Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic

Showing 1826 to 1850 of 2273 results

1826. Making Wise Investments

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Pay it Forward is a tender movie about a twelve year old boy named Trevor. His seventh grade social studies teacher offered students extra credit if they could come up with a plan to change the world for the better, and put it into action. Trevor, this serious child of a single alcoholic mother, takes on the challenge by doing three people an extraordinary favor and when they try to pay it back, he tells each not to pay it back, but ‘pay it forward.' Paying it forward is what Jesus' parable of the talents ...

1827. Building Boats That Float

Genesis 6:1

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

According to an e-mail making the rounds these days, everything you need to know about life you can learn from Noah. Among his most important lessons are these: 1) Don’t miss the boat. 2) We are all in the same boat. 3) In troubled times, travel in pairs. 4) When you are stressed out, float awhile. 5) Remember, the ark was built by amateurs and the Titanic by professionals. No character in the Bible gets more present-day attention than Noah. This great-grandson of Enoch and grandson of Methuselah, has ...

1828. The Fellowship of Kindred Minds

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

A cartoon, in a Saturday Evening Review, features a young boy sitting under a tree taking inventory of his relationships. “So far, I have 14 people who love me, 22 people who like me, six people who tolerate me, and I have only three enemies. I’d say that’s not bad for a little kid.” When it comes to relationships, how are you doing? We are made for community; we will never be satisfied to be self-reliant. We need one another. The friendships in the fellowship of the first century Church were so focused ...

1829. What Would Jesus Say About Materialism?

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

A religious coalition led by Rev. Jim Ball launched a media campaign three months ago asking Americans “What Would Jesus Drive?” The advertisement, designed to discourage religious people from driving SUV’s, pickups, minivans and other gas guzzling vehicles, quickly captured the attention of Americans. The three major auto makers publicly stated that they already made fifty models of fuel efficient cars, but trucks and SUV’s now outsell cars at dealerships across America. Comedian Jay Leno said Jesus would ...

1830. My Country, Is It of Thee?

Psalm 9:9-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

We called her Miss Anna. She was my first grade teacher in a tiny, four-room Kentucky school. Miss Anna taught us to stand at attention, to speak with reverence, and placing our hands over our hearts to pledge our allegiance to “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." Life seemed much simpler back then. I guess it was. I didn't know anybody who didn't believe in God. Unlike Michael Newdow out in California who last year tried to get the “God-word" out of the pledge, parents ...

1831. The Down Side of Christmas

Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

‘Twas the day after Christmas When all through the place There were arguments and depression— Even mom had a long face. The stockings hung empty; And the house was a mess. The clothes didn't fit; Dad was under stress. The family was irritable; The children were not pleased. The instructions for the swing set Were written in Chinese. The bells no longer jingled; And no carolers came around. The sink was stacked with dishes; And the tree was turning brown. The stores were full of people Returning things that ...

1832. The Fundamentals of Family Ties

1 Corinthians 13:1

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... I preached my first sermon on marriage and family. It was entitled “When Home is Heaven.” A few months later I got married and reality struck. After a few courses in psychology and shortly before our first son was born, I preached a sermon on the “Twelve Essential Elements of Effective Parenting.” Our children were normal preacher’s kids so I stopped giving advice on raising children. Now that my sons are grown and my wife is out of town, I thought I would end this series of sermons on “It Takes ...

1833. Welcoming God Into Our Homes

Revelation 21:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

A Sunday School teacher asked her students where God lived. After the usual answers of heaven and in my heart, Bobby spoke up and said, “God lives in the bathroom at our house!” “Why the bathroom?” inquired the teacher. “I don’t know,” replied Bobby. “I only know that my Dad gets up every morning and beats on the bathroom door where my sister is taking forever to get ready for school and exclaims, ‘My God, are you still in there?’ God lives in the bathroom at our house.” Where does God live at your house? ...

