Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: captured, trapped, catch, took, arrested, grabbed, taken, seized, stuck, apprehended, picked up, entangled, nabbed, jammed, abducted, acquired, got, bagged, gotten, netted, cornered, appropriated, tangled, snared, ensnared

Antonyms: free, freed, unconfined, loose, unrestrained, set free, uncuffed, emancipated, enfranchised, released, ambiguous, flaccid, let go, discharged, unbound, uncaged, unchained, unfettered, unleashed, unshackled, untied, avoided, discounted, disregarded, missed

Showing 1 to 25 of 688 results

1. God's Bag of Cookies

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... forced to trust a God who sometimes doesn’t deal with the world the way we think the world ought to be handled. Listen to a modern parable: One afternoon a church office assistant took a well deserved coffee break. She stopped by the vending machine and bought a bag of cookies, which she slipped into her purse. The she waited in line for a cup of coffee. After she got her coffee, she found a vacant chair at a table in the break room and sat down to enjoy these few brief minutes away from the office. She ...

2. A Sleeping Bag God

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... in one place, but in all places at all times, recognized or not, rebuffed or not, always working for the good of his people. God, our story declares, is a moving and dynamic God, out always among his people wherever their travels take them. And God is a sleeping bag God not in the sense that he sleeps as we sleep, but in the sense that he travels lightly to better serve the needs of his children. So the psalmist’s words of praise are also ours: The protector of Israel never dozes or sleeps.The Lord will ...

3. Risky Business

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... is what hope looks like. As her father said, “God loves you so much. He has lots of hopes that your life will be filled with good things. In fact, there are more hopes than you or I can ever count!” This steward who dug a hole and buried the bag that was entrusted to him had a misunderstanding of his master’s character. He saw his master as cruel and vindictive. Maybe you and I do too. God is not a cruel judge who vigilantly watches to catch us doing something wrong. God is a loving Parent watching us ...

4. Ten Pounds of Mercy, One Pound of Faith

Luke 19:11-27, Matthew 25:1-13, Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’” After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. Matthew’s Account of Jesus’ Parable of Virgins and Bags of Gold “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The ...

5. How Big of a Risk Would You Take?

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... ; see, I have gained two more." Again his master replied, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!" Then the man who had received one bag came. Can’t you see him shuffling forward with his eyes downcast, afraid to look his master in the eye? "Master," he sort of mumbles, "I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed ...

6. The Greatest Sin

Luke 13:6-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. “So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags,” said the master, “. . . and throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (25:14-30). It’s easy to feel sorry for this poor guy. After all, he was probably a pretty ...

7. Advent 3: Won't You Let Him Into Your Gift-Giving?

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

James W. Moore

... this note in it.” (She handed over the note) “And besides, I want it back.” “Why?” “Those are my things in the sack, Daddy, the ones I really like. I thought you might like to play with them, but now I want them back. You didn’t lose the bag, did you, Daddy?” Tears puddled in her eyes. “Oh no, I just forgot to bring it home.” “Bring it tomorrow, O.K?” “Sure thing, don’t worry.” As she hugged her dad’s neck with relief, he unfolded the note that had not made it into the sack ...

8. A Promise Fulfilled: A Gift Given

Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... hear of it. Bishop Nicholas arrived and tried a window, then another, and another, but all were locked. But instead of going to the back of the house, he climbed up the side and reached the roof. From there he dropped the gold down the chimney. The bag broke open as it dropped and all the coins fell into the fire. The pawnbroker raked them from the fire, allowed them to cool, and found there was sufficient money for a dowry for his youngest daughter. The pawnbroker never knew of the bishop's kindness, but ...

9. The Broken English of Pentecost

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , one to use as a prop and a couple more to pass around the congregation. Then you can spend the rest of your sermon rebuking your people for making so much noise.] The new Sunchips bag looks just about the same as any old bag of chips, but it is now completely compostable. Bury a Sunchips bag in the ground and in a few weeks, it is gone, sucked right back into the soil. Okay, that’s great for reducing landfill waste. Plus it makes eating a yummy, salty snack food seem like a virtuous act. But the most ...

10. Ultimate Thanksgiving

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... of his servants together and entrusted to them certain sums of money. To one he gave ten bags of gold (The New English Bible), to another he gave five bags of gold, to a third he gave only one bag. You know what happened. The servant with the five bags used his gold to earn five bags more. The servant with two bags earned two bags more. But the servant with only one bag hid that bag in the ground. He only had the one bag when his master returned. And the master was irate. Life is not to be hoarded. It is ...

11. Life From God's Perspective

John 12:12-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... , "I left it at the office, why?" "I want it back," Molly told him. "Why?" Dad wondered. "Those are my things in the sack, Daddy, the ones I really like ” I thought you might like to play with them, but now I want them back. You didn't lose the bag, did you, Daddy?" Tears were filling in her eyes and her father felt bad. "Oh no," he tried to comfort her, "I just forgot to bring it home," he lied. She was right ” what was in that sack was something else. She had given him her treasures. "All that a ...

12. Leave Your Stuff Behind

Genesis 45:1-28

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... Get in your mind the picture with which be began the sermon – the junk man with his cart filled with cast off clothing, discarded furniture, all sorts of abandoned useless things. Do you see it in your mind? He’s passing by. In your imagination now, throw your trash bag onto the junk wagon and let it be taken away. Have you done it? In your imagination, just cast it onto the junk wagon to be taken away. Be silent now and enjoy the relief and release of getting rid of that burden. Open your eyes now, but ...

