Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1401 to 1425 of 2665 results

1401. The Heart of an Intimate Matter

Matthew 5:27-30

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... the American family in the 1990s: Households headed by unmarried partners grew by almost 72 percent during the decade. Households headed by single mothers or fathers increased by 25 percent and 62 percent, respectively. And for the first time ever, nuclear families dropped below 25 percent of all households. Thirty-three percent of all babies were born to unmarried women, compared to only 3.8 percent in 1940. Cohabitation increased by close to one thousand percent from 1960 to 1998” (Statistics from an ...

1402. Going Hard against the Grain

Matthew 5:33-37

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... , and when I ask, “Why did I do that again?” the answers are typically two: fear or pride. Too often I would rather look good than be truthful. The words we speak have implications for everyone around us as the effects extend out like rings from a stone dropped in a pond. So let the words of Jesus’ prick your conscience and let the Holy Spirit monitor your commitment to seeking out and speaking the truth in love. When we dwell in the truth of Jesus Christ, and when we learn the art and skills of truth ...

1403. Playing to the Right Audience

Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... I quickly argued myself out of generosity, and just then, at that very moment I was leaning up to put my wallet back into my pocket, the man behind me -a disabled man who is not a member of this church and who has not much money at all -dropped in a twenty without a thought and without even breaking the conversation about fishing with the man on the row in front. A saber went through my insides. I winced; my disobedience had been exposed by divine timing and a superior example. I gave it later, but all the ...

1404. A Kingdom Investment Policy

Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... the average American family with at least one credit card owes $9,205. 1.6 million filed for personal bankruptcy the same year. Fully 30 percent of Americans believe they will always be in debt. The savings rate has declined for a decade and has now dropped to levels of the Great Depression. In June of 2005, the savings rate fell to 0.02 percent; Americans spend 99.8 percent of their after-tax income.17 Ninety million go to casinos each year. One financial writer observed, "Living within your means today is ...

1405. Facing Fears, Kingdom Style

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... from the mission’s founding. It is one thing to be called to a work of the kingdom, and another to discover the wonder of God’s provision for that work: “In 1880 George and Sarah Clarke, purchased the lease for the Pacific Beer Garden. Dropping the word Beer, the couple added the word Mission, and launched a ministry to homeless alcoholics and the downtrodden. Thus was born the Pacific Garden Mission, the second oldest rescue mission in the U. S. Colonel and Mrs. Clarke bore the cost of the mission ...

1406. Comfortable Christianity Is a Big, Fat Lie

Matthew 7:15-23

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... on clergy to shut up and pay up and go-along-to-get-along is great. Membership in the Church of Scotland plunged 22 percent in the eight years between 1994 and 2002, but Daniel Hawthorn, pastor of Belhelvie Church in Aberdeenshire, says it's time to drop a few more names off the rolls. So in a letter to his 600 church members, only a third of whom regularly attend services (about the same as here at Duncan!) he suggested that those unwilling to attend, give, read the Bible, and evangelize should "reflect ...

1407. Keep The Faith

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Bulletin Aid

H. Burnham Kirkland

... race, and keep the faith without your help. Be our constant companion, giving us strength and keeping us on the right track, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Prayer Of Confession Merciful Father, when we have failed to do our best, when we have felt like dropping out of the race, and when our faith has faltered, we have failed you. We ask your forgiveness for these lapses in our determination to serve you, and we seek the power of your Holy Spirit to be faithful disciples. Amen. Offertory Prayer Lord, we are ...

1408. An Extraterrestrial Celebration

John 13:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... either barefoot or in sandals, their feet were not protected from the dirt as they progressed along roads which were essentially rough tracks, where rubbish fell unhindered. These roads were also traveled by animals, whose recent presence was always visible from the droppings which they left. In towns, where there was no rubbish collection, people swept out their homes into the street. Not only dust but any household rubbish might be cleared out, so it would be hard to prevent your feet becoming very dirty ...

