Dictionary: Rest
Showing 1501 to 1525 of 2237 results

Sermon
Arley K. Fadness
The telephone rang in my office one day, and a mother, a mem­ber of my parish, blurted out, "Oh, pastor, they just found the body of my son, Kenneth. He drowned in the Missouri River over at Chamberlain!" I was stunned, and then I heard her sob. "It had been a hot day. Kenneth, driving gravel truck all day, decided to take a swim to cool off. And he didn't make it back to shore. Pas­tor, what'll I do?" I remember swimming at that very beach with my family over the years. As I drove over to Erna's house, I ...

Sermon
Richard Gribble
Once upon a time there was a good king who ruled wisely and well over his people, who loved him very much. This king had four beautiful daughters who were all well respected by the people. One day he called them together and told them, "I am going to a far-off monastery to spend time in prayer with God. Therefore, I am leaving you in charge of the kingdom." While all the girls, one after the other, told their father not to leave, he insisted that it was necessary. Before he left on his journey, however, he ...

Luke 7:36-50
Sermon
King Duncan
To learn how Americans feel about prayer, Life magazine once interviewed dozens of people. One person they talked to was a prostitute, age twenty-four, in White Pine County, Nevada. “I don’t think about my feelings a lot,” she said. “Instead I lie in my bed and think [about God]. I meditate because some­times my words don’t come out right. But he can find me. He can find what’s inside of me just by listening to my thoughts. I ask him to help me and keep me going. A lot of people think working girls don’t ...

Sermon
King Duncan
Have you ever been around someone who is not particularly concerned with personal hygiene say, in a crowded elevator? If so you can be grateful that you didn’t live 100 years ago or 200 years ago. One of the changes that has taken place over the centuries that we can be thankful for is the concern for personal hygiene. For example, what if we lived in the 1500s? This is interesting. One writer tells us that in the 1500s most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still ...

Exodus 20:1-21
Sermon
James Merritt
If there is one commandment that is usually thought to be irrelevant, it is the second commandment. However, it may be second in position because it is second in importance. This commandment is one that is probably the most easily ignored and, yet, the most blatantly broken. In case you doubt that idolatry is alive and well right here in America, picture a newspaper article entitled, THE DEIFICATION OF ELVIS: Those who worship ‘the king’ practice their own form of religion. This newspaper writer thought at ...

Sermon
King Duncan
Pastor Doug Henry tells about a television commercial from Citibank. The bank wanted to say “thank you” to their customers for using their credit cards, so they were starting a rewards program whereby you could earn cash back just for using their card. One of the commercials involved two ladies in a grocery store. One lady put her hand on the stomach of the other and asked her when her baby was due. The woman looks at her and says, “I’m not pregnant.” Oops! Not knowing what else to say, the woman replies ...

Sermon
King Duncan
During a wedding rehearsal, the groom approached the priest with an unusual offer. “Look, I’ll give you $100 if you’ll change the wedding vows. When you get to the part where I’m to promise to ‘love, honor, and obey’ and ‘forsaking all others, be faithful to her forever,’ I’d appreciate it if you’d just leave that part out.” He slipped the priest the cash and walked away. The wedding day arrived. When it came time for the groom’s vows, the priest looked the young man in the eye and said, “Will you promise ...

Sermon
King Duncan
A few years ago, a brother and a sister in west London found an old vase while cleaning out their parents’ home. They thought it might have some value. Subsequently they hired Bainbridge, an auction house, to sell it. They discovered it was valued at nearly $2 million. But, get this: after 30 minutes of spirited bidding at the auction, this vase, which turned out to be an 18th century Qing [pron. cheeng] Dynasty vase went to a buyer from China for more than 69 million dollars, the most ever paid at auction ...

Sermon
King Duncan
Today we’re going to be talking about the Christian family. I believe most of us will agree that raising a family can be challenging. In fact, raising a family changes with each baby. Someone has made a list of the ways having a second and third child is different from having your first. See if any of you can identify with these differences: For example, if you are a mom, your clothes change. With the first baby you begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your gynecologist confirms your pregnancy. With ...

Sermon
King Duncan
Do you like stories of buried treasure? Here’s one that you may not have heard. According to a legend from the Wild West, back in the 1870s, notorious outlaw Jesse James and his gang stole millions of dollars worth of gold bullion from a Mexican general. The men proceeded to bury their treasure somewhere in the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma. Rumor had it that Jesse had scratched a secretly-coded map on an old bucket and left it as a marker. One source says that after Jesse’s death, his brother Frank James ...

Sermon
Dean Feldmeyer
“Be afraid. Be very afraid.” The year is 1986 and the movie is the remake of the classic horror film, “The Fly.” Jeff Goldbum plays the eccentric scientist, Seth Brundle, who is working on a machine that will teleport people and things by disassembling their molecules at one point and reassembling them at another. Geena Davis plays Veronica Quaife, a reporter who is writing Brundle’s story. Unfortunately, when Brundle tries to transport himself from one room to another, a housefly is inadvertently trapped ...

Sermon
Dean Feldmeyer
Grace upon grace. What a lovely turn of phrase that is. The gospel writer, John, really knew his stuff, didn’t he? Now, if only we knew what it meant. What exactly is this grace of God that we hear so much about in the Christian community? Christian theologians have spent much of the last two thousand years trying to define it. Saint Augustine said that grace is the unmerited love and favor which God makes available to all human beings.1 Martin Luther believed that God’s grace was God’s mercy and ...

