Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1401 to 1425 of 2844 results

1401. Winners Every One

2 Timothy 4:9-18

Sermon

King Duncan

The coaching staff at Central High School in Clermont, Florida, was having a little problem. The football players were stealing the jerseys used in football practice. The coaches thought they could solve the problem by printing on the jerseys the words, "Stolen from Central High School." Do I need to say to you that this did not lessen the popularity of the jerseys? The thefts continued. But then the coach had a brainstorm. He ordered new practice jerseys printed with the words, "Central High School 4th ...

1402. Winners And Losers

Luke 13:22-30

Sermon

King Duncan

Back in 1994, 128 runners lined up to compete in the NCAA cross-country championships in Riverside, California. Unfortunately, one of the turns on the 10,000-meter course was not well marked; only five of the 128 runners stayed on the correct path. Mike Delcavo was the first runner to notice the problem. He began waving at the other runners to follow him, but most refused. Can you blame them? One-hundred-and-twenty-three runners took the wrong path, only five took the right one. What did the 123 think of ...

1403. Love And Submission

Ephesians 5:22-33

Sermon

King Duncan

Bishop Bompas was the first Anglican clergyman to venture among the Indians of the Yukon. There is a somewhat unusual story about his service there. It seems that when he discovered that no member of the tribe had ever been officially baptized or married, he immediately proceeded to do both. After the five-hour baptismal and marriage ceremony was over, he asked the tribal chief which part the people enjoyed most. "Well, Bishop," said the chief, "we liked being baptized, but most of all we loved being ...

1404. A Ministry of Encouragement

1 Thessalonians 2:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever noticed that men and women differ in their use of humor? Men’s humor is more competitive, and therefore more sarcastic. Women’s humor is more supportive. For example, famed comedian George Burns, remembered especially for the television show he hosted along with his wife, Gracie Allen, was roasted by some of his friends. Here are some of the things they had to say. BOB HOPE: “The first time I saw George Burns on the stage I could see he had what it takes to become a big star . . . Gracie ...

1405. More Than "Turkey Day" (New) Thanksgiving

2 Chronicles 9:1-28

Sermon

King Duncan

Although many countries and cultures have some type of ceremony for celebrating their blessings, no one celebrates Thanksgiving quite the way we do in the U.S. And for good reason. Few people on earth have as much for which to be thankful. Nightline host Ted Koppel emigrated to the U.S. from England in his early teen years. The Koppels were originally from Germany, but moved to England at the start of World War II. They had lived through food rationing, and had known the scarcity and desperation that ...

1406. A Way Made Ready

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Darrick Acre

Have you been out to see the Christmas lights yet? It is time for the annual excursion, when you pack the car with people on a chilly December evening, and drive around to all the neighborhoods and parks made beautiful by cities or neighborhood associations with lights, lights, and more lights, in a variety of colors and hues. There are bright reds, blues, and greens; beautiful, pastel pinks and yellows; and of course the brilliant elegance of white. As you drive along, there are elves and carolers, Santa ...

1407. What’s the Good Word?

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

I have always felt sorry for Steven Seymour. You may not remember who Steven Seymour was, but Steven Seymour was the interpreter President Carter took along with him to Poland some years back. Interpreters in such situations face a formidable task. They must do immediately, on the spur of the moment, what it takes the translator of a work of literature hours or days to do at their desk. And poor Steven Seymour mistranslated one of the President’s words of greetings to the Polish people. When the President ...

1408. Jesus: The Life of the Party

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

"On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding." (John 2:1-2) It is doubtful than John the Baptist would have been invited. He of the harsh garments of camel's hair and the strange diet of locusts and wild honey. (Although the word translated "locust" in the Gospels probably refers to the fruit of the carob tree.) John was a thundering prophet, austere and ascetic, far removed from the ordinary events ...

