Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1451 to 1475 of 4508 results

1451. Building According to Code - Sermon Starter

Illustration

Brett Blair

It is significant that Jesus ended the Sermon on the Mount with the parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders. Throughout the long day Jesus had been preaching to the vast multitude. They listened to him with amazement and awe. But Jesus warned them that that was not enough. It is never enough simply to listen to the words of Jesus, even though we may listen with reverent approval. If His words are...

1452. The Shifting Sands of Tower of Pisa

Illustration

Brett Blair

In the 1990's the "Leaning Tower of Pisa" was finally reopened to the public, after having been closed for several years. During that time, engineers completed a 25 million dollar renovation project designed to stabilize the tower. They removed 110 tons of dirt, and reduced its famous lean by about sixteen inches. Why was this necessary? Because the tower has been tilting further and further away ...

1453. Every House Is Tested

Illustration

Brett Blair

Every house is tested. The difference is not in the weather; it is in the foundation upon which the house is anchored. Oh how many persons have I seen who are in the midst of crisis run back to the church and attempt to get religion, but my friends it is not that easy. It is a foolish person who thinks they can begin constructing a proper foundation when they are in the midst of the storm and the ...

1454. Tossing Sticks in the Air

Illustration

King Duncan

An elderly Scottish woman was making her way through the countryside. Each time she came to a crossroads she would toss a stick into the air. Whichever way the stick came down was the direction she went. At one intersection, however, an old man saw her toss her stick into the air not once, not twice, but three times before resuming her journey. The old man was curious. "Why are you throwing your ...

1455. Words And Actions

Children's Sermon

Kenneth Mortonson

Purpose: To help children understand that our actions must support our words. Material: A number of small bags of M & M's, or some other kind of special treat. Note: This object lesson can be used on the Sunday when your church presents Bibles to your young people, or adapted to some other Sunday. Lesson: A very pleasant thing happened to me recently. As I was leaving the church, a school bus w...

1456. Building According To Code

Sermon

Brett Blair

1457. Building For Durability

Sermon

Timothy Wilkins

Quite possibly the largest mausoleum in the world is the Taj Mahal. Under construction from 1632 to 1645, that oversized tombstone required over 20,000 men in the process of construction. It took 76 years to build the Great Pyramids of Egypt near Cairo. It required 7-1/2 years for Solomon ™s temple to be built. Ten thousand men were used in the process of cutting timber from Lebanon. Another 70,00...

1458. Matthew 7: 21-29

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Everyone has a “two-kinds-of-people” analogy of some sort. Today’s gospel text, including the last portion of the Sermon on the Mount, features some of Jesus’ favorite “two-kinds-of-people” analogies. Chapter seven, verse thirteen begins the first of four different “two-kinds-of-people” stories: the broad vs. the narrow road (vv.13-14); the good vs. the bad fruit (vv.15-20); the insiders vs. the o...

1459. The Wise and Foolish Builders

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

7:24–27 Jesus has just taught that false prophets can be detected by what they do (v. 16) and that it is action, not rhetoric, that provides entrance into the kingdom of heaven (v. 21). This principle of judgment based on deeds is now applied to everyone. Jesus pictures two builders: one builds a house on a rock and the other chooses a sandy location. Later, when the rain pours down, causing a fla...

1460. Rock Solid

Sermon

King Duncan

I read a quirky little item sometime back. It seems that the Main Library at the University of Indiana sinks over an inch every year. It seems that when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building. And so the library is sinking. Obviously some heavy reading takes place at the University of Indiana. It is a foolish person who does ...

1461. Rock Solid Living

Sermon

King Duncan

1462. Don't Go Near The Water

Sermon

I grew up in California on the edge of the Pacific Ocean. Even as a child I loved the water. I did not, however, often get a chance to play in it. "Come home straight from school," my mother said every morning. This was because my route took me right past the beach. "If you go to the beach today," she would say on Saturdays, "leave your swimming suit at home." Even when she was with me at the ocea...

1463. The Way He Taught

Sermon

"Jesus finished saying these things, and the crowds were amazed at the way he taught. He wasn't like their teachers of the Law; instead, he taught with buthority." (St. Matthew 7:28, 29 TEV) Our precious Christian faith is first of all and foremost the good news that God loves us and forgives us in Chrst, his son. It is the story of our salvation, the story of the cross and the open tomb. But al...

