Sermon and Worship Resources

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Acts 8:26-40

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... didn't say a word. Finally, choked up with tears, she said, "I can't talk about this. I've never made a commitment to Christ. I've never been baptized." The pastor explained to Charlotte that she could attend the six-week pastor's class that the church held six times a year for those considering membership and she could be baptized after that. "I have to work nights in order to pay my bills," she said. "Besides, I have read about all those topics you talk about. Remember, I type up your sermons, class ...

2. A Chance To Sing

Matthew 9:32-34

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... 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 church and the reason I remember it is because of one woman, Mary Charlotte. From the very first time I heard them, I knew there was something wrong but I didn't say anything to the Choir director or the organist. Then one Sunday a glorious, harmonious sound came out of the choir ...

3. Doing Battle with Demons

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... ready to have that happen. He did it anyway. And the message I get from this story is "Go, thou, and do likewise." Say what? Me? Cast out demons? Absolutely. In a sense, what your church has been doing this past week in Charlotte is a contemporary follow-up to that lesson. The 210th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) gathered, not simply to set policy for our denomination, but in a wider sense to join Jesus in doing battle with the demons - the evil which confronts us at every turn. By way of ...

4. Some Man

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

... close-knit and apparently a loving family. They all did things together; they were active in their community and in their church. They had no financial problems; the man’s practice was extremely successful, and they had all the money they needed. The ... the Spirit. He not only offers and gives us the gift of the Father in himself, but he sustains it in us as long as we live. Charlotte’s Web is a delightful and much loved story, isn’t it? But it is only a kind of fairy tale about an ordinary sort of pig ...

5. Soul Bread!

John 6:24-35

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... sinner and I must do some serious life changing before I am ready to do what you ask." His response was to the point: "No, Charlotte," he replied, "you cannot make yourself ready for Christ. He will make you ready. You must come to him just as you are and ... at the side of her bed and asked Jesus into her heart. Before the sun rose the next morning, Charlotte Elliott gave the world one of the great hymns of the Christian church: Just as I am, without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me, and that Thou ...

6. God and Hurricanes

Matthew 5:43-48

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... to believe that God uses nature as a weapon. Ten years ago, that eminent theologian, Tammy Faye Bakker declared that Hurricane Hugo's destructive visit to Charlotte was God's vengeance on the city for the mean treatment Jim Bakker got in the pages of the Charlotte Observer (although she never explained why the steeple of First Presbyterian Church was damaged but nothing happened to the newspaper building). Last year televangelist Pat Robertson warned that the city of Orlando might well get a direct hit ...

7. Power Praying

Acts 1:12-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... of us use prayer as a way of avoiding responsibility? I heard about some volunteers for an evangelism team in a local church who were being briefed on techniques for making calls. One newly elected member was obviously timid about her responsibilities. The pastor ... to call for a day of prayer. All who could were asked to come to a quiet, wooded spot on the outskirts of Charlotte and spend the day waiting upon the Lord. Twenty-nine persons responded to that first invitation. As they fasted and prayed, the ...

8. What If He Shows Up?

John 2:13-22

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... Christ gets on a train and goes to Chicago. Harry Golden, the editor of The Carolina Israelite, wrote in a column in his newspaper once, "What if Christ came to Charlotte." He said that he would stick his head in the Christian churches and be bewildered. He wouldn't recognize anything there. Then he would head for the synagogue in Charlotte and feel right at home. He would see Harry in the synagogue, and he would say, "Harry, who are these Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians?" So the way you handle this ...

9. You Provide The Bread

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

William J. Carl

... his throat. And that was the end of his preaching. It nearly broke his heart -- the man who loved preaching so much. When he died, he left all he had to a church in Charlotte for “purposes of evangelism” he said. What he left grew and grew and now, single-handedly supports the weekly television ministry. And it is said around Charlotte that in a single service on any given Sunday, more people hear the message of Christ than Mr. Beam ever preached to in a whole lifetime. “You provide the bread. Let God ...

10. The Man From Galilee III: The Touch Of His Hand

Matthew 8:14-17

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... and cars as she crossed the street. She said, "No. The big policeman held up his strong hands and all the cars stopped and Charlotte crossed over." Jesus the carpenter had hands bronzed by the sun, strong hands. And with those great, strong hands He came to be ... there at some time of the week when it is safe. Try it at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. The Protestants will be in church, the Catholics will be at mass, and the Jews will be on the golf course since the Sabbath is over." So the next Sunday he tried ...

11. In the Wilderness With Moses

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... of people crossing lines that were once regarded as uncross-able? Author Tom Wolfe wrote a best-selling novel titled, I Am Charlotte Simmons. It is based on extensive research on college and university campuses looking at all aspects of college life as it is ... pain to many people. FORTUNATELY THERE IS HOPE. IT IS FOUND IN THE GRACE OF GOD. It grieves Paul that the people of the church at Corinth are making the same mistakes as the people that Moses led through the wilderness in the Exodus. But then he adds ...

12. Way Down In Egypt's Land

Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... . "I just wanted to get it done now," she explained. On Christmas Eve it started to snow as the family made their way to church. "I hunched in the pew with my arms folded tightly," Ron recalls, "thinking about whether I even believed that God was part of my ... first time she was able to sit with her father in many years. She answered her daughter, "Today is called Christmas, Charlotte, because it is the birthday of Jesus Christ." She then gave a brief explanation. Grandpa looked in disbelief at his daughter ...

