Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2101 to 2125 of 3160 results

2101. Monday: The Way Of The Cross: Figs & Fig Trees

Matthew 21:18-22

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... in Israel and they grew so many places that wild fig trees grew alongside the roads all over the place. Not only that, but if someone had an orchard, according to the law, travelers were allowed to pick figs from any trees that lined the road. They were sort of the Road Food of the day. The prophets used the fig to picture blessing, especially the blessings of the Kingdom of God. According to Micah 4:4, sitting in the shade of a fig tree is a sign of prosperity and peace. "Each of them will sit under ...

2102. Thursday: Broken Bread And Broken Trust

Mark 14:10-26

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... . We light a black candle for him. Their presence lit up the table just as Christ did. I. The Meal (Seder Plate, Elijah Cup, Bread, Matzah Tosh) A. That meal was and is the most important meal of the Jewish faith. It was an Independence Day of sorts, an Independence Day combined with family tradition, laughter and a depth of seriousness that rivals any other faith. It was a night whose roots went all the way back to the time of Moses. The words were sacred tradition. On that night, Jesus took bread and wine ...

2103. Easter: Seeing Is Believing

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... Cameron thinks, Jesus was raised from the dead. And later He ascended into heaven. What we need to ask is what does the Resurrection mean for us and for our faith. I. The Resurrection Is An Act Of Grace A. First, the resurrection is an act of grace. It's sort of like a story I read in another sermon about a man who was seen running toward a large river. Just as he reached the dock he increased his speed and when he came to the end he jumped and threw himself as high and as far as he could ...

2104. That's All I Want

Psalm 23:1

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... to "love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and love our neighbor as ourselves" and John 3:16. These are some of the core beliefs of our faith but because they are so familiar, we've let them lose their meaning in our lives. It's sort of like when you move to a new community. The first thing you do is start learning street names and addresses. You get confused when you ask someone for directions and they say something like, "Well, you take the Godley highway past Sandy Hammon's place and on out ...

2105. Followed By Mercy

Psalm 23:6

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... .' I don't know who Good Mrs. Murphy is, but if she's gong to follow me everywhere I go, then I'm not going back." A lot of us are just like that little boy. We don't quite get this part of the passage. We think it implies sort of a big brother relationship. Maybe we need to ask ourselves what it is that's following us. Are we being followed by the goodness and mercy of God. Or are we being chased and haunted by our past. There is a big difference you know. God's goodness and ...

2106. Rahab: Seven Minutes To Midnight

Joshua 6:15-25

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... 't expected to live. He was born tiny and had an abnormally small heart. They expected him to die in the first 24 hours. But here he is 12 years old. Of course, he's the target of tons of childhood prank because of his miniature size and his odd sort of cracked voice. He's a disappointment and embarrassment to his parents. Yet despite all of the negatives, he still has a deep faith and believes is going to use him. He best friend Joe doesn't believe in God and doubts God has a plan for him. But he ...

2107. A Chance To Help

John 6:1-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... God could never forgive them. Their actions are just too horrible for God to ever forgive. Those ideas have become Obstacles in their lives and faith. B. Andrew Saw The Possibilities. That's the way he was wired. He was always looking at the possibilities. He's sort of like the old German schoolmaster who, when he entered his class of boys in the morning, used to remove his cap and bow ceremoniously to them. One of the students asked him why he did this. His answer was: "You never know what one of these ...

2108. A Chance To Dance

Luke 5:17-25

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... helps light the candle under our pot so we can Dance. II. Don't Dance Too Close To The Edge A. We have to learn the right steps but then we have to remember not to dance too close to the edge. What do I mean by that? Well, it sort of ties into the first one. You see, we have a tendency to lose focus or lose interest real quick. Do you remember the scene in It's A Wonderful Life where George Bailey is at the dance with his brother and meets Mary, who is now all grown up ...

