Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1501 to 1525 of 4944 results

1501. LOST? Looking For Peace

Matthew 18:21-22, Colossians 3:8-15, Hebrews 11:1

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

There's an old story, and it's a groaner but I'm going tell it anyway. It's about three flies buzzing around a messy kitchen table where somebody had just made a bologna sandwich. The knife used to slice the bologna was covered with little particles of the meat and so was the cutting board. Two of the flies decided to work on the cutting board, while the third fly went to work on the knife. He started at the tip of the knife and ate his way all the way to the end of the handle. Then he decided to fly over ...

1502. That's All I Want

Psalm 23:1

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

This morning I want to start off by reading what some say is the most beloved Psalm of all, the 23rd Psalm. And while some of the other translations may be closer to the actual literal meaning of the words, the version we know best is the King James Version. [1] The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. [2] He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. [3] He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. [4] Yea, though I walk ...

1503. Some Second Thoughts about Giving

Mark 12:41-44

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Ramon S. Scruggs, Sr. is a highly placed black executive in a large corporation. He made a speech some years ago in which he said, “When I hear my white associates say that they can’t understand what makes blacks today hostile and aggressive, I have to wonder at their generally alleged high degree of intelligence. At the age of eight or nine my mother took me with her to a downtown office building in Nashville. She had taught me to take my hat off in the elevator when there were ladies present. We got on ...

1504. He Leadeth Me

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There was a story being circulated back in the days when President Carter was in the White House. He was meeting with the Prime Minister of Israel about the negotiation of a peace in the Middle East. Since both were religious men and worshiped the same God they thought it would be a good idea to consult God on the matters that were before them. Carter offered to use his private phone to do it, pay the charges. So they placed the call, talked to God for five minutes. When the call was completed Carter asked ...

1505. Doing Our Best

Romans 12: 1-13

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Once to every man and nation Comes a moment to decide In the strife of truth with falsehood For the good or evil side. In the wake of worldwide terror, I have wondered aloud and pondered deeply what the leadership role of the church should be in a time such as this. Should we push forward or pull back? Should we unveil a new vision for this congregation or wait for a better day? I have asked many of you to give us some guidance. You have said to me without exception, “Howard, the Church is needed now more ...

1506. Holy Waste

Mark 14:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There was a man who bought his fiancée a diamond ring, and showed it to his friend. His friend asked, “Is it a real diamond?’ He said, “If it isn’t, I’m out five bucks.” Then there was the fellow who wanted to buy his sweetheart some perfume. He went to the counter of an exclusive store, and the saleswoman recommended a perfume called “Perhaps” that sold for $100 an ounce. $100!” cried the young fellow. “For $100, I don’t want “Perhaps”, I want “For Sure!” Behind the hint of humor is the suggestion that if ...

1507. The Inconcealable Christ!

Mark 7:31-37, Mark 7:24-30

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

In this amazing passage of two miracles, we find just one message. The first miracle is the healing of the daughter of a Greek woman, born in Syrian Phoenicia. In many ways, it is among the most significant of Jesus' miracles not just because the child received healing. Syrophoenicia is not a candidate region for the zip code 90210. The "pretty people" do not take up residence there. In fact, they do all they can to avoid going that way. It is a remote place sustained by commercial fishing and, if we can ...

1508. Cheering for the Underdog

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

King Duncan

Since this is football season, I want to begin with a couple of football stories. The first is about a place kicker who was so angry with himself after missing a field goal that when he got to the sidelines, he literally kicked himself. Yep, he missed there, too. The second story concerns a game between traditional football powers Michigan State and UCLA. The score was tied at 14 with only seconds to play. Duffy Daugherty, Michigan State’s coach, sent in place-kicker Dave Kaiser who booted a field goal ...

