Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 34 results

1. A Python in the Hut

2 Thessalonians 2:1-17; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

Illustration

John R. Steward

One day late in the afternoon a missionary in Africa had a surprise visit. When he entered his small hut he discovered a very large python on the floor. He left the hut and went to his truck and retrieved his .45-caliber pistol. Even though he had his gun, he still had one important problem. He only had one bullet left in the gun. He could not afford to miss. All of his skill would be required in ...

2. Acting Bulletproof

Luke 13:1-9

Illustration

John R. Steward

Most people think of AIDS as being transmitted sexually or through intravenous drug use. There are few actual cases of anyone contracting the virus in other ways. However, there is the case of two brothers. One of the brothers had advanced symptoms of AIDS. The other brother was not infected at all with the deadly disease. Then one day the two brothers got into a very violent fight. The infected b...

3. All Tied Up

Luke 7:1-10

Illustration

John R. Steward

College students are notorious for their laundry problems while away at college. This seems to be especially true for freshmen. It is not uncommon, of course, for a student to put this task off for as long as possible. In fact, you can sometimes tell that students on campus will soon be dealing with their laundry when they start wearing the nicer clothing that they have. Sometimes they have been k...

4. Beyond the Routine

Romans 9:30--10:21

Illustration

John R. Steward

In a Danish village there was a Lutheran Church where each Sunday the people would walk into the church by way of the center aisle. At the front of the church, there was a break between the pews and a blank white wall. Every Sunday, the people of that church would walk down the center aisle to the front of the church and genuflect at the blank wall. A man visiting the church did not understand wha...

5. Blood Ties

Hebrews 12:24

Illustration

John R. Steward

During World War II the Red Cross would provide blood for wounded soldiers. They had a practice of giving the name of the donor to the recipient so that the soldier could write and thank the donor if he should desire. The Red Cross also had a policy that the blood that was given would be made available to anyone who would need it. That meant that even enemy soldiers could have the blood to save t...

6. Casting the Net on the Other Side of the Boat

John 21:1-14, Matthew 4:18-22, 1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Illustration

John R. Steward

Since many of the followers of Jesus were fishermen, it made sense for Jesus to use fishing as an example of the Christian life. In Matthew 4:19, as Jesus is walking by the Sea of Galilee, he sees Simon Peter and Andrew in the process of fishing. He says to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." In this text, Jesus gives them another picture of the work they would be doing. On the...

7. Catching Men

Luke 5:1-11

Illustration

John R. Steward

So often we read these words of Jesus and wonder why we do not see this taking place in our churches. A few years ago, Dr. Win Arn did a survey of 1,000 congregations. The answers that he received might help us better understand the problem. He asked both the members and pastors of these churches what they thought the purpose of their church really was. Dr. Arn reports that 89 percent of the peopl...

8. Coffee Room

Luke 10:38-42

Illustration

John R. Steward

When Charles Dickens was a little boy he was unhappy and neglected, for he was working in a factory. During his dinner break he would walk the streets of London looking at everything. Sometimes he would go to the coffee house on St. Martin's Lane. Years later he would tell how on one occasion he was sitting in this coffee house and looked up to see two words written on the glass door. These words...

9. Disney and the Owl

2 Corinthians 6:3-13

Illustration

John R. Steward

Walter Elias was born in the city; now his parents had just moved to the country. Walter loved being on the farm because it meant that he spent more time in the land of make-believe. On this particular day in the middle of summer, Walter Elias decided to go exploring. Living on a farm meant that his parents were very busy and did not seem to mind that he was off playing, using that wonderful imag...

10. Divided They Fall

Hebrews 11:1-40

Illustration

John R. Steward

In Plato's Symposium there is an allegory that imagines the beginning of human beings. The gods created humans in a very unique way. Each human was a mixture of both male and female. In other words, each human had four hands, two noses, four feet, and two mouths. They also had both male and female genitals. Having been created in this way they were extremely powerful. They were so powerful that th...

