Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1626 to 1650 of 4933 results

1626. Investing in God’s Future

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Chris Ewing

(Note: At the time of reading this passage to the congregation, explain that a single talent was worth more than fifteen years' wages of a laborer [per NRSV footnote to Matthew 25:14] — in other words, easily a cool quarter of a million dollars in today's terms!) "I was afraid," quavered the third servant, "because I knew that you were a ruthless businessman, expecting profit even when it is impossible. I was so afraid of losing your money that I put it in a box and buried it. Here is your money, exactly ...

1627. “For Your Sake We Face Death . . . as Sheep to Be Slaughtered”

Psalm 44:1-26

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: Sometimes when we have been faithful to God and bad things still happen to us, the best and only explanation is that it is for God’s sake. Understanding the Text Psalm 44 is a community lament that follows some national defeat of Israel’s army (44:9), even though the psalmist, speaking on behalf of the king, cannot understand why this has happened, since Israel has not forgotten God or “been false” to his covenant (44:17). Psalms 42–43 celebrate the psalmist’s hope that he, isolated and dejected ...

1628. Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

William B. Kincaid, III

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." In her novel Come and Go, Molly Snow, Mary Ann Taylor-Hall gives an account of Carrie attempting to come to grips with the loss of her eight-year-old daughter, Molly Snow. Carrie is a fiddler, but in the wake of this tragic loss she says, "The music doesn't rise up in me right now."1 In the months that followed, Carrie listens to homespun wisdom and begins the first steps of coming to grips with the absence of Molly Snow and the presence of a deep ...

1629. The Message Of The Morning Light

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

Erskine White

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17) Just as a handful of women and disciples came early in the day to the garden tomb, so do Christians come out early on this Easter Sunday to find the empty grave. Let us try to recapture the original wonder, the original excitement they felt on that special day so long ago. Let us imagine that God is speaking directly to us this morning, down through the heavens and deep into ...

1630. The Power and the Glory

Matthew 20:20-28

Sermon

I begin with a word about two American cities, cities of fame and sometimes of infamy. The first is in the east, almost as far as the Atlantic Ocean. It is this nation's capital, workplace of the president and of senators and representatives and of thousands of bureaucrats. It is a place where decisions handed down and deals hammered out affect millions of lives. It is a place so attractive and important that millions of dollars are spent to get there. It is Washington, D. C., and it symbolizes power. The ...

1631. Gabriel Speaks to Mary

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

George Bass

Some of the Burma Shave-like signs still stand alongside roads that are not main highways any more and, subsequently, they aren’t seen as often as they used to be. The signs separated what had become a familiar act of devotion and piety in Roman Catholicism into a series of spread-out phrases: Hail, Mary, Mother of God, Blessed are you among women, And blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus ... Holy Mary, pray for us sinners Now and at the hour of our death. But I have never seen a road sign that ...

1632. You Don’t Really Feel That Way

Job 6:1-7:21

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

As a young soldier I was on my way to the Pacific Theater. The trip was at the height of World War II, with troop ships easy targets. To avoid the enemy our ship wove an irregular pattern across the ocean. The trip to Manila took 36 days. I was not a good sailor. Between sea sickness and infections, I was on sick call more than half the days. At one period I knew I had naso-pharyngitis, a condition for which I had often been diagnosed. On sick call, the doctor said, "Well, what’s wrong with you," not in a ...

1633. A Most Successful Sermon

Acts 2:14a, 36-41

Sermon

King Duncan

Every pastor would like to have the kind of response to a sermon that Peter had on the Day of Pentecost. Three thousand people were added to the church after Peter had finished. Even more importantly, three thousand people had their lives profoundly changed. For most of them it was a change that would make them a pariah in their community and even in their own family. Some would go on to die for their faith. Their faith was no surface affair. It involved a complete commitment to the work of God. There is a ...

1634. Body Language

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever noticed that communication is difficult business? In the book AMERICA'S DUMBEST CRIMINALS there is a story about a blundering, wannabe robber with speech difficulties in Thibodaux, Louisiana, who just couldn't win for losing. Sam Lincoln entered Bob's Cafe and, speaking in his thick, backwoods Cajun accent, ordered the waitress to "give me all the money." Unfortunately, she couldn't understand a word he said. To her it sounded like he was ordering "a sieve with all the honey." In desperation ...

1635. The Tenth Man

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

King Duncan

A 4-year-old boy was asked to return thanks before Thanksgiving dinner. His family bowed their heads in expectation. He began his prayer, thanking God for all his friends, naming them one by one. Then he thanked God for Mommy, Daddy, brother, sister, Grandma, Grandpa, and all his aunts and uncles. Then he began to thank God for the food. He gave thanks for the turkey, the dressing, the fruit salad, the cranberry sauce, the pies, the cakes, even the Cool Whip. Then he paused, and everyone waited--and waited ...

1636. You Can't Tell A Book By Its Cover

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I don't usually recommend the books I have written, and I'm certainly not going to begin now. But I need to tell you about this one. I'm sure none of you have ever seen it. It was edited by the staff of Upper Room and this special edition of it was given me when I left the Upper Room to come here as your pastor 10 years ago. It's a beautiful thing as you can tell, handsomely bound, with embossed silver printing of the title on the shelf-back and cover. All of it was a surprise to me. You can't imagine how ...

1637. Remember God

Deuteronomy 6:1-9

Sermon

James W. Moore

Her name was Mary Lou. His name was Tom. There were both in their 80’s and they were celebrating their 60th Wedding Anniversary. A news reporter was there to cover the big event and he asked this question: “Mr. Tom, so many marriages are failing today… and yet here you and your wife are celebrating 60 years together. How did you do it? What is your secret?” Mr. Tom didn’t even have to think for a minute how to answer that question. Without a moment of hesitation, Mr. Tom said with a warm smile: “Well, the ...

