Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1826 to 1850 of 3160 results

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... it in disgust, “Fine, be a [Methodist] if you want to!” A little bit of water on the top of the head certainly will not make you a Baptist. And there is the story of an old fashioned Baptist preacher who was writing an advice column, sort of like Dear Abby. One letter said, “Dear Preacher: Do you worry about pond scum in the baptismal font? Signed, Wondering.” The pastor decided to have fun with this, and he wrote this reply: “Dear Wondering, No, I’ll baptize anybody.” Speaking of pond scum ...

1827. A New Calling

Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... do we get to do the stuff?” “What stuff?” asked the leader. “You know,” Wimber said, “the stuff in the Bible. You know, multiplying loaves and fishes, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, raising people from the dead, and giving the blind sight. That sort of stuff!” “Oh,” said the lay leader. “We don’t do that in this church. I want you to understand, though, that we believe those things and we pray about those things, but we really don’t do those things.” “You don’t? Well ...

1828. Epiphany 6

Mt 5:21-37 · 1 Cor 3:1-9 · Ps 119 · Dt 30:15-20

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... closer to home. The other danger is to reduce Christ's teachings to ethical and moral maxims and to maintain that Christ's uniqueness is only to be found in the "higher righteousness" that he advocated. Christian living becomes a struggle to sort out motives and to "do the right thing." Charles Sheldon's novel In His Steps —still a big seller in many Christian bookstores—is based on this misleading understanding of Jesus' ministry. The community needs to consider this passage christologically, because ...

1829. Proper 18

Psalm 149:1-9, Romans 13:8-14, Matthew 18:15-20, Exodus 12:1-30

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... Exodus 11, 12:12-13, 29-32; and perhaps 13:1, 11-16), the cultic celebration of Passover Exodus 12:1-11, 21-27, 43-50), and unleavened bread or massot Exodus 12:8, 14-20, 34; 13:3-10). It is not the task of a preacher to sort out the complex history of tradition in Exodus 11 -13. It is a central task, however, for any interpreter of these texts to raise the question of why these (most likely) originally distinct traditions were brought together; an answer to this question will provide the preacher with an ...

1830. What is Eternal life?

John 3:1-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... believers—a condition of wholeness and of spiritual renewal. This rebirth of spiritual wholeness and health, made possible by the Son being “lifted up” on the cross, brings about the gift of eternal life. Eternal life is not about extending days or some sort of immortality. Rather, eternal life is a condition of spiritual wholeness, a whole life for a Whole Christ, a life lived “in Christ” that begins with the first confession of faith. The final astonishing proclamation of John 3:16 is that the ...

1831. Changed Lives - The Woman at the Well

John 4:1-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... said of this person, “Her faith sparkled and the living water of the spirit flowed out of her soul to all around her.” He invited her to go with him to a seminar on the topic of evangelism. The leaders had prepared tables filled with all sorts of pamphlets and strategies and demographic studies, all aimed at reaching the un‑churched in their area. At some point during the program the leaders turned to this woman and asked her to share some of the reasons that made the church so important and so vital ...

1832. God's Dirty Job

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... look worse. It is heartening to believe that no matter how bad your job is, someone has one that is even worse! There is one thing common to every dirty job: your hands will show it. Dirt, soot, muck, leftovers of all sorts, work their way into the cuticles, delve deep into knuckle ridges, leave fingernails splintered and stained. Even merely a “fair-weather” gardener has “summer hands” vs. “winter hands.” “Summer hands” get tanned, freckled, age-lined, and sport a “green thumb” dyed ...

1833. That First Longing

John 4:5-42

Illustration

Robert Bachelder

... a perfect model of ourselves." C. S. Lewis made the same point when he observed: "Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise. The longings which arise in us when we first fall in love, or first think of some foreign country, or first take up some subject that excites us, are ...

