Sermon and Worship Resources

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1. Let Me Tell You about the Birds and the Bees

Proverbs 5:15-23

Sermon

James Merritt

... is still another problem. It has become patently obvious that education alone, especially school-based sex education, is not a panacea for all of our sexual problems. Compare these two letters: The first letter is a letter written to Ann Landers. Listen to it and note Lander's response: Dear Ann Landers: I am heartbroken. My sixteen-year old daughter has just been diagnosed with a very severe case of herpes. I am beside myself. "Melissa" has had plenty of sex education, and we have had many talks about safe ...

2. Don't Be Stupid

Jeremiah 4:5-31

Sermon

Richard L. Sheffield

... , science without humanity, worship without sacrifice." (Source unknown) Gandhi puts it in modern language; God put it in eternal language. The ten commandments could just as well be known as the ten "don't be stupids." How stupid can we be? Go back and read Ann Landers' list and Gandhi's list and God's list this week. I went back and read an editorial from The Wall Street Journal recently. It was placed as an advertisement for The Journal in the New York Times (January 8, 1992) with the headline: "When ...

3. When Your Sister or Brother Stumbles

2 Corinthians 2:5-11

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... fall into sin. But what is our obligation to our brothers and sisters in Christ who stumble morally? Back to that woman in Dubuque, Iowa; let's suppose she is a Christian. What obligation does she have to that cheating neighbor other than to write to Ann Landers about her? It bothers me deeply that when a church member experiences a moral failure, the reaction of many other church members is to ignore him or gossip about him. Neither of these responses is fit for a Christian. I have two sisters who live in ...

4. What Do You Think You’re Worth?

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... called them for dinner. As they headed for the house, he said, "Well, Dad, I guess that proved it. I really am a terrific pitcher!" With this self-applause we can get to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think. A sixteen-year-old girl wrote to Ann Landers, "What troubles me is that I have no problems ... I am a pretty, mature girl. My figure is great, my skin is like peaches and cream. I have all the dates I can handle. My grades are tops and I win everything I try for at school. Something has ...

5. Adultery, Cure and Prevention

Proverbs 7:1-27, John 8:1-11

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... ? I have been suspicious of my husband for some time. I even hired a private detective to trail him, but he couldn't come up with a thing. I went to a lawyer. He told me to grow up and accept the fact that all husbands fool around. Do they?" Ann Landers very wisely replied, "No. There are plenty of married men who never cheat, and your husband could be one of them. The only thing you can be fairly sure of is that your lawyer cheats on his wife." Cheating on one's wife or husband is called adultery in the ...

6. A Soap Opera For Saints

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... after being out of their lives for 10 years. It is going to be difficult re-entering now that they have a stepdad they like. I'm writing in the hope that others will consider the ramifications before they jump. Just sign me ” SECOND THOUGHTS IN P.A." Ann Landers responded like this: "DEAR SECOND THOUGHTS: I could use the rest of this column to reflect on 'sowing and reaping,' but it would serve no useful purpose. I'm sure you also know that a father can't disappear for 10 years and expect his sons to ...

7. Kissing Cousins (Father's Day)

2 Corinthians 13:11-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... before, that on this matter there is a clear divide between those who take their faith seriously and those who simply have their names on a church roll. Still, we are part of a culture that shows some very unhealthy trends. A man sent a letter to Ann Landers. He wrote, “This is for the woman who was distressed about her son. I would like to ask her some questions about the boy. Is he disrespectful? Has he been arrested for drunk driving? Has he been kicked out of college for cheating? Has he made his ...

8. True Love

Illustration

Ann Landers

Years ago the following letter was sent to Ann Landers. It's a great image of true love: Dear Ann Landers: I’m going to tell you about a love story that I witness every time I go to the nursing home to see my husband who has Alzheimer’s disease. Unfortunately, I know firsthand how this terrible illness affects family members, but I would like the world to know what ...

