Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2176 to 2200 of 4681 results

2176. A Personal God in an Impersonal World

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... Jesus taught us to place on every human life. He taught us that every person has a name. Everybody is a somebody. Dear friends who have experienced an abortion, I do not mean to pain you further. I hope that through repentance and forgiveness, you no longer bear that guilt. My purpose is to prevent such tragedies in the future. Some time ago an economic index used by the federal government for health planning put the value of a 34-year-old white man at $328,000. In contrast, an 85-year-old black woman ...

2177. Even The Bosses Wash Feet!

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... our desires and preferences dominate our lifestyles. Maybe that's why we cringe when we read about the rich young ruler who encountered Jesus. He was told by Jesus, "Go sell what you have, give to the poor, and come and follow me." The young man could not bear to part with his comfortable lifestyle, so he went away sorrowful. We Christians identify with that rich young ruler. We want to say to Jesus, "Can't we live like him during the week and get with you on weekends? We like his lifestyle but your long ...

2178. At The Manger By Invitation

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... to the shepherds was this: "For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:11) Matthew tells us that when father Joseph was visited by an angel, he was given this message concerning Mary: "...she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." Jesus has lots of titles: wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, prince of peace. But his first and foremost title is Savior. His first purpose was to save us ...

2179. A Risky Lifestyle

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... The master does not dispute that description of himself. The master represents God who is "hard" in this sense: God holds his servants accountable to high standards. God expects all of us to be faithful and fruitful. Jesus said, "This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." (John 15:8) If one can feel sorry for a tree, I sometimes feel for a certain fig tree in Jerusalem which Jesus and his disciples passed one day. No figs were on the tree for it was not ...

2180. Aiming at Perfection

Philippians 3:4b-14

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... when they are truly frustrated. My bird-feeder is so perfectly useful that it renders squirrels mentally unstable. Only the useful things and people do well. If you look closely at most people who are discouraged and defeated, you will find that they are failing to bear any real fruit. Remember the one-talent man Jesus talked about. He was not condemned for anything he did wrong; Jesus was bothered because of what he should have done that he did not. Instead of using that one talent, he buried it. How could ...

2181. Overcoming Fear

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... you with a practical strategy for coping with fear. The first thing I need to say is that reasonable or normal fear is a good thing, a gift from God. Otherwise, when I'm visiting the zoo I might be tempted to crawl over the fence and pet the polar bear on the head. Fear holds me back. Most of us busy people might break the speeding laws more frequently if we didn't fear the man with the revolving blue light. Every April when we file our tax returns, our basic honesty gets a powerful assist from our fear of ...

2182. Only One Superpower

1 Chronicles 29:1-9

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

America is on a roll following her 221st birthday! She is the only national superpower. Though the Middle East is always fragile and Saddam Hussein bears watching, no war clouds can be seen on the horizon. The soaring stock market sets a new record every week or so, while inflation and unemployment remain low. New millionaires are being created at a breath-taking rate; one can only hope that some of them are Methodist tithers. Some ...

2183. Humankind: The Climax of Creation

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... Lee Trevino: "Lee's family comes first with him, but everybody else, whether it's a corporate CEO or the locker room attendant, is tied for second." Do you suppose Lee Trevino senses that each person has a flicker of divinity in him or her? Every person bears God's image. Even that condemned killer on death row, even that crack addict, even that Ku Klux Klan racist, even that Iranian terrorist... No wonder Jesus said, "Inasmuch as you did it unto one of the least of these, my brothers and sisters, You did ...

2184. Mary's Revolutionary Song

Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... the obscure village of Nazareth in what is now northern Israel. The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced that she had been chosen to be the mother of the long-awaited Messiah. Gabriel told Mary that her aunt Elizabeth, well past the child-bearing age, had become pregnant. Immediately Mary went to visit Elizabeth. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, both women sensed that God has chosen them for special tasks and would do great things through their children. Mary was then given by the Holy Spirit ...

2185. The Wolf and the Lamb Inside Us

Isaiah 11:1-16

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... nearest to us know we haven't forgotten their failures; maybe forgiven, but not forgotten. There is a cobra within us that lies in wait for people who are different from us, so that we can catch them fulfilling our prejudices about them. There is a bear within us that gives other people only once chance to disappoint us; and if they do, we reject them forever. An Army staff sergeant from McComb, Mississippi was the third soldier at Aberdeen proving Ground to be convicted in a sex scandal. In his plea for ...

2186. Our Scheduled Appointments with God

Hebrews 10:19-39

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... of bats live in our bell tower. We had the place fumigated but they wouldn't go away." The third pastor said, "We solved that problem. We baptized all our bats and made them members of the church...Haven't seen one back since." That facetious story bears testimony to the drift, the tendency of Christians to play into the hands of the devil, by staying off their knees, out of their Bibles, and out of church. It can happen so gradually and so innocently. A couple miss church for several months because they ...

2187. The Mission of Christ Church

Nehemiah 6:1-14

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... passed along to me a cartoon showing a preacher with a scowl on his face addressing his Sunday night congregation. He says, "I trust your hearts are keenly focused on what the Lord has to say to us this evening, and not on the Lions' stinking loss to the Bears this afternoon on that lousy holding penalty call by the refs with 1:15 to go in the game." Now, that was a distracted preacher! The evil one is not happy that Christ Church is having a major influence for Christ in this county. The evil one would ...

2188. A Time to Dance

Psalm 30:1-12

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... him to dance and then would break in on each other. Some of the other elders at the church did not share Grandfather's enthusiasm for those dances. They began to criticize him. Word got back to Grandfather. He went to the next elders' meeting loaded for bear. He said, "I understand that some of you don't like the little Saturday night dances at my house. Well, let me tell you something. I would rather have teenagers in my living room having good clean fun than off running around unsupervised. Now if you ...

