Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2001 to 2025 of 4997 results

2001. Marriages That Last

Ephesians 5:22-33

Sermon

King Duncan

... discussion of hypocrisy for a week? Let me encourage you to go back to treating each other like you loved each other." To the husband he said, "You call her from work." To the wife he said, "You have a nice meal prepared." And to both he said, "Speak kind words to each other, even try to show some physical affection with an occasional hug or touch of the hands. Let's see what happens in a week's time." The following week, the couple returned to Don's office. He was surprised to note that instead of taking ...

2002. A Pre-christmas Faith

Jeremiah 33:1-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... on juvenile delinquency: A young man who was a very serious problem to his parents and local authorities because of his antisocial behavior, spent several weeks one summer in a peaceful rural area with members of a religious group well-known for their kind, simple modes of living. His behavior among them was exemplary. The following summer, after another violent year in the ghetto, he returned to the country and to his peaceful, friendly mode of living with the comment, "The real me is here." Perhaps we ...

2003. Light For Our Lives

John 1:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... like being another face "or pair of legs" in the crowd. Christmas is a much needed reminder that we matter to God. He knows us. He loves us. Notice how the least and the lowest are exalted in the story of the Bethlehem babe. People matter to God. All kinds of people. We matter. Christmas tells us who we are. We are loved. We are persons to whom God sent His own Son. We need not ever again feel ugly or inadequate or insecure. He helps us deal with our feelings about ourselves. Many of you know those feelings ...

2004. A Society Out Of Control

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... all of his life had know a rather harried existence. When Mrs. Nielsen died, the story broke. It seems that when he was a little boy he would dress up in clothes a little too fancy for some boys' taste. He would go out to play. He had all kinds of physical disabilities, and in addition to that he was wearing these fancy clothes. Some of the other boys roughed him up, threw rocks at him, chased him down the sidewalk, or made fun of him. On many occasions this little fellow became so frightened that he would ...

2005. See My Hands and Feet

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

King Duncan

... son." It was to be Tournier's last words to her. A moment later she put her hand on her heart and exclaimed, "That's it!" He asked, "Are you sure?" She answered "Yes." And she was in heaven.(2) The world simply cannot deal with that kind of expectation. Without the Easter faith not only death but life itself is ultimately meaningless. What value is there in love that ends beside a grave? I am reminded of a Jonathan Winter's satire sometime back on the funeral business. Winters played the enterprising owner ...

2006. News From The Vineyard

John 15:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... time. You'll crawl back up again if you give yourself a chance. Tomorrow will be better." You could save a life without realizing it by letting a depressed person know somebody cares. I care. What greater fruit can any child of God bear than the fruit of compassion and kindness? This then is the heart of the matter. Christ is the vine, we are the branches. Our job is to bear fruit. We are not to lose heart when times get difficult. We are to offer those hard times to God and allow him to use them as an act ...

2007. The Explosive Power Of Pentecost

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... future Chief's star booted ball after ball. One afternoon, they had a difficult time finding someone to shag Stenerud's many kicks and return them to Ross. Even today, Ross laughs when he tells this story: "I had noticed that every day these two guysthey were kind of grubby lookingwould come and watch Jan practice kicking. So I asked them if they would mind getting on the other side of the fence to shag some balls, and they said. ˜Sure.' " "After a few kicks, Stenerud turned to me and in his Swedish accent ...

2008. A New Daddy

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

King Duncan

... is just as cruel as a lashing with a belt. Some of you know what I am talking about. You have heard such abuse with your own ears. Perhaps you were even the target of such abuse. Thankfully most of us were not. Still, we are all products of some kind of family. It may be that we grew up in a family that did not express love in a visual, tangible way. Therefore it is difficult for us to be demonstrative to those we love. We come into a family relationship with a history, with a set of expectations. I ...

2009. Three Temptations Of The American People

Mark 6:1-6

Sermon

King Duncan

... us to our final temptation. The privilege of citizenship without the price of civic responsibility, the bounty of capitalism without the bother of compassion. But one more. WE WANT CHRISTIANITY WITHOUT CONVERSION. Please bear with me. I'm not talking about a particular kind of emotional experience. I'm talking about a level of intense commitment to Jesus Christ. We have a lot of people who believe in God, who believe in the divinity of Jesus, who believe in heaven. Every Gallup Poll indicates this. We have ...

