Sermon and Worship Resources

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John 1:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... blessing to yourself and to others. What you believe about yourself is important, as well as WHAT YOU BELIEVE ABOUT YOUR PURPOSE FOR LIVING. Charles L. Allen, in his book, YOU ARE NEVER ALONE (Old Tappan, N.J.: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1978), tells about a man named John Davis who was a farmer and a self-styled, self-made man. Throughout his life he had amassed considerable money but no friends. Nor was he close to his wife's family. They had never approved of him and he had nothing to do with them. When his ...

2. Monuments To Self

Luke 16:19-31

Illustration

Brett Blair

... One idea led to another until he'd spent over a quarter million dollars on the monuments to himself and his wife, all during the depression! After using up all his money on stone statues - John Davis died at age 92. The monuments are now a big tourist attraction, but very few people attended Mr. Davis' funeral. Only one person seemed genuinely moved by any sense of personal loss. He was Horace England - the sculptor. David did give tens-of-thousands to various charities causes in the area over his lifetime ...

3. Metaphors Be with You

John 6:35, 41-51

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... that day. The author calls them “the Jews” but he obviously doesn’t mean every Jew in the audience. More likely, he’s talking about the Jewish leaders, the scribes, the Sadducees, and the Pharisees, the priests, people like that. And they are as incapable as John Davis of deciphering a metaphor. In verses 38 which the lectionary skips over, Jesus has also said that “I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.” And it’s that line that the Jewish leaders ...

4. Humble Servanthood

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

Nothing succeeds in America like success, they say. We like winners and brush aside losers. Let me throw out some names for you: Alfred Landon, James Cox, John Davis, Charles Hughes, Alton Parker. Sound familiar? Probably not. Yet every one of them was so important and well thought of that at some point in the twentieth century each was a nominee for President of the United States. Millions voted for them, for a while their names were plastered all ...

5. "Do This In Remembrance Of Me"

Luke 22:7-38

Sermon

Alex Gondola

... is a strange tribute to one man's desire to be remembered. John M. Davis was a wealthy but eccentric local farmer. His wife died decades before him, in 1930. Soon after her death Davis began commissioning a series of statues, using Kansas granite and later, Italian ... his friends -- and for all of us. "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13, RSV). This morning, as we receive the Sacrament of Our Lord's Supper, let us remember Jesus' sacrificial death. And let us ...

6. The Wedding Was Saved, but the Marriage?

John 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... would give him a copy of the vows just before the service started. The next morning, the groom (we’ll call him Paul) also pulled Davies aside and handed him a set of vows to be read to his new wife. This was going to be interesting. The people were in ... if he will go crazy if he doesn’t write. John‑Boy is a writer. He has to write.” Kurt Bruner goes on to say, “God is love. Therefore, he has to love. He can no more keep this love to himself than John‑Boy could keep his ideas off the tablet page. ...

7. Altar Your Presence

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... world around us. Jesus was trying to get this point across to the Disciples at the Last Supper. Here's how He put it. John 15:1-17 (NRSV) [1] "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. [2] He removes every branch in me that bears ... was sick or the weather made it difficult for her to get there. At 100, she was wheelchair bound. Another thing you need to know about Miss Davis is that she was deaf as a post. She heard very little of my sermon or anything else in worship. But the kids loved her and ...

8. The Rest of The Message

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Lee Griess

... victory. His resurrection is our resurrection. His rising to new life is new life for us as well. In the fifth chapter of the gospel of John, Jesus says it this way, "I tell you the truth whoever hears my word and believes in God who sent me has eternal life and will ... just following WWII, missionaries carried the message of Christ to this people, and one of the earliest converts was Tigyne. Raymond Davis was the missionary who knew him and freed him. For you see, Tigyne was a slave and his decision to follow ...