13. On Claiming One’s Inheritance

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... with it? Are we going to receive it, and then, out of gratitude, care for it, and share it? We ought not to give to the Church out of compulsion, but out of love and gratitude. Tillich was right: The Good News of the Gospel is that God accepts us just as we ... was unable to do anything for God. Her name was Charlotte Elliott. The “true story” of how the hymn came to be written comes to us from her niece. At the time of the writing, Charlotte was living at Westfield Lodge, in Brighton, England. Her brother ...

14. Letters Straight From The Heart

2 Corinthians 2:12--3:6

Sermon

King Duncan

... his Bible in peace, without his wife's interference, he rose at 3:00 a.m. for his devotional time. He took the children to church, even though he knew his wife would make him pay for it later. And every single morning he prayed that all his family would also ... relief just to show how passionately HE WOULD support those Panthers should the NFL choose to park an expansion franchise in Charlotte. (8) Was this man crazy? No, he was simply communicating how much he wanted professional football in his town. He was ...

15. Mr. Beam's Legacy

Matthew 14:13-21

Illustration

Charles Lindquist, Jr.

16. Living in the Red

Galatians 6:11-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... or not. We all must suffer for the faith in one form or other. To witness means to suffer and suffering is one of the marks of the church. We don't get to choose whether or not to "carry the marks of Jesus branded on my body." What we do get to choose is what cross ... heavy laden, and I will refresh you.'" And how are we refreshed? By being in the red. I learned only recently that Charlotte Elliott's "Just as I Am" was actually designed as a communion hymn. (For more see Peter Newman Brooks, Hymns as Homilies ...

17. Jesus Takes the Initiative

Luke 21:5-38, Luke 21:1-4, Luke 20:41-47

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... , authentic, and humble. Consider what sort of situation in our own setting might offer a parallel to this episode. What opportunities does our church or social life offer for ostentatious giving, and who might now play the role of the scribes (20:46–47) and the affluent ... to get ahead and be comfortable. Literature: Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë. This novel (1847) is based on the experiences of the English novelist and poet Charlotte Brontë (1816–55) and her siblings. The protagonist, Jane, is an ...

18. Converting the Converted

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... you account for the fact that each year employees steal $50 billion worth of goods from their employers? Is there not something out of kilter when some years ago the city of Charlotte, N.C. had the dubious honor of having, on a per capita basis, the highest number of churches in America, but also the highest crime rate? Does it mean that the church needs to be converted before she can convert others? What if the salt has lost its saltness? Can the blind lead the blind? Can the foolish make men wise? If the ...

19. Where Can I Find the Church?

Acts 2:1-8; 4:32-37

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... as if they were Jesus. For it is in that parable that Jesus says, "If you have done it to the least of these, you have done it to me." Harold Bales was the pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. That church found itself in a changing neighborhood. All of a sudden they had poor people around them. He tried to organize the church's ministry in a way to help the poor. As a result, he got into some controversy. One day a respectable person in that congregation walked into the ...

20. The Work of An Evangelist

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... , it is a home for all. If it is not a home for all, it is not a home at all. My friend Harold Bales is now a district superintendent in North Carolina. At one time he was the pastor of First United Methodist Church in Charlotte. That old church that had been large in its membership and influential in its witness for many, many years, found itself in a changing neighborhood, with a diminished membership. All of a sudden they had poor people living all around them – alternative lifestyles – a number of ...

21. Crossing Over

Joshua 3:1-4:24

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... your "Up with Christ" card, mark through them right now and write down a figure that reflects some holy boldness. Near Charlotte, North Carolina, a young man named William Franklin Graham, son of a dairy farmer, spent a sleepless night on the ... succeed, God will get the glory. What a joy it will be to look back and say, "I was a part of God's miracle in May at Christ Church." One of these days I hope God will grant me some retirement years when I can chase some old gobblers and try to shoot my age on the golf ...

22. Seeker-Friendly

Luke 15:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... way, showing interest in others and their interests, even when they're not interested in you. Being "seeker-friendly" often means that you become the seeker moving out from behind church structure and facilities and into the community. Sunday service turned into a Sunday of service for 250 members of Park Road Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C. The pastor canceled the morning meeting and encouraged members to do acts of kindness in the community. Volunteers fanned out to 15 sites to paint and landscape a ...

23. The Work of An Evangelist

Colossians 1:1-14

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... core doctrine of our Methodist way – grace. We must be gracious and graceful people if we would do the work of an evangelist. And we must lead our churches to being places of hospitality. My friend Harold Bales is now district superintendent in North Carolina. At one time he was the pastor of First United Methodist Church in Charlotte. That old church that had been huge in its membership and powerful in its witness for many, many years, found itself in a changing neighborhood. All of a sudden they had ...

24. Dim Visions And Blind Guides

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... if God used the telephone just once and called earth? In Tennessee Williams' play Sweet Bird of Youth, the heckler says to Miss Lucy, "I believe that the silence of God, the absolute speechlessness of God, is a long, long and awful thing ..." The late Carlyle Mamey retired from his church in Charlotte and went to Wolf Pen Mountain. There he waited for God to say something. He confessed that he had figured that if he could get some time completely free from his preaching, his ...

25. Where Do We Grow from Here?

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... grow. It was one of those self-with-self experiences that are too sparse in our lives. I was going by plane from Charlotte, North Carolina to Buffalo, New York. Normally, I don’t spend much time gazing out the window, but I was too tired ... here? Maybe a better title for the sermon would have been, How Do We Grow from Here. Decide to grow. Devote yourself to the church. And we do all this together. Here is a picture of it. A seminary professor of another generation retired early because of his health, and ...

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