Sermon and Worship Resources

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1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... are as ignorant of the scope of our denomination as was the Brittain family of the extent of the late '50s McDonald's franchises. They may be quite active even at the district or conference level, but somehow just remain unaware of what ... this because we are so comfortable in this world that we are not really waiting for the day of the Lord, and we know that even Paul's eschatological fervor seems to have diminished as time went on. But no matter, these words remind us that time has a direction and that it ...

2. The Greatest Motivator

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... office and never have to think about garbage or face persecution in my work. But I envy people like Sister Emmanuel and the Apostle Paul. They are driven completely by their love for God. So, I’ll ask you again: what is it you are working for? What is it ... ? Is it money? Or could it be fear? That’s another powerful motivator. Shelby Yastrow, the former general counsel of the McDonald’s Corporation, once said in an interview that he consistently was haunted by a dream that he would humiliate himself by ...

3. The Condition Of Mercy

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Donald Dotterer

... the court as a free man. We would perhaps like the parable to end here with a happy ending. However, now we get, as Paul Harvey says, "the rest of the story." The one who is rescued from bondage now comes upon a fellow slave. This slave owed him 100 ... it, any comfort it may bring, I hope it will." By this time, the jurors were crying. The judge had tears in his eyes. Then Beulah Mae McDonald said these words: "I do forgive you. From the day I found out who you all was, I asked God to take care of y'all, ...

4. The Power Of Purpose

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... Roy Crock founded the McDonald fast food chain, a Cinderella story of business success. Touting McDonald’s, he recently remarked, “I speak of faith in McDonald’s as if it were a religion. I believe in God, family, and McDonald’s. But at the ... power of purpose. And with Carl Atkins, we can not only show people how to live, we can show them how to die. And with Paul, we can eventually close our day saying, I fought the good fight, I kept the faith, I have finished the course, therefore, there’s laid ...

5. The Power of Purpose

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... Roy Crock founded the McDonald fast food chain, a Cinderella story of business success. Touting McDonald’s, he recently remarked, I speak of faith in McDonald’s as if it were a religion. I believe in God, family, and McDonald’s. But at ... . A rather healthy self-respect. But self-respect requires not only seeing the greatness, but the misery - the positive and the negative. We go back to Paul here. He knew who he was and he agonized about it, for the good that I would, I do not; and the evil that I would ...

6. A Man of God

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... . But he was also a man of God. We know very little about Joseph outside of the first chapter of Matthew. Though Paul mentioned Mary, he never mentioned Joseph. After the birth narrative, there is only one more reference to Joseph in the Gospels. Mary, Joseph ... hostility came down. I became the one who swept the anger away. And that’s the name my mother and father gave me.” McDonald concluded, “It occurred to me that her name would be a suitable one for Jesus.” (4) That name would also have been a ...

7. Access Denied

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

Richard W. Ferris

... not necessarily ensure it." McDonald admitted, "Quite true. But neither does the desire for food satisfy your hunger, but at least it gets you started toward a restaurant." Our desire for peace does not necessarily ensure it. But it gets us started toward Christ. Our access to the grace of God does not necessarily mean we will take it. But it's there, given to us through the sacrifice and death of Jesus. We've been given the password, the key that unlocks the door. And now, as Saint Paul says, we can even ...

8. The Faith of a Saint

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... s version of the Beatitudes. The eminent twentieth century theologian Paul Tillich once noted that readers and students of the New Testament often find that it is not the refined argument of Paul or the mystical wisdom of John, but the simple sayings ... definitely had one convert. Shavad Jones, his attacker, was released from prison and, only several days after his release, was killed. Steven McDonald's third grade son, Connor, went to his teacher after he heard his father's assailant had been killed and asked ...

