Sermon and Worship Resources

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Ephesians 3:14-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... 's story, they collected money for him, and gave him a part-time job with their organization. He has a bright future. And thanks to Kenneth's courageous example, Judge Mester has his faith in goodness restored. (4) You have seen people with bulging biceps, but have you ever had the privilege of meeting anyone as strong as Kenneth? Here is a more important question: Do you have that kind of strength? You and I, for the most part, live such easy lives. Such living is rarely conducive to building spiritual ...

2. God Is Greater

John 10:22-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... give in to temptation? What then? Go back and read rule #1: God is greater. GOD IS ALSO GREATER THAN OUR SINS. It would be good if we always walked away from temptation, if we never tasted forbidden fruit. But what if we're weak? What if we give in? ... big hug. With big tears in his eyes he stood in the driveway, waving goodby as the family drove out of sight. Echoing in Kenneth's mind were Kevin's words, "Daddy, you don't understand. Drake is my very best friend." What we are talking about is a relationship ...

3. Love Your Enemies

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... said, "I don't think I can." His mother said, "Son, you don't have a choice about it, if you want to be forgiven, you must forgive them." Kenneth stood there in silence watching her burning those debts. Finally, he slowly reached into the file, got out a debt, read their name out loud, tore it up and dropped it into the fire. It took a good thirty minutes to complete the task, but when it was finished it was as if a heavy burden had been lifted. As he forgave he was forgiven. "Because of this demonstration ...

4. Because He Lives

1 Corinthians 15:12-34

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... when he was a teenager, he was given a pamphlet to read. It was written by Luther Burbank, a rather famous agnostic. Basically Mr. Burbank claimed that it was not necessary to believe in Jesus' divinity or in His resurrection in order to admire Him for His good life and for His teachings. Kenneth was at that time living with his Uncle Walter and Aunt Bertie. Kenneth decided to tryout Mr. Burbank's ideas on Aunt Bertie who had little formal education. But she knew her Bible and had a profound faith in God ...

5. A Squirrel Crossing a Busy Street

Romans 5:1-5

Sermon

King Duncan

... number of yards a runner gains after an opposing player hits him. “When an opposing player hits a running back,” says pastor Kenneth Squires, “he doesn’t throw the ball down. He doesn’t just stop. He doesn’t announce, ‘I’m taking my ball ... , for my hurting.” (7) There are some hurts that you and I may experience for which we will never be able to find any good purpose. We will never be able to say “thanks for the hurting” in this life. But Scripture tells us, don’t give up. In the ...

6. The Cost of Non-Discipleship

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... do not lose anything of value in becoming disciples; we gain our very lives. What blinds most people to the heart of the good news of the gospel today is a growing conviction that the concept of human sinfulness is some kind of an ancient, outmoded, ... descendants of the first "little gods" Adam and Eve, we must claim our godhood, they say; we must believe in ourself. Or in the words of Kenneth Copeland: "You don't have a god in you. You are one." The Bible is the story of Lucifer wanting to be "like the Most ...

7. Beneath The Cross

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... church waving palm leaves as they sang the Palm Sunday hymns. Because they knew that Palm Sunday was but a prelude to Good Friday, however, the congregation was careful not to get too giddy as they did this. After all, as she says, "We already ... in the cantata. His eyes kept returning to the cross. At the end of the service, the pastor brought the cross over and handed it to Kenneth. He was struck by its size and weight. "It wasn’t a very big cross," he said, "but at that moment it seemed very large and ...

8. Seek Good, Not Evil (That You May Live)

Amos 5:1-17

Sermon

Paul W. F. Harms

... killing or being killed. They did not do it because the killing of millions was a moral duty. They did it, says Kenneth Burke, as an act of adoration. As life had been treasured, under the Nazis killing was treasured. Having denied infinity to God, they ... our due, to establish justice as he has dealt justly with us, to praise the righteous, to see that the needy's needs are met. Seek good, not evil, that you may live. In short, be like God. Hear, you peoples, all of you; hearken, O earth, and all that is in ...

