Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1351 to 1375 of 4508 results

1351. Number One on the List

Illustration

Brett Blair

Ivy Lee (1877–1934) was an American publicity expert and worked as a consultant for a number of businesses. One of those was for Charles Schwab, who was then president of Bethlehem Steel. Schwab was obsessed with efficiency and wanted Bethlehem Steel to become more productive. Ivy Lee was brought in. Schwab asked: “Show me a way to get more things done.” Lee: “Give me 15 minutes with each of you...

1352. Said the Robin to the Sparrow

Illustration

Michael P. Green

Said the Robin to the Sparrow: “There is one thing I would really like to know, Why these anxious human beings Rush about and worry so.” Said the Sparrow to the Robin: “Friend, I think that it must be That they have no heavenly Father Such as cares for you and me.”

1353. God Is Like a Father

Illustration

King Duncan

For many of us the injustice of this world, combined with the love of the Father, is the best assurance we have of a world beyond this one. Someday, somehow, somewhere accounts must be settled. In Marjorie Rawling's beautiful novel, The Yearling, set in rural Florida, there is a scene in which friends and family gather around the grave of a little handicapped boy named Fodderwing. There was no min...

1354. Fear Can Make Us Miserable

Illustration

King Duncan

I remember a story about two little boys whose mother asked them to chase a chicken snake out of the henhouse. They looked everywhere for that snake, but couldn't find it. And the more they looked, the more afraid they got. Until finally, they did find it. When that happened, they fell all over themselves running out of the chicken house. "Don't you know a chicken snake won't hurt you?" their mot...

1355. Epiphany 8

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Isaiah 49:8-18 Through the prophet, God speaks words of consolation to his captive people in Babylon. The frightened and defeated people are beckoned from their hiding places. God promises that he will protect them, heal their wounds, feed them and lead them back to their homeland. The created world joins in the celebration for the redeemed but the downtrodden people fin...

1356. The Day Of Thanksgiving

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Joel 2:21-27 The first part of this chapter (vv. 1-17) is the traditional text for Ash Wednesday. These verses call the people to a solemn assembly so that they might repent of their sins and plead for Yahweh's mercy. This action is ordered because of a devastating invasion of locusts. Our lection for Thanksgiving follows the call to repentance with a message of hope and rest...

1357. A Lesson From A Bouquet

Children's Sermon

Kenneth Mortonson

Purpose: To see in a flower the greatness of God's creation and the wonder of our own individuality. Material: A bouquet of flowers, either at the front of the church or one you brought with you. Lesson: Today, I would like to play a guessing game with you. Here is the first clue. Almost every Sunday, when we gather here in our church, we all look upon something that is always different, yet it ...

1358. Putting God In His Place

Children's Sermon

Kenneth Mortonson

Purpose: To show the importance of keeping God at the center of life. Materials: A small toy car with a friction motor. Several large cardboard disks, glued together. A pencil. Drill a hole, the diameter of the pencil, through the center of the disk; and drill another hole about one inch off the center. Lesson: By just looking at this toy car, you cannot tell what kind it is; but when I spin the...

1359. The Excitement of Meaningful Living

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

When Jesus said, "My yoke is easy," he was telling it like it is. This caring, this moral commitment, this faith and obedience we have been talking about are really not a burden upon the life of the individual. All these dimensions of life, when inspired by the Holy Spirit, are generators of strength and purpose. In this way personal life finds its wholeness and completeness, and this is what Jesu...

1360. "Preference by L’oreal"

Sermon

Peter Rudowski

There is an ad on television about hair coloring. It’s called "Preference" by L’oreal. At the beginning of that ad, you see a very beautiful young lady. There is a face on the screen. Then you get a close-up of the hair, and it is beautiful. The hair is bouncy and in control. There are no split ends. The young woman is very, very happy as she shows you what this hair coloring can do. After about t...

1361. Don't Worry--Give Thanks

Sermon

King Duncan

What are you worried about today? If you are like most people, you are probably worried about your weight. That might not be at the top of your list, but according to a survey by Beneden Health in the United Kingdom, that’s the # 1 concern for most people. Here are the Top Ten Worries according to this survey (counting down from #10 to #1): 10. Diet 9. Job security 8. Rent/mortgage payment 7. Cre...

1362. Anxious Thanks

Sermon

Cathy A. Ammlung & staff

On Thanksgiving, isn't it odd to hear a Gospel that talks about anxiety and worry and not about, well, thanks? At this time of year, we offer thanks for food, shelter, health, favorable weather, peace, and a whole raft of other blessings. Isn't it a bit jarring to hear Jesus tell us, "Do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For it is the Gentiles ...

