Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1376 to 1400 of 4914 results

1376. The Work of An Evangelist

Colossians 1:1-14

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Do we need to remind ourselves of what the work of an evangelist is? An evangelist is one who shares in word, deed and sign the good news of Jesus Christ – the good news that redeems us from sin, makes us whole, and transforms us into participants in God’s Kingdom enterprise. I like the way Paul expresses the work of God in our lives – Col. 1:13-14: “God has rescued us from the power of darkness, and transferred us into the Kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the ...

1377. Now Here Is the Plan

John 12:20-36

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Our text opens this morning with Philip, a disciple of Jesus, being recognized by someone from his home town. He hadn't counted on that. He thought that he could move around Jerusalem incognito at the time of the Passover, for the city was filled literally with tens of thousands of pilgrims from all over the world who had come to the Holy City on this most holy of seasons. Andrew is with him. Andrew is also from Bethsaida. They expected to pass anonymously in this crowded city, because Bethsaida is a long ...

1378. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden

John 16:17-33

Sermon

James McCormick

I first heard the words of today’s sermon title when I was a teenager. They came over the radio in a country and western song. The words: “I beg your pardon; I never promised you a rose garden.” I encountered those words again a few years ago when they appeared as the unofficial slogan of the emerging nation of Israel. When Jews migrated to Israel and were asked to settle in “kibbutzim” in parched desert frontiers, they were reminded of the arduous task ahead by the signs posted all around the settlements ...

1379. Going For the Gold

Joshua 1:1-9

Sermon

James Merritt

We have just finished two weeks here in Atlanta watching over 10,000 athletes from 197 countries "Go for the Gold." There were plenty of heroes to go around. Who will ever forget Kerri Strug, a little pixie, who courageously vaulted on a severely sprained ankle, to secure the first team gymnastics gold medal in U.S. history. Then there is Carl Lewis who, at 35, won the long jump for the fourth consecutive Olympics, and secured a record time ninth gold medal. Then, of course, the person that Sports ...

1380. A Call to Arms

Exodus 17:8-16

Sermon

James Merritt

Whether or not you are a boxing fan, names like Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Mike Tyson, and Evander Holyfield will certainly conjure up pictures of big-fisted gladiators. C. D. Blalock is not as well known, but he did something in the ring that should make him the most famous boxer of all time. In the 1930s Blalock stepped into the ring to fight another boxer, but he didn't really need another opponent. Because in one of the strangest moments in boxing history, Blalock took a huge uppercut at his rival, ...

1381. No-fault Religion

2 Corinthians 5:6-10 (11-13), 14-17

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

It happened in a church parking lot, and my friend saw it happen. A lady, backing out of her parking space, rammed my friend's car, causing considerable damage. My friend was able to talk to the woman before she drove away. She was distraught and he was distraught. But, after exchanging the appropriate information, they departed to leave it in the hands of the insurance people. When it got into the hands of the insurance people, the no-fault insurance clause went into effect. Yes, the woman's insurance ...

1382. Christ the Righteous Judge

Revelation 20:11-12

Sermon

Shirley Gupton Lynn

Thomas H. Greer, in A Brief History of Western Man, writes: "Machines (and the scientific knowledge that lies behind them) have given us power for good and evil that separates us qualitatively from the societies of all preceding ages." Isn't that an awesome thought! Our generation has the power because of technological and scientific knowledge to do more GOOD than any previous generations. Heart/lung machines make possible heart surgery that lengthens life; gene therapy will soon prevent many diseases; ...

1383. A Funeral for “I Can’ts”

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

Sermon

Ron Lavin

She was near retirement. Some people thought of her as being old and "over the hill," but she had an idea. The idea was fresh and memorable. She was a schoolteacher in Michigan. Many people thought that schoolteachers made little or no difference in life compared to the powerful people in business and politics. They were wrong. She told her students to write down as many "I Can'ts" as they could think of. She wrote her list as the students wrote their lists. She included: "I can't get John's mother to come ...

