Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2001 to 2025 of 3099 results

2001. Building a Barn

Luke 12:13-21

Illustration

Dave Barry

... dispute, be taken to court, and the people involved would start complaining of depression and anxiety, and psychologists would announce that these people were victims of a new disease called Barn Committee Logo Dispute Distress Syndrome, or BCLDDS, which would become the subject of one-hour shows by Oprah and Sally Jessy Raphael, after which millions of Americans would realize that they, too, were suffering from BCLDDS, and they'd form support groups with hotline numbers and 12-step programs. That's what we ...

2002. A Weird New Religious Cult

Luke 12:49-53

Illustration

William H. Beljean

... , has forced him to forsake all of his old friends, and has turned him against his family. After reading the letter, the professor asks the class to speculate what the father is talking about. Almost without exception, the class immediately assumes that the subject of the letter is a child mixed up with the "Moonies," or some other controversial group. After the class puts out all of the possible conclusions they can think of, the professor surprises them by revealing that the letter, was written by a third ...

2003. Looking at Jesus from Behind Prison Bars

Matthew 11:2-11

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... expected. As an Essene, he thought his community worshiped God the right way, preserving the pure faith. He must have expected that when the powerful one came, he and his group would be vindicated. The corrupt leaders, like Herod, would be judged. Now he was the one subject to judgment. He was the one in prison. God hadn't released him. The powerful one hadn't released him. He woke up each day to the same four walls. He had been thrown in that prison for speaking the truth. Was he frustrated? Was he angry ...

2004. A Shepherd's Story

Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... Augustus? He's a big shot who can do what he wants. I guess you could order everyone around if your uncle was Julius Caesar, and you were handpicked to be emperor. Not so awful long ago, he decided to call for a census. He wanted to know how many subjects he had, and how big his tax base was. Everybody had to go back to the hometown to be counted. You wouldn't believe the grumbling that caused. A few hot heads even tried to start a revolt. You can guess how far they got with that! What a mess ...

2005. Who's Who

John 1:29-42

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... We're looking for a way to make sense of our lives." Instead, they answer Jesus' question with another question, "Rabbi, where are you staying?" What in the world do they mean by that response? Are they trying to avoid Jesus' penetrating question by changing the subject? How many opportunities for a real encounter do we lose by cracking a joke, or keeping things only on the surface, or switching to a safe topic? Are they trying to check Jesus out by seeing if his quarters are worthy of a great prophet? Are ...

2006. Return to the Lord, Your God

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

Lee Griess

... to even prosecute the man. And yet, the man insisted that he be charged with the crime so that he could "do the time." The reason for his confession? He said, "I just haven't been able to get it off my mind." Now here was a man willing to subject himself to punishment in order to restore his peace of mind. And that's what God has in mind for us when he says, "Return to the Lord, your God...." Return. Turn back. Repent and begin a new life. Lent is a time of repentance, a time for confession and ...

2007. Strong in God’s Name

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Lee Griess

... forward to embrace her, she held up a restraining hand and said sternly, "Hold on there. First, I want to hear that harmonica!" She was a wise young lady. She knew the power of temptation and the weakness of the human heart. And so did Jesus. Our subject this morning is just that — temptation. The gospel reading for today begins by telling us that "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil." We ...

2008. Always with Us

John 14:15-21

Sermon

Lee Griess

... hot southern night, some 150 years ago, a weary slave sat before a tar-paper shack and lifted his voice in a song of lament — a mournful, deep song whose words gave expression to the pain of having been taken from home, separated from family, and subjected to slavery. With hurt and longing he sang these words: Sometimes I feel like a motherless child, Sometimes I feel like a motherless child, Sometimes I feel like a motherless child, A long ways from home. Sometimes I feel like I'm almos' gone, Sometimes ...

2009. Masks

Matthew 23:1-12

Sermon

Chris Ewing

... message. The nature of the mask is unimportant: any mask that allows reasonably clear vision and speech, and does not portray anything upsetting or offensive, is suitable. The idea of wearing the mask, and some of the development of the mask theme, is from Dawne Taylor's meditation on this subject in Aha!!! volume 9 #1 (October to December 1999), p. 27. 2. From Jan Bush in Marks of the Maker, quoted in Aha!!! (Ibid, p. 28): "Masks are not meant to hide behind, but to reveal a sacred part of you."

2010. Converting to Christianity

Acts 2:14, 36-41

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... passage has to do with having a new mind. It has to do with transforming our minds out of the modes of culture and ego. We become, in this process, something completely new, almost as if we were re-created. At least, this is Paul's take on the subject. "So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!" (2 Corinthians 5:17). It's not about judgment, it's about change. It's not about pointing a finger or trying to get someone to adopt my ...

2011. Whosoever Will

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... parents who set a Christian example, but I was not born a Christian. For a while I thought I was, but as I got older, I realized that I had to choose ... Jesus Christ for myself and that no one could do it for me.4 Billy Graham was the subject of a CBS television feature some years ago. The program's producers had followed Graham through several of his crusades, and one of the things they noticed and pointed out in the program was how time and again, Graham used this same sentence: "I'm going to ask you to ...

2012. God's Laughter

Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-7

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... be better if the lectionary had scheduled this reading for sometime in April instead of during the summer. That's because April is National Humor Month. This observance was started in 1976 by humorist Larry Wilde, author of 53 books on the subject of humor, and director of The Carmel Institute of Humor, whatever that is. According to Mr. Wilde's website, National Humor Month "is designed to heighten public awareness on how the joy and therapeutic value of laughter can improve health, boost morale, increase ...

