Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing all results

1. No One Enters The Kingdom… Save With Empty Hands

2 Samuel 5:1-5

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... sociologist, prolific writer and recently a best-selling novelist, one day returned to his former parish in suburban Chicago for a celebration. At the close of his message he told the following legend about King Fergus of the Kingdom of Kerry in the West of Ireland. I share the story in abbreviated form. Fergus was a good and wise king, but eventually he grew old. Realizing he was soon to die he summoned all his loved ones around to bid them farewell. He loved his people, and he loved the green hills, blue ...

2. Naming And Being Named

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... to me for leadership, and if I stand before them without strength and courage, they too will falter. I'm at the end of my powers. I have nothing left. I've come to the point where I can't face it alone". Martin Luther King at the height of his prophetic ministry and little Kerry at age 7 doing the same thing. Honestly locating themselves before God. That's the dynamic of prayer. Not only naming God as God is in our experience, but naming ourselves as we are before Him. Sharing with God all that is going on ...

3. Religion and Politics

Isaiah 1:1-31

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... overwhelmingly supported George W. Bush, but polls now indicate that this year they are likely to vote in large numbers for John Kerry and Ralph Nader. This may constitute one of the most dramatic changes of heart on the part of any major voting bloc ... how many millions of American children have no health insurance. The tone shifts with verse 18. In the wonderful language of the old King James Version in which so many of us were nourished, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your ...

4. Want To Sit At The Head Table?

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... National Press Club in Washington, where he was questioned by members of the press. One ink-stained wretch asked Kerry, "How do you compare yourself to the late William Jennings Bryan?" Bryan, who also was from Nebraska, was the ... on after all the lifestyles of today's rich and famous have faded into obscurity? Albert Schweitzer? Mother Teresa? Mahatma Gandhi? Martin Luther King, Jr.? The number will be few. Some great scientists, a few artists, a political leader here and there. In every case I can ...

5. Jonah: Run!

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. [7] Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: "By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall ... adults learn computer skills. Our little bit helped Marvin and Kerry and their 2 month old baby get back on their feet after Marvin lost his job and couldn't afford rent anymore. The Arlington Life Shelter helped both Marvin and Kerry find jobs. They've been able to open a savings ...

6. Dust in the Wind

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

Timothy Cargal

... then the effect is particularly strong. Such songs have the ability to become a recurring soundtrack to our lives. One such song for me is Kerry Livgren’s “Dust In The Wind.” Since I first heard this song more than 20 years ago, not an Ash Wednesday has gone by without ... . The sounding of the trumpet in Zion in itself is ambiguous; it might either herald God’s blessings for the people (1 Kings 1:34; Psalm 81:3) or be the harbinger of danger and destruction (Jeremiah 4:5-6; Amos 3:6). However, the ...

7. What If God Is Dependent Upon Our Praying?

2 Chronicles 7:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... to David and now to Solomon and to Israel and to Israel’s people. Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king’s house. All that Solomon had planned to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house he successfully accomplished. Then ... to it because a front page article carried a picture of a little girl that looked amazingly like our middle daughter, Kerri. And the banner headline proclaimed that this brave little girl, who had only months to live, needed cheerful letters. A brain ...

8. The Oneness of Twoness

Romans 14:1--15:13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... in the program are traditional carols that ask “What Child is This?” or that describe the journey of those “Three Kings.” There are also a couple pieces being sung in Spanish that I don’t recognize but have the name “Jesus ... sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty Are words that were used to intimidate me. Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton ! At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter. And we spoke not a ...

9. Loving Close-up

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... the Pauline phrase on which we are reflecting here: Love "suffers long..." (Duncan, Ibid.). That makes sense, doesn't it? The King James Version translates the beginning of verse 4 in this fashion: "Charity suffers long and is kind." That adds meaning, doesn't ... to the United States. Well, my professor friend got involved. My children were traveling with us, and the girls, Kim and Kerry, were nearby. I've never seen such rudeness, such demanding arrogance, such irritability and resentment on the part of a ...

10. What If

1 Chronicles 7:1-5

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... was attracted to it because a front-page article carried a picture of a little girl that looked amazingly like our middle daughter, Kerry, and the banner headline proclaimed that this brave little girl who had only months to live needed cheerful letters. A brain tumor, the ... of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ when He, Jesus, will reign forever and ever and ever -- King of Kings and Lord of Lords. What if? -- What if there are some things that God either cannot or will not do until and ...

11. A Pep Talk for a New Year

Matthew 2:13-23

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under . . .” Can you imagine a world where a powerful king can do something so evil just to hang on to his power? The first thing we notice from this story is that, because of ... -kindergarteners. 2.“Benefield: “Need an immediate pick-me-up? Call this number to hear advice from Healdsburg students” by Kerry Benefield, The Press Democrat, March 3, 2022, https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/benefield-need-an-immediate-pick-me- ...

12. All We Are Left With...

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

Do you ever find yourself reminiscing about someone you love who has died? Maybe at family gatherings or when your friends get together the conversation eventually turns toward someone you loved. And you start sharing stories about this person. Stories about their quirks and silly side. Stories about their habits or hobbies or advice they shared. And with every story, a little more of that person’s character is revealed. I read an interesting article from an Irish journalist who interviewed folks on the ...

13. Day People

1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever noticed that some people are morning people and some people are not? Veteran journalist Bob Schieffer replaced Dan Rather as anchor of the CBS evening news. In a recent book, Schieffer recalls an embarrassing moment from his early years as a television news reporter. He had worked through the night covering a brutal hurricane that was battering the Texas coastline. He got back to the news desk in time to make his broadcast for the six a.m. news. But exhaustion soon set in, and Schieffer fell ...

14. Only Heroes Need Apply

Mark 8:34-38

Sermon

King Duncan

Go with me back to last summer's Olympics ” to one of its most memorable moments. "Before the bomb, before the bowed heads and the silent moments, before the Olympic flag billowing at half-mast, there was the heroic story of Kerri Strug. "Many of you watched the Olympics and were stunned when a 4-foot-8-inch, 18-year-old woman charged down a runway, vaulted through the air and landed on a leg so badly sprained that it could hold her upright for only a second. Just long enough to ensure the first gold medal ...

15. Honk If Something Falls Off

Matthew 5:43-48

Sermon

King Duncan

Dr. Peter Barnes tells about a radio preacher that he listened to while he was in college named the Rev. Apostle J.R. Chambers, Jr. Quite surprisingly for a radio preacher, Chambers had a decided speech impediment. Each week he recited the verse from the Bible on which his entire ministry was based. It was Matthew 5:48, “You must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Because of his impediment each week the verse came out like this: “Yyyyou must . . . You mmmmust be . . . You must bbbe . . . You ...

Showing 1 to 15 of 15all results