Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2276 to 2300 of 4884 results

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... him by faith as Savior and Lord is saved. At the Jerusalem Temple in the First Century, an unblemished lamb was sacrificed in worship each morning and evening. These lambs died for the sins of the people. To see that a constant supply of perfect lambs was provided, the temple authorities contracted with shepherds out in the area between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Could it be that the very shepherds who provided sacrificial lambs for the Temple were the ones invited to see the baby who would become the Lamb ...

2277. A Risky Lifestyle

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... her Lord. Jesus never said that the kingdom of God was like a man reclining in his easy chair. Rather, Jesus compared the kingdom to one willing to take risks in the marketplace of life. In the twin parables of the buried treasure and the perfect pearl, Jesus urged the necessity of risk-taking for the sake of the church and the kingdom. Risk-taking is still required of Christians. If you believe that the poor in Tennessee are discriminated against by our regressive tax structure, are you willing to speak ...

2278. I Love You But I Don't Like You

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... no courtroom relationship. The words "I'm sorry" seem to come harder for husbands than for wives. One wife said, "My husband's ideal of settling a quarrel is to put me in a sweatbox until I say, 'You were right. He thinks that he and God are the only perfect beings, and he has some questions about God." It's always easy to list the faults of the other, but if each marriage partner will ask honestly, "What are those things I have said or done (or failed to say or do) that have made life more difficult for my ...

2279. Advertised Goodness

Matthew 6:1-2, Matthew 6:5-6

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... about religion. Jesus shared much in common with them; both he and they were absolutely serious about religion and called for complete commitment by their followers. But there was a big difference: the Pharisees measured themselves by certain man-made rules and claimed perfection. Jesus, on the other hand, taught that the inner life is more important than outward deeds. No person's inner life can stand up to the scrutiny of God; therefore, all persons are sinners needing God's saving grace. In verse 2 ...

2280. The New Birth

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... ." He turned over on the couch, thinking this would occupy the boy for at least an hour. To his amazement, the boy was tapping his shoulder ten minutes later telling him that the job was done. The father saw that every piece of the map had been fitted together perfectly. "How did you do that?" he asked. "It was easy, Dad. There was a picture of a man on the other side. When I got him together right, the world was right." A person's world can never be right until the person is right, and that requires the ...

2281. Humankind: The Climax of Creation

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... know we are sinners and that we cannot cure our own spiritual disease. But if there were just a way that we sinners, separated by sin from our holy God, could be cured of our sin and restored to fellowship with the Heavenly Father. There is a way! Jesus, the perfect God-Man, died on Calvary's cross as a sacrifice, to atone for your sins and mine. All we have to do is to admit our sin and cling to that cross in faith. Then our souls are saved, our sin forgiven, and the Holy Spirit begins to retrace that ...

2282. Called Into Covenant

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... he gave it to them, saying, ‘drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the new covenant…” (Matt. 26: 26-28) Why did there have to be a new covenant? Because the damage of sin was so deep and wide, nothing less than the perfect sacrifice of God himself could atone for it. Hebrews declared, "Jesus entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption…For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant ...

2283. Comfort in God's Love

Deuteronomy 11:1-32

Children's Sermon

Tim Carpenter

... tumble dry. That’s pretty specific. They really want me to know how to take care of this sweatshirt, they even put it on the tag! Application: God’s love fits us like this big sweatshirt. He wants us to be comfortable in His love. His love is a perfect fit! However, just like this sweatshirt has instructions for its care, God gives us some rules for caring for His love. He wants us to love him and serve him with all our hearts and all our souls. Otherwise, we might find ourselves wishing for the kind of ...

2284. Mary's Revolutionary Song

Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... live respectably and give to charities. I wouldn't hurt a soul on purpose. I believe that God will accept me on that basis." Bill took out a legal pad and said "Let's make a grading scale for all people, from one to ten, with ten being just about perfect. Who are the best people in the world?" The man thought for a moment and said, "Mother Teresa and Billy Graham." "Okay." said Bill. "But we must allow them to place themselves on our chart. Both of them has said, 'I am a sinner and have no chance of ...

