Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: contest, tournament, match, game, round, heat, fixture, event, meet, encounter, rivalry, competitiveness, vying, contesting, opposition, contention, conflict, feuding, battling, fighting, struggling, strife, war, opposing side, other side, other team, field, enemy, foe

Showing 1 to 25 of 4944 results

1. Let Us Cross To The Other Side

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... happening around him and to him. Job lost sight of God when his own questions became doubts and his doubts began to harden into cynicism. Job lost sight of God when he listened to his friends and his wife and his own questions. Job crossed over to the other side when God said to him in the storm, "Brace yourself and answer the questions I ask you." The questions did not bury Job. They raised him from the dead. The questions of God brought Job from the wrong side of the sea to the right side. The questions ...

2. The Temptation To Pass By On The Other Side

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Brett Blair

... Jesus story fell victim. He was ambushed, robbed, beaten, stripped, and left to die in a pool of crimson red. Now, the question in the story is who is going to stop and help? Who is it that will not fall prey to the temptation to pass by on the other side? I The first passerby, it just so happens, was a priest from the local temple who saw this beaten man. It may seem curious to us that he makes no effort at all to stop and help but this priest was probably thinking that the man was already dead and ...

3. The Other Side Of Christmas

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... not afraid of human suffering. He's been there. He's not afraid of blood. In fact, he's shed some blood himself. In Marc Connelly's play, Green Pastures, the Lord says: "Even bein' God ain't a bed of roses!" (1) Certainly it is not on the other side of Christmas. I. A Prophecy of What Lay Ahead A man named Simeon prophesied what lay ahead. Our lesson from Luke's Gospel skips ahead from the Christmas story to that day when they brought Jesus up to Jerusalem for the rite of purification in accordance with the ...

4. The Other Side of Worship

1 John 1:1-4

Sermon

James Merritt

... place to find both is in a New Testament church; even more specifically, in a small group within that church called Bible Study. Now we all know that the primary purpose that we gather to church is to worship the Lord. But there is another side to worship. The other side of worship is fellowship. John says in this text that Jesus Christ came, He died, He was buried, and He was raised from the dead, not only to save us, but "that you also may have fellowship with us." (v.3) We are living today in not only a ...

5. Trusting the Other Side

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... the way we have always done it.” Yes, Jesus is walking along the edge of this community and is calling out to you: “Trust. Trust me. Obey. Obey the radical demands of the gospel. Risk. Risk doing new things in new ways. Cast your nets on the other side of the boat — trusting that fresh grace and abundance will come tumbling into this place.” In trying to infuse the church with the best learning from the Starbucks strategy, Len Sweet has come up with the anagram E-P-I-C. EPIC. He suggests that vital ...

6. Casting the Net on the Other Side of the Boat

John 21:1-14, Matthew 4:18-22, 1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Illustration

John R. Steward

... the same way and the Lord would like us to try a new method. The apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:22 says, "I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some." Maybe that's the same as casting your nets on the other side of the boat. Several years ago when I was visiting Norway, the land of my great-grandparents, I learned something about evangelism. Since my wife was born in Norway, her family was giving us a tour of the country that on occasion was off the beaten track. On our way ...

7. The Other Side of Christmas

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... child. I believe everyone in the sound of my voice today realizes that there is another side to the Christmas story which we don''t find on all our Christmas cards and gifts. A few years ago a well-known newspaper columnist named Mike Royko shared the other side of the Christmas story in his column. He began by telling the story of a stranger putting $1,600 in gold coins in a Salvation Army kettle. The person placed the gift quietly and anonymously in the kettle. This is exactly the kind of story the print ...

8. The Temptation To Pass By On The Other Side

Luke 10:25-37

Illustration

Robert Beringer

... it had been his bomb that had destroyed the church back in 1944. An impulse was born in his heart as he thought about that tiny town, and how the loss of their church must have touched those people. But then came the temptation to pass by on the other side. He says he thought to himself, "Come on, Ray, after all, the Nazis bombed innocent children in London and Warsaw; it was wartime; it was years ago; forget it, Ray, and get on with your life; it's not your concern." But thank God, Ray Hamley did not let ...