2109. A Chance To See

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... ..." (2) Some people are afraid to Open Their Eyes. And some just keep their eyes closed no matter what. B. Sometimes we don't Open Our Eyes because we're afraid we'll be disappointed in what we see. That it won't live up to our memories or expectations. Sort of like trying to recapture a childhood memory. Most of the time the reality is never as good as the memory. For example. One of my favorite meals as a teenager was to cook a cup of macaroni noodles. While they were cooking I'd sauté lots of onions. I ...

2110. The Character Of Christmas; Mary: Faith Filled

Luke 1:39-56

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... was showing her preschool sister a picture of Mary and the baby Jesus. The younger girl examined the picture closely and then she asked, "Where's Joseph?" The older sister thought for a moment and then replied, "He's taking the picture." (1) This is sort of the season for questions isn't it? Especially questions about the Christmas Story. There are so many elements that are just barely touched on. We get the smallest glimpse of what they really were. Yet we read them with the familiarity of our favorite ...

2111. The Character of Christmas; Wise Men: Seeking

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... ? Why were they there? Those are the questions preachers have pondered for years. The Scholars don't really know. There's a lot of speculation and that's why the title for these characters always seem to get translated differently. The various titles, at least in part, sort of defines what that translation assumes about these visitors. Let's look at the passage from Matthew 2:1-12 in the NRSV: [1] In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem ...

2112. Gratitude Not Platitudes

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... players aren't supposed to wear anything other than NFL approved gear. Kitna was more than willing to pay the fine but the NFL later suspended it. Bengal fans didn't like the fine very much and began wearing cross hats like Kitna's at home games in a sort of solidarity kind of protest. Standing up for the cross isn't new for Jon Kitna. In an interview in a local paper Kitna was asked what he was most thankful for. He replied, "The first thing is that whenever I breathe my last breath, the next moment I ...

2113. Generous Hearts

1 Timothy 6:11-19

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... of gas. Mr. Dick knew that even $2.00 was stretching her budget out of shape. And he always put in $5.00 worth of gas and only asked for the $2.00. I know because I caught him doing it one day. F. Mr. Dick was generous and he sort of kept watch of those of us who tried to help others. I'll never forget the day I went up to settle for some of the gas vouchers. By my figures we owed $20. But Mr. Dick said we only owed $19. He said one guy came in with ...

2114. Overcoming Obstacles - Together

Luke 2:1-7, Psalm 107:1-9

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... are two primary reasons for marital conflict: husbands and wives. (3) All month long we've been look at "The INS and OUTS of Families." We've looked at one of the IN families, Abraham and Sarah. And we’ve looked at a couple of the families who were sort of on the OUTS with God. Even though God was faithful to God's promise, we saw the dysfunction in the family of Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob and Esau. That was followed by the conniving, deceitfulness of Ananias and Sapphira. Today I want us to look at what might ...

2115. Changing Dysfunction Into Function: Isaac, Jacob and Esau

Genesis 27:15-24, 30-34

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... in our relationship with Christ that we discover trust, intimacy, love, mercy, grace and forgiveness. These in turn allow us to build trusting intimate relationships. III. Value System A. As we look back at Isaacs relationship with his wife and sons, we see sort of a skewed value system. One which seems to espouse Godly values but really values power more. One which seems to value trickery and deception instead of faithfulness and trust. From a Christian perspective, we're called to have a Christian value ...

2116. Five Smooth Stones

1 Samuel 17:1, 4-11, 21-24, 32-50

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... 's hand. In Isaiah 49:16 God says, "See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands...." Some folks have a hard time comprehending that God knows each and every one of us by name. Or that God desires a personal relationship with each of us. These folks sort of view life like a giant Ant Farm. Remember those? We're the ants and God is the owner. We go about our business and God just sits back and watches. Every now and then God might throw a treat or a morsel our way, just because. Or God could ...

2117. What's In A Name?

John 15:9-17

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... their spouse as their best friends. And I think that's sad. Another reason I include Mary in this list is because she is the one who introduced me to my very best friend of all time and for all time. She really didn't introduce me in the normal sort of social way, you know, "Billy, I'd like you to meet...." No Mary did it subtly by her lifestyle and her practices. She introduced me to a relationship that I discovered I wanted, desired, needed for myself. One I've discovered I can't live without. Listen to ...

