Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1651 to 1675 of 5000 results

Jeremiah 16:1--17:18

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... of the players. However, Charles becomes the victim of a plot by one of the members who seizes the opportunity to make Charles the fall guy for actions that served the greed of the plotter. Eventually the plot is exposed. The story is meant to illustrate the truism that power can and does corrupt. Yet eventually, on their own terms, those who flirt with and maneuver power to their own advantage will pay the price. As the prophet says it, the Lord “will give to all according to their ways.” Sooner ...

1652. Lift Up Your Heads!

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Brett Blair

... , happy with his shiny coins. Gordon walked around to the back of the church property, opened the door of the small wire coop, and let the struggling creatures soar into the blue. The next Sunday he took the empty cage into the pulpit and used it to illustrate his sermon about Christ's coming to seek and to save the lost -- paying for them with His own precious blood. "That boy told me the birds were not songsters," said Gordon, "but when I released them and they winged their way heavenward, it seemed to me ...

1653. Oh, How The Mighty Have Fallen

Luke 1:39-45, Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

Brett Blair

... righted: the proud have been scattered, the mighty have fallen, and the humble He has lifted. With these events in view let us turn not to the UN, not to any world leader, but to a young peasant girl named Mary, for it is HER words that are illustrated by these world events. Let’s consider that it was SHE that gave birth to the Revolution that is the pattern for all others. Let’s look at three versus which define this revolution: 51, 52, and 53. I The first revolution is spiritual in nature. In verse ...

1654. A Man, A Woman, and the Test of Doom (A Drama about Marriage)

Drama

Dave Marsh

... than your wife does? ...add 10 pts. 17. Do you go grocery shopping with your wife? add 10 pts. 18. Do you know how to cook a casserole without using a cookbook? ...add 5 pts. 19. Do you still own back issues of Sport’s Illustrated’s Swimsuit? ...subtract 20 pts. 20. Have you ever forgotten your wedding anniversary? ...subtract 10 points for every year Jason: (thinking, writing, scratching out answers furiously) Trish: Okay, we’re done. How’d you score? Jason? Jason? Jason: Hold on, hold on. Let’s ...

1655. G.O.D. (A Drama about Tough Choices)

Drama

Dave Marsh

Director's Notes: There are some choices in life that are easy to make and some, like following Christ, that are difficult. I wrote this drama to illustrate the fact that following Christ is a yes/no deal. Either you decide to or not. There are no other choices, no middle ground. Cast: Dave: A college student taking a test Teacher: This is either live or taped. The voice must sound like Charlie Brown's teacher. Props: Table/ ...

1656. The Healing of the Man with the Withered Hand

Mark 2:23-3:6

Sermon

James W. Moore

... half and baked the halves in two separate pans. She said, “Because Gramma did it that way.” When they asked Gramma why she did that, she said it was because she didn’t have a pan big enough to hold the roast. Now, this is a light illustration of a very significant point, namely, that we can get so locked into certain ways of doing things, that we fail to consider whether they are right or wrong or whether they make sense. That’s what happened to the Pharisees. They had gotten so accustomed to doing ...

1657. The Healing Power of the Resurrection

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

James W. Moore

IMPORTANT NOTE: The illustration that opens this sermon about Mel Gibson is not true. It is an urban legend. It has no bases in fact. Some years ago, a hard-working man took his family from New York State to Australia so he could take advantage of a job opportunity there. One member of ...

1658. His Cleansing Of The Temple

Luke 19:45-48

Sermon

Brett Blair

... redemption. The movie-going public understood this, as they did with Schindler’s List. 5. The emphasis on the mother and child relationship between Jesus and Mary is heart wrenching. A huge draw for the Catholic world but this protestant loved it. It tenderly illustrated Jesus’ humanity. As a movie this is a great film. Mel Gibson is a master storyteller. So why then has it received such criticism? It has been called violent and anti-Semitic. Gibson himself has been called a wacko, by Andy Rooney. Other ...