9. Risk and Reward

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

... . The person who risks nothing has nothing and is nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he cannot learn, and he cannot feel, and he cannot change, and he really cannot grow. Chained by his certitudes, he is a slave." And then Ann Landers closed with these powerful words, "Only a person who takes risks is free." Thank you, Ann Landers. If you're holding back on an issue because the risk is too great. Take another look. It may be that only as you take the plunge will you find direction and meaning.

10. Reconciliation Day

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... you ever been in a situation where you were right, but you knew an expression of anger would cause the situation to escalate? Nearly twenty years ago there was another interesting letter this time to advice columnist Ann Landers. It also dealt with handling anger and resentment. It reads like this: Dear Ann Landers, I’ve suddenly become aware that the years are flying by. Time somehow seems more precious. My parents suddenly seem old. My aunts and uncles are sick. I haven’t seen some of my cousins for ...

11. Was The President's Advisor's Sin Really That Bad?

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... the others existed and things were going fine. By chance, two of them met each other, compared notes, and found me out. Now they are furious with me. What am I going to do? P.S. Please don't give me any of your moral junk. Signed, Trapped. Ann Landers answered like this: Dear Trapped, The one major thing that separates the human race from animals is a God-given sense of morality. Since you don't have a sense of morality, I strongly suggest you consult a veterinarian. (5) Now, maybe you think we don't need ...

12. What Are You Tied To?

John 15:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... Obedience is not generally a word in our vocabulary. But when parents live in loving obedience to God and children live in loving obedience to their parents, then usually you will find a successful family. There was a letter in the Ann Landers column sometime back. A woman writes: Dear Ann: Because of my husband's business, I am subjected to the cocktail circuit more than I want to be. It seems the principal topic for discussion is "our crazy, mixed-up kids." Those who have no nutty offspring to talk about ...

13. Big Boys Do Cry

Joel 2:1-2,12-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... defense budget, which currently runs in the billions, is equaled by what we spend on alcohol consumption. Pressures on our young people are extraordinary. I’ve never seen a better summary of these pressures than a letter sent to advice columnist Ann Landers several years ago. I quote: Dear Ann, The reader signed “Georgia,” who lived through the Depression and described how hard it was to be a teenager in the 30s, said kids today have an easy time of it compared to teens in his day. You said you couldn ...

14. Silly Love Songs

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... hobbies don't matter. The writer went on to describe her marriage. In this woman's opinion what mattered most in their relationship was that they loved each other. They had different likes and dislikes but had learned to respect those differences. In that letter to Ann Landers she stated that hers was not the perfect marriage but through the years they learned to love each other and they remained very much in love with each other. Where has all the love gone? An often overlooked gift from God to us is the ...

15. Forgive To Be Forgiven

Genesis 50:15-21

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... not our policy to forgive because it is one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult thing to do. One woman wrote Ann Landers: "I haven’t spoken to my brother’s wife in seven years. It would take the whole newspaper to tell you the entire story, ... or said about us. We then are out to get the offender, to get our pound of flesh, to pay back more than we received. Ann Landers tells about a man who saw an ad in a newspaper for a practically new Porsche for sale at fifty dollars. He figured it was ...

16. Nag, Nag, Nag!

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... . She had no right to nag Jesus because she was a woman. She was of the wrong sex. Being a woman today may not be a handicap, because to a large extent women are now considered equals with men. Today’s woman has come a long way. There is Ann Landers who has the largest reading audience in the world; in this no man can match her. The country knows about Barbara Walters as the first woman to get a million dollars a year as a television news commentator. Chris Evert excels as a tennis player. Today we find ...

17. Be Careful How You Live

Ephesians 5:15-20

Sermon

Brett Blair

... called spirits? It promises you that you will be on top of the world but let me tell you friends it will bury you six feet under ground. A member of Alcoholics Anonymous once sent columnist Ann Landers a letter revealing how he expected one thing from alcohol and got another. He wrote, Dear Ann Landers: We drank for joy and became miserable. We drank for sophistication and became obnoxious. We drank for friendship and made enemies. We drank for sleep and awakened without rest. We drank for strength and felt ...

