Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1701 to 1725 of 4972 results

1701. The Burning Bush

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... it there again? Verse two: “An angel of the Lord appeared to him out of a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and lo, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. Now comes the important part of the story. Don’t stop with the burning bush. Don’t let that be the center of your attention. Read verse three again: “And Moses said, ‘I will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.’” It is then, when God has gotten Moses’ attention that God presents ...

1702. What Is Man?

Psalm 8:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... by an attack of Huns, Pirates or some other invasion of overweight bad dude wrestlers. Then the happy spouse or friend reminds them they have the powerful “no hassle Capital One card” in their wallet and that they have nothing to fear. The invasion of the ‘meanies’ stops dead in their tracks and at the end of the ad we hear the all too familiar phrase from one of the bad guys, “What’s in Your Wallet?” and the scene fades. Pastor Boatwright goes on to say, “If we asked what was in God’s ...

1703. Opening and Closing Doors

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... incomplete summary of the Sermon on the Mount (quoted by Dr. Clarence J. Forsberg, “Tell Me Where It Hurts”, (How To Stop Worrying and Start Living) — February 12, 19811) Our scripture lesson today comes from that sermon find it in Chapters 5, ... . The section begins with the word, “Therefore,” this is a bridge word and when you see that word in scripture, you need to stop and ask what it is there for. Jesus is emphasizing that, having decided to follow Jesus, having become a disciple, we can look to ...

1704. For Freedom Christ Has Set Us Free

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... our country. Listen to one of her poems which celebrates the renewal of their marriage —— the fact that we are empowered by the freedom of forgiveness to be what God wants us to be. She called her poem, “Prodigal Wife”. Oh, call out the guards and stop the search Tell my love that I’m found again. Wandering is over, back home at last, Saved from the storm, returned to the fold. Oh sing out the welcome, find the ring. Turn out the others, reclaim our name. Spread out the banners, destroy the blame ...

1705. The Harvest of the Spirit, Part 1

Galatians 5:16-26

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... heart to love, I don’t think this terrible disease can ever be cured.” Deep down we all know it, don’t we? Our need, the need of everyone, is to be loved. Likewise, to be whole we need to be lovers we need to love others. Let’s stop now and think for just a moment. Someone in your life will never know the redemptive love of Jesus Christ unless it is shared through you. Who is that person? Call them now by name, silently, to yourself. Jules Feiffer, the celebrated cartoonist talks about these kind of ...

1706. Audacious Faith

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... response. He continued “That wasn’t all he said, Dr. White, he said that you were not a converted man either.” Alexander White stopped and sank into his chair. He put his face in his hands, and for a moment did not say a word. Then he ... swinging his torso forward about a yard at a time on his powerful arms, at an average speed of about one mile per hour! He had to stop several times because his arms got so tired. But just as soon as they were rested, off he’d go again heaving his torso forward a yard ...

1707. Touching Hearts and Transforming Lives

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... bring their children to Jesus. “They brought them there that Jesus could touch them." The Disciples, acting like the Secret Service, trying to keep Jesus on task and on time, rebukes the parents for this act of mercy and begin to tell them to, “Go away." Jesus stops the whole show in the middle of the road and makes that profound statement that we say at every baptism, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God." Do you understand? If it takes a ...

1708. Why Doesn’t God Do Away With Evil?

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... started protecting streets and loving neighbors and watching out for children and caring for the environment, and eliminating poverty? What if the good people of the world just said, “STOP IT! THAT IS ENOUGH OF IT!" Through our resources, our hope, our faith, our beliefs and our collective unity, what would happen in this world if we joined hands to stop the evil in the world? A reporter asked the late Mother Theresa, the lover of the least, where is God when a baby dies in a Calcutta alley? She ...

1709. When It's Time For Forgiveness

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... of forgiveness when we surrender our rights to revenge. Let me suggest some ways to surrender. We admit the pain. We stop denying. “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.”—Wrong! “It doesn’t matter to me.”—Wrong! “I don ... ’t care what other people think or say.”—Wrong! Just stop fooling yourself. Come out of denial. You see, we hurt; we hate; and we heal. If we don’t move through that ...

1710. Hearing the Questions of Children

Genesis 22:1-14

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... . We were about 50 miles away from home when the questions started from the back seat. “Are we there yet? How much further? Can we stop now?” That is when our oldest son (back in the days before seat belts) leaned over the back seat and put his arms around my ... Lord will provide. God will provide faith for the journey. God and Abraham had climbed too many mountains already for him to stop now. And as impossible as it all seems, Abraham gets up early one morning and sets out for Mt. Moriah. Somebody once ...

1711. Praising God All Day Long

Psalm 100:1-5

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... the dust from the old violin, tightening the loosened strings, played a melody that was pure and sweet as a caroling angel sings. The music stopped and the auctioneer in a voice that was quiet and low said, “Now what are my bids for the old violin?" and he held it ... a legal holiday in the midst of the Second World War. What is this all about? When things are awful, hard, difficult, painful—STOP. As a country, it is time to give thanks. It seems to me that most of the really grateful people that I know ...

1712. Why Join a Church?

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... could “have it our way.” So why bother with people in a church when we can build our own sacred spaces and have the money to escape to some paradise island? Well, maybe there was a time when that would do. But things are different now. When the world stopped turning that September day, we discovered we did not want to be alone; we needed to belong. We needed a faith to carry on. So we went to church and held hands with a stranger and said a prayer in the midst of danger. We discovered something a year ...