2285. Running a Marathon

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... runner must not get distracted. His coach signals to him at critical points along that 26-mile race, letting him know his pace, and giving advice and encouragement. The Christian must keep his or her eyes on the leader too, "looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith." But here is where the analogy breaks down a bit. Not even the finest coach can run the race with the athlete. He can encourage and advise, but the runner is finally on his own. But our leader can do more. Our Christ runs ...

2286. The Importance of Rooftops in Jesus' Day

Matthew 10:1-42

Illustration

Rooftops were places of great activity in Bible times. The high, open, flat surfaces were perfect for winnowing chaff from grain, drying fruit, storing grain, nuts, and fruit, and sun-bleaching laundry. Rooftops were also household gathering places because so much work was done there, and they were sleeping places on the hot nights of summer. But rooftops, because of their height, their openness, and frequent assemblies of people, rooftops were great places from which to shout the news.

2287. The Burden Bearing Christ

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Brett Blair

... height, the width, the space between them, and the size of their shoulders. Within a week, the team would be brought back and he would carefully place the newly made yoke over the shoulders, watching for rough places, smoothing out the edges and fitting them perfectly to this particular team of oxen. That’s the yoke Jesus invites us to take. Do not be misled by the word “easy,” for its root word in Greek speaks directly of the tailor-made yokes: they were “well-fitting.” The yoke Jesus invites us ...

2288. How to Handle Criticism

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... the salesman had chosen, the hotel where he was going to stay, about Rome in general, and even about his hope of having an audience with the Pope. A month later the salesman returned to the barbershop. He said, “I had a wonderful trip. The flight was perfect and the hotel service was excellent. And I got to meet the Pope!” The barber asked, “What did the Pope say to you?” The salesman said, “He placed his hand on my head and said, ‘My son, where did you get such a lousy haircut?’” May such ...

2289. Judgment Day is Coming (Adapted)

Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 13:36-43, Matthew 13:47-52

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... . And God gives to most people many chances to repent of sin and claim Jesus Christ as Lord. III Third, it is God who judges in the end not us. No person is authorized to compose a list of those who are going to hell. It is perfectly proper to say out of love, "If you reject the gracious offer of Christ, you will spend all eternity apart from God." That is a truthful, loving statement. But to say, "You, brother or sister, are going to hell" is judgmental and presumptuous. Jesus warned, "Judge not ...

2290. Fear

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

Brett Blair

... make him wet. Peter knows that the Lord can sustain us. Even in the midst of the storm, when there is nothing but uncertainty. He will take care of you. But I want you to know that faith is a risk taking enterprise. It does not come in a perfect package. I often find myself caught midway between faith and doubt. Peter gets caught between Christ and the crests of the waves. He doubts his walk. He fears the storm. And he falls beneath the waves. This is a great tale of what the church can accomplish if we ...

2291. Legends Of Christmas

Drama

Georgianna Summers

... a sword.] Becky: Good heavens. Who’s he supposed to be? Danny: King Arthur. Who else? [Sits down on front row in classroom area. Miss Hardgrader enters.] Hardgrader: [Noticing chalkboard] Well, I see we have some new art work on the chalkboard. A perfect likeness. Anybody know who the artist is? [Everyone points to Danny who denies it loudly.] Marcia: [Noticing the heart] Who did that? [She gets up and erases it. Students snicker.] Hardgrader: Time to settle down, class. I see some of you have come ...

2292. The Prodigal Daughter

Drama

Maxine Dudley

... next set of photos? (Clarissa enters with another photographer. Clarissa models clothes, smiling, whirling around. The photographers are going wild.) Sarah: Don’t you need any more pictures of me? Photographer no. 1: Not right now. We’ll call you later. Clarissa is perfect for what we want. See you later, Sarah. (Photographers and model walk off laughing.) Sarah: I thought we were friends. Why Clarissa? Why not me? (Sarah walks off stage and removes her shoes.) Act III (While Mother sits on a chair in ...

