Sermon and Worship Resources

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Acts 2:1-13

Drama

Jerry Eckert

... and is interviewed briefly by Pastor. Man sits down in open spot near front. As Man sits down, Pastor goes over to Rabbi, also sitting on the aisle near the front. When Rabbi speaks of the actions of the priests at the altar, Peter gets up from his pew halfway back and moves toward the pulpit. As Peter is coming forward, the four Persons in turn read their lines as Pastor presents them with the mike. Peter is interviewed and then goes to the pulpit to read the sermon from the Book of Acts 2:14-36. When ...

2. But I Wasn't Running

Mark 9:30-37

Illustration

Our Daily Bread

... is it?' And they say, 'You have just won the Boston Marathon!' And you say, 'But I'm not running in the Boston Marathon.' And they say, 'Doesn't make any difference, you won.'" We can find at least one element that is common to both Mike Peters' analogy and the account in Mark 9. Jesus taught that heaven too will hold some surprises. Honor and glory will be granted for behavior that was so natural, so undistinguished, and so noncompetitive. Take, for instance, the simple illustration of receiving a child in ...

3. The Measure of Greatness

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

Brett Blair

... for true greatness in the eyes of God. “If you would be great,” he said, “be a servant.” Someone once asked Dr. Albert Sweitzer who was the greatest person in the world. He answered: “Some unknown person, who is doing the work of love.” When Mike Peters won the Pulitzer Prize for political cartoons (1981), he wasn't expecting the honor. He described his response by saying, "It is like you are asleep and it is 2 in the morning and you are hugging your pillow and you are in your funny pajamas and ...

4. A Powerful Testimony

Mark 8:27-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ." (LB) Caesarea Philippi, says William Barclay, was an especially appropriate place for Jesus to ask, "Who ... be waiting to embrace us. He may even carry us across that line. Christ is the TRUE Ironman," Mike writes, "and his sacrifice will carry us all across the finish line."(6) Mike's testimony is the same as Kurt Warner's. It is the testimony upon which our faith is ...

5. Faking It or Making It?

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... serious question, “Who do you say I am?” It is one of the most dramatic moments in all the scriptures. It is Simon Peter who answers enthusiastically, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” Then Jesus changes the subject. He begins to tell them ... he didn’t realize was that the aggressive treatments for his leukemia had damaged his heart muscle. By the age of 33, Mike’s heart was failing. In February 2018 he lay in a hospital in San Diego with a life-threatening blood clot strangling ...

6. What Did Jesus Do?

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me . . .’” It is true that Christ was in the presence of Judas who would betray him, Peter who would deny him and Thomas who would doubt him, as well as the rest of his disciples who would desert him, but that did not distract him from ... two SEALs did not. In that terrible moment, he had two options: to save himself, or to save his friends. For Mike, this was no choice at all. He threw himself onto the grenade, and absorbed the blast with his body. One ...

7. On Not Knowing What to Say

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... well want to return to the same place to see if I could recapture the rapture of it all. Mark tells us that Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him to a “high mountain” to be apart from the crowds for a time of refreshment. If you visit the Holy Land ... will be required to produce a signed affidavit from Him. Also, I will accept no visions.” Well, I agree with most of what Mike Royko said, but I think that we do need visions. However, we also need some way to measure whether the visions are real or ...

8. Reverence For Life

Exodus 20:1-21, Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... saving."' "Not worth saving." That was the label that Weatherhead could hang on old Pete, but not the parents because of their love for Mike and Mike's love for old Pete. Can't you imagine some cynical angel looking down on the world and saying, "I don't see why ... heaven. It was just as wonderful as I thought it would be. St.Peter showed me around and then said, "Make yourself right at home. We're delighted to have you". Then St.Peter added, "And by the way, Bull was right about capital punishment." When I ...

