Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2001 to 2025 of 4972 results

2001. The Plaintive Cry for Recognition

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... already dim. He scanned the theater and evidently couldn't find his family. The lady who tells the story says she watched him pace up and down the aisles searching the crowd in the near-darkness. As the lights began to go down even further he stopped and asked out loud, "Does anyone recognize me?" Must like this story, as visitors come into our churches they are looking for family and companionship. And often, as they stand neglected in our church narthex, or on the front lawn after service, in the deepest ...

2002. Real Empathy

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

A little girl was sent on an errand by her mother. She took much too long in coming back. Mother, therefore, demanded an explanation when she finally did return. The little girl explained that on her way she had met a little friend who was crying because she had broken her doll. "Oh," said the mother, "then you stopped to help her fix her doll?" "Oh, no," replied the little girl. "I stopped to help her cry."

2003. The Lost Child

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

A lady told of taking her grandsons, ages four and six, to spend the day at Disneyland. During the course of the day she bought each of them a little flag. On several occasions they stopped to watch the marching band of "toy" soldiers and each time the boys would be spellbound as the band marched by. All at once, the grandmother realized that the four-year-old was gone. She searched all about, calling his name, and making her way through the crowd. As she ...

2004. Related to the Captain

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... appreciation. Then above the noise of the paddle wheel was heard a small boy's voice calling across the water; "Let me ride! Let me ride!" The old man turned to the boy and tried to calm him down explaining that the River Queen was too important a ship to stop and give rides to little boys. The young child cried all the more, "Let me ride!" Old eyes bulged in disbelief as that great ship pulled for shore and a gangplank was lowered. In a flash two young feet scampered up and onto the deck. The ship with its ...

2005. Most Precious Possession

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

Pastor Rittenhouse and his family were on vacation traveling down the highway when they saw a suitcase fly off the top of a car going the opposite direction. They stopped to pick it up, but the driver of the other car never stopped. The only clue to the driver's identity was a twenty-dollar gold piece inscribed: "Given to Otis Sampson at his retirement by Portland Cement Company." After extensive correspondence, Otis Sampson was located and contacted. He wrote a letter telling them to discard the suitcase ...

2006. Handicap's Triumphs

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... duties. It was a beautiful spring day in the lusciously green Fraser Valley, British Columbia. The grass was just right for filling the huge silos for winter feed. John was busily unloading the heavy fodder into the silage cutter and blower when a large bunch momentarily stopped the conveyer belt. By sheer habit, John stepped on the guilty bunch to get it moving again while his eyes selected the next place to insert his pitchfork, when he felt a tug on his right leg and he watched in horror as his foot and ...

2007. The Oblivious Drunk

Humor Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... out, and started to snore she was to take a ribbon and tie it around his nose, and his snoring would stop. Well, that night her husband came in as usual, fell across the bed, fully dressed, passed out and started snoring. The wife got up, pulled a ... blue ribbon from her dresser, and tied it around his nose. Sure enough, the snoring stopped. Next morning, the wife, fully refreshed, was preparing breakfast and asked her husband, as he was awakening, "Honey, where were you ...

2008. Who's the Boss?

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... you get married, your liberty is gone." The boy said he did not believe it. The father said, "I'll prove it to you. Catch a dozen chickens, tie their legs together and put them in the wagon. Hitch up the two horses to the wagon and drive into town. Stop at every house you come to, and wherever you find the man is boss, give him a horse. Wherever you find the woman is boss, give her a chicken. You'll give away all your chickens and come back with two horses." The boy accepted the proposition and drove to ...

2009. Stern Interviewing

Humor Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... . I am here trying to find the will of God and find out if you would like me for your next pastor." The board member replied, "Young man, did God send you here?" The young minister was somewhat at a loss for words and came back again, "Well, I just stopped by to talk with the board ..." The board member interrupted again and said, "Young man, did God send you here?" Finally he screwed up his courage and said, "Well, I guess God didn't send me here. I just ...

