Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 32 results

1. I Love You, Man... And I Don't Want Your Beer

John 15:9-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... touched, his friend sees right through the flood of tears. "That's great, man," he agrees, "but you still aren't getting my Budweiser!" The only reason for the first guy's confession of love was a pitifully transparent ploy to filch the last remaining beer from his buddy. Love as a way to get a free beer that is the Madison Avenue pitch. While it seems like bald-faced idiocy, this ad campaign has obviously struck a funny bone with the public. The fastest selling gift items in the new "Budweiser" catalog ...

2. The Story Worth Living

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... stuff all over again. Every one who knows anything about “Indiana Jones” knows that he hates snakes. He is a strong, tough guy until he meets a slithery thing. Then he dissolves into a quivering mass of spinelessness. Now, there ARE people who do ... through a story. All of us are living a story. The only question is what story and whose story are you living? Madison Avenue? Wall Street? Hollywood? Bethlehem? We all have our unique stories. The small and smashing moments that change our personal lives and ...

3. With The End In Mind

Philippians 3:7-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... you wrong, and trying to keep the Ten Commandments - nobody can do that in their own power. Coach Lou Holtz tells the story of a guy in Iowa whose car fell into a ditch. He called on a farmer to help him, but the farmer said, "You need a team of ... you see his heart?" As Zack was talking to his dad, his little four year old sister, Madison, was sitting next to him and when Zack asked that question, before he could answer him, Madison spoke up and said, "Dad, did you see Jesus in his heart?" Even if you have to ...

4. How Many Times Should We Forgive?

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... up in Japan." Next he hit him square on the back of the neck. "That's karate. Picked it up in Korea." The little guy squirmed away from the bully and went out to his truck. When he came back in, he went right up to the bully and ... feeling toward someone else, you are cheating yourself out of the abundant life that Christ promised. Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison organized a study of two groups of veterans with coronary artery disease. All these men dealt with a variety of conflicts, ...

5. Dirty, Rotten Scoundrels

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... Take professional wrestling. [Pause.] Please. [Pause.] One of the staples of this well-choreographed sport is that there are good guys and there are villains. Each match is a morality play. Will virtue triumph? I imagine that depends on the script ... Miss America finalist after graduating from Harvard Divinity School. Young, handsome, and idealistic, Jay was a perfect subject for Madison Avenue wizardry. A television commercial was designed which pictured Jay and his wife walking hand-in-hand through an ...

6. Cross Eyed: Promise

John 3:14-21

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... 3) Hope, even a glimmer of hope, can keep us going in the even worst situations. Gilbert Beenken, pastor of DoorCreekChurch in Madison, Wisconsin said, "Other men see only a hopeless end, but the Christian rejoices in an endless hope." That hope is born of ... only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." Conclusion I just read about a guy from the Appalachian Mountains who migrated to the West Coast during the First World War. Part of his reason was that he wanted ...

7. Doing Your Own Thing

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... is the perfect snack as far as calories are concerned. If we want to lose weight, we’re not going to get any help from Madison Avenue. That’s one reason it’s hard for some of us to keep our weight under control. I heard a hilarious story recently about ... he told her no; he said it was because he’d been barking in the street and a car hit him. At this, he said, the guy behind this lady was about to have a heart attack, he was laughing so hard. (4) Well, so much for dumb questions . . . I don’t guess ...

8. The Old and the New

1 Corinthians 5:1-13

Sermon

Jon L. Joyce

... a word of it. To us, that’s a blatant lie. We take our philosophy from men like Leo Durocher, who says: "Nice guys always end up in last place." St. Augustine said that there were three important Christian virtues. The first is humility; the second ... is humility, the third is humility. Mary Wells, who is the head of a highly successful and rapidly growing advertising agency on Madison Avenue, New York, says of her fast rise to power and popularity and wealth: "This is our moment, and I’m not the ...

9. A Very Special Man

Luke 2:22-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... different things into his teachings. More than fifty years ago, Bruce Barton, an American advertising agent straight from Madison Avenue wrote a best-selling book titled THE MAN NOBODY KNOWS. Barton's thesis was that Jesus was ... celebrated speech writer for Presidents Reagan and Bush. She is also a critically acclaimed author. Recently, she told about an execution in Oklahoma. The bad guy he had raped, then stabbed to death a 20-year-old and stayed to watch her die was put to death by lethal injection. Her ...