9. The Jesus Connection

John 15:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... tells about the origin of the primrose. Apparently Saint Peter once heard a rumor that some wayward souls were trying to slip into the back door of heaven rather than entering through the Pearly Gates. Saint Peter got so upset by this that he dropped his ... , and the spray was cold, but they were closer to the waterfall than either of them had ever been before, and the view was fantastic. Mike wanted to go just one step farther onto a rock that was just a few feet nearer the rapids. But as he eased himself onto ...

10. In Search of Heroes

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... getting dangerous, because it would require sacrifice, including the ultimate sacrifice, the shedding of his blood. One translation has Simon Peter saying, “Forbid it Lord that you should have to suffer and die.” Jesus knew that he had to suffer ... kinds of feats that appear extreme foolishness to the majority of us. Of course, secretly we may wish we had their daring. Mike Barrett used to be one of those extreme sports enthusiasts. He writes about his experiences in a remarkable book titled, The Danger ...

11. Don't Stop Praying!

Luke 18:1-8, Luke 18:35-43

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... the brightest,” does he? In fact, if you look at his inner band of disciples, they look like pretty unlikely applicants. Peter, James, and John are fishermen with some feisty tempers. Judas is a sicarii and a petty thief. Matthew is a tax ... his colleague and friend. Later, it was found that Joe was framed by his own employees. Had Mike petitioned to stay with that company, he would have gone down with the ship. But Mike’s faith in his boss and friend stemmed from the relationship he had with him. He put ...

12. Through The Storm, Through The Night

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

Frank Lyman

... had seen them. No one was in sight, except for Mike's little brother. They went over and offered him a piece of candy not to tell. He refused it. "I'll give you my baseball," Mike said. "No," said his little brother. "Then what about my ... to their leader, told him he ought to pick on someone his own size, punched him in the stomach and then kicked over his Harley." St. Peter was impressed, "That is a good deed. When did you do this?" The man replied, "Oh, about three minutes ago." Prayer is not a reward for ...

13. Earth, Wind and Fire

Acts 2:1-21; John 15:26-27, 16:1-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" [13] But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine." [14] But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known ... movie about a monster world that is fueled by fear, literally. The company motto is "We scare because we care." Each day, Mike, Sully, and the other monsters line up on the shop floor as a machine carries dozens of closet doors to individual ...

14. Yes, You Can Work Yourself to Death

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... that reason. That’s what I mean when I say that we need to catch God’s vision for our life. Pastor Mike Slaughter once noted that people have a tendency to view life through either a microscopic lens or a telescopic lens. If you ... life. Jesus says to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” Jesus is talking to us as well as Simon Peter. Don’t be afraid, he says to us, from now on you will fish for people. Whatever work you are doing, whatever hobbies you have, wherever you ...

15. A Perfect Prayer

Sermon

Erskine White

... and then taking her for himself by having her husband killed. There is the same truthfulness about the great figures in the New Testament, as when Peter, the "rock of the church," denies Jesus and runs away. We should be able to relate to these people in Scripture and find great comfort in ... clothes, my condominium and my brand new camper. God wants the best for His people." Then the preacher said to Mike, "Well, it's interesting that God gave you all these things. He gave His only begotten Son a cross! He ...

16. Receiving Christ

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... serves as a coffee table in his living room, and he serves drinks from his custom hubcaps. As Steven Mosley has put it: “Mike’s root beer may taste a bit greasy, but he teaches us something important about troubles: Turn them into something else! Turn the ... world and the world to come. 1. James W. Moore, Seizing the Moments (Nashville: Dimensions for Living, 2001). 2. Dr. Peter Hirsch. Success by Design (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 2002), p. 55. 3. Dr. James E. Rimmer, Brilliant, OH. 4. “Who’s ...

17. With a Little Help from My Friends

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... . They were planning to push Heather out of their group. They’d decided to go out to lunch--and leave her behind. When Mike heard this, he found Heather and talked her into going to lunch with him so she wouldn’t find out what her friends ... matter what day I say no, he’ll always come back. “One day, when I’m ready,” says this frat brother, “I’ll remember Peter.” (7) What you and I believe can impact even complete strangers. Let’s suppose you were walking across a tall bridge and you ...

