Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 58 results

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... there. It said, “Ask me what I mean.” That intrigued me even more. What was this person trying to say, “I’m a generic Christian – ask me what I mean”? My interest was further whetted in the fact that the sticker was on an $80,000 Mercedes. I wondered ... grace, 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 ...

2. Can You Hear It?

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... we need for life. Wallace Chappell used to tell a story of a farmer who had two sons. His wife, who was a Christian, had died, and he was making every effort to guide his young sons to the Lord. Each morning, just before they started the ... the barn. They thought it was just filled with hay. But when they opened the door, they discovered a bale in the corner with an open Bible on it. In front of the bale were two worn out places on the ground, indentations which had taken a long time to depress. The two ...

3. The Gift of Comfort

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... with a white coat and black bag was rushed onto the stage and disappeared with Joseph behind the bales of straw. After a few moments the doctor came from behind the bales of straw with a huge smile on his face and holding a baby in his arms. He then ... the thought of Floyd's surprise when he discovered her note, the New Testament and the cash she had planted in his backpack. This Christian couple never saw Floyd again. But four years later Floyd's sister wrote to the them, Floyd had died. As Floyd's sister ...

4. The Work of An Evangelist

Colossians 1:1-14

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... they may give themselves to His service in the fellowship of the Church.” Nothing less is evangelism. It is a matter of the Christian community sharing the good news of a savior with those who do not know Him. But I want to concentrate on you – you ... of all the poor people who had come to get a meal. With a degree of anxiety and some judgment in her voice she said, “Dr. Bales, what on earth are you doing in the midst of all of this?” His response was, “I am trying to save people from hell..” She ...

5. When God's Rule is Taken Out of the School

Job 21:22

Sermon

James Merritt

... hay merchandising business. They bought a truck, drove to another state where they bought hay for $3.00 a bale. They then brought it home and sold it for $2.50 a bale. After about two months in the business, one neighbor looked at the other one and said, "You know there ... from religion, as is now commonly proposed, will prove the most appalling enginery for the propagation of anti-Christian and atheistic unbelief, and of anti-social nihilistic ethics, individual, social and political, which the sin-rent world ...

6. Where Can I Find the Church?

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

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... disciples. The second part from the fourth chapter, where Luke describes the first Church. It is the first description of Christians in the Church. Listen to it again. It is very strange, and for some, it is very disturbing. Now the company ... respectable person in that congregation walked into the church and saw all these strangers walking around the halls of the church. She asked, "Dr. Bales, what on earth are you doing?" He said, "I am trying to save people from hell." She said, "Well all right then, I ...

7. The Battle of New Orleans

2 Timothy 3:1-4:8

Sermon

James Merritt

... by "Old Hickory" Andrew Jackson. The only defense was a mud rampart 3/5 of a mile long, and barricades made of bales of cotton. It looked like the American David against the British Goliath—and it was. The battle only lasted for one-half ... the words of God. He was reading the Bible. After sitting there awhile beside him on this dirty street corner, she asked him, "Are you a Christian?" He stared blankly into the air, got a smile on his face, and said, "Yes, it was only four months ago when I became a new ...

8. Congratulations, Joseph, It's A God!

John 1:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... men, the star and an angel propped up in the background. But Mary was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly from behind some bales of hay could be heard some soft moans and groans. Evidently Mary was in labor. Soon a doctor arrived dressed in a white ... weather, cursed the house, cursed the stove, and moved away. (4) The futility that man felt is the futility of those who try to live the Christian life without Christ. He is the Word that was in the beginning with God and was God. And he is alive today. To those of us ...

9. Can You Tell Time?

Philippians 3:7-11

Sermon

James W. Moore

... us to be helpful and to be grateful, to cultivate the attitude of helpfulness, and the attitude of appreciation. III. THIRD AND FINALLY, THE CHRISTIAN FAITH TELLS US TO BE TRUSTFUL… to choose the attitude of trust in God. We don’t have to run scared. We don’t ... hogs all drown? Wish I’d lived on higher ground. Whatcha gonna do if your cow floats away? Throw in after her a bale of hay. Whatcha gonna do if your cabin leaves? Climb up on the roof and straddle the eaves. Whatcha gonna do when it comes ...