2010. Famous Mothers, Caught Unawares

Humor Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

Alexander the Great's mother: "How many times do I have to tell you—you can't have everything you want in this world." Franz Schubert's mother: "Take my advice, Son. Never start anything you can't finish." Achilles’ mother: "Stop imagining things. There's nothing wrong with your heel." Sigmund Freud's mother: "Stop pestering me! I've told you a hundred times the stork brought you!"

2011. Even the Animals

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... of rocks, a huge bear met him nose to nose. The bear roared fiercely. The man was so scared that he lost his balance and fell down the hill with the bear not far behind. On the trip down the hill the man lost his gun. When he finally stopped tumbling, he found that he had a broken leg. Escape was impossible and so the man, who had never been particularly religious (in fact he was hunting on Sunday morning), prayed: "God if you will make this bear a Christian I will be happy with whatever lot you give ...

2012. Next Man Up

John 17:20-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... , skill sets, charisma--none of those matter most in creating successful teams. What matters most, according to this Google task force, is creating an atmosphere of “psychological safety” where members are respected and listened to and able to contribute their best work. (6) Stop and think about this for a moment. Jesus had the power to heal the sick, cast out demons, calm storms, multiply food to feed thousands. He had the power to come back from the dead. After his resurrection, he was going to grant ...

2013. Grabbing the Bull by the Horns

Luke 9:11b-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... of control was gone. Just when he thought he was losing his grip entirely, the bull slowed down and came to a stop. But here was what was amazing. Pastor Ortberg was still on the bull! Filled with pride and relief, he glanced over at the ... a pretty competitive round. On the ninth fairway, the young man’s ball landed in the path of a giant pine tree. The game came to a stop as the young man studied all the angles, trying to figure out how to hit his ball around the tree. The old man said, “You know, when ...

2014. Where's the Magic?

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... about what we do not see . . .” That’s a nice sounding definition, but it’s kind of abstract. What does he mean by that—“Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see . . .”? Fortunately the writer does not stop with a dictionary definition. He shows us faith in action. “This is what the ancients were commended for,” he continues. “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was ...

2015. Beyond a Friendly, Cuddly Christmas

Matthew 2:13-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... a 2017 episode of the Late, Late Show with James Corden. It was about a strange encounter he had while he was filming a movie in Glasgow, Scotland. Keaton was leaving a restaurant one evening, and he couldn’t find his hotel. He was totally lost. He stopped to ask a passerby for directions. Turned out that the man was totally intoxicated. However, he assured Michael Keaton that he could direct him to his hotel. He said, “Let me in the car and I’ll show you.” So Keaton let him in. The intoxicated man ...

2016. A Bridge Between Two Worlds

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... believers who are holding on to their faith in a corrupt and unjust world, who are praying to know God’s will, to hear God’s voice, who are praying for mercy and enough grace to get through another day. And Jesus is saying, “Don’t stop praying. Don’t stop believing that God can and will give you justice. Don’t give up on the kingdom of God, because it’s coming. No matter how bad things look right now . . . God will redeem this world back to Himself. His kingdom will come.” In 1979, an Indian ...

2017. Déjà Vu or Divine Revelation?

Luke 23:35-43

Sermon

King Duncan

... www.bustle.com/p/9-things-your-brain-is-trying-to-tell-you-when-you-experience-deja-vu-8334677. 3. “The 15 Most Bizarre Perks of the Royal Family” by Morgan Cutolo https://www.rd.com/culture/bizarre-royal-family-perks/. 4. “A Policeman’s Bear Hug Stops a Suicide Bomber From Killing More” by Rod Nordland and Fahim Abed, New York Times, Nov. 16, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/16/world/asia/kabul-explosion-police.html. 5. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (New York: Bantam Books), 1996 ...

