Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 176 to 200 of 4944 results

176. Jesus Breaks Our Chains

John 11:1-45

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... cares of this world, which have such a strong and popular attraction these days. People seemingly cannot break from the materialism that constantly vies for our attention and calls us to seek to be rich in the eyes of the world. We spend a lot of time "keeping up with the Joneses" and in the process we become trapped in the rat race of contemporary society. For others, a burden in our family, at work, or in the community where we live, might have hold of us and will not let go. Many people must carry heavy ...

177. The Dash of Discipleship

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... sales event at a Tommy Hilfiger store where everything is 40% off, but only for four hours. The round of special events, parties, plays and preparations keep us dashing from one scene to another until Christmas morning. According to one popular Christmas-time tune, we even keep up our break-neck pace that day dashing through the snow. We've let Advent become such a hectic dash-through time of the year in part because we have bought into the culture's most basic definition of who we are, of what the " " in ...

178. Getting the Big Picture

Romans 8:14-17

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... :9, 10; 15:50). This life is not all there is! There is yet more to come. On a practical level, this eternal perspective can make a difference in the real decisions we make each day. We don't need to be focused on getting ahead in this life and keeping up with the Joneses, for this life is not all there is! We don't need to be consumed by our consumer culture, for this life is not all there is! So maybe we can choose to pay a little extra for a cup of free-trade coffee instead of our ...

179. The Plagues of Gnats and Flies

Ex 8:16-32

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... judgment. The magicians capitulate at the third plague when they fail to produce gnats, acknowledging “the finger of God” (8:19), by which they mean God’s power evident in the rod. Up until this point, Egypt has suffered double onslaught as Pharaoh tried to keep up with Moses. With the plague of flies, God announces and makes a distinction between the Egyptians and the Israelites who live in Goshen. Pharaoh poses the alternative of worship in the land, a futile attempt to keep it under his control.

180. David Destroys the Amalekites

1 Samuel 30:1-31

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... , reminiscent of Abraham’s recovery of the people and goods of Sodom after his daring pursuit of the four northern kings (Gen. 14:15–16). After their return, a dispute arises over the distribution of the plunder (30:21–31). Should the two hundred men who could not keep up with the others receive an equal share of the goods? As a wise and fair leader David insists that all the shares be the same, for the victory was the work of the Lord and none of the men can claim credit for it. The same God who ...

181. Last Words

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

King Duncan

... to murder. The woman explained that she had been operating for just under a year and the 25 lines she had were busy 24 hours a day. The woman went on to say that The Confession Line was such a success she was expanding to 100 lines in order to keep up with the demand. Finally, and this is the part that got Rev. Schmidt's mind racing, she admitted that in the first year of operation The Confession Line made close to 17 million dollars. Wow! Maybe we ought to see about a 900 number for our church. But here is ...

182. The Dark Didn't Catch Me!

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... a period of a year the Lord began jealously to strip me of all the idols that crowded him to the corner of my life. We lost the state championship football game. Popularity proved again and again to be a fickle game. Clothing styles changed faster than I could keep up. And all I was left with that was meaningful was a girlfriend who lived 500 miles away. So, come Easter holiday, I sold my ball glove, my tennis racket, my bike, whatever, and bought a ticket to go see her. And while I was there she told me ...

183. Nothing Great Happens Without It

Luke 14: 25-35

Sermon

James Merritt

... your watch tells you all of that?" The man said, "O yes, and much more than that. You see I've invented this watch and there is no other timepiece like it in the world. It can tell you what Wall Street is doing; give you individual stock prices. It keeps up to 50 thousand names, addresses, and phone numbers. With just a touch of a button, you can send Email or be on the Internet." The man said, "That is unbelievable. I want to buy that watch. I'll give you $5,000 for it right now." As a stranger reached ...

184. Counting the Cost

Luke 14:25-33

Sermon

George Reed

... and the choir numbers are way down. We have had to reduce the hours the secretary is in the church office and do away with the youth pastor because the budget just couldn’t sustain them anymore. The building is in need of repair and we can’t even keep up with the regular maintenance costs. All of these things are filling our minds while Jesus is focused on one thing and one thing only: the reign of God. Bringing the reign of God into the lives of people and into the life of the world is all that really ...

185. Don't Be Stupid

Jeremiah 4:5-31

Sermon

Richard L. Sheffield

I ordered a new book this week. Hope it comes soon. Because God needs to read it! It's called Your Executive Image. As CEO of all that is, that's Creator, Executive, Overseer; as CEO of anything and everything that matters to you and me, God needs to keep up appearances. And it really doesn't do God's image any good for him to go around calling people "stupid children" (Jeremiah 4:22). Yet, Jeremiah tells us, God said of his people in Israel "... My people are foolish, they do not know me; they are stupid ...

186. It's A Dog's Life

Drama

Timothy W. Ayers

... , dogs have accidents, you know. It doesn't seem like a big deal to me, but he goes nuts when I do - well, you know - in the house. Or the day I jumped up and tried to help him type on the computer. I mean, a dog has got to keep up with technology. Prince: Things sound real bad. Dutch: I guess what hurts the worst is that we just don't hang out together any more. Dog, I miss those times. Prince: Sometimes that happens around here, too. Dutch: What do you do? Prince: Gotta love those humans even then. They ...

187. Have You Talked to Jesus Lately?

John 4:1-26

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... , too?" As if he could read my mind, the young stranger took a step toward me, placed his hand on my shoulder, and said, "Look, I know you’re busy, and I won’t take up any more of your time. I just wanted to stop by and say thanks. Keep up the good work. Bye, for now." Then he turned and walked away, back across the church yard to the busy street. I don’t know why, but I stood there and watched him until I could no longer see him. He looked back and waved to me once before he ...

