Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1576 to 1600 of 2665 results

1576. Do I Really Matter To God?

Psalm 139:1-24

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... Jack, if I were to give this bill to you, would you find it useful?” “Oh yes, “Jack replies. Then I take the bill and scrunch it up in a knot and then ask, “Would you still like to have it?” “Yes,” Jack replies. Then I drop the bill on the floor and stamp on it several times. “Would you still like to have it?” I ask. Without hesitation, Jack replies “yes.” Then I explain. “You have answered yes because you know that the maker of this bill, the United States government, will stand ...

1577. Hearing the Voice of God

Matthew 16:13-20

Illustration

John R. Brokhoff

... God, I am here." Then he would begin to preach to an empty barn. Some pranksters plotted to pull a trick on him. They hid in the barn, and when he said, "Howdy God, I am here", with a deep voice they answered, "Howdy, Jim, I am here." Well, Jim dropped his hat and took off, and never again was he seen at the barn. When we confront the holiness of Jesus as Peter did, we will have a sense of awe and unworthiness before the purity and perfection of Christ. Peter fell on his knees and said, "Depart from me ...

1578. Good News...Really?

Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... in God my Savior. One of the familiar signs and sounds of the season is the Salvation Army kettle and the ringing of the bells. In our shopping malls, we only get to see the volunteers manning the Salvation Army buckets. I never pass one by that I don't drop something in, if for no other reason than to thank them for their time and effort and to say, "I want to be a part of that ministry." Around here, we just get to see the standard bell-ringing volunteers, but of course, in New York City they still have ...

1579. FEAR NOT! You've Got To Be Kidding!

Luke 1:26-37

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... 't be afraid, because the Savior will come, God keeps his promises, and in the end, the fearsome things do not have the last word. Mary, fear not….the Lord is with you. Mary, fear not…the Savior will come. Notes: The James Russell Lowell hymn was dropped from the new edition of the United Methodist Hymnal for a variety of reasons, but those of us "of a certain age" remember it as one of those hymns which stirred our spirits. The full text reads: Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide ...

1580. Bountiful Faith: Two All Beef Patties, Special Sauce, Lettuce, Cheese, Pickles...Etc

2 Corinthians 9:6-11

Sermon

John E. Harnish

Have Faith… Strong in faith: "Just a little dab'll do ya." Ministry by faith: "Does she or doesn't she?" Saints by faith: "Good to the last drop." In a day when everything changes, some things never change. And in it all and through it all, a bountiful God of grace gives us a bountiful heart, a bountiful faith… 1. God calls us to live boldly and to give bountifully. Our theme verse for this campaign includes the ...

1581. Abraham and Sarah: Backing Into the Future

Hebrews 11:1-3; 8-11

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... and maker is God. Back during the dot-com boom and bust, I heard a report on NPR about all the baby boomer billionaires with fabulous fortunes and the frantic spending on expensive cars, homes, and gigots and gadgets. Then, just as suddenly came the overnight drop in those overnight fortunes. The commentator used a phrase which has stuck with me. He said, "They didn't realize it was only on paper." Only on paper. And I recalled the story Jesus told of a baby billionaire. His farm business was booming. You ...

1582. The Shepherd's Song

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... to admit our need of a shepherd. James Rudin, a writer for the UM Reporter, describes how a contemporary news editor might have tried to update David's psalm to more adequately address the reality of American life today: "The Lord's my shepherd." Drop the shepherd analogy. It alienates the urban reader. Also, change "Lord" to something else. It's not gender neutral. We prefer: "The Celestial Spirit provides the self-help I need to successfully make my way in a stressful society." [1] Then something happens ...

1583. Barnabas Found the Way

Acts 4:35-5:16

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... to look good rather than do good; doing for others, but doing for themselves first. They wanted, like Barnabas, to be known for their generosity, but didn't want to pay the price. And when the truth comes out, they are so shocked, they drop down dead! Because, you see, when you grab and clutch and hold, your life shrivels and your soul dies. Looking at nicknames again, the real tragedy here is that Ananias actually means "gracious" and Sapphira actually means "beautiful," but their lives were exactly the ...

