Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1601 to 1625 of 4944 results

1601. What If It Happens To Me? The Fear of Suffering

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

James Merritt

I want to talk to you today about perhaps the most thorny issue confronting the Christian faith. In fact, it is the single biggest obstacle for non-Christians to overcome in order to become believers in Christ. George Barna, who is the George Gallup of the Christian world, conducted a national survey in which he asked this question, "If you could ask God only one question and you knew He would give you an answer, what would you ask?" By far and away the number one response was this one - "Why is there pain ...

1602. What’s So Amazing about Grace?

2 Samuel 7:1-14a

Sermon

Stan Purdum

In our reading for today, we find King David, after having consolidated his kingdom and moved into a palace for himself, deciding that he'd like to built an impressive house for God as well. Now David wasn't so theologically naive as to think that God needed a physical dwelling as though he were merely a super human, but he did know that the Ark of the Covenant, that special box containing the tablets on which God had inscribed the Ten Commandments, was a unique symbol of the presence of God among the ...

1603. A Voice in the Wilderness

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

King Duncan

I want to give you a memory test. How many of you remember these chilling words? “This is a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. The broadcasters of your area in voluntary cooperation with the FCC and federal, state and local authorities have developed this system to keep you informed in the event of an emergency. If this had been an actual emergency, you would have been instructed to tune to one of the broadcast stations in your area.” It’s been ten years since the Emergency Broadcast System broadcast ...

1604. Blessed Are Those Who Hand Over Their Controllers

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The hundred miles of open water separates the most southern tip of Florida from the most northern coast of Cuba. It’s a stretch of water that has claimed hundreds of lives since the Cuban revolution. Flotillas of “boat people” seeking freedom and family in the US have created desperate “boats” out of anything that might possibly float long enough to reach US soil. The goal of these “boat people” is simple: hit dry land. As long as these refugees are in the water, they are Cubans. As of 1995 the US has ...

1605. This Is the Day!

Psalm 118:1-29

Sermon

King Duncan

I want to begin with a suggestion. Tomorrow morning when you wake up, I want you to stand up tall in front of your bathroom mirror, give yourself a big smile and declare with great gusto that wonderful verse from Psalms, “This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!” Bio-feedback experts suggest that this single act can do wonders for our mental state. The relation between our body and our mind is an interesting one. We don’t smile because we feel great, these experts tell us; ...

1606. Living on Full Alert

Matthew 24: 36-44

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Surprise! Surprise! Life is full of surprises! Some surprises are awesome. Someone will get an engagement ring for Christmas. Some surprises are awful. As long as we live, will we ever forget those exploding Twin Towers? Some surprises are a combination of awesome and awful. A parishioner called her pastor and said, “I need a little help. My father just won a 30 million dollar lottery. He is 96 years old, has heart trouble and I am concerned if I tell him, he will have a heart attack. Would you mind paying ...

1607. A Shepherd's Story

Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

It's not an easy life, I'll tell you that. I work my small farm during the day, but that doesn't bring in enough money. I have a family to support, taxes to pay — oy, don't get me started on taxes — so I need more than my farm brings in. I do the only other thing I know how to do. I hire myself out for the night shift watching other people's sheep. Tending sheep would not be my first choice, you understand. First, I have to stay awake all night. Then, there's counting the sheep to make sure one or two ...

1608. Behind Closed Doors

John 20:19-31

Sermon

Lee Griess

There are some jokes that are just too terrible to tell from the pulpit. A pastor would have to be nuts to try to slip such a story by his congregation. For example, there is a story of a man who went to a psychiatrist one time with a sleep disorder. "Doc," he says, "I've been having trouble sleeping because of weird dreams. For example, last night I dreamed that I was a wigwam." "Oh yes," the psychiatrist said. "That is terrible. Yes, yes indeed ... Please try very carefully to remember more and come back ...

1609. A Career in The Kingdom

Matthew 21:23-32

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

When Sadie and Bessie, the famed "Delany Sisters," were in the early years of their second centuries (103 and 105, respectively) they told interviewers, "God only gave you one body, so you better be nice to it. Exercise, because if you don't, by the time you're our age, you'll be pushing up daisies." Fitness gymnasiums ought to put the Delany Sisters on their billboards and quote them into larger profit margins. Some people get into exercise in a very big way. When Teddy Roosevelt was president of the ...

