Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2251 to 2275 of 5000 results

2251. Jesus’ Prayer: The Pause in the Battle

John 17:1-11

Sermon

David O. Bales

In 1936, near the beginning of the Spanish Civil War one horrible center of fighting was the Alcázar fortress near Toledo. In the middle of horrific fighting, however, every day the firing stopped twice in order to allow a blind beggar to tap his way on the street between the firing lines. We can imagine how welcome those few minutes were to the men on both sides. They probably hoped that the blind man walked slower to give them a few more seconds of peace. Then the reprieve ended and the slaughter again ...

2252. Jesus Tempted In Us

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

David O. Bales

It’s good to be here with you. Ten days ago my wife and I were visiting our daughter and son-in-law in central Mexico. In Mexico City they took us to the National Palace in which hangs a painting of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. I’m intrigued by this painting. Hidalgo was leader in the Mexican war for independence from Spain; but, by the time people wanted a portrait of him, he was dead. Half a century later Joaquin Ramirez painted a picture of him but used his own brother’s face. The face of one’s brother as ...

2253. The Bridge at Sychar

John 4:1-26

Sermon

David O. Bales

A great deal of the Bible is quite understandable by itself. To grasp much of the Bible we don’t need tons of background, familiarity with ancient languages, or an advanced degree in archaeology. Then we approach other passages where we need the collective wisdom from the church’s scholars to open up the fuller meaning. We’re at such a place today. John chapter 4 speaks much louder of God’s grace when we review some background information. First, the history between the Jews and Samaritans was vicious, ...

2254. A Faith that Works

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Sermon

King Duncan

Someone visited an office and saw these signs hanging on the wall: “Work fascinates me,” said one, “I can sit and watch it for hours!” “I don’t mind going to work,” said another. “But that 8-hour wait to go home is awful!” “Hard work may not kill me,” another said, “but why take a chance?” People have all kinds of attitudes about their work. Actor Robert Benchley said, “Anyone can do any amount of work provided it isn’t the work he is supposed to be doing at that moment.” That one may hit close to home. An ...

2255. One For All

Romans 5:12-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The word “Catholic” comes from the Greek katholike, meaning “for all.” We all remember the great rallying cry of the French guards known as the “Musketeers”: “All for one, and one for all!” That loyalty tied the Musketeers together. The safety, the life, the fate, of each individual guardsman depended upon the actions of his fellow soldiers. “All for one, and one for all” wasn’t just a motto. It was a lifeline. In this week’s Romans text Paul reminds us that there are two sides to an “all for one” ...

2256. Waking the Giant

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

In 1811, Napoleon Bonaparte was at the height of his power as a military and political leader. On one occasion he called together all of his commanding officers. Their purpose was to review and assess his conquests. He stood before a huge map and pointed to spots marked on the map, highlighting his victories over fallen foes. There was one spot on the map, however, that caused him to pause and issue a solemn warning. “Here lies a sleeping giant,” said Napoleon. “Don’t awaken him. He will shake terribly the ...

2257. Breaking News: God and Government

Romans 13:1-7

Sermon

James Merritt

No matter what your politics might be, whether you are Democrat, Republican or Independent, by common consensus one of the wittiest and funniest presidents in human history was Ronald Reagan. I came across some of his famous one-liners the other day and I thought you would get a kick out of them. It is true hard work never killed anybody, but I figure why take the chance? I’m not worried about the deficit. It is big enough to take care of itself. I have left orders to be awakened at any time in case of a ...

2258. Ignite: Fire Extinguishers

Acts 15:1-21

Sermon

James Merritt

Five words and regardless of where you are on the political spectrum you would agree they became one of the most famous political slogans of any political candidate in the last 50 years, “Change We Can Believe In.” Regardless of what you think about the slogan or even the man, one thing we all can agree on is that change is difficult. The older you get the harder change is. There are a lot of people I know who are more comfortable with putting up with old problems than they are finding new solutions. They ...