1509. 101 Ways to Spend Your Time

Illustration

Tim Kimmel

Becoming good at the things that build inner confidence and calm takes practice and a dash of creativity! The following list might provide some cloudseeding for a brainstorm or two of your own: Pay off your credit cards. Take off ten pounds or accept where you are without any more complaints. Eat dinner together as a family for seven days in a row. Take your wife on a dialogue date (no movie, guys). Read your kids a classic book (Twain's a good start). Memorize the Twenty-third Psalm as a family. Give each ...

1510. The New Census

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

From our first days in school, or on the playground, we learn the “Count Off.” To keep track of a classroom full of kids, one of the first things first graders learn from busy teachers is to “count off.” Especially during fire drills or field trips, it is imperative that every child be accounted for. The presence of every one of them is assured by reaching the proper total number. Besides learning to count off to get a total tally, sometimes the kids “count off” by two’s or four’s, a fast, easy way to ...

1511. No Turning Back

John 6:60-71

Sermon

King Duncan

Former heavyweight boxer James (Quick) Tillis is a cowboy from Oklahoma. Tillis fought out of Chicago in the early 1980s. A deeply religious man, Tillis is remembered as the first boxer ever to make Mike Tyson go the distance in the heavyweight division. Tillis had his disappointments as a boxer, but evidently they didn’t rob him of his sense of humor. He still remembers his first day in the Windy City after his arrival from Tulsa. “I got off the bus,” he says, “with two cardboard suitcases under my arms ...

1512. In Praise of Perseverance

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

The newspaper cartoon is a favorite. It concerns the daily adventures of a family with attentive parents and small children. The scene shows the little boy and his mother walking out the front door of the church at the close of the Sunday morning service. There is snow on the church's front lawn. The child revels in wonder. He says, “Yes! My prayin’ worked.” The reader is left to imagine the previous scene from inside the church. The little boy spent the hour with head bowed, eyes closed, hands folded ...

1513. God Disciplines His Sons

Hebrews 12:1-13, Hebrews 12:14-29

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

Looking to Jesus as the Perfect Pattern With the glorious history of the faithful in mind, our author turns now to his readers. The standard of faith has been set by the record of God’s faithful people in the past, who moved out into the unknown with confidence and who endured hardship without giving up their expectation of a future fulfillment of the promise. But the author now comes to the supreme example of this kind of faith in Jesus—the name that must be the climax of any list of paragons of faith. ...

1514. Warning Against Refusing God

Hebrews 12:14-29, Hebrews 12:1-13

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

1515. Concluding Exhortations

Hebrews 13:1-25

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

A Call to Ethical Living The author has concluded the main part of his epistle, having argued his points with convincing forcefulness, and now turns to various matters he desires to mention before concluding. chapter 13, therefore, is like an appendix. This is not to say, however, that the material in this chapter is unrelated to the main part of the epistle. Indeed, some of the author’s main concerns are again touched upon here, but in a somewhat different way, fleetingly, in order to bring out the ...

1516. The Nazirite Vow

Numbers 6:1-21

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

Big Idea: Willingly dedicate oneself to God. Understanding the Text The Nazirite regulations continue the theme of purity from Numbers 5. The Nazirites are laymen and laywomen who in a special way have dedicated themselves to God. Amos lists the Nazirite with the prophet as a special kind of holy person (Amos 2:11–12). These regulations also continue the theme of oaths, for both the woman suspected of adultery and the Nazirite make oaths (Num. 5:15–31; 6:2). Historical and Cultural Background Nazirite ...

1517. “Lord, Who May Dwell in Your Sacred Tent?”

Psalm 15:1-5

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: Our worship and life in God are grounded more in ethical behavior than in liturgical correctness, though this does not suggest that the latter is unimportant. Understanding the Text Form critics often identify this psalm as an entrance liturgy (also Ps. 24), spoken perhaps to the temple gatekeepers (2 Chron. 23:19) before the worshiper entered the sanctuary.[1] Mays moves the discussion in another direction by pointing out that both Psalms 15 and 24, as well as Isaiah 33:14–17 (which is a similar ...