1610. The Receptive Heart

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

Life is a matter of attitude. All the great motivational speakers tell us that. To succeed in life, attitude is critical. Of course, not everyone has a great attitude. In fact, some people have a downright rotten attitude. The Internet carried an item recently that reflects a rotten attitude. It is called the “Cynic’s Guide to Life.” It’s a clever take-off on some of life’s familiar clichés. See if you recognize any of these: The journey of a thousand miles . . . begins with . . . a broken fan belt and a ...

1611. A Christmas Program

Luke 2:21-40

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

Narration: We begin our Christmas worship and pageant tonight with the wondrous images of Luke, chapter 2, dancing in our eyes and warming our hearts. We gather to worship. We gather to honor. We gather to celebrate the birthday of Jesus at Bethlehem, the Messiah, our Christ. Christmas Puppet Play (skit provided below) Narration: Jesus Christ is the gift of gifts. How amazing when the prophets Isaiah, Micah, and others foretold of the coming of the one who would bring deliverance to the people of Israel. ...

1612. Be Hatched or Go Bad

Mark 16:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Christ is Risen! [The people respond:] He is risen indeed! Happy Easter, everyone! “Because I live,” Jesus said in John 14:19, “you also will live.” I wonder: how many of you are sitting out there, festooned in your Easter Sunday best, but your fingers are slightly stained? How many of you colored Easter eggs this weekend? I do think I can see some pinks, blues, greens, and purples shining on your fingers from all the Easter eggs you colored, hid, found, cracked, or consumed. Take comfort in this: you are ...

1613. Go, Climb A Mountain!

Luke 9:28-36 (37-43)

Sermon

Cynthia Cowen

The plane from Amsterdam to Africa was crowded. As three passengers stood in the aisle, you could tell they were hikers. Awkwardly, they stuffed heavy backpacks into already overloaded bins. Excitement seemed to emanate from them. Their conversation was animated as they laughed and focused on their climb up the fourth highest mountain in the world. As the plane flew over the Alps, they strained their necks to catch a view of the majestic mountains. Clouds enveloped the tops of their summits. Soon they ...

1614. Good Gossip

James 3:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

One of the most popular shows from last season is returning this fall with ads asking potential audiences, “What would you do if your weren’t ‘handicapped’ by sight?” “The Voice” is a talent show that keeps the judges in the dark, so to speak. It requires them to judge all the contestants only on the quality of their voices. The judges’ backs are turned and they never see the performer. Power, poise, presence, emotion, erudition, excitement — it all has to be conveyed to the judges only by the sound of the ...

1615. When God Adds Insult to Injury

Colossians 2:6-15

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

So many things separate Christians into groups: denominations, different ways of practicing the sacraments, different understandings of how to organize the church, different attitudes toward social issues like sexuality and money, even different perceptions of who Christ was. With all of that disagreement and separation, what unites us? Is there any common ground among us, other than simply calling ourselves Christians? Are we hopelessly divided, or can we push aside some of these barriers and embrace as ...

1616. Lost, But Not the TV Show!

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

A marine tells about a field exercise he was participating in at Camp Lejeune, N.C. His squad was on a night patrol making their way through some thick brush. Halfway through, they realized they’d lost their map. The patrol navigator informed the rest of the squad that their odds were 1 in 359 that they’d succeed in getting back to their base of operations. “How did you come up with that figure?” someone asked, “one chance in 359?” “Well,” he replied, “one of the degrees on the compass has to be right.” (1 ...

1617. He's Back

John 20:19-23

Sermon

David O. Bales

Most Christians know about the Holy Spirit’s power granted one morning in Jerusalem seven weeks after Jesus’ resurrection. It occurred on the Jewish Festival of Passover recorded in Acts 2. Many Christians don’t know what John 20 reports. This text is about Jesus’ giving the Holy Spirit before the exciting spiritual event at the Passover Festival. Seven weeks before Pentecost we’re with Jesus late on the day of his resurrection. Jesus’ resurrection has announced that he’s back for good. His students ...

