Sermon and Worship Resources

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Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... one foot to go astray, if I have walked in my own willful way, Dear Lord, forgive. Now, I ask for a restful night of sleep, and if you see fit to give me another day tomorrow, I will receive it gladly. I love you, Lord. Amen” The late Bishop Ernest Fitzgerald used to tell about a man he knew years ago who lived in one of the isolated corners of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Life was hard, and every day his little hillside farm was at the mercy of drought, wind, or cold. Yet he was about the most serene and ...

2. Behold The Man Who Taught By The Sea

Mark 4:1-20

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... the idea into a $4 billion business which he called "Federal Express." Some wonderful things happen when we get in our thinking the teaching of Jesus and the things he said about the Kingdom of God. Somebody else begins to see that Kingdom living in us. Bishop Ernest Fitzgerald told the story about the woman who saw a little boy who had no shoes. It was a cold winter day, and her heart went out to him. She bought him some shoes to wear. At first the boy went running off without saying thank you. She ...

3. In the Darkness of Suffering, There Is the Light of Life

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... s not really the grandmother of Jesus.” He replied, “I know she is. She showed us his picture and just bragged on him.” This is something to brag about —what God has done with his Son. I hope you will remember this. United Methodist Bishop Ernest Fitzgerald told about a man who taught Sunday school class at a little church in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. One Sunday, his lesson was about, “What I Have Learned Thus Far.” One of the things he mentioned was this, “Never forget in ...

4. The Third Kind of Love

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

James W. Moore

... home and berates his family with a temper tantrum and kicks the dog. Let’s be honest now. Think about your own life for a moment. Isn’t it true that usually when we fuss at someone else, it’s because we are really upset with ourselves! Dr. Ernest Fitzgerald tells of having a bad day where he had mishandled some things and he came home frustrated and angry with himself. Now it so happened that his wife had bought him a new suit that day. He tried it on… and then complained bitterly: “I can’t ...

5. Leave No Child Behind

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... , then you have done it to me." In Matthew he said, "If you serve the poor and the dispossessed, then you serve me." In Mark he included children among the dispossessed and the poor, and said, "Serve them. If you serve them you serve me." Bishop Ernest Fitzgerald, the bishop of Georgia, tells of a time before he was elected bishop, when he was pastor of the church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. One night he went into the sanctuary of the church from the office. He saw a little two-year old boy trying ...

6. Trouble, but No Sleepless Nights

Matthew 6:24-34

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

The late Bishop Ernest Fitzgerald used to tell about a man he knew years ago who lived in one of the isolated corners of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Life was hard, and every day his little hillside farm was at the mercy of drought, wind, or cold. Yet he was about the most serene and deeply contented man Bishop Fitzgerald had ever known. So he asked the old mountaineer one day if he had ever had any troubles and if he had ever spent sleepless nights. "Sure, I've had my troubles," he said, "but no sleepless ...

7. You Can Be Articulate

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

Michael B. Brown

... we are and do rather than what we say. The old poem still carries a great deal of truth: I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day. I'd rather one should walk with me than merely point the way. In Keeping Pace, Ernest Fitzgerald relayed the true story of a magazine company which several years ago purchased a new computer. Its function was to compile data and send out subscription notices to customers whose subscriptions had lapsed. One day something went wrong with the machine, and before the error was ...

8. You Can Be Real

Matthew 5:33-37

Sermon

Michael B. Brown

... . Once we are found out by anyone, no one else takes us seriously. Once we are branded a liar, we wear that brand forever like Hester Prynne's scarlet letter, and whatever influence we may have had over others is permanently nullified. Ernest Fitzgerald, in Keeping Pace, told of the wealthy English philanthropist Jeremy Bentham. In his will, Mr. Bentham bequeathed a fortune to a London hospital on whose Board of Directors he had sat for decades. There was, though, one peculiar stipulation. Mr. Bentham's ...