1659. Dealing With The Pain of Rejection

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

James W. Moore

... hear these answers you will understand why that junior high school is to this day unidentified. For example, these students wrote: · “Music sung by two people at the same time is called a duel.” · “A xylophone is a music instrument used mainly to illustrate the letter X.” · “Dirges are songs to be sung at sad, sad, sad occasions like funerals, weddings, and the like.” · “Refrain means don’t do it. · “A virtuoso is a musician with real high morals.” · “J. S. Bach died from 1750 to ...

1660. You Do Have A Prayer

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

James W. Moore

... miles an hour and suddenly face a need for a quick stop to avoid hitting another car. Not much intelligence in such a prayer, not much common sense." (H. Rupert. What’s Good About God, p. 155.) Some years ago I was reading an article in Sports Illustrated about a major league baseball pitcher who prays that God will help him "get ‘em out"… and a player on an opposing team who says he prays that God will help him "get a hit." With tongue firmly in cheek, the sportswriter said, "How confusing this must ...

1661. Three Small Steps in Our Journey of Faith

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

Brett Blair

... good. Don’t send mix signals to someone who has wronged you that he can continue to do so because you are always going to let him off the hook. Jesus says rebuke the sinner, but forgive him if he changes his way. Corrie ten Boom graphically illustrates how hard it can be to forgive even when someone asks for that forgiveness. In the “Tramp for the Lord” she tells how after the war she met a guard who had been her captor in the Ravensbruck concentration camp where her sister had died. He came forward ...

1662. Who You Gonna' Vote For?

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Brett Blair

... story is that Jesus only cares for and saves the poor. Isn’t Jesus after all eating at the home of one of the wealthiest men of that community. The point of the story is Zacchaeus’ face to face encounter with the Christ. Zacchaeus does not become an illustration for the evil of money or the righteousness of the poor. Zaccaheus is a model for repentance, for turning our lives around, for righting the wrongs we have committed. It is a story of Jesus’ love for the rich man and the poor. I think it for ...

1663. Excuses

Luke 14:15-24, Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... Jesus. Let us pray. Lord, we confess that we have relied on excuses to get by in every area of our lives. We would rather not. Help us, for Jesus' sake. Amen! 1. Ross Porter, "The Snake Made Me Do It," Christian Ministry, Jan/Feb 1996, pp. 29 2. Dynamic Illustrations, Mar/Apr 1995 3. Paula Christian, "Mom sues schools over student's "F"," Greensboro News & Record, 3/25/98, A-1-2 4. Rosemary Roberts, "I've Got Some Killing to Do," Greensboro News & Record, 3/27/98 5. NBC Nightly News, 3/27/98 6. Exodus 32:1 ...

1664. Under the Rainbow

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... . Genesis 6:6 4. Quoted by Bill Moyers, videotape, Genesis, a Living Conversation, "Apocalypse," (Newbridge Communications, 1996) 5. Karen Armstrong, ibid. 6. Loyal Jones and Billy Edd Wheeler, Laughter in Appalachia (New York: Ivy Books, 1987) 7. Genesis 8:21 8. Posted by Bill Adams, Sutter Creek, CA via Ecunet,"Illustrations For This Week" #179, 2/15/97 9. Music: Harold Arlen, Lyrics: E.Y. Harburg, copyright 1939

1665. Struggling with God

Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... . The lawyer looks at them and says, "I'm not sure you are giving your marriage a fair chance." You see, they are still in their wedding clothes!(5) Is there value in the struggle, even if we are struggling with God? Unquestionably. The classic illustration is the struggle that a butterfly goes through in breaking free from the cocoon. It is difficult to watch, because the temptation is to want to help this poor, squirming creature. But keep your hands off anyway. You see, it is the STRUGGLE that allows ...

1666. God Cares About Justice!

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... me. God cares about justice. Can we be angry? Angry enough to take up a whip, if needed, to try to bring some cleansing? We should be angry enough to do something about it. Jesus did. Remember, God cares about justice. Amen! 1. Bible Illustrator for Windows, diskette, (Hiawatha, IO: Parsons Technology, 1994) 2. John Killinger, To My People with Love, (Nashville: Abingdon, 1988) 3. John Alexander, "God's Love" in the journal The Other Side quoted by Jane Flaherty, via Ecunet, "Sermonshop 1997 03 02," #149, 2 ...