9. The Cross Burden or Blessing?

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... If you are old enough to remember those who only ate “fish on Friday,” you can understand the sudden oceanic bent of McDonald’s and Wendy’s and other fast-food chains. If people of faith are “giving up” something for Lent, God-forbid that ... fish instead! But Lent is not just a season of winnowing down, of doing without, of “giving up.” In today’s epistle text Paul reminds his readers that following Christ is about living as life as an advocate, as a positive force, not as an enemy, of the ...

10. Grace in the Midst of Suffering

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

... jar of pickles. Is there a way I can get reimbursed? 7. Escalators would help on steep uphill sections. 8. A McDonald's would be nice at the trailhead. 9. Too many rocks in the mountains. In the real world, mountains are full ... pain of those who walk with God is absolutely meaningful. It is not random. It is not unknown to God. It is accomplishing something. Paul boldly states that our troubles are "achieving" for us an experience of future grace that will one day make them infinitely worth enduring. Before ...

11. A Platform For Life

Romans 8:28-39

Sermon

King Duncan

... . We are not on our own. We may feel like we are forsaken at times, but we are not. God's Spirit is with us. Paul writes: " . . . the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with ... we should pray for. Sherrie Leard shares a story in Reader's Digest about her young son's approach to prayer. On their way to McDonald's, Leard and her son came upon a car accident. Leard had taught her son to pray for any accidents they passed on the road. ...

12. The Plank

Matthew 5:38-48; 7:1-6

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... be measured to you. (Luke 6:37-38)”*** Jesus is all about mercy. Jesus is all about love. "Without love we are nothing," the Apostle Paul says. You give love and you receive love when your eye is focused on Him. And not on the plank of judgment. Only Jesus is ... incredible story of an almost 2 billion-dollar gift given by Joan Croc (the widow of Ray Crock, founder of McDonalds) to the Salvation Army through General Linda Bond. It stands as the largest single gift in the history of philanthropy. How did General Bond ...

13. Time to Listen

Matthew 17:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. And what did it look like? Grace, restoration, healing, new life. The Apostle Paul writes about Jesus in II Corinthians 5: 21: “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our ... released in 2000, there was a new character added to it. On page 159, a new witch joined the House of Gryffindor. Her name is Natalie McDonald. (6) In his Transfiguration, Jesus let Peter, James and John have a sneak peek at the ending to God’s story for humanity. It is ...

14. The Magic Ingredient

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... as well. One paragraph reads like this: “She was preceded in death by the father of their four children, Charles Alan McDonald, whom she loved to her dying day, and her beloved family pets: Simon the Siamese cat; Peanut, the wiener dog; Sugar the ... understand, but if we trust God and persist in our faith in Him, He will always come through. We are not alone. St. Paul writes, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Do you have ...

15. The Peace of Christmas

Philippians 4:4-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... an article on the web describing this event commented like this: “And we wonder why nations cannot get along.” In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we find one of the most popular benedictions in the church. Verse 7 of chapter 4 ... the walls of hostility came down. I became the one who swept the anger away. And that’s the name my mother and father gave me.” McDonald concluded, “It occurred to me that her name would be a suitable one for Jesus.” (6) The child who takes the anger away. Yes, that ...

16. Guilt And Grace

Romans 8:28-39

Sermon

Alex Gondola

... program most people can reduce their guilt load by up to sixty percent! But, the remaining forty percent, according to the McDonalds, is "not solvable." They tell their readers to learn to "live around it." There's no true escape in pop ... through faith. From faith that, while our sins and shortcomings are great, the grace of God is even greater. Listen again to the words of the Apostle Paul: If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also ...

17. Driven To Serve

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... began their much anticipated lunch. Meagan asked one of her profound questions. "When you die does Jesus take you to McDonalds?" (4) Good question. Children are a challenge. How are we doing, our business consultant might ask, in serving children? Do ... of anything out of the ordinary. He got back in his car and drove away. (7) My guess is that happens to us. We see people whom Paul called "dead in their sins" and we are not even aware of it. That is to say, we see people whose lives are empty, who do not ...

