends, more exciting "diversions," and the thrill of less respectable activities. One day he appeared suddenly again at worship. "Jack," the pastor exclaimed, "you've been gone a long time. Why did you ...

1348. Getting Through the Grief

2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

... this morning as they prepared for their journey and waved good-bye and slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God." Charles Earl Spencer said the following about Princess Diana: "Diana was the very essence of compassion, of duty, of style, of beauty. All over the world she was a symbol of selfless humanity. All over the world, a standard bearer for the rights of the truly downtrodden, a very British girl who transcended nationality. Someone with a natural nobility who was classless and who ...

1349. Facing the Consequences

Illustration

Tim Kimmel

... daughters and a son, were struggling in junior high and high school with the normal problems of peer pressure and acceptance. As we rode back into the mountains, I could tell that something big was eating away at Tom's heart. His normal effervescent style was shrouded by an overwhelming inner hurt. Normally, Tom would attack problems with the same determination that had made him a success in business. Now, I saw him wrestling with something that seemed to have knocked him to the mat for the count. Silence ...

1350. The Dirty Baseball Era

Illustration

Staff

... to him, he was usually not one to complain. "We'd spit tobacco juice on a spike wound," he remembered, rub dirt in it and get out there and play." McGraw had a face "like a fist," one reporter wrote, and he saw nothing to be ashamed of in his style of play: "We were in the field and the other team had a runner on first who started to steal second, but first of all he spiked our first baseman on the foot. Our man retaliated by trying to trip him. He got away, but at second Heinie Reitz tried ...

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