Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2151 to 2175 of 2561 results

2151. Opening the Door to Jesus

Matt 25:40; Rev 3:20

Illustration

Jimmy Carter

Is there any parallel between the experience of the followers on the road to Emmaus and our lives? Yes, there are times when each of us fails to recognize the presence of Christ or the Holy Spirit. Remember that the Scriptures promise us that Christ is with us—at least potentially—not just as an occasional, miraculous event but at all times. In Revelation 3:20, he tells us, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If any-one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with ...

2152. A Haven for Troubled Hearts - Sermon Starter

John 14:1-4

Illustration

Brett Blair

Eric Clapton, arguably the greatest living rock guitarist, wrote a heart wrenching song about the death of his four year old son (March 20, 1991). He fell from a 53rd-story window. Clapton took nine months off and when he returned his music had changed. The hardship had made his music softer, more powerful, and more reflective. You have perhaps heard the song he wrote about his son's death. It is a song of hope: Would you know my name if I saw you in heaven? Would it be the same if I saw you in heaven? I ...

2153. My Mother Taught Me…

2 Timothy 1:5

Illustration

My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE. "If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning." My mother taught me RELIGION. "You better pray that will come out of the carpet." My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL. "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!" My mother taught me LOGIC. "Because I said so, that's why." My mother taught me MORE LOGIC. "If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store ...

2154. A Cup of Cold water

Matthew 10:40-42

Illustration

Larry Klaarn

You may have heard the story, a very old story, behind the Wall Drug Store in Wall, South Dakota. The owners, Ted and Dorothy were having trouble keeping the store afloat. Five years earlier they had moved from another state to buy the store, and now it was going under. That was not unusual in 1936. One day Ted said to Dorothy, what could we do to get some people to stop here and buy something? The only thing Dorothy thought of was to give them a cup of ice-cold water. That might be a nice treat in the ...

2155. The Scarlet Letter

Exodus 20:14

Sermon

James Merritt

Probably the mother of all misprints in any book, came in the misprint of a Bible. In 1631 someone discovered a word that was missing in a newly published version of the Bible, called The King James Version. The missing word was "not" in the seventh commandment which then made the Authorized Version to read, "Thou shalt commit adultery." From then on, this 1631 addition of the Bible became known as the "Wicked Bible."[1] Well, this seems to be the Bible the world is wanting to read today. Without question ...

2156. The Surety of Security

Jude 1:1-2

Sermon

James Merritt

The summer after I graduated from high school, I worked in a carpet factory. I met a very interesting man who, at one time, was a professional boxer. We got to talking about boxing and he said, "Do you know the two biggest mistakes boxers make?" I said, "No, what?" He said, "Number one: telegraphing their punches; and number two: failing to keep their guard up." The theme of the book of Jude is "Keeping Your Guard Up." This is the third smallest book in the New Testament, but it illustrates the truth that ...

2157. Courage Under Fire

Jude 1:22-23

Sermon

James Merritt

As you know, the Louvre is one of the most famous art museums in all of Europe. They once ran a contest in a newspaper, providing a prize to the person that gave the best answer to this question: "If a fire broke out in the Louvre, and you could save only one painting, which one would it be?" Well, Tristan Bernard, a French novelist, won the prize with this reply: "I would save the one nearest the exit."1 That is not quite the type of courage I want to speak about today. I am speaking about the courage we ...

2158. Once Save - Always Saved

John 10:27-29

Sermon

James Merritt

There was a man who lived in a small southern town, and after twenty years of shaving himself every morning, he decided he had had enough. He told his wife he wanted to go down to the local barber, just for once, and get shaved himself. When he put on his hat and coat, went to the barbershop, which was owned by the pastor of the Baptist church, the barber's wife, whose name was Grace, was working, so she is the one that shaved him. After she shaved him she said, "That will be $20." Well, he thought the ...