1384. Romans 1:1-7

Romans 1:1-7

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Today's reading introduces us to the Pauline letter that arguably has had more influence on the development of biblical theology and the growth of the church than any other New Testament document. Think only of Augustine's encounter with Romans in the garden at Milan, or Luther's reading of Romans in an Augustinian monastery in Wittenberg, or Wesley listening to a reading of Luther's preface to Romans in Aldersgate Street or the first edition of Karl Barth's Romerbrief rocking the theological world early ...

1385. Preparing the Way

Malachi 3:1-4

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

Preparing the way can become an all-consuming endeavor. Unforeseen obstacles often have a way of getting in our way to hamper progress and sidetrack us. Then, Murphy's Law goes into effect: "If anything can go wrong, it will." Plans for the Paris subway system were begun in 1845, but the actual work was not begun until much later. A civil engineer, Fulgence Bienvenue (1852-1936), was assigned the task of preparing the way. His first big task was to dig the network of underground tunnels for the trains. The ...

1386. A Bethany Blessing

Luke 24:44-53

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

This morning as we begin, I want you to think about those special places in your life. Those sacred places, those holy places, those places of significance that shaped your life and your faith. It might have been at your grandmother's or mother's kitchen table where over milk and cookies questions of faith were answered or the reality of God became clear in a way it never had before. It may have been a particular VacationBibleSchoolOr a sermon. It may have the moment one of your children was baptized or ...

1387. On the Emmaus Road with Cleopas and His Friend

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

James W. Moore

Let me begin this Easter Sunday morning with a couple of human interest stories. These two stories are said to be true but my guess is that they probably fit best in the category of urban legends. In any case, listen, if you will, for the common thread that runs through them. The first story is about a woman who was staying in an elegant hotel, in a large city. One morning she went down to the lobby to have some Travelers’ checks converted into cash for a day of shopping. In her excitement… and in a rush, ...

1388. A Parable in a Miracle

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

For most of the ten years I was with The Upper Room, we lived in Mt. Juliet. Mt. Juliet is a small rural town about 20 miles east of Nashville, which was fast becoming a densely developed suburb. When we moved there from California, I was looking for space. I’d lived ten feet from my neighbors too long. I wanted at least the “country feeling.” Mt. Juliet had it. At least two “famous” people lived in Mt. Juliet. Charlie Daniels of country music fame, who is the best fiddler and whose band continues to be a ...

1389. Streams of Living Water

John 4:5-42

Sermon

Lee Griess

Streams of living water ... That's what the Son of God offered the Samaritan woman at the well, and that's what he offers us as well — streams of living water — life-giving, life-renewing, life-refreshing water that can satisfy those who drink so that we will never thirst again. We are offered water that satisfies our longings in life, water that nourishes our innermost selves, and water that comes from an active, living trust in God and a passionate faith in Christ. We need this kind of water. We need ...

1390. Peace In the Midst of the Storm

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Suppose for a few minutes that you are one of them. There is no indication in scripture that you or any of your compatriots have any inkling as you set out in your boats that there might be anything amiss. To be sure, since a number of you are fishermen, you are aware that things like this can happen. After all, the Sea of Galilee is set in a deep gorge between two mountain ranges. The winds sometimes force themselves through the passes around Mount Hermon in the north and virtually explode on the quiet ...

1391. Samuel Was the Search Committee

1 Samuel 15:34-35, 16:1-13

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

I don't know about you but when I was growing up I always loved hearing the story of Cinderella. There was always something magical about it. It was more than Walter Mitty or Lee Iacocca — small-town boy made good. It was more than Prince Charles and Princess Diana in all their regal splendor long before Diana's untimely death. It was like the triumph of the poor and the oppressed over the powerful and the arrogant — the quintessential example of the first shall be last and the last shall be first. It was ...

1392. Touched

John 20:24-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

We now live in a “virtual” world. A TGiF world where T=Twitter, G=Google, i=iPads/iPhones (and all the other i-devices), and F=Facebook. In the next couple of months, Facebook will be going public. The only questions are a) whether Facebook's IPO be the biggest IPO in American history; b) how soon this summer will Facebook reach 1 billion users (that’s 1/7 of the planet’s population); and c) whether or not Facebook is really worth 100 billion dollars? Regardless of how you answer those questions, all of ...

