Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 126 to 150 of 900 results

126. Acquiring Grace

Mark 10:17-31

Illustration

Brett Blair

A story is told out of the orient of a young Buddhist monk who sat outside his temple two thousand years ago, hands clasped in prayer. He looked very pious and he chanted 'Amita Buddha' all day. Day after day he intoned these words, believing that he was acquiring grace. One day the head priest of the temple sat next to him and began rubbing a piece of brick against a stone. Day after day he rubb...

127. Acts of God?

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Brett Blair

Once or twice in our sojourn upon this earth something happens which shapes the course of our lives. Many on the East Coast have experienced such an event. Consider for a moment what has been set in motion from Sandy: *13 foot surge of seawater. 3 feet above the 200 year old record. *90 mph winds *The battery tunnel connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn flooded. *74 foot crane in the middle of Manhat...

128. Admit the Miracle

Illustration

Brett Blair

The French Mathematician, Lecompte de Nouy, examined the laws of probability for a single molecule of high dissymmetry to be formed by the action of chance. Dissymmetry in molecules is found in plants and animals. Non-organic molecules are clean and symmetrical. De Nouy found that, on an average, the time needed to form one such irregularly shaped molecule would be about 10 to the 253 power, i.e. ...

129. Admitting Guilt

Luke 23:26-43

Illustration

Brett Blair

Frederick the great visited a prison in the city of Potsdam. One prisoner after another assured their king that he was innocent and the victim of a framer. Finally one man, however, looked down at the floor and said, "your majesty, I am guilty, and richly deserving punishment." Frederick bellowed for the warden. "Free this rascal and get him out of our prison," he ordered, "before he corrupts all ...

130. Aliens To The Rescue

Illustration

Brett Blair

The late scientist and author Carl Sagan was optimistic that there is life elsewhere in the universe. In a moment of wit he said, “It’s nice to think that there is someone out there that can help us.” A funny statement, but Sagan was secondarily implying that there is no God. He knew that a hope of help from other beings was unlikely. It assumes first that other beings exist and second that their...

131. All It Would Take To Make Me Happy

John 3:14-21

Illustration

Brett Blair

Charles Shultz, creator and author of the Peanuts cartoon characters often conveyed a message in his comic strips. In one strip he conveys through Charlie Brown the need we have to be loved and through Lucy our inability to love one another. Charlie Brown and Lucy are leaning over the proverbial fence speaking to one another: CB: All it would take to make me happy is to have someone say he likes...

132. All the More Reason

Psalm 100:1-5

Illustration

Brett Blair

It is interesting to note that it wasn't until we were at war, the Civil War to be exact, that our Thanksgiving holiday was officially recognized by Congress. It had started in the small Plymouth Colony in 1621 when the English Pilgrims feasted with members of the Wampanoag (Wam·pa·no·ag) Indians who brought gifts of food as a gesture of goodwill. The custom grew in various colonies as a means of ...

133. All The More Reason To Give Thanks

Psalm 100:1-5

Sermon

Brett Blair

It is interesting to note that it wasn’t until we were at war, the Civil War to be exact, that our Thanksgiving holiday was officially recognized by Congress. It had started in the small Plymouth Colony in 1621 when the English Pilgrims feasted with members of the Wampanoag (Wam·pa·no·ag) Indians who brought gifts of food as a gesture of goodwill. The custom grew in various colonies as a means of ...

134. An Admirer of Jesus

Mark 6:14-29

Illustration

Brett Blair

There were two brothers in Georgia during the 1950's. One decided that in opposition to the dominant culture of the day, he was going to participate in the formation of a desegregated community. The other worked as an attorney for a prominent law firm. Both were Christians and attended church regularly. As the community formed and social pressure forced the community into court proceedings, the on...

135. An Arm Around the Shoulder

John 15:9-17

Illustration

Brett Blair

You will remember Jackie Robinson as the first black man to play Major League baseball. In his first season with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Robinson faced venom nearly everywhere he traveled. Pitchers threw fastballs at his head. Runners spiked him on the bases, brutal epithets were written on cards and spoken from the opposing dugouts. Even the home crowds in Brooklyn saw him as an object of reproach....

136. An Attitude of Sacrifice

Lk 6:17-26; Mt 5:1-12

Illustration

Brett Blair

Jesus is the model of sacrifice. He was certainly no one’s doormat, but yet, he was hated, excluded and called evil. Through it all he was God—controlled and not self—controlled. When I think of making sacrifices I also think of E. Stanley Jones, perhaps United Methodism’s most famous foreign missionary. He authored over a dozen books and converted hundreds of Hindus in India to Christianity. He ...

137. An English Grammar Reminder

Luke 18:1-8

Illustration

Brett Blair

I want you to reach back into your Junior High school experience and remember something your English teacher taught you. For some of you that's going to be quite a stretch. For others not so much. You know who you are. The concept I want you to pull up into your memory banks is the concept of a metaphor. A metaphor is a figure of speech in the English language where you use something totally unre...

138. Ancient Christian References To Feetwashing

1 Corinthians 11:17-34, John 13:1-17

Sermon Aid

Brett Blair

Why did the early church call the Lord's Supper the Love Feast? Outside of the obvious reasons, one influence might be John 13-17. In the first 12 chapters of John the word love (agape) is used 6 times. In the next six (13-17), where Jesus celebrates the Passover Feast with his disciples, the word appears 31 times. The following excerpts are the early Church Father's thoughts on one of the events ...

139. And When You Pray

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

Brett Blair

Jesus taught his disciples, saying: And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that others may see them. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Mat...

