Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1426 to 1450 of 4935 results

1426. The Power of Partnership

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Sermon

James Merritt

In 1948 two brothers, by the names of Richard and Maurice McDonald, converted their barbeque drive-in with carhops, into the world's first McDonald's limited-menu self-service drive-in in San Bernardino, California. One restaurant serving one community. In 1954 a man by the name of Ray Kroc mortgaged his home and invested his entire life's savings to become the exclusive distributor of a five-spindled milkshake maker called the Multimixer. He heard about this McDonald's hamburger stand in California that ...

1427. Witnesses For The Lord

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

Hear these powerful words of Erasmus.How much more wonderful the work of redemption is, in comparison with creation. It is more marvelous that God was made man than that He created the angels; that He wailed in a stable than that He reigns in the heavens. The creation of the world was a work of power, but the redemption of the world was a work of mercy.1 So we gather on this glorious Easter morning to celebrate God's wonderful work of mercy. As we celebrate Easter today, we seek to make it a celebration ...

1428. Lust - To Discipline The Eye And The Heart

Matthew 5:27-30

Sermon

R. Curtis Fussell

Jesus and his disciples were in a foreign land, the land of Samaria. It had once been recognized as the birthplace and capital of the Jewish faith. It was in Samaria and at Shechem that God told Abraham that the land would belong to his descendants. But later the Israelites were defeated by the Assyrians, who then settled in the land and mixed with the population. So in Jesus' day the people of Israel viewed the Samaritans as half-breeds and false worshipers. Jesus' parable of the "good Samaritan" was a ...

1429. Epiphany 2

Jn 1:29-42 · 1 Cor 1:1-9 · Is 49:1-7 · Ps 27

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Isaiah 49:1-7 The prophet of second Isaiah shares his strong sense of being called by the Lord; he was set aside for his prophetic/servant role while he was still in his mother's womb. He was called to relay some painful truths and feels as if his efforts have met with futility, but then the Spirit of God gives him hope and strength for his mission of restoring the wounded and scattered sheep of the defeated flock of Israel. The Spirit gently chides him for his constricted view of ...

1430. Kindness In Action: Evangelism

Acts 8:26-40

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

Let's play Sherlock Holmes for a bit and see what deductions we can make about the characters in this passage. The "eunuch" was probably either a prisoner of some earlier war, or born as a child into a poverty-stricken family, since those were the people who most usually were subjected to the mutilation he had suffered. However, we see he had risen to a position of high rank in Ethiopia. Obviously, then, he was a bright and highly-motivated man. Yet we find him referred to by vocation but not by name. ...

1431. Bold Talk Of Faith

Job 23:1--24:25

Sermon

John P. Rossing

One of Gary Larson's The Far Side cartoons is called "God at his computer." It shows God with long white hair and beard watching a computer screen where an unlucky-looking fellow is walking down a sidewalk with a piano suspended by a cable over his head. God's hand is on the computer keyboard, and his finger is hovering over a key labeled "SMITE."3 The cartoon suggests two things about God's way of determining a person's fate: first, that God is impersonal and inaccessible. God with his finger on the smite ...

1432. Returning: Real or Ruse?

Hosea 5:1-15

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

"I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress they see me, saying, ‘Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn, that he may heal us; he has stricken, and he will bind us up.’ " A woman was filling out an employment application. When she came to the line marked "age," she hesitated a long time. Finally, the personnel manager leaned across his desk and whispered to her, "The longer you wait, the worse it gets!" That’s true of repentance and ...

1433. Prepare The Way

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Brett Blair

His name was John. People knew him locally as the Baptist. Some would say of him that he was a religious eccentric. Others less kind would dismiss him as being simply a flake. He definitely did not seem to be the kind of “How to win friends and influence people” type of personality to usher in the news of the Messiah’s coming. He just somehow doesn’t seem to fit in with shepherds and wise men and the other characters that we traditionally associate with the Christmas story. Yet, this was God’s unlikely ...