13. Ready or Not, Here I Come

Luke 12:32-40

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... said. A week later, Mary told the pastor, "For the first time in my adult life, I feel free to live my faith with faithfulness. It's like a new world." "It is a new world," the pastor responded. "It's called the kingdom of God. When you gave your bag of rocks to the Lord, you got a foretaste of what it will be like when you go to heaven." Together they turned to Luke 12:32. "Maybe you'd like to read it out loud," the pastor suggested. Mary read, "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is ...

14. Excuses! Excuses!

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... of gold. A wealthy man was going on a journey. Before he left he gave one of his servants five bags of gold. This servant used his five bags and made five bags more. His master was exceedingly pleased with him. The master gave another servant two bags of gold . . . and he also invested his gold wisely. He earned two more bags. But a third servant was given just one bag of gold. This servant was fearful and hid his bag of gold in the ground instead of investing it as his master had hoped. So he had only the ...

15. Four Magic Words

Psalm 126:1-6, Psalm 145:2-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... HAD. “I wish I had this. I wish I had that.” The servant tried using the words suggested by the wise man. He tried thinking of all the things he wanted. “I wish I had this. I wish I had that. I wish I had something else.” But the bag was not replenished. Now he became quite concerned. He approached a person who happened to be passing him on the street. He told him the story. He asked his advice on the matter. The stranger suggested, “Well maybe the four magic words are GIVE ME SOME MORE.” So the ...

16. The Foolishness of God

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

King Duncan

... in the cup. Well the newcomer thought that was a great idea and so he took two packets of sugar which also had been provided and drop them in his cup of hot water, unopened. That makes sense, doesn’t it? He wasn’t supposed to open the tea bag, so why open the packet of sugar? The man had good logic, but still he got it wrong. (1) We all have done foolish things at times. I’ve done foolish things; you’ve done foolish things. But we would never attribute foolishness to God. God is perfect. However ...

17. Are You Under Arrest?

Heb 5:11-13; 10:39

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... on the other hand, were used every single day. Olive used them well. She flung them about like darts whenever someone got too close. After a while people moved away without a word. One day as she was walking to the discount store, Olive’s plain brown shopping bag broke and spilled out all its words. Suddenly Olive was connected to everyone around. and it wasn't even Christmas.4 Olive had been arrested. Now Olive was free. And how about you? Are you under arrest? 1. McPhee, op. cit., p. 23. 2. Ibid., p. 23 ...

18. The One Thing That Matters

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... affair with the world. The great tragedies of life can be summed up like this: We threw away jewels and kept only the brown leather bag that they came in. So it is with religion. We make such a to-do about the trappings of religion and ignore that which is ... it because I love you so much. I did it because I love you so much." HAVE YOU THROWN AWAY THE JEWELS AND KEPT ONLY THE LEATHER BAG? The center of our faith is the cross - not a shiny, gold cross but an old rugged cross. A cross on which we see the Son of ...

19. Putting Ourselves into the Picture

Exodus 1:1-22

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... on the book of Exodus, one of the greatest books in the Bible. And during these next Sundays, we’re going to preach through this great book. And I want to begin with a sermon that purposes two things – one, it suggests a key for getting into the bag. And two, it provides some specific lessons from the first chapter of Exodus. Now the key is to put ourselves into the picture. Get that? The key is to put ourselves into the picture. When you read scripture, read it not as a spectator, but as a participant ...

20. On the Road with the Rich Young Ruler

Luke 18:18-30

Sermon

James W. Moore

... of their names was on the list, the other was not. One was selected to be set free, the other would be forced to stay behind in prison. The soldier to be set free went to gather his most prized personal belongings. He placed them in his duffel bag, but then as he started toward the boat and toward his freedom, he saw his friend and he realized that his friend had not been selected. Quickly, the soldier motioned his buddy to follow him. Discreetly, they went behind one of the barracks. The soldier turned his ...

21. Work Like the Who?

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... bent over to pick up two pebbles. The sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick a pebble. Now, imagine that you were the girl standing in the field. What would you have ... it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles. “Oh, how clumsy of me,” she said. “But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked.” Since the remaining pebble was black, it would ...

22. The Woman at the Well

John 4:1-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... to distribute to the girls working in New Orleans strip clubs. She didn’t need help making the trip. She was only asking for a few dollars toward preparing the gift bags. Inside the gift bags would be such things as a bottle of bubble bath, a sleep mask, and other thoughtful gifts that she felt these girls would appreciate. And, inside each gift bag there would be a personal note from Susan telling her personal story of how she once was where these girls are, and how Christ had touched her and healed her ...

23. Why Just Once A Year?

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... people, a walk down Memory Lane required picking their way through an emotional minefield. How can we give thanks for our memories when so many of them are so painful? Author Patti Davis writes, "Pictures don't lie. Memories don't lie, either. They are huge grab bags; we plunge our hands in and take out whatever matches the agenda of our hearts." (4) And that is the link between remembering and being thankful: we can choose "the agenda of our hearts." We can choose how we remember the past. Even if the past ...

24. What God Has Joined Together

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... , Sally tried in vain to make a bit of small talk with the Navajo woman. The old woman just sat silently, looking intently at everything she saw, studying every little detail. Then the old woman noticed a brown bag on the seat next to Sally. "What’s in bag?" asked the old woman. Sally looked down at the brown bag and said, "It’s a leather coat. I got it for my husband." The Navajo woman was silent for another moment or two. Then speaking with the quiet wisdom of an elder, she said: "Good trade." (1) One ...

25. Get Real

John 15:1-11, 16

Sermon

James Merritt

... that tea. That is exactly what happens when we abide in Christ. We begin to take on the color of His character. We begin to take on the flavor of His life. The way you abide in Christ is you spend time every day with Christ. You take the tea bag of your life and you soak it in the hot water of His word. You let Him talk to you as you study the Bible. Then, you spend even more time with Him, talking with Him in prayer. On that daily basis, you get real with Him, so you can ...

Showing results