140. Another Perspective

John 9: 1-41

Illustration

Brett Blair

There is a story of a beggar who was sitting across the street from an artist's studio. The artist saw him and thought he would make an interesting portrait study so from a distance he painted the defeated man whose shoulders drooped, and whose eyes were downcast and sad. When he was finished, he took the portrait over to the beggar so he could look at it. "Who is that?" the beggar questioned. Th...

141. Ant Trails & Trials

Rom 5:3-10 · Col 1:24

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

Object: A Small Piece of straw. If you have something that work as a gap use that to get a clearer image. You might even ask if any of the kids know what the ant did and let them take the straw and make the bridge. Lesson: There once was an ant who felt imposed upon, overburdened, and overworked. You see, he was instructed to carry a piece of straw across an expanse of concrete. The straw was so ...

142. Are We Too Late

Illustration

Brett Blair

The following study should alarm us adults and cause us to do something NOW to reverse this looming crisis. Here's the study: A group of educators and scholars, alarmed at soaring rates of teenage homicides, suicides and out-of-wedlock births, attacked what it called the "timidity" of schools in instilling good character traits in the young. The 27 academics warned that "schools in general are no...

143. Are You Pentecostal?

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

Brett Blair

The well known author and preacher Fred Craddock tells a rather funny story about a lecture he was giving: A few years ago, when he was on the west coast speaking at a seminary, just before the first lecture, one of the students stood up and said, "Before you speak, I need to know if you are Pentecostal." The room grew silent. Craddock said he looked around for the Dean of the seminary! He was now...

144. Astonishing!

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Brett Blair

For centuries people believed that Aristotle was right when he said that the heavier an object, the faster it would fall to earth. Aristotle was regarded as the greatest thinker of all time, and surely he would not be wrong. Anyone, of course, could have taken two objects, one heavy and one light, and dropped them from a great height to see whether or not the heavier object landed first. But no on...

145. Astonishing! - Sermon Starter

Mark 1:21-28

Illustration

Brett Blair

146. At The Right Time

Mark 1:9-13

Illustration

Brett Blair

Most of us have heard the famous "Who's on First" routine by Abbott and Costello. The incredible sense of timing between the two actors and the material helps this to be one of the funniest routines in American entertainment. It is a brilliantly written peace of comedy but it is the timing that makes it funny. Timing is also important in sports. Timing affects the outcome of an event in two major...

147. Athanasian Creed

Illustration

Brett Blair

Athanasian Creed: Athanasius, known as Athanasius of Alexandria, was the 20th bishop of Alexandria. His intermittent episcopacy spanned 45 years, of which over 17 encompassed five exiles. He is traditionally thought to be the author of the this Creed named after him. It was created to guard Nicene Christianity from the heresy of Arianism. It is widely accepted as orthodox and some abbreviated vers...

148. Back To Basics: The Three R's of Baptism

Mark 1:1-8, Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Brett Blair

Baptism is a powerful force in the life of a Christian for two reasons. It is something we share in common. Christians all over the world can say that they were baptized in Christ. You met a Catholic in Ireland. He was baptized. You met a Pentecostal in Nigeria. She was baptized. The second reason Baptism is a powerful force is that baptism takes us back to the basics. Now let me set these two ide...

149. Back To Basics: The Three R's of Baptism - Sermon Starter

Mark 1:4-11

Illustration

Brett Blair

150. Backsliding

John 6:60-71

Sermon

Brett Blair

There was once a term frequently used in the church. In the old days it was used often. You rarely ever hear it today. Indeed, in my 12 years in the ministry I have never preached a sermon on the topic until now. Despite the infrequency with which it is mentioned, the concept, I think, is still valid. It is backsliding. The term backsliding, I discovered in my research, was popularized in the 1600...

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Showing 126 to 150 of 900 results

126. Acquiring Grace

Mark 10:17-31

Illustration

Brett Blair

127. Acts of God?

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Brett Blair

128. Admit the Miracle

Illustration

Brett Blair

129. Admitting Guilt

Luke 23:26-43

Illustration

Brett Blair

130. Aliens To The Rescue

Illustration

Brett Blair

131. All It Would Take To Make Me Happy

John 3:14-21

Illustration

Brett Blair

132. All the More Reason

Psalm 100:1-5

Illustration

Brett Blair

133. All The More Reason To Give Thanks

Psalm 100:1-5

Sermon

Brett Blair

134. An Admirer of Jesus

Mark 6:14-29

Illustration

Brett Blair

135. An Arm Around the Shoulder

John 15:9-17

Illustration

Brett Blair

136. An Attitude of Sacrifice

Lk 6:17-26; Mt 5:1-12

Illustration

Brett Blair

137. An English Grammar Reminder

Luke 18:1-8

Illustration

Brett Blair

138. Ancient Christian References To Feetwashing

1 Corinthians 11:17-34, John 13:1-17

Sermon Aid

Brett Blair

139. And When You Pray

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

Brett Blair

140. Another Perspective

John 9: 1-41

Illustration

Brett Blair

141. Ant Trails & Trials

Rom 5:3-10 · Col 1:24

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

142. Are We Too Late

Illustration

Brett Blair

143. Are You Pentecostal?

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

Brett Blair

144. Astonishing!

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Brett Blair

145. Astonishing! - Sermon Starter

Mark 1:21-28

Illustration

Brett Blair

146. At The Right Time

Mark 1:9-13

Illustration

Brett Blair

147. Athanasian Creed

Illustration

Brett Blair

148. Back To Basics: The Three R's of Baptism

Mark 1:1-8, Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Brett Blair

149. Back To Basics: The Three R's of Baptism - Sermon Starter

Mark 1:4-11

Illustration

Brett Blair

150. Backsliding

John 6:60-71

Sermon

Brett Blair

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