18. The NFL of Grace

Matthew 17:1-9

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... time. They were in the locker room receiving some words of encouragement from Mike Ditka, their coach. To graphically illustrate his concern for them to learn to be tough and tenacious, Mike reached his hand into a bucket. He removed his hand with a snapping ... and strength He needed to go on. Let's look at passage. Matthew 17:1-9 (NRSV) [1] Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. [2] And he was transfigured before them, and his ...

19. The Stone is My Witness

Matthew 28:1-10, Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... “Drop Dead!” But God said something else . . . God did something else . . In the original drop-the-mike moment, God did something else . . . [Here you Drop The Mike . . .] God did resurrection! God did Life! [If you’d like to conclude with an Easter altar-call ... Vision of Resurrection (Daniel 12) Put Off the Garment of Mourning: God’s Ingathering (Baruch 4:36-5:9) Signs of Coming (2 Esdras) Peter is Rescued and Spared by an Angel Who Opens the Doors of His Cell (Acts 5 and 12) The Women Come to Find ...

20. Can These Bones Live Again?

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... all. He was probably a cheat and traitor. But after a meal with the Master, Zacchaeus became a new person. Or how about Peter? Impetuous, ineffective, indecisive, quick to anger, the disciple who denied his Master, and yet he became the leader of the early church. ... Yancey wrote in Christianity Today sometime back of a conversation he had with a young man named Mike who works among the homeless. He said that Mike told him that homeless people, having hit bottom, don’t waste time building up an image or ...

21. Bridges, Not Walls!

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

... of Christianity. I have never forgotten this terrible, but moving story that I read some years ago, which follows. It is the story about Mike Gold, a Jew and the philosopher of American Communism. He wrote a book titled, A Jew Without Knowing It. In his book he ... to his sermon. We are told: The Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in ...

22. Stay in the Boat!

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... .(3) Is that what you need to hear this morning? Just keep focused, and everything will be all right? I wonder. Mike Yaconelli, who used to edit the theological satire magazine called "The Wittenberg Door," wrote an insightful editorial a few years ago.( ... if life is tumbling in on you like a tidal wave. In the boat you hear, "Take heart. It is I; don't be afraid." What got Peter in trouble? He got out of the boat. STAY IN THE BOAT! Our friend Will Willimon, the Dean of the Chapel at Duke, tells of a visit he ...

23. Get With The Program

Drama

Timothy W. Ayers

... organize your life to reach its peak potential. Paul: Pretty neat, huh? Penny: Yeah, this is better than the Mike Ditka Football Fantasy game that you're always playing. Computer: Please choose your category by voice command. Would you ... much do you return to God each week or month? Penny: Well, ah, there must be some kind of bug in this program. (Pause) Peter, I'm getting a little hungry. Peter: Me, too. Penny: Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Paul: Well, I've got a few more things to do on the ...

24. Testing, Testing

Matthew 22:34-46

Sermon

Chris Ewing

... much in the sense of knowing the answers, passing or failing, but more in the sense of what we mean when we're setting up the mikes for a concert, and we go around to each one and tap on it to see if it makes a noise; and then we lean in close ... need guidelines that go beyond the Good Samaritan and stopping to help those in need. What does love mean when it comes to God? Peter Michaelson, a minister in Rhode Island, noted several years ago in an online discussion, "Love is lots of things, but one main one is ...

25. The True Feng Shui Life

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... that gusts and swirls, blows and bullies in wholly unexpected ways. Our focus on Peter stepping out of the boat has blinded us to what Peter stepped into: the wind creating the waves. Jesus invited Peter to step into the wind and waves if he truly wanted to join ... O, wind of the Spirit Fill the sails of my Soul Send us on Lord Let your wind blow.” –Russ Rosen/Sandy Rosen/Mike Oshiro In his autobiography, John Stuart Mill told the story of his father, a man who was intellectually ambitious for his son and ...

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