9. The Powerful Moments that Change Your Life Forever

Matthew 4:12-23

Sermon

James W. Moore

... .” (Answer) “Oh, you don’t feel happy today.” After a while they just think you’re so great because you let them ventilate and they go away happy and you’re happy! So I thought I’d use non-directive counseling on Mrs. Davis in room 858. I went in there like a combination of John Wesley, Martin Luther, and Mother Teresa, all rolled in one. When I got to the door, I heard the patter of feet behind me. I turned to see the head nurse running after me and she said, “Oh, Jim, I forgot the most ...

10. When the Drought Gets Really Bad

Isaiah 55:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... they figured this was some kind of secret signal that the weather would break and start raining, so they started selling the market. In fact, Davis explained, it was a cool day in May and he’d put the coat on because it was chilly. (2) It’s a crazy world ... people in every generation. In one of her books, Annie Dillard writes of the ill-fated Franklin expedition. In 1845, Sir John Franklin and 138 officers and men embarked from England on two large sailing vessels to find the northwest passage across the ...

11. The View from the Mountaintop

Mark 9:14-32, Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... troops would have difficulty holding out for much longer unless they were resupplied. His last day in office came as a result of what might be called the "final shot" of the Civil War - the one fired by John Wilkes Booth. The lines between Lincoln and his Confederate counterpart, Jefferson Davis, were as clearly drawn as the line in the desert between George Bush and Osama bin Laden. Lincoln wrote words which sound as if they could have been written for President Bush's speech to the nation after September ...

12. The View From The Mountaintop

Mark 9:2-9

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... unless they were resupplied. And, as we all know, they did not hold out. His last day in office came as a result of what might be called the “final shot” of the Civil War — the one fired by John Wilkes Booth. The lines between Lincoln and his Confederate counterpart, Jefferson Davis, were clearly drawn. Lincoln wrote, “Between him and us the issue is distinct, simple, and inflexible. It is an issue which can only be tried by war, and decided by victory.”[2] There was no middle ground — too bad ...

13. Being Good

Matthew 5:17-20

Sermon

Will Willimon

... Goodness arises out of our being driven into the arms of a merciful and just God. The commands are the means of taking us there. John Calvin spoke of three uses of the law: First, we must obey God's laws, all of the because thereby we are given something that ... commands. 5:17-20 is a tough text to interpret. While not wanting to relax in any way the tough commitment to Torah (which Davies points to so well in his commentary on The Sermon), I felt that Calvin's interpretation of the three uses of the law ( ...

14. A Misplaced Holy Day

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

John A. Davis mailed a Christmas card to his brother in December 1942. Nearly 55 years later it showed up at a post office in Tinley Park, Illinois. Davis had long ago figured the card, sent from Jackson, Miss., to Maryville, Tenn., got lost. The long-lost card raised eyebrows at the Tinley Park post office, and Davis' family learned about it through a newspaper account. The supervisor had sent the card on to Maryville but got it back when Davis contacted him. "There is a lot of nostalgia in this thing. I' ...

15. How to Pray

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... All the questions you and I have about prayer can be contained in the disciples’ request: “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” And, as usual, Jesus always gives us so much more than what we ask for. He gives us what we ... could be.” Ossie visited his father as he lay dying. In spite of his pain and weakness, his father was still praying. Davis said that there was no formality in his prayer. Instead, he seemed to be having an intimate conversation with God. (6) Jesus’ disciples ...

16. The Compassionate Christ

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... down.” When the manager arrived, however, he didn’t even look at the cash register, but instead picked up the check and began to talk to the customer. Davies could feel the muscles in his stomach tighten as the reality of what was happening struck him. The check for seven dollars and forty‑three cents was no ... ://www.pbumc.org/sermons/2004/Sermon.20040829.htm). 5. Contributed by Dr. John Bardsley. 6. “Faith and Healing: A Personal Perspective,” The Living Pulpit, Vol. 6 No. 2, April‑June 1997.

17. Trials and Temptations

James 1:1-18, James 1:19-27

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... ), and (2) James needed an action parallel to desire in 1:15. Regeneration language (which is very close to the Johannine tradition, e.g., John 3–13, 1 John 3:9–10) and new creation language (which is closer to Paul, e.g., 2 Cor. 5:17, Rom. 8:18–25) come together ... law as perfect and freeing (Pss. 119; 19:7–11; 40:6–8; Rom. 7:12; m. Aboth 3:5; 6:2). W. D. Davies, The Setting of the Sermon on the Mount, has shown that the Jews expected Messiah to reinterpret the law. This Jewish expectation is ...