9. Proper 20

Psalm 79:1-13, 1 Timothy 2:1-15, Jeremiah 8:4--9:26, Luke 16:1-15

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... on the continued generosity of his master in letting the new contracts stand and in not punishing him for his further actions. The hearers would enjoy a good story of the underdog outwitting the top dog to benefit the relatively poor. And perhaps Jesus and his hearers knew of such a real incident. It was a kind of Robin Hood story if Kenneth Bailey is correct. CONTEMPLATION Issues and Insights 1. Why the Parable? People are sometimes puzzled by the parable of the shrewd steward. They wonder why Jesus would ...

10. Seek Good, Not Evil (That You May Live)

Amos 5:1-17

Sermon

... of killing or being killed. They did not do it because the killing of millions was a moral duty. They did it, says Kenneth Burke, as an act of adoration. As life had been treasured, under the Nazis killing was treasured. Having denied infinity to God, they ... make justice bitter but made it richly sweet. What a way God chose to make clear his sense of justice - to give us that which is too good to be true, to give us that which we do not deserve. He has given us the gift of life, that is the gift of himself. ...

11. Victory on a Broken Knee

2 Timothy 4:6-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... tears to my eyes. But now I have a gold medal and the pain is gone.” (6) Said St. Paul, “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.” Then he added, “Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of ... Service to Christ, of course, is the worthiest purpose of all. 1. Norman Vincent Peale, Faith is the Answer (Cedar Books). 2. Kenneth Hildebrand, Achieving Real Happiness (New York: Harper & Row). 3. Cited in Julie Barnhill, One Tough Mother: It’s Time to Step ...

12. True and False Discipleship

Luke 6:46-49, Luke 6:43-45, Luke 6:37-42

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... the Baptist’s message in 3:8–9 and its practical elaboration in 3:10–14. 6:45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart. A different image—treasure brought out from a storehouse—develops the same idea. What ... the kingdom of God. 6:48 laid the foundation on rock. This fundamental rule of safe building is well illustrated by Kenneth Bailey from Middle Eastern practice. Bailey points out the temptation of avoiding a very laborious excavation by building on hardened clay ...

13. What Gets Into People?

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... weakness when we are troubled to ask a friend or a counselor for help. Sometimes just talking it out will help us find a solution. Kenneth A. Schmidt, in his book Finding Your Way Home, gives this analogy: He asks us to imagine that after weeding our garden we put the ... need. What gets into people? There is hope in all of this. Sometimes Christ gets into people and that’s the best Good News of all. 1. Lewis Early, “Mickey Mantle Mini-Biography,” www.themick.com (accessed July 29, 2003). Cited by John C. ...

14. Room When in Distress

Psalm 4:1-8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... . Each one of us gives battle to the thought of being left where we are who we are, with no way out. The poet, Kenneth Patchen, expressed it this way: Isn’t all our dread a dread of being Just here? Of being only this? Of having no other thing to ... Allan Hubbard, More Psalms For All Seasons Win. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Ml, 1975, pp. 12—13), So that’s a good starting place when we feel trapped and abandoned. If we’re going to find “room when in distress”, we must face honestly ...

15. Confidence, Joy, and Hope

Acts 2:14a, 22-32

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... rarely shared bad news with the public. According to authors Dave Yoho and Jeffrey Davidson, President Reagan made it a point to deliver good news at his press conferences. If there was any bad news to announce, he left that job to a representative from the ... God. If we keep that truth in mind, it makes every challenge and heartbreak we experience in this life more bearable. Rev. Kenneth Kovacs shares a story he heard about a woman from Indiana who was volunteering at a refugee camp in El Salvador. As this ...

16. The Man From Galilee II: The Transformation Of His Call

Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... set them to their task. Even as they were learning they were beginning to serve. Jesus would send them out to preach the Good News, and He would begin to depend upon them. Already they were on their way to being not only disciples but also apostles ... it."4 That is the world's only hope. It was when Jesus first walked along the Sea of Galilee. It still is today. Kenneth Wyatt became famous for his paintings of horses. He has since become better known among church people for his paintings of the disciples. When ...

