Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 44 results

Romans 11:33-36

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

... worship does not mean we must become more formal and ritualistic and "high church." It does mean, however, that we must allow the Holy Spirit to rekindle in our hearts a genuine sense of amazement at the goodness and grace of God. Bishop Gerald Kennedy tells of being part of a contemporary worship service in one of his churches several years ago. A group of young people sang several modern folk songs, accompanied by guitars. His associate prayed, using contemporary language well salted with slang. Two young ...

2. Reflections On A Calling (ten-year Anniversary Sermon)

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... to urge his students to: "Get down deep, gentlemen, deep down." What these men were urging was a renewed realization that Christian preachers were to think of themselves as nothing less than God's envoys and to speak always under that compulsion." (Gerald Kennedy, His Word Through Preaching, Harper and Brothers Publishers, New York, London, 1947, pages 10-11) In the Bible a steward is a person who supervises a household or manages someone's affairs for him. I do not believe I stressed the image unreasonably ...

3. Let God Be God - As if It Could Be Otherwise

Exodus 7:14-24

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... suit our wishes. Surely (in this story) we are being told that not every reality is amenable to our desires, and that if a generation assumes it has the right to arrange everything to its convenience that generation will die. There are eternal truths which cannot be amended. (Gerald Kennedy, Fresh Every Morning, p. 2). Now do you see why I began with Newton’s word: “If you think you see the Ark of the Lord falling, you can be quite sure that it is due to a swimming in your head.” You see God’s Ark ...

4. A Death on a Long Friday

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... ." While Heerman wept at the grave of his young wife, Jesus received her into the joy of the kingdom. Jesus was no fallen angel; he was God's beloved Son. He was absolutely obedient to his Father in heaven. His was the death of an innocent. Methodist Bishop Gerald Kennedy reflected in one of his books on a picture taken during World War II.2 It was a picture taken when some Jewish people were driven from the Warsaw ghetto by Nazi soldiers. Down in the front of a group of captured Jews was a little boy with ...

5. Our Most Common Sin

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... story, but if we deal with it honestly, if we face the lessons it teaches us, it will drive us to our knees. That’s the necessary position for us—on our knees—if we expect to enter the Kingdom of God. 1. The MacMillan Company, 1943, p. 63 2. Gerald Kennedy, The Parables, New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1960, pp.116-117 3 ...

6. The Power of Persistence

Luke 11:1-13, Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... you are tempted to give up remember this: Life rewards persistence. Another knock on the door may awaken the reluctant neighbor—another session of persistent prayer may be the key to new understanding, new directions, renewed strength of will, and energizing inspiration. Life rewards persistence. 1. The Parables, by Gerald Kennedy; Harper & Brothers Publishing, 1960, pages 24-25 2. The Parables by Gerald Kennedy; Harper & Brothers, 1960; page 19 3. Barry Boulware, “The Best of All,” August 26, 1984

7. How to Deal with Demons

Matthew 12:38-50

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... , Nashville, Discipleship Resources, 1976, pp. 38-39 3. David E. Roberts, The Grandeur and Misery of Man, New York: Oxford University Press, 1955, p. VII 4. Charles M. Crow, Sermons on the Parables of Jesus, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1953, pp. 93-94 5. Gerald Kennedy, The Parables, New York, Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1960, p. 37 6. Harold A. Bosley, He Spoke to Them in Parables, New York, Harper & Rowe, 1963, p. 63 7. Quoted from Don Shelby’s sermon, “How to Eyeball the Devil,” February 16, 1986 ...

8. When Tradition Gets in the Way

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... harms human beings. Tradition can become deadly around the Church, I know. Remember the famous “Seven Last Words of the Church” which somebody thought up a few years back: “We’ve never done it that way before!” That reminds me of the late Bishop Gerald Kennedy’s comments about a church he had where one layperson held the opinion that “nothing ought ever to be done for the first time.” The only thing worse, he said, was another layperson in that same church who said that “Once in awhile you ...