2259. Look and Live

Isaiah 44:24--45:25

Sermon

James Merritt

Just outside Gatlinburg, Tennessee is a theme park called “Dollywood” that is owned by country music legend, Dolly Parton. Besides being a singer and a theme park owner, Parton is also an author. Her autobiography is entitled Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business. On the back of that book is this quote: “I am not a very religious person – although I grew up with a very religious background. ‘Let every man seek his own salvation’ is one of my favorite scriptures. . . .” Well, by all indications ...

2260. Lost Baggage: Flying Standby

Matthew 7:1-6

Sermon

James Merritt

Two young men walk into church. They both are the same age -22, same height, same weight, and same build. The first young man walks in with a crisply starched long-sleeved Polo shirt, freshly ironed slacks, clean-cut, fresh-shaven, and wearing shoes in the latest style. The second male walks in wearing a t-shirt, blue-jeans with more holes than pockets, flip-flops, tattoos on both arms, a nose-ring and orange hair. Immediately, if we are honest, most of us would look at the first male and think, “He needs ...

2261. Lost Baggage: The Middle Seat

1 Corinthians 5:1-13

Sermon

James Merritt

As a pastor, there are some phone calls that you never want to receive. The worst of all, I believe, are those revealing a significant sin of a church member or a staff member. In these cases, as a leader in the church, I want our members and staff to set a high example with their character, so failure in that area is especially difficult. You can remove a person from a position of leadership, but frankly, when people sin, and this will happen in even the most spiritually mature and positive environment, ...

2262. The Knot: Tied

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

James Merritt

There are two topics a pastor can talk about that are guaranteed to generate emails, letters, phone calls, discussion, and debate. Those topics are money and marriage. I knew that this series we are doing on marriage would generate a lot of interest, reveal a lot of anguish, and strike a lot of nerves. There is an old joke about marriage that goes like this: “Marriage is like a deck of cards. In the beginning all you need is two hearts and a diamond. At the end you wish you had a club and a spade!” ...

2263. For Those Who Are Auditing the Class

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

Pastor Tony Evans says his wife has for years audited classes at Dallas Seminary. Some of you know what that means. When you audit a class, you go and sit in the classroom, but there are no outside requirements. You don’t have to study. You don’t have to take any tests. You get the information but you don’t have the burden of actually passing the class. Tony Evans goes on to say, “Many Christians come to church on Sunday mornings and audit the sermon. They go to class, have textbook in hand, sit in their ...

2264. Leave Your Calculator Home

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

King Duncan

Only two things are inevitable, said a wise person long ago, death and taxes. The Eiffel Tower, someone has said, is the Empire State Building after taxes. Another wit asks if we have heard about the new tax payer’s wrist watch? It doesn’t actually tell the time. It just wrings its hands! A burglar, needing money to pay his income taxes, decided to burgle the safe in a store. On the safe door he was very pleased to find a note reading: “Please don’t use dynamite. The safe is not locked. Just turn the knob ...

2265. Changing Times

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

Advent reminds us of the flow of time. We are all bound by time. Time is our teacher, our boss, our constant companion. Time locks us into the march of life and forces us to wake up each morning in a place we’ve never been before, in a place we can never return to again. All our lives we struggle with time. When will we ever have enough time? When will I be old enough? When will time stop long enough for me to love you? One woman went through a great period of depression when her husband died. The grief ...

2266. An Announcement for a New Year

Galatians 3:26--4:7

Sermon

King Duncan

This is the last Sunday of 2014. Next Sunday is the year of our Lord 2015. My guess is that for some of us that hardly seems possible. Wasn’t it just yesterday when we were in a tizzy over Y2K and the beginning of a new millennium? On the other hand, it seems like a life-time ago. Besides, according to the ballyhooed Mayan calendar, the world should have ended December 21, 2012. [And according to Hal Lindsay and The Late, Great Planet Earth and numerous Left Behind books by Tim LaHaye, we should all have ...