1409. On Doing the Truth

John 3:14-21

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

There is an old story about a family consisting of mother, father, and small son who went into a restaurant. As they were seated at the table, the waitress sailed up. You know, the particular kind of waitress who moves as though she were the captain of a ship. She sailed up, pad in efficient hand, looked, and waited. The parents ordered. Then the boy looked up and said plaintively, “I want a hot dog.” “No hot dog!” said the mother. “Bring him potatoes, beef, and a vegetable.” The waitress paused for a ...

1410. Some Said It Thundered

John 12:20-36

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

A number of years ago there was a television drama titled See How She Runs, which told the story of Betty, a 40-year-old schoolteacher who decided to run in the Boston Marathon. Betty’s daughter Kathy was surprised, shocked, and not a little fearful. The play contained the following dialogue between Betty and her daughter Kathy on the subject of fear: Betty: “There are worse things than being scared.” Kathy: “Like what?” Betty: “It’s worse never to be scared.” Kathy: “Is it?” Betty: “If you’re never scared ...

1411. Family Reunion

Mark 3:31-35

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

I. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT FAMILY REUNIONS? My son-in-law calls them “Family Rebellions.” Have you ever visited in a home where they have a photograph on the wall of a family reunion, where 30 or more people, from infants to the aged, are squeezed into an 8 x 10 photograph and frozen on film for all time? The patriarch of the family is usually positioned smack dab in the middle of the first row and is easily identified by that “Gee-did-I-start-all-this” look on his face. Family reunions are funny things. You ...

1412. Afraid of Sanity

Mark 5:1-20

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

In J. D. Salinger’s famous novel, The Catcher in the Rye, 15-year old Holden Caulfield says: “I can’t always pray when I feel like it. In the first place, I’m sort of an atheist.” (That would put a damper on prayer, wouldn’t it?) He goes on: “I like Jesus and all, but I don’t care too much for most of the other stuff in the Bible. Take the Disciples, for instance....They were all right after Jesus was dead and all, but while He was alive, they were about as much use to Him as a hole in the head. All they ...

1413. Not the Seasons for Figs

Mark 11:12-19

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

I am surprised that this strange story of Jesus cursing the fig tree ever got into our New Testament. Among all of the stories about Jesus recorded in the Gospels, this one is just about the most embarrassing and difficult to explain. On the face of it, it goes like this: Jesus had just ridden into the Holy City in triumph, accompanied with crowds singing His praises and strewing palm branches before Him. Those who remembered the old prophecy of Micah realized that in riding into town on a donkey, Jesus ...

1414. The Lord's Prayer: Forgive Us Our Trespasses

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Have you ever noticed that the great documents like this perfect pattern prayer, the Apostles'' Creed, the Nicene Creed, doctrinal statements of various church traditions, all affirm our need for forgiveness and God providing the means and methods by which we are forgiven? As we continue in our series on The Lord''s Prayer, I want to share with you why I believe this is the hardest petition for any of us to fulfill. To put it simply, it is difficult. To demonstrate how difficult it is to forgive, as soon ...

1415. Hissing in the Garden

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Today, I want to pick up and continue the series of sermons I have been sharing from the Book of James. I have preached on the Tongue from James 3:1-12, on Troubles as a part of our faith journey from James 1:3-11, and now I want to share another sermon that begins with the letter "T"--Temptation. One of my colleagues tells the story about a church in Kentucky that demonstrates the ancient but ever present power of evil and temptation. It seems a certain contractor had done some much needed repair work for ...

1416. A Friend in High Places

Luke 24:50-53

Sermon

Robert Noblett

What we want to talk about is not, I am extremely sure, a theme that dominated your breakfast conversation this morning. It is not, I am equally confident, a theme that came up in any church conversation around here in the last little while. It is not even, I am still confident, something that you have ever thought much about at all. And I am sure it is not something you have heard homiletically addressed more than once, if at all. I am talking about the ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven. If by chance ...

