Sermon and Worship Resources

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Acts 4:36-37

Sermon

James Merritt

... one cartoon where Lucy put her hands on her hips after Charlie Brown had made another mistake, and said, "Charlie Brown, you are a foul ball in the line drive of life! You're in the shadow of your own goal post! You are a miscue! You are three putts on ... he became a model student. Well, what Johnny did not know was that Mr. Escalante thought that Johnny's mother was the mother of the other Johnny who was his best student. His comments were meant not for that Johnny but the other, but the results were ...

2. Friends

John 15:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... and Marty, who loved baseball. They also loved each other. They were such good friends that they made a pact to always play ball together ” regardless of what happened. They would let nothing separate them. As time went on, Johnny became a baseball star, and his coach called him aside and told him about the upcoming tryouts for the minor leagues. Johnny said, "That's great. Marty and I will sign up right away." But the coach responded, "Don't worry about Marty. He's just an ugly duckling ” too skinny ...

3. Dynamic Preaching January 2024 Sermons

Sermon

King Duncan

... in the eyes as a signal that we are giving them our full attention. Junior tennis players are told a great phrase: Nothing but the ball. It means that eyes must be fixed on the object to be hit, not just when it’s coming at them but even after it leaves ... It was God's will that Nineveh recognize its need for repentance. Jonah would have done well to remember the second part of Johnny’s prayer: Forgive us our trash baskets, as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets.” This sentiment is the thread ...

4. You Will Not Leave My Soul In Hell

Psalm 16:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... to the side while the boy tossed the ball up into the air and then swung the bat with all his might. "Strike one," said the little fellow after he had missed the ball completely. "Strike two," he said as he missed the ball again. "Strike three," he said as he missed ... God is aware of our situation. Bruce Larson recalls seeing Jack Benny on the Johnny Carson show shortly before Benny's death. During the interview, Benny turned to Johnny and in his unique way said, "You know the other night I dreamed about ...

5. Good for the Soul

Proverbs 28:13

Sermon

James Merritt

... playoff bet on a couple of teams I had nothing to with. I was betting on baseball while I was managing a major league ball club in the regular season." According to Rose, he confessed to the current Commissioner, Bud Selig, in November of 2002. When Selig asked him ... said, "Sally let's wash the dishes", but his sister said, "Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to do the dishes. Didn't you Johnny?" Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck?" Johnny did the dishes. The next day his grandfather asked if the ...

6. The Unexpected Jesus

Mark 3:20-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... not someone you would invite to a Sunday dinner! Yet," George continues, "this is exactly what Jesus did, he invited all the Johnny Cornflakes of Jerusalem to Sunday dinner with the best linen and the finest dishes." (3) It was because of acts like ... if he were with us here physically today. Oh, not just in night clubs. But in offices and in living rooms and at Little League ball games ” any place he could be with and get to know people. Jesus cares about people. That means he cares about you and me. Don' ...

7. The Best Places to Live

Jeremiah 29:1-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... sent you." Living, thriving, insinuating themselves into every facet of the life of this city, not rolling themselves into a miserable ball, was God's plan for his exiled people. Through practiced malleability they would ensure their continued life and faith--even if ... he had not sung in years. For the finale, he sang 'New York, New York.' The audience exploded in a standing ovation. Johnny Desmond, his face wet with tears, walked out into the audience, hugged people and said, 'This is the greatest night of my ...

8. Only the Lost and the Least

Luke 15:1-10

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... visit to one of the families in his church. "How many children do you have?" he asked the woman of the house. "There's Mary, Johnny, Betty ..." she started. "I just want their number, not their names," the pastor said abruptly. "They don't have numbers. They have names," the ... feel bad about losing it. We searched for two hours, but just couldn't find it. I posted a notice at the ball field. Maybe someone from one of the other teams will find it." Two days later, the manager of another baseball team found ...