1584. Keeping Shut About the Good News

Acts 3:1-10; Acts 4:13-20

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... lost fifty thousand members and are continuing to hemorrhage at the rate of a thousand members a week. [1] And since 1986, the trend has continued. Not only have we not reached twenty million members, we have declined each year. And this year, our total membership dropped below eight million for the first time since 1930. That's what I call "keeping shut about the Good News." What a contrast to Luke's account of the early church. In Acts 1, 120 disciples in the upper room; in chapter 2, three thousand came ...

1585. Breakfast on the Beach

John 21:1-14

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... by now, but they had no idea what was going to happen. Jesus just seemed to show up every now and then, usually unannounced. They had no clear direction from him yet as to what they should do next. "Let's just wait and see if he is going to drop in today..." This was not vacation, day-off kind of fishing. This was their trade, their livelihood, their daily work before Jesus had called them on the mission. So now what else were they supposed to do? It's back to work. Back to fishing. Little did they realize ...

1586. From the Tomb

John 20:1-18

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... enduring the hours on the cross, the agony of his death. She followed him to the grave and held vigil through the two sleepless nights. And now, early in the morning while it was still dark, she comes to prepare his body for its final rest, the last drop of compassion she can give for the one who had given himself for her. Imagine her walking into the dimness of the garden in the pre-dawn light. Imagine her eyes tired with too many tears. Imagine her exhausted, grief-wearied mind, trying to cut through the ...

1587. In the Upper Room

John 17

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... little church…it's just like family." And it was. If you were part of the family, it was wonderful. But if you were an outsider—a newcomer, a stranger or a visitor—you could also tell it was "like family." It felt as if you had dropped in on someone else's family reunion and you knew you didn't belong. No wonder it has remained, to this day, a small, family church. Unfortunately, that's typical of all too many congregations. Just last week Bishop Michael Coyner was addressing a meeting of the General ...

1588. Out of Solitude

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... by bread alone, but by the bread of God's mercy and the wine of God's grace. One last verse from John Greenleaf Whittier's poem. He lived before the days of iPods and Blackberries, cell phones and pagers, but his poem couldn't be more appropriate: Drop thy still dews of quietness, till all our strivings cease; take from our souls the strain and stress, and let our ordered lives confess the beauty of thy peace. Sabbath: a day apart from the rest of our lives. Sabbath: a moment within the days of our lives ...

1589. Are You Ready for the Journey?

Mark 8:27-9:1

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... also be the theme song of Mark's Gospel—it's about a secret, the Jesus secret, the Messianic secret. Through Mark's brief narrative, Jesus seems to constantly be revealing and concealing, holding back and then gradually holding forth his identity, dropping clues, giving hints, then pulling back until it seems the disciples are just beginning to catch on. …Closer...whoa, oh, oh...closer... All the while, Jesus' popularity with the common people continues to rise. Can't you hear them saying: "He certainly ...

1590. Building Bridges

Matthew 18:15-20

Illustration

Bob Tasler

... place or his face anymore." The carpenter said, "Show me the nails and the tools, and I'll do a good job for you." The older brother had to go to town, so he left for the day. At sunset, when he returned, this eyes opened wide, and his jaw dropped. There was no fence there at all. The carpenter had built a bridge that stretched from one side of the river to the other, with handrails and all! And his younger brother, was coming toward them, his handout stretched. "You're quite the guy," he said, "after all I ...

1591. Taking a Necessary Step

Acts 19:1-7

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... manner. We must move beyond John the Baptist or anyone else who has given meaning to our lives. Many of our parishioners tend to go through years of their lives never coming to terms with the truth of which we are speaking. It is as though a curtain drops and prevents them from fully receiving their Savior and Lord. It is not that they have no knowledge of him, of course; it is that they have a problem of readiness. Perhaps this is the work of Satan that likes things the way they are. Whatever it is ...