1834. The Power of a Personal Commitment

Romans 12:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

While my farmer father only had a fourth grade education, he was a wonderful story teller. One of his favorite yarns was about a chicken and a pig who encountered a hungry man beside the road. Moved with compassion, the chicken said to the pig, “Why don’t you and I go together and give this man a great ham and eggs breakfast?” The pig pondered the proposition for a moment and then replied, “For you that would be a contribution; but for me that would mean total commitment.” On this Sunday when we are asked ...

1835. From Hunger to Satisfaction

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

I had a church member once who displayed a bold sign in his Laundromat. On it were these words: “Everything I enjoy is illegal, immoral, or fattening." Food—we have a love affair with it. It is a source of temptation and cause for celebration. We can't get along without it. The Bible is full of it: Eve was tempted with an apple. Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of pea soup. Heaven will be like a wedding banquet prepared for a king. In our Scripture today, Jesus feeds 5,000 people with five loaves of ...

1836. The Power to Rise Again

Mark 16:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

A church organist made a horrible blunder on Easter Sunday. He failed to set his alarm and managed to sleep right through the first service. The congregation forgave him. His colleagues teased him. The senior pastor pondered it all in his heart and one year later phoned the organist at 4:00 a.m. When the organist answered the phone, the pastor said, “It's Easter! Christ is risen! You should do the same!" It's Easter. Christ is risen and best of all, we can do the same. As the early Church scrambled to ...

1837. The Compassionate Christ

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

My mother and father-in-law were country music singers before there was country music. With guitar in hand and harmony in their heart, they traveled the hills of Owen County singing at revivals and Sunday dinners on the grounds. One of my favorites was a little ditty that went like this: Your roses may have thorns, but don't forget, Your thorns may have some roses too. The Lord of great compassion loves you yet, And He will never fail to see you through. It is the Lord of great compassion that I would like ...

1838. The Power to Be Saved

Acts 4:5-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

In the church of my childhood, the opportunity to get saved came once a year at the annual Revival Meeting. Skilled evangelists came to the protracted meetings loaded with all kinds of bait to reel in the least and the lost. Being a sensitive teenager, I was always fair game, so I usually got saved about once a year. Over the years I've expressed my share of cynicism about such manipulative evangelism. But I have not come to criticize but to connect. It would be easy to strike up a strong debate right here ...

1839. The Power to Do Good

Acts 10:34-38, 44-48

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

When it's all been said and done, only two kinds of people populate the earth. There are those who put in more than they take out; and there are those who take out more than they put in. A getter or a giver, which are you? There are many positive things that could be said of Jesus Christ. He was a brilliant teacher, a prophetic change agent, even the Savior of the world. In our scripture for today, Peter describes Him this way: “Jesus of Nazareth went about doing good!" O, that all of us who call him Lord ...

1840. Finding Plenty in the Midst of Scarcity

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

For the past six weeks or so, our staff and a host of volunteers have been in the business of hosting conferences and conventions. Your new and newly renovated facilities are being put to good use. When you invite 800 or a 1,000 people to be your guests, the bigger question than where are we going to meet is the question of where are we going to eat? While we have contributed to the restaurant businesses of Brentwood this summer, we have also fed a host of people out of this facility. Eight hundred people ...

1841. Fanning the Flames of Family

Ephesians 5:8-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

“It only takes a spark to get the fires going and soon all those around can warm up to it glowing." Could the lyrics of that old camp song be true for the American family? What happens in your house may be more important than what happens in the White House! The greatest threat to America may not be terrorists abroad, or storms above; our greatest threat may be the disintegration of family to whom we normally turn in times of crisis. So today, let's think for a few moments about fanning the flames of ...

1842. Dancing with the Saints

Colossians 1:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

As soon as toddlers learn to “toddle,” they are ready to move to music and groove to iPods. Small children don’t care if their moves are “cool.” Small children don’t care of they look sweet or silly as they dance to the sounds they’re hearing. They just dance. When do we start being self-conscious? We do we lose our innocence? Sometime in elementary school? I suspect it’s just about the time the PE curriculum declares that it is time to teach dancing to fifth or sixth graders. Whether it is learning to ...

