Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 52 results

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... Of Science. As such it embodies a statement of our faith. While science has its place in our lives, this is not it. Frankly, science has a very narrow boundary on what it accepts as truth. It can describe the facts very well, but seldom, if ever, ... it holds. As with all analogies, we should be careful not to push this too far, but life can seem to stretch before us like an ocean of soft plasterboard. If we want things to hold, we need to be aware that God is beneath all things waiting for us to fasten ...

2. We Need Another Miracle

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... Ten Commandments for the 21st Century, (Lima, OH: CSS Publishing, 2007), 41. 3. Hamlet. 1.5, 167-168. 4. Dictionary.com, s.v. “miracle (n.), https://www.dictionary.com/browse/miracleset, February 10, 2020. 5. Frank Mead, ed., The Encyclopedia of Religious Quotations, (Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1976), 458. 6. Brad Plumer, “The World’s Oceans are in Danger, Major Climate Change Report Warns,” New York Times (September 25, 2019). https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/25/climate/climate- change ...

3. Endorsing The Future

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... energy of our lives loving only what we can use, worshipping only what we have bought, and believing only what we can see. And frankly, that's a waste, a tragic waste, because we never get all that energy and those years back in the future, even if we ... than Yahweh? Should we accommodate the New Age spirituality? Hadn't God promised us an eternal dynasty when those pilgrims sailed the ocean under the images of crossing the Red Sea into a new Israel? While not in formal exile or slavery, we white Protestants ...

4. How to Handle the Mess of Stress

Exodus 18:23-27

Sermon

James Merritt

... we ought to burnout; on the other hand, I don't believe we ought to get lazy and rust out. I believe we ought to last out. Quite frankly, I don't want to wear out, I want to work out. The problem is, we crowd the calendar and clutter our lives with so many things that ... that is used to explore the ocean in places so deep that the water pressure would crush a conventional submarine like an aluminum can. Bathyspheres have been known to dive up to 37,000 feet into the ocean. Scientists did not know what they ...

5. The Climb

Joshua 14:6-15

Sermon

James Merritt

... other day, as I was driving into Cross Pointe, that every time you drive in to Cross Pointe, you climb a hill. Quite frankly, Cross Pointe is more than a church. It is a mountain. It is a mountain that I have chosen to climb and ... adventurous journey, it still refuses to die. The power and the drive of that river are so great, that it floods the ocean with fresh water that penetrates the ocean up to one hundred miles offshore. In fact, the current of that river can still be seen two hundred miles out to sea ...

6. Visioning Or Vanishing?

Proverbs 29:1-27

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... water, but we're pretty sure it wasn't the fish. Those Sunday school children saw the water ” they just didn't know it was the Atlantic Ocean. If they'd had a chance to sail on it or fly across it, they would have a deepened appreciation for it. And so with all of ... Christ we have our truth about God, the truth about the world, the truth about ourselves, then we must share him. Quite frankly, our present vision is limited and needs extension. It always is unless we focus on the Cross and its horizontal and ...

7. A Higher Priority

John 6:56-69

Illustration

Brett Blair

... Bill would be competing in the Paris Games. In 1924 there were no jet airliners from Paris to the United States, only slow-moving ocean-going ships. And so Bill found himself in a dilemma. Should he go to Paris and risk not being at his wife's side ... Havens. The child eventually born to Bill and his wife was a boy, whom they named Frank. Twenty-eight years later, in 1952, Bill received a cablegram from Frank. It was sent from Helsinki, Finland, where the 1952 Olympics were being held. The cablegram read, ...

8. Responding to Christ's Birth

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

... be received only through doors that are purposely opened for him. A person may live as near God as the bubble is to the ocean and yet not find him. He may be "closer than breathing, nearer than hands or feet," and still be missed. Historically Christianity is ... lesson. The local Greek Orthodox priest read from the New Testament and symbolically kissed the feet of Mr. Lawson. The Reverend Frank McRae, a courageous leader in the United Methodist Church, spoke about hope in the midst of despair. After a time of ...