1834. Leading by Example

John 4:1-42

Illustration

King Duncan

... Larsen said of this person, "Her faith sparkled and the living water of the spirit flowed out of her soul to all around her." He invited her to go with him to a seminar on the topic of evangelism. The leaders had prepared tables filled with all sorts of pamphlets and strategies and demographic studies, all aimed at reaching the un‑churched in their area. At some point during the program the leaders turned to this woman and asked her to share some of the reasons that made the church so important and so ...

1835. Do You Have It?

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... human is to have secrets. We all have secrets. The Ephesian author in today's epistle text is not trying to "out" all the deep, dark secrets that make up scar tissue on our souls. Christians are not called to be tabloid tattletales or some sort of pure-hearted paparazzi. Calling out shortcomings, catching others in sinful situations -- definitely NOT the business of the "children of light." Our business, the business of those who have been graced by the "light," is to "find out what is pleasing to the Lord ...

1836. A Clear Conscience

1 Peter 3:8-22

Children's Sermon

Tim Carpenter

... a clear conscience. Props: A dry erase board positioned for all to see, markers, and an eraser. Lesson: Do any of you like to draw on chalkboards or dry erase boards? (response) What are some things that you like to draw? (response) You like to draw all sorts of things: people, words, shapes, and animals. Once there was a little boy, and he enjoyed writing on chalkboards. One day at school the boy was going to draw something on the board. When all of a sudden the other children rushed in the room, grabbed ...

1837. Matthew 21:1-11 - Roll Out the Green Carpet

Matthew 21:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Who is this?” An unknown person creating such a ruckus upon entering the city was immediately suspect. The crowds’ helpful explanation is hardly comforting. By describing Jesus as “the prophet,” and his heritage as “from Nazareth in Galilee,” all sorts of alarm bells would have gone off. The religious authorities, the temple priests and members of the Sanhedrin, would have been disturbed by Jesus being designated as a “prophet.” After all, a prophet was one given divine authority to speak ...

1838. Running into Jesus

Matthew 21:1-11

Illustration

Joanna Adams

... , why he came to the foot clinic every week. He brushed me aside, saying, "I figure I have a better chance of running into Jesus here than most places. That's all." I watched him week after week. I realized as I watched him that I was developing my own sort of double vision. I was seeing Christ in the stranger that he served. I was also seeing Christ in the one who was finding deep meaning in his life through serving others.

1839. The Prize

Philippians 3:14

Children's Sermon

Tim Carpenter

Exegetical Aim: Faithfulness to the end. Props: A Bible, and a trophy or reward of some sort. Adapt the lesson to the type of trophy used. Lesson: I want to show you something that is very important to me. Hold up the trophy. What is this? (response) Yes, it's a trophy. Can you tell from the little person on top of the trophy what I did ...

1840. What Do You Think of The Resurrection?

John 20:1-18

Illustration

Brett Blair

Some years ago a college student came by his pastor's office to discuss theological issues. That sort of thing does not happen often. I hope it will not disappoint you to hear that most of the pastor's days are spent in meetings and with budgets, and staff issues and reports and not discussing theology. Eventually the conversation came around to the subject of Easter. After all, ...

1841. Easter Is No Mythical Metaphor

John 20:1-18

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

... scholars of the so-called "Jesus Seminar." They regard all miracles, especially the Resurrection, as "mythical metaphors developed by the EarlyChurch." Some revisionist scholars have concluded that Jesus arose only in the sense that his spirit goes marching on, sort of like the way the spirit of Abraham Lincoln continues to influence America. But William Lane Craig, perhaps the world's foremost authority on Resurrection, dismisses such a theory. Dr. Craig is an English scholar with two earned doctoral ...

1842. The Gospel According to Winnie the Pooh

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... The very, very best thing in the world, he ways, is “Me and Piglet going to see You, and You saying ‘What about a little something?’ and Me saying’ Well, I shouldn’t mind a little something, should you Piglet,’ and it being a hummy sort of day outside, and birds singing.” (p.171) Pooh’s insight is the greatest learning of the disciples from the Emmaus Road Seminar: life’s ultimate delights are not delightful unless shared with those we love. Disciples of Jesus are people who relate, relate ...

