Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1451 to 1475 of 3160 results

1 Peter 1:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... baby and he had thus been tricked out of his winnings. On hearing this, this gallant gentleman merely looked up and said, "You mean there is no baby who is dying without hope? Why that's the best news I've heard all week!" (2) I believe that is the sort of thing Jesus would have said, don't you? We love him even though we have never seen him, first of all, because of the difference he has made in our world. WE ALSO LOVE HIM BECAUSE OF THE DIFFERENCE HE HAS MADE IN OUR OWN LIVES. FORTUNE magazine, the ...

1452. A Service the Church Will Never Forget

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

King Duncan

... Jewish storyteller, tells of a time in his youth when he asked his father, who was not a believer, “Dad if you don’t believe in God, why do you go to the synagogue regularly?” Harry Golden’s father answered, “Jews go to the synagogue for all sorts of reasons. My friend Garfinkel, who is Orthodox, goes to talk to God. I go to talk with Garfinkel.” To be sure, that is not the best reason for coming to church. But that is missing the point. When we were baptized into the Christian Church, we ...

1453. You Are A Winner!

Romans 5:12-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... dispel. They can even be passed down. Suzanne Gibson of Alexandria, Virginia tells an interesting story about her mother. Two families came to this country about 1880 and settled next to each other. One was very wealthy and had five handsome sons. The other had sort of a drunken father that no one would talk about. The latter had a daughter. This daughter went to clean house, to be the maid for the rich family. Eventually, she married one of the boys. These were Suzanne's greatgrandparents. Suzanne says her ...

1454. What About the Weeds?

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Sermon

King Duncan

... it.” That is a certain recipe for failure. If we did only what felt good to us we would be physical, mental, moral and spiritual wrecks. The things worth having in life require effort, and sometimes, pain. One of the most dangerous heresies of this sort is the idea that love is something that comes naturally. In this view of life, love is a mushy feeling. Mature people, however, understand that love is not simply a feeling; it is a commitment. Real love takes work. It involves the willingness to be there ...

1455. Time For Action

Matthew 21:28-32

Sermon

King Duncan

... . He was like many of us. There are many people who are nice, friendly, basically Christian people who will never argue, never critcize, never give you a moment's heartache, and yet getting them to actually do anything is a near impossiblity. One fellow of this sort was laid off his job and asked his employer for a letter of recommendation. His boss wrote a note that read like this: "Dear Sir, If you can get John Doe to work for you, you will be extremely fortunate." Two businessmen were talking about a ...

1456. Jesus And The Ayatollah

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... you meet him, that I say I am not much of a judge of religion. In my opinion, however, the religion that sets men to rebel and fight against their government...(so that they can) eat their bread on the sweat of other men's faces, is not the sort of religion upon which people can get to heaven!" I think Abe was a pretty good judge of religion. Any religion that tells me that I can hate or exploit or mistreat any person regardless of their race, nationality or religion is not the kind of religion upon which ...

1457. Face To Face With God

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... to look for a chair." I doubt that Jesus used the same leadership style as Vince Lombardi. Only a couple of times, according to the Gospels, did he vent his anger. Still, Jesus could not have been the passive, nonthreatening Casper Milquetoast sort of fellow some have made him out to be. He was absolute purity. That was the significance of the glistening white garments. Absolute purity and absolute love. These were the sources of his authority. The Transfiguration experience helps us focus in on Jesus ...

1458. Face To Face With The Tempter

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... TEMPTATION. There is something about the very nature of temptation that not only makes it initially attractive, but keeps us coming back for more. Even when the initial thrill is gone we find ourselves mired in the muck of our own worst instincts. It's sort of like a recent incident on the Enterprise ride at the Minnesota State Fair. Riders boarded their little cars on the Enterprise to be spun around at high speed for about four minutes. Being dizzy and scared is apparently something for which people will ...

1459. True Love

John 3:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... One of Nixon's TV commercials showed a photo of an American soldier in Vietnam with the word "Love" written on his helmet. The image bothered Harry Treleavan, one of Nixon's media men. "It reminds [people] of hippies," he said. "They don't think it's the sort of thing soldiers should be writing on their helmets." About a week later, however, a letter arrived from the mother of the soldier. She said how thrilled she was to see the photo of her son in Nixon's TV commercial. She wondered if she could obtain a ...

1460. God's Plan For His World

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... his throat. Radiation therapy had burned him badly. They had put in a tube so he could breathe, but he couldn't speak. Around the room flowers were everywhere, on the table, in the windows and even on the floor. There were potted plants, cut flowers, and every sort of arrangement. They even had flowers on the table that you swing out over your bed to put food on. That was just as well since he couldn't eat anyway. Little cards were sprinkled in all the flowers and every one of them read something like this ...

1461. A New Way To Escape From Prison

James 1:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... US LIFT OUR GAZE FROM OUR CIRCUMSTANCES TO CHRIST. We all go through difficult times. This is when the Bible becomes our best friend. Charles Stanley tells a grand story about a time in his ministry when he was really strugglinglots of opposition, lots of conflict of all sorts. In the midst of this turmoil, an elderly member of his church invited him to her apartment for lunch. Stanley hesitated. It was a busy time and he was reluctant to go. He didn't know if she was going to preach him a sermon or what ...

1462. Forgiven!

Galatians 2:11-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... she used her long hair to wipe the tears from his feet, and she kissed his feet and anointed them with ointment. The Pharisee was scandalized by such behavior. "If this man were a prophet," he said to himself caustically, "he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner." Jesus could tell what the Pharisee was thinking. So he said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." The Pharisee answered, "What is it, Teacher?" Jesus instructed him with a parable ...