10. Excited, Motivated, Changed!

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

King Duncan

... in his book MORNINGS ON HORSEBACK about young Teddy Roosevelt: Roosevelt's mother discovered one day that her son was so afraid of the Madison Square Church where their family attended that he refused to set foot inside if alone. He was terrified, she discovered, of something called ... of the United States informed me I had to take twenty-five guys to Nicaragua to fight for the United States," said Tommy to his troops, "I'd take you twenty-five guys who are going to play for me." There was dead silence in ...

11. An Unpopular Profession

Matthew 9:9-13

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... talked about the two men who went up to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee (one of the good guys), and the other was a tax collector (one of the bad guys). And Jesus had the temerity to say that God heard the prayer of the tax collector and not the prayer of ... 16, 1969, p. 1) Buechner knows whereof he speaks, for that is exactly what happened to him. One day he entered Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City, and heard that great pulpit master George Arthur Buttrick preach a sermon on Christ ...

12. Wise, Worshipful, and Wonderfully Wayward

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to put its head down, “hunker-in-the-bunker” and distance itself from these Christians. Eventually Rome found Christians made excellent fall-guys and fodder for the Coliseum carnage. Christians vs. Lions was a game with a predictable out-come. But many found it fun ... century were pernicious, persnickety, and petulant. The gods of the twenty-first century, now living on Wall Street, Madison Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue, still bear the same traits. And many of the same names: Hermes, Diana, Venus, Nike, ...

13. No Excuse

Luke 14:15-24

Sermon

James Merritt

... To celebrate their long careers one of the most successful bands in the history of music are going to do one last farewell concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City. For one night only, last chance to hear them doing all their best songs, they are advertising it as ... is U2’s final concert. I’ve got 5 tickets with backstage passes and an all you can eat buffet. Are you guys interested?” At first, the stunned men are absolutely speechless. Then like rabbits they jump to their feet, run to the man, ...

14. Lazarus

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... on the street outside the gate of a very rich man –a “certain” rich man! Well…I’m going to be THIS “certain” little guy back into his cage so I can tell you yet another story. [Sighs of relief.] A few weeks ago, I happened across a show ... was Lazarus who was clothed in the best---God’s robes of righteousness. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. Even sometimes Madison Avenue gets it right: You are what you wear –but it’s the clothing of righteousness that is the Light of God within ...

15. A Faith I Could No Longer Count On

Psalm 73:1-7, 13-18

Sermon

Robert G. McCreight

... confirmation experience -- they're too smart to fall for the trite thinking we sometimes espouse in the name of religion. They know that sometimes good guys come in last. They know you've got to break the rules to get ahead, and sometimes you have to bend a few rules ... for good reason. They exhibit a stark honesty. Nobody tries to "pretty-up" their faith and make it sound like something that Madison Avenue has gotten hold of. The psalmists tell it like it is. When God has let them down, they say so. When ...

16. Holy Hype

Matthew 11:1-19

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... I have some things I want Him to approve. Yes, yes, I'll wait. (PAUSE. HARRY TALKS TO HIMSELF) Boy, I don't know. These guys get on top and they forget who put them there. (JESUS COMES TO THE PHONE) Oh, hello, Jesus, baby, listen. I got some great ideas ... what we're changing. We're working on your image, here. No more backwoods preacher. No sir. You're going to be a snappy dressing Madison Avenue type. Hold on, now, let me finish. As I said you come out and make your speech, promise a few things like food for ...

17. Epiphany 4

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5, Micah 6:1-8, Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... fought the mob in his county. Like Teddy Roosevelt, he believed in carrying a big stick which he used to bash the bad guys. All of the lessons today talk about walking small, that is, walking humble. Micah says it exquisitely, "What does the Lord require of ... the crucified Christ was both the wisdom of God and the power of God. In our society we try to package the gospel Madison Avenue style or reduce the truth of the gospel to the lowest common denominator. The way of God is strength in weakness, glory ...

