Sermon and Worship Resources

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Acts 17:16-34

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... old Mom, is it? But today is different. Today all the lectionary texts address the issue of the need to share our faith. Now, I don’t know about YOUR mother, but my mother gave frequent lectures about sharing. Maybe if my siblings and I had been better about DOING it ... Lystra, the whole town deifies Paul and Barnabus and tries to worship them! Yes, Gentiles are "very religious," but, as Don Henley says, we’re always following the wrong gods home. Paul has hit upon a great insight into the human condition ...

2. God, the Enemy

Matthew 10:24-39

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... that, after all he has suffered, there is nothing he need fear any more - except his God"4 (emphasis mine). Admittedly, we don't often think of God as an enemy, but when we are refusing him entry into our lives, barricading our spirits against ... But of course, ultimate judgment is up to God, not to us. And although McVeigh said he was an agnostic (as, by the way, was Henley), during his final hours he reportedly accepted a visit from a Catholic priest, who gave him last rites. Of course, Jesus did not warn of ...

3. God, The Enemy

Luke 12:1-12

Sermon

... to the warden, quoting a section of the poem "Invictus," which is Latin for "unconquered." That poem, by 19th-century British poet William Ernest Henley (1849-1903), reads in part "I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul." In case you haven't ... that, after all he has suffered, there is nothing he need fear any more -- except his God"4 (emphasis mine). Admittedly, we don't often think of God as an enemy, but when we are refusing him entry into our lives, barricading our spirits against ...

4. Invictus

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

Dr. Ronald Love

... June 27, 1880, in West Tuscumbia, Alabama. When she was nineteen months old she became ill with either scarlet fever or meningitis, we don’t know which, that left her deaf and blind. At the age of six Helen was taught to communicate by Anne Sullivan. The first ... For my unconquerable soul.** “For my unconquerable soul.” So inspiring was Henley, that his good friend Robert Louis Stevenson based his one- legged character Long John Silver on Henley. And today you may have heard of the Invictus games, which ...

5. Please, I'd Rather Do It Myself

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

King Duncan

... that they should tend the garden. Can you honestly imagine life without some kind of meaningful activity? Could it be that you don't realize how fortunate you really are? A distinguished Britisher once said that he visited an American home that seemed to have ... my soul." It is an early rendition of Frank Sinatra's bold tune, "I did it my way." In the end, however, William Henley committed suicide. Self-trust was not enough. We need God. Indepedence from God is an illusion. But here is an important truth. Did ...

6. Master of My Fate; Captain of My Soul

Luke 8:26-39

Illustration

... the warden, quoting a section of the poem "Invictus," which is Latin for "unconquered." That poem, by 19th-century British poet William Ernest Henley (1849-1903), reads in part "I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul." In case you haven' ... , that their days were numbered. So, they start bartering with Jesus. What are you doing here? What do you want with us? Please, don’t torture us. (There’s a hypocritical request if I ever heard one. They had been torturing this poor man for years and ...

7. Stop Talking and Start Walking

Luke 24:13-35, Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... author. Which means that everyone is an “authority.” At least everyone believes he or she is. And for those times when we truly don’t know which way to go, or we become lost, who do we turn to? Siri, Alexa, Google. We rely not on each other ... minds we want to go. That’s the reality of our world today. We are in charge. Or as the poem “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley suggests (which made every Christian shudder at the time it was written), “I am the master of my fate: I am the Captain of my ...

8. Pop Star Madonna and the Cross

Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... have people around who are willing to give their all. There are many who have made the ultimate sacrifice in behalf of the common good. We don’t have to look far to find such heroes. One example of such people that we all can relate to are the firefighters who rushed into ... , 1995), pp. 17-18. 2. Ibid., p. 21 3. Selling Power, June 2000, p. 96. 4. Shaun Biakeney and Wallace Henley, Energy Zappers: Dealing With People Who Drain You Dry (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007). 5. From a biography by Bob Burke and ...

9. When Compassion Overcomes Irritation

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... are already staggering under our own load. How can we be reasonably expected to help shoulder the load of others? Retired Bishop James Henley of Florida said wise words a few years ago. He said: “There is enough sorrow in every congregation, in every community, to ... a question. “What do you think it was, son?” he asked. His son responded, “Even though you’re a minister, you don’t know much about God, do you Dad?” He then proceeded to answer his own question. “Since taking science in school, ...

10. We've Got a Friend in High Places

1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28, Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... life. We have a champion, a big brother, a friend in high places who will accompany us into any battle, help us carry any burden, even give his life for us. Don’t give in or give up. After all, you have a friend in the highest of all places. His name? Jesus the Christ--King of Kings and Lord of Lords. 1. ... /sermon/1998-12-20-When-Did-Christmas-Begin/. 7. Power Books (1982). 8. Shaun Biakeney and Wallace Henley, Energy Zappers: Dealing with People Who Drain You Dry (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007).

11. A Dirt Story

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... hear the Gospel but do not understand it. I believe he means more than “do not understand it.” I believe it’s more that they don’t accept it, they don’t take it into their hearts. They hear the Gospel, but do not make it their own. I was reading recently about the so-called ... ,” First Person BookPage, 2005, www.bookpage.com/0506bp/david_mccullough.html. Cited in Shaun Biakeney and Wallace Henley, Energy Zappers: Dealing with People Who Drain You Dry (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007). 5. Dale Hanson ...

12. Are You Troubled by Demons?

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... by a demagogue with simple but mistaken beliefs. How do we explain how monsters are created? Is it something that comes from within or without? I don’t have an answer for that. I suspect the answer is more complicated than most of us can comprehend. The truth of the matter is that ... Essays in Philosophy, June 2005, www.humboldt.edu/essays/gatton.htinl. Cited in Shaun Biakeney and Wallace Henley, Energy Zappers: Dealing with People Who Drain You Dry (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007). 8. Stoffregen. 9. Donald ...

13. A Grief Observed

2 Samuel 18:19--19:8

Sermon

Roger Prescott

... Lazarus (John 11:35). No doubt he wept on many other occasions also. Somehow we have gotten the idea, however, that "big boys don’t cry." That notion needs to be changed, and the Bible gives us permission to cry when we hurt. If Jesus wept often ... I occasionally wear his sweaters. We keep his pictures on display. Even his oar is resting against our bookcase, the oar he used in the Henley Regatta in the summer of 1960. It is at Christmas time that we miss him most. There are no presents for him or from him ...

14. The Business Of The Church

Galatians 1:1-12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... -first-century sophistication we might wonder how such could be possible, there were voices on both sides of the issue. James Henley Thornwell, for example, was a prominent Presbyterian from South Carolina who insisted the church had no business discussing the problem because the ... business, the church is in the grace business. Paul adds, "And don't you forget it!" 1. Quoted by Bradley J. Longfield, The Presbyterian Controversy: Fundamentalists, Modernists, & Moderates (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991), p. ...

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