1518. The Image of Gold and the Fiery Furnace

Daniel 3:1-30

Teach the Text

Ronald W. Pierce

Nebuchadnezzar Builds the Statue (3:1-12): Big Idea: God sometimes allows believers to face dark times of crisis in which their faith and faithfulness are challenged, even with the penalty of death. Understanding the Text Daniel 3:1–30 is woven into the book’s overall literary structure in two ways. First, it advances the narrative of chapters 1–6, in which the first four focus on Nebuchadnezzar (chaps. 1–2 with historical markers and 3–4 without) and the last two show the transition from Belshazzar of ...

1519. I Once Was Blind…and Maybe I Still Am

John 9:1-41

Sermon

King Duncan

An English missionary named Roland Allen once told about an older missionary who came up and introduced himself to him one day after he had delivered a sermon. The older man said that he had been a medical missionary for many years in India. He served in a region where there was an environmental condition that was causing progressive blindness in many of the people of that region. People were born with healthy vision, but there was something that caused people to lose their sight as they grew older. As ...

1520. Paying What's Due

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

David G. Rogne

In Joseph Heller's book Catch-22, an Air Force bombardier is desperately seeking relief from going out on the deadly missions he must fly each day. As he gets close to the number of missions that will allow him to be rotated, the number of missions needed for rotation keeps changing. He concludes that only a crazy person would keep flying those dangerous missions. He thinks he must be crazy, and therefore he should be sent home. His superiors agree with him that a crazy person should be sent home but only ...

1521. In the Light of His Glory

Isaiah 60:1-6, Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

Dr. Les Parrott in his book Shoulda Coulda Woulda tells an old legend about three men. Each man carried two sacks--one sack tied in front of his neck and the other sack resting on his back. When the first man was asked what was in his sacks, he said, “In the sack on my back are all the good things friends and family have done for me. That way they’re hidden from view. In the front sack are all the bad things that have happened to me and all the mistakes I’ve made. Every now and then I stop, open the front ...

1522. Jesus' Final Exam

Luke 20:19-40

Sermon

Will Willimon

Have any of you visiting alumni ever had a dream in which you dreamed that you were back here in school at Duke during an exam? It's a fairly typical alumni dream. The dream often involves some problem you have with the exam. You have studied all night for the final in organic chemistry. But now, on the morning of the exam, you find that the classroom door is locked by Dr. Wilder. You pound on the door, but you can't get in. Another such dream involves your sauntering into class one day and discovering to ...

1523. Since He's In Charge, We're In Luck

Psalm 33:4-5, 8-9, 13-22

Sermon

Robert G. McCreight

Introduction At the turn of the century the storm clouds that had long been gathering in South Africa suddenly broke loose. Britain and the English-speaking South Africans went to war with the Dutch-descended Boers. The British newspaper, The Morning Post, offered a young reporter by the name of Winston Churchill the job of chief war correspondent to cover the story. He jumped at the chance. Soon after he arrived in South Africa he was traveling on a troop train when it was captured and he was taken ...

1524. The Season Of The Holy Spirit

Mark 10:46-52

Bulletin Aid

Wayne H. Keller

THE COMMUNITY GATHERS TO CELEBRATE Pastoral and Congregational Invitation In the name of the living Christ who gives sight and insight, welcome. Please close your eyes, those who choose. For centuries, God has revealed the Good News to the world. For how many years has God been revealing the Good News to you? (Pause.) For how long did we hear the Good News before we saw the Good News, identified in others, integrated within ourselves? (Pause.) Would anyone care to share how that happened? (You may want to ...

1525. You Can Be Happy

1 Chronicles 13:1-14

Sermon

Michael B. Brown

Jesus said, "I have come that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full." Jesus came that we might be, in a word, happy. Paul, history's greatest interpreter of the teachings of Jesus, identified three sure-fire ways to find the joy Christ was talking about, three indispensables for happiness. They are: 1 -- Find someone to believe in. This is the spiritual dimension of happiness. Paul said it this way when writing to his friends in Corinth: "Make love your aim, and earnestly desire the spiritual ...

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