17. On Having The Right Credentials

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... college. When he was just about to graduate, he was told everybody had a bachelor's degree, and to get a really good job, he had to get a master's degree. So he got his master's. Then he was told that a master's ... Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ . . ." Kenneth L. Chafin, in his commentary on 1 Corinthians, notes that Paul identifies himself differently depending on how others view him. If Paul is writing to a ...

18. Are You Convinced?

John 16:5-16

Sermon

Larry Powell

... for teaching, for reproof for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17)." The Last Judgment will be done in righteousness: "Then I saw heaven opened, and beheld, ... best they could be. You seem to especially stand by those who are weak in body and spirit who could be doing better." The doctor replied: "Kenneth, I'll have to tell you how much I've been forgiven. If you know what the grace of God had done in my own life, ...

19. Holy Handicap?

2 Cor 12:9

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... the once-over in passing and talk about matters more pleasant? To that rhetorical question, I make three answers. First of all, a goodly number of people in the Church are overtly handicapped, and it behooves us to ask if we are adequately meeting their religious needs. ... like this make one wonder just who the handicapped really are - the handicapped or the supposed non-handicapped? Kenneth Keniston was surely on target when he wrote, What makes the handicapped "special" are the attitudes and reactions ...

20. When Your Sister or Brother Stumbles

2 Corinthians 2:5-11

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... . A pastor-friend of mine from Georgia told me about a church he served which had a good choir, but there was a monotone in it who ruined the sound of all the good voices. Sue was her name. Finally the choir director said she would quit if the pastor couldn ... had asked God's forgiveness and had begun that slow and painful process of rebuilding his life. During lunch with Dr. Chafin, he said, Kenneth, I've been back in the church for more than a decade but now I still don't feel quite right about things. I know ...

21. That Would Be Some Miracle!

John 6:1-15

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... and look up his version of the fellowship meal along the seaside. He describes the scene most vividly, and paints his word-picture in an unforgettable manner. In his view, the crowd following Jesus was not as stupid as Kenneth Foreman suggested. They knew that they would be away from home all day, and so, like good Boy Scouts, they came prepared. But there were also among them those who had come on the spur of the moment, and had made no provision at all for food. And those who had food were unwilling to ...

22. Lost and Found

Luke 15:1-7, Luke 15:8-10, Luke 15:11-32

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... lost. 15:12 Father, give me my share of the estate. Culturally, this was a deeply insensitive demand to make while the father was still in good health: he cannot wait for his father to die! That the father complies is even more remarkable. The younger son’s share would be one third ... the term “the gospel in a nutshell” fits the parable of the two sons (see “Theological Insights” above). 5. Kenneth Bailey lists the following five words as summing up the message of the parable of the two sons: sin, ...

23. Homecoming

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... want RIGHT NOW what's coming to me." My inheritance!!! It was an outrageous request - it said in effect, "Dad, drop dead!" Dr. Kenneth Bailey, who taught for years at the Near East School of Theology in Beirut, writes of knowing of only one case in ... directs the shame and embarrassment to himself instead of to the boy where it rightly belonged. The servants are instructed to bring good clothes, a token of position, the signet ring that empowers the holder to transact business in the family name, sandals for ...

24. What Jesus Wants for Chrismas (Part 1)

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... consider giving to Jesus at Christmas? In a season of gift-giving, the giver of every good and perfect gift often gets left out. What might our gift be? What is the "perfect gift ... " because we have found in a child the locus of our hopes and fears; we have found in a child a miraculous source of poetry in a prosaic world. We can, with Kenneth Patchen in "I Have Lighted the Candles, Mary," see in a "bitter world," "the cold, swollen face of war lean in the window," and still find joy, love and peace. The poet ...

25. Syncing with the Spirit

Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... steps are being taken. For Advent Christians that means not only WAKE UP, but GET UP and get moving. If we are to communicate the Good News of the gospel to the world, the miracle that is about to descend upon us, we need to be “out and about.” We need ... him while they desperately demanded from him, “Kenneth, what is the frequency!!??” In their 1994 album “Monster” REM wrote a song inspired by that encounter, called “What’s the frequency, Kenneth?” Everyone is desperate to find the right ...

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