9. Lost

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

James Merritt

... toy store. They looked into the window and there were two salespeople with smiles on their faces. They just pointed. The man and wife looked to where they were pointing and there was little Johnny, sitting in a little toy car, with the stroller right beside him waving at the parents through the window. The father almost started balling his eyes out. They were so relieved, and so happy, and so joyful. This is a modern retelling of a parable Jesus told and a true story about when Teresa and I lost our oldest ...

10. Nehemiah: The Fix

Nehemiah 1:1-11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... with disobedience, said, "I don't know, but it wasn't my fault!" The pastor turned to the teacher who explained, "I know Johnny and his parents, and if he said he didn't have anything to do with it, he didn't!" Well that thoroughly frustrated ... trusting in God. God was right there holding Joseph up the whole time. We saw that principle in the Science Lab when we floated a ping pong ball in the air. We just pulled it out and stuck it right there in the air, didn't we boys and girls? NO! Oh, yeah, we had ...

11. Take Some Lessons

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

Robert R. Kopp

... the junior tour either, observed, "There are days when you play well and there are days when you learn." The goal of golf is simple: put the ball in the hole with as few swings as possible. How to reach the goal is the tough part. It's the same for everything else. It's ... in my life. When I find one who can beat me, I'll listen." Most of us need help. Or as Johnny Miller acknowledged, "No one becomes a champion without help." So the prerequisite to improvement is recognizing the need for improvement. "If ...

12. Who's Your Daddy?

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

King Duncan

(Father's Day) Comedian Johnny Carson said his son gave him a paper which read, "To the man who has inspired me with his fatherly wisdom." ... names of certain toys and their color, size, and location in the toy store. The boy's response surprised the father. He simply said, "I'd like a ball." "Great," the dad said, "what kind of ball?" "A football or a soccer ball," the boy answered. "Which do you want more?" Dad asked. "Well," the boy said after a few minutes of thought, "if you have time to play catch with ...

13. Set Free

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... predicting he would advance beyond that lowly position. In this particular game Georgia was having a difficult time moving the ball. Indeed, late in the third quarter they did not have a single first down. Now they were backed up near ... and become paralyzed by old bones. Last May, on Johnny Carson’s very last program, he acknowledged the presence of his family in the audience. One of his sons had been killed in an automobile crash a year or so before. Johnny said, "Life does what it’s supposed to do." ...

14. Changing Lives Through Jesus Christ!

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

Linda Richard

... ! They're totally, absolutely gone forever! No need to recycle them. Our guilt and pain can be gone! A little boy was playing ball in the house. This was strictly against the rules, and he accidentally broke a vase in the living room. "Oh, no, my mom' ... and went to hide in his room. Soon his mother came home and he heard her calling him. "Johnny, do you know who broke my vase? It's in here all in pieces!" Johnny tried to drum up his courage, but at the last minute, he found himself answering, "No, Mom, I don ...

15. A Class Act

Illustration

John Berendt

... would record it. Today, if you look at the label on any recording of "I Wanna Be Around," you'll notice that the credits for words and music are shared by Johnny Mercer and Sadie Vimmerstedt. The royalties were split 50-50, too, thanks to which Vimmerstedt and her heirs have earned more than $100,000. In my opinion, Mercer's generosity was ... was ruled out. Wilander walked over to the umpire and said, "I can't win like this. The ball was good." The point was played over, and Wilander won fair and square.

16. Porcelain Pieces

Humor Illustration

A little boy was playing ball in the house. This was strictly against the rules, and he accidentally broke a vase in the living room. "Oh, no, my mom's gonna kill me!" he thought desperately. So he frantically tried to fix it, any way he could. But tape, glue, even Superglue wouldn't hold all the shards of broken porcelain together. So he finally left the pieces in a pile on the table and went to hide in his room. Soon his mother came home and he heard her calling him. "Johnny, do you know who broke my ...