2159. Till Death Do Us Part

Matthew 19:1-9

Sermon

James Merritt

I am going to deal with one of the most delicate, difficult, and debated topics in all the Bible divorce. There was a time in America when divorce was "safe, legal, and rare." Today, it's anything but rare. The exception has become the rule. It was recently said: "Couples are married today for better or for worse, but not for long." Almost three decades ago in 1970, Alvin Toffler, in his best-selling, Future Shock, made this prediction: Instead of wedding "until death do us part," couples will enter ...

2160. My God Is Real

Psalm 14:1-7

Sermon

James Merritt

Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the prince of preachers, a master theologian, one of the greatest pastors in the history of the church, once said: The proper study of the Christian is the Godhead. The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy which can ever engage the attention of a child of God is the name, the nature, the person, the work, the doings, and the existence of the great God whom he calls his Father.1 From time immemorial the human race has been filled with questions about ...

2161. How to Handle the Mess of Stress

Exodus 18:23-27

Sermon

James Merritt

One of the most famous psalms in all of the Bible, and one of the most well known passages, is the 23rd Psalm. It is a psalm that has given rest, refreshment, and even revival to untold numbers of people. But someone has written another version of this psalm that I believe is a great reflection of the day and age in which we live. The clock is my dictator, I shall not rest. It makes me lie down only when exhausted. It leads me to deep depression. It hounds my soul. It leads me in circles of frenzy for ...

2162. When the Pressure Is On

John 6:1-14

Sermon

James Merritt

Is there anybody here under pressure? Do you ever feel like you live in a pressure cooker? Did you know that it takes longer to cook food at high altitudes, because at high altitudes the air pressure is much lower than in the lower plains? Because of that the boiling point of water is lower, and therefore it takes much longer to cook food. But in a pressure cooker high pressures are built up within the vessel, which raises the boiling point of water, and food can be cooked within minutes. In fact, the ...

2163. Murder in the First Degree

Matthew 5: 21-26

Sermon

James Merritt

We are in the middle of a series of messages I've entitled "The Only Way to Live." It is based on the greatest sermon ever preached in history – the Sermon on the Mount. Up to this point in the sermon, Jesus has been very general in his comments but now he gets very specific. He addresses six critical areas where what goes on in the inside of a person is far more important than what occurs on the outside of a person. He is going to be dealing with murder, adultery, divorce, honesty, revenge, and loving ...

2164. The Near Edge of God

Jn 1:1-3, 14

Sermon

When I was three years old, I used to think that the true measure of things was how big they were in comparison to how big I was. There were Billy-sized things. And there were bigger things. But when I was three, almost everything fell into the category of "bigger things." Most everything was huge when I was small, but seems to have shrunk, now that I have become huge. Whenever I go back to the house in which I previously lived ... the school in which I previously studied ... the fields in which I ...

2165. The True Olympians

Romans 12:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

What image are you going to take away from the Beijing 2008 Olympics? Is it Michael Phelps with his history-breaking breastplate of gold medals draped across his chest? Is it the first-ever gold/silver finish in women’s gymnastics? Is it the pictures of athletes who, unlike me and you with our bellies and bulges and barnacles, represent the peak of human perfectibility? Is it being part of the largest electronic crowd ever watching a sporting event, the USA vs. China basketball game? Is it the snapshots of ...

2166. Why Is Life So Unfair?

Romans 8:28-39

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Sunday a week ago, the newspaper headline was just sickening. We saw the picture of State Trooper Calvin Jenks, age 24, whose body had been found beside his cruiser in rural Tipton County. Two suspected drug dealers have been arrested and charged with his murder. Calvin moved to the Memphis area last July to be near his fiancé, a student at the UT Medical School. They married in September and absolutely adored each other. After just three months of married life, Calvin was gunned down by criminals. (1) ...

