Sermon and Worship Resources

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Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... know the story. Jimmy Stewart, in the person of George Bailey, envisions a life of adventure and travel, building highways and designing modern cities. Instead he spends his life trying to keep the Bailey Building and Loan afloat in Bedford Falls. When his ... known." He said, “I will never forget the sense of peace and consolation that settled in on my young life on that particular day." David is one of many young adults who are finding their way home to God these days. Could you use the presence of God in ...

2. Small Towns

Luke 2:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... takes him back through his life to show how our ordinary everyday efforts are really big achievements. Clarence reveals how George Bailey’s loyalty to his job at the building-and-loan office has saved families and homes, how his little kindnesses have ... birth of the babe in the manger all the way back to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob all the way back to Moses and Joshua and David all the way back to Isaiah and Jeremiah and Micah. Actually it goes farther back than that. It goes all the way back to the time ...

3. Made for Joy

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... Life. Have you watched that film yet this Christmas season? Most of you know the story. It is about a young man, George Bailey, who dreams of doing great things such as traveling and making his father proud. But none of his dreams are realized. He ends ... , behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11) Here is the reason we have light and hope during December’s darkness. Here is ...

4. One Life-Changing Word

Isaiah 9:2-7 · Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Do you doubt that people can experience the kind of change in their lives the vision of Christmas evokes? Baptist Pastor Waylon Bailey tells about a real man who experienced the same kind of transformation as the fictional Ebenezer Scrooge. His name was John D. ... said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped ...

5. Where Heaven And Earth Meet

Genesis 28:10-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... gentle manner, Maki replied, "I make A." (1) This is a competitive world. It reminds me of a story they tell on David Merrick--one of the least admired men in Hollywood. His receptionist got a call one day from the police asking for Mr. ... 's vision for his life. He responded to this vision with a total commitment to God. Suddenly, his ambitions had changed. The great singer Pearl Bailey once said, "A man without ambition is dead. A man with ambition but no love is dead. A man with ambition and love for his ...

6. Good Old What’s-His-Name

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... name right in Exodus, Chapter 3.) The name Jacob means “the supplanter,” Israel means “One who strives with God,” David, “the beloved,” Andrew means “brave,” Peter, the “rock,” etc. And in the Book of Revelation, when John talks about ... of the earth. I read of an interesting Parent-Teacher meeting in Fort Worth, Texas, awhile back. It seems that James Bailey is the Superintendent of the Fort Worth schools, and during this meeting he tried to emphasize his openness and accessibility. He ...

7. Wondering Wonder

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... for his community, he runs through the street filled with the joyful knowledge that his IS a wonderful life. But since George Bailey is a grown-up, the events and experiences he learns to re-appreciate as wonderful are the most obviously important occurrences in ... idle curiosity. They are wondering after wonderment. This wondering spirit would seem to be part of the shepherding heritage. David, the king whose royal household Jesus will re-establish for all eternity, was himself a shepherd. The shepherd-boy, ...

8. Welcome Home, Joseph

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... extensive. He gave her his name - which safeguarded her reputation and welfare as well as gave the expected child the authority of a Davidic heritage. But Joseph did not just give Mary his name and then set her aside. Not only did Joseph keep Mary with him ... for the night, leaving her nowhere to put the newborn when it arrived but in a feeding trough for animals. What Kenneth Bailey points out is that Palestinian peasants kept any livestock they might own in their homes during cold nights. Not only were the ...

9. Crying Out of the Depths

Psalm 130:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... own moral energy only to find it severely lacking in the time of need, and are still conscientious enough to feel bad about it, you, like David, can cry out to the Lord. “Out of the depths, I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my cry." Jeremiah cried out of the ... found some particular ways that the Lord heard his cry. With the Lord there is FORGIVENESS (Psalm 130:3—4). Tracy Bailey stood before the judge with his head held high as the community of Goshen, Indiana, bowed their heads in disbelief. This captain ...

10. Being A View Master

Romans 2:9-21

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... They may be Saints in their own minds but everyone around them knows that they were canonized by the Wringling Brothers Barnam and Bailey Circus. Saints have discovered that God doesn't want perfect Christians. God wants Christians who can be perfected. A customs officer at the ... letting the Light of Christ shine through all we do. Conclusion In the movie Pleasantville, David doesn't fit in at his high school. He is thought of as a "geek," and he is obsessed with a 1950s era television show ...

11. A Rainbow And A Cross

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... could break. Many of us wear chains that we ourselves have forged and they are not easily broken. We are sinners and we never outgrow that fact. David A. Seamonds reminds us of Dante's allegorical picture of the Christian life as a journey in which a man climbed up a winding mountain road. When ... God's great promises to us. 1. David a Seamonds, Putting Away Childish Things (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1984). 2. The Reverend Don Emmittee 3. Bailey E. Smith, Real Revival Preaching (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1982).

12. God’s Safety Net

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

D. Wayne Burkette

... term. The term is ‘safety net.’ My first recollection of a safety net was at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus when it was still performing under the big top. Who could forget those daring acrobats balanced on the trapeze or ... to threaten and intimidate them. All this, says the prophet, God will do through an appointed shepherd whom God will send, a servant like David who will guarantee that in Israel there is a safety net for those who are hanging by their fingernails to the bottom rung ...