1434. Should Christians Always Oppose War?

Romans 13:1-7

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Should Christians always oppose war? Pope John Paul II sent a special envoy to Baghdad to support peace. The Pope did not believe a preemptive strike against Iraq met the church criteria for a just war. Methodist Bishops have spoken out against the war. Baptist and Episcopals have also. Christians around the world marched with others against war. All these sentiments were expressed 10 years ago in the first Gulf War. But if America and her allies had not liberated Kuwait and sent Saddam Hussein scurrying ...

1435. Total Commitment

Mark 9:42-50

Sermon

Richard Patt

"Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again?" (v. 50a) The theme "Total Commitment" arouses deep questions within us. How committed a person am I concerning the ideals I hold dear? How much do I really stand up for the truths I have learned? Am I really convinced about my "religious convictions"? What are my commitments in life anyway? A chicken and a pig were having a conversation one day. They were discussing how each of them provided for their master’s daily breakfast. ...

1436. Getting It Together

Luke 6:37-42

Sermon

William G. Carter

Hypocrisy. We know it when we see it. A newspaper recently quoted a congressman. I had to read the article twice to make sure I got it right. In the midst of a debate, an elected official stood to address the House of Representatives. Here’s what he said: “Never before have I heard such ill-informed, wimpy, back-stabbing drivel as that just uttered by my respected colleague, the distinguished gentleman from Ohio.” Hypocrisy. We know it when we see it. Maybe you heard about the leader in another church who ...

1437. His Teachings

Luke 20:27-40

Sermon

Brett Blair

This morning we are continuing our Lenten series on the Passion of the Christ, the last week of the life of Jesus. Previously we looked at the events of Sunday when he enters Jerusalem on the donkey fulfilling the Messianic prophecy of Zechariah. It was a day of celebration. On Monday Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, curses the fig tree, and clears the Temple of the moneychangers. It is a day of emotions. Today we focus on Tuesday, the day of teachings. It is a day questions. Someone has figured that if we put ...

1438. The Political Controversies Of Jesus

Luke 20:27-47

Sermon

Brett Blair

Someone has figured that if we put all of the materials in the Gospels that tell us about the life of Jesus together that it would equal about 80 pages. Yet, most of that would represent duplication, for we know that some of the Gospel writers copied from others. If, therefore you eliminate the duplication, you would have only 20 pages that tell us about Jesus life and teachings. Of those 20 pages, 13 of them deal specifically with the last week of his life. And if you separate it still further, you will ...

1439. Our Magnificent, Mysterious, Mischievous God

2 Kings 5:1-27

Sermon

David E. Leininger

This is a fun story, one of many in scripture that are good for giggles if we allow ourselves that reverent freedom when we encounter them. Engaging characters, international intrigue, and finally a denouement that is just pure fun. It is one more affirmation that our God is not only magnificent and mysterious but occasionally mischievous as well. The cast. Naaman. His name means charm or pleasantness. Apparently a relatively nice fellow as standards of his day would define nice. A powerful personage too ...

1440. Can People Change?

Galatians 1:11-24

Sermon

King Duncan

Chuck Shepherd collects weird news from all over the world. You may have seen his columns in newspapers and magazines. Many of the strange occurrences in his collection have to do with crime. For example, here are a couple of his best ones: In Portsmouth, Rhode Island, police charged Gregory Rosa, twenty-five, with a string of vending machine robberies. It seems he inexplicably fled from police when they spotted him loitering around a vending machine. Police were pretty sure they had their man when Rosa ...

1441. Strength Through Weakness

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

When Benjamin Franklin was the ambassador to France for the newly-independent United States of America, his quick wit and well-thought wisdom opened many doors for him and his new country. At one dinner in 1781 where the guest list included the powers of that day, the French foreign secretary began the dinner with a toast to King Louis, "To His Majesty, King Louis, the Sun, whose shining presence radiates the earth of France." To which the British ambassador rose with the toast, "To King George the Third, ...