2018. Get Home Safely

1 John 1:9; John 14:15-31

Illustration

F.B. Myer

Imagine putting a young child on a flight from Springfield to Los Angeles. The American Airlines flight has a brief stop in Dallas but then goes from there non-stop to Los Angels. You have made all the arrangements for the child to have a safe, successful trip. Family members will be waiting at LAX airport to receive the child back home safely. You have arranged for the airline stewardess to walk the child to them when they arrive in ...

2019. Surprised by Joy

Luke 2:8-14

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... heaven. And it’s always a surprise. A couple of years ago I was in a grocery store during the Christmas season. I had stopped in there to pick up a few items — some shaving cream and mouthwash, as I recall — and ended up spending thirty dollars on other things ... as I made my way through the aisles of the pharmacy I heard a sound that was so rare and so beautiful that it made me stop where I was, frozen to that spot on the floor. The sound was that of a child, laughing. How can I describe it to you? It ...

2020. A Poor Banquet

Luke 14:1, 7-14

Sermon

George Reed

... to criticize their purchases. I love the story that tells of the farmer who having taken his load of wheat to the grain exchange stopped by the Cadillac dealership to buy a new car. The salesperson was new and didn’t know the farmer. He felt he could not ... something back. God gives because God loves us and because we have needs. Jesus teaches us that God is not one who decides to stop blessing us because we haven’t said thank you often enough or because we haven’t put enough money in the offering plate ...

2021. Grace Upon Grace

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... , just over the hill, out of sight until it was too late, was a highway patrolman with his radar. My friend knew it was all over, although it took him a mile or so to bring the car to a stop, where he sat waiting for the policeman to catch up with him. The patrolman stopped his car and slowly proceeded to approach my friend, waiting with driver’s license in hand. “Do you have any idea just how fast you were going?” he asked. “Not exactly,” my friend sheepishly replied. “One hundred and 63 miles ...

2022. Don't Give In

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

... all we have for his world, to turn the other cheek, to care for the steady stream of widows and orphans, and to stop wandering aimlessly but rather to live purposefully in the work of God to love justice. It enables us to walk with humility, and ... . For who knows whether it will be me or you, or some other whose life we touch, who will be the tipping point that stops the wilderness experience forever and brings about the completion of the promise that God will finish what was begun in that wilderness long ago ...

2023. Lost in Plain Sight

John 1:29-34, John 1:35-42

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... in an effort to get a reading of “zero” which they could use as a baseline for other readings. Only, every time they put on their ear phones they kept hearing this annoying static buzz. They tried everything they could think of to make it stop. They turned the antenna every way it would turn. They checked and rechecked their equipment; they called nearby military installations to see if maybe they were using some kind of machinery that could be causing the hum. They even went out and physically removed ...

2024. Do you need a Pharisectomy?

Matthew 9:27-34, Matthew 9:35-38, Matthew 12:15-21, Matthew 12:22-37, Matthew 12:38-45, Matthew 12:46-50

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... are gathered round. But it’s clear who they support. Rumors have been going around (most likely passed by the Pharisees themselves) that Jesus has gone mad and is acting crazy, and even his family, embarrassed by the din, comes to try to get him to stop. But Jesus is on a roll! He lashes back at all of them, pulling his followers close and skillfully putting the Pharisees in their place. His miracles have convinced the crowd. His verbal assault has silenced his colleagues. They can’t argue with him. He ...

2025. Praise God! Selah!

Luke 1:67-80, Luke 1:57-66, Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:39-45, Luke 1:26-38, Luke 1:5-25, Luke 1:1-4

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... ,” if you will. And when God is ready to speak ----a Song is heard in heaven! Praise and worship are the result of that Selah. You’ve all seen that word, Selah, particularly in the psalms. Some say it’s a musical “pause” mark which means “stop and listen.” Others equate the meaning of Selah with “lifting up, of exalting” or even “to weigh” or reflect upon. No matter how you translate it, the Selah is a time of break from the flow of the music and the regular rhythm and an insertion of ...

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