Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2276 to 2300 of 4490 results

2276. A Friend in Low Places

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Mark Trotter

I've just returned from a study break, which I spent in a cabin in northern California, back in the woods, all by myself. It was a wonderful time. Some of you have asked me, "Did you do any fishing?" I am really shocked that you would even ask that question. I was there for study, not for fishing. Besides, the river was too muddy to fish. Up there I listened to country western music, because in that part of the state, that is about all you can get on the radio. I am not a great student of country western ...

2277. The Perfect Prayer

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

If you worked in the post office, you would probably run into all kinds of people. One postal worker says she is used to dealing with moody people. She tells about an irate customer who stormed her desk one day. “What’s the trouble?” the postal employee responded in her calmest voice. “I went out this morning,” the customer began angrily, “and when I came home I found a card saying the mailman tried to deliver a package but no one was home. I’ll have you know, my husband was in all morning! He never heard ...

2278. Financial Freedom

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

Some of you may have read a remarkable short story sometime during your school years by D. H. Lawrence titled, “The Rocking‑Horse Winner.” I wonder if you remember how the story begins? It is a haunting tale about a family living above its means. The mother is considered by friends and neighbors to be the perfect mother, in spite of the fact that deep down she knows she has difficulty loving her three children. It’s important to the husband to keep up the pretense of success--the large house, staffed with ...

2279. Adam's Legacy

Romans 5:12-19

Sermon

Richard W. Ferris

In the musical Fiddler on the Roof, Tevye is the Jewish father of five girls living in a Russian village who finds himself going through a period that is continually challenging his traditions. First, his oldest daughter, Tzeitel does not want to accept the man picked for her by the village matchmaker. But Tevye has already struck up a deal with this man to marry his daughter. And so Tevye goes through a mental wrestling match with himself that goes something like this: "On the one hand ... I'm the papa, ...

2280. After Good Friday

Hebrews 10:16-25

Sermon

Richard W. Ferris

Obsolete. Superceded. Null and void. Those are words that could be used in a court of law to describe legal contracts or agreements that are no longer in effect. Stipulations become obsolete with the passing of time or when two partners break off their partnership, whether it's a business or a marriage. Procedures can be superceded by new practices when old stipulations become obsolete. Whole contracts can become null and void when one side or the other fails to live up to the agreement. Now the happiest ...

2281. Called to Freedom

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Mark Trotter

The temptation in all times, the temptation in the Middle ages and the temptation of many in our time, is to make religion a matter of rules, and to believe that those who obey the rules are the ones who are good, and saved, and those who do not obey the rules are the ones who are damned. Which is bad enough as religion, but what made it worse is that God is made the enforcer of this system of rewards and punishment. What Luther did was break through all of that and establish for all time that Christianity ...

2282. Family Matters

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Sermon

Mark Trotter

First of all, I want to thank all of you who made out your estimate of giving cards for this year. Going into this day, we've heard from approximately a third of those that we expect to hear from, and those families have pledged well over half a million dollars already to the operating and benevolence outreach of this church. This is wonderful--but we have a way to go. The leadership of this church also has a lot of work to do, because budget requests are way over what the finance people estimate our ...

2283. Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired?

Matthew 9:35-10:8

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

"Heal the sick," Jesus commanded (Matthew 10:8). His orders leave our knees knocking and us feeling inadequate. In Edward Albee's play, The Death of Bessie Smith, a character rages, "I'm sick! Sick of everything in this fly-ridden world! I am sick of waking up, I am tired of the truth, I am tired of lying about the truth, tired of my skin! I want out, I want off this world!" Now, that, my friend, is desperate sickness! And perhaps today, as you read this, you find yourself ill. My question is, "Would you ...

2284. Influence!

Matthew 23:1-12

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

If you think a mosquito is small and has little influence, try sleeping in a hot room at night with but a single blood-sucking insect. Its high-pitched whine and sharp proboscis can leave you sleepy, itchy, and whelped. On the other hand, consider the lowly honeybee. One single winged creature lurching flower to flower can make the heart leap for joy as it brightens your day, spreads pollen about, and makes honey in the hive. We mortals, not unlike mosquitoes and honeybees, have our own influence. We can ...

2285. The Problem with Busybodies

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Sermon

King Duncan

One of the earliest newspapers in Paris, France, was created in the 1750s by a woman named Madame Doublet. Madame Doublet had an interesting and effective technique for gathering news: each morning, she sent one of her servants to gather all the gossip from other servants who worked in wealthy households. According to Smithsonian magazine, Madame Doublet’s servant may have been “the first reporter in the history of French journalism.” After making the rounds of all the fashionable neighborhoods, the ...

2286. The CatWalk Church and the CrossLove Church

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Say "Green Bay Packers fan" and what do you think of? Anyone? That's right. Cheese hats. Say "Peabody Hotel" and what do you think of? Anyone? That's right. Ducks. At the classy Peabody Hotel in Memphis, TN, hundreds come to lunch every day for one specific reason. It's not that the chef is glamorous or that the deserts are gigantic or that the menu is gastronomic. That all may be true. But that's not why they come. No, the diners come for the ducks. Not to eat duck. But to watch ducks. The Peabody Hotel ...

2287. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden

John 16:17-33

Sermon

James McCormick

I first heard the words of today’s sermon title when I was a teenager. They came over the radio in a country and western song. The words: “I beg your pardon; I never promised you a rose garden.” I encountered those words again a few years ago when they appeared as the unofficial slogan of the emerging nation of Israel. When Jews migrated to Israel and were asked to settle in “kibbutzim” in parched desert frontiers, they were reminded of the arduous task ahead by the signs posted all around the settlements ...

