Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1376 to 1400 of 4508 results

1376. Get off the Throne and Learn Wisdom

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

A check-out clerk once wrote columnist Ann Landers a letter of complaint: she had seen shoppers with food stamps buy luxury items like birthday cakes and bags of shrimp. The angry woman went on to say that people on welfare who treat themselves to non-necessities were “lazy and wasteful." A few weeks later Lander's column was devoted entirely to people who responded to the grocery clerk with lett...

1377. Blinding Specks

Sermon

Herchel H. Sheets

It is not uncommon for someone to be temporarily blinded or at least to have his or her vision impaired by the presence of a small foreign object in an eye. A large object is not required to cause this problem; a mere speck will do it. One’s eye becomes irritated; it hurts; tears begin to form, and one’s vision becomes clouded, all because of that speck. We can all empathize with one having this ...

1378. Parable of the Garden Hose

Illustration

Staff

"I'm selling garden hose," said the little boy. "It's ten cents a foot." "Wonderful," said the neighbor, "I'll take thirty feet." "Alright," said the little boy, who began to measure the amount of hose with his own feet. "Just a minute, son," said the neighbor. "You need a ruler or a tape measure." "No," said the boy, "I use my own feet to measure with. I make more money that way." There are ...

1379. Three Eggs, Not Bad!

Illustration

There is an old joke that circulates frequently in preaching journals and on the Internet. It serves to bring me back to earth when I think about my own preaching. It is one of those stories whose origin is unknown. Just before going into surgery a pastor's wife told him that should she not survive the surgery, he should be sure to check the shoebox under their bed. She went into surgery, he to t...

1380. Immune to Religion

Illustration

Dennis Kastens

Sir Alexander Fleming, upon introducing his newly discovered drug, penicillin, warned against taking too little of it. An underdose, he said would permit germs to remain in the system thereby allowing one to build up an immunity to the drug. These immune germs could be "passed on to other individuals so that the thoughtless person playing with penicillin treatments may be responsible for the death...

1381. Pillars Driven into the Sand

Illustration

Jef Olson

Pastor Jef Olson writes of his first-hand experience with "houses built on sand": On our initial visit to the Outer Banks of North Carolina our family was in awe of two realities. First, we were reminded of the awesome presence of the ocean – the unrelenting pounding the beach took as wave after wave spent its energy in a rush of spray and foam, the continual movement of sand and shell in respons...

1382. Judge Not

Children's Sermon

Teresa L. Major

Concept: Sometimes we have a difficult time seeing what we do wrong because we are too busy judging others' wrongdoings. Preparation: A pen or marker. Prepare the following list, printed at the top of a sheet of paper: Took two cookies, did not brush teeth, laughed at my doll, made fun of my dress, did not clean room. Be familiar with Matthew 7:1-5. I would like to tell you a story this morning ...

1383. Judging Prematurely

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

A young American found himself seated next to a Chinese diplomat at a banquet. He really didn’t know that this was a very learned man, that he was indeed a diplomat. Not knowing what to say to a Chinese, the young man stupidly asked, “Likee soupee?” The diplomat nodded and smiled. Later, Wellington Coo, this man seated by the young fellow, was called on to speak. He delivered an eloquent addr...

1384. Never Give Up On God

Sermon

James Merritt

A little five-year-old girl was watching her mother in fascination as she was rubbing cold cream on her face. She said, "Mother, why do you do that?" The mother replied, "To make myself beautiful." Well, to the little girl's amazement, in just a minute the mother began removing the cream with a tissue she had just put on. The girl said, "What's the matter, giving up already?" I sometimes be...

1385. Ask, Seek, Knock

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

7:7–11 Earlier in the sermon (6:5–15) Matthew brought together a portion of Jesus’ teaching on the subject of prayer. Now he expands it by stressing how important it is for believers to be persistent in prayer. The present imperatives, “keep on asking,” “keep on seeking,” and “keep on knocking” (Williams) indicate that prayer is not a semi-passive ritual in which we occasionally share our concerns...

1386. Sometimes, God Says, “No”

Children's Sermon

Marti Kramer Suddarth

Object: Wristwatch; Card stock printed with scripture reference and verse Good morning! (Hold up card stock printed with scripture reference and verse.) This morning, I read a verse in the Bible that says, “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” And I was so excited! If I ask for something, I’ll receive it ... so do you know what I d...

1387. Laying Hold On God's Willingness

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

We who experienced the nearness of a recent tornado can appreciate the experience of a certain Kansas farmer. He heard that a tornado was coming so he went down into his cellar. It was an awful storm. Windows were knocked out of his house and roofing was snatched away. His barn was blown away and his car flipped over. After the terrible storm finally passed, a neighbor came to the cellar and calle...

1388. Where the Bread Loaf Is Not a Stone

Sermon

Eric Ritz

It was always a pleasant experience when we lived in the Easton area, motoring down Northampton Street past Maier''s Bakery in the early spring with the car windows open, being able to smell the sweet aroma of freshly baked bread lingering in the air. There are few things in life so inviting and delicious as freshly baked bread. My mouth is watering from just thinking about it. During my 5 days o...

