Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2326 to 2350 of 5000 results

John 8:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... said to her, 'Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?' She said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, 'I do not condemn you either. Go From now on sin no more.'"(John 8:1-11, NASB) I don't know of any story in the entire Bible that illustrates how we should see others and how we should see ourselves than this story. If you are a very religious person - you are in the story. If you are an extremely non-religious person - you are in the story. If you are a conservative that thinks that sin should be ...

2327. Don't Be Afraid Of The Light

John 8:12

Sermon

James Merritt

... a neighbor to watch a ball game Invite unchurched people to play golf with you Work in a pregnancy resource center Get involved in a prison ministry Go on an international mission trip Listen very carefully to the words of the song that you are about to hear. It illustrates the fact that there are people in this world who ought to be able to point to you and point to me and say, "That person really helped me, because when I was in the darkest part of my life, they loved me enough to bring light into my ...

2328. Dead Man Walking

John 11:38-44, John 11:17-37, John 11:1-16

Sermon

James Merritt

... people were in the pool, but no one saw the little two and half year old boy go under and he died. Even though this man said to me he knew his little boy was in Heaven and that God had a plan and a purpose for it his story illustrates the truth that there will come a day when God will deliberately allow death to have its way in your life, in my life and perhaps in the life of someone you love. As you are going to see in a moment, the presence of death does not mean the ...

2329. Get Real

John 15:1-11, 16

Sermon

James Merritt

... its purpose. What makes life authentic and real is the fruit that that life bears. Just as a branch can only bear fruit if it is connected to the vine, likewise, significance can only come when you are connected to Jesus Christ. There is no better illustration than the truth that we find from what Jesus tells us in this passage of scripture. Your life will be most significant and most fruitful and most productive when... I. Relate To Christ Inwardly Whether you are a follower of Christ or you are not a ...

2330. God Where Are You? - The Problem of Evil

Genesis 3:1-6, Judges 6:13

Sermon

James Merritt

... is the sin of the human race. Someone has estimated that 95% of the suffering in this world is the result of sin in the lives of ourselves or other people. [[3]] I am not trying to make light of the problem, but I can kind of illustrate it this way with something I read recently: In the beginning God populated the earth with broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, green, yellow and red vegetables of all kinds so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives. Then using God's great gifts, Satan created Ben and ...

2331. Mary: The Promise Conceived

Luke 1:26-55

Sermon

James Merritt

... of God in your life like you would expect to be if God is who He is, there can only be one reason - because in certain areas of your live you are doubting God's Word rather than deciding to believe God's Word. I'll give you one quick illustration. God made this promise and nothing has ever changed about it. "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. 'If you do', says the Lord Almighty, 'I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so ...

2332. How to Make Heaven Happy

Luke 15:1-10

Sermon

James Merritt

... sentimental significance. In that day when a husband took a bride, she did not receive a diamond ring. She would receive a headband with ten coins of silver evenly spaced. When she would go out she would wear this ribbon of coins around her forehead to illustrate she was married. These coins were the love gift that the husband gave to the wife at the wedding, and it represented the fact that she belonged to him. in fact, usually on each piece of silver, the name of the husband would be engraved. But ...

2333. Hotline to Heaven

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

James Merritt

There was a minister in a certain church who would call the children down to the front of the church every Sunday and tell them a story. One time he brought a telephone to illustrate the idea of prayer. He said, "Now kids, you know how you talk to people on the telephone and you don't see them on the end of the other line, but you know they are there?" The children nodded their head yes. He said, "Well talking to God is ...

2334. Anxiety Alert – The Fear of the Future

Matthew 6:34

Sermon

James Merritt

... me tell you one thing you and I can do that God can't do. You and I can break a promise, but God cannot. God never has and God never will break one promise. I need to realize what God has promised in the present. Jesus even used an illustration that we all experience every day. He gave a simple piece of advice on how to cure future fright. What was it? Believe it or not, become a bird watcher. Listen to verses 25 and 26, "So I tell you, don't worry about everyday life - whether you have enough ...

2335. Use It or Lose It

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

James Merritt

... our opportunities, so that we might exercise our responsibility to use those abilities and take advantage of those opportunities to glorify God. But here is the catch, and it's the same one found in the movie: Use it or lose it. The Lord Jesus told a parable to illustrate a profound truth. Every saint is both a servant and a steward. If you are a Christian you ought to be a servant doing something for God, and a steward being faithful in using the gift that God has given you for His glory. Now I want you to ...

2336. The Opportunity of a Lifetime

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

James Merritt

... , so that we might exercise our responsibility to use those abilities and take advantage of those opportunities to glorify God. But here is the catch, and it's the same one found in the movie: Use it or lose it. The Lord Jesus told a parable to illustrate this profound truth. With your time on earth you have literally the opportunity of a lifetime to make your life count for God's glory by using your God given abilities for his service. According to Jesus life is an opportunity that carries with it a ...

2337. Does Jesus Have a Health Plan?

James 2:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... turn Jesus into a cause, and to make his gospel into a political agenda. To reduce Jesus to a political agenda is to do something he himself refused to be drawn into and categorized as — a political leader who presented a politics of redemption. Let me illustrate the difference. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. You can always tell where Jesus is by looking for the presence of shalom, the gift of peace. But there are multiple paths to peace. There will be both generals and pacifists in heaven, I am sure. The ...