9. Make Way For Poets Of The Heart

Sermon

James Angell

... Jones, Ralph Sockman, George Buttrick, Peter Marshall, Donald Baillie, James Stewart, and Arthur John Gossip. To allow myself the luxury of a second decalogue, I also name Louis Evans, Carlyle Marney, James Pike, Ted Loder, Wallace Hamilton, Gerald Kennedy, Eugene Carson Blake, Liston Pope, Elton Trueblood, and Richard Raines. Plus the following, whose writing informed my mind and added muscle and music to my faith: Loren Eiseley, Thomas Merton, Halford Luccock, Reinhold Niebuhr, Frederick Buechner, Walter ...

10. The Secret: Christ In You

Colossians 1:24--2:5

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

It's an awesome responsibility to preach. One of my heroes, Bishop Gerald Kennedy, was fond of telling of the Church of England Bishop who remarked that a sermon is something a clergy ... authority for preaching in God -- in God's indwelling presence as the Indwelling Christ. In God's indwelling presence as the Living Christ. I like the way Bishop Kennedy put it. "Much good preaching could become great preaching if this sense of God entreating through me to you were felt. This is what brings eternity into the ...

11. What to Do When You Are in a Fix

Exodus 13:17--14:31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... us to deal with our problems in a healing, redemptive, wholesome-giving way. III GO FORWARD The third word of the Lord to us when we are in a fix is to go forward! One of my heroes, and for eight years my bishop in Southern California, was Gerald Kennedy. He was the most remarkable preacher I’ve ever known. He concluded his autobiography, While I’m On My Feet with the observation that we can assume only to positions in the presence of God. One is on our knees, saying, “God, be merciful to me a sinner ...

12. When Nature Says No

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... accept the fact there is a tragic dimension to life. Sometimes tragic dimension is like a mocking demon arrogantly challenges the idea on which we all to hold: that God is good and intends good everyone. Such, a mocking challenge came in the stroke of Bishop Gerald Kennedy. He was one of my heroes, one of the most colorful and effective preachers of the 20th Century - made the cover of Time Magazine and few preachers do that. I used to drive for hundreds of miles to hear him preach whenever he would come to ...

13. How Do You Get Rid of Evil without Destroying Good?

Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... which is which, but ultimately the distinction is made, must be made, will be made. II. Now let’s move to a second truth that really strikes at the heart of our daily life. While we are involved in a search for perfection, we must live with imperfection. Gerald Kennedy reminds us that “the field is a man’s life, and he must come to terms immediately with the uncomfortable truth that it will always have weeds in it. Why this is so has been the theme of many philosophies, but all we need to know is that ...

14. Proper 18

Romans 13:8-14, Romans 13:1-7, Ezekiel 33:1-20, Exodus 12:1-30, Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... meeting in which the proposal was approved and told him: "Pastor, I want to thank you for giving us our church back." That pastor had wisely empowered the people to make the decisions affecting the congregation's life and future. Methodist Bishop Gerald Kennedy outlined the basis of authority in an address to the clergy of the Southern California and Arizona Conference, almost a quarter century ago. His first point was that authority cannot be taken by force. Revolutionaries can seize power but they cannot ...

15. Endorsing The Future

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... foreigner to our traditional cultural inheritance. And there is much support for this. The Western religions are exclusive religions and fundamentalism is worldwide. Countries ruled by dictators usually have the cleanest streets. We can employ "survival of our kind" techniques. Gerald Kennedy tells the startling experience of a man who visited the Bell Laboratories. One of the executives had on his desk a machine that really represents the end of the line for many people. It was a small wooden casket the ...

16. A Lesson From Prayers Overheard

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Theodore F. Schneider

... Bowl game between the University of Miami and The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State). Penn State won the game. 2. Harry F. Baughman, Preaching from the Propers, (Philadelphia, Muhlenberg Press, 1949), p. 3. Dr. Baughman quotes the late Professor Raymond T. Stamm in the use of "central luminous truth." 3. Gerald Kennedy, The Parables: Stories Jesus Told, (New York, Harper and Brothers, 1960), p. 118 4. William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke, (Philadelphia, Westminster Press, 1956), p. 232.