Sermon
Lori Wagner
Prop: Anointing oil (preferably frankincense or myrrh) Joey and Nicky at Skull Mountain -- It sounds like a mystery like Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys, doesn’t it? Or for those with a slightly more sinister flair, a story by E. L. Stine. Intrigue, Mystery, Mayhem, and a good dose of the gruesome. And slightly Spooky. The events surrounding Jesus’ death were certainly strange and unusual. The High Priest and his family of former and future high priests had been pushing to get something done about Jesus ...

Acts 10:34-43
Sermon
Will Willimon
When I first read it, it seemed an odd text for Easter: "And Peter opened his mouth and said: "Truly I perceive that God shows no partiality, but in every nation any one who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the word which he sent...the word which was proclaimed throughout all Judea...how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing...They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third ...

Sermon
King Duncan
After Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll, died in 1977, many people claimed to be related to him. Tabloids published stories with headlines like “I was Elvis’ love child!” Some of these claims were made by fans desperate to maintain some connection to the musical legend. Some of the claims were made by folks who just wanted a chance at publicity or money from Elvis’ estate. Claiming a connection to Elvis Presley became so popular that Detroit-area disk jockey, Dick Purtan, began selling birth ...

Sermon
Richard Gribble
Once upon a time, long, long ago, a young man decided to become a saint. He left his home, family, and possessions, sold everything he owned, and gave the money to the poor. He walked off into the desert to find God. He walked through the desert sands until he found a dark cave. “Here,” he thought, “I will be alone with God. Nothing can distract me from God.” He prayed day and night in the dark cave, but God sent him great temptations. He imagined all the good things of life and wanted them desperately. ...

Sermon
King Duncan
What would you say are the best employee perks in your workplace? Some places offer “casual Fridays,” where the dress code is less formal. For most workplaces, that’s as cutting-edge as they get when it comes to employee perks. But other business owners go out of their way to offer unique benefits to attract and retain employees. Patagonia, the outdoor equipment company, encourages their employees to get outside on their lunch break and go surfing. They even offer a companywide weather report each day ...

Sermon
King Duncan
It’s tough to preach your first sermon at a new church. Most pastors experience at least a few jitters as they head to a new church to preach. Can they remember the main points to their sermon? Will the sound system work? Will the congregation stay awake? It’s nerve-wracking. Not exactly on par with the stresses faced by police officers or brain surgeons or middle school teachers, but nerve-wracking in its own way. So I appreciate a story Pastor John Jewell shared about his first time preaching as a supply ...

Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a)
Sermon
King Duncan
Where are you most likely to get important news and information that you rely on each day? From a print newspaper? From an app on your phone? From social media? From a cable channel? What about from a man or woman standing in the middle of your neighborhood and shouting out the latest headlines? Not likely. If you’d lived about 1,000 years ago in England, you would have gotten the latest news and headlines from a town crier. The job of town crier began officially in the year 1066. What happened in 1066? ...

Sermon
Will Willimon
Well, religion has suddenly become the burning concern of politicians. I can't remember when religion has been so important in a presidential campaign. It wasn't long ago that John Kennedy had to explain why, although he was a Catholic, his religion would not hinder him from being a good president. And a very short time ago, Jimmy Carter stood before the voters and admitted that, although he was a faithful Baptist, he would perform his presidential duties as if he were nothing at all -- or something like ...

Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20
Sermon
Richard A. Wing
I would like to invite you to do the most difficult thing that can be asked of our culture, and that is to do nothing. I invite you to approach this night with open hands and hearts and do nothing. This night is not about effort, but about receiving. This night's gift is yours for the asking and without effort. While in the Atlanta airport a friend of mine went into a restaurant where he was served something he had never seen before. He inquired, "What is this white glob here on the plate?" The waitress ...

Sermon
James McLemore
There are many reasons why God needs to save the families described in this message. There are countless reasons why God needs to save any family. The primary reason is that we are unable to save our families ourselves. Let me illustrate a few scenes from modern American family life. In the first scene, we see a white house on a corner with a picket fence all around it. A typical family event is occurring. The father slams the front door as he storms out of the house. The mother slams the bedroom door and ...

Luke 19:28-44
Sermon
Robert Beringer
Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday as it is now called in some churches is certainly one of the greatest festivals of the Christian Year. However, for many years, I wondered just what this day really does signify in terms of the everyday life of a Christian. Is it simply a reminder that fickle human beings can shout ''Hosanna'' one day, and then a few days later, those same people cry, ''Crucify him''? Certainly that is a part of the Holy Week story. But then it struck me that Palm/Passion Sunday's real purpose ...

Matthew 24:36-44
Children's Sermon
Teresa L. Major
Object: None Lesson: It is important to be prepared because we never know what's coming. Preparation: Be familiar with Matthew 24:36-44. A few years ago, my sister and I went to the beach for the weekend. We stayed way up high on an upper floor of a hotel. We had a great time, swimming, shopping, watching dolphins jump, and just relaxing. But the last night we were there something frightening happened. Very early in the morning, when it was still a little dark outside, an alarm went off in our hotel room. ...

Sermon
R. Robert Cueni
Paul, the greatest missionary of the Christian era, once remarked that God doesn't always use the wisest, strongest and most moral people to bring his message. Instead God uses the foolish, the weak and the lowly -- just to prove a point (1 Corinthians 1:27-29). That truth certainly holds when it comes to those chosen by God as the patriarchs of ancient Israel. Consider our scripture lesson for this morning which concerns the brothers Jacob and Esau, children of Isaac. With very little reading between the ...

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