Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2376 to 2400 of 2844 results

2376. God Is Not Far Away

Luke 21:5-38

Illustration

Keith Wagner

What anxious people need more than anything is peace, especially peace of mind. On Black Friday I went into one of those fancy stores that sells watches. The store was crowded and I could barely make my way to the counter. I was on a mission. I had a watch that needed a battery. I was certain that the last thing any clerk wanted to do on the busiest shopping day of the year was to install a new battery in a watch. Much to my surprise the man said he would be glad to put in a new battery. I could leave it ...

2377. A Miracle Child

Exodus 2:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I’m sure that our parents here today would identify at least with the sermon title today, A Miracle Child. The truth of the matter is that every child is a miracle. Where did you come from baby dear? Out of the everywhere into the here. Where did you get those eyes so blue? Out of the sky as I passed through. Whence that three cornered smile of bliss? Three angels gave me at once a kiss. Where did you get this pearly ear? God spoke and it came out to here. Where did you get those arms and hands? Love made ...

2378. A Crib, A Cross, And A Cave

Matthew 28:1-10

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

True story. A United Methodist pastor was asked to conduct a a graveside service for a member of his church. The only problem was, the cemetery was more than an hour and a half away from the church. The pastor wasn't feeling well so he decided to ride with the Funeral Director in the Coach. By the time they arrived at the cemetery, the flu had invaded completely and he said he felt like the Chinese Army was having a pogo stick Derby on his head and stomach. Feverish and sick, he made it through the service ...

2379. Acts 8:14-17

Acts 8:9-25

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

“Is it real—or is it Memorex?” Memorex today makes televisions, dvd players, flash players, clock radios. But back a million-years-ago, Memorex made cassettes. And “Is it real–Or is it Memorex” was their slogan. It was a slogan the company used to tout the superiority of its tape for authentic recording productions. The “Memorex” company put its recorded sound up against a live voice. You got to decide. Was there any difference? Of course, they decided for you–they claimed there was no difference. The text ...

2380. A Stone’s Throw From: The Party

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

There's an old story about a skeptic who continually harassed the local pastor. His one delight in life seemed to be making the pastor appear inadequate intellectually. The pastor bore those challenges to his theology and faith with great restraint. One day the skeptic was heckling the pastor about his views on miracles. "Give me one concrete example of a miracle," the skeptic taunted. "One concrete example." This pastor hauled off and kicked the skeptic in the shin as hard as he could. The skeptic couldn' ...

2381. Do We Live in ‘Why’ or ‘Whynot’

Romans 12:3-8, 16-18

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

(Pursuit of Happiness Clip) If you have seen the movie Pursuit of Happiness, it is based on the true story of Chris Gardner. Chris Gardner's life is falling apart. After a business deal goes bad, he feels that the only way he can make a good life for his family is if he changes careers. So despite all the odds, Gardner enters the chase for a lucrative job as a stockbroker at Dean-Whitter. The only problem is that the competitive internship required doesn't pay anything, and there is no guarantee of ...

2382. Settling In Celebration

Romans 12:1-2

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Today IS a day to Celebrate. We should leave Worship today and every day with the same sort of smiles and the same bounce in our step. Today IS a day to celebrate. You see, whenever we gather to worship we celebrate life and faith. We celebrate the fact that God is still in charge and we can leave the burden of running the world to the One who created the world. Whenever we Worship we celebrate God's presence with us; God's deep love for us and the gift of God's Son, Jesus. And because of Jesus, we ...

2383. Batman: Driven By Guilt or Grace?

Romans 5:1-11; 8:1-2

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Sometimes on our journey of faith, we let other things get between us and God. Sometimes it's not things so much as it is ideas and attitudes. Sometimes its just our emotions. The point is, we let other stuff get between us and God. Usually it's just our own selfish pride. But whatever it is, it blocks us from receiving the full extent of God's Grace. It's like going to a banquet in our honor, being told that all our favorite dishes have been prepared just the way we like them and then choosing to eat ...