1409. Resurrection

Acts 10:34-43

Sermon

King Duncan

... Buster was a mechanic at the local garage. His wife, Beulah, drank too much and was high on drugs most of the time. They argued loudly and profanely and bitterly. One day they were in the middle of a huge shouting match when Buster dropped dead. “Dead before he hit the floor,” Beulah said, at least a hundred times to anyone who would listen. Now, Buster was a rascal, and his death made the whole community feel apprehensive and worried about his utterly dysfunctional family. Pastor Lischer helped Beulah ...

1410. On Level Ground

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... just sat there in dead silence. Finally the teacher said, "Well, what about Peter? Do you know who Peter was?" A little girl, on the front row, raised her hand rather tentatively. "Yes, Karen," the teacher said, "will you tell us who Peter was?" And the little girl dropped her head and said sheepishly, "I 'tink he was a wabbit!" We are not that limited in our knowledge of the disciples -- I hope. We know their names. That is, if we aren't under pressure to name them. I think I told you about one of my ...

1411. Stick to the Knitting

John 1:43-51

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... happy in this life. But Paul says the successful Christian is the one who serves Christ, who can say, ever since Christ came into my life, I find myself making these sacrifices for other people. I find myself reaching out to other people. I find myself dropping prejudices that I have had all my life, and looking at people in a new way. I find myself giving, instead of receiving. "Servants of Christ," that is how you are to regard us, and "stewards of the mysteries of God." Not a bad mission statement. Ours ...

1412. When Fisherman do Strange Things

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... , the adverb "immediately" is used to describe what happens. Which means, they did not ponder this decision. They didn't research it. They didn't consult with anybody. They didn't think about it. They didn't even pray about it. They immediately dropped everything, and followed him. Such strange behavior. Which tells us that this story is not an example of a career move. The disciples are not leaving the fishing business and going into the ministry. If that were the case, this would be told differently ...

1413. Why Have You Forsaken Me?

Matthew 24:36-51

Illustration

Richard A. Wing

... Frederic Handel, now regarded as one of the greatest composers of his era, was blessed by a "gentle cosmic light." He was led slowly out of darkness by a desire to write music at a feverish pitch. He worked tirelessly for days until, with manuscript complete, he dropped into a seventeen-hour, death-like sleep. A doctor was summoned to see if he was alive. Out of depression came the light of the Messiah. Out of that depression was left for us a light that would light the corridors of the lives of countless ...

1414. Divine Dinner Party Decorum

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... He talks about how embarrassing it is to take one of the preferred seats at the table only to have a more important person come along and "bump" you into less prestigious seating. Joe Cohen, the young man Jesus saw switching nametags before the dinner started, drops his eyes and looks like a child caught with a hand in the cookie jar. Then Jesus launches into a discourse about who should be invited to a dinner party. Don't just invite your relatives, business associates, and rich friends, he tells them. All ...

1415. Warning To The Clueless Enthusiasts

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... time the group passes through a village their numbers swell with enthusiastic local fans of the Lord. They know his reputation as a preacher and healer. These folks never intend traveling all the way to Jerusalem. They just want to be part of the parade. They drop out and return home after walking to the next village. It will make a great story for the grandchildren. "Did I ever tell you about the time I walked with Jesus. Yep, he came right down Main Street. His apostles were with him -- James and John ...

1416. Discovering that It’s Not about You

Genesis 22:1-14

Sermon

James L. Killen

... had will have been taken away from you, or, at least it will have been shown not to be yours in the way that you thought it was. What do you do then? You can do one of two things. You can decide that the story is all over and drop into despair. Or you can decide that the story is going to go on, and that you will have a role to play in it, but it is not primarily about you. And that decision -- or discovery -- can surprise you by giving you new freedom and meaning and hope. Now ...

1417. An Incredible Encounter

Genesis 32:22-31

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

... he is behind us" (Genesis 32:17-18). Personal fears can be very real. They can be exaggerated, imagined, discounted, or ignored, but when someone vows to kill you, that is a sure attention-getter and a legitimate fear. "A 1,000-pound bomb had been dropped and failed to explode. Instead it got buried in the ground. A member of the bomb-disposal squad was lowered into the crater and sat calmly on the now-exposed bomb and began to remove its fuse. Suddenly, he hollered, â€˜Get me out of here! Quick ...