9. Trumpets on the Other Side

John 11:17-37

Sermon

Thomas Slavens

... hence was come, many accompanied him to the riverside, into which as he went he said, “Death, where is thy sting?” And as he went down deeper he said, “Grave, where is thy victory?” So he passed over, and all the trumpets sounded for him on the other side.8 Prayer O God, in whose salvation we are glad and rejoice, on this Easter, we thank You for the victory of Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, over sin and death. We thank You for his mighty Resurrection and for the hope and the assurance granted to ...

10. The Other Side of Christmas

Luke 2:21-40

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

Object: Discarded wrapping paper, Christmas ornaments to be put away, etc. Good morning, boys and girls. I hope you had a very merry Christmas. I hope Santa Claus was good to you. It's kind of sad to pack away Christmas for another year, isn't it? I brought some things with me this morning that I'm packing away. What's this? That's right, some wrapping paper from a gift I received. It was a special gift and the wrapping paper is so beautiful. But I tore it and made it unusable. So, into the trash it goes. ...

11. The Other Side Of The Fence

Drama

Timothy W. Ayers

Topic: Materialism, priorities, greed, shortness of life, treasures in heaven Characters: Peter and Penelope Piggie Scene: The Piggies' living room. They whine through the whole script. When they turn around the two are wearing little pig noses. (These can be found at costume shops and novelty stores) Peter: (He is miming the opening of drapes and has binoculars around his neck) Penelope dear, is that you? Penelope: Yes, dear, it is I, or is that me? Why are you by the window again? You're just torturing ...

12. "Lite Beer by Miller"

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Sermon

Peter Rudowski

... local butcher. He in turn would sell that animal to his customers. Knowing this, the issue became whether or not you could buy meat from the local butcher knowing he sold meat offered to false gods. Any self-respecting Christian would say no. Then there was the other side of the congregation. That side said that they had heard what the apostle had said and they were going to practice their freedom in the Gospel. After all, didn’t Jesus come to free us from the law? It is by Christ that we are saved and ...

13. The Dark Side Confronted

Hebrews 12:5-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... when the boat floated away. A man came by and saw the boat out on the pond and began throwing stones on the far side of the boat. The boy said, "What are you doing?" The man never said a word he just kept throwing stones on the other side of that boat. The boy then began to watch in amazement as something very interesting began to happen. As the stones hit the water beyond the boat, they created ripples which pushed the boat back toward that boy. The man kept disturbing that water until the boat was back ...

14. Week Four Of Lent

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... of the country to be a person of any value. The works he accomplishes, however, signify something special about him. His words as well are attractive. Still, Jesus comes from the wrong area; thus he is labeled as one who is unworthy. This person from the other side of the tracks is causing problems for the elite of Judea. Thus, the ruling powers drum up a plot to eliminate him from their midst. Jesus and his message are not to be tolerated. Jeremiah also knew the rejection of those who could not handle his ...

15. A Cross-Shaped Life

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... . This was the argument in the early church community of 1 John. They were a church in conflict with themselves. On the one side, were those who believed that Jesus was simply a man -- specially gifted by God's Spirit, but still just a man. On the other side were those who believed that Jesus was the eternal Word of God who existed from the beginning of the world and who had come in human form. On the one side, were those who believed that all you needed was faith -- action was not important. On the ...

16. The Thing With Two Heads

Matthew 16:13-24

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... are!" (2) Everything has two sides doesn't it? A coin has heads or tails. An old 45 record has a Hit side and the flip side. A piece of bread has two sides, the side that's buttered that always hits the floor when you drop it and the other side. A river, a fence and a tennis court all have two sides. We each have a left side and a right side and most people have a good side and a bad side. A house has an inside and an outside. Beds and railroad tracks both have right sides and ...

17. Saints By Faith: Good to the Last Drop

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... want two sets of action to take place at one time, divide the stage with a thin sheet of cheesecloth. When the lights come up in front of the skrim, all you can see is what's happening downstage. But if the lights shift, you can see action on the other side. It's been there all the time, you just couldn't see it. The action goes on downstage, but in that moment you can see what's going on upstage. So John holds two actions side-by-side. Downstage is the gritty "here and now" of the first century world ...