2384. Discover the Promise of Christmas

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Most, if not all of the leftover turkey has been eaten. Black Friday sales are mostly over. The decorations are up all over town and in the malls. We're stuffed and either glad the relatives have finally left or we're saddened because they could stay longer; or maybe just a little of both. Those are the telltale signs that Christmas is right around the corner. Today we enter the Season of Advent in the Church. It is a season of promise and a season of preparation, preparation to receive the Promise of God ...

2385. Lost? Looking For Happiness

1 Peter 2:9-12

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Let's see, if you followed the advice of all the Super Bowl commercials, if you're a guy, you get up, shave with your Schick Quattro, jump in your State Farm insured pickup truck with the Michellin tires and the Garmin GPS navigation system. You head to your job which you found through Career Builder, wearing a VanHuesen shirt and Izod pants. You get to the office, fire up your HP computer and get on the internet through Sprint's wireless network so you can register your company's IP address through ...

2386. A Chance To Sing

Matthew 9:32-34

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

In the middle of the soloist's anthem at church one Sunday, a young boy turned to his grandmother and whispered, "She can't sing very well, can she?" Grandma knew the woman had had a deep love for God so she said, "Well, she sings from her heart. That's what makes it good." He nodded thoughtfully. Several days later they were riding together and singing along with the radio when the grandson turned to his grandmother and said, "Gramma, you sing from your heart, don't you?" (1) I remember the choir in one ...

2387. A Chance To Hear

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Three retirees, each with hearing loss, were taking a walk one fine March day. One of them remarked to the other, "Windy, ain't it?" "No," the second man replied, "It's Thursday." And the third man chimed in, "So am I, let's stop and get a Coke." Hearing loss is really no laughing matter, I know. For the past couple of years my family has been making fun of the things I thought I'd heard. Well, about five months ago I finally had my hearing tested and now I wear hearing aids. The difference for me was ...

2388. The Miss, The Kiss, The Mess, The Rest

2 Samuel 11:1-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A few years back, I read about a group of three burglars in Vang, Norway, who tried to open a large safe in a small factory. They attached a small explosive device to the door of the safe and then hid in the next room until it went off. The explosion was so powerful that it demolished the whole building and left them buried under a pile of rubble. The ironic thing about was, the safe had never held any money. The company money was kept in a cash box in an unlocked desk drawer. But what they did keep in the ...

2389. This Is Where We Come In

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Not every movie is bathed in theological symbolism or significance. The Denzel Washington movie, The Book of Eli, the story of the man with the last Bible on planet Earth, is one that is rife with spiritual underpinnings. But perhaps the most lasting mark Eli will make on my life is that I’ll never see that word “believe” again without thinking of “Eli” and his story. There is another movie that will change forever an everyday activity. Once you see this movie, there is no way you can perform this daily ...

2390. Never Too Old For God: Abraham And Sarah

Genesis 18:1-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A husband and wife were on long trip when they got into a large-sized argument over a small-sized issue. We've all done that haven't we? Well, the air was so icy between them, they probably could have turned off the air conditioner. And for a number of miles they refused to even speak to each other. The strained silence continued until they drove past a couple of mules grazing in a pasture. The husband finally broke the silence: "Are those some of your relatives?" And his wife answered, "Yes, they're ...

2391. Batman: Driven By Guilt or Grace?

Romans 5:1-11; 8:1-2; Luke 18:9-16

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Romans 5:1-11 (NRSV) [1] Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, [2] through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. [3] And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, [4] and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, [5] and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts ...

2392. Five Smooth Stones

1 Samuel 17:1, 4-11, 21-24, 32-50

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A Sunday School teacher told the class the story of David and Goliath. He embellished the story with all kinds of details, emphasizing, especially, David's deep faith in God. He animated with gestures and movements; and he concluded with all the details of how little David killed the giant Goliath with a rock from his sling. At the end of the story he asked the class what lesson they had learned. One of the little boys popped up and said: "Duck!" This morning we examine one of the best known stories of the ...