1389. The God Who Must Be Pursued

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

Arnold Palmer once played a series of exhibition matches in Saudi Arabia. The king was so impressed that he proposed, in good Middle Eastern fashion, to honor his guest with a gift. Palmer resisted, "It really isn't necessary, Your Highness. I'm honored to have been invited." And, in good Middle Eastern fashion, his highness persisted, "I would be deeply upset," replied the king, "if you would no...

1390. Mind Your Manners

Sermon

Robert R. Kopp

In everything do to others as you would have them do to you....-- Matthew 7:12 Everybody's got pet peeves -- annoying things that you'd correct or eliminate from the face of the earth if you were Director of the Universe. While I'm particularly peeved by restaurants that charge extra for blue cheese dressing and refills and people who are fortunate enough to have just enough paper in the duplica...

1391. Praying Our Way Forward

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Have you heard the story about the pastor and the taxi cab driver who happened to die at the same time? They arrived simultaneously at the Pearly Gates. The taxi cab driver was awarded a fabulous palace, complete with fountains, vast lawns and an army of servants. Meanwhile, the pastor was ushered down a lonely lane to an extremely modest place where he was invited to spend eternity. Discerning th...

1392. Parable of the Piggy Banks

Illustration

Staff

"Lift my bank," said Billy. "It's almost full." "Yes, it is heavy," said the mother. "You are learning to save your money and that's good." "But Jimmy says he has more money than I do and his bank isn't nearly as heavy," protested Billy. "I do have more money than you do -- lot more," said Jimmy. "You see, Bill," said the mother, "Jimmy has been saving dimes and you've only been saving nickels...

1393. Parable of the Indian Chiefs

Illustration

Staff

Said the great red one, "I am a mighty chief, and I want my son to follow in my footsteps and rule a great people. I want my son to be mighty and strong like me." Said the young chief, "I do not want to be like my father. He is cruel and selfish and he brags over victories he has not won. He makes himself great by stepping on little ones. There is no greatness for the hunter who shoots chipmunks....

1394. The Parable of Prayer and the Refueling Plane

Illustration

"Look at those two planes together," said the little boy. "It looks like one is towing the other." "No," said the father, "the one plane is bringing more gasoline, so that the other plane does not have to come down and land. Without the refueling plane the great ship would have to stop its flight." "Oh, that is good isn't it?" said the boy. Prayer does its silent refueling of the soul. Many gre...

1395. The Little Orphan Girl

Illustration

Mark Adams

After the first World War the United States gave vast sums of money to the dislocated orphans of Europe, but they still didn’t have enough money to meet the staggering need. In one of the places where they had set up an orphanage with funds from the states, a man came in leading a little girl. He was very thin, obviously suffering from starvation. She also showed signs of malnutrition, eyes too l...

1396. The Golden Rule

Children's Sermon

Robert B. Lantz

Object: Rulers, 6 inch, with Golden Rule imprint Good morning, boys and girls. Do you recognize what I have with me today? (Response.) Yes, it's something very common. You all probably have one in your desk at school or in your room at home. A ruler is a very useful object, isn't it? What are some of the things one might use it for? (Responses -- measure height, width, length, mark off a graph, h...

1397. A Bucket Of Water

Children's Sermon

Kenneth Mortonson

Purpose: To encourage children to actively seek the things of our faith. Materials: A bucket half full of water. Special Preparation: Hold the bucket at your side with your arm stiff and straight down. In a rapid circular motion swing the bucket to the front, up and over and down in the back. As the bucket reaches the downward position again, continue on around in the circular motion without sto...

1398. Through Others Too Far Away

Children's Sermon

Kenneth Mortonson

Purpose: To show the affect of our influence upon others. Materials: Obtain six small objects, such as wooden spools, wooden craft beads, or plastic film containers. Tie a piece of string to each object and suspend it from a rod. Arrange the six items on the rod so that they are touching each other. When you swing the first object so that it hits the others, the last object should swing away from...

1399. Step Eight - Love

Sermon

John A. Terry

Step eight: Made a list of all persons we harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. I can see the scene now. They are meeting over a three-martini lunch to plan out the advertising strategy. They struggle with what hook they will use to lure people to their product. One of them says, "Think of this? What revives the soul, makes wise the simple, rejoices the heart, enlightens the eyes...

1400. The Role of the Father (Father's Day)

Sermon

Brett Blair

What's the difference between Mother's Day and Father's Day? Someone once said that Mother's Day is a much bigger deal because Mothers are more organized. Mothers say to their children: Now here is a list of what I want. Go get the money from your father and you surprise me on Mothers Day. You do that for me. For Father’s Day I give each of my five kids $20 so that they can go out and by me a pre...

Showing 1376 to 1400 of 4508 results