2167. A Purse and Two Swords

Luke 22:35-38

Sermon

Let me begin with a couple who both appreciated the finer things in life and were comfortably able to afford them. When it came to travel, they went by the best means to the best places. That is, until their plane went down….suddenly….dramatically…..into the choppy waters of the sea. But the emergency exits opened (as engineered) and the inflatable slides were positioned (as instructed), meaning that virtually all were evacuated (as scripted). There they were, crammed into lifeboats, with barely room to ...

2168. Joseph: Don't Bury Me Here

Genesis 50:22-26; Exodus 13:19-22; Joshua 24:32

Sermon

John E. Harnish

So Abraham and Sarah sojourned in the land of promise. They lived in tents, looking for a city. And when, as God had promised, a son was born, they named him Isaac. Isaac produced sons...twins in fact, Esau and Jacob, whose name actually means "heel-grabber" because he was born hanging onto his brother's heel. As a second-born twin, I am not sure it's a compliment to be compared to Jacob, but I do tend to identify with this story. And if you ever want to read a tale of classic sibling rivalry, take a look ...

2169. A Peculiar People

1 Peter 2:1-10

Sermon

John E. Harnish

Last week we looked at one image of the church, that of a circle of grace—God seeking, claiming and sustaining us. Today, another image, taken from St. Peter's letter to the early Christians of what is now Turkey, Asia Minor—a "peculiar people." A dictionary definition of "peculiar" says: "Out of the ordinary, strange, odd, unusual." You might say "just plain weird." I preached a sermon by that title in Ann Arbor in the fall. Little did I know that we had visitors from Birmingham, and I suppose I will ...

2170. Making Disciples

2 Corinthians 3:1-6

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

The fruit or lack of it in our ministries is ever before us. The truth is seen among both clergy and laity. Over a period of time it is there for others to observe and most likely evaluate. Actually, generations and centuries speak to what we have done or not done for Christ and his body, the church — visible and invisible. Paul is inspirationally confident in the product he has labored to bring about. His work evidences a writing on their hearts, not written in ink but with the Spirit of the Living God. ...

2171. Proclaiming Jesus Christ

2 Corinthians 4:3-6

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

It is not easy to promote someone else. Human nature rises up against it. If we believe in our self-worth and capabilities, why should we try to sell someone else? Yes, and why should we seek to gain acceptance of a religious leader, who will eventually cause us trouble. For example, Jesus for some was not only an irritant; he was an anathema as well. As usual, Saint Paul is not much interested in whether you like or accept him as a person. His driving mission is to proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord. He and ...

2172. Birthpangs of the New Age

Romans 8:22-23

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

2173. God’s Wisdom or the World?

James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Once upon a time there was an old man who lived on the outskirts of town. He had lived there so long that no one knew who he was or where he had come from. Some thought that he had been a very powerful king, but that was many years ago. Others suggested that he was once famous, rich, and generous, but he had lost everything. Still others said that he was once very wise and influential. There were even some who said he was holy. The children in the town, however, thought he was an old and stupid man and ...

2174. In Solidarity with Jesus

Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-18

Sermon

Richard Gribble

"Rags, rags! Give me your tired, dirty, and old rag and I will give you a new, clean, and fresh one. Rags, rags." That was the cry to which I awoke one bright sunny Friday morning. I sprang from my bed and peered out my second-story apartment window. There he was, the ragman of our town. He was 6'4" if he was an inch, youthful in appearance and strong of build. I had heard so much about him but never actually seen him. I threw on some clothes, bounded down the stairs and out the front door of my apartment ...

2175. Christ’s Twin

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

I want to begin by stating categorically that Christ did not have a twin brother, in case you were misled by today’s sermon title. There are so many people around who are conspiracy theory buffs that you can’t be too careful. I can see the author of The Da Vinci Code weaving a complete novel out of the idea that Jesus secretly had a twin. So let me state categorically that Jesus did not have a twin. However, today’s lesson from Philippians provokes an interesting question. If Christ had a twin what would ...

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