1618. The Parable of the Careless Farmer

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

Somewhere I saw a long list of wise sayings attributed to farmers. Let me list just a few of these wise sayings for you. Maybe you will relate to one of these: 1. Keep skunks and bankers and lawyers at a distance. 2. Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads. 3. Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you. 4. Life is simpler when you plow around the stump. 5. When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty. 6. And this last bit of advice: Always drink upstream from the herd. Jesus told ...

1619. Blessed Are the Abnormal

James 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Everyone knows the name Vincent van Gogh. Van Gogh is best remembered as a troubled, but highly talented post-impressionist painter who died at the age of 37, perhaps at his own hand. His best-known work is titled, “Starry Night.” But let me tell you some things about Vincent van Gogh that you may not know. Did you know that Vincent van Gogh was drawn toward the Christian ministry at an early age? In the winter of 1878, van Gogh volunteered to move to an impoverished coal mine in the south of Belgium, a ...

1620. The Council at Jerusalem

Acts 15:1-21

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

The acceptance of the Gentiles into the church without the necessity of circumcision (with the implication of submission to the whole law) might seem to have been assured after the conversion of Cornelius and his friends. At that time, even in Jerusalem, the bastion of Jewish tradition, those Christians who had met to consider the matter had agreed that God had “granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life” (11:18), though they probably never dreamed that this would be anything more than an exceptional ...

1621. The Armor of God

Ephesians 6:10-20

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

Since the imagery of war and armor is quite prominent throughout the NT, this section in Ephesians does not specifically represent any new teaching. Paul, for example, speaks of his own Christian life as a spiritual fight (1 Cor. 9:24–27), and the author of the Pastorals encourages Timothy to “fight the good fight” (1 Tim. 1:18; 6:12) in an age of apostasy. On several occasions Paul even identifies the weapons that the Christian is to use. Because the battle is a spiritual one, he says, “the weapons we ...

1622. Taming the Tongue

James 3:1-12, James 3:13-18

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

Wisdom for the Tongue Like the Pauline churches, James’ church was a church of the Spirit. Though there were formal offices, such as elder (5:14), there was no ordination process or schooling needed to teach and preach. As a result it was relatively easy for people with some ability, but worldly motivation, to put themselves forward as teachers. (Our modern seminary-ordination process makes this take longer, but it is not successful in preventing it; rather, it makes such a person a more permanent fixture ...

1623. A Prophecy Against Babylon

Isaiah 13:1--14:23

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

Poems about Northern Powers: Introduction to Chapters 13–23: Chapter 12 would have made a fine ending to a book, and perhaps it once did. Isaiah has warned Judah of calamity to come, then looked at the other side of trouble to the punishment of the troublers themselves and to the fulfillment of Yahweh’s purpose for Israel “in that day.” Isaiah 13 then marks a new start. The word oracle announces something new; this distinctive title will introduce most of the sections within this next major division of the ...

1624. The Exorcism of a Child Develops a Humble Model for Faith

Mark 9:14-32

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: This event is another fulcrum in the book, as three primary Markan themes coalesce: (1) the power and compassion of Christ, (2) demonic conflict, and (3) discipleship failure. Understanding the Text This is a classic example of the mountaintop/valley experience. The innermost circle of disciples experienced the glory of God in Jesus, as great a spiritual “high” as anyone in history has known. Now they are about to join the rest of the Twelve as they descend into the valley and face one of the ...

1625. Israel and the Present Curses and the Past Blessings of the Covenant

Romans 9:1-29

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Chapters 9–11, which correspond to the curses component of the covenant (chaps. 5–8 enunciate the blessings), answer the question “Have God’s promises to Israel failed?” Paul answers, “No!” In 9:1–5 he broaches the problem of Israel’s unbelief. Israel previously enjoyed the blessings of the covenant but is now under its curses for rejecting the Messiah. Understanding the Text In order to situate Romans 9:1–5 in its literary setting I must briefly make four points. First, what is the relationship ...

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