1418. A Deliverer Is Born

Exodus 1:1-22, 2:1-10

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

... a half days. The entire community rallied to save her, and eventually a paramedic pulled Jessica to safety from a newly-drilled shaft. Later when asked, "Who saved you?" Jessica replied, "Winnie the Pooh." You see, her mother kept singing to her into the microphone, dropped down the well, her two favorite songs, "Jesus Loves Me" and "Winnie the Pooh." The literal meaning of Moses is "saved; delivered by God." Your name and my name is Moses, too. We have been drawn out of the dangers of sin, death, and the ...

1419. Passing and Failing

Deuteronomy 8:7-18

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... test by pinching off our souls, separating ourselves from others, and losing the joy of fellowship with God? Life is never as simple as adversity and prosperity. Even in our darkest times, we have blessings. Even when we have enough material things, life can drop trouble in our laps. Even the richest and most powerful people can feel heartache. The real test is to look for God's hand in our lives whatever our circumstances. Whether life is going our way, or whether we are stumbling around in some wilderness ...

1420. The Model of Success

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... curse upon their family. After an hour, or less, in surgery their appearance was changed, and they received new hope and a new life. If you are hard-headed, you might conclude that the thousands of dollars that were spent last week in Tehuacan was just a drop in the bucket. It's not going to make any difference. I mean, the enormous suffering in this world, just wave after wave. It's not going to make any difference. I talked to one of those Rotarians in Tehuacan who spent two years setting up this project ...

1421. Jesus' Most Perplexing Parable

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... in town, Sam Shapiro and Ruben Levine, owe him big. He expects the rich landowner to throw a fit when he finds out that he has been giving deep discounts. Imagine his surprise, as well as the surprise in Jesus' audience, when the dishonest manager drops off the account books and the boss praises him. "Your plan was absolutely ingenious," the landowner says. "You have greatly enhanced both our reputations by using my money! In doing that you have put me in an untenable position. Sam and Ruben think that you ...

1422. How Does It Work?

1 Corinthians 2:1-16

Sermon

James L. Killen

... - but he never got it. He said he thought there must be something he had to do to win love and he kept trying to do everything he knew to do to win love from someone, but he never felt love, not at any time in his life. Eventually he dropped into cynicism. He didn't believe in God and he didn't believe that anyone loved him. He didn't talk about what he had done that got him put him in prison, but it must have been related to that. After the men had spent three days with him ...

1423. Abraham Believed God

Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

Sermon

Richard W. Ferris

... . Imagine, if you will, a tightrope stretched across the street between two tall buildings (you might insert the names of two well-known buildings in your town or city, or you might name some high spot with which your people are familiar). That's a pretty good drop. A man stands at one end of the wire and announces his intent to walk across the wire from one side to the other. A crowd gathers to watch because what he intends to do is dangerous, not to mention, a bit strange. The tightrope walker asks ...

1424. The Gifted

1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

Sermon

William G. Carter

... stop me from making the one claim that I want to make this morning, namely, that the only true Christian church is a charismatic church. That doesn't mean everybody is going to understand what I mean. The other day I tried out my one-point sermon on somebody who dropped by the church office. He wanted to hear a preview for Sunday morning. Maybe he figured if I could sum up my sermon in a single line, he could turn off the alarm Sunday morning and stay in bed. In any case, I told him what I wanted to say ...

1425. At War with Myself

Romans 7:15-25a

Sermon

William G. Carter

... , caring, to prefer peace to war, concord to discord, life to death; to wish other selves well, not ill - in fact secretly relishes wars and rumors of war, news of plane crashes, assassinations, mass murders, obituaries, to say nothing of local news about acquaintances dropping dead in the streets, gossip about neighbors getting in fights or being detected in sexual scandals, embezzlements, and other disgraces?2 Paul says we are at war with ourselves. Why do we do some of the things we do? I went to see a ...

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