2010. He Brings Light

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... fixed light of an eternal certainty. FINALLY, HE GIVES US A LIGHT TO CARRY TO A WORLD STILL LIVING IN DARKNESS. There is light that floods a room and reveals that which is hidden. There is light that shines as a fixed reminder of eternal verities. There is another kind of light, however. It is the search light of compassion and concern. It is the light that moves out into the darkness to seek the lost. This is the light of the shepherd who leaves the ninety and nine and goes out on the hillside to find the ...

2011. Marriage: Agony Or Ecstasy

Matthew 5:31-32

Sermon

King Duncan

... at his wife with love in his eyes and said, "It would have been a lot longer without her." Many of you know about that kind of relationship. We must also acknowledge, however, that marriages do not always work out like that and when they do not, the hurt and ... in some way, even if I have to climb the fence!" (2) Many of us are fortunate to know about that kind of love. Commitment, communication, cooperation, constancy and Christlikenessthose are the keys. 1. Leslie Parrott, EASY TO LIVE WITH, cited in Robert ...

2012. The Ultimate Evidence of God

2 Peter 1:16-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... People wanted to know what else happened on that particular occasion when the two met. Browning is said to have answered: “What else? I tell you I saw Shelley, and, of course, in view of that, everything else just faded from my mind.” That was the kind of feeling Simon Peter had in the presence of Jesus. Still, to claim him as the long awaited Messiah required a very demanding leap of faith. So many had come declaring to be the Christ. There were others who healed and performed great wonders. How could ...

2013. Looking For Happiness In All The Wrong Places

John 4:1-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... Rogers was right. Happiness rarely comes from a change of locations, or a change of mates, or a change of situations of any kind. It is amazing how many people go through life looking for happiness in all the wrong places. Take this woman at the well. She ... and fame. That way you'd have it all and be REALLY happy. Happiness is being famous for your financial ability to indulge in every kind of excess." Hobbes replies, "I suppose that's ONE way to define it." Calvin adds, "The part I think I'd like best is ...

2014. A Man Who Walked the Talk

Acts 7:55-60

Sermon

King Duncan

... for a moment, then taking it and shoving it under DeHaan’s nose, she asked, “Are you the man who wrote this?” He says he read the article and felt about an inch tall. It was indeed a devotional that he had written which had to do with kindness and forbearance. He said, “That did it, we had to make up right there.” It is so easy to preach, but so much more difficult to practice. And yet we cannot know the deep fulfillment of Christian living unless it is real and unless it is every day. That ...

2015. Why Won't They Listen?

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... destructive. Why won't he listen? Why can't you get through to him? Only yesterday you bounced him on your knee. Now there is a stranger in the house. Someday he will understand, but what if it is too late? Why won't he listen? Jesus experienced the same kind of frustration with those who came to hear him teach. A sower went forth to sow, he said. Some of the seed fell by the wayside and the birds devoured it. Some fell on hard ground and withered because the young plants could not put down deep roots. Some ...

2016. Lesson From Five Maidens

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... ago, and still we can imagine that there are some who miss out on the feast! J. Alexander Findley tells of what he observed during a trip to Palestine: "When we were approaching the gates of a...town I caught sight of ten maidens gaily clad and playing some kind of musical instrument, as they danced along the road in front of our car; when I asked what they were doing, (my guide) told me that they were going to keep the bride company till the bridegroom arrived. I asked him if there was any chance of seeing ...

2017. Why Did He Do It?

Mark 14:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... Rushmore Memorial, was once asked if he considered his work to be perfect in every detail. "Not today," he replied. "The nose of Washington is an inch too long. It's better that way, though. It will erode to be exactly right in 10,000 years." That's the kind of thinking that has to take place if we are to understand God's plan for our universe. Perhaps Judas was impatient. MAYBE JUDAS FELT A SENSE OF REJECTION. His surname indicates that he was the only one of the disciples who was not a Galilean. Maybe he ...