1363. Today Is All We Have

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

The talented motion picture director Peter Bogdanovich is well known for what are called “nostalgic” movies. When he made “The Last Picture Show” and “Paper Moon,” someone asked him why he is attracted so much by the past. Mr. Bogdanovich said, “I like any time better than now. I just don’t like what’s happening today. The music bores me, the cars are ugly, the people are droll. So I retreat ...

1364. Planning Tomorrow, Neglecting Today

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

Time management is a needed aspect of life. We waste so much time because we don’t plan our use of it. But I have a larger problem. I often get so caught up in planning and preparing for tomorrow that I miss today. I seek to stabilize and secure tomorrow at the neglect and expense of today. Knowing my failure, I am seeking to remember two truths. One, the best thing I can do about tomorrow i...

1365. The Great Gretsky

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

Wayne Gretsky, known to professional hockey fans as “The Great Gretsky,” was being interviewed some time ago. The interviewer pointed out that at age 23 Gretsky was already a multimillionaire, had already broken most of the sports records, and would go down in history as one of the greatest players of all time. Then the interviewer asked, “Well, Wayne, what can you possibly have to look forward ...

1366. The First Murder - 1940

Sermon

Kent Moorehead

There are four highly accredited ways to study the Bible. First, study the beauty spots, the familiar passages. Second, study the individual books and master them. Third, study the great biographies and know them. And fourth, study the structural ideas of the book as they are developed. Now this last method is unquestionably the most rewarding and likewise the most adequate way of knowing the Bibl...

1367. Sermon on the Mount: Praying, Not Judging

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Jesus calls his disciples to discernment and loyal actions in their relationships as well as ongoing prayer that trusts in their gracious and good God. Understanding the Text This passage includes a number of topics that are picked up in other parts of Matthew. The prohibition of judging (7:1) is clarified in chapter 13, where disciples are to avoid judging the eschatological fate of oth...

1368. Judging Others

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

7:1–5 Human nature encourages us to pay far more attention to the shortcomings of others than to our own faults. We tend to evaluate others on the basis of a lofty standard of righteousness that somehow is not applicable to our own performance. Jesus says, Do not judge. The Greek construction (mē plus the present imperative) carries with it the idea of ceasing what you are now doing. Williams tran...

1369. Judging Others

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The final exhortations of the Sermon on the Mount include a warning against judging others (7:1), possibly focused on inappropriate eschatological judgments—determining about others what only God will decide at the end (cf. 13:27–30). Jesus goes on to warn against attending to the sins of others, while being oblivious to the gross sin in one’s own life (7:3–5). The warnings against judging are tem...

1370. A Refuge of Strength

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

Call To Worship One: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. All: Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah. One: There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. All: God is...

1371. The Mote and the Beam

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: Some splinters and a board (enough splinters for each child to have one). Do some people really bug you? Can you think of one guy or girl who is really a creep? Do you know someone who really thinks he is hot stuff and never lets you forget it? I know some people like that. Then there are the others who are always tattling on everyone. I think they are the worst. They even make things up ...

1372. The World’s Favorite Scripture

Sermon

James Merritt

Everybody knows about the famous comedian, David Letterman, and his "top ten list." As you know, God also has a "top ten list" and it goes like this: 1. You shall have no other gods before Me. 2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image. 3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. 4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 5. Honor your father and your mother. 6. You shal...

1373. The Jump to Judgment

Sermon

David E. Leininger

I heard a story once. A Mr. Jones picked up the wrong umbrella in a hotel, and the umbrella's rightful owner called his attention to it. Embarrassed, Mr. Jones offered his apologies, picked up the right one, and went on his way. But the incident served to remind Mr. Jones that he had promised to buy umbrellas for his wife and daughter, so he went across the street to a store and purchased one for ...

1374. Thou Shalt Not Judge - True or False?

Sermon

James Merritt

Alan Wolfe has recently written a new book entitled "One Nation After All." Based on inter-views with two hundred people in Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Georgia, and California, Mr. Wolfe found a "new" middle class that is tolerant, non-judgmental, and reluctant to tell anyone else his or her behavior is right or wrong. He says in that book, "I see this as a place where the values of the 1960's and t...

1375. Lost Baggage: Flying Standby

Sermon

James Merritt

Two young men walk into church. They both are the same age -22, same height, same weight, and same build. The first young man walks in with a crisply starched long-sleeved Polo shirt, freshly ironed slacks, clean-cut, fresh-shaven, and wearing shoes in the latest style. The second male walks in wearing a t-shirt, blue-jeans with more holes than pockets, flip-flops, tattoos on both arms, a nose-rin...

Showing 1351 to 1375 of 4508 results