Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1676 to 1700 of 2404 results

1676. Ignite: The Fire Burns Brightly

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

James Merritt

... far outweighs the cost. Did you notice what verse 46 says? “They received their food with glad and generous hearts.” (Acts 2:46, ESV) This was a happy, excited, enthusiastic church, because they had learned the greatest joy in life, the greatest achievement in life, and the greatest benefit in life comes when you sacrifice yourself for somebody else. When the fire is burning brightly we will be compassionate toward the needy. The third mark is… III. We Will Be Connected In Community Remember these ...

1677. Envision: The Great Commission

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

James Merritt

... this point in this series, because the single most important thing to God is people. Think about this. Not one earthly commodity is going to make it from this world into the next— not land, not homes, not bank accounts, not trophies, not titles, not achievements, nothing. The only thing that is going to make it from this world into the next world is souls—people. Unless Jesus Christ is an absolute liar and the Bible is completely untrue, every human being that dies is going to be resurrected either to ...

1678. Sometimes You Have to Do Something

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... is a world out there that needs saving. There was a message contained in an ad in the Wall Street Journal years ago that I think would benefit all of us. It went like this: “The greatest waste of our natural resources is the number of people who never achieve their potential. Get out of the slow lane. Shift into the fast lane. If you think you can’t, you won’t. If you think you can, there’s a good chance you will. Even making the effort will make you feel like a new person. Reputations are made ...

1679. The Landlord's Dilemma - World Communion Sunday

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

King Duncan

... Jesus told this parable about the vineyard and the wicked tenants to the chief priests and Pharisees, he knew the fate that lay before him. Why did he lay down his life? Love. Love for you and for me. But what was his goal? What did he hope to achieve? His goal was that his life would be the cornerstone for a new way of living. Why have we not understood that this world was created for love, for compassion, for sharing, for jumping off a railroad platform to save a stranger in distress? What would it take ...

1680. Dust Off The Throne

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16, Luke 1:26-38, Romans 16:25-27

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... ? We might think in terms of his strategy, his military might, his political acumen. We might consider the effectiveness of his advisors, his assistants, his generals. We might look at the national and international landscape to see what favorable circumstances permitted him to achieve such a position of security, but we would not naturally think to attribute the matter to God. David himself, however, would be inclined to give the credit to God. After all, he knew, even as a boy facing his first enemy that ...

1681. Waiting in Life's Waiting Rooms

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... ’s wing. The result is there is less air pressure over the wing than under the wing. The bird’s wing is then pushed up from below as it is pulled up from above — making a “glide” possible. But the ultimate “flying-without-effort” is achieved by those birds who have learned to “soar.” Soaring uses the aerodynamics of gliding but combines it with the science of meteorology. If you have ever admired hawks or eagles or turkey vultures effortlessly wheeling high up in the air, you have seen the ...

1682. Who's Your Master?

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... lesson in self-defense. (4) The actions Mr. Miyagi have prescribed for him have helped him to develop what athletes call “muscle memory” which will allow him to become a champion in martial arts. His obedience helped him attain a lofty goal. Anyone who sets out to achieve a lofty goal and sees it through to success learns obedience. There is no other path to success. You may have the goal of being a great Mom or Dad. You soon learn that you no longer live in a “Do your own thing” world. There are ...

1683. An Annual Reminder

John 20:1-9

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... symbolizes the seal of death, we human beings indeed face something too massive for us to move ourselves. We continually invest the full strength of our technology and our own best efforts as individuals, yet we can barely budge that stone. Our little centimeters of achievement in this direction or that do not remotely change the immense reality: Namely, death is too big for us. We cannot escape it; we cannot conquer it; we cannot buy or learn or medicate our way out of it; and we cannot remove its seal ...

1684. Jesus Heals Body and Soul

Mark 1:29-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... hair to a thorn bush. And then for four days, one would recite one verse a day from Exodus 3:2-5. On the fourth day, the bush was to be cut down, and a certain magical formula was pronounced, and thus the cure was supposed to be achieved. It is noteworthy that Jesus completely disregarded all the paraphernalia of popular magic, and with a gesture and a word of unique authority and power, he healed the woman. (2) Where Jesus is, there is healing. Sometimes that healing is physical. In one of his books Robert ...

1685. Jesus Prays for Us

John 17:6-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... Do you see the security? Parker Palmer, in his book A Hidden Wholeness reminds us that “the journey we are on is too tough to be made solo, the path is too deeply hidden to be traveled without company, and the destination is too daunting to be achieved alone.” He reminds us that all of us need places where we can be safe enough and courageous enough to face our brokenness and discover our wholeness. He calls them “circles of trust.” He says, “We need more and more circles from which we can return ...

1686. Don't Give Up Now!

2 Corinthians 4:16 - 5:2

Sermon

... . Why? Because he had an enormous faith in God. Listen as he writes in today’s lesson from 2 Corinthians 4: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is ...

1687. Right Answer - Wrong Conclusion

Mark 8:27-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... commonly thought to be a political, nationalistic figure who would free the Jews from Roman domination. Jesus’ mission was not at all like that. Jesus’ mission wasn’t simply to deliver Israel, but to deliver all of humanity. That couldn’t be achieved with a simple revolt. The whole structure of human existence needed to be changed before his work would be done. The disciples, including Peter, didn’t have a clue what that would entail. Contrary to popular messianic expectations of the day, Jesus ...