1638. For His Eyes Only

Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

James Merritt

If you have ever gone for a job interview, one of the questions that you will be asked is something like this: "Tell me what you have done in the past that would qualify you for this job?" Or, they may ask you something like this: "What character qualities do you have that would make me want to hire you?" But if you will think back to any job interview you have ever had you were never asked this question: "Why do you do what you do?" When people try to size us up and find out what kind of persons we are, ...

1639. Never Give Up On God

Matthew 7:7-12

Sermon

James Merritt

A little five-year-old girl was watching her mother in fascination as she was rubbing cold cream on her face. She said, "Mother, why do you do that?" The mother replied, "To make myself beautiful." Well, to the little girl's amazement, in just a minute the mother began removing the cream with a tissue she had just put on. The girl said, "What's the matter, giving up already?" I sometimes believe that God looks at our puny prayer lives and asks the question: "Are you giving up already?" Believe it or not, ...

1640. A Frightening Friday

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

So much happening in so little time! We are left gasping for breath. We stagger under the weight of the mighty arm of historical occurrence. You and I praise God because we know the rest of the story. Those present did not know how things would turn out. They must have been like awestruck children nearing exasperation. Those of us who have read and perhaps studied the great writers amazingly discover that Saint John tops them all. Shakespeare was truly brilliant but there is a peculiar demeanor about our ...

1641. Living in The Present

Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

Just stop for a moment and take a look at how many opportunities are yours today, right now, this moment. Think about where you are — this church, this group of people, the person sitting beside you. Think about the one behind you and in front of you. Consider how your presence might affect each of these people. Think about what your presence here stands for in this congregation and in this community. This is your life! You are making a statement by being here. You can use these moments not only to fill ...

1642. Greed

2 Kings 5:1-14

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Scripture offers a wealth (if I may use that term) of material about greed, about the love of money or possessions, and the disastrous consequences that kind of love can have. Of course, there is Judas who, in his greed, became an accessory to murder; Ananias and Sapphira who lied about the sale price of their property so they could keep some of the money for themselves; the rich young ruler who wanted to follow Jesus but could not bring himself to get rid of his possessions first. First Timothy says, "The ...

1643. The Joy of the Lord

Nehemiah 7:73b--8:18

Sermon

King Duncan

There is an ancient Egyptian myth which says that, after death, every individual is confronted with two questions that have to be answered honestly. First, did you find joy? And second, did you bring joy? Evangelist Billy Graham says that “Joy is one of the marks of a true believer. This is not a gushy emotion or a forced grin, but the security of knowing God’s love.” Graham tells about a news story concerning soldiers in the Persian Gulf years ago watching videotapes from their families back home. In a ...

1644. Judgment Against Israel

Hosea 5:1-15

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

God’s Absence (5:1-7): In this oracle, Hosea describes the deeds of his three addressees in the exact reverse of their order in verse 1a–c. First, he tells of the murderous ways of the royal house, verses 1e–2a. Then he discusses the captivity of the Israelites to a spirit of harlotry, verses 3c–5. Finally, he turns to the cult where the priests officiate, verses 6–7b. And after each description, the punishment for such ways is stated, verses 2b, 5b–c, and 7c–d. The oracle holds together in a unified form ...

1645. Making Your Life Count

1 Timothy 2:5-7

Sermon

King Duncan

There is an old, old story about a college professor who was being ferried across a body of water. The professor chided the ferryman, who was performing this service for him, for his ungrammatical language. When he learned the ferryman never attended school, the professor said: “What? Half of your life has been wasted!” Shortly afterwards, the ferryman asked, “Professor, did you ever learn to swim?” “No, I did not,” replied the professor. “Well,” said the ferryman, “in that case it seems all your life has ...

1646. The World's Most Extraordinary Club

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

Series: Seeing God More Clearly in 2020 When you were a kid, did you ever create your own exclusive club? Only you and your best friends could be in the club, and everyone else was an outsider. You got to create the rules, the club name, the secret handshake. And you got to decide who you let into the club and who you kept out. It gave you a feeling of real power. Rev. Will Nickles tells a story of when he was around seven years old, and his older brother started a secret club with a friend next door. Will ...

1647. The Big Move!

Matthew 4:12-23

Sermon

John Jamison

Just so you know, we are going to use our imaginations today. We’re not going to just kind of play around and make things up, but we are going to use our imaginations to see if we find some new meaning in a passage we have probably read or heard many times before. We’re going to try and remember what was going on back in the first century when this story actually took place and see if that might give us any new thoughts about why John wrote this down. John was writing about what happened when John the ...

1648. Come and See

John 1:43-51

Sermon

David E. Leininger

I have always liked this story — and not for the WHOLE story, just that one memorable line: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth? (John 1:46)” That is just the kind of snide comment that makes me smirk. And, to be quite honest, it is one of the things that I like about our scripture — it is honest. Over and over and over again, the pages of our holy writ are littered with snide comments, unfaithful friends, ugly confrontations and some of the most unsavory “saints” that anyone could ever imagine. But ...

1649. 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 ...

1650. Yearning For A Loyal Friend

Job 6:14-30 · Matthew 26:69-75

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

Do you ever find yourself in the Bible? When you read one of the biblical stories, do you ever identify with the character or characters? Do you ever say to yourself after reading an incident, "That describes me and my situation"? Sometimes that identity can boost the ego. Sometimes it may have the opposite effect, bringing to reality some of the things about our lives that we need to correct. Every time I read the Old Testament book of Job, I have pangs of guilt because I can identify with those three ...

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