Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2276 to 2300 of 4997 results

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... God when life seems to be treating them unfairly. Christianity promises so much more than that! The young boys in Jesus’ tomb tried to escape from the Nun and save themselves by charging out the entrance of the empty tomb. There was no other way out! It was kind of funny, except for this: The same is true for you and for me. Ultimately, the only way out of everything you face in life is through the power of God, shown most vividly in the empty tomb of Jesus Christ. The Easter gospel says, “The other ...

2277. Life in the Living Stone Age

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... ” they build will be little more than a tiny studio apartment. A studio or “efficiency” apartment is a nice way of saying you get one room to do everything in: eat, sleep, cook, relax, play, work — all has to be squeezed into one small space. Why should we make that kind of layout our blueprint for life? In today’s gospel text Jesus declared, “In my Father’s house there are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:2). Or as my poor ...

2278. Ten Days of Prayer

Acts 1:12-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... simply needed a situation that called that power from her. You and I have much more power than we are aware of. Our problem isn’t one of knowledge or of good intentions. We need the Spirit of God to come into our lives and to transform us into the kind of dynamic men and women God has created us to be. The secret, of course, is prayer. Intensive, determined, persistent prayer that the Holy Spirit will come into our lives to give us a sense of purpose and to fill us with power. But praying for the gift of ...

2279. Acts 17: 22-31

Acts 17:16-34

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Jew, using the common ground of scripture and tradition to introduce his listeners to the new kind of messianic reality found in Jesus Christ. Now Paul addresses a completely different kind of audience, and the apostle adapts his message accordingly. Paul’s ambition to be “all things ... and moral authority gives the apostle the perfect opportunity to present the gospel to a new kind of inquirer. The apostle’s opening remarks sound complimentary. He identifies these Athenians as “exceptionally” or “ ...

2280. Good and Bad "Magical Thinking"

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . But big corporations hire specialists to organize the “feng shui” in their work spaces. Musician George Michael bought the Steinway piano that John Lennon composed his best know work on: “Imagine.” Michael ships this piano off to places that are in need of some kind of spiritual support: to New Orleans after Katrina; to Virginia Tech after the shootings. The piano is put on public display, with its pedigree, open for any and all to sit down and plunk out a few notes, to seek out a bit of solace ...

2281. 2 Corinthians 1: 11-13

2 Corinthians 1:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... transforming bickering believers into Spirit-filled followers. Instead of arguing among themselves, Paul sought to set their sights on a higher horizon—to the crucified Christ and the redeemed life. In his final words to this community, Paul sums up what living this kind of redeemed life will look like and what that holy life will bring. For such a few short verses there is considerable discussion and disagreement among scholars about just what Paul says and how he says it. The debates begin with no less ...

2282. The 3 Rs of a Holy Life

2 Corinthians 13:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the Devil were doing a booming business in Corinth. In his final letter, in his final words, in his final benediction, to this contentious community, Paul offered a positive, powerful, alternative Trinity to this struggling church. Paul’s closing command lays out a new kind of three-fold pattern, a pattern that will lead to wholeness and holy living. I call them the 3-Rs of holiness, or the 3-Rs of godly living. Here are the 3 essentials of holiness: Respect, Responsibility, and Relationship. If you want ...

2283. 2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

2284. Effective Teaching

Matthew 10:24-39

Illustration

Gary W. Houston

... he had been pumped full of quail shot. When the class next assembled they were mystified because they did not understand what this story had to do with a course in education. Frost patiently explained to them that this particular story was about teachers. He said that there were two kinds of teachers. There was the kind that filled you with so much quail shot that you could not move and the kind that gave you a little prod on the behind so that you could jump to the skies.

2285. Planting Seeds

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... with this parable. No wonder his disciples were confused and asked for clarification. He’s saying that some people will respond to the Gospel and others will not. What are we supposed to do with this information? Perhaps he was preparing his disciples for the kind of response they would receive when they began communicating the Gospel. COMMUNICATING THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF BEING A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST. We know that’s true. We are not only “good soil” but once the Gospel is sown in ...

2286. The World Needs Less Mother Goose More Mother Teresa

Isaiah 58:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... feet. God doesn’t need their empty praise. God is not honored when they lie about in “sackcloth and ashes.” What honors Yahweh is for them to walk about, actively seeking those whose need help, those whose most basic human needs are not being met. Isaiah defines the new kind of “fast” that the Lord requires: Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover then, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?(v.7) This is the ...

2287. Isaiah 58:1-10

Isaiah 58:1-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , slaves were freed, and confiscated land returned to its previous owners. It is a matter of heated debate whether or not such “Jubilees” were ever actually practiced. But what is clear is that the notion of a “Jubilee Year” was held up as a kind of divinely mandated “do-over” for all people. Here is Isaiah 58 the prophet is taking the radical position that Jubilee behavior is what Yahweh demands as a permanent state of being in those who would seek God’s righteousness: “loose the bonds of ...

2288. With Jesus No Mission Is Impossible

John 6:1-14

Sermon

James Merritt

... is so incredible is that Jesus knew how He was going to meet their need before they even knew they had one. My Dad had that kind of a gift. I can remember several times my Dad telling me, "Son, you need a whipping." Well, I didn't realize I needed a whipping ... loaves and two fishes, that would feed a lot of people. Well, when you think about a loaf of bread, you think about the kind of loaf you see at a grocery store. But these were actually wafers, flat, hard, and brittle, about the size of a small pancake ...