10. You Might Be A Redneck If . . .

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... cue. You might be a redneck if you come back from the dump with more than you took. You might be a redneck if you know how many bales of hay your car will hold. You might be a redneck if your Dad walks you to school because you're in the same grade." I don't ... your affairs as a nation, or stop invoking His name as sanction for everything you do. I want to help save Christianity for the Christian." (3) Satis Prasad had the spirit of those Apostles at the first Pentecost. The wind of God is blowing in this ...

11. Teach Us to Pray

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Will Willimon

... and scripture because the word helps us to discern between true and false prayer, between praying as a pagan and praying as a Christian.” It tell us what it means to pray “in Jesus’ name,” which means in the spirit of our Lord. Sunday morning worship ... , empty the bedpans, keep the night vigils. The Midwestern farmer who prays for rain for fellow farmers is the one who sends bales of hay to South Carolina. In our social concern and work for justice we are only doing what we asked for in prayer ...

12. In the Beginning, God

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... And yet… Once there was a young woman. For the sake of a name, let’s call her Anna. Now, Anna had grown up in a Christian home, and she was proud of that fact. Even though she was away from home now, attending college, and her parents weren’t there to " ... outside the family know about." He led her out to the dairy barn, back into the farthest corner of the building. He moved a bale of hay, and underneath the spot where the hay had sat, there was a padlocked door. Sid retrieved the key from a chain around ...

13. With Malice toward None, With Charity for All

Matthew 5:43-48

Sermon

James Merritt

... this poem: Paul's girl is rich and haughty, My girl is as poor as clay; Paul's girl is young and pretty, My girl looks like a bale of hay. Paul's girl is smart and clever, My girl is stupid—but good; But would I trade my girl for Paul's? You bet your ... love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." Don't tell me if you are a Christian you can't love your enemy, because you have in your heart right now the love of God, which has flooded your heart through the Holy ...

14. The Parable of the Soil

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... suffering is real in a deep-rooted life of kingdom living. Shallow soil, no roots, showy flowers, won’t cut it. Christians, in fact, could stand to be a little “weedy.” The most annoying “weeds” put down a deep “tap root,” which ... is not at issue. All that fall on “good soil” is a good outcome. The work and witness of disciples is not measured in bales of bounty. It is calculated by the “goodness” of the “soil,” that is, by the passion of the individual to bringing Jesus’ message ...

15. Grapes Of Wrath Or Grace?

1 Kings 21:1-29

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... sin ends in death and we accuse the minister of bringing us terrible tidings. A girl in a beauty shop told me once, "I am a Christian, but I don't want to hear about the cross, or sin, or any of the bad things. Just give me the 'smiley stuff'!" Elijah's ... , "Father, I have sinned." "What is your sin?" the priest inquired. The man responded, "Forgive me, Father, for last night I stole two bales of hay from my neighbor. No, you better make it three, for I plan to steal another one tonight." Such is not true ...

16. The New Covenant

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

... with Stanley, for he is our blood brother." A few hours before, Stanley’s men had had to stand guard over their bales of cotton cloth and trinkets, but now they could be left open and yet undisturbed. For anyone to steal from a blood ... only one eye, or hear with only one ear. But when you have both your intended organs, your life is healthier and richer." So it is when the Christian lives on both Word and Sacrament! To use only one is to "limp along" in spiritual life. Our Lord is not asking us to do him a ...

17. Coping with Fear, Worry, and Anxiety

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... , yet he looked at the whole picture and declared ‘I have overcome the world.’ Christ was a realist, and so is the Christian. Never a pessimist, a realist, sustained by faith." Once Jesus painted a picture of striking contrast. We have it recorded in Matthew 7 ... hogs all drown? Gonna wish I lived on higher ground. What you gonna do when the cow floats away? Throw in after her a bale of hay. How you gonna act when the cabin leaves? Climb on the roof and straddle the eaves. What you gonnaa do without no ...