18. Determining Your Destiny

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

James Merritt

... licked his sores.” (Luke 16:20-21, ESV) Here was a man who was so poor he couldn’t afford to pay attention. He couldn’t walk. His body was covered with sores. He was hungry, emaciated, sick, and in every way the complete opposite of the man on the other side of the gate. This is where you have to be very careful in reading this story. The major difference between these two men was not that one was rich and the other man was poor. A quick read of the story would give you the impression that one man was ...

19. Supernatural: Taken By Storm

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

James Merritt

... of storm that could break that boat into little toothpicks. At this point, most people fail to ask an important question. Why were they out there in the middle of that lake to begin with? Because Jesus had told them to get into that boat and to cross to the other side. It wasn’t their idea to take that trip. It was Jesus’ idea. What am I saying? Often storms come into our life and we start thinking that we are out of the will of God, that we have done something wrong, we’ve disobeyed the Lord and He ...

20. Breakfast on the Beach

John 21:1-14

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... and mind my own business? Said it all the time... Only thing was, back then, I didn't know what my business was. Now I know. [6] We know what our business is. Our business is fishing. Sometimes you just have to be willing to fish out of the other side of the boat. 1. J. Collins, Built to Last, page 81 2. 2004 Book of Discipline, Paragraph 125 3. Rev. Stanley Bailey, First UMC, Mt. Clemens, Nov. 1978 4. J. Collins, Built to Last, page 81 5. Randolph Nugent, "And Have They Come to Know Christ?", April 3, 2000 ...

21. What Do You See?

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

James Merritt

... was morally right? When you begin to rationalize with your mind why you shouldn’t get involved and why you shouldn’t help and why you should not be a friend indeed to a friend in need, do you know what you will do? You will pass by on the other side. There is one other way that you can react to a person in need. II. Respond with Your Heart For those in the crowd listening to this story there is still hope. The priest has failed. The Levite has failed, but there are still a lot of great Jewish people ...

22. Envy - Where Is The Grass Greener?

Gn 4:1-26, Mt 20:1-16, Philip 4:10-20

Sermon

R. Curtis Fussell

... never seem to outgrow our capacity to focus on what someone else has. We remain blind to the gifts and blessings that are ours. Let me suggest that there are three stages(5) in the cycle of envy. The first stage says that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. At this stage we feel inferior and resent, if not hate, the other person. That was the stage where Alice was at. Instead of appreciating what was hers and who she was, she grumbled that someone else had an advantage. "Abel, let's take a ...

23. The Perfect Storm

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

James Merritt

... lap. But every day she would talk with a glow about her about the promises of God that she would find in the Bible. One day she slipped into a deeper sleep than usual and she just didn't come back. She awoke in heaven having crossed over to the other side. In fact, she died with her Bible on the lap of her now empty body. Well, that Bible became a treasured family heirloom. Her married son and his wife began to read that Bible and they were interested that in the margins of the Bible they would find these ...

24. A DRAMA OF LOST WORDS

Drama

... . Nobody remembers words. [Lights go dim; Man 1 and Woman 1 stop talking and face front] Person: [To man 1 and woman 1] Right! Words are too weak. See what you should do, when you’ve got all the men on one side and all the women on the other side ... [Lights come up on Man 2 and Woman 2. They are still arguing; Person looks at them quickly, then goes on, trying to finish what must be said] Then you get both groups to point at each other ... [They aren’t hearing. Moves to face them, raises voice] You ...

25. Deliverance

Isaiah 49:8-26, Isaiah 44:24--45:25, Exodus 15:22-27, Exodus 13:17--14:31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... where they would be going, or where they would end up, or how things would turn out in the end when they got to the other side. But they saw how to take their next step forward. and together, they walked through the sea….on dry ground. That’s what God wants ... enough, after a couple of hours of moving through that storm or fog seeing just a few feet at a time, you emerge on the other side into the light of day, and into a new place. Can you trust God to be your headlights in the fog? Your lantern in the ...

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