1464. Lip-service vs. True Service

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Notes This selection from the Sermon on the Mount gives biblical substantiation to the dictum "deeds not words." For Jesus here contrasts those who pay lip service to God with those who actually do God's will, comparing the former to foolish builders on foundations of sand, and the latter to a wise builder who constructs on a solid base. Liturgical Color Green Suggested Hymns Holy Spirit,...

1465. The Wise Man Built His House Upon A Rock

Children's Sermon

Marti Kramer Suddarth

Object: Printed music for “The Wise Man Built His House Upon A Rock” (at the end of this chapter) for the accompanist to follow; Poster with the lyrics to “The Wise Man Built His House Upon A Rock”: The wise man built his house upon a rock (3X) and the rains came tumbling down. The rains came down and the floods came up (3X) and the house on the rock stood firm. The foolish man built his house u...

1466. Spaghetti

Children's Sermon

Mark A. Hultquist

Object: Two pieces of spaghetti: one cooked and pliable, the other uncooked and firm. Do you like spaghetti? It seems like there are so many different ways to serve spaghetti and some people like it all of those ways. How many of you like your spaghetti with sauce? How many like it with sauce and meatballs? How many like it plain, or with a little butter? And how many like it with cheese on top? ...

1467. Foundations are Critical

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

We are Christians under construction, trying to build a life that really matters. Hundreds of you are now putting God first and practicing random acts of kindness on a daily basis. I can only imagine what God might choose to do with these simple acts of devotion. I know personally the powerful impact of fervent prayers, and I continue to thank God for you each day. A first time guest at our churc...

1468. Building a Lasting Legacy

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

First, let me just say I am honored and deeply humbled to be your pastor and to have this special moment in the life of this church. I am grateful to my staff that has been here all morning long, to all of those who put this moment together, and for hundreds and hundreds of lay people who have made this day possible. Once to every man and nation, comes a moment to decide. Today is a decision day ...

1469. A House for God

Sermon

Gary W. Houston

I remember as a small boy sitting in a small country church with seats in auditorium style that you flipped up when you got out. Outside the window, where I sat, some wasps were buzzing around in the sunshine. From time to time one would fly in, then back out the window. People were fanning themselves with fans donated by a local funeral home; they had pictures of Jesus on them. My dad was preachi...

1470. A Larger Design For Living

Sermon

Clement E. Lewis

Words Of Preparation from 1 Peter 2:4-5: Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God's sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house. Hymn: "Higher Ground" Scripture: Matthew 7:24-29 (NRSV) Jesus said, "Everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on a rock. The rain ...

1471. WeatherProofing Your Home

Sermon

James Merritt

Even in a home, a storm can come up almost without warning. In fact, homes are especially susceptible to storms. There are violent, vicious, visible storms that can destroy a marriage, devastate children and decimate a family. You see homes are just like restaurants. Every restaurant has a certain atmosphere and so do homes. To show you how men and women are different, when men go to a restaurant ...

1472. Building a Successful Life

Sermon

King Duncan

An elderly woman walked up to a little old man rocking in a chair on his porch. Though he looked weathered and feeble, he had a content smile on his face. “I couldn’t help noticing how happy you look,” she said. “What’s your secret for a happy life?” “Well, I smoke three packs of cigarettes a day,” he said, waving a wrinkled hand through the air, with a smoldering cigarette between his thumb an...

1473. Building Your Home on the Rock

Sermon

James Merritt

One of the most amazing true stories I have ever heard in my life, is of a builder who developed a subdivision of ritzy exclusive homes somewhere up in Canada. These homes sold, years ago, for over $200,000 a piece. On the outside it was a beautiful looking subdivision. But then winter came, snow fell, the winds began to blow, the rain began to come. All of a sudden, first one house, and then ano...

1474. Tragedy and Triumph

Sermon

David E. Leininger

I am sure you have been hearing the reports coming from western India these past few days. Horrible earthquake, the worst in that nation in 50 years - 7.9 on the Richter scale, strong enough to be felt 1,200 miles away in Calcutta and Bangladesh, both well acquainted with tragedy themselves. Funeral pyres lit the night sky Saturday and officials said the rapidly rising death toll could reach 15,00...

1475. Life on the Rock

Sermon

James Merritt

If you could take a world-wide poll and ask this question: Who was the greatest spiritual or religious teacher who ever lived? Without question, hands down, I am convinced the winner would be Jesus Christ. There is almost a universal consensus that Jesus was indeed a great, if not the greatest teacher who ever lived. That is exactly the way people who actually heard Him teach felt. Because as we c...

Showing 1451 to 1475 of 4508 results