18. Out of Solitude

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... Jewish background where observing Sabbath was an integral part of life-asks the question: "What is the most counter-cultural thing a Christian can do today?" And her answer: "Rest. The most counter-cultural thing we can do is take the time to rest." Laurie ... us to Sabbath time, to calm and to rest. Let the light of late afternoon shine through the chinks in the barn moving up the bales as the sun moves down. Let the cricket take up chafing as a woman takes up her needles and her yarn. Let evening come. Let ...

19. Here I Am

Hebrews 12:18-29

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... called that day, but it was God's voice I that heard. Paul was very cognizant of the Call God places on the people called Christian. And he reminds us of that in the passage for today. Hebrews 12:18-29 (NRSV) [18] You have not come to something that can ... for two days. I just pulled way deep inside myself and shut everyone else out. On Tuesday evening, about 6:30 pm, I was out baling hay. There were clouds all along the horizon and the sun was slowly going down. As I made a pass around the field, I looked ...

20. Victory Over Darkness

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... them? Tonight, though, we want to look a little deeper into the meaning of Christmas. Chuck Colson and several other Christian leaders had a meeting with the President of Ecuador. Their purpose was to discuss a ministry in Ecuadorian penitentiaries. They ... , when the shadows lengthened, they obediently returned to make their report. Their uncle asked to see their purchases. The first dragged a huge bale of straw into the room. When it was untied it made a pile that nearly hid two of the walls. After it was ...

21. Wrong Way. On Purpose

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Siegfried S. Johnson

... Coast's Floyd Bennett Airfield. The plane is hardly state-of-the-art. His cabin door is literally tied shut with baling wire. Two compasses comprise the sum of his navigational instruments. Corrigan's flight plan was to head west across the interior ... --then let us intentionally go the wrong way. On purpose. Sometimes we are called to go the wrong way on purpose. Sometimes Christians are called to go against the grain of accepted practice. Jesus did. He allowed his hungry disciples to prepare food on the ...

22. What Would Jesus Say About Materialism?

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... while some environmental advocates remind us that the donkey Jesus rode could probably go forty to fifty miles on a bale of hay, which would make it environmentally friendly. Before we ask for your keys at Communion today, let us ... rephrase the question as a matter of faith. To ask the question is to bring my faith to bear upon the situation. Success is a sacred Christian responsibility. III. MORE DOES NOT MAKE US MERRIER. “This is what I will do, I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones so I can ...

23. Poem: In Memoriam

Eulogy

Alfred Lord Tennyson

... for their tears; My fancies time to rise on wing, And glance about the approaching sails, As tho’ they brought but merchants’ bales, And not the burthen that they bring. XIV If one should bring me this report, That thou hadst touch’d the land ... I, thy nearest, sat apart, And felt thy triumph was as mine; And loved them more, that they were thine, The graceful tact, the Christian art; Nor mine the sweetness or the skill, But mine the love that will not tire, And, born of love, the vague desire That ...

24. Yes, You

1 Peter 2:2-10

Sermon

David O. Bales

Most congregations experience the joy of their former pastors visiting. Often such gatherings occur at anniversaries and other celebrations. The presence of extra pastors in worship offers the opportunity to not only celebrate the congregation's ministry but also to reflect upon what pastors do and who they really are. In the 1930s in Great Britain, when that nation was gearing up for a defense of its islands and of democracy in the world, posters were put up announcing, "All men in the above age groups ...

25. A Living Hope (If It Hadn’t Been for Easter)

1 Peter 1:3-9

Sermon

David O. Bales

A church member read the New Testament and concluded, "Amazing things were going on back then. People converted not just their faith but their lives and values. They were healed, dropped prejudices, crossed ethnic boundaries, and ... and, people were beaten, tried, and killed for their faith." Then she looked at our modern American church and saw little similarity between the early Christian church and our current one. This experience indicates that perhaps it's safer for church members not to read the New ...

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