9. Search for The Treasure

John 17:6-19

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... mean the lake of salt that lies due east, the one we discovered two days ago. BEA: Then the "tide" is the ocean to the west. AILY: Yes. Probably. The ocean would have been much closer then than it is today. BEA: That would make this mountain equally distant between the two. AILY ... it and see what happens. BEA: Communicating with God could be refreshing. I'm frankly getting bored with humans who think they have all the answers. AILY: Well, as we're digging we can pray. BEA: That way we just might "dig ...

10. Responding To The Roadblocks Of Life

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Several years ago Frank Court told the story of a student at Iowa State University who took to selling magazine subscriptions for additional income. He ... OF ALL THAT WE DO. The creeds of the Church have always said we are to be "holy, apostolic and universal". As the dreams of our forefathers and foremothers propelled them across oceans and continents, how will we respond to the dreams and visions that God is placing upon our hearts to claim new territory for the King of kings? We are fortunate that we live ...

11. Please, I'd Rather Do It Myself

Genesis 1:1-2:3

Sermon

King Duncan

... he triumphantly proclaims, "I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of 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 ... . "I must catch my tail," he thought, "and hold it up so I will not fall." Around and around he chased his tail until he heard the ocean say to him, "Relax little fish. I am around you and in you. I will not let you fall." How like the little fish we are. How we ...

12. God Knows Exactly How You Feel

John 19:28

Sermon

James Merritt

... only is this a passionate statement, a powerful statement, and a pitiful statement, it is also a puzzling statement. The one who had scooped out the oceans, carved out the lakes, lined out the rivers, and traced out the streams, said, "I thirst!" Here is the water of life, and yet there is ... soul revived, And now I live in Him.2 Raiza Santana wanted her 10 year old son, Frank, to live in freedom. So this Cuban lady built a crude raft and she and her son set out for America. Under a blazing sun during five ...

13. Unwanted Freedom

John 8:31-36

Sermon

Chris Ewing

... be biggest and the best," states an online journal, Royal Caribbean International "has bulked up a normal-sized vessel to create an ocean-bound behemoth unlike any seen before."1 The massive ship, which is wider than the White House is long, is not only ... which we meet God does, and so there is a constant need to question yesterday's truths and revise yesterday's practices. It is frankly much easier to find a good rut and stay there. And in church we often do just that, mistaking our rut for a viable ...

14. Acres of Diamonds

1 Timothy 6:10

Sermon

Russell Conwell

... along with it." "Well," said he, "I don't see any sense in their thus talking about my family and myself. Conwell, tell me frankly, what do you think the American people think of me?" "Well," said I, "they think you are the blackest hearted villain that ever trod ... a hoe and went out and sat down on a rock. But Columbus, as he sat upon that shore and looked out upon the ocean, noticed that the ships, as they sailed away, sank deeper into the sea the farther they went. And since that time some other "Spanish ...

15. When God Steps Out Of Shadows

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

William L. Self

... institutionalized, may be out of favor for some parts of the Christian community -- but it is still God's gift to us. And, frankly, I think it is the best thing God has going for himself in the world. Jeremiah talks of the people of God coming ... assigned place. Suddenly, one newly hatched turtle came from the safety of the nest, looked around, and then made his way to the ocean. The distance he had to cover was about thirty yards. Suddenly the sky was filled with sea gulls, their natural enemy, descending ...

16. Preaching Unpopular Truth - 1943

John 18:38

Sermon

Kent Moorehead

... shall only get ourselves soundly disliked, and the result will be such loss of influence as will destroy our effectiveness altogether. I frankly confess that I feel the appeal of this argument. It is an altogether legitimate, normal, and valuable instinct to desire to be ... a hill-top overlooking the sea. One day during an earthquake, from his high vantage point, he saw the ocean swiftly withdrawing from the familiar shore. It looked like some prodigious animal crouching for a deadly, destructive leap, and ...

17. Backsliding

John 6:60-71

Sermon

Brett Blair

... time that Bill would be competing in the Paris Games. In 1924 there were no jet airliners from Paris to the United States, only slow-moving ocean-going ships. And so Bill found himself in a dilemma. Should he go to Paris and risk not being at his wife's side when ... , I won. I'm bringing home the gold medal you lost while waiting for me to be born." And if your can believe it. Frank Havens won that gold medal for the United States in the canoe-racing event, a medal his father had dreamed of winning but never ...