2393. Luke 9:28-36

Luke 9:28-36

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

This week’s reading details the events that lead up to the Transfiguration. Luke’s text skillfully staircases these revelatory experiences as steps along the road to the ultimate mountain top experience. The disciples witnessed Jesus casting out demons (Luke 8:32) and his resurrection of a child (8:54). Jesus sent them out on their own mission journeys, empowering them to heal and exorcize demons (9:1). He miraculously fed five thousand people with five loaves and two fish (9:112-17). Peter even ...

2394. Resurrected Glory (Series: Living on the Resurrection Side of Life)

John 17:1-5

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

William Barclay says “It was in their death that the great ones found their glory.” I’ve been thinking about that statement, and I believe it is true. Abraham Lincoln had his enemies in his lifetime, but even those who had criticized him saw his greatness when he died. Joan of Arc was burned as a witch and a heretic by the English. But some people left the scene saying “We are all lost because we have burned a saint.” Martin Luther King, Jr. was ridiculed as a radical, a rabble-rouser, and a dangerous ...

2395. Jesus Saves, We're Called To Invest

Matthew 25:14-20

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A few years ago I read that EmoryUniversity had posted the new tuition rates on a bulletin board in the administration building. Every department and every school had a significant increase, except for one. Because Candler School of Theology was so heavily endowed, their tuition stayed the same. Someone noticed the significant difference between the school of theology and the rest of the departments and in red ink above the school of theology's tuition rates they wrote: Jesus talked a lot about the use of ...

2396. Am I My Brother’s Keeper? (Series: Real Faith for Real People)

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teaming shore. Send these the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” As I read those words, once more, inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, I wondered if we Americans believe that any more. Do we really want the world’s huddled masses yearning to be free? Our founder, John Wesley, had a unique way of weaving personal holiness and social concern into religious conviction. ...

2397. Cast All Your Anxiety on Him

1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Open With Video: Incredible Family from www.sermonspice.com I hope none of you are cringing. All of us would like to lay claim to having an Incredible Family. We admit that we have our problems but despite those problems and shortcomings we still want that incredible family. And we usually think our families are pretty incredible. We all have problems in our families. Even God. And we can take comfort from the thought that even God had problems with God's kids. Remember the story in Genesis? After creating ...

2398. The Promise of Hope

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A little boy and his Dad were in church, and the boy asked, "Dad, what does it mean when the people pass those plates?" Dad said, "It means the people are giving gifts to God." Then the boy asked, "What does it mean when they have those trays stacked up there and bread and wine and people go up and kneel?" Dad answered, "It means they are guests at the Lord's table and they're taking communion." And then the boy asked, "What does it mean when the preacher lays his watch on the pulpit?" Since the preacher ...

2399. Hope In The Midst of Uncertainty

Matthew 24:36-44

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

I just read about two Senior Citizens who were out for their usual morning walk. They both had been complaining about the aches and pains of getting older. As they passed the local funeral home one of them turned to the other and said, "Look there's no hope of recovery, we're just getting older. Let's just go in and give ourselves up." (1) I also read about a For Sale ad in the Roanoke, Illinois, Review which read: "Hope chest: Brand new, half price, long story." (2) I'd like to know the story behind that ...

2400. Thanks, But No Thanks

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

There's an old "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strip in which Calvin is talking to his stuffed tiger Hobbes (whom he imagines to be real and his best friend). He says: "People are so self-centered." Then he adds philosophically, "The world would be a better place if people would stop thinking about themselves and focus on others for a change." Hobbes sort of rolls his eyes and thinks aloud, "Gee, I wonder who that might apply to." Calvin answers, "Me!. Everyone should focus on me!" (1) Bill Watterson's cartoon ...

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