18. Lent 2

Mk 8:31-38 · Rom 4:13-25; 8:31-39 · Gen 17:1-7, 15-16; 22:1-18 · Ps 22

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... keep covenant. 4. Faithfulness to our covenants is more important than individual freedom. Illustration: The movie The Bridges Of Madison County confronts us with the importance of our covenants. The character Francesca is a middle-aged farm wife who ... in the Methodist church. During break one day he confessed, "We're cowards. We're both afraid to share who we really are with the other guys." I hung my head in shame. I knew he was right. WORSHIP RESOURCES Psalm Of The Day: Psalm 22:23-31--"All the ends of the ...

19. Maturity In Christ

Colossians 1:27-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... dear, what was it like being six again?" One eye opened. "You idiot," she said, "I meant my dress size." (2) Well, that poor guy got it wrong, but who among us wouldn't like to be a child again at least for a few hours? Time slips away ... have brought them as much joy as their investment in a happy-faced, but starving little boy from Africa? If you think any of the things Madison Avenue tries to sell us could have brought them nearly as much happiness, then you're still living on an immature plane of life. It's ...

20. The Eighth Commandment: Why We Need the Police

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... now shape and direct our American character. It provided a challenging but needed wake-up call. At Drew University in Madison, New Jersey--a university comprised of a Graduate School, an Undergraduate school and a School of Theology--it was ... a minute!" the station manager called after him. "I couldn't help but hear your conversation. Why are you so happy? I thought the guy said he already had somebody and didn't need you?" The young man smiled. "Well, you see. I am the honest, hardworking young man. I ...

21. Can a Rich Person Go to Heaven?

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... year and he had yet to pay for them. So, the man proceeded to tell the contractor just what his fast-talking sales guy had told him last year . . . that in one year the windows would pay for themselves. Why should he pay if the windows paid ... 4) How do you escape the trap? How do you “stick it to the man,” as it were--the man in this case being Madison Avenue? Think about the really pleasurable times in your life. Was money really necessary to your enjoyment? For example, most of us need more exercise ...

22. Are You a GOT TO or a GET TO Christian?

Genesis 15:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... around the country? · Jonesboro, Arkansas. · Paducah, Kentucky. · Springfield, Oregon. · Ellis, Mississippi. · Columbine, Colorado. · Madison County, Michigan. · Santee, California. In the past few decades more and more violence, rage, despair, ... of behaving like a gentleman. He was out to win. Every time he drove onto the track, he expected to win. His tough-guy-in-a-tough-sport image came through off track as well. Though a wildly successful and savvy businessman, Earnhardt could still come across ...

23. Do You Have It?

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... circles, it is thought that IT will save us. IT won't. But yes, I do mean the "IT" that brought the house down at Madison Square Garden at the close of the 2008 Westminster Kennel Club Best in Show ceremony. For the first time ever, a beagle won. In fact ... seen... Look at his face, you melt right down." Hollywood crowns a new "It" actor every year--the "It" girl or the "It" guy--someone who projects that mysterious "star" quality on-screen and off. Why do the words and actions of one candidate stand out and ...

24. They Lied and They Died

Acts 5:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... . Everyone knows John and Jackie, as in Kennedy, George and Martha, as in Washington; James and Dolly, as in Madison. In the Bible, there have also been some famous couples. As I thought about some of these couples, a ... Secret Service and Motorcycle Police. After church, as he was walking out the door, a little boy came up to him and said, "Mister, are you the guy who came in a while ago with the police right behind him?" President Johnson said, "Well, yes, son, I am." He said, "Well, you had better duck ...

25. Uh-Huh!

John 18:33-37

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... they shop. More and more people are wanting to pick "the right one" when they shop (Newsweek, 7 January 1991, 42). But all Madison Avenue advertisers offer the consumer is image. You got the right one, baby? (Hope they say "Uh uh!") The "right thing" touted ... of this peculiar matter. All those in positions of authority found themselves shuffling their feet and pointing to the other guy for the final word. Not one person or group with power could bring themselves to stand against this snowballing forfeiture ...

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