Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1376 to 1400 of 4943 results

1376. Take Some Lessons

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

Robert R. Kopp

All scripture is inspired by God and is useful....-- 2 Timothy 3:16 My handicap was heading to single digits and those absurd late fortyish daydreams about the senior tour were making denomi-national meetings more tolerable when disaster struck. Playing with my dad in one of those little friendly-while-you're-winning matches, I was even through fifteen holes. I had been slow, steady, and solid throughout the round. So I strutted to the sixteenth tee, undoubtedly more personally impressed than impressive. ...

1377. Will the Real Christian Please Stand Up?

Acts 11:26

Sermon

James Merritt

The year was 1995. It was called "Global Mission with Billy Graham." It took over a year to pull off and by the end of the event it would be the largest single evangelistic effort in the history of Christianity. Bob Williams, Director of International Ministries for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, had set an incredible goal: Through the medium of satellite technology, he wanted to reach the largest audience ever to hear a series of messages by Billy Graham. In order to appreciate the size and ...

1378. God Stood Up

Sermon

James Bjorge

As you sit before your television set, the program, "To Tell the Truth," flashes on the tube. The host, Gary Moore, introduces the panel members and the game is soon underway. Three persons come onto the stage and all claim to be the same person. Two are pretenders; one is the real person. The object of the game is for the panelists to discover the right one so they ask questions and then attempt an educated guess. As they toss out their questions, the audience both in the studio and at home is also ...

1379. What to Give Up for Lent

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

The Faithful Followers Sunday School class at the Church of What’s Happening Now was discussing the upcoming season of Lent. The congregation had never had such a discussion. This congregation prided itself on their core value of relevance. Adhering to ancient seasons such as Advent and Lent simply did not rise to that standard. Their church calendar had a softball schedule but no mention of Lent. Their new pastor, however, had suggested the congregation might find the rhythm of a traditional church ...

1380. Life’s Take-Home Final

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

There are two types of students. There are those students who jump for joy when they hear the words “take home final.” And there are those students who are not thrilled with joy but filled with dread when they hear the words “take home final.” At first blush it seems a no-brainer. Who wouldn’t prefer a take home exam? There is no time crunch. There is unlimited access to resources for checking facts and figures. There is the ability to modify, or even completely change, responses after thinking about them ...

1381. Waiting for Jesus

Romans 13:11b

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: A driver's license. Good morning, boys and girls. A very happy day to you. This is the first Sunday in Advent, which means that we are now preparing for the coming of Jesus Christ into the world again. That's right, we are here this morning to pray and hope that Jesus will come again, and that when he does we will know that the perfect world that God has planned has happened. The Bible says that the coming of Jesus into our world is closer to happening now than when we first heard about Jesus. Let ...

1382. Managing Our Memories

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

Leonard W. Mann

[Paul reports, concerning Jesus] When he had given thanks, he broke [the bread] and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." Once again we approach the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Once again we hear Jesus say, "Do this in remembrance of me." Join me now, if you will, for a few moments as we think together about an aspect of ...

1383. Never Give Up

Luke 18:1-8

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

Object: a camera Good morning, boys and girls. Have you ever taken somebody's picture with a camera? It's pretty easy, isn't it? You just look through the little glass area, aim the camera at the person, then push a button. You know, taking pictures didn't used to be that easy. Back a long time ago, cameras were much harder to work with. The camera itself weighed 20 or 30 pounds. That's really heavy. When you took a picture, it had to be transferred onto heavy glass plates, which the person had to carry ...

1384. Taking the Long Way Home

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

Will Willimon

“Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the region of the Decapolis.” Mark 7:31 Durham is one of the toughest places on earth to find your way around in. Bisected by a freeway and this campus, a downtown full of one way streets (all one way in the wrong direction) -- am I now on Chapel Hill Street, Chapel Hill Road, or simply the main road to Chapel Hill? The things that Cornwallis Road does are positively criminal. Where are we? Where are we in ...

