Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1351 to 1375 of 5000 results

Drama

Thomas A. Renquist

... . Schweitzer decided to found his medical mission in Lambarene. Soon the indigenous people were coming from miles around to be treated for various diseases: malaria, sleeping sickness, leprosy, tuberculosis and hernias. The following passage written by Schweitzer illustrates the work of his mission: Reader 2: “[The Africans] also suffer much oftener than white people from strangulated hernia, in which the intestine becomes constricted and blocked, so that it can no longer empty itself. It then becomes ...

1352. Our Time Will Come!

1 Samuel 16:14-23

Sermon

Donald Zelle

... . In the present arrangement of material the evil spirit came to Saul after his argument with the prophet Samuel (chapter 15). But, if we trace the continuity of the early source it comes after the vow which involved Saul's son, Jonathan (chapter 14). Both illustrate Saul's greatest sin - the desire and exercise of power. In the one case, Saul wanted to benefit materially from the trophies of war so he refused to completely destroy the possessions of the Amalekites. In the other, he was so bent on winning ...

1353. A House! a House! and a House!

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

Donald Zelle

... kinds. They have to do with the nature of God and the nature of the temple. "God needs no House!" Nathan says to David. To build one would show a misunderstanding of the nature of God. God is a wandering God. He goes where his people are. That was well-illustrated in the moveable tent as a home for the Ark. More than that, the tent for the Ark in the wilderness, was not intended to be seen as the abode of God. It was the place where God met with his people. For that reason it was called the Tent ...

1354. Walking On the Knees

2 Samuel 7:18-29

Sermon

Donald Zelle

... said; God has spoken! Ten times, in this prayer, David speaks the Divine name, Yahweh. Ten times he calls himself a servant. Here is a proper relationship between a believer and God. This is to walk on one's knees, not only at prayer time, but all the time. It illustrates the mark of true religion. In a proper relationship with God, it is not what we do for him that matters, but what he has done for us. We are not self-made or independent people. We owe our existence to God. We owe our salvation to God. We ...

1355. Lifting the Veil

2 Corinthians 3:7-18

Children's Sermon

Tim Carpenter

... Let me ask you a question. Can you see very clearly now? (response) Lift the veil from over your eyes. Can you see better than when the veil was over your eyes? (response) Application: The Apostle Paul teaches us something about Jesus, and he uses a veil to illustrate. He said that there are people who try to understand God without knowing Jesus Christ, and so they have a veil over their heads and are kept from understanding God. Place the veil back over the eyes of the girl. In other words, as hard as they ...

1356. To Rebuild or Not to Rebuild

Galatians 2:15-21

Children's Sermon

Tim Carpenter

Exegetical Aim: To explain that we should not keep doing things that we know are wrong. Props: Some building blocks. Lesson: [As you talk to the children, illustrate by using the building blocks. Begin by building a "barn" with a couple of blocks falling off, and then adapt the structure as you tell the story.] Sometimes you can drive on the highway or out in the country and see an old barn that is falling in. Have any ...

1357. The Last Laugh

1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11

Eulogy

Richard F. Bansemer

... , a tragic figure who ended up dead on the cross. We forget that he teased his listeners with things like: "Did you know fat camels can crawl through the eyes of needles easier than rich people enter heaven?" Certainly, Jesus smiled when he gave us that graphic illustration.Jesus also said something like this with a twinkle in his eye:"Take the log out of your own eye before you look for splinters in your neighbor's eye." He got the last laugh, too, after that Friday we call "Good." Remember some of things ...

1358. Commencement

Revelation 21:1-27

Eulogy

Richard F. Bansemer

... wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away." The former things have passed away. What better text is there to graphically illustrate what ______________ believed. She said that life is like going to school. It is preparation for life with Christ hereafter. The former things have passed away. Remember what it was like in school?Remember how we used to say it when summer approached, and ...

1359. Step Three - Faith

Mt 8:5-13 · Heb 11:1-7 · Is 55:6-9

Sermon

John A. Terry

... should be from knowledge to faith. "I know you exist. Now I believe in you." In this marvelous passage, the author of Hebrews describes faith. This is not a definition of faith but a testimony to how that faith works. And the author illustrates this faith in biblical history. As the New English Bible translates it, "Faith gives substance to our hope." This is the confidence of those who live in the certainty that God's redemptive work and its future fulfillment are more significant than a particular ...

1360. How Much Does It Cost?

Luke 14:28-30

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

... price tag with a sticker to suit this Children's Sermon. The toy could be a football or a Barbie. It does not matter. The prop could also be a candy bar for ten cents and nine pennies. The more desirable the item, the more effective the illustration. Lesson: [With the toy hidden:] Good morning! (response) We're going to go to the toy store [(or candy store depending on your prop)] this morning and buy a toy. I know exactly what I want; I want this! Pull out the football. What is this? (response) Yeah ...

1361. Oh Me of Little Faith

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... , doesn’t it? In today’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew, Peter becomes a symbol for the whole church, representing the call to take the step of faith, to venture out on the waters, and to trust in Jesus as our only hope of salvation. Peter also illustrates what happens to us as Christians when we lose our focus on Jesus. Now, that’s not to say that dramatic actions such as Peter’s are the only acceptable evidence of faith. For the vast majority of us, it’s in the ordinary tasks of our daily ...

1362. So You Want to go to Bethlehem, Do You?

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... that I should warn you, before we set off for the desert to get our directions from John, that no one who makes the journey to Bethlehem comes back the same person as they were before. So – do you still want to go? AMEN Rev. Johnny Dean: Copyright © 1999 Sermon Illustrations. All rights reserved. Permission is here by granted for use either partially or fully in oral presentations or in written form for same purpose.

