Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1426 to 1450 of 1967 results

1426. Drooping Arms And Crooked Feet

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever felt so tired that you couldn't put one foot in front of the other? Have you ever felt what an anonymous poet felt when he wrote, I wish I was a little rock. . .A sittin' on the hill A doin' nothin' all day long. . .`Cept just a sittin' still I wouldn't eat, I wouldn't sleep. . . I wouldn't even wash I'd sit and sit a thousand years. . . And rest myself, by gosh! Some people are very tired. In fact, one of the great dividing lines in this world seems to be between those who are high energy ...

1427. His Nature Is Light

John 1:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

We run across truth in the strangest places. Sometime back it was revealed that a major university offers a course on Donald Duck comic books. These particular comics were created by Carl Barks. From the early 1940s until his retirement in 1966, Barks produced some 400 comics about Donald Duck, his stingy billionaire Uncle Scrooge, and three frenetic nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. In one classic series, the rich uncle's billions nearly have driven him crazy. Everybody is asking him for money, and Scrooge ...

1428. A New Vantage Point

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

Whenever people visit a beautiful, impressive church building, invariably there are two things they want to do: they want to go up to the pulpit and see how things look from this perspective; and then they want to go up in the balcony, if there is one, and look down on everything. And isn't that typical? There's something inside of us that needs to climb to the top and get the view from above. When we were children, we'd climb trees and build secret houses for ourselves up in the branches and spy down on ...

1429. Living With The Birth Pangs

1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11

Sermon

King Duncan

We made it so far. Nineteen hundred and ninety-six is nearly over and the world is still here. Why shouldn't it be? Glad you asked. Once there was a bishop named Usher who sat down to figure out exactly when the world began. He did it by consulting Scripture. By tracing the begats and other chronological data in the Bible, he deduced that the world was created in 4004 B.C. Some of our older members may remember when it was common practice for King James versions of the Bible to carry a notation in the ...

1430. A Platform For Life

Romans 8:28-39

Sermon

King Duncan

Mark Albion, in his book MAKING A LIFE, MAKING A LIVING tells a fascinating story about a practice on the South Pacific island of Pentecost that is very similar to our sport of bungee jumping--except with religious significance. On this island men practice land diving, an ancient ritual designed to please the gods and ensure a good yam harvest. Each man builds his own diving platform. The diver chooses the site carefully. He and he alone is responsible for the construction. The diver also selects his own ...

1431. God’s Body Language

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

Presbyterian preacher Thomas Hilton tells of watching Billy Graham on television a few years back, when his small daughter Karin came into the living room and looked at the television set and exclaimed, “Dad, what is he so mad about?” To a small child the body language of a person is often more important than the verbal language. She saw the raised arm, heard the loud voice, saw the intense face, and assumed anger. I have an idea that was not the message that Billy was trying to get across, but children ...

1432. Trusting the Truth

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Over the last two weeks we've looked at the first chapter of James and discussed the author''s instructions on Triumphing Over Troubles and Tripping Up the Tempter. Today we continue in our examination of the book of James with verses 5-11 in Chapter one--learning how to Track the Truth and Trust it. James bases his instruction on the realization that the average person tends to turn to God as a last resource in trying to discern truth, rather than at the beginning of the process. He writes in verse 5, "If ...

1433. What a Difference a Day Makes

Matthew 28:1-10

Sermon

Eric Ritz

One of the moving and insightful stories that came out of the Nazi concentration camps in Europe concerned a musician by the name of Gustaf Moeller and his niece. When the young Jewish girl arrived at the camp it was decided she was too valuable to be killed like the others. Instead, she was ordered to gather together an orchestra to play for the Nazi officers and top brass. She was able to gather together many talented Jewish musicians who were ready to be killed. Some of the performers were the most ...

1434. Biblical Insights for Being a Christian Father

Deuteronomy 1:1-8

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Bill Cosby has suggested that Father's Day is almost as exciting as Ground Hog Day. Among the many problems that he discloses about this observance is the issue of buying a present for Dad. Among the dumbest gifts that Cosby has received on this day of obligatory recognition is soap-on-a-rope-- a remembrance which ranks slightly higher than the time he received a thousand yards of dental floss. There have been other thoughtful gifts, such as a sweater in June (it was on sale), the hedge cutters, weed ...