1713. The Forgiveness Which Oils the Human Machine

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... For the second time I said, ‘Ma’am, your sins are forgiven.’ She kept going. The third time I took her shoulders, looked directly in her eyes and said, ‘Look at me. I’m trying to tell you that your sins are forgiven.’ She stopped mid-sentence. ‘What did you say?’ ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ In shock she said, ‘They are?’” Just as Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery—neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more. Just as Jesus said to Zaccheus, who was up in a tree—Salvation ...

1714. The Down Side of Christmas

Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... small. Whatever the reason, the Grinch, under the guise of Santa, steals all the presents, swipes all the decorations, and stops bells from ringing in hopes of keeping people from singing. Evil is live spelled backwards. Wherever there is hope and ... earth, I said For hate is strong and mocks the song Of peace on earth, good will to men. But not even Henry Wadsworth Longfellow could stop there. He had to write another verse of it. Then pealed the bells more loud and deep God is not dead nor doth he sleep The ...

1715. Lost and Found

Luke 15:1-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... Isaiah 53:6 we read “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.” The number one reason people give for dropping out of church is that they just got out of the habit. I’ll tell you how to simplify your weekends. Stop making church a choice and start making it a habit. If you make a habit of doing it, then it gets a lot easier. End the hassle of “Will we?” or “Won’t we?” Just form the good habit of coming where the spiritual food is served. Temptations attract ...

1716. When You Are Up And Out

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... of the top dog.” It’s lonely at the top; people are jealous of you. You are not sure whom you can trust and the buck stops on your desk. You got what you want, but you are not sure you want what you got. Maybe he is feeling the lonely whine of a ... miss the glitter and excitement of the track?’ The old dog grunted, ‘No.’ ‘What’s the matter?’ I asked. ‘You get too old and stopped winning, get treated badly?’ He raised up on his paws as if to say, ‘I still got some race in me. I won over ...

1717. Come to the Party

Luke 14:15-23

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... over again, where parents worship children or one spouse worships the other spouse. Only God is to be worshipped and we would be wise to know it down in the depths of our hearts and lives. III. THERE IS A PARTY CONTINUED. When God plans a feast it doesn’t stop. When God plans a festivity it’s going to happen. You may be there or you may choose not to be there, but God’s party is on. It is going to happen. He comes to the servants and sends an inclusive invitation. This is really the point of the ...

1718. The Power of a Single Life

2 Corinthians 6:3-13

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... a scared, young soprano named Sandi Patti who would one day thrill Christendom with “We Shall Behold Him.” People didn’t stop believing in me when I faltered and fell by the way. I thank God for people like that. They were open- ... I read that story I’ve asked myself, “What is a special occasion?” Is now a special occasion? I don’t know about you, but I have stopped living on the premise of ‘one of these days I am going to get around to it’ and ‘some day it might be different than it is now ...

1719. The Lord's Unanswered Prayer

John 17:20-23

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... are over 6,000 people there. For 20 years now, Jim has been saying to every group of new members “Now I charge you that if you ever hear another member speak an unkind word of criticism, or slander against anyone—myself, an usher, a choir member, anyone else—stop that person in mid-sentence and say ‘Excuse me, who hurt you? Who slighted you? Let's go get it straightened out right now,' so God can restore peace and harmony to this body." Is it any wonder that he has 6,000 people in his church now ...

1720. The Power of a Vision

2 Corinthians 5:11-21

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... can sign his name to a check and make it worth billions. That’s capital. Alan Jackson asked, “Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day” and became the singer of the year. That’s talent. God can take a timid life, wash it in the ... world. Broken relationships cause a lot of pain. How can we get past this brokenness to build community? How can we stop dehumanizing people as nobodies and start loving people as somebodies? Isn’t that the challenge of today? The Promise Keeper ...

1721. The Power of a Helping Hand

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. By birth and by calling, you would assume that someone paid to be righteous would stop to render assistance. Did hope rise and despair follow when the broken man watched the priest pass by, or somehow was he not surprised? If a priest touched a dead man, he was dead meat for service in the temple. He would have to go through all kinds of ritual ...

1722. Ezekiel: The Problem of Dry Bones

Ezekiel 37:1-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... we breathe. I was in the grocery store the other day when I watched a two-year-old throw a temper tantrum. Something between the Cheerios and the Frosted Flakes made him unhappy. He screamed to the top of his voice. When that didn't work, he decided to stop breathing. His face turned red. His lips turned blue. I wondered what to do. His mom, however, seemed unconcerned. She knew he would eventually breathe — and he did. I've thrown my fair share of temper tantrums with God — decided in anger or grief to ...

1723. From Lust to Love

1 Corinthians 13: 1

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... 11-year-old curiosity about nudity became for him a compulsion that led him to stealing magazines at the local drug store, which he used for a sexual high to numb the loneliness and emptiness he felt inside. When he got married, Mark thought the compulsion would stop. It got worse. It led to the secret life of massage parlors and strip joints and cyber-sex. Eventually he crossed the line with a client and all of his life fell apart. He lost his job; he had to deal with his wife. With his life shattered ...

1724. Join

Acts 11:19-26

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... ." We have no systems to disciple people for a lifetime. We have 18,000 attendees on a weekend, but 7,000 members. Seventy percent of our income is spent on staff. There is nothing in our budget for missions. I think things have changed since the world stopped turning that September day. I think people want to belong again. I think people want to make a commitment. I think people want to be challenged to a better life. “Come home, come home, ye who are weary, come home." Come home to a church that will ...

1725. 400 Advisers

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Illustration

Brian Stoffregen

... : "Good, gracious, lady, that's the problem now. I already have 400 advisers. I need someone who will work." Almost everyone in a congregation says that they want it to grow. (Some put a limit on the growth, "I'd like to see us have about 500 members and then stop.") If people want growth, if God promises a good harvest, why aren't more congregations growing? What is ...

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