2018. A Time For Silence

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... we see through a glass darkly, one day we will see face to face. That is one occasion that demands silence. Here is another. SILENCE IS THE BEST RESPONSE, IN THE SECOND PLACE, WHEN WE ARE IN THE PRESENCE OF SOMETHING OR SOMEONE GREATER THAN OURSELVES. We need that kind of inspiration from time to time to ponder a masterpiece or to sit at the feet of a legend. At times like that we do not chatter on. We sit quietly, expectantly, reverently with a longing to soak up as much of the greatness as we are able. In ...

2019. Winning When It Really Counts

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

King Duncan

... society, doesn’t it make sense that we should seek to win at those things that really matter? Why not apply the same level of intensity and energy to a game that is really worth the playing? St. Paul focuses our attention on two kinds of people. One kind has its mind on today and its gratifications. As he phrases it, "their god is their belly." In other words, they have no discipline, no self restraint. There is no great purpose driving their lives. They are not conscious of any grand design to existence ...

2020. A Real Solution For Real Problems

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

King Duncan

... . It brings with it the realization that when we commit violence or any act of hatred toward another, we are persecuting Christ. "When you have done it unto the least of these, you have done it unto me," said Jesus. He was not speaking simply of acts of kindness but evil acts as well. It is clear in the conversion of St. Paul, conversion means moving from a life of hate to a life of love. We simply cannot overstate this truth. How often in the past, religious feeling has turned into raw bigotry. There is a ...

2021. A Strategy For Status Seekers

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... picture of misplaced pride! How many of us wear crumbs in our beard, as it were, to keep others from seeing our real need. No wonder Jesus warned his disciples about the danger of pride. However, a second thing needs to be said at this point. THE KIND OF PRIDE JESUS WAS WARNING HIS DISCIPLES ABOUT IS DIFFERENT FROM THE HEALTHY SENSE OF SELF-WORTH THAT OUGHT TO CHARACTERIZE A FOLLOWER OF JESUS CHRIST. It is important to say this because persons with a low sense of self-esteem are often attracted to religion ...

2022. I Should Have Written That "Thank You Note"

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... observed this strenuous work, he asked his Dad why he was going to such effort to put out a plant when this was not even their cottage. They would not even be returning the next year. The father replied, “Somebody will be here.” “What kind of plant is it?” the son asked. “A century plant,” his father replied. “A century plant? You mean it won’t bloom for a hundred years?” the son asked. “Not that long,” the father explained, “Maybe twenty or thirty years.” The son was astonished ...

2023. A Shocking Revelation

Revelation 1:9-20

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... job isn’t what you’d thought it’d be. And you came here this morning with a hope, a wish, a desire of some kind! Maybe you don’t even know for sure what it is that you’re looking for. A fellow named Alex Black tried to sort out ... criminal, although the offense was trumped up. He’s in exile, a man without a home. He’s powerless, destitute, oppressed, denied rights of any kind. "Is that all there is?" he could sing. Is that all there is? And the Voice shouts from behind him, No! I am the First ...

2024. A Christmas To Remember

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... a total wonk, which was not helped by the fact that the shepherds and three kings were constantly suggesting that you really liked this girl. So during the pageant Joseph tended to maintain the maximum allowable distance from Mary, as though she were carrying some kind of fatal bacteria." (1) Dave Barry's right. It wouldn't be much fun to play Joseph. Joseph appears to be an insignificant character in the Christmas drama. Joseph emerges from the shadow of Mary and the baby Jesus. All the attention is on ...

2025. Finding Jesus

John 1:29-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... Jesus almost since we took our first tiny steps as small children. Our faith is just as real as those who have more dramatic stories to tell. We are those who have a "come and see" faith. Regardless of how we found Christ, our task is to provide the kind of witness that others may find him too. One of the two men who followed Jesus that day was a fisherman named Andrew. The day Andrew spent with Jesus changed his life. He went to find his brother Simon who was also a fisherman. Andrew told his brother, "We ...

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