1592. Looking to the Unseen

2 Corinthians 4:18

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... reality is greater than material reality. The prophets of old have asserted this truth time and again. Humankind, they said, looks at external, material things, but God looks on the heart. We are impressed with fortunes and political power, but nations are to God like a drop in the bucket, says Isaiah, and princes are a delusion, says the psalmist. Jesus asserted the same truth. A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. What shall it profit a man if he gain the world and lose his ...

1593. The Paradoxical Power of Weakness

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... experience of the musician who attains considerable success in a remote city. When he appears in concerts, people come from miles around. They arrive to pay tribute to his talent and ability. He grows from strength to strength. Even local music critics are dropping their customary reserve to extend considerable praise. The musician is stimulated and encouraged to go further. He goes to New York to study under a world-famous teacher. Do you see his adjustment? Strong in the remote city, he became weak in New ...

1594. Sacred Pleasures

Romans 14:1--15:13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

There is an old Hasidic tradition. You may have heard of it before. A large drop of honey is placed on the first page of the Torah the first time a Jewish child opens the Bible to read and study it. The child is instructed to lick the honey from the page, forever imprinting the young scholar with the memory-paste of pleasure, the conviction that ...

1595. Sacred Pleasures

Romans 14:1-12

Illustration

Leonard Sweet

1596. Believing Thomas

John 20:19-31

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

... . We pray in his name. Amen. Prayer Of Confession One: Unless we see signs and wonders, unless we see a hand writing on the wall, unless we see arks being built, unless we see donkeys talking and seas dividing and rocks flowing with water and manna dropping and the dead rising and loaves with fishes multiplying, unless we see his wounds so we can touch with our own fingers, we will not believe. Two: Signs and wonders? We believe, our Lord and our God! We believe! Amen. Hymns Love Divine, All Loves Excelling ...

1597. Which Coaching Is Better?

Matthew 21:23-32

Illustration

King Duncan

... . However, the constant badgering, pressure, and demeaning style of the coach slowly destroys any fun the kid ever felt in the game. Once the desire to play begins to crumble, he begins to sabotage his own success. He becomes more vulnerable to injuries, his grades drop, and he acts up socially with drugs and sex. His cry for help goes unheard. Meanwhile, the kid with less talent gets less help and less pressure. He is left to struggle in worse schools combating pressure from gangs. He has to want to play ...

1598. The Only Bible

Matthew 22:1-14

Illustration

Rebecca Pippert

... utterly silent except for the clicking of the man's shoes. All eyes were focused on him. You couldn't even hear anyone breathing. The minister couldn't even preach the sermon until the usher did what he had to do. When he was upon the boy he dropped his cane and with great difficulty, lowered himself to the ground and sat down. It is a moment filled with poignancy. When the minister regained control, he said, "What I'm about to preach, you might never remember. What you have just seen, you will never forget ...

1599. Blue Christmas

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Her friend fitted pieces of latex to Pattie’s face to instantly age her. She wrapped her legs with Ace bandages; then she wore support stockings over those bandages to bind her movements. She put wax in her ears to make hearing more difficult and drops of baby oil in her eyes to cloud her vision. She wrapped adhesive tape around her fingers to simulate arthritis and wore gloves over the tape. And Pattie Moore discovered much to her dismay how the world sometimes treats the elderly. She reports that she ...

1600. Perceiving the Presence of God

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... to speak with her friend the sun. One sunny but cool day a strong driving wind rushed through the forest. The wind blew the beauty that once was Marigold all over the place. Her suitors no longer thought her attractive. They lost their interest in her, dropped their leaves, and decided to sleep for the rest of the winter. A couple of weeks later the first frost came to the forest. The fruit which Bean Plant produced began to shrivel up; it was no longer attractive to the animals of the forest. They ...

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