2338. The Passion of the Christ – The Rest of the Story

Matthew 27:45-56

Sermon

James Merritt

... all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." (I Peter 3:18, NIV) What does all this mean? Simply this. Jesus took on the cross what you will have to take for all eternity - if you don't take Jesus. He died such a violent death to illustrate just how horrible sin is, how Holy God is, and how much we needed Him to die in our place for our sins. III. What Am I To Do? A non-Christian hearing this message or seeing "The Passion" could rightly ask, "So what?" "What am I supposed to do ...

2339. Jesus, The One And Only

Philippians 2:5-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... already had the world's sin. That's why we read in verse 8 that Jesus "Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself." This is exactly the attitude that Paul wants us to have toward others and toward each other. What Jesus did is an illustration of what Paul exhorted the Philippians to do in verses 3 and 4: "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also ...

2340. Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow

Proverbs 16:1, 9, Philippians 3:12-15

Sermon

James Merritt

... make elaborate plans, but God has the last word." (Prov. 16:1, The Message) "We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." (Prov.16:9, NLT) "You can make many plans but the Lord's purpose will prevail." (Prov. 19:21, NLT) There is a practical illustration of this in the life of Paul himself. Listen to what he says in Acts 16:1-2: "Then he came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek ...

2341. Good for the Soul

Proverbs 28:13

Sermon

James Merritt

... in the regular season." According to Rose, he confessed to the current Commissioner, Bud Selig, in November of 2002. When Selig asked him why he had done this, Rose said, "I didn't think I would get caught." Now both Joe Gibbs' story and Pete Rose's story illustrate the wrong way to deal with sin. It is more than just a saying that, "Confession is good for the soul." I want to share with you today how to properly deal with sin. If you don't believe dealing with sin properly is important, write down this ...

2342. Misled By Beauty

1 Samuel 15:34-35, 16:1-13

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... something I could easily do about it, I would have hair on the top of my head and would be about five inches taller. If you watch the general population for very long, however, you'll soon notice that not many women are candidates for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue and not many men are candidates to be on the cover of GQ. Abraham Lincoln, who by no measure was much of a looker, is reported to have made much the same observation. He said, "The Lord prefers common-looking people. That is the reason ...

2343. Leaping from Recognition Point

2 Samuel 11:26—12:13a

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... sermon even though I wasn't aiming it at anybody in particular. There is, however, one person who rather consistently decides that sermons are aimed at him — and that's me, myself. Many is the time when I have been writing a sermon, delving into my commentaries and illustration files, when it hits me that what I am writing about in the sermon is something that I need to hear, where I need to acknowledge, "I am the man!" Or sometimes I have to say, "Gee, the shoe fits me; I better wear it." As the stories ...

2344. Stewards of Power

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... you anymore." In a life stage where being liked and accepted is important, such a threat is often effective. In fact, in any situation involving two or more people, a certain amount of power is present in the dynamics between them. The Ten Commandments illustrate this matter of power. We usually say that the first four commandments refer to our responsibilities toward God and the last six to our responsibilities toward one another. So look at those six with power in mind: "Honor your father and your mother ...

2345. But I Wasn't Running

Mark 9:30-37

Illustration

Our Daily Bread

... common to both Mike Peters' analogy and the account in Mark 9. Jesus taught that heaven too will hold some surprises. Honor and glory will be granted for behavior that was so natural, so undistinguished, and so noncompetitive. Take, for instance, the simple illustration of receiving a child in Jesus' name. He was talking about having a humble servant attitude, being willing to reach out and help the lowliest of people so that we might show them the love of Christ. Such simple acts will be greatly rewarded ...

2346. Our Task: Acceptance and Challenge

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

Gary L. Carver

... challenge that helps the child see that he or she is here for a purpose — they really are "God's workmanship — his poems, created in Christ Jesus unto good works." It is never easy to balance properly both of these tasks, as the life of Jesus so clearly illustrates. But it is necessary. Thus, to that task — awesome as it may be, I invite you all just now "to sparkle on our children" and to help them sense the part of the Father's business that is their business — this is our challenge as adults. Our ...

2347. Testing Time

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... drink? Yes. Does he need to show the world — as the Jewish Messiah — the kingdoms all belong to him because he is God's Son? One could certainly make a case for that. Does he need to do something spectacular, especially of a physical nature, to illustrate control over the laws the Father had originally set in place? Well, that would help his case in the eyes of a lot of searching human beings. Regardless of the persistent poignancy of our Lord's time of rough and tough testing, the experience comes down ...

2348. More Time

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... we must impress upon them that God still loves them. One of the paramount lessons we can teach our children and grandchildren is to spot opportunities that will not only benefit them, but others as well. To put it in media is one thing but to give firsthand illustrations is quite another. Of course, it is not an either/or situation; it is a both/and full opportunity. We can be highly selective. That might play well at first. Then, we can move to showing them to live in our world is to have continual chances ...

2349. Holy Extravagance

John 12:1-8

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... survey among those professing Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. They desire more than anything else the precious and priceless perfume of him who died and arose again. The most brilliant of Frenchmen can neither produce it nor provide it. What a treasure Mary illustrates for us! We reside in a world that is smelly in ways frequently offensive and, in fact, can cause us to vomit. It's the moral and ethical dimension, isn't it? Sordid politics, masking as do-good philosophy, is one we discover that especially ...

2350. So, Are You The Messiah?

John 10:22-30

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... 's promise is nothing more than wishful thinking. He/she would add that it is unverifiable and, in fact, cause for something resembling hilarity! Nevertheless, Christians can be a tough lot and that means we are ready to rise in righteous anger and illustrate our reasons for believing what we do. The Holy Spirit, that probably no one imbued with cynicism would concede, provides and abides. Jesus proclaims that he and the Father are one. This was an outright anathema to those with whom he was conversing ...

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