18. Panic Room

John 20:19-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... this happened,” Rus told a reporter. Throughout those years Rus never left the house. He could only look down at the village in the valley. (2) He, too, was a victim of his own fears. It's amazing to look back on the popularity of advice columnist Ann Landers. Did you know that as she was dying in 2002, she received 10,000 letters a day. She was asked what was the most common problem people write about, without hesitation she said “Fear.” Fear comes in many forms. Louis Pasteur is reported to have had ...

19. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Luke 2:8-12

Sermon

James Merritt

... across the border and I thought about it for three years and I never could figure it out." He said, "What were you smuggling?" Juan, just smiled and said, "Bicycles." In an interview years ago David Brinkley asked Ann Landers what question she most frequently received from her readers. Ann Landers said, “Overwhelmingly, the number one question I get from my readers is this one, ‘What’s wrong with me?'" The answer to that question is sin, but the world doesn’t understand it. According to the Bible ...

20. Be Kind!

Luke 10:25-37

Illustration

Ann Landers

Columnist Ann Landers once wrote, "Be kind to people. The world needs kindness so much. You never know what sort of battles other people are fighting. Often just a soft word or a warm compliment can be immensely supportive. You can do a great deal of good by just being considerate, by extending a little friendship, going out of your way to do just one nice thing, or saying one good word." Being civil to one another is the least we can do. Every major religion or philosophy acknowledges that.

21. He Can Change Water To Wine

John 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... . "Grandma," said one of the visiting kin, "you must have seen a lot in the last hundred years." "Not much," snapped the old lady. "Everything was always over by the time I could find these durn glasses!" In an article in the "Saturday Review," Ann Landers tells what she has learned about people through the letters she has received. "Since I began writing this column," she writes, "I've learned plenty, including, most meaningfully, what Leo Rosten had in mind when he said, ˜Each of us us a little lonely ...

22. And the Word Is...Love

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these." The word for today is love. There is a line from the musical Les Miserables that goes like this: "To love another person is to see the face of God." "Dear Ann Landers, I am a 46-year-old woman, divorced, with 3 grown children. After several months of chemotherapy following a mastectomy for breast cancer, I was starting to put my life back together when my doctor called with the results of my last checkup. They had ...

23. A Strategy For Status Seekers

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... you are a nobody, a person of insignificant worth, is to deny the whole reality of Christ’s death on the cross. He did not die for a worthless clod of humanity. He died for somebody important. He died for you. Advice Columnist Ann Landers receives twelve million letters each year twelve million letters asking advice or simply commenting on every conceivable topic, problem and complaint that human beings in America can live with. In a recent interview, David Brinkley asked her: "What is the most frequent ...

24. Get off the Throne and Learn Wisdom

Matthew 7:1-6

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

A check-out clerk once wrote columnist Ann Landers a letter of complaint: she had seen shoppers with food stamps buy luxury items like birthday cakes and bags of shrimp. The angry woman went on to say that people on welfare who treat themselves to non-necessities were “lazy and wasteful." A few weeks later Lander's column was devoted entirely to people who responded to the grocery clerk with letters of their own. One woman wrote: “I didn't buy a cake, but I did buy a big bag of shrimp with food stamps ...

25. Thou Shalt Not Judge - True or False?

Matthew 7:1-6

Sermon

James Merritt

... voter interviewed by the Washington Post, said, "[Clinton] is no different than anybody else, so why should I judge?" Ann Landers told Frank Rich, a New York Times columnist that in the wake of the accusations and revelations against President ... 's refusal to condemn Mr. Clinton signaled some kind of moral collapse, she replied she thought just the opposite. According to Ms. Landers, "People are much more willing to forgive now, they are more permissive, they are more realistic. This is the way life is. ...

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