2013. A Man of the Moment

Genesis 25:19-34

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... this matter of delayed gratification in behavioral terms, but you didn't come here this morning to get a lesson in human behavior or psychology, so why talk about delayed gratification in church? One reason is simply that this scripture reading itself brought the subject up. In Esau, it gives us a clear example of someone who lived so fully in the moment that he messed up his future. Another reason to think about this in church is that for spirituality and Christianity itself to have their full effect ...

2014. A Disconcerting Sight

1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... in a way that has always eluded much of the Christian church. The image was meant to be humbling. As great as modern medicine is, we know that doctors do not heal, they merely facilitate the healing process. Similarly, even the most efficient high-tech farms are subject to the forces of nature. So any of us who in any way strive to advance the cause of Christ cannot "convert" or "grow" another person in the faith. We can do our work of planting, like Paul, or watering, as did Apollos, but ultimately the ...

2015. For Example

Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

Sermon

David O. Bales

If you're going to study a subject or learn a profession, a good strategy is to investigate one of the earliest theoreticians or practitioners. If you study physics, you might start with Albert Einstein. There were others, but he's a good beginning. If you're interested in drama, you could turn to William Shakespeare. Other playwrights ...

2016. So, Explain It to Me

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... Father, and so on. Augustine looked at the world around him and saw examples of the Trinity everywhere. One well-known example went like this: love. Even Jesus said that we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We say, "I love myself." "I" is the subject of love, the lover. "Myself" is the object of love, the beloved. And "love" is the action of the lover for the beloved. It is all one activity with three distinct parts: the lover, the beloved, and love. Such are the ways we often try to explain ...

2017. A Truly Universal Operating System

Romans 14:1-12

Sermon

Larry Lange

... in a global economy that universally demanded some form of idol worship (Romans 8:31-39). In chapter 13, Billius was somewhat surprised at the sort of positive spin the apostle Paul put on the emperor when he advised Christians to "be subject to the governing authorities," because "the authorities that exist have been instituted by God!" (Romans 13:1). Billius knew there were Christians who held far less flattering views about the emperor. Finally, right from the very first verses of the chapter, it ...

2018. Mentoring Matters

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... by artist Grant Wood. It's a Depression Era scene in rural Iowa portraying a stern-looking farmer holding a pitchfork and standing beside his morose, unmarried daughter. The painting has become a part of American popular culture, and the couple has been the subject of endless satirical depictions. They are not happy campers by any stretch of the imagination.1 Those of us who have photographs of our ancestors have surely noticed that not a one of them ever cracks a smile for the camera. Saying "cheese" must ...

2019. What about the Children?

Luke 14:25-33

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

... done. A preacher once re-counted Fuller's story but was later approached by someone who asked, "How old were Fuller's children when he quit his job like that?" It took this preacher a minute to appreciate what lay behind this query: how dare Fuller uproot his kids and subject them to a less lavish lifestyle just so that he could serve God?! That is just the way lots of people think these days.

2020. Remember: Live Worthy of the Calling

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... , a pig-keeper. Jesus talked a lot about stewards and stewardship. Fortunately, the Hebrew word for steward had nothing to do with pig farming (which, after all, just isn't kosher). Never the less, stewardship of money was a very important topic to Jesus. The only subject he talked about more is the Kingdom of God. (6) How we spend our money, what we do with our money has Kingdom consequences. Because what we have, isn't really ours. All we have belongs to God. We are simply Stewards, no matter which word ...

2021. Blast From The Past

John 17:1-19

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... the ground. God wants each of us to score a touchdown. In praying for us at the Last Super, Jesus lifted us all to a higher purpose. He doesn't want us to simply drop a knee to the ground, remember that's the work of a servant and a subject. Last week we learned that He no longer calls us servants. Now He calls us "FRIEND" And as a friend of Jesus, Jesus has a higher purpose for each of us. Jesus wants us to feel that Blast From The Past. He wants us to remember that we've been ...

2022. Can You Be Popular and Serve Jesus?

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... The dummies all report what they heard before they get to me. By being last, I can just let them figure it out and report whatever they say since they seem to know.” You doubtless already know what he should have known. There were not twelve subjects in the experiment; there was only one. And the good professor was it. The others were involved in the experiment and were told to invent numbers that were progressively off the mark. They were waiting to see just how ridiculous their answers would have to be ...

2023. Didn’t You Hear the Bells?

Luke 19:1-10

Illustration

Keith Wagner

... to the blind man, "What a pity that you couldn't see the chapel. It really is so lovely. And such a pretty garden." She later repeated this to some mutual friends at the reception. The blind man just shrugged his shoulders each time and changed the subject. He thought to himself, "didn't she hear the bells?" For him, the bells that had rung before and after the ceremony had been magnificent. He was astonished at their tones and the patterns that they made. For him they had created an atmosphere of joy and ...

2024. Tradition Must Leave Room for Revelation

Luke 20:27-38; 2 Thessalonians 2:15

Illustration

Johnny Dean

... is alive lives on the edge of heresy," meaning that its members won't refuse new ideas or new programs or new challenges simply because there are those in the church who say, "WE NEVER DID IT THAT WAY BEFORE!" and want these to be the final words on the subject matter. These have been called "the seven last words of the church," and in many cases they have been.

2025. Good News about Hair

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

King Duncan

Today we’re going to talk about hair. That’s a universal subject, isn’t? All of us have hair well at least most of us. A balding man once asked his barber, “Why do you charge me full price for cutting my hair? There’s so little of it.” “Actually I don’t charge you that much,” said the barber. “But I ...

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