Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 279 results

1. 300,000 for Me; 140 for Jesus

John 1:43-51

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

Former President Jimmy Carter is not shy about sharing the Faith. He and wife Rosalynn have been on numerous faith-sharing missions in America and overseas. In his book "Living Faith," Jimmy Carter recounts a humbling experience. He says that when he was preparing to run for governor a second time, he was invited to speak to a Christian men's group about his activities as a Christian witness. In p...

2. A Brass Cross and a Barometer

Luke 6:1-11

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Did you read in the newspaper a few months ago about the little first-grade boy who kissed a little first-grade girl at school? We're not sure what got into him, but he gave her a little peck on the cheek. A teacher witnessed the incident and reported it. In a monumental display of bad judgment, the principal suspended the boy for three days for sexual harassment! When people think only of rules a...

3. A Christian's Duty in Time of War

Nehemiah 4:1-23

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

We gather for worship on a weekend that we will long remember as the beginning of the liberation of Iraq. We are concerned about our troops and the innocent people of Iraq. We Christians love peace; therefore, we automatically recoil against the death and suffering associated with war. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” But as a World War II veteran reminded me, “Somebody has to take care ...

4. A Courtroom Confrontation

Matthew 27:11-26

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Our scripture lesson for today describes a classic courtroom confrontation. On this Passion Sunday it is altogether appropriate that we consider it. Courtrooms are often places of high drama and suspense. Judge Ito's courtroom in Los Angeles has dominated America's attention since January. Enormous power is wielded in courtrooms, power to levy large fines, power to decide between freedom and priso...

5. A Kudzu Kind of Kingdom

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

At times we wonder if our prayers get above the ceiling, if we have any Christian influence, if the church makes any real difference in the community, if faith is anything more than wishful thinking. A herd of buffalo was grazing on the range where the deer and the antelope play. Suddenly, a cowboy came riding up, jumped off his horse, got right up in the face of a buffalo and said, "You are the s...

6. A Kudzu-Kind of Kingdom

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

I want you to use your imagination this morning. Let me take you back in history 2000 years, to the country of Palestine, present-day Israel. You are sitting around a campfire near the Sea of Galilee with Jesus and his disciples. They have lived together, traveled together, preached and healed together for over two years. On this particular evening they have had a simple meal of perch and bread. T...

7. A Large Fish Story

Jonah 1:1-17, Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Someone please explain a great mystery to me. Why is it that a person who is generally honest in all things cannot give you an accurate description of the fish he has caught? I mean, if you asked this person to tell you his net financial worth, he would tell the truth. If asked to describe his wife he would do so objectively, noting her strengths and weaknesses. But for the life of him he cannot g...

8. A Mother Who Could Let Go

1 Samuel 9:1--10:8

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

In a labor room on the obstetrics wing of a hospital, a doctor found a crumpled paper on which an expectant father had done some scribbling. Obviously, during the pauses in the long labor process, he had been thinking about the child about to be born. This is what he wrote: John Peter Jones, John P. Jones, J.P. Jones, John Jones, Governor John Jones, President John P. Jones, All the Way with JPJ!"...

9. A Mystery to Many

John 3:1-17

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

When Jimmy Carter was President, the press often described him as a "born-again Southern Baptist." Everybody knew what a Southern Baptist was (just a Methodist unafraid of water and willing to tithe). But the term "born again" was a mystery to many. There was something different about Jimmy Carter. Even his political enemies detected in him an inner peace, a spiritual depth, and a transcendent com...

10. A Personal God in an Impersonal World

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

The late Bishop Gerald Kennedy used to tell a story about a census taker who was going door to door. He knocked on the door of a small, unpretentious house and was met at the door by a weary mother. "Lady," he said, "I want to know how many there are in this family." "Well," she said, "There's Johnny, Matilda, Reginald, Charles..." "No, no," he interrupted, "I don't want their names, just their nu...

11. A Prophet in a Panic

1 Kings 19:9-18

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Is it a commentary on television that nowadays some of the best programs are the commercials? One of my all-time favorites was made by the Aetna Insurance Company. It shows a father going through a goodnight ritual with his young son. First, the father has to look under the bed and then check the closet to make sure no monsters are there. Then, having secured the room, he says goodnight. As he lea...

12. A Reason For All To Be Thankful

Romans 8:28-39

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

One must be very careful with a Thanksgiving sermon. In the first place, not everyone feels thankful; and those who do are not thankful for the same things. In fact, one person's cause for thanksgiving could be another person's cause for gloom. I could illustrate that in the political realm, but I better not. I could illustrate that from the world of sports, but I don't think I need to. Some peopl...

