Sermon and Worship Resources

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Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

King Duncan

... who had known only cast-offs and hand-me-downs. For the first time he had something new to put on. It was an occasion of great joy for him. How great is our joy when we become a new person in Jesus Christ. You may know the story of Ethel Waters. Remember her famous song, “His eye is on thcce sparrow, and I know he cares for me.” Born to an unmarried girl of only 12 years of age, growing up fast in the slums, earning her first money by running errands for prostitutes who could have imagined the change ...

2. Priorities

Luke 12:35-48, Luke 12:22-34

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... (1896–1977), an African American blues and jazz singer, and the song title became the title of her autobiography. It could be very evocative to play a recording of Ethel Waters singing the song, as it is also a piece of American history. Interestingly, Waters’s powerful voice and style enabled her to break into the previously white-dominated theater and performance world of the 1940s and 1950s before she eventually sang at Billy Graham rallies. The refrain of the song uses the image of a bird—in ...

3. The Baby Who Changes Everything

Isaiah 7:1-25

Sermon

Robert Beringer

... a spiritual giant. Francis of Assisi was a self-seeking dilettante when Christ changed him into a self-sacrificing servant of the needy and warm-hearted lover of nature. In our own times it has been Emmanuel's touch upon people like singer Ethel Waters, atomic scientist William Pollard, onetime agnostic C. S. Lewis and writer Dorothy Day that has made a radical difference in the lives of people. It is Jesus who has brought healing and wholeness, forgiveness and restoration to countless women and men, and ...

4. Possibly Our Best Year! (A Sermon for New Year's)

Isaiah 60:1-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... Martins inquired about its source. Mrs. Doolittle responded with pride, "His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me!" Mrs. Martin was so taken by the response that she went home and that same day arranged those touching words into a lovely Gospel hymn that Ethel Waters immortalized. "His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me!" How can this be any other than a great year? We know who we are. We know where we are going. We know who's going with us. 1. Joseph Bayley quoted in Stephen Brown ...

5. Family Resemblance

1 John 2:28--3:10

Sermon

King Duncan

... Imagine what would happen if you were to replace that negative self-talk with positive selftalk. Suppose you were to tell yourself all of the things that you can do. Suppose you were to tell yourself that you are a worthwhile person. Remember the words of Ethel Waters: "God made you, and God don't make no junk!" (5) Imagine the difference it would make in your life if you really believed that. Why, no one could stop you. You would be the energetic, dynamic, attractive person you imagine in your dreams. Read ...

6. All This and Heaven Too

Luke 18:18-30

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... toward heaven and said, “His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.” Mrs. Martin was so taken by that response that she went home and that very day she arranged those touching words into a powerful Gospel hymn that later Ethel Waters immortalized. (James W. Moore, “Celebrating the Present…or Believing the Future End”, January 6, 1991) All this—pardon for our past, power for the present—all this and Heaven too. III. And that’s our last word—promise for the future. And that’s ...

7. Getting a Grip on Fear

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... simple: “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.” The beauty of this simple expression of faith gripped Civilla Martin’s heart and she wrote a poem which she mailed the next day to Charles Gabriel, who put music to it. Singer Ethel Waters made the resulting song famous, so famous that she used its name as the title for her autobiography. Perhaps you have heard it: Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come, Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heaven and home, When ...

8. Shall We Take the Escalator?

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon

King Duncan

... desperation, Lucy begins stuffing candy in her mouth, in her pockets, and finally even in her blouse. But no matter how hard she and Ethel work, they still can’t keep up. The scene is hilarious . . . as long as it is happening to someone else. That’s the essence ... K. Anders Ericsson, cited in Reader’s Digest, May 1996, p. 160. 3. http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/bread-and-water-c-philip-green-sermon-on-anxiety-175502.asp?Page=2. 4. Michael Brickley, “The Extended Life: Four Strategies for Healthy ...

9. Beginning a Ministry

Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

... Nathanael were recruited and, after that, John tells about Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding at Cana in Galilee, when he turned water into wine as the first sign that he was the Messiah. Matthew says the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness after ... how well Jesus had chosen his disciples and how thorough their training had been. "Why did Jesus choose me?" Calvin once asked of Ethel Stanley. She answered, "I don’t know why, Calvin. Maybe there’s a special plan for you in your life and there’s ...

10. "Crown Him Lord of all!"

Sermon

William Luoma

... think of Ray, a maintenance man in Illinois, who keeps some palm leaves in his car, "to ward off anything bad." I think of Ethel, in whose Bible there is a small cross made of palm leaves, pressed flat as a bookmark. And I think of Catholic friends, who ... outside the kingdom, may enter and find joy. Take our feeble attempts to show love, and change them, as your Son did when he changed the water to wine, so that the true Gospel may be seen by those who say they have no use for it. In places where people are ...

11. For The Love of God is Creative

1 Corinthians 2:6-12 · Psalm 8

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... "Very Good!" Usually it sounds like this..."Great job, Frank....but this portion here could use some extra work. OR "This is delicious Ethel. I make one similar but I use walnuts instead. I think walnuts taste better." You know the second that there's a pause ... his plate full of food but he couldn't eat for thinking about his little boy up in the attic, all alone with only bread and water. His wife tried to console him: "I know what you're thinking. But you mustn't bring the boy down from the attic. It would ...

12. God's Time

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... of the car and looked for the ferry. There it was out in the water approximately 15 feet from the shore. "I think I can make it," he said to himself running toward the dock at full speed. Reaching the edge of the water, he gave an enormous leap out into the water and miraculously landed with a loud thud on the deck of the ferry. The ... give you a gift this Christmas that transcends time ”the gift of His love. 1. Billy Graham. 2. Ethel Barrett, IT ONLY HURTS WHEN I LAUGH (Glendale, CA: Regal Books, 1973).

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