1843. How to Live a Sizzle-When-It-Drizzles Life

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... better than the Palestinian shepherds of the first century. Their flocks were vulnerable to the predations of four-legged hunters and two-legged poachers. Under cover of darkness any stray sheep was a potential “meals-on-wheels” for all sorts of hungry hunters. Communal sheepfolds, small walled enclosures, were often shared by several different flocks and their shepherds. Coming together for safety during the night was essential for survival. Jesus’ parable describes that kind of coming together. But ...

1844. To Be a Christian

Acts 11:19-30

Sermon

James McCormick

... Christian…not a real one!” And there, at the conference, half in jest, and half in fatherly pride, he concluded, “I always wanted her to be a respectable Christian…not a real one!” What kind of Christian are you? A respectable Christian, a conventional Christian, a “sort of” Christian, or a real Christian? Are you an admirer of Jesus, or a follower of Jesus? That’s what it means, you know. To be a Christian is to belong to Christ. It is to belong to Christ’s family. And, it is to do what ...

1845. Life in the Living Stone Age

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... decay. For them, the body was back; and its mouth was working, because they were hearing new words of Jesus. *** “Leaving No Stone Unturned” I pick up certain stones. To say I collect them puts it in much too organized a fashion, as I do not sort, label, or even take the trouble to identify them (igneous, sedimentary, etc.). Here is what makes me pick up a stone: the knowledge or suspicion that it has been part of an amazing story. For example, I have somewhere at home (probably in a dresser drawer) a ...

1846. Living as Orphans

John 14:15-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... walk back to their campsite, claiming they had not been lost at all. Some of the women in the congregation are thinking “typical males.” But this was no joke. That tragic decision had cost one of these men his life. (1) They hid because they were embarrassed. Sort of like Adam and Eve in Genesis 3. Adam and Eve hid because they had sinned and they were ashamed. They also hid because they didn’t understand who God was and who they were in relation to God. Today, I want to focus on these words from ...

1847. Wide Enough for All (Mother's Day)

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... when I first read this story. A small baby can turn the most dignified adult into what might look to all the rest of the world like they have taken leave of their senses--saying such things as “kitchey, kitchey koo” and making distorted faces. It’s sort of like what happened on the first Pentecost. When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples they started to act strange, so strange that outsiders accused them of being drunk, the same way in which the parent of an infant might be accused of being crazy ...

1848. Be of One Mind

2 Corinthians 13:11-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... the church. The free day care center is going great. Not too many interracial congregations like them in North Georgia.” Willimon could hardly believe what he was hearing. “What happened?” He asked. “I don’t know,” his new acquaintance said. “One Sunday, things just sort of came together. It wasn’t anything in particular. It’s just that, when the service was done, and we were on our way out, we knew that Jesus loved us and had plans for us. Things fairly much took off after that.” Bishop ...

1849. The Little Wild Orchard

Illustration

John Killinger

... ground. The huge orchards of the conglomerates, on the other hand, were sad reminders of the commercialization of the land. "Perhaps this is why," he said, "though I feel my failure to bring the old orchard to fruitfulness, I feel no real guilt, why in fact I feel a sort of pleasure in watching it turn wild and useless. When I walk in it, it tells me that a man's caring comes to an end. It tells me that life is lived within the boundaries of extremes, of wildness and domestication. It tells me that my order ...

1850. What Does Faith Mean for You?

Matthew 6:25-34

Illustration

Mark Trotter

... the years about the almightiness of God. Because if God can't stop this, then I have to come to some new understanding of God's almightiness, or perhaps reject it altogether. I haven't had time to think about this because I am too busy dealing with all sorts of survival questions. But I am going to work on it." And he did. He counted the number of times God's "almightiness" is mentioned in the New Testament. He discovered it is only ten times. Nine of the ten times are in the Book of Revelation, the last ...

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