Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1476 to 1500 of 2404 results

1476. Seeing God In The Ordinary: Work

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... ." "This associate is really not so much of a has-been but a won't be." "Works well under constant supervision and cornered like a rat in a trap." "This young lady has delusions of adequacy." "Sets low personal standards and consistently fails to achieve them." "This employee is depriving a village somewhere of an idiot." "Gates are down, lights are flashing, but the train isn't coming." "If you stand close enough to him, you can hear the ocean." "Some drink from the fountain of knowledge; he only gargled ...

1477. A Stone’s Throw From: The Harvest

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... in his commentary on Romans wrote: "The Christian hope is the hope which has seen everything and endured everything, and has still not despaired, because it believes in God. The Christian hope is not hope in the human spirit, in human goodness, in human endurance, in human achievement; the Christian hope is hope in the power of God." (1) Peter reminds us in his first letter: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the ...

1478. Count the Stars

Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... -up comedy during the 1970s, earning Grammy Awards for his comedy albums. In addition to appearances in almost 40 films, Pryor also was part of the team that created the script for the Mel Brooks comedy, “Blazing Saddles.” But despite his achievements on the screen and on stage, Pryor is often remembered for seriously burning over half his body while freebasing cocaine. When he had recovered sufficiently from this tragic accident, he appeared on Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show.” In his conversation ...

1479. The Challenge Of Generosity

Malachi 3:10, Luke 6:36-38

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... out how you can tithe when you hadn't ever thought about how much you should give to the Church. I understand and God understands. So, let me suggest something to you. It's called "Proportional Giving." It's not an alternative to the tithe but a tool to achieve the tithe. If you find the tithe, ten percent, too staggering a place to start, then find that percentage where you can start. If it's five percent, then pledge and start giving 5%. But don't leave it there. Test God and stretch your faith. Make it a ...

1480. Luke 4:14-21

Luke 4:14-30

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of bodily harm. Here, at the beginning of his traveling and teaching, Jesus’ appearance and announcement at his hometown synagogue ends in discord and near disaster. The transition from Jesus’ wilderness warfare to the commencement of his ministry around Galilee is achieved with a minimum of narrative. Despite the swift change in venue and activity, Luke’s narrative constant is the guiding force of the Holy Spirit. At his baptism Jesus receives his anointing with this Holy Spirit (3:22). It is the ...

1481. Jesus’ Inaugural Adress

Luke 4:14-21

Illustration

Mickey Anders

... the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations." - Abraham Lincoln, 1865. "This great nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear ...

1482. Chocolat

Luke 4:1-13

Illustration

John Woods

... inside. Lent is not about that kind of ‘self-denial.' There is very little value in simply giving up stuff! It's about giving stuff. Namely, the giving of your life to Christ. Giving up stuff for Lent, as the rest of the New Testament reminds us, does not really achieve anything.

1483. In Success is the Seed of Failure

Matt 4:1-11; Mark 1:9-13; Luke 4:1-13

Illustration

J. Ellsworth Kalas

... to go out and party" (The Plain Deale, March 24, 1993). The problem with success is success. This reminds us again of the importance of godly character. Success has within it the seed of failure and even of self-destruction. The more success a person achieves—including the most honorable and praiseworthy success—the more one needs the correction of the Holy Spirit. I'm very sure God wants us to succeed. It is better that we become saints than corrupters, better that we use God's generous gifts rather ...

1484. Luke 13:31-35

Luke 13:31-35

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... finish my work” (v.32), an assertion that also serves to swerve this dialogue out of Herod’s control and towards Jerusalem. Whatever else Jesus’ mission is about (“casting out demons, performing cures” etc.), its completion will not be achieved until he enters Jerusalem. Whereas for the Jewish religious hierarchy Jerusalem is the holy city, the site of the magnificent temple, the center of Jewish faith and life, for Jesus Jerusalem plays a distinctly different role — “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the ...

1485. Giving Up

Luke 13:31-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the conviction that we should and we do chart our own destinies? Do we ever give up the illusion that if we just work hard enough, act fast enough, believe fervently enough, we will never have to “give up” anything, that we can achieve anything? How many of us have watched a contestant on “American Idol” while cringing and hiding and peeking out behind something? I confess: sometimes I can’t stare direct at the screen out of sheer embarrassment for the performer. Some contestants are hopelessly ...

1486. Philippians 3:4b-14

Philippians 3:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... v.8). Unlike his more common, organic images of being “in Christ,” here Paul speaks of “knowing Christ.” In first century pagan religions there was tremendous emphasis on “gnosis” or “knowledge,” often “secret knowledge” which enabled the believer to achieve special status. This is not Paul’s tradition. In Hebrew to “know” another was to have a deep, intimate relationship with that person. Among men and women, to “know” one another implied a physical relationship. But even more ...

1487. Wesley’s Resolve

John 12:1-11

Illustration

Robert Beringer

... ashamed if any Methodist preacher in tolerable health made a difficulty of six miles." And off he tramped on foot to keep his engagement! At the end of this description of such a full and busy life, the biographer tells us the secret of Wesley's resolve: "His ability to achieve was due in the main to a temperament which was remarkably steady and self-possessed. He never seemed to hurry or to worry, and he always made time in his busy day to be alone with God."

1488. Where There’s Hope, There’s Life

Isaiah 2:1-5

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... day and our time? Samuel Johnson said, “Where there is no hope, there can be no endeavor.” It takes great hopes for there to be great people. The great prophets of history have been able to lean forward confident in the memory of what God has already achieved in Jesus Christ. What would it take for us to dedicate ourselves to peace? What would it take for you to become a peace-maker today? Peace-makers are people of prayer. Are you praying for peace? Are you interceding to God on behalf of the needs of ...

