Sermon and Worship Resources

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Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... and love--and that's not always easy. Years ago Jack London wrote a book titled, The Call of the Wild. It's a story about a dog that was brought to Alaska during the Alaskan gold rush. This dog, named Buck, was sold to a couple of men, Hal and ... out with 14 dogs, an overloaded sled, and not enough to eat. Things got progressively worse as the dogs began to die until there was only Buck and four huskies left. It took a lot of whipping and clubbing each day to get the dogs ready to move on. Every time the men ...

2. The Mighty Tide Of God Rolled In

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... our purpose and a mighty purpose it is. How do we achieve it? We achieve it by committing ourselves without reservation to His service. Let me use what I believe is an exciting analogy. It is from Jack London's masterpiece, THE CALL OF THE WILD. It is the story of a magnificent dog named Buck. Buck was half St. Bernard, half Shepherd. He was 150 lbs. of pure muscle. Because he was such an impressive animal, he was stolen, kidnapped, off the streets of San Francisco and transported to Alaska where there was ...

3. The Call of the Wild Within

Genesis 12:10-20, Genesis 12:1-8, Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Coming into movie theatres this week is a remake of Jack London’s famous novel, “The Call of the Wild.”The story begins with the kidnapping of Buck, a pet St. Bernard dog, owned by a wealthy family in the Santa Clara Valley, CA. Abruptly, Buck is removed from his comfortable, genteel life and thrust into the wild Canadian frontier in the midst of the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush. Made to serve as a sled dog, Buck must leave behind his civilized nature and rely instead on his natural instincts to survive ...

4. No Withdrawal

Sermon

James Bjorge

... all around. And as we head back down into the valley the terrain is a bit different, but the vision and the spirit of those days never leave us. There is no withdrawal from the impact of it all. In that great adventure story, "The Call of the Wild," by Jack London, Buck the wolf dog was a creature of the wild. The urge of his wild heritage frequently pulled against his loyalty to John Thornton. The pull was so strong it could hardly be resisted; but there was also the powerful pull of love to his master ...

5. Polished Up For Christmas

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... thing about this time of the year: we are motivated to reach out and demonstrate our love to others. There is an old Christmas story by Pearl S. Buck about a young man's first experience of giving a gift from the heart: Rob was fifteen years old that Christmas, a strapping young man who was a ... Harsh Javeri via Oracle Service Humor Mailing List. 4. Moody's Anecdotes, Page 125-126. 5. Pearl S. Buck, "Christmas Day in the Morning," Stories for the Heart compiled by Alice Gray (Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Books, ...

6. Soul-Scrubbing

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... brag down Main Street, dragging floats and bands and Boy Scouts. Big cities brag with "more-bang-for-your-buck" pyrotechnic displays that grow more elaborate and "awesome" each year. Families brag about the number of grandchildren produced and ... of his intimate friends. The proud may have leadership in our churches, but they are excluded from Jesus' circle of intimate friends" (Jack Deere, Surprised by the Voice of God [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1996], 319-320). "He is able to bring low those who walk ...

7. God, The Good Ally

Exodus 20:1-17

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... more interesting friends, more exciting "diversions," and the thrill of less respectable activities. One day he appeared suddenly again at worship. "Jack," the pastor exclaimed, "you've been gone a long time. Why did you come back?" Jack answered, "I've been missing the trumpets in the morning!" What will it be? A sexual lifestyle without responsibility? The big bucks? The stimulating social life with the local community "movers and shakers," the "in group"? Yuppie cars, yuppie wines, yuppie clothes? Or ...

8. The Jamie Farr Connection

Joshua 24:1-27

Sermon

... home to Toledo and of his cravings for Tony Packo’s hot dogs. Those ad libs are from the heart; he’s not trying to make a buck on them. And if some of you say of that face on the screen (as I’ve heard you say), "That’s good old Jameel Farah from ... the Homiletician Many communities take pride in a local boy or girl who rises to fame and fortune. Among Ohio cities, Columbus has Jack Nicklaus, Cleveland has Bob Hope, New Concord has John Glenn. Toledo’s hometown hero is Jamie Farr, one of the stars of ...

9. Good News about Thanksgiving

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... has been to you. After all, these blessings don’t just happen. There is a Source of everything we have. Pastor Jack Walchenbach tells about a professor of chemistry he had in college. One day over a cup of coffee this professor said to ... since then has involved herself in a self-giving way in their lives. “I’m shameless when it comes to grades,” she said. “I give five bucks for an A, three for a B, nothing for a C. Then they start to lose privileges, like this Sunday outing. The teenage boys go down ...

10. When You Are Up And Out

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... whine of the top dog.” It’s lonely at the top; people are jealous of you. You are not sure whom you can trust and the buck stops on your desk. You got what you want, but you are not sure you want what you got. Maybe he is feeling the lonely whine ... bite to eat and talk about it.” Zacchaeus came down at once and welcomed him gladly. In the movie As Good As It Gets, Jack Nicholson plays a crude, obsessive-compulsive author by the name of Melvin Udall. He falls in love, however, with a waitress by the name ...

11. Life’s Purpose Is Often Hidden!

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... ego and quest for fame of their creators. Life-giving food is given to us by those who farm and sell it in order to make a buck. Yes, good gets done in the world, but it is often hidden. What are we to do in the interim? How are we to do good, to ... Cyriacus Gerichius (1533), in What Luther Says, comp. Elwald M. Plass (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959), p. 185. 4. Jack Dean Kingsbury, Matthew As Story (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986), pp. 62-63. 5. Rick Warren, The Purpose-Driven Life: What ...

12. The Rewards Program for Christians

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... merchandise, frequent flyer miles, room upgrades, even cash back formulas, are all promised by various cards as our “reward” for jacking up our monthly bill. But for the most part, all those perks and presents are trotted out in order to ... your friend’s perfect attendance Sunday school pins that made his coat look like a 4-star general’s uniform? Whether you got “Awana Bucks” or plastic jewels to put in your plastic crown pin, or stripes on your sleeve as you rose in rank in “the Lord’s ...

13. Running the Race

Philippians 3:4-11, 2 Timothy 4:7

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... down our necks. We all seek to cope with these demands in different ways. Sometimes we make excuses and "pass the buck." Sometimes it is easier to blame our poor finish on someone else than to accept responsibility for ourselves. Sometimes it's ... think we have run the race well but the reality is that we are not track stars. We are more like molasses in January than a jack rabbit in June. Some of us wouldn't think of making excuses. We are competitors. We like winning. We are willing to make sacrifices. But ...

14. Searching for Happiness

Ephesians 5:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... the community. Some are dangerous to their immortal soul. In 1991 Mario Van Peebles directed a motion picture titled New Jack City which contains a scene in which a character accepts some illegal drugs. When this scene was shown at a ... box out of the bag, saying, “Macy’s sells ’em for $999.” Then, jerking his head around nervously he says, “I’ll take 90 bucks, cash.” The cars start to edge forward and the other drivers start yelling. The thief delivers his final pitch: “Okay, man, I’ll let ...

15. You've Got Spirit

Luke 3:15-22 · Acts 8:14-17 · Psalm 29 · Isaiah 61:1-4

Sermon

Will Willimon

... , one marked "Colored," the other marked "White." The other people never had last names, only "Sam," or "Mary," "Sadie," or worse, ''Buck," "Uncle," "Boy," "Girl." They never entered by the front door, sat only at the back of the bus, drank only from mayonnaise ... boundaries between us and them. But for some reason, be reached even deeper, past the prejudices, past the folkways, and he said, "Jack, you know, and we all know that's not right. She has done the work. She deserves the promotion. This company ought ...

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