18. You Are Not Yourself!

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... drive-thru courier. The plan conceals the fact that a large amount of money is leaving the store. In Euclid, Ohio, though, one McDonald’s store was a bit too clever. They handed the bag of concealed cash to an anonymous customer who drove up to the ... washed in the blood of the Lamb, as the writer of Revelation puts it-then we see ourselves in an entirely new light. St. Paul puts it like this: "When Christ who is our life appears, then you will also appear with him in glory." Can you imagine yourself "in ...

19. Living in The Spirit of Generosity

2 Corinthians 9:6-12, Galatians 5:22-25

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... . That's all. (1) Isn't it amazing how a random act of kindness and generosity can become a national news story. Not because Cory McDonald's generosity was so different but because someone tried to make it illegal. Let me read the quote concerning the Fruit of the Spirit. "Love ... love holding the reins." (2) Generosity is one the Fruit of the Spirit which Paul identifies in Galatians 5. Let's look at that passage and then look also at what Paul has to say in 2 Corinthians 9:6-12. Galatians 5:22-25 (NRSV) [ ...

20. Weak Sauce

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... typical American is at least twenty pounds overweight, and thinks exercise is walking up and ordering at the counter of McDonald's instead of using the drive thru window. But don't associate the national failure to work out with a ... than number one. In today's gospel text it's easy to get caught up in Paul's argument and hear that he is willing to "become all things to all people that I might by all means save some" (verse 22). Paul makes himself a Jew to Jews, a Gentile to Gentiles. He stands under the law ...

21. Being a Christian “Survivor”

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... beds? Do you think it is evil to have teenagers make a better living selling drugs in the schoolyard than selling hamburgers at McDonald's? Whose fault is it? Abominable drug dealers who pay too much, or upstanding employers who pay too little? There is a ... is comforting to know that our God will never desert us, will always stand by us, and will never let us down. Next, Paul talks about the helmet of salvation. Salvation does not mean pie in the sky by and by. Salvation means health, wholeness, something ...

22. The Power Of A Focused Life

Philippians 3:4b-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... is one of the secrets of a successful life. Comedian Jay Leno says that he went into a McDonald’s one day and said, “I’d like some fries.” He vows and declares that the girl at ... a photograph that is taken out of focus? What good is a life that is not focused on God, on those we love, on our calling as followers of Jesus Christ? St. Paul was focused on a goal that was narrow enough that he never was distracted, but large enough so that he never became bored. In his commitment to Christ he found that ...

23. The Outlandishness of Lent

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... -seen-before power-source for all of God’s children. Lent may not be the time to order fish sandwiches from McDonald’s or to stop watching HBO. It IS, however, the “prime time” to claim your weirdness, to embrace your craziness. After ... and accepting a completely new kind of power on this earth, and a new kind of love. “You are God’s love-letters,” wrote St. Paul, “written not with ink but with the love called the Holy Spirit; not on tablets of stone but across the pages of your human heart ...

24. A Brand New Church Out of an Old Brand

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... world today? No surprises in Brandland: 1) Coca-Cola 2) Microsoft 3) IBM 4) General Electric 5) Ford 6) Disney 7) Intel 8) McDonald's 9) AT&T 10) Marlboro What all these power brands have in common is an unshakable image. Stefan Marzano of Philips Design ... hypocritical, boring, and judgmental people out there just searching for a congenial gathering place? Paul saw the church brand just a tad differently. In fact, Paul described his brand so differently that he shocked and embarrassed some of the congregants ...

25. Dancing with the Saints

Colossians 1:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... s prayers take all the “saintliness” out of being a “saint.” What Paul is saying here is that saints aren’t necessarily exceptionally pious, gifted holy people with healing powers, able to slay dragons and banish snakes. “Saints” are those sitting next to you in the pew. “Saints” wait on you at McDonalds. “Saints” check you out at the grocery story. “Saints” live in your heart and memory with the taste of your grandmother’s molasses cookies and the smell of your great-grandfather ...

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