13. A Risky Lifestyle

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

The worst nightmare of every mother happened to a Memphis woman just over a year ago. A woman named Anita was stopped for a traffic light at the corner of Highland and Southern. Suddenly a stranger opened the passenger door of her car, grabbed her 2-month- old baby, and ran. Anita's instincts took over. She slammed that car into park, jumped out, and ran after the man. A terrified mother can move ...

14. A Teddy Bear and Christmas

John 3:1-21

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

Jesus often taught by telling parables. These were simple, down-to-earth stories which expressed spiritual truth. Today, on this third weekend of Advent, I want to use a favorite Christmas story as a modern parable. This is a true story, told to me some ten years ago by Dr. Edward Bauman of Washington, D.C. About 30 years ago a boy named Tony was born into a family in a Midwestern state. He was b...

15. A Terrific Trade

2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

My sister Martha is three years older than I and has always been considerably smarter. This put me at a disadvantage. Teachers in school would compare my work to Martha's and wonder if I came from the same litter. When I was four or five and Martha was seven or eight, she sometimes took advantage of my financial ignorance. I would have a dime and she would have a nickel. Showing me that the nickel...

16. A Thanksgiving Question

1 Corinthians 4:1-21

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

There is an old story told about a farmer who received a visit from his pastor. The farmer had purchased the farm just three years earlier. Together they walked around and admired the healthy corn, rising as high as a basketball goal. The soybean crop was coming on strongly. The pastureland was knee-deep in good grazing for the cows. The pastor said, "My friend, God has certainly blessed you richl...

17. A Time to Dance

Psalm 30:1-12

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

My maternal grandfather was a railroad engineer and a Presbyterian elder. During the 1930s he had three teenaged children. It was his custom on many Saturday nights to invite all the local teenagers into his large living room for a dance. He would hire a little three-piece band and roll back the rugs. Grandfather was thrilled that the teenaged girls would invite him to dance and then would break i...

18. A Tough Question

Matthew 1:18-25

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

When I meet with a couple in preparation for their baby's baptism, I always ask this question: Have you prepared a will and have you specified in it who would rear your child if you were removed from the picture? Young parents don't like to even think about such a possibility, but life's uncertainties make it necessary. It's a tough question. Whom do you trust enough to rear your precious child? G...

19. A Vital Night Call

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

One of the things that pastors, doctors, fire-fighters, and police have in common that they all receive occasional night calls. And most pastors would agree that some of our most significant opportunities to help people have come in response to night-time calls, usually of an emergency nature. However, not all of our night calls are that significant. Dr. Robert Ozmont of First united Methodist Chu...

20. A Wonderful Sacrifice

1 Chronicles 21:1-22:1

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

My brief sermon today is focused on two words: "Wonderful Sacrifice." At first glance these two words seem almost contradictory. If you put a Methodist through a free-association exercise, don't expect him to respond to the word "sacrifice" by saying "wonderful." The word "sacrifice" causes many Methodists to grab their wallets and run for cover. I heard a story about a little boy who attended chu...

21. Adultery, Cure and Prevention

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

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Sometime ago a lady wrote to the famous advice columnist Ann Landers and asked this question, "Do all men cheat on their wives? 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...

22. Advent Love

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

Let me tell you a story about a family whose house burned down. Their little girl in that family was named Victoria. A couple years ago during Thanksgiving their home burned to the ground. Fortunately they were not home, but everything was lost. Their next-door neighbors have an 8-year-old son named Ian who is a good friend of Victoria. A few days after the fire, Victoria's father returned to the...

23. Advertised Goodness

Matthew 6:1-2, Matthew 6:5-6

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Children and adults, listen as I tell you the legend of the proud frog. This frog wanted to visit his cousins in a pond several miles away, but that's a long journey for a slow moving frog. But in the pond where he resided, there were some Canadian geese. The observant frog noted how much they liked corn. This enterprising frog found a flat, strong stick about four feet long. He approached the gee...

24. Aiming at Perfection

Philippians 3:4b-14

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Before United Methodist clergy persons are ordained, they are asked certain important questions in front of hundreds of people during the Annual Conference session. Several of those questions are very personal and a tad disconcerting. For example, "Are you in debt so as to embarrass you in your work?" Lots of debt-laden seminary graduates have mumbled a reply with fingers crossed. Two other questi...

25. All You Need To Know About Heaven

John 14:5-14, John 14:1-4

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

I'm thinking of another Easter morning approximately ten years ago. Four neighborhood churches in Columbia, South Carolina were sponsoring a sunrise service. Some 300 folks gathered in the front yard of a Baptist church, with coats buttoned snugly against the early morning chill. Sometime in the midst of the service, I noticed Jimmy, sitting in his car as close to the crowd as possible, with the ...

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