1489. On Your Mark, Get Set, Hope!

Isaiah 11:1-16

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... one said it I thought maybe I ought to think about it. Hope died in the 20th century they say. I thought at first, how could that be? We started so optimistically. Consecrated to the “survival of the fittest” we believed in human progress and achievement. The 20th century alone gave us the telephone, the television, the automobile, the computer, skyscrapers and moonwalkers, I-pods and I-phones. The list goes on and on. One would think we could do anything. And maybe that is our problem. We bought a bill ...

1490. The God Who Is, Who Was, and Who Is To Come

Revelation 1:4-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... re-birth — a constant circle or wheel of repeating life. The concept of “samsara” governs these reincarnations, as one passes through life to death to life again. There is never any real “finish line.” The only eventual “goal” is to achieve a state of bliss, where the infinite is an impersonal reality, a flowing together of all consciousness into one unity. Homogenization and unification with the cosmos replaces personal salvation. The God “who is to come” is not impersonal. The God “who ...

1491. The Rewards of Loving

Illustration

Keith Wagner

... out as expected. As adored and admired as the young man was, he experienced a terrible emptiness within him. He could have anything he wanted, just by asking, but he had no real friends. He never knew the joy of a day's work or an achievement, richly rewarded. His neighbors took care of all his needs. The young man became cynical, jaded and selfish as none of his actions ever brought him any negative consequences. Finally, the day came when his aged mother died. At the funeral, the same mysterious old man ...

1492. The Voice of the Shepherd

John 10:1-10

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A father was reading the paper and decided to share what he'd been reading with his teenage son. The article claimed that children today suffered from a lack of attention and which caused low educational achievements at school. Furthermore, the article said that children today are lazy, have little concentration and barely possess any listening skills at all. When he was finished the father asked, "Well, son what do you think about that study." The boy halfheartedly lifted his head and said, "What was that ...

1493. The NFL of Grace

Matthew 17:1-9

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... daylight. Jesus came as the light of the world. Leading Grace of God, we are called and enabled to run to the daylight. (7) Conclusion Tom Landry once said, "The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don't want to do, in order to achieve what they've always wanted to be." (8) In a sense that's the NFL of God's Grace. The Holy Spirit Nudges us to do what we don't want to do in order to become what we've always wanted to be. God Nudges us and loves us ...

1494. Another Road

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... degrees in physics and astronomy from the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto. He is the director of Reasons to Believe, an organization that publicizes the historical and scientific truths of the Bible. Dr. Ross comments, "As an astronomer, I have achieved my ultimate quest: My education led me to the stars; my faith led me beyond." (1) Dr. Ross searched for knowledge; what he found was Truth and it sent him home by Another Road. Conclusion This morning we're invited to come to the ...

1495. Hope In The Midst of Uncertainty

Matthew 24:36-44

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... commenting on Romans wrote: "The Christian hope is the hope which has seen everything and endured everything, and has still not despaired, because it believes in God. The Christian hope is not hope in the human spirit, in human goodness, in human endurance, in human achievement; the Christian hope is hope in the power of God." (5) Advent is a season of preparation, of waiting and of hoping. It reminds us that we are not alone, that hope became flesh and blood and dwelt among us. Hope knows the uncertainties ...

1496. Church Unity

Illustration

John Green

The wrong way to achieve unity in the church is to try and appeal to everyone. With a bit of sarcasm here are the recent churches formed in our county: Potluck Assembly Little Bit O'Bible Church Cellophane Wrapped Communion Wafer orthodox church Church of the Big P.A. The Short-Term Pastor Center Theology- ...

1497. To Live in Joy

Revelation 1:1-3

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... , some having forgotten where the house is, some even having forgotten that there is a house, prodigal persons have been brought home again. At least the road back has been opened. And our desire to be connected with God, a desire that can never be achieved from our side of things, has been established from the other side. This is what Paul was talking about when he said, “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself or, as that marvelous paraphrase of Clarence Jordan in the vernacular of the South ...

1498. Where Do We Grow from Here?

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... did not save me from this devastating drive. Answering the call to preach and getting a theological education didn’t do it. Experiencing a measure of success, even publishing a couple of books didn’t do it. I became a slavish worker, tirelessly bent on achieving and performing, almost mercilessly driving myself…a fear of failure drawing from me more and more energy, and serving as a demanding taskmaster of my life. Along the t I had to admit to myself and others, and of course, to God, that this was ...

1499. No Instant Maturity

Matthew 7:15-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... can become an altar at which we bow, rather than a tool to facilitate growth. It can become a goal that stifles development once we’ve made Studies have shown that highly proficient men, men whose professions require a high level of intellectual achievement, are often out of touch with their emotions, their feelings, and are unable to be sensitive communicate in a deep intimate fashion. It’s true in every area of concern. I’ve known many people proficient in the bible whose spirits were poisoned ...

1500. Let Everything That Breathes Praise the Lord

Psalm 150:1-6

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... commencement, telling him she would not be alive and going through graduation were it not for his saving her life from that fire, fourteen years earlier. Moved by her sincerity and insistence, Lt. Bunch traveled to New York to share Lisa’s happy moment and achievement. It was an emotional reunion for both of them, and when Lisa would introduce her special guest to her family, to her teachers, to her friends and fellow students she would say, “He is the one who is responsible for my being here. He made ...

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