11. Entertaining Angels

Hebrews 13:2

Illustration

John R. Steward

One summer a farmer named Worthy Taylor hired a young man by the name of Jim to work the farm. Jim had many chores to perform each day. He had to milk the cows and chop the wood. Even though he ate with the family in the farmhouse he slept in the hayloft of the barn. During that summer he got to know and fell in love with the farmer's daughter. He eventually worked up enough courage to ask Farmer ...

12. Fear and the Farmer

Colossians 3:1-17, Colossians 3:18-4:1

Illustration

John R. Steward

A farmer was being questioned by a lawyer during a trial concerning an accident on a highway. The lawyer asked the farmer, "Is it true, Mr. Jones, that when the highway patrol officer came over to you after the accident, you said, 'I feel fine'?" Farmer Jones began to answer by saying, "Well, now, me and my cow Bessie were driving down the highway in my pickup truck when..." At this point the att...

13. Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:16-26

Illustration

John R. Steward

In the introduction to his book Fruits of the Spirit, Charles Hembree remembers an ancient fable. The fable tells of three merchants who were crossing the Arabian Desert. Because of the heat of the desert they were traveling at night. On that starless night they were crossing over a dry creek bed. As they were crossing a voice in the darkness spoke to them. The voice told them to stop right where ...

14. Giving Meaningful Thanks

Luke 17:11-19

Illustration

John R. Steward

I have noticed that at Thanksgiving time it is difficult for people to give God thanks and praise. You hear people say on that day that they are grateful but that is where it ends. They rarely direct their thankfulness to God. One year my daughter's school had a Thanksgiving day program for the parents. I was so saddened that during the program all they could sing about was "Tom Turkey." You would...

15. Guided to the Truth

John 16:5-16

Illustration

John R. Steward

Sometimes it is hard to determine just who is telling the truth. There are times when two people, who are for the most part very believable, are telling two different stories. Whom do you believe? How do you really know who is telling the truth? During the last twenty years the lie detector business has been growing. While these tests are not used in court, they are being used more and more by bu...

16. In a Dark Cave

Luke 14:33

Illustration

John R. Steward

A man was once put in a dark cave. He was sentenced to die in the cave unless he could find his way out. The cave was 100 yards by 100 yards and he was told that there really was a way out. The cave was sealed by a very large rock. After the cave was sealed the prisoner was allowed to take off his blindfold. In the midst of the darkness he walked around the cave. He had food, but it was bread and...

17. It's Only Money

Luke 12:13-21

Illustration

John R. Steward

One of the great struggles in our lives is the one that we have with materialism. Often our childhood affects the way we see money and possessions. In my own life, the fact that I had parents who were both products of the Great Depression shaped the way in which money is viewed. My parents always lived as if they would be poor again. As a result, it has sometimes been difficult to see money as a t...

18. Jewish Understanding of Faith

Hebrews 11:1-40

Illustration

John R. Steward

My good friend and former professor Dr. James Kallas, in his days at California Lutheran University, used to tell a story from his youth. He would tell the story to teach us the Jewish understanding of faith and how they saw everything as the will of God. When Jim was a young man he worked in a warehouse for a Jewish man. One day the man asked him to go up to the fourth floor and put a refrigerat...

19. Knowing All Things

John 14:26

Illustration

John R. Steward

Henry Ford had a very important relationship with a man by the name of Charlie Steinmetz. Steinmetz was a very different man. To begin with, he was a dwarf and he was deformed. But there was something else about Charlie Steinmetz that was very important to Henry Ford. Steinmetz was truly a genius in the area of electrical engineering. It was Charlie Steinmetz who had built the first generators in ...

20. Love One Another - the Hospice Movement

John 13:31-38

Illustration

John R. Steward

There is a special hospital in London for those whom other hospitals consider a lost cause. It is a hospital for those who are diagnosed as "terminal." Most people would consider such a hospital to be a very sad place, but it is not. Actually, it is a hospital filled with hope and a lot of life. The emphasis in this London hospital is on life and not on death. The truth is that several of the pat...