1435. A Landmark Event!

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

During World War II allied armies marched into Germany on their way to Berlin. Retreating German soldiers switched road signs and destroyed landmarks in an effort to confuse their enemy. And, to an extent, it worked, for many a G.I. followed a false marker only to end up in the wrong place. That just goes to show the need for landmarks, the importance of reliable signposts by which to steer. Here locally, landmarks like the courthouse, the river, the college, or the bridge are important in helping us find ...

1436. The Divine Opportunity

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

J. Ellsworth Kalas

Opportunity comes with so many different faces that we often don't recognize it. That's probably why we sometimes miss its call. A previous generation said that opportunity comes dressed in overalls. And they were largely right, for nothing succeeds like hard work. Our generation thinks that opportunity comes with a college diploma. It may, but there's no guarantee. The divine opportunity comes in what is, to our human eyes, the most unlikely garb of all. It's no wonder we don't recognize it; or that, ...

1437. From Empty Nets to Full Lives

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

J. Ellsworth Kalas

It's funny what experiences and phrases will stay with you from childhood. I still remember a line from a song which apparently was popular, for at least a short period of time, in my early childhood. It was a half-funny, half-pathetic little lament from someone who felt rejected and unsuccessful. As I recall, each verse ended with the phrase, "I guess I'll go eat worms." Most of us can understand the mood of the song, if not the dietary remedy. Every one of us feels like a failure at one time or another. ...

1438. Oh, God!

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

King Duncan

Some of you will remember a couple of humorous films a few years ago in which the late comedian George Burns played God. Oh, God, parts I & II, were not great movies, but they did allow us to reflect on what God is really like. A pastor was trying to explain to a child about God. The pastor said. “God is everywhere!” "Everywhere?” asked the little boy. “Everywhere!” said the pastor. The boy went home and told his mother, “God is everywhere! The pastor said so.” “Yes, I know,” said the mother. “You mean he ...

1439. Blinders

Acts 17:22-31

Sermon

Bill Mosley

Loggerhead turtles lay eggs among the sand dunes on beaches. The little turtles dig their way up through the sand and struggle along the beach seeking the ocean waters that wash upon the sand wave after wave. It's a hunger that is born deep within them to seek this sea water, for it is life -- even living water. If they don't find it, they die. But if they find the water, they can live over 100 years and weigh over 600 pounds! If a little turtle gets sidetracked, say it falls into a moat around a sand ...

1440. God's Original Seatbelt (Mother's Day)

John 13:31-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Anybody here this morning remember what it used to be like to drive a car . . . before power steering? before automatic transmission? before air conditioning? before seat belts? Let's stop there for a moment. Before seat belts, parents could pack eight kids into a family car, ages one week to 18 years, with no restraining thoughts or devices. Automobile safety is much more regulated than it used to be. Today we have laws requiring children under four years and forty pounds to be buckled into some sort of ...

1441. With Friends Like These ...

Job 38:1-7 (34-41)

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a favorite book of children and adults alike. Things are always going wrong in Alexander's life, and we can identify with his laments. Alexander goes to bed with gum in his mouth and wakes up with gum in his hair. His teacher likes his friend Paul's sailboat picture better than Alexander's invisible castle, which she can't quite see. At the lunch table, while others are enjoying various delicious sweets, Alexander discovers that his mother is ...

1442. Worship on the Mountaintop...And Everywhere Else

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

Mike Ripski

A young woman asked her older co-worker: Why do you go to church every Sunday? Does something happen there that can’t happen somewhere else? And does it happen every Sunday?” The older woman replied, “What happens is I go to meet the God whom I’ve come to know in Jesus. God meets me in other settings than at church. However, I must confess that I’m sure I miss most of God’s appointments with me. I find that I live most of my days in a daze – as though I’m sleepwalking or on autopilot. I go to church to be ...

