Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1376 to 1400 of 1679 results

1376. I'll Be Somewhere Listening

1 Samuel 3:1--4:1

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

Children are very perceptive. When our friend's daughter was small, if she was talking to her father or her mother and she felt that they were not quite tuned in to what she was saying, she would adamantly inform them that they were not listening to her. Sometimes she would take a different approach, especially if they were seated in a chair or on the couch. She would be talking away and realize that they were not giving her their undivided attention. Her approach to handling their inattentiveness was to ...

1377. Pentecost: The Neglected Factor

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

The book of the Bible most closed to modern Christians, I believe, is the book of Acts. It is actually the record of the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of those who were left to carry on that first century after Jesus’ departure from the earthly scene. It is the account of the dynamic released in the world through men and women of prayer. Jesus promised, you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you. And he told those scared followers to wait in Jerusalem for the promise. For John ...

1378. A Scream And A Laugh

Colossians 1:1-14

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

"My name is Asher Lev, the Asher Lev, about whom you have read in newspapers and magazines, about whom you talk so much at your dinner affairs and cocktail parties. The notorious and legendary Lev of the Brooklyn crucifixion." With those words, Chaim Potack begins his novel entitled My Name is Asher Lev. It's about a young boy whose extraordinary talent leads him away from his family and his faith into a painful maturity and a perilous success. Asher Lev longs to be a painter, and he pursues this longing ...

1379. East Of Eden

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Last Sunday we talked about The Fall in Eden in terms of Paul Harvey's phrase: "The Rest of the Story". The story is simply told -- "Evil entered paradise. Satan tempted Eve and Adam by appealing to their pride and vanity to "be like God." After their sin and expulsion from the garden, death made its first relentless assault on the race. There was "brother trouble" when Cain killed his brother Abel. In Genesis 4: 7, we have this stark warning: "Sin is crouching at the door; its desire is for you, but you ...

1380. O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Isaiah 1:1-31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Back in the early 1980's, there was a best- selling book entitled Blue Highways. The novel chronicles one man's adventures along the back roads and secondary highways of America. His journeys took him into crossroad villages and almost forgotten towns where he met all kinds of interesting people, including a few hitchhikers whom he befriended. Among the hitchhikers was a Bible-toting self styled evangelist, who passed out religious tracts and confronted everyone he met with questions about their salvation ...

1381. The Grace Question: Are You A Teacher...and Yet Do Not Understand?

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There are two actors in this scene of John's gospel: Jesus and Nicodemus. Nicodemus is not a popular figure in the gospels. He appears only a couple of other times in John's record. The last picture of him is in John 19. He and Joseph of Arimathea asked for the body of Jesus after He was crucified in order that He might have a decent burial. One of Rembrandt's most famous etchings portrays that scene. The limp, dead body of Jesus was slowly taken down from the cross. Joseph of Arimathea, dressed as the ...

1382. Learning to Give Thanks

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

King Duncan

Did you know that not everyone has been brought up to smile? When McDonald’s restaurants invaded Russia, the bosses--all of whom were American--insisted that the Russian young people working behind the counter give customers the standard Mickey D smile. Russian customers were outraged--and insulted--because in Russia smiling at strangers means you’re making fun of them. How did Mickey D Russia solve the problem? They hired personnel which they called "Smile Explainers" to shout into bullhorns at customers ...

1383. The Two Ways of Life

Jeremiah 16:1--17:18

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

In many respects religious faith has become a rather casual affair in our society. Persons can have it, or they can leave it alone. It's all a matter of personal opinion. There is no particular opprobrium leveled at the person who claims to be an agnostic or atheist, nor is there considered to be much advantage to claiming that one is a Christian. To be sure, at election time, every politician will claim to be deeply religious in order to secure the faithfuls' vote. But otherwise, everyone goes his or her ...

1384. A Church Shaped By The Great Commission

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Last words are important. Let that truth sink in. Last words are important. East Side Baptist Church is a little country church down in Perry County, Mississippi. It is the church in which I was converted under the preaching of Brother Wiley Grissom, a fifth-grade educated pastor who preached the Gospel with power. The church is about 200 yards up the hill from our old home place. Behind it is a cemetery where I’ll be buried someday. Mom and Dad—whom in my adult life I affectionately called, “Mutt” and “Co ...

1385. Being Christ

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

What Christ has been and done for us we must do and be for others. Our life in Christ and our ministry in his name are inseparable. A spirituality that does not lead to active ministry becomes an indulgent preoccupation with self, and therefore grieves the Holy Spirit and violates the presence of the indwelling Christ. Paul's powerful prayer in Ephesians is a profound expression of our call to live a life in Christ. It is an amazing affirmation of God's power working in us to fulfill that ministry. Listen ...

1386. Some Healing Is Up To You

John 5:1-15

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There is a famous legend in Buddhist folklore in which the Buddha compares philosophical preoccupation with the matter of God’s existence to a man shot with a poisoned arrow. Before the man would allow the arrow to be withdrawn, he insisted upon knowing who shot him, what kind of poison was in the arrow, who was going to administer the cure, and what was going to be the medication. Needless to say, he died before his questions were answered. The Buddha concluded that in the same way, people need to be ...

1387. The Nature of the Church and Christian Discipleship

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

In my convocation address I shared with you the fact that I am preoccupied these days with the nature of the church – and the nature of Christian discipleship. Maybe my preoccupation with the church is triggered by the struggles going on in my own denomination – the United Methodist Church. The truth of the matter is, these struggles are going on in all mainline churches. Schism is a threat – I struggle with questions like when or does a person ever have enough reason to leave the church of which he is a ...