9. Picking A Winner, Claiming A Treasure

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Bishop Ernest Fitzgerald tells about a slightly crooked Texan who was a big racer of horses. He took one of his prize thoroughbreds to London for an international race. The Texan was back in the stable area prior to the race feeding his horse some suspicious-looking little white pills. The Duke of ...

10. Jesus Says, 'Just Do It'

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

Dr. Chane M. Hutton

... with more faith they believed that they would just magically be what God wanted them to be. But lack of faith was not the problem. There are people with lots of faith who still contribute very little to God's kingdom. They are like a man Ernest Fitzgerald tells about in his book KEEPING PACE. The man was a wealthy English philanthropist named Jeremy Bentham. In his will, Mr. Bentham bequeathed a fortune to a London hospital on whose Board of Directors he had sat for decades. There was, though, one peculiar ...

11. Have You Checked On Your Investments Lately?

John 6:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... is of the same religion." I fear that is true. How difficult it is for any of us to extricate ourselves from the web of materialism that our society has woven. Even in church we get caught up in the drive for material security. Bishop Ernest Fitzgerald tells of a radio preacher in North Carolina who spent most of his air time asking for money. The owners of the station began to receive complaints, so they established a new policy; ministers could no longer ask for money over the air. Surprisingly, the ...

12. What Kind of Vote Would Jesus Get?

Mark 15:1-15

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... are the peacemakers...for they shall be called the sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9) It is no wonder He got Himself crucified! Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) was a distinguished English philosopher, jurist, and political theorist. But he was also a bit eccentric. Bishop Ernest Fitzgerald of Atlanta tells a strange story that says when Bentham died he bequeathed a rather large sum of money to a hospital in England. His will stipulated that, as a condition of the gift, his ashes be brought to the board room for each ...

13. Persistent Attention

Mark 7:31-37

Illustration

Michael B. Brown

In Keeping Pace, Ernest Fitzgerald relayed the true story of a magazine company which several years ago purchased a new computer. Its function was to compile data and send out subscription notices to customers whose subscriptions had lapsed. One day something went wrong with the machine, and before the error was discovered (about a month ...

14. What the World Expects of the Church

Luke 15:1-7

Illustration

Brett Blair

On a cold, dreary December evening, several hundred people gathered at a large downtown church in Winston-Salem to celebrate the Christmas season. Bishop Ernest Fitzgerald, present that evening, had gone down a long hallway to help a small boy who was pushing against massive oak doors trying to get outside. The boy was about 2 years old and as he pushed he was crying as if his heart would break. The Bishop picked him up, ...

15. Everyone Wants a Winner

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

16. Job’s Reply to Eliphaz

Job 6:1–7:21

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

... has depended, but he does not retaliate against them. Poetry: “Invictus,” by William Ernest Henley. This often-cited stoic poem (1888) by English poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903) provides a great contrast to Job’s attitude. At the age ... was terrifying, and it parallels the feeling Job expresses in 7:20. Literature: The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The novel The Great Gatsby (1925), by Fitzgerald (1896–1940), has as one of its prominent images a billboard with an eye, that of Doctor T. ...

17. Guidance for a Time of Chaos

John 16:5-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... 1947 after exercising enormous influence over the reading habits of millions of people. No, Perkins wasn’t an author. He was the top editor at Charles Scribner’s Publishing Company for some years. He served as personal editor for F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby), Ernest Hemingway (For Whom The Bell Tolls), Thomas Wolfe (Look Homeward, Angel), as well as for less famous authors such as those who wrote The Yearling, From Here to Eternity, etc. Max Perkins could take a manuscript of a thousand pages ...

18. The Temptation Of His Life

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... son, my beloved daughter, in whom I am well pleased." And, you remember that because God has called your name He will see you through. 1. Robert Penn Warren, All The King's Men (Random House: New York, 1960), p. 131. 2. Ernest A. Fitzgerald, Keeping Pace: Inspirations In The Air (Pace Communications Inc.: Greensboro, North Carolina, 1988), p. 14. 3. James S. Stewart, The Wind Of The Spirit (Abingdon Press: Nashville and New York, 1968), p. 55. 4. Robert Moats Miller, Harry Emerson Fosdick (Oxford University ...