1667. The Ten Commandments #5: Honoring Parents

Exodus 20:12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... of Jesus. Amen! 1. Walter Brueggemann, "The Book of Exodus," The New Interpreter's Bible, Electronic Edition, Disk 3, 1997) 2. Deuteronomy 6:1-9 3. Mark 7:9-13 4. Ephesians 6:1 5. Leviticus 20:9; Deuteronomy 21:18-21 6. Colossians 3:21 7. James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) pp. 196-197

1668. Do I Matter?

Psalm 8:1-9

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... is ABSOLUTELY! YES! OF COURSE! But is there any evidence for that? I think there is, and we find it in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. In not many weeks, we will again celebrate Jesus' birth. A story will be told, as it has so often before, to illustrate why he was born. It is the tale of a man who looked upon Christmas as a lot of humbug. He was not a Scrooge. He was a kind and decent person, generous to his family, upright in all his dealings. But he did not believe all that stuff about ...

1669. It's All in the Perspective

Psalm 8:1-9

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... Holy Spirit. "God in three persons, Blessed Trinity," as the hymnwriter has it. It is all in the perspective. Today, pulpits around the world will try to explain the mystery of the Trinity - how can one God be "three persons?" Some will use the illustration of H2O - depending on the circumstances we find those same elements as either water or ice or steam - same composition of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen, but three different ways of experiencing those elements. Or I might say to Christie, I am ...

1670. A New Look at an Old Treasure

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Amen! ________________________________________ 1. Carlos Wilton, Point Pleasant Beach, NJ, via PresbyNet, "An Encounter with the Shepherd," 11/25/90 2. Hebrews 13:20 3. Matthew 18:12-14 4. John 10:11 5. Bible Illustrator for Windows, diskette, (Hiawatha, IO: Parsons Technologies, 1994)

1671. God and Silence

Psalm 46:1-11

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... my restless murmurings cease.(7) Be still...silent...and know... Amen. 1. Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., "Background Noise," Christianity Today, July 17, 1995, p. 42 2. Paul Simon, "The Sound of Silence," 1964, BMI 3. Plantinga 4. Ecclesiastes 3:7 5. Plantinga 6. ibid. 7. Helen Steiner Rice quoted in Bible Illustrator for Windows

1672. The Language of the Heart

Psalm 100:1-5

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... Folklore, (New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1986), p. 281 6. Quoted by Cynthia Pearl Maus, Christ and the Fine Arts, (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1938), pp. 19-20 7. Paul Brand, Fearfully and Wonderfully Made quoted by James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 295 8. Quoted by Robert Craft, Conversations with Igor Stravinsky, American Biography Service, 59 9. Ephesians 5:19-20 10. http://www.homileticsonline.com/Installments/aug1494.htm 11. Text by Fred Pratt ...

1673. Salvation

Psalm 118:1-29

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... in Congregation: Contemporary Writers Read the Jewish Bible, David Rosenberg, Ed., (New York, Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1987), p. 391 3. Erwin Lutzer, How to Have a Whole Heart in a Broken World, (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1987) 4. Brumley, Stamps-Baxter Music (BMI) 5. Paul Lee Tan,Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, (Rockville, MD: Assurance Publishers, 1979), pp. 1192 6. ibid., p. 1230-1231

1674. Grace and Golf

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... you play it, it's recreation. If you work at it, it's golf."(4) He is right. Golf takes work, and so does Christian discipleship. Amen! 1. "Golf," Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia, CD-ROM, 1994 2. Statistics from GolfWeb on the Internet 3. Plus Magazine, May 1989, quoted in Bible Illustrator for Windows (Hiawatha, Iowa: Parsons Technology, 1994), diskette 4. Quoted in The Reader's Digest, Oct. 1958, in The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations (New York: Columbia University Press, 1993)

1675. Good Medicine

Proverbs 10:1-32

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... stabs him with a short sword that he has to leave behind after the dastardly deed because it gets stuck in the king's fat and won't come out. There are lots of other examples. The New Testament has fun stuff too, if we will read it properly. Jesus' illustration of someone trying to call attention to a tiny speck in a neighbor's eye while a whole log is hanging out of his own eye is one. Elton Trueblood wrote a book entitled The Humor of Christ that was inspired by that passage. He says, The germ of the ...

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