1388. The Prize of the High Calling of God

Hebrews 11:1-40, Philippians 2:12-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I am intrigued by bumper stickers. Someone was smart. Since modern Americans spend so much of their time in cars, why not turn the bumper into a kind of chrome or, alas with modern cars, plastic bulletin boards. Thousands would get the messages as they come near the car in front of them. It was a brilliant idea. Religious folks have not missed this communication opportunity. So you have the traditional bumper sticker message: “Honk if you love Jesus”. And the more avant-garde, “In case of the rapture, this ...

1389. The Prize of the High Calling of God

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

1390. Called To Be Free

Galatians 5:1-15

Bulletin Aid

H. Burnham Kirkland

Call To Worship Leader: You are called to be free; but do not let this freedom become an excuse for letting your physical desires control you. People: We come seeking the power of the Holy Spirit to direct our lives. Leader: God has called us all to service. People: We pray for the Spirit to produce in us kindness and goodness, that we may be free to serve the needs of others. Collect Almighty God, through your Son, Jesus Christ, you have set us free. Give us this day a clear understanding that we were not ...

1391. You Cannot Serve Two Masters

Luke 16:1-15

Bulletin Aid

H. Burnham Kirkland

Call To Worship Jesus taught us that you cannot serve two masters. If you try, you will hate one and love the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Come, let us worship the Lord God, our Master and our Friend. Collect O God, you created the world and all that is in it, and it was good. You entrusted your creation to us, but we have not been faithful stewards. Greed, the desire for power, and the wish to control others have caused us to create problems rather than solve them. May this time of worship ...

1392. When Jesus Comes to Church

Mark 11:27-33

Sermon

Michael Milton

1 Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, 3 ‘Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.’ 4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. 5 He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 6 ‘I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.’ 7 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, ‘You are my son; today I have ...

1393. Where's the Fire?

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

Mark Trotter

Jean and I have just gotten back from a three-week vacation trip up in Northern California. When I returned to the office I discovered that a lot of people thought that we were in Germany. That is because four weeks ago this weekend, there was a wonderful event here at this church celebrating my twenty years as one of the ministers on the staff. That evening it was announced that we would be given a trip to Germany. That was the first we had heard of it. It was a surprise. So we have yet to even start to ...

1394. Fire Falling from Heaven

Luke 12:49-53

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

Jesus spends much of the twelfth chapter of Luke reassuring and encouraging his followers in the face of possible catastrophic circumstance. "I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more" (v. 4). "Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life" (v. 22). "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (v. 32). The same chapter ends on a far less positive note. Rather than encouraging reassurance, Jesus ...

1395. The Bent-over Woman

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

As was his custom, Jesus went that Sabbath morning to the synagogue for worship. As he was preaching and teaching, he happened to glance toward the fringe of the crowd where he saw a very crippled woman. She was bent over and was unable to stand up straight. When he inquired, Jesus was told the woman had been that way for eighteen years. Can you imagine? For nearly two decades this woman spent every waking moment bent double. When she went to the market she did not see the distant green hillsides. She saw ...

1396. A Voice from Beyond

Genesis 12:1-9

Sermon

James L. Killen

Down through the centuries, philosophers and theologians have come up with a number of classical "proofs for the existence of God." The truth is that these "proofs" are not likely to convince anyone who is determined not to believe in God. But they can be helpful guides to experiencing God for people who want to believe. Most of the proofs for the existence of God focus attention on the things that exist and the things that happen in the world around us and reason that there must be someone who is making ...

1397. The Problem with Promises

Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-7

Sermon

James L. Killen

The problem with promises is that you have to trust them. You have to believe that they will be fulfilled, and live as if you believe that they will be fulfilled, before they can do you any good. We don't like to do that. We are cautious people. We want something to be thoroughly proven before we will believe that it is true. We want to investigate an enterprise thoroughly before we will invest in it. But that doesn't really work with believing in God. There is a limit to what we can know about God without ...

1398. Financial Freedom

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

Some of you may have read a remarkable short story sometime during your school years by D. H. Lawrence titled, “The Rocking‑Horse Winner.” I wonder if you remember how the story begins? It is a haunting tale about a family living above its means. The mother is considered by friends and neighbors to be the perfect mother, in spite of the fact that deep down she knows she has difficulty loving her three children. It’s important to the husband to keep up the pretense of success--the large house, staffed with ...

1399. When Is Being Right Wrong?

Romans 3:19-28

Sermon

Rick Brand

I finally got a copy of the Rules of Life. We all want them because we think that having a set of rules for life will make life so much easier and less confusing. Just find the twelve rules and follow them and it will take away a lot of worry and agony out of life. So I was excited when I got them. I do not know who made them up, but I got them by e-mail off the Internet, so I know that makes them official. The Twelve Rules of Life: Never give yourself a haircut after three drinks. There are only two tools ...

1400. Leave No Child Behind

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

Mark Trotter

The familiar words of Jesus, "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God," are the inspiration for a number of hymns, such as the one we have just sung. You also see that same scene in Sunday School art showing Jesus, meek and mild, a pastoral scene, sitting on hillside, with the flowers in bloom, birds singing, and little children gathered around him, leaning on his shoulders and knees, captivated with the stories he tells them. So predominant and ubiquitous is ...

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