2189. Never Underestimate The Power of a Cup of Cold Water

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Brett Blair

... built a tiny hut. He came there from time to time to fast and pray. No one ever spoke with him, but whenever he appeared, the word would be passed from monk to monk: "The rabbi walks in the woods.” One day the abbot decided to visit the rabbi and bear his heart to him. As he approached the hut, the abbot saw the rabbi standing in the doorway, his arms outstretched in welcome. It was as though he had been waiting there for some time. The two embraced. As he entered the hut, he saw in the middle of the ...

2190. Someone At the Door

Revelation 3:14-22

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... statue. Michelangelo was not the first artist to work on this block of marble. The Italian sculptor Agostino d’Antonio worked diligently on it but gave up, claiming that this marble was of inferior quality. But when the masterful vision and skill of Michelangelo came to bear on it, that block of marble became David. Could it be that you and I are like that block of marble? Perhaps we have tried to make something of ourselves, but without much success. But now we are invited to place ourselves in the hands ...

2191. Friction Points

John 17:6-19

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... waiting until the facts come in. What bothers me is the contention by Charles Grodin and other talk show hosts that even if the president is guilty as charged, it does not matter. Some Americans believe that whether a politician cheats on his wife should have no bearing on his fitness for public office. They say, "As long as the stock market is up and inflation down, who cares what he does in his personal life? After all, he lives under a lot of pressure." That might be okay if God were not righteous and ...

2192. Fear

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

Brett Blair

... Red Sea and could see Pharaoh’s chariots coming on the horizon, they cried out that they would all be slaughtered. Moses said to them: Stand still, fear not, and see the salvation of the Lord. When the angel of the Lord came to Mary and said that she would bear a child, she trembled with fear. What would become of her? Said the angel: Fear not Mary, for you have found favor with God. I First, I would say to you that we must confront our fears. We pay a price when we don’t deal with our fears. I ...

2193. Forgiveness

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Burton F. Blair

... George Romney ever painted." Can you imagine that? After 38 years of absence, she received him back home without a question. She did not ask where he had been or what he had been doing. She said nothing about the hardships his leaving left her to bear alone. No, she simply, with open arms, welcomed him back home. The Bible says this is the meaning of God’s forgiveness. God forgives us just like that. God’s forgiveness is unconditional. There are no questions asked. God does not ask us why. This world ...

2194. Surrender

Luke 23:44-49

Sermon

Burton F. Blair

... this kind of committed living in us which God will honor with resurrection. Helen Hayes left us with some great theatrical memories. During her life, she never forgot the pain she felt when her 19-year-old daughter died of polio. She wondered how she would bear the loss. At first, she found comfort in the fact that many others had experienced similar losses and had lived through them. But, then, as she got in touch with her true faith, she realized that something else had caused her to survive. "I believed ...

2195. Great Is Your Faith

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Brett Blair

... three intimidating factors that could have made her give up. First there was the silence of Jesus. The scriptures tell us that to her cry of help and outstretched hand Jesus replied not a word: how unlike him. How uncharacteristic. There is no reaction harder to bear than silence. A flat “No” at east acknowledges your presence and tells you where you stand. But when there is silence you don't know what the person is thinking or even if they have acknowledged you. There is no sterner test of faith than ...

2196. The Voices Of Christmas

Drama

Jerry Nordstrom

... Duxbury Drive? - Well, anyway, Sally said that - Sally Harrison. She said she thought you might be free to baby-sit Monday night. - Yes, the 24th. - Yes, I know that’s Christmas Eve! - Well! A very merry Christmas to you, too! What a ... CHILD: And I want a panda bear big enough to sit on. CORPORATION MAN: Trouble is kids have too much money these days. Offer ‘em a chance to earn a little money and they’re insulted! SPORTSMAN: I wonder about a pair of gloves for Mom. I don’t mean ski gloves; I mean ...

2197. The Passover and the Passion

Drama

Denny C. Wise

... and said, "Judas, is it with a kiss that you betray the Son of Man?" then I knew what an unspeakable thing I had done. So I tried to give the blood money back, but it was too late. The deed was done, and I must bear that guilt throughout eternity. Lord God Almighty, have mercy on my soul. Choir: "Psalm 51" (1st verse or Agnus Dei) Mary Magdalene: (Extinguishes one candle) Narrator: Then, Jesus lifted high the platter with the unleavened bread and gave the traditional invitation. Jesus: Behold the matza, the ...

2198. God’s Chosen Country

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Susan Hedahl

... we extend such gifts to others? Indeed, we will never lack opportunities to give them away - to people in our community, those in our church. Perhaps there is a family member standing in need of receiving the gifts of the Christ Child, who asks us to bear them. For our sense of expectation for the Lord must be fostered in the crucible of our relationships with one another. "Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of person ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for ...

2199. The Birthplace Of Humanity

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

Susan Hedahl

... of the soul’s birth. Congregational Activities: 1. Creche scenes from different countries can be set up in the display center. 2. To highlight the house of bread theme, the congregation can be invited to bring samples of their favorite breads to a coffee hour, each plate bearing a brief description of the bread. Recipes can be made available. If communion is celebrated, a special Near Eastern bread can be used. 3. Pictures of present-day Bethlehem, as well as any artifacts from there, can be displayed.

2200. Finding Fault

Psalm 1:1-6

Illustration

Hugh Drennan

... great reward. When one seeks to serve, not for personal glory or power but just to serve, you are caught up in something greater than self. At those times we are partners with God, God’s agents and stewards here on earth. And in knowing that we are blessed and bear fruit.

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