2288. A Word of Hope for a Hard World

Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

King Duncan

If you’ve ever felt like your life was out of control, then you can relate to the harrowing adventure of Tattoo, a basset hound from Tacoma, Washington. One evening, Tattoo’s owner headed out for a drive. He didn’t notice that Tattoo’s leash had gotten caught in the car door. Police officer Terry Filbert, patrolling the neighborhood on his motorcycle, spotted the poor dog running--and occasionally rolling--alongside the car. The officer stopped Tattoo’s owner and alerted him to the situation. Tattoo came ...

2289. Christmas 1

Mt 2:13-23 · Heb 2:10-18 · Isa 63:7-9 · Ps 148

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS The Old Testament lesson for the First Sunday After Christmas explores the implications of what it means when we confess that God is actually with us in this world. Isaiah 63:7-9 states how God is able to suffer with us, while Psalm 111 is an extended celebration of this fact. Isaiah 63:7-9 - "A Savior for Hard Times" Setting. The lectionary has isolated the opening verses of a more extended community lament that probably included Isaiah 63:7-64:12. The larger context underscores how ...

2290. Transfiguration

Psalm 2:1-12, Matthew 17:1-13, 2 Peter 1:12-21, Exodus 24:1-18

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS This Sunday is a celebration of the Transfiguration. The Old Testament texts provide two perspectives on the presence of God in our midst. Exodus 24:12-18 describes the descent of God in the form of fire to the top of Mount Sinai in order to be with the people of God in worship, while Psalm 2:6-11 celebrates the messianic rule of God throughout this world. Taken together these texts provide commentary on the Transfiguration. (Note that Psalm 2:6-11 is the alternate reading, which is ...

2291. Changed Lives - Simon Peter (Maundy Thursday)

John 13:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

Master story-teller Dr. Fred Craddock tells about something that happened many years ago while he was driving cross‑country. He had stopped at a small diner somewhere in the South to refresh himself with an early breakfast and some coffee. He had been driving through the night and now it was getting close to dawn. And he was sleepy. As he waited for his breakfast order to come, Craddock spied a black man who had just come in and had sat down on a stool up by the lunch counter. The diner’s manager then ...

2292. Don't Worry, The Light Is Still Burning

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

“Don’t worry, the light is still burning.” Is there any more reassuring line than that one: “Don’t worry, the light is still burning.” But the light that is still burning is not beckoning you back from the window of your home, sweet home. The light that is still burning is in a fire station in Livermore, California. “Don’t worry, the light is still burning” is the headline that greets visitors to the homepage of this one light bulb. WWW.centennialbulb.org is the web site dedicated to keeping track of the ...

2293. I Believe in Easter

Acts 9:1-29

Sermon

James Merritt

On April 9, 1996, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia delivered an address to the Mississippi College School of Law. What he said generated a firestorm of criticism in the liberal press. He gave a brilliant and blistering portrayal of a society that now mocks religious belief, and especially the beliefs of Christians. Here is what he said that was so "controversial." The worldly wise do not believe in the resurrection of the dead. It is really quite absurd [to them]. So everything from the Easter morning ...

2294. 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 ...

2295. What Impresses God

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

James Merritt

There was a very lost, wicked, rebellious man who decided it would be good for business if he went down to the church and joined it. He was an adulterer, an alcoholic, and had never been a member of a church in his life. But when he went down to the altar to join the church, he gave public testimony to the church that there was no sin in his life, and that he had grown up in the church, and they readily accepted him as a member. When he went home he told his wife what he had done, and his wife, a very ...

2296. Plea for Discipline

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

In a way, Christians are all in the Olympics! We are running the race that determines our eternal abode. We run to win and the prize is the most valuable we will ever seek. No money or property will purchase it. Only self-control under the banner of Christ grants a chance for winning. The apostle is very clear and speaks to all who would enter the race that leads to everlasting life with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is an old/new teaching to whom all Christians for twenty centuries can relate. It ...

2297. A Clock or a Compass?

Mark 1:9-15

Sermon

David T. Ball

Do you all have your compasses with you? What? You don’t have compasses? Well, I guess neither do I. How about your watch? Okay! A much better response that time. I have my watch, too — but don’t get your hopes up that I’m planning to keep a closer eye on how long my sermons are taking! I really just wanted to make a point about how much we rely on our watches in comparison to our compasses. And I doubt that very many of us have a compass that we can carry around — we may have one on our car. We know our ...

2298. Tasting the Gruel of Love

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

King Duncan

One of the most remarkable Christian witnesses in the world today is a man named Charles Colson. Many of you remember him as the political hatchet man for President Richard Nixon. While he was serving as special counsel to the President, Colson seemed to be a dispicable man, seemingly without a conscience. Then, quite remarkably, Chuck Colson had a thorough and complete conversion experience. It was in 1973 during the height of the Watergate proceedings. Please don’t be suspicious. This conversion ...

2299. Build a Bridge and Get Over It

Mark 3:20-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Jesus built bridges between the divergent unities of his day. The church must do the same. On September 13, 1987, two unemployed young men trying to make a living entered a partly demolished radiation clinic in Goianaia, Brazil, an 18-hour bus ride from Rio. They discovered and then dismantled a cancer therapy machine, the parts of which they peddled to various junk dealers. One junk dealer in particular purchased for 25 reals a stainless steel cylinder, about the size of a gallon paint can. Inside the ...

2300. Jesus' Good News of a New World · Part 2

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Mike Ripski

A pop-quiz from last Sunday: What is the mission of the United Methodist Church? To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. And so the church, Belle Meade United Methodist Church, exists for you and me to be made into disciples of Jesus. A disciple is a learner, a follower, of a teacher. We are students. Better, we are apprentices. We learn by doing what the Master Teacher does. So as I asked you last Sunday and will continue to ask you during this fall series on Jesus’ Sermon ...

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