17. When the Going Gets Tough ... the Tough Start Praying!

Luke 17:5-10

Sermon

... have been for us, even though the high school cafeteria with humming pop machines and sticky floors and the acoustics of a ball-bearing factory was difficult for many of us. Some guests never returned and when we asked them why we found that they ... to work. There is a story from an unknown source that I heard long ago about an old man named Sam who had three sons: Danny, Johnny, and Samuel. No one in the family ever set foot inside a church as far as anyone could remember. The pastor and the others in the ...

18. Redrawing The Landscape

Multiple Scriptures

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... in Massachusetts to buy him his very first baseball glove. I let him pick it out and we made a big deal over it. We even pitched ball in the aisle to make certain it was the right one. Maybe he'll remember it and maybe he won't. But for years I had remembered ... we almost went bankrupt twice." Bob quickly answered. "No, that's not what I meant. Look over at the casket at Randy, Ward, Johnny, and Jimmy. And at me. Your mother taught us all and influenced our lives in Sunday School and Cub Scouts. Not many women ...

19. The Cross Way of Life

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... be damaging the child by creating pressure. Grades are bad because they are hard on the child’s ego. The result is mediocrity and Johnny can’t read. In 1976 the state of Florida passed a law that all graduating from high school had to be able to read ... is one who practices the discipline of putting priorities in their proper order. It is the discipline of keeping your eye on the ball whether it is golf, tennis, basketball, or football. In our text Jesus is asking us to make him our first love. Then he ...

20. Unlocking The Doors

John 20:19-23

Sermon

King Duncan

Sometime back, former talk show host Johnny Carson visited Harvard University to receive an award. After the ceremony he agreed to answer some questions from members of the press. ... one of Penn State's All-American linebackers. He credited Penn State's hard-hitting defensive backs with the victory. "[Miami's] receivers just didn't want to catch the ball," he said. "They heard footsteps all night long, and they just didn't want to get hit." (1) I guess we could say the disciples were hearing footsteps like ...

21. When I Grow Up

Ephesians 4:15

Sermon

James Merritt

... a carnival and she immediately ran over to a booth and asked for some cotton candy. As she got this huge ball of cotton candy that was almost as big as she was, her father looked down at her and said, "Honey, are ... up? I am sure most of us are far different today than what we thought we would be or wanted to be when we grew up. One teacher asked a little boy, "Johnny, what do you want to be when you grow up?" He said, "I want to be possible." She said, "You want to be what?" He said, "I want to be possible." ...

22. Dealing With Life's Setbacks

Illustration

Johnny Fulton was run over by a car at the age of three. He suffered crushed hips, broken ribs, a fractured skull, and compound fractures in ... when a grenade he was holding exploded. But Takacs did not give. up. He learned to shoot left-handed and won gold medals in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics. Lou Gehrig was such a clumsy ball player that the boys in his neighborhood would not let him play on their team. But he was committed. He did not give up. Eventually, his name was entered into baseball's Hall of Fame. ...

23. No Charge For Love

Illustration

Johnny Dean

A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign advertising the 4 pups and set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the eyes of a little boy. "Mister," he said, "I want to buy one of your puppies." "Well," said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, "These puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money." The boy dropped his head for a moment. ...

24. How Much Is Enough?

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Johnny Dean

I will defend to the death my theory that the most perfect food, the one item that provides nourishment for body, mind, and spirit is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread. I have felt that way for as long as I can remember. When I’m feeling a little depressed or lonely or homesick, when I just want a snack, when I’m having lunch by myself, nothing satisfies the hunger of the body or lifts my spirits like a peanut butter jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread. It’s a complete meal. The ...

25. Taking Care of the Crowd

Matthew 14:13-21

Illustration

Johnny Dean

Too often, we think that giving our lives to God is like taking a $1,000 bill and laying it on the altar, saying, "Here's my life, Lord. I'm giving it all to you." But the truth of the matter is that God sends us to the bank and tells us to cash that $1,000 bill in for quarters. And then we go through life giving away twenty-five cents here, fifty cents there, and so on. Instead of watching a ball game, we spend some time visiting a lonely person in a nursing home who has no family. Instead of sipping ...

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