2293. Servants Without Fiber

Isaiah 42:1-9

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... and is easily a patsy for someone else to use or "lord it over"? Unfortunately, in too many cases, people are inclined to think in this way. But this has never been the biblical concept which emerges gradually in the Old Testament and is perfected in the New. The Bible rescued and redefined the concept of "servant," giving it fiber, stamina and spiritual substance. Probably no writer discussed the servant idea more fully than the prophet Isaiah, and what he wrote cast a long ray of understanding across the ...

2294. Service Without Witness

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... a life. The servant in his or her service must in their doing be a witness to something spiritually unique in their life. Someone once said: "Technicians are made; genius is inspired." The classroom or laboratory can produce a person whose performance is technically perfect, but someone who is adept at doing may not ever inspire others, especially the weary, to go on. A minister, for example, may visit a sick room in the hospital, read a few verses from Scripture, pray a few stock sentences, and leave, but ...

2295. The Vicarious Servant

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... paused before a crucifix, that is, a cross with the model of the body of Jesus on it. He pointed out to me that the empty cross of the Protestant tradition fails to etch upon our imagination the enormity of sin that could put to death the perfect Son of God. Certainly the Cardinal had a point. The Protestant symbol of the cross encircled with the victorious crown declares Christ’s victory, but the suffering Savior on "the old rugged cross" is a necessary part of the picture; it is the prelude to victory ...

2296. The Force

Acts 7:1-53

Illustration

Larry Powell

... the whole business up in the air and let them fall into their proper places on the floor. How many times do you think a person would have to throw the pieces in the air before they would finally come down fitted together to form the perfect picture? The chances of that ever happening are about as likely as the universe having "just accumulated" out of cosmic stuff, without design, without a creator. All evidence, no matter how paltry, points to the same conclusion: the universe is designed! On the lowly end ...

2297. See the Resemblance

John 1:1-18

Illustration

Larry Powell

... others, always reaching, touching, healing, praying, searching, loving. The Bell Telephone Company did not originate the concept of "Reach Out and Touch Someone." The concept was in the mind of God before creation and the practice is as old as Eden. It was perfected in Jesus Christ, proclaimed in the New Testament, and is as relevant today as this morning’s newspaper. The ministry of Christ reveals a God who "spends" himself for creation. c. In his teaching. Jesus was able to recognize and relate to God ...

2298. In The Beginning

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

Robert Allen

... ago could see when he wrote, "... I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained ..." (Psalm 8). When we look at this universe in all of its magnitude and the atom in all of its infinitesimal perfection, we begin to grasp the greatness and orderliness of God in creation. I was fascinated a while back because something very small, yet very significant took place. A computer system that is so precise and so accurate that it would take 300 years to be two ...

2299. The More Excellent Way

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Robert Allen

... living. III. The more excellent way to live includes love. Recently, I was reading a biography of the late comedian, Jack Benny. He was married to Mary Livingston for 48 years. When he died, he left a provision in his will for a florist to deliver one perfect red rose to Mary every day that she lived. Our world would be a sadder place in which to live without romantic love. But, the love that the Apostle Paul wrote about is the deepest ... the most pervasive ... the most enduring value of the Christian life ...

2300. The Easter Event - After The Resurrection

Matthew 28:1-10

Sermon

Robert Allen

... one of those cold, snowy Saturday mornings and I had just told her I would make breakfast by myself. She looked skeptical. I’m not sure if she just didn’t believe her ears or if she was afraid to leave me in the kitchen alone. I decided that the perfect breakfast on a cold morning would be cream of wheat, juice, and toast. Now, when I say toast, I’m not talking about that whimpy way of using a toaster; I’m talking about making toast the way it should be made. You slap a lot of butter on some ...

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