1393. Filling the Hole in Our Hearts

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

A Sunday School teacher taught her class to recite the Apostles Creed by giving each child one phrase to learn. When the day came for the class to give their recitation, they began beautifully. “I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth,” said the first child. “I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord,” said the next. And so it went perfectly until they came to the child who said, “He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty: from thence ...

1394. A Faith to Move Mountains

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

A man named Adrian Plass authored what he calls his Sacred Diary. In it, he tells how he once bought a book on faith that told him that real Christians should be able to move mountains by faith. So he decided to try it. He practiced with a paper clip. He put it on his desk and willed it to move. Nothing happened. He tried commanding it in a loud voice. Still nothing happened. He tried it again the next day. The paper clip still wouldn’t budge. He even promised God he would change his life if the clip would ...

1395. Building a New Team

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

When Vince Lombardi was hired as head coach of the Green Bay Packers in 1958, the team was in dismal shape. A single win in season play the year before had socked the club solidly into the basement of the NFL, and sportscasters everywhere used it as the butt of loser jokes. But Lombardi picked and pulled and prodded and trained and disciplined the players into becoming a winning team. They were NFL champions in three consecutive seasons, and took the game honors for the first two Super Bowls. Lombardi was ...

1396. A Call to Persevere

Jude 1:17-25

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

Peril Foretold by Apostles 17 Jude now turns from his series of illustrations provided by OT types and prophecies (vv. 5–16) to remind his readers of a much more contemporary voice. They are urged not only to recall what the inspired writers of earlier centuries have foretold, but to remember that in their own day the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ have warned of the rise of false teachers. The constantly needed admonition to remember is frequently repeated in the Scriptures. Forgetfulness of divine ...

1397. Miscellaneous Oracles of Judgment

Ezekiel 21:1-32, Ezekiel 22:1-31

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

In the Hebrew Bible, a new chapter starts at 20:45—appropriately, as 20:45–49 is less in continuity with the preceding judgment God pronounced on the leaders of the exilic community than with the following oracles God directed against Jerusalem (21:1–17, 18–24; 21:1–16; 22:1–16) and its leadership (21:25–27; 22:23–31; see the discussion below of the curiously-placed oracle against Ammon, 21:28–32). While it is difficult to find unity in this section, there are clear signs of intentional arrangement here: ...

1398. Failing the Test and Spiritual Failure—Hardness of Heart

Mark 6:45-56

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: This episode illustrates the key contrast of this central section in Mark. Jesus has the power to take care of his followers, but the disciples fail to understand this because of their hardness of heart and spiritual failure. Understanding the Text God provides for the needy (6:30–44), and Christ heals all who come (6:53–56). True disciples place their trust in God and Christ, who watch over them. As the new Israel, Jesus’s followers must be tested with their own “wilderness” experience. In other ...

1399. Adam, the Law, and the Curse of the Covenant

Romans 5:12-21

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Paul presents another new-covenant blessing: Christians are part of the new humanity created by Christ, the last Adam. Sin and death, instigated by the old-covenant law, began with the fall of the first Adam. This is the curse of the covenant. But Christ has undone the consequences of Adam’s sin by obeying God and thereby creating the new humanity. Understanding the Text Romans 5:12–21 continues the theme begun in 5:1–11: the blessings of the new covenant have replaced the ineffective old ...

1400. “I Will Praise Your Name, Lord, for It Is Good”

Psalm 54:1-7

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: Faith affirms God and worships, and in that context confronts the ongoing conflict between truth and evil. Understanding the Text Psalm 54 contains most of the characteristics of an individual lament, including an address to God, petition, lament/complaint, confession of trust, vow to praise, and assurance of being heard.1 It is another of the thirteen psalms that have historical titles (see the sidebar). Psalm 54 belongs to a minicollection (Pss. 52–55) that is joined together by the phrase “A ...

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