1463. Ultimate Freedom

Galatians 6:11-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... an even greater symbol of freedom than the flag. It is the cross upon which Jesus Christ gave his life. Dr. Donald Strobe tells about a fellow pastor in a community in which he once served, the late Rev. Don Doten, who found himself the target of all sorts of criticism and hate mail because his son had chosen not to register for the draft during the Vietnam War. He opposed the war. But, unlike some, Pastor Doten’s son refused to claim exemption as a student, nor did he flee to Canada. Instead, he stayed ...

1464. Do This And Live!

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... this good in years." The psychotherapist quickly responded, "Now we know how to make you happy! Our problem is solved! Now we know how to keep you out of the doldrums!" Much to his surprise, the young woman answered, "You don't expect me to do this sort of thing every day, do you?" (2) She knew the solution to her problems. She knew how much satisfaction she received from ministering to others, but still she resisted. Her story is our story, is it not? There is a respectable lawyer in Albert Camus' novel ...

1465. Ready For The Great Race

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... real fighter of the space force. "Remember," says Yoda, "Jedi ™s strength flows from the Force. Beware of anger, fear...the dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path forever will it dominate your destiny...Do not underestimate the power of the enemy." That is the sort of message about sin that the writer of Hebrews is seeking to convey to us. "Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely...." If we are going to be champions in the race of life, we want to get rid of all ...

1466. Thankful For The Right Things

Colossians 1:11-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... wouldn’t let him through the Pearly Gates. But when he got to his destination he was welcomed with open arms. “Are you certain that you didn’t make a mistake?” he asked St. Peter. “You see, there are certain parts of my life of which I’m sort of ashamed.” St Peter answered, “No, we didn’t make a mistake. You see, we don’t keep any records.” The man was greatly relieved and overjoyed. Then he saw a group of men over in a corner beating their heads against a celestial wall and clinching ...

1467. Are You the One Who Is to Come?

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... before Christmas, this present towered above all others and it defied any conventional attempts to learn of its contents before its time." During the weeks leading up to Christmas he could think of nothing else but his present under the tree. He imagined all sorts of terrific presents. On Christmas Day his family gathered together. "The main attraction was to be the opening of my present." Buscalgia remembered. "How many times in the past two weeks I had anticipated this moment. Even as I was opening it, I ...

1468. Have You Changed Your Clock?

Mark 13:32-37

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... of the cave. The climbers made their way back upstream to a large cavern and climbed to a ledge about forty feet above the rising water. Their teeth chattering, their limbs jerking, they knew of the possibility of hypothermia, shock, and coma. Finally, Beck found a sort of den under the cave roof. To keep warm, they stacked themselves in like cord wood. Then there was nothing they could do but wait in the pit and listen to the roar of the rushing water. Their situation seemed impossible until a scuba diver ...

1469. The Difference Is You

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... higher standard. Jesus warned his followers, "For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom to heaven." Don ™t be misled. The scribes and Pharisees were the finest people of their day. They had all sorts of rules and regulations. How they loved to debate the fine points of the law. They lived their lives in strict observance of the Torah. They thought that if they could live out their lives to the letter of the law they would be found ...

1470. Waking To A World Upside Down

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... of publicity. Billy Graham asked the same question that many people had asked in those last few months. "Who shot J.R.?" That shot which was heard ‘round the world caused many people to wonder who had fired the near-fatal bullet. Billy Graham, in a humorous sort of way said, "I’ll tell you who shot J.R. It was a sinner." (4) The question Dr. Menninger asked years ago “Whatever Happened to Sin?” is at the heart of the solution for the world ‘s problems. Christians believe that human beings are at ...

1471. When Christ Shall Come

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

King Duncan

... while reading his book. It was an extremely sour chap stick, but it felt good, so he put another generous layer on his lips just as the girl's mother came calling through the house, "Kortney, what did you do with my glue stick?" Surprise! That's the sort of picture of the last day that Jesus gives us ” people are surprised. The sheep don't understand what they've done to experience such an honor. The goats don't understand why they're being guided toward the eternal fire. I can almost hear the complaints ...

1472. Passage To New Life

John 20:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... . But back to our story. That first Easter morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene made her way to Christ~s tomb. She went there out of respect for the man who changed her life. Maybe in the stone cold silence of the cemetery she could sort through her emotions. But when she arrived she noticed that the stone covering his tomb had been rolled way. This was distressing for Mary. But even more distressing was that someone had stolen Christ~s body. Who would do such a cruel thing? Mary ran from that ...

1473. Sleeping Through A Tornado

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... . However, their old Chevy was still there, without a scratch on it. Later that day a neighbor brought them their mailbox, which he had found in a field two miles away; it had a tiny dent in it. They never did find their garage. That's the sort of things tornadoes do. (1) The disciples of Christ were caught up in something very much like a tornado on that first Pentecost Sunday. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he instructed his disciples to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the coming of the Spirit. And so ...

1474. Once In A Lifetime

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... he went to the black stone wall, and he had a defining experience there. It was almost as if an angel of the Lord had touched a hot coal to his terrible memories and said to him, "Its all gone. You are forgiven. Make a new start." That's the sort of thing that happened to Isaiah. There are some of us who hunger for that kind of experience, too. We are troubled. We have come to the temple. And we are painfully aware of our own inadequacies. We long to hear the voice of God saying, "It's all right ...

1475. Whoever Would Have Thought?

Mark 4:26-29, Mark 4:30-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... when it grows, Jesus tells us, it is, "the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade." It is hard for us to get excited about this, since we live in an age with all sorts of amazing discoveries, but for people living in prescientific days it must have truly baffled their minds ” that something so large could come from such a small seed. The parable of the mustard seed is a word of encouragement for us. Things might not be what you and I ...

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