1442. Why Do We Call Him Good?

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Dr. Ronald Love

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, in his autobiography TREASURE IN CLAY, recounts a visit he made to a leper colony in Buluba, Africa. He intended to give a silver crucifix to each of the 500 lepers residing in Buluba. The first person who came forward, however, was a man so disfigured by the ravages of leprosy that Sheen was repulsed by the sight. The man's left arm was eaten off at the elbow by the disease; so he extended his right hand. This hand, too, was unspeakably corrupted by this awful disease. Unable ...

1443. Yes!!!

2 Corinthians 1:12--2:4

Sermon

King Duncan

A young fellow was called on to light the candles for the first time in church. This was a big event for the little fellow. He was naturally nervous. He could feel the eyes of the entire congregation on him as he advanced timidly toward the two majestic candlesticks on the altar. It should have been no problem, except for one thing. The candles were very tall, and young Travis was very short, even for a kid. He reached the altar and began his motion upward toward the top of the first candle, but he came up ...

1444. Surprise!

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

King Duncan

A man wrote into Reader's Digest with an embarrassing story about his former boss. This gentleman was just stepping out of the shower one evening when his wife called and asked him to run down to the basement and turn off the iron she had accidentally left on. Without bothering to grab a towel or robe, the man headed down to the basement. Just as he reached the bottom stair, the lights came on and a dozen friends and colleagues jumped out and shouted, “Surprise!" His wife had planned a secret party for the ...

1445. People of Influence

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

I want to tell you about two “powerful” men who lived at the turn of the 13th century. The first of these men chose the name Innocent when he was unanimously declared Pope in 1198. He took Jeremiah 1:10 as his ordination verse: “See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” Pope Innocent lived by this verse. Innocent believed that his position gave him the power to rule over all people; anyone who challenged him was subject to ...

1446. Seeing Jesus Clearly

Mark 1:29-34

Sermon

Paul E. Flesner

I'd like to begin with what might seem a rather strange question. "Do you really believe in Jesus?" Before you answer that with an indignant, "Of course I do," I want you to think for a moment about what your own mental image of Jesus is like. Try to picture his face. Do you see it as hard, coarse, and set with wrinkles? Or do you see it as smooth, fine-featured, and more on the soft side? Try to picture his personality. Do you see Jesus as warm, congenial, and winsome? Or do you picture him as more stern ...

1447. Justification By Grace Through Faith

Galatians 2:11-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Now I’m aware of the fact that it is Mother’s day. But I’m not going to preach a traditional Mother’s Day sermon. In the early days of the Methodist Church, as a part of worship, the preacher not only preached a sermon, he usually exhorted the congregation. An exhortation is different from preaching, so just to let you know I know it is Mother’s Day before I preach I want to exhort you for a moment. There’s a marvelous verse of scripture in II Timothy, the 1st chapter, the 5th verse. Paul is writing to ...

1448. Called To Finish What Is Finished

Colossians 1:24--2:5, Colossians 1:15-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Someone has said, and I agree, that the idea of Redemption in a world of sin and tragedy constitutes the noblest concept ever to enter the mind of God or the awareness of a human being. Paul would also agree. The theme of Redemption is woven into the fabric of everything he wrote. He repeats that theme over and over again in Colossians, affirming that God's implementation of his idea of redemption is the love gift of his son Jesus Christ on the Cross. The most amazing truth for you and me today is that we ...

1449. Proclaiming The Gospel

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Many of you know that last month I had the privilege of participating in the World Congress on Evangelization in Manila at the Philippine International Convention Center. Nearly 4,600 persons attended from 191 countries -- more than are represented in the United Nations. Never before in human history have so many gathered from so many nations of the world to pray, share, witness, to consider strategy and resources, and seek God's will for completing the task of world evangelization. By far, for me the most ...

1450. In A Mirror Dimly

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

It was All Saints Day, and the Sunday School teacher was talking about saints. She asked, "What is a saint?" Quick as a flash one little boy said, "A dead Christian." Well -- maybe! There are living saints, though the supply may be limited. And, yes, there are dead saints -- those who have passed from the church militant to the church triumphant. This is All Saints Sunday -- and on this day we celebrate the memory of those of our membership who have passed into glory during this past year. Actually, All ...

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