19. The Man From Galilee V: The Test Of His Courage

Matthew 20:17-19

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... and London, 1952), p. 3. 2. Bruce Larson, The Presence (Harper & Row Publishers: San Francisco, 1988), p. 22. 3. Brian L. Harbour, "Super Single Or Dynamic Duo?" Award Winning Sermons, Volume I (Broadman Press: Nashville, 1977), p. 29. 4. Ernest A. Fitzgerald, You Can Believe (Abingdon Press: Nashville and New York, 1975), p. 30. 5. Wallace Chappell, The Trumpet's Certain Sound (Wallace Chappell Ministries, Inc.: Nashville, 1987), p. 27. 6. Alan Walker, God, The Disturber (Word Books: Waco, Texas, 1973 ...

20. Not

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... a date with his girl, "Have a good time, son." The boy angrily and belligerently retorted, "Don't tell me what to do!" Ernest Hemingway wrote, "The world breaks everyone, and afterward many are strong in the broken places." So let us learn from our pain, and ... almost to death about things that never happen. We borrow trouble even when we have no trouble. We tend to think negatively. Oz Fitzgerald, a rural mail carrier, once told of the worries of a near relative of his. The old lady said to him, "We got ...

21. Repairing Your Broken Dreams

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... first step in repairing a broken dream. 1. As used by Charles L. Allen in The Miracle of Hope (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1983), pp. 16-17. 2. See John Howard Yoder, The Politics of Jesus (Grand Rapids, Minnesota: William B. Eerdmans, 1972), p. 61. 3. Ernest A. Fitzgerald, How To Be A Successful Failure (New York: Atheneum, 1978), pp. 6-8. 4. As told by Bruce McLeon, City Sermons (Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Welch Publishing Company, 1986), pp. 69-71.

22. In The Lion's Den

Daniel 6:1-28

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... , I still have everything under control. (Signed) God." That’s what Daniel found out long ago in a lions’ den, and that is God’s good news for you! 1. From "SMILEAWHILE," a hobby of Dr. Roy Knight of Parkersburg, WV. E-mail- 2. Fitzgerald, Ernest A., Keeping Pace, (Pace Communications: Greensboro, NC, 1988), p. 96. 3. From a sermon entitled, "Lions in Daniel’s Den," by the Rev. David Dykes of Green Acres Baptist Church, Tyler, Texas. 4. From the hymn, "Amazing Grace," written by John Newton.

23. Excellence In Living

Romans 12:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... first need to make a decision. Here am I, oh God. All that I am and all that I have are yours. 1. O. Dean Martin, Good Marriages Don't Just Happen (Old Tappan, N.J.: Fleming H. Revell, 1984). 2. From a sermon by David G. Rogne. 3. Dr. Ernest A. Fitzgerald, God Writes Straight With Crooked Lines (New York: Atheneum, 1981).

24. In the Darkness of Despair, There Is the Light of Hope

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... The Lord (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1988), p. 16. 3.Paul Scherer, Love Is A Spendthrift (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1961), p. 98. 4.Lamar J. Brooks, “... And On Earth, Peace,” Award Winning Sermons (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1979), p. 33. 5.Ernest A. Fitzgerald, You Can Believe (Nashville-New York: Abingdon Press, 1975), p. 68. 6.James W. Moore, Attitude Is Your Paintbrush (Nashville: Dimension For Living, 1998), p. 37. 7.James W. Moore, Some Things Are Too Good Not To Be True (Nashville: Dimension ...

25. Opening and Closing Doors

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... disorder; but facing the circumstances and ask what can be done about them not only changes the world, but it also builds mental and spiritual muscle. It is alright to worry if we worry in the right way, and about the right things.” (Bishop Ernest A. Fitzgerald, “It’s Alright to Worry”, Piedmont Airlines, July, 1985, p. 5) Let me mention one other point at which I think concern and worry may be constructive. Not only should situations which are not what they should be give us cause for worry the ...

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