17. What Form of Church Does God Want for the Furture?

Romans 12:1-8, Romans 12:9-21

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

... about covered dish dinners and committee meetings than in prayer. Many times the sermon deals with a social problem or about some theological doctrine that has nothing to do with life today. Then, too, there is a noticeable lack of enthusiasm about worship today. Bishop Gerald Kennedy tells of a little boy who flatly refused to go back to church. His mother asked him why. The lad replied, "I don’t want to go back because the preacher said he was going to preach about, ‘The zeal of thy house hath eaten ...

18. Why Should I Go On Living?

Matthew 12:38-45

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... health, financial reverses? Poppycock! That’s newspaper talk. We have to give rational reasons why we do irrational things. There is only one reason for a person’s killing himself, rationally, and that is that life has no meaning, no significance, no reality. As Bishop Gerald Kennedy has said: "The great fear of our age is that life has no meaning." Perhaps it was put to me most dramatically by a college girl some time ago. She said: "Take a good look at me, and you will see everything you are supposed ...

19. A Personal God in an Impersonal World

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

The late Bishop Gerald Kennedy used to tell a story about a census taker who was going door to door. He knocked on the door of a small, unpretentious house and was met at the door by a weary mother. "Lady," he said, "I want to know how many there are in this family." "Well," ...

20. How To Be Used By God

1 Samuel 16:14-23

Sermon

Roger Prescott

... right amount of light. After supper he would put on his slippers, adjust the lamp, set up his book rest, place the books in the book rest, and sit down in the big chair. With everything then perfectly adjusted - he would peacefully fall asleep! (From Gerald Kennedy, somewhere.) We need to prepare well, but dare not get too comfortable in the doing of that preparation. It’s interesting that the one skill which brought David to King Saul’s attention was probably a peripheral one - music. We need to do our ...

21. A Prayer of Wonder

2 Samuel 7:18-29

Sermon

Roger Prescott

... condition moves us in the direction of thinking it’s mostly up to us. Oh, we know that God has created us; "but the important thing is what we do with it." We’ve all heard the appealing slogan, "If it is to be, it is up to me." Gerald Kennedy (and others) have told versions of this story: A rabbi, a cantor, and a humble synagogue cleaner were preparing for the Day of Atonement. The rabbi beat his breast, and said, "I am nothing, I am nothing." The cantor beat his breast, and said, "I am nothing, I am ...

22. Winning When It Really Counts

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

King Duncan

... ! He was gone! "And what is your wish?" asked the genie of the third man, who by then was looking a little forlorn. "Well," he said, "I’m kinda lonely now without the other guys. I wish they were back." Poof! Poof! (2) So much for wishing. Bishop Gerald Kennedy once told of visiting the Bell Laboratories in California and seeing a most unusual gadget on the desk of an executive. It was a small wooden casket about the size of a cigar box. On one side of the box there was a single switch. When the executive ...

23. Twelve Inches From God

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... Perhaps we should thank our Puritan background for the tendency in this country to define Christian life in terms of the things that a Christian doesn't do. If you don't drink, smoke, use drugs or run around with the wrong crowd, you're probably a Christian! Gerald Kennedy once put it this way: "Too often we tend to define Christianity as a negative thing. A Christian is someone who pays strict attention to not doing a good many things. I remember a professor of mine who told of one who did not do this and ...

24. Shepherding And Parenting

Psalm 23:1-6, 1 Peter 2:13-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... AT PSALM 23, tells us that sheep are very fearful creatures. They simply will not lie down unless they sense the shepherd very near. They need to know that he is present. May I suggest to you that a young child needs that sense of security and trust as well. Gerald Kennedy once told about a young girl who lived in an apartment in a big city, and after supper in the summer the children on the block gathered in the streets to play. But after a while one would say that she had to go home because her mother had ...

25. When It Is Tough to Follow Jesus: The Third Word

John 19:17-27

Sermon

Eric Ritz

The distinguished United Methodist bishop, Dr. Gerald Kennedy, once told the story of seeing a very poorly dressed woman and her young daughter looking into one of the department store windows in the downtown area of a large city during the Christmas holidays. Inside the window was the manger scene, including Mary dressed as the Queen Of Heaven, ...

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