18. Nothing Great Happens Without It

Luke 14: 25-35

Sermon

James Merritt

... scorned Him and it will scorn you. The world rejected Him and it will reject you. That is a small price, quite frankly, to pay when you consider the benefit of becoming His disciple and living for Him and with Him for all eternity. Someone ... received a letter that caused his heart to leap. The children were now grown and Mary was coming to Africa. For months she traveled across oceans and up steamy African streams and rivers until finally she was in the arms of her husband. But she had barely arrived when she ...

19. Taking the Long View

2 Peter 3:8-15a

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... knowledge of me. In that approach I discover his love and power coming together for my own good. Do I want it any other way? Frankly, the answer is, "No." There is grand joy. Only the one God of us all has the stature for this. Turn your imaginations loose and ... too numerous to mention. Perhaps to make the mistake of not wholeheartedly accepting it is akin to splashing in the Pacific Ocean alone, shouting your independence. Today can very well be a brand new beginning because, at last, we have seen the light ...

20. Got Milk?

1 Peter 2:1-3

Sermon

James Merritt

... t understand the need for vitamin C. When they brought rations over to feed themselves on the journey from one end of the ocean to the other, they didn't allow for vitamin C and other nutrients their bodies needed. As they made their way over here, ... until they died. It is not that they were not eating. The problem was they were eating the wrong kinds of food. I want to be very frank and open and honest. The reason why we find it so hard to cultivate an appetite for God's word is because we live on spiritual ...

21. The Dream Work of Teamwork

Nehemiah 3:1-32

Sermon

James Merritt

... . Thomas Jefferson said, "No duty the executive has to perform is so trying as to put the right man in the right place." Quite frankly the success of this church will rise or fall on my ability and the ability of our staff to find the right people in ... a foundation of lay leadership that will be two things to all of our people - Examples and Encouragers. Whenever a big gigantic ship like an ocean liner is coming into a harbor, a tugboat will tow it in to make sure there is no damage to the ship. A tugboat ...

22. Priceless

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

The Island of Rodriguez in the Pacific Ocean, not that far from Zanzibar, has mainly managed to stay out of the notice of history, if history is the record of ... spring. That's the way it works. There's a stiff breeze blowing and you can't put the seeds back on the stem. You can't put Jesus back in the tomb" (Frank Ramirez, The Gospel of Mark [Nashville: faithQuest, 1996], p. 60.) The powers, the governments, the principalities, want to stuff Jesus in the box. If they can keep him on the cross, your attention ...

23. A Law We Can Live With

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

... ourselves, it takes very little to raise us up or thrust us down. And so, frequently, we are like small boats tossing about upon the ocean, completely at the mercy of the waves. In a recent book, Henri Nouwen puts his finger on much of the problem by observing: All the ... Companion to the Bible, Volume Two: Exodus-Joshua (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1992), p. 92. 4. As cited by Frank E. Eakin, "The Decalogue: The Vertical Relationship," Baptist Pastors School, University of Richmond, Virginia, June 27, 1984. 5. ...

24. Step One - Honesty

Luke 8:26-39 · Proverbs 23:29-35

Sermon

John A. Terry

... is the moment when many seek outside help. Others simply surrender to their dependency. These steps begin with a frank admission of powerlessness over one's addiction. It is the spiritual basis for the 12-step recovery program. This ... Weird sights will appear before your eyes, and you will not be able to think or speak clearly. You will feel as if you were out on the ocean, seasick, swinging high up in the rigging of a tossing ship. 'I must have been hit,' you will say; 'I must have been beaten up, but I don' ...

25. This God’s For Real!

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

... , surveys still turn up the same conclusions: People by an overwhelming number, even in the high-technology countries, on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, want to affirm that "there is God." Something like 95% still say that there is a divine controller of the universe. Consensus breaks down ... serves a function. But we have a choice: We can affirm a lifeless or a living god. The former choice is, frankly, far more to most people’s liking. Certainly a lifeless god, one we can shape in our own image or to ...

Showing results