1363. Epiphanies and Training Wheels

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... – the Evangelism Committee. Who says God doesn’t have a sense of humor? How about you? Are your training wheels firmly in place today? Or did you take them off, thinking you didn’t need God any more? Have you had any epiphanies lately? Rev. Johnny Dean: Copyright © 1999 Sermon Illustrations. All rights reserved. Permission is here by granted for use either partially or fully in oral presentations or in written form for same purpose.

1364. Been Fishin' Lately?

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... catch fish were not really fishermen, no matter how much they claimed to be. But they understood the criticism. After all, can people who never catch any fish really claim to be fishermen? Are you following if you’re not fishing? Been fishin’ lately? Rev. Johnny Dean: Copyright © 1999 Sermon Illustrations. All rights reserved. Permission is here by granted for use either partially or fully in oral presentations or in written form for same purpose.

1365. Don't That Just Beat All?

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... building, but you can’t build it without a cornerstone. So it is with the life of faith. Without the forgiveness offered to us in Jesus Christ, we have no cornerstone on which to build our faith. And without faith, we have no life. Rev. Johnny Dean: Copyright © 1999 Sermon Illustrations. All rights reserved. Permission is here by granted for use either partially or fully in oral presentations or in written form for same purpose.

1366. The Seven Last Words of the Church

Luke 20:27-40

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... undue reverence for tradition in religious matters." Sometimes, because of traditionalism, we do what we do without really knowing why we do it, other than that’s just the way we’ve always done it – a dangerous practice, at best. Let me use a traditional illustration to describe this phenomenon. You may have, at some time in the past, heard another preacher tell this story. It’s been around for a while. A new husband watched curiously as his bride prepared to place a ham in the oven. Before putting ...

1367. Have You Talked to Jesus Lately?

John 4:1-26

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... the perfect time to ask me questions about them." I wanted to throw up my hands and walk away, and I really don’t know to this day why I didn’t. Instead, I said, "Of course, I read the Bible. Where do you think my sermons come from, Sports Illustrated? Although I don’t get to spend as much time reading it as I would like, what with all the interruptions I have to deal with. And who doesn’t have questions about the Bible? I mean, does anyone understand every word of Scripture? I don’t think so ...

1368. Dancing with the Wind

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... to one another, in the way we treat others in our community, in the way we live out the new life we receive when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord. In his marvelous book, The Kingdom of God is a Party, Tony Campolo tells a story that illustrates how I believe the church must begin to live out our witness in the new millennium. Campolo was attending a Christian conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. Since there was a six-hour time differential between Honolulu and his hometown in Pennsylvania, on his first night there ...

1369. The Rights of an Apostle

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... the person to take some positive steps. Teach them first and foremost that God still loves them - even in the shape they are in and the situation they are in. Please - there is a lot more to counseling an alcoholic that this - I'm just using this as an illustration. But the point is, meet the person where they are. If you are witnessing to someone who challenges the Bible - let them. Let them get out in the open all the things they don't understand or find hard to believe. That does two things. 1. Let's ...

1370. Tears on Easter?

John 20:10-18

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... exhilaration of victory. There is a very important principle involved here. Victory comes out of defeat. Life does not come after death but out of death. Weakness comes first and strength flows from weakness. Sorrow precedes joy; Easter follows Good Friday. The principle is illustrated by Mary Magdalene in our Easter text. When she came to the tomb, she wept because she thought that someone had stolen the body of Jesus. But her tears of sorrow turned into tears of joy as she recognized the risen Savior when ...

1371. He Who Has Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear

Luke 8:1-15

Sermon

Larry Powell

... a rabbi died and went to heaven. It seems that when he arrived in heaven, he discovered only three people, reading by a dim light. One of them was reading Time, another National Geographic, and the other was straining over the pages of Sports Illustrated. Somewhat confused, the rabbi then wondered what Hades must be like. When he arrived in Hades, he was even more surprised to find it filled with people enjoying every kind of music imaginable. There was a spiffy eight-piece Dixieland band, a loud, thirty ...

1372. WHAT IS MAN?

Sermon

Larry Powell

... the "Desiderata," entitled, Go Placidly Amid the Noise and Haste, written by Granville T. Walker. In Dr. Walker's discussion of the phrase, "The world is full of trickery, but be not blind to what virtue there is," he shares the following illustration. Sometime before World War II, an American tourist was taking the channel steamer from Fusan, Korea, to Nagasaki. Much to his discomfort, he found himself sharing a stateroom with an Oriental fellow traveler. Soon after the steamer had left port, the American ...

1373. Instruments of Righteousness

Romans 6:13

Children's Sermon

Tim Carpenter

Exegetical Aim: (Key v. 13) Props: a musical instrument, and someone who can play it well. (For the purpose of this illustration, I will use a guitar.) Lesson: This morning I want to show you something that's very special to me. Hold up the guitar Who knows what this is? (response) Yes, a guitar. The guitar is very old. In the Bible, David played something like a guitar, called a lyre. ...

1374. When a Member of the Family Dies

John 11:17-37

Sermon

R. E. Lybrand

... , if you will just run to him. "Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you." (Psalm 55:22) We Christians never walk alone through life, even when we feel the loneliest! There is an old story which many of you have heard, but it illustrates this so beautifully. It's called "Footprints." One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along a beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. In each scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand - one set belonging ...

1375. Divorce-Proofing Your Marriage

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

R. E. Lybrand

... we Christians believe that in marriage two people are spiritually joined together by Jesus Christ. In Matthew 19:5, Jesus said, "... a man will leave his father and mother, and unite with his wife, and the two of them will become one." That is beautifully illustrated for us in the Church's symbol for Holy Matrimony. The man and woman, symbolized by the two circles are brought together and united by Christ, who is symbolized by the cross standing tall in the center. For a marriage to be strong and healthy ...

Showing results