188. "The Sawdust and the Circus"

Numbers 27:12-23

Sermon

... circus drew for its audiences was one of extreme confusion. This, of course, is not only a picture of our times, but of our religion as well. For we live in a confusing world - a world where so many things happen at the same time that it’s impossible to keep up with them all. If ever an age was pulled hither and yon, it is our age. There seems to be too much to do, too many places to go, too many things seeking to claim our loyalty. And beneath it all, there seems to be too little purpose to much ...

189. The Gospel in Two Words

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

... to proclaim it" and to every life "Be opened to participate in it." Notes from the Homiletician This sermon was preached in a congregational setting. It emerges clearly out of the text. It deals with the handicapping conditions which keep up from fully participating in life. Those conditions may be physical, marital, relational, or perceptual. The Markan account forms the basis for this unfolding. Openness to realities of a corporate and personal nature is invited as a conclusion. By developing fully ...

190. If Only -- In Spite Of

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... at Kapanga. She just returned to Zaire 2 or 3 years ago against her family's wishes. I grew a lot spiritually during this retreat as I came to realize that I am serving with some real "giants." "I continue to receive the _Courier_ so I am able to keep up on Christ Church news. The expansion program sounds great and if we have to have problems this is a good one to have. All of the church's programs and activities never cease to amaze me. I am always sharing my paper with others here so it is well ...

191. Getting in S.H.A.P.E. for Ministry

Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-16

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... never be struggling for musicians to start new worship services, looking for teachers to staff Sunday school classes, wanting for people to rock babies, longing for mentors to help young mothers, wishing for people to staff shelters, hiring more people to keep up buildings, leaving anyone stranded in need of assistance, letting any young person grow up without a role model, allowing any family to be ignorant about finances, neglect anyone going through grief or divorce, permit some physical need to go unmet ...

192. The 4 Spiritual Flaws

John 6:1-15

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... healings and instead experienced miraculously full stomachs. Jesus did not just heal those who had the frailty of illness. He "healed" the frailty that holds all of humanity together -the need for sustenance, for food and water on a regular basis, in order to keep up life. There is no greater "weak link" that Jesus could address -the physical well-being of the human body is a concern of every living, breathing person. 1. Spiritual Flaw #1: The notion that the spiritual and the material are separate, or that ...

193. Dancing for Joy (Thanksgiving)

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... his fertile imagination to shield his son Joshua from the horrors of life in this terrible place. He hides his son from the Nazi guards. He sneaks him food and tries to humor him. Guido does everything he can to hide their true situation from Joshua. In an attempt to keep up his son’s spirits, Guido convinces him that the camp is just a game, in which the first person to get 1,000 points wins a tank. He tells him that if he cries, he loses points. If he complains that he wants his mother, or says that he ...

194. When We No Longer Recognize Ourselves

Psalm 51:1-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... the angels were piling up the good he had done, and on the other side the demons were piling up the bad he had done. He had done a lot of good. After all, he was a priest. But, to his horror, he noticed that the angels simply couldn’t keep up. They didn’t have the material. The scales began to tip quickly to the bad side. He cried out, “Oh, Christ, have mercy!” At that moment, he heard the sound of three blood-stained nails falling on the good side. They didn’t look that heavy. After all, how much ...

195. Learning to Live Like Jesus

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... the leadership of a church ought to work. We take turns doing the hard tasks. We respect and protect each other’s unique arrangement of skills, capabilities, talents and resources. The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. We do a lot of honking in the church. We need to make sure our honking is positive and encouraging. In churches where there is encouragement, production is much greater. Individual empowerment results from quality honking. When a goose gets ...

196. A Fool’s Tools

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

... own bunkers, exploiting those with fewer tools when they see as getting in the way. There are widespread examples of this kind of talent misuse: the salesman who sells the poor family a car or a house on which he knows they will not be able to keep up the payments, the senator or congressman who does his level best to preserve the tax loopholes he and his friends have used for years, the drug pusher whose capacities are devoted to camping daily outside the public school, the TV star or sports idol of young ...

197. Live Churches

Illustration

Staff

... churches have empty spaces! Live churches may have some noisy children; Dead churches are quiet as a cemetery. Live churches keep changing their ways of doing things; Dead churches see no need for change! Live churches grow so fast you can't keep up with people's names; In dead churches everybody always knows everybody's name. Live churches strongly support world missions; Dead churches keep the money at home! Live churches are full of regular, cheerful givers; Dead churches are full of grudging tippers ...

198. Friendship? Yes, Please!

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... . When the lead bird tires, he drops back and allows another bird to lead. The others are pulled along in V-formation with a helpful wind suction. And scientists even believe that the incessant honking is a form of verbal encouragement to stay together, to keep up. Thus can birds accomplish more together than they can apart. And this is what Solomon is observing in friendships. "Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil."Encouragement Solomon not only points us to the synergy of ...

199. Small Church Communion

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

Steven Burt

... and knew what Ruthie was like. Each Sunday when it was time to sing the hymns, Ruthie would stand between her mother and her aunt, singing along. She’d have her hymnbook open to the right page, but she couldn’t read the verses fast enough to keep up. The open hymnal was so she’d be like everyone else. Usually, though, our worship service would include a song Ruthie knew by heart, and her face would take on this huge, glowing smile, and she’d really belt it out -- always louder than the congregation ...

200. The Next Step

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... , sweaters, and pants into the trash. Right there, amid the mangled and torn Christmas wrappings, the faded, dry greenery, and the cracked and broken decorations, sat my old clothes. They no longer served me. I no longer believed in them. They had failed to keep up with my needs and my desired personae. But, alas, my closet was then virtually empty. I had nothing to wear. Consequently I had to go shopping for an entirely new wardrobe. Trying to find something to “put on” was more expensive, tiring, and ...

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