1843. Those Who Most Need a Blessing

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

Can a child pass up a tasty marshmallow? A researcher who wanted to know set up an experiment. He left a succession of four-year-olds alone in a room, seated at a table. On the table was a single marshmallow. The researcher told the children that they could eat the marshmallow when he left the room, or they could wait until he returned. If they waited, they would receive a second marshmallow. The children had a choice: one marshmallow now or two marshmallows if they were patient. The researcher then left ...

1844. A Salvation Army Parade

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Lee Griess

Different churches celebrate Palm Sunday in different ways. At one church in Chicago, there is a tradition for worshipers to gather outside the church. Palm branches are distributed, and when the time comes, another group of worshipers emerge from the front doors playing instruments and together they march around the block, singing the songs of Palm Sunday. One year as the procession made its way around the block of the church building, a young man living in an apartment across the street, threw open the ...

1845. Personal Politics

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

Thomas Browne said that "the vices we scoff at in others laugh at us from within ourselves." More than any other relational failure this is true of hurt and vengeance. When the great nineteenth-century Spanish General, Ramon Narvaez, lay dying in Madrid, a priest was called in to give him last rites. "Have you forgiven your enemies?" the padre asked. "Father," confessed Narvaez, "I have no enemies. I shot them all." Too often that is the story of our lives, and Jesus knows it. Lewis Smedes wrote a book we ...

1846. Endless Line of Blunder

Exodus 1:8

Sermon

David J. Kalas

Turn the page, and the story is suddenly different. When we close the book of Genesis, the descendants of Jacob — that is, the children of Israel — are comfortably situated as honored guests in the land of Egypt. And the very best part of the land of Egypt, at that. Jacob's son, Joseph, is a local hero, having navigated the nation (and much of the region) through a devastating period of famine. The Egyptians, along with his own kin, mourn his passing. But turn the page, and the story is suddenly different ...

1847. Forward March

Joshua 3:1-17

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

It was truly a day of new beginnings as the people prepared to make the long-anticipated entry into the promised land. After the Israelites had spent forty years journeying through the desert, they had finally arrived at this pivotal point in time. To say that there were problems or even setbacks along the way would be an understatement. The people complained about not having enough food and water. Along the way there were some who desired to return to the land of slavery — where life was not great but at ...

1848. Showing Up

Ephesians 3:1-12

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... . By the fourth century, Epiphany was celebrated on January 6 to emphasize that it took the wise men a while to get to where Jesus was: Obviously they were not there on Christmas Eve if they were following a star that appeared when Jesus was born. Indeed, the "twelve days of Christmas" between December 25 and January 6 remind us that it took some travel time for the Magi to "show up" and give honor to Jesus who had "shown up" in the flesh. Some of you may be thinking of the saying attributed to Woody ...

1849. By Whose Standards?

1 Corinthians 4:1-5

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... have the specialized meaning it has come to have for many of us. In fact, the word is still used in the Greek Orthodox church to simply mean someone who is sent out on religious work. Paul here uses the word in a broader sense than the "twelve apostles." He means any leader in the church sent by God. And he is one. But he has been deliberately highlighting other words. He has already said "workers" and "builders"; now "servants" and "stewards." This was an effective way of reminding the Corinthians that the ...

1850. Humility: We Know It When We See It

Philippians 2:5-11

Sermon

David O. Bales

In 1860, Abraham Lincoln won the Illinois Republican Presidential nomination in this way: Lincoln's friend, Richard Oglesby of Decatur, learned that, when he was young, Lincoln had split rails near Decatur with a fellow named John Hanks. Hanks still lived near Decatur; so Oglesby found Hanks and asked if any of those rails still existed. Hanks remembered a farm ten miles out of town where they'd split locust and black walnut for a rail fence. Oglesby and Hanks drove a buggy to the farm and discovered the ...

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