1385. It’s Time to Grow Up

Ephesians 4:14-15

Sermon

James Merritt

I want you to listen again to two lines in this song. Between who you are and who you could be Between how it is and how it should be If that tension is in your life, I am going to dare you to move. I am going to dare you to move to the next level of spiritual growth in your life – to move from where you are now to where you could be on the road to both spiritual life and spiritual maturity. What I want to say to many of you today is something that we all tell our kids (or one day you will tell your kids) ...

1386. Look Up and Live

Numbers 21:4-9

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Snakes. Do you like snakes? Not many do. I can think of no other creature on the face of the planet that so universally brings forth a sense of revulsion and disgust. True or not, we think of snakes as icky, slimy, nasty, and as our Old Testament lesson reminds, DANGEROUS. It seems that the children of Israel, in the midst of their wilderness wandering after the escape from slavery in Egypt, had stumbled on to a location south of the Dead Sea that is infamous for its lethal snakes. "Big deal," they no ...

1387. Now Stand Up Straight!

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

Mark Trotter

Some of you give me books that you would like me to read, which I am very happy to do. It usually takes me some time to get to them, so sometimes I save them to take on planes with me. If it is near the summertime, I save them to take with me on my summer vacation. Sometimes, I am embarrassed to confess, by the time I get around to reading the book, I can't remember who it was who gave it to me. That has happened with enough frequency lately that I have thought of putting a table out on the patio, pile all ...

1388. Christian: Don’t Get So Hung Up On Churchy Things!

Revelation 21:10, 22--22:5

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

There was no temple in the city. Heaven is a place without a temple. A Barna Poll in 2016 found while 73% of Americans identify themselves as Christians, only 37% are likely to be in church (and people typically lie about church attendance in polls). A 2016 Pew Research Center poll found that 20% of the religiously unaffiliated are turned off by institutional religion. It’s all about being “spiritual,” not “religious,” it seems. This vision of the New Jerusalem at the end of time that the writer of the ...

1389. Take Care Of Your Wagon

Luke 16:1-15

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

Exegetical Aim: If you take care of your toys today you will be entrusted with greater things tomorrow. Stewardship is a sign of character. Key verses: 10-11. Props: A child's red wagon or a tricycle or a small bike. Lesson: [The children should gather around the wagon.] Good morning! (response) How many of you would like to drive your mom's or dad's car? (response) Where would you go if you could drive the car? (response) When you get a little older, you might be able to do that, but first you have do ...

1390. Taking the First Step

Luke 6:27-38

Sermon

Gary L. Carver

Create in your minds, if you will, a scene where the people are gathering at a small church for worship. They are drifting in one by one. One man storms in, unaware that his entry is causing a disturbance. He's angry! He's mad! He's fuming! As he sits down, his mind begins to recall the events of the day. Someone he thought was his best friend took an idea of his, lied to him, lied about him, and gave the idea to the boss. Now, this so-called friend will probably get the advancement that should have been ...

1391. Hope Lifted Up

Numbers 21:4-9

Sermon

Ken Lentz

It was a mystery. Hezekiah, the twelfth king of Judah, the father of Manasseh, asked around about the mysterious bronze snake, named Nehushtan, on display in a corner of the temple. Encouraged by the prophet Micah, Hezekiah wanted to restore and strengthen the monotheistic religion of his forefathers. The veneration of such a "graven image" was inconsistent with the worship of the one God, the God of Abraham and Moses. No one knew the origin of the thing. Hezekiah didn't research the matter. He ordered ...

1392. Wake Me Up!

Romans 13:8-14

Sermon

Lori Wagner

In 2013, Swedish DJ Avicii wrote the highest charting dance track of the decade, “Wake Me Up!” You can find the song on youtube along with an accompanying music video. The lyrics about living a dream and waking up to realize a new and better reality were written by Avicii as a result of his success, which thrust him into a life he never imagined. The video took the lyrics further however, suggesting that we all need to leave behind those places and people who don’t accept us for who we are in order to ...