2267. A Reminder to God...and to Us

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

Last April a 9-year-old African-American lad named Willie was kidnapped from his driveway in Atlanta, Georgia. After the man grabbed him, Willie explained later, and threw him in the back of his car, Willie just kept “praising God” with a song he learned in Sunday school. It was a song by Hezekiah Walker titled “Every Praise.” While he was singing, Willie said, his kidnapper yelled expletives at him. “He told me, shut up you [blankety-blank] boy,” said Willie. Willie, however, kept singing until his ...

2268. Why He Did It

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

King Duncan

How do you react when you anticipate that something negative is going to happen to you? Do you get nervous, do your palms get sweaty, do you have trouble falling asleep, lose your appetite, perhaps? Do you feel like your whole world is turned inside out? Well, I guess it depends on how negative the event is that you are anticipating. One young woman in the South tells about her teen years. She had a very strict Dad who was very loving, but did not mind disciplining his children with corporal punishment. ...

2269. A Personal History

John 18:1—19:42

Sermon

David J. Kalas

A junior high school student sits down with his world history textbook, and he wonders what all this stuff has to do with him. Clearly, people like Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, Charlemagne, and Napoleon had a great impact on the world in which they lived, but what do the Rubicon and Waterloo have to do with that thirteen-year-old American boy? When he gets to senior high school, that same student may find a greater sense of relevance in his American history textbook. It is easier for him to see the ...

2270. Personal History

John 18:1-11

Sermon

David J. Kalas

2271. Jesus Casts Out Impure Spirits

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

Today we’re going to talk about casting out demons or, as Mark calls them in today’s lesson, impure spirits. It’s not a subject that we talk about very much in church anymore, even though it figures prominently in the New Testament. Maybe at the end of today’s service I will perform an exorcism and cast out a demon . . . or not. Perhaps you have someone in mind that you think could profit from such an exorcism. But enough about members of Congress . . . Some of you will remember a movie that caused quite a ...

2272. Christians and Grits

Acts 4:32-37

Sermon

King Duncan

The Rev. Brian Bill tells about a friend of his named Ray who is originally from the South, but is now living in Chicago. Being a southerner, Ray says that one of the most challenging things about living in the Windy City is that it’s difficult to find a restaurant that serves grits. Rev. Bill asked Ray once what a “grit” is? Ray informed Rev. Bill that there’s no such thing as a “grit.” They don’t come by themselves. They come in a community of other grits. You can’t just order one grit. Rev. Bill says ...

2273. The Messed Up

John 4:1-26

Sermon

James Merritt

In 2006, Alitalia Airlines, the official airline of Italy, made a slight mistake on its website regarding international airfare from Toronto, Canada, to the island of Cyprus. They advertised business-class seats for $39. It was supposed to be $3900, but somebody left two zeros. Two thousand tickets were immediately snapped up and it cost the airline $7.7 million. Somebody messed up. In 1990, 75 million phone calls across the United States went unanswered after a single switch at one of AT&T’s Switching ...

2274. The Broken

John 8:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

A mother had been working with her young son trying to teach him to tell time by using a non-digital clock. For several days she kept talking to him about the “small hand” and the “big hand.” One day she heard him walk into the kitchen where there was a clock on the wall with the big hand and the little hand. She called from the other room, “Cameron, what is the little hand on?” He yelled back, “A chocolate-chip cookie!” If you are into legalese there is a legal term known as “Inflagrante Delicto.” ...

2275. Shockproof

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

James Merritt

Dawn Smith Jordan was selected Miss South Carolina in 1986 and was the second runner up to Miss America that year. An event took place the year before that caused an emotional and spiritual earthquake in her life that shook her to the very core of her being. On May 31, 1985, her 17-year-old sister, Sherrie, was kidnapped while walking from her car to the mailbox. She was just two days from her high school graduation. They didn’t hear anything for a few days and then they received a letter in the mail from ...

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