2289. The Church Is Alive and Well

Matthew 16:13-18

Sermon

James Merritt

... is from the Greek word Petra, which is the feminine form of that word, referring to a strata of rock, a huge mountain. Here in Georgia we have a massive mass of granite called Stone Mountain. If you go to the base of that mountain you can pick up all kinds of pieces of the rock. The stone is a Petros, the mountain is a Petra. What Jesus said to Peter was this: You are Peter "a little stone," but upon this Petra, the mountain, I will build My church. Now we do not have to wonder what the rock is ...

2290. Better To Be a Loner than a Loser

Daniel 1:1-21

Sermon

James Merritt

... and the king's wine represented the pleasures of this world. He wanted these young men to adopt a "eat, drink, and be merry" playboy kind of lifestyle. Daniel was being tempted to do three things: to learn the world's wisdom, to live the world's way, and to love ... the new. When by false friends you are tempted The taste of the wine cup to know With firmness, with patience and kindness Have courage, my child, to say no. III. Stand with Courage Now even though this was a good decision and the right decision ...

2291. The Thrill of Victory Beats the Agony of Defeat

Judges 7:1-17

Sermon

James Merritt

... your eye is the window of the body. You look at evil, you fill your body with evil. You look at good, you fill your body with good. But they are careless in their listening. They are careless in the kind of music they listen to, in the kind of jokes they will hear, in the kind of language they expose themselves to. Then there are those who are careless in their living; Christians who are careless in the places they go, the things they watch, the people they associate with. There are so many people God ...

2292. Don't Get Too Big For Your Spiritual Britches

Judges 16:20

Sermon

James Merritt

... . If Samson had only read and memorized Pr. 5:22: "His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, and he is caught in the cords of his sin." You see, there was only one thing that could defeat the strongest man on earth, and that was sin. There was only one kind of sin that could defeat him, and that was his sin. Do not fail to understand that it was sin that put his eyes out. It was sin that put him in chains. It was sin that had him grinding at the wheel. Sin's arithmetic has been described in ...

2293. Don't Forget to Forgive

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

James Merritt

... Lord Jesus totally forgave him for his sins. But there was one final piece of freedom missing from Rusty's personal puzzle. He wanted Della's brother to forgive him. Sitting on death row in the last days of his life, he watched every day for some kind of a sign that the brother had forgiven him, because he had asked for forgiveness. In the summer of 1989 they slipped a plain envelope under his cell door, and he trembled when he saw the return address. It was from Lee Hewitt, Della Summer's younger brother ...

2294. How to Deal with Friends, Foes, and Fools

Proverbs 27:6

Sermon

James Merritt

... not ours. Paul put the matter succinctly, yet firmly, when he said, "Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord." (Rom. 12:19) The second piece of advice is kill them with kindness. Say what? You heard me. It is not enough just to leave your enemies alone. We must be pro-active and demonstrate love to them. Solomon said in Prov. 25: 21-22: "If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give ...

2295. What Church Is All About

Psalm 100:1-5

Sermon

James Merritt

... worship God correctly you must worship Him in your spirit, and in the right spirit. We are told in this Psalm the kind of spirit that is required for worship. a. A Spirit Of Appreciation "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving." (v.4a) Thanksgiving ... a giver. God loves a cheerful giver. God doesn't want just a worker, He wants a joyful worker. I have discovered there are two kinds of laborers in God's vineyard. There are those who serve God legally, and there are those who serve God lovingly. If you love God ...

2296. The Greatest Place in the World

Romans 12:1-2

Sermon

James Merritt

... is exactly what the Lord demands from us. I was in a store recently that was having a going-out-of-business sale. As I walked into the building they had a huge sign out front that said, "No refunds, no returns, all transactions final." That is the kind of sacrifice we are to offer God; a living sacrifice, total and complete of all that we are, and all that we have. c. A Lasting Presentation Paul calls this sacrifice "a reasonable service." The Greek word for service there is also a word that means worship ...

2297. How to Rub People the Right Way

Acts 4:36-37

Sermon

James Merritt

... have noticed something and it's true about all of us. Whenever you hear someone putting himself down, he is usually asking you to help build himself back up. Sometimes we just don't pick up on it. I was talking to Teresa the other day and I was just kind of feeling down and I said, "Teresa, I feel old, flabby, wrinkled, useless, and stupid." She smiled and said, "Don't be silly, you're not old." May I just take a moment here and encourage all of us to be encouragers. When people come to church they ought to ...

2298. It's Time to Go to Work

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

James Merritt

... Frost, once said, "The world is full of willing people: some willing to work, the rest willing to let them. The church is full of those same kind of people. As you are going to see in a moment, there were two kinds of servants in this parable. Two of them were faithful, one of them was foolish. Likewise you are servant in God's kingdom, but you're one of two kinds of servants—either a faithful one or a foolish one; you're either doing something for God or doing nothing for God. III. Face Your God-given ...

2299. No Place Like Home

Psalm 128:1-6

Sermon

James Merritt

... if the mother does not do her duty [and the father does not do his] there will either be no generation or a next generation that is worse than none at all. In other words, we cannot as a Nation get along at all if we haven’t the right kind of home life. Such a life is not only the supreme duty, but also the supreme reward of duty. Every rightly constituted woman or man, if she or he is worth his or her salt, must feel that there is no such ample reward to be found anywhere in life ...

2300. Healed By The Great Physician

2 Kings 5:1-27

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... to say, “If there is any healing for humanity’s hurt, it must come, not from man’s side, but from God’s.” (3) God alone can give us new hearts. Then from those healthy hearts, rivers of healing flow through body and mind. How do we access that kind of healing? By faith and obedience. In order to see those truths lived out in human terms, we turn to the story of Naaman in Second Kings, chapter 5. Let me set the scene for you. The time period is about 800 years before Christ. The nation of Aram is ...

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