1443. An Easter Heart

John 20:1-9

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Easter is all about a four letter word — and Christians are full of it. Or at least we’re supposed to be full of it. The four letter word is LIFE. New life. Whole life. Abundant Life. Redeemed life. Resurrected life. The purpose of life is not death, Easter says. The purpose of life is life . . . a life that triumphs over death forever. Celebrating Easter is the best thing that the church can do because it is a celebration of all that is good, all that is true, and all that is beautiful. In fact, I would ...

1444. Proper 27

Hebrews 9:11-28, Ruth 3:1-18, Ruth 4:13-22, Mark 12:35-40, Mark 12:41-44

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17 With the guidance of Naomi, Ruth gets Boaz as a husband. She puts on her best clothes and waits until Boaz has eaten and drunk. Then she lies down at his feet. When he awakens, he promises to do the work of next of kin. Boaz arranges to buy Naomi's lot which then allows him to marry Ruth. Out of this union comes a son, Obed, the grandfather of David. Epistle: Hebrews 9:24-28 The author of Hebrews uses the cult to explain the atonement and return of Jesus. As ...

1445. Proper 7

2 Corinthians 6:3-13, 1 Samuel 17:1-58, Mark 4:35-41

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: 1 Samuel 17:(1a, 4-11, 19-23), 32-49 Two armies were facing each other in the Elah Valley. The Israelite army was led by King Saul. The other was the army of the Philistines. Three brothers of David were in Saul's army. David's father sent David to check on his brothers' welfare and to take them some food. During his visit, David heard Goliath the giant make his offer to fight anyone from the Israelite camp. David offered to fight the giant. Saul gave David his armor, but David ...

1446. Close Up - Wives: Sweet Surrender

Colossians 3:18

Sermon

James Merritt

Respect - if the coach doesn't have it, he loses control of the team. If the officer doesn't have it, he loses control of his troops. If the teacher doesn't have it, he loses control of the class. If the home doesn't have it, then the entire family is in trouble. We are in the middle of a series entitled, "Picture Perfect" and we have said over and over, "God desires for your family to reflect His glory." The way the family does that is by each member of the family fulfilling their God given roles and ...

1447. Seeing God In The Ordinary: Others

John 6:1-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Out in the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church in Tennessee, there is a young man by the name of Matthew LeSage. He is now in college but for two years he was the President of the CCYM. What makes Matthew so remarkable is that when he was a fifth-grader, he decided he wanted to do something to help the hungry in his city. So, he started a program, Hams for the Hungry. In 2003, Hams for the Hungry raised $40,000 to brighten the holiday season for people with limited resources. In 2007 they ...

1448. More Than We Are - Graduation

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Do any of you remember the name Cabeza DeVaca? He was a sixteenth century Spanish Explorer. He and one other person were the only survivors of a shipwreck in the Gulf of Mexico. They were washed up on the Florida Coast. In his account of his exploration of Florida and his Westford journey between the years of 1528— 1536. DeVaca tells how the Indians came to him and his companion asking them to cure the sick. The two white men were themselves half starved, lost and filled with blank despair, but the Indians ...

1449. The Gentle Healer

John 9:1-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

The Gentle Healer came into our town today. He touched blind eyes and the darkness left to stay. More than the blindness, He took their sins away. The Gentle Healer came into our town today. The Gentle Healer of which Michael Card speaks is the Jesus I want to know. The 9th Chapter of John is a kind of showdown for Jesus. He heals a blind man and encounters the wrath of the powers that be. Come, let's listen in on this drama involving the disciples, an unnamed blind man, Jesus, the community, the parents, ...

1450. A Winning Life

Hebrews 13:1-25

Sermon

King Duncan

If you could win an Olympic medal, which would you prefer the silver or the bronze? The answer appears obvious, doesn’t it? The silver is for second place; the bronze is for third. Or is it as simple as it sounds? Kent Crockett, in his book I Once Was Blind but Now I Squint tells about a surprising study of Olympic medal winners. You would assume that the silver medal winners would be happier than the bronze medalists since they received a higher honor, but that isn’t always the case. The bronze medalists ...

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