13. The Lord's Prayer: Our Father

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... until now. They lived very close in the same apartment building for those forty-two years, but could never get together. The gentleman, David Thomas, even wrote a letter of apology every week and would place it under her door. However, no spark arose to fan ... God, fall on your knees and pray, "Our Father..." Do not waste forty-two years of your life. Recently Dr. Barry Bailey of Fort Worth, Texas, told about an incident at the 1992 United Methodist General Conference meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. They were ...

14. A Chance To Dance

Luke 5:17-25

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... on his screen test: "Can't act. Can't sing. Can dance a little." The screen test was clearly disappointing, and David O. Selznick, who had commissioned the test, described it as "wretched" in a 1933 studio memo. However, this did not ... , we have a tendency to lose focus or lose interest real quick. Do you remember the scene in It's A Wonderful Life where George Bailey is at the dance with his brother and meets Mary, who is now all grown up. They begin dancing the Charleston. And everyone begins watching ...

15. How Can This Be?

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph of the House of David. “Greetings, Mary, you are highly favored. The Lord is with you." Or if you have Roman Catholic heritage, “Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord ... down and watch Frank Capra's, It's a Wonderful Life. I need to see the unlikely angel, Clarence, come to George Bailey in his most desperate hour saying, 'George, you haven't built highways and designed modern cities as you dreamed but you have ...

16. Living to Please God

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... occasioned much discussion. A number of commentators see the word as simply marking a transition (e.g., Milligan; Lightfoot; J. W. Bailey, The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians [New York: Abingdon, 1955]), but others accept the rendering, “finally,” as appropriate at ... by describing them literally as “vessels of clay.” But the best support surfaces in 1 Samuel 21:5, where David assures the priest of Nob that his young men have kept themselves from women. Their “vessels (LXX skēnē) are ...

17. Among You Stands One

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... Bathrobes, tells a story that appeared years ago in the New York Times. It was just before Christmas. David Storch, a music teacher, borrowed a copy of the score of Handel’s Messiah from the Brooklyn Public ... difficult to miss on television this time of year is the Frank Capra classic, It’s a Wonderful Life starring Jimmy Stewart. Stewart plays a man named George Bailey. George is a man with great dreams and ambitious plans. He wants to get out of the tiny town of Bedford Falls and make a name for himself ...

18. Jesus Gets a Business Card

Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

Mary Austin

... -year-old accepts Jesus and becomes Miss America, a floundering lawyer conquers alcoholism and whips F. Lee Bailey in court, a tenth round draft choice for the Green Bay Packers goes to the Pro Bowl. ... to overcome the suffering…. But there’s no entry into Christ’s presence without the cross. No one has to go looking for one, the cross finds you.” (David Goetz, Death by Suburb) The cross finds us. The cross is different for each of us — a cross that fits our strength to carry it, and the service ...

19. The Church Should Go to Hell!

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Last summer, shortly after my arrival in Warren, one of the first things I encountered as a "problem" in our worship services was the "Passing of the Peace" - some folks did not like it; they felt it was a disruption in the dignity of worship, this period of enforced sociability. For what it is worth, this is not the only congregation where that feeling has ever been expressed. Despite that, we continue the practice (and there has been less complaint about it in recent months as we are more and more such a ...

20. Homecoming

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Homecoming. There is something so special about HOME. 'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.(1) The Bible is full of homecoming stories that would be perfect for a day like today - Jacob's homecoming to meet brother Esau, the return of the nation of Israel from exile, and this one we just read, the return of the Prodigal Son, in what has been called the greatest short story ever written. "Father, I want RIGHT NOW what's coming to me." My inheritance ...

21. The Church Should Go To Hell!

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Many churches, as part of their routine of worship, engage in the "passing of the peace." The practice has been a part of reformed worship since the days of John Calvin following the Prayer of Confession and Assurance of Pardon; it is a visible acknowledgment of the fact that, as we have been forgiven, we also forgive. "The peace of Christ bewith you ... and also with you." How about this scenario? Stand, turn to your neighbor, grasp hands firmly, look each other in the eye, and say, "In the name of Jesus ...

22. Boaz: I Am Blessed!

Ruth 4:13-22, Ruth 3:1-18

Drama

Dr. Raymond Bailey

THEME: Our God uses traditions to bless, but He isn't stuck in them. He will even bypass normal traditions when it will accomplish His purposes. SETTING FOR THE SERMON MONOLOGUE: On two successive Sundays in the fall of 1994, the Old Testament lectionary reading was from the book of Ruth. In the first one, I extolled Naomi. The message title was "How's Your Mother-In-Law?" It centered on the need to recognize people seldom recognized. In a sense, the book of Ruth is about her. It is principally, however, ...

23. Josiah Speaks: An Ancient King Brings Greetings

2 Chronicles 34:14-33, 2 Chronicles 34:1-13

Drama

Dr. Raymond Bailey

THEME: The Temple was restored after years of decay -- even desecration. The remodeling that took place on a physical level, however, is symbolic of a need also to rebuild our lives. SETTING FOR THE MONOLOGUE SERMON: After worshiping in the present building since 1917, this 126-year- old congregation needed to remodel. There were serious structural problems, not to mention several aesthetic concerns. The church was out of the sanctuary for over six months. The sermon was for a time of celebration and ...

24. Adam And Jesus See Temptation

Genesis 3:1-24, Genesis 2:4-25, Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

David Belgum

Adam and Jesus were both good and created in the Image of God. It was not inherent evil or original sin that blinded Adam. We read that "God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good"; that included fish, birds, cattle, creeping things, and Adam. "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them." Nothing was lacking. Everything was going along just fine. How like us. All our needs are met and supplied. Chances are very good we have a weather-tight house with a ...

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