21. Love Rejoices in the Right

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Illustration

John R. Steward

Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right." (vv. 5-6) Andre Malraux, the French author, tells in his book Lazarus of being with the troops that liberated the Nazi extermination camps toward the end of World War II. He said that you could see the prisoners' skeletons through their skin. One journalist who was with...

22. Many Parts, but of One Body

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Illustration

John R. Steward

"For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ." (v. 12) There was a man who had a dream one night that he had died. In his dream he found himself in a large room. The room had a very large banquet table filled with different kinds of food. There were people seated around the table but they were seated five feet ...

23. Renouncing Disgraceful Ways

2 Corinthians 1:12--2:4

Illustration

John R. Steward

We have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways; we refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's Word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God." (v. 2) A young man was visiting with his pastor one afternoon. He had been in the pastor's confirmation class many years before. In fact, after his confirmation experience he r...

24. Taking Grace Seriously

Ephesian 1:18-20

Illustration

John R. Steward

There was a king who held court every day. He would sit on his throne wearing his robe and crown as the people of his country would come to him stating their needs and requests. Each day, in addition to all the people who would come to the throne, there was also a holy man dressed in a beggar's robe who would come to the king. The holy man would hand the king a piece of fruit which the king would ...

25. Taking our Punishment

1 Corinthians 15:12-34

Illustration

John R. Steward

There was a little boy who would always come home late from school. Even though his parents told him that they did not want him to do this, he would still be late in coming home from school. There was always something to distract the little boy. He would get into a dodgeball game after school with some other boys and would lose track of time and would come home late. His parents always worried abo...

Showing results

Showing 1 to 25 of 34 results

1. A Python in the Hut

2 Thessalonians 2:1-17; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

Illustration

John R. Steward

2. Acting Bulletproof

Luke 13:1-9

Illustration

John R. Steward

3. All Tied Up

Luke 7:1-10

Illustration

John R. Steward

4. Beyond the Routine

Romans 9:30--10:21

Illustration

John R. Steward

5. Blood Ties

Hebrews 12:24

Illustration

John R. Steward

6. Casting the Net on the Other Side of the Boat

John 21:1-14, Matthew 4:18-22, 1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Illustration

John R. Steward

7. Catching Men

Luke 5:1-11

Illustration

John R. Steward

8. Coffee Room

Luke 10:38-42

Illustration

John R. Steward

9. Disney and the Owl

2 Corinthians 6:3-13

Illustration

John R. Steward

10. Divided They Fall

Hebrews 11:1-40

Illustration

John R. Steward

11. Entertaining Angels

Hebrews 13:2

Illustration

John R. Steward

12. Fear and the Farmer

Colossians 3:1-17, Colossians 3:18-4:1

Illustration

John R. Steward

13. Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:16-26

Illustration

John R. Steward

14. Giving Meaningful Thanks

Luke 17:11-19

Illustration

John R. Steward

15. Guided to the Truth

John 16:5-16

Illustration

John R. Steward

16. In a Dark Cave

Luke 14:33

Illustration

John R. Steward

17. It's Only Money

Luke 12:13-21

Illustration

John R. Steward

18. Jewish Understanding of Faith

Hebrews 11:1-40

Illustration

John R. Steward

19. Knowing All Things

John 14:26

Illustration

John R. Steward

20. Love One Another - the Hospice Movement

John 13:31-38

Illustration

John R. Steward

21. Love Rejoices in the Right

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Illustration

John R. Steward

22. Many Parts, but of One Body

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Illustration

John R. Steward

23. Renouncing Disgraceful Ways

2 Corinthians 1:12--2:4

Illustration

John R. Steward

24. Taking Grace Seriously

Ephesian 1:18-20

Illustration

John R. Steward

25. Taking our Punishment

1 Corinthians 15:12-34

Illustration

John R. Steward

Showing results