1393. It Takes More than Sun to Grow

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

A father and his son went for a ride on a trolleycar. The boy seemed to be completely absorbed in the passing sights of San Francisco. His father, feeling a bit mischievous, lifted the boy’s cap from his head and pretended to throw it out the window. The boy began to cry, so his father whistled and placed the cap back on his son’s head. He made believe that he was able to bring the cap back by a mere whistle. The lad’s tears disappeared and he laughed. "That’s fun," he said, "let’s do it again" - and he ...

1394. Take Time To Pray

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

King Duncan

It is said that one of President Reagan's favorite stories was the one about the minister's son who was taken out camping one day. His companion warned him not to stray too far from the campfire because the woods were full of wild beasts of all kinds. The young boy had every intention, really, of following that advice but inevitably he was drawn by curiosity and wandered farther and farther from the fire. Suddenly, he found himself face to face with a very large and powerful looking bear. He saw no means ...

1395. All Dressed Up and No Place To Go

Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

It was in the sixties that a dynamic music teacher came to the local Junior High School. You will remember that was the decade in which youth began dressing in the sloppiest possible way. Hundreds of young people were attracted to the charm of this man and joined his many projects. We were present at the program featuring the chorus. I was so impressed with the number of youth who filed onto the risers that I counted them - roughly two hundred. Some spark in this teacher ignited a latent sense of beauty ...

1396. Your Spiritual Check up

2 Corinthians 13:1-10

Sermon

Erskine White

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are holding to your faith ... Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?" (2 Corinthians 13:5) We all know that having a physical checkup is important for our health and well-being. We're supposed to get one every year. But what about a spiritual checkup? Why shouldn't they be even more important and when was the last time you had one? "Examine yourselves," says Paul, "to see whether you are holding to your faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus ...

1397. Growing Up Is More Than Showing Up

1 John 2:12-14

Sermon

James Merritt

Warren Wiersbe is one of the most popular and well known Bible teachers in all of the world. He once made this incredible statement: "After over forty years of ministry, I am convinced that spiritual immaturity is the number one problem in our churches." [1] I heard a story of a little boy who fell out of bed in the middle of the night. When his mother rushed to his room to ask him what happened, he said, "I don't know. I guess I stayed too close to where I got in." So many Christians do that with their ...

1398. OUR LORD DELIVERED UP

Sermon

E. Jerry Walker

He walked rapidly, his long robes flowing behind him to be whipped by the brisk, dry east wind. His two servants occasionally quick-stepped to keep pace, their sandals padding softly on the dust of the deserted streets. As they turned eastward from the upper city, the declining, full moon flung their shadows ahead like long moving fingers pointing toward the white limestone buildings of the temple compound. Nicodemus’ mind was thoughtless, yet filled with many thoughts. He had no plan, no course of action ...

1399. Up and Running

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Robert Noblett

We all have a stake in making sure that our young people get up and running. This is a given for families, but it is also true for congregational families too, for the simple and obvious reason that today's young people represent tomorrow's church leaders. Our text is about the process whereby we get up and running. It begins with a curious picture of Jesus being baptized. On a wall somewhere in a church building you have seen an artist's depiction of this. Jesus' experience is such that he sees the ...

1400. Will the Real Blind Beggar Please Stand Up?

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Cathy A. Ammlung

It's easy to slap some people down. Little kids, poor people, beggars, the handicapped, foreigners, old people, minorities ... the list goes on. Sit down and shut up and be grateful for what you have. What do you know? Who asked you? You should be seen and not heard. Those are things we say -- or maybe have had said to us. That's assuming the person in question isn't being ignored into oblivion. We sinful human beings sometimes waver between abusing and ignoring someone who offends, disturbs, or makes us ...

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