1688. When Is Enough...Enough?

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... of living life your way and not God’s way? Have you discovered that there’s not enough money, not enough work, not enough sex, not enough narcotics to ease the pain of an empty and unfulfilled heart? Sir William Beach Thomas said, “To achieve happiness by a succession of pleasures is like trying to keep up a light all night by striking successive matches.” Happiness comes not from pleasure but from purpose. The happiest people I know are people who have given their lives completely and unreservedly ...

1689. Be Careful What You Ask For

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... t see that it’s wrong to give [Bobby] a little legal experience before he goes out to practice law.” He was going to get a little experience . . . as Attorney General of the United States. Actually the case against Robert Kennedy was a little over-stated. He had already achieved a name for himself as a government lawyer at 35. But it’s not unusual for someone to try to use family or social ties to get ahead, to cut the line, to be bumped up over someone else who may be more qualified than we are. Our ...

1690. A Man with No Name

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

King Duncan

... his wealth and Jesus. Bartimaeus wasn’t like the man beside the pool of Bethesda, who, when Jesus asked him if he really wanted to be healed, made excuses for his situation. Bartimaeus wanted to see and he was willing to pay any price to achieve this goal. He was determined. What a difference determination makes in life. Thank God for the Bartimaeuses of this world who will not be denied by their circumstances. Then Jesus asked him an interesting question, “What do you want me to do for you?” Couldn ...

1691. In Praise of Perseverance

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... If there is a problem for which you seek a solution, pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended on you. If you have a worthwhile goal or project, pray to God, get started on it, and don't give up. Expect to achieve. After all, if a corrupt judge responds to the persistence of a poor woman, how much more will the God who loves you respond to you? Be persistent. Nothing of much importance is accomplished without it. Never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. And ...

1692. Eyes Fixed Upon the Goal

Philippians 3:8-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... on that which is most important. One of the most important lessons for life involves setting and maintaining priorities--putting first things first. Without priorities . . . The athlete fails to win the prize . . . Couples fail to achieve marital happiness . . . Financial goals go unmet . . . Businesses go bankrupt . . . Churches become stagnant in their ministries . . . Students fail to make the grade . . . Dreams remain unfulfilled . . . Parents falter in raising their children properly. E. Stanley Jones ...

1693. Are You Giving Up Chocolate for Valentine's Day?

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... if God is with us. If you do not believe God is with you, you will not stand up to life’s greatest challenges. Christ was not the first, nor the last, to be tempted to take a short cut, to take the easy way, the less demanding way to achieve their goals. We are all tempted to avoid the hard work of being the best we can be--the best of what God has called us to be. “When the devil had finished all this tempting,” says St. Luke, “he left him until an opportune time.” That opportune time probably ...

1694. Am I The Exception

Illustration

Michael P. Green

The story is told of an author, William Saroyan, who had achieved great success in his field. His works had been acclaimed in the literary world, his name was a familiar entry on best-seller lists, and he had even been awarded a Pulitzer Prize. But now he lay dying in New York City of cancer, which had spread to several of ...

1695. An Impenetrable Wall

Illustration

Michael P. Green

In ancient China, the people desired security from the barbaric hordes to the north. So they built the Great Wall of China. It was too high to climb over, too thick to break down, and too long to go around. Security achieved! The only problem was that during the first hundred years of the wall’s existence, China was invaded three times. Was the wall a failure? Not really—for not once did the barbaric hordes climb over the wall, break it down, or go around it. How then did they get ...

1696. Two Rivers Become One

Illustration

Michael P. Green

All of us have seen two rivers flowing smoothly and quietly along until they meet and join to form one new river. When this happens they clash and hurl themselves at one another. However, as the newly formed river flows downstream, it gradually quiets down and flows smoothly again. And now it is broader and more majestic and has more power. So it is in a marriage: the forming of a new union may be tumultuous—but, when achieved, the result is far greater than either alone.

1697. New Life vs. Tweaks

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... Harry Kalas once introduced a Philadelphia Phillies baseball player, Garry Maddox, with the following words: “He has turned his life around. He used to be depressed and miserable. Now he’s miserable and depressed.” No matter how much a man tries to reform himself, he can never achieve the newness of life that God wants him to have in Christ. Although a man can make changes in his life, even positive changes, he still remains the same person and often goes from one kind of problem to another.

A measure of a man’s success is not what he achieves, but what he overcomes.

Booker T. Washington

1699. The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon

2 Chronicles 9:1-12

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

Solomon’s International Fame: Now that the Chronicler’s narrative has reached its climax in the building and dedication of the temple in Jerusalem, the focus shifts to King Solomon himself. His outstanding achievement was, of course, the construction of the sanctuary. However, the Chronicler goes to great lengths to emphasize the glorious reputation of this king. He is somebody who acts with wisdom, which is a confirmation that Yahweh granted his wish (2 Chron. 1:10–12). But he also possesses ...

1700. Solomon’s Death

2 Chronicles 9:29-31

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... the temple in Jerusalem as the place where Yahweh’s name lives. The bringing of the ark of the covenant by consecrated Levites and priests to the Most Holy Place in the temple consummates a long history by which the Jerusalem cult achieves centrality. The all-important theme of the temple building probably reflects the discourse in Persian-period Judah concerning the status of the rebuilt temple. Other biblical writings of the time (such as Haggai) voice the disappointment in some circles about the lack ...

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