1417. Chosen

John 15:1-17

Sermon

David G. Rogne

It is a difficult thing not to be chosen. I can still remember what a relief it was to be appointed by the teacher as one of the two captains who would choose team members when our class would be divided for softball. It meant that I would be, in effect, the first one to be chosen. What agony it was, however, when others were doing the choosing. As an uncoordinated youngster, with very little to offer toward the team's success, I was likely to be chosen last, and the humiliation was keenly felt. Perhaps ...

1418. Don't Fence Me In!

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

Goodspeed translates our text: "I may do anything I please but not everything I do is good for me. I may do anything I please but I am not going to let anything master me." So Saint Paul is saying, "I am free and yet I am not free; I rejoice in my freedom, and yet I recognize that there are limits to my freedom." With these inspired insights we come face to face with one of the most critical issues in our world -- and in your life and mine. How do we interpret and how do we exercise our freedom? This is an ...

1419. What a Resume!

2 Corinthians 2:12--3:6

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

If you were to visit the Library of Congress and look up Jesus of Nazareth in the card catalog of authors, you will not find a single entry. Thousands of books have been written about Jesus, but he himself wrote no books, not even a pamphlet or tract. He was able to write, we know. When a woman accused of adultery was brought to him, Jesus "bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger" (John 8:5). Giovanni Papini suggested that he chose the sand on which to write "expressly that the wind ...

1420. Grace in the Midst of Hopelessness

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

Submarine accidents are rare. Successful submarine rescues, unfortunately, are rarer still. The complex variables of depth, pressure, temperature, and time conspire to doom most trapped sailors. During one celebrated rescue attempt a message could be heard reverberating through the hull of a downed sub. It was tapped out in code from the inside, metal clanging against metal: Is there any hope? At the beginning of the twenty-first century the world is waiting for an answer to that question. Opinion guru ...

1421. The Paradox of Death

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Richard Gribble

The motion picture Patton, produced in 1970, won eight academy awards, including one for George C. Scott as best actor, in his portrayal of the famous American World War II army general. The film opens in a rather odd manner. Patton, in full military regalia, stands atop a platform; he is addressing his troops before they enter battle. In the course of his comments he states, "Some people say it is glorious to die for your country. But I say that the objective of war is to make the other guy die for his ...

1422. Breaking The Negative Cycle

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

One of the most destructive foibles of human nature is the tendency to lock ourselves into rigid patterns of thinking, ruts of responding, and unalterable avenues of acting. It was this way of thinking that caused Jesus to condemn the Pharisees, admonishing them about straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. The most common pattern into which we humans tend to move is what I call a negative cycle. I doubt if there’s anything more devastating to daily living, to our effective functioning, to creative and ...

1423. Christmas Is On Top Of A Steep Hill

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Now will you hear the scripture lesson of the morning, from the 2nd chapter of Luke’s gospel, beginning with the 22nd verse and reading through the 35th verses? “And when the time came for their purification, according to the Law of Moses, they brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. As it is written in the law of the Lord, every male that opens the womb shall be called Holy to the Lord, and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord. A pair of turtle doves, or ...

1424. The Secret: Christ In You

Colossians 1:24--2:5

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

It's an awesome responsibility to preach. One of my heroes, Bishop Gerald Kennedy, was fond of telling of the Church of England Bishop who remarked that a sermon is something a clergy person will cross a continent to deliver, but will not walk across the street to hear. There may be more truth in that than most of us will admit. Yet, when we get beyond our egoes and our yet unredeemed arrogance, we know that preaching is an awesome responsibility. And especially is it so at a high hour such as this when we ...

1425. How May We Come To God?

Psalm 24:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Almost without fail, when Jerry and I go to visit my parents down in Mississippi, we will come around to talking about the Bible. Mutt, my father, has his Bible by the recliner. He spends at least 15 hours a day in that recliner, and he reads a lot. Other than watching all the game shows on TV, some of the soaps, and a lot of sports, that's about all Mutt does. He reads. Co-Bell, my mother, doesn't read much. She says her eyes are not too good, and she's right – but I hunch she just doesn't like to read, ...

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