2118. Faithquest: Directions For The Journey Of Life

1 John 3:16-24

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... didn't think too much of it at the time. He figured the man would probably bring over a bag or two of canned goods. But he was rather surprised, when, one day, a semi trailer drove up to deliver a full load of canned goods! The man had some sort of connection with General Foods, which he had approached to make this generous donation. That's the act of love in truth and action. And that's the effect Love has on those around. (3) Ken Gire in his book Windows of the Soul writes: "We reach for God in ...

2119. Cross Eyed: Focus

Mark 1:9-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... Something On. I. Giving Something Up A. Self Denial is an important Christian concept, it allows to walk the same path Jesus walked. It allows us to feel some of what Jesus felt when He gave up everything for our sake. Over the ages people have given up all sorts of things like meat, to sweets, chocolate, cokes, going to the movies and those kinds of things. I know one guy who gave up giving things up for Lent. Not really the right spirit but you get the idea. The idea of Self Denial is the idea of making ...

2120. Blessed Are Those Who Hand Over Their Controllers

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... out of control, because they turned their lives, their trust, their futures, over to Jesus. And they followed him. Being “in control” has become an addiction, and not just for the Google generations. When was the last time you didn’t have some sort of “control” device in your hand or on your person. A remote. A cell phone. A Blackberry. A laptop. OnStar. Brinks. GPS. All are “controllers.” Our digital kids are great at being controllers. They are growing up being the Directors of All things ...

2121. Shelter From the Storm

Luke 13:31-35

Illustration

Richard J. Fairchild

In Mission, British Columbia, a fellow by the name of Ike tells the story about his Grandpa's hen house which burned to the ground one day. Ike arrived just in time to help put out the last of the fire. As he and his grandfather sorted through the wreckage, they came upon one hen lying dead near what had been the door of the hen house. Her top feathers were singed brown by the fire's heat, her neck limp. Ike bent down to pick up the dead hen. As he did the hen's four ...

2122. Discover the Perfect Gift of Christmas

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... urge to hold a child or something else. No one really knows. But we do know that this man, breathed a sigh of relief when the real mother was found. After all, what was he going to do with a baby? In a way, we're all in the same sort of situation as this young man. Every Christmas God Himself walks up to us and asks, "Would you hold my baby for me, please?" And then thrusts the Christ Child into our arms. (3) And we're left with the question, "What are we going to do with this baby ...

2123. Discover the Surprise of Christmas

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Like that Santa, some of us have been desperately trying to grasp the allusive feeling of Christmas. The feelings we remember from younger days and simpler days. Like that Santa Ornament, determined to get those cookies, we go through all sorts of gyrations and antics trying to resurrect Christmases Past because in our memories they feel perfect and unencumbered. But the past is the past, and we're called to live in the present. But Christmas isn't really about the present (or the presents under the tree. ...

2124. The Gift of Comfort

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... have baptized you with water; but he [Jesus] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." No one had ever been offered that before. God was in the Temple or up in heaven. The general feeling was that while God was God, God didn't care enough about the everyday, ordinary sort of person or the things they were going through to be bothered. But John says, "You're wrong. And when Messiah comes, you'll see. Each and every one of you is as important to God as Moses or one of the Prophets. And Messiah, who we know was ...

2125. Jesus Saves, We're Called To Invest

Matthew 25:14-20

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... arm out of the water, withholding it from God so their killing wouldn't displease God. They pledged it, instead to Constantine. When we're baptized, whether it's through sprinkling, pouring or immersion, all of us is baptized. Not just a part of us. It's sort of like the old Willie Nelson song, "All Of Me, why not take all of me." When we accept Christ, when we're baptized, we surrender all to Christ. We can't withhold anything. That includes every aspect of our lives, including our wallets. And like the ...

Showing results