18. Listening and Doing

James 1:19-27, James 1:1-18

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

19. Remembering The Saints

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Larry R. Kalajainen

... this pagan festival which marked both the death of the sun at the beginning of winter and the remembrance of their dead ancestors, Davies argued for a recovery of the best part of the ancient Halloween -- the remembrance of the dead. Let us recognize that we ... hints about who we are and where we should be heading. Triviality about the past leads certainly toward a trivial future. John Wesley, the 18th century founder of Methodism, said that the Feast of All Saints was his favorite festival in the church year ...

20. The Son Superior to Angels

Hebrews 1:1-14

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... is a technical term for cultic cleansing and is so used in the LXX and even within the NT, where it can signify “ritual washing” (John 2:6; 3:25) or, more generally, purification (as also in Luke 2:22; 2 Pet. 1:9). The use of the word here is no ... word is exactly in line with the central argument of the book. On the theological significance of the ascension, see J. G. Davies, “Ascension of Christ,” in DCT, pp. 15f. Christ Is Superior to the Angels in His Deity The great attention given to the ...

21. Sonny Moneybags

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... in the basketball tournaments these past couple of weeks. One team ecstatic, the other in the depths of despair. If you were watching the conclusion of the PGA Tour event last Sunday, you saw Davis Love, III interviewed at the conclusion of his round - he was in the lead by one shot over Todd Hamilton, a tour rookie who had been leading the event at the beginning of the ... you can look forward to those glorious words, "Well done,...come into the party...enter into the joy...of your Lord." Amen! 1. John 13:35

22. The Lord's Prayer: Please Forgive Us as We Forgive

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... the population attends worship. Why should they when what they see is Christians fighting other Christians? In Ron Lee Davis's book, A Forgiving God in an Unforgiving World, he quotes a newspaper article headlined, "Two Factions - One Fellowship?", ... to Believe, (Glendale, CA: Regal Books, 1977), pp. 139-140 3. Albert Curry Winn, A Christian Primer, (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1990), p. 64 4. I John 1:9 5. Quoted by Philip Yancey, "An Unnatural Act," Christianity Today, 4/8/91, p. 36 6. " ...

23. Learning From A Little Child

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... more. THE CHRISTMAS STORY TEACHES US THAT GOD SPEAKS TO US IN THE MOST UNTHINKABLE PLACES AND THROUGH THE MOST UNLIKELY PEOPLE. Certainly John the Baptist was an unlikely person to prepare the way for the Messiah. Clothes made of camel's hair; a diet of locusts ... the Epistle said, "Be patient. . . until the Lord's coming." The story of Christmas is as yet unfinished. Dr. Earl C. Davis of Memphis, Tn., tells of finding a book called, THE CURSE OF BATTERSLEA HALL. The interesting thing he discovered about the ...

24. Where Heaven And Earth Meet

Genesis 28:10-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... says these words: "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." (John 1: 51) Jacob got it wrong all those years ago. The stairway to heaven was not in a place. It was in a person--the Person ... a vision for your life? If not, I hope you will. Pray that it will happen this day. 1. Contributed by Darrell E. Davis, Reader's Digest, April 1994, p. 205. 2. E. Bendann, Death Customs, (London: Dawsons of Pall Mall, 1969), p. 145. 3. The Presence ...

25. Turning Doubt Inside Out

Luke 23:39-43

Sermon

James Merritt

... certain he will play in the big leagues. But when asked his greatest fear, he said: "That I might not make it to heaven." Ben Davis has a problem. It is obvious that he believes in heaven. It is obvious that he wants to go to heaven. It is obvious that ... has, or anyone needs that they are going to heaven, is the Word of God. One of the all-time Christian classics is John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. Every Christian should read that great novel. If you've read it, you remember that Christian and Hopeful ...

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