Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 33 results

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... spending money because she wanted to tell her daddy that she loved him. “That’s how God looks at our acts of generosity,” writes Adam Hamilton. “When we share with God, our gifts are a way of saying, ‘God, I’m returning to you a portion of what I have . . . to say ... people offer up gifts to the Master. It’s like something that happened last summer at the Olympics in Rio. Embry Roberts told about it recently on the Today show. The story was about a Polish track and field athlete named Piotr ...

2. Son of Man; Son of God

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... not in strength, but in absolute weakness. Who’s more helpless than a baby? At a reception honoring musician Sir Robert Mayer on his 100th birthday, elderly British socialite Lady Diana Cooper fell into conversation with a friendly woman who seemed ... of those remarkable men who really come around once in a long time.” By the time he retired from the university in 1991, Hamilton Naki had only made it to the level of laboratory assistant. And, even though he had performed work that we pay other brilliant ...

3. A Date With Destiny

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... 18 years of age. "Now," he says, "I'm where God wants me to be, in a life that began--instead of ending--with my obituary." Hamilton Whaley had discovered his reason for being. Many people in our society are asking the question, "Where does God mean for me to be?" How about ... 1. Guideposts (11-82). Cited in Church Management, May/June, 1983, p. 59. 2. Bill G. Bruster and Robert Dale, How to Encourage Others (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1983). 3. Whitney North Seymour, Making a Difference, (NewYork : William ...

4. Walls, Walls, Everywhere Walls

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... and women, the wall between people of different colors, the wall between saints and sinners. It could have been Jesus, not Robert Frost, who first said, “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall.” The first thing we need to see is ... . . . or hatred will destroy us all. Surely, if we are totally committed to it, we can find new solutions to old problems. Wallace Hamilton once told the story of a Christian farmer who raised sheep. But he had a serious problem. His neighbor’s dogs would, from time ...

5. A Last Appeal

Luke 23:33-43

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... a new dog friend by the name of Jake. He is a labradoodle, who has a special relationship with his owners Garry and Betty. Adam Hamilton, in his book, Final Words from the Cross, shares this story: There was a doctor who made house calls in the days when that was ... , but as his watchword says: “For the Son of Man came to seek out and save the lost” (19:10). Amen. [1]. Robert Raines, A Time To Live: Seven Tasks of Creative Aging, 187. [2]. William Barclay: The Gospel of Luke: The Daily Bible Study ( ...

6. Facing Difficult Decisions in Life! Part VI

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Eric Ritz

J. Wallace Hamilton, one of the great voices of Methodism, once shared an old story that I want to use to open our sermon today. "An old ... to life. It has nothing to do with the events of your life, but with the deeper orientation of your life. Joy is a gift that comes when a life is centered on God. People like Robert Reed, David Ring, and Joni Erikson Tada teach us that joy is always only one decision away. Choose God. George MacDonald had great insights when he wrote, "It is the heart that is not yet sure ...

7. From Selfishness to Servanthood

Matthew 20:20-28

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... mandatory when one becomes a disciple of Jesus Christ. The radical change I’m declaring today is “From Selfishness to Servanthood.” Robert Fulghum, who wrote “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten,” says that he has attached to the mirror ... to ask the same thing of Jesus, but James and John beat them to it. The late great preacher J. Wallace Hamilton referred to this personal assertiveness as “the drum-major instinct.” (2) Something in us craves distinction. We like to lead the ...

8. A Shepherd's Love

John 10:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... Him. God cares about you. God wants to help you deal with your life. 1. Nancy Guthrie, Holding On To Hope (Carol Stream, IL:Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2002), p. vii. 2. Bruce Larson, The One and the Only You (Waco: Word Books, 1974). 3. “World Watch” edited by Anita Hamilton, Timedigital, Nov. 30, 1998, p. 107. 4. Robert A. Schuller, Getting Through What You’re Going Through (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1986), pp. 38-41.

9. A Prophet in a Panic

1 Kings 19:9-18

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... boy. Even big people are attacked by the demons of anxiety, panic, and depression. Writing recently in Time magazine, Dr. Robert Wright noted that 15 percent of Americans have had a clinical anxiety disorder. In some industrialized societies, the rates of ... a tightly fitted door. Ice placed there during the winter would last well into the summer. In his book "Directions," James Hamilton tells about a man who lost a valuable watch while working in an icehouse. He and his fellow workers searched diligently ...

10. First, Last And Always--god!

John 13:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... p. 4. 3. From "Termination to Emigration" by Wayne Brouwer, Preaching, MarApr 2001, p. 38. 4. "The Kind of Church Jesus Would Join: An Inviting Church," by Dr. Robert R. Kopp, June 17, 2001, p. 4. 5. The Great American Bathroom Reader by Mark B. Charlton, Barnes & Noble, New York, 1997, p. 260. 6. "World Watch," edited by Anita Hamilton, Timedigital, Nov. 30, 1998, p. 107. 7. Because God Loves Stories: An Anthology of Jewish Storytelling, edited by Steve Zeitlin (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997), pp. 49-50 ...

11. Praise the King with a Song of Joy

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... Shumate in A Foxfire Christmas, edited by Eliot Wigginton and his students (Chapel Hill, N.C.: The University of North Carolina Press, 1989), p. 118. 4. 1000 Windows: A Speaker’s Sourcebook of Illustrations, edited by Robert C. Shannon, Standard Publishing, 1984. 5. “Overwhelmed” by J. Wallace Hamilton, published by The Methodist Center, Jan. 28, 1968, p. 6. 6. Howard and Phyllis Rutledge with Mel and Lyla White, In the Presence of Mine Enemies (Old Tappan, N.J.: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1973), excerpts ...

12. The Awful Grace of Amazing Grace

2 Corinthians 5:16-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... is free at http://www.real.com/ In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God. Edith Hamilton’s 1937 translation of Agamemnon is a little different from Senator Robert Kennedy’s rendition, which replaced “despite” with despair.” Here’s the correct version: Drop, drop– in our sleep, upon the heart sorrow falls, memory’s pain, and to us, though against our very will, even in our ...

13. Walking On Our Hands

John 8:31-41

Sermon

J. Will Ormond

... debate between Jesus and "the Jews." It is well known that the Gospel of John differs in many ways from the other three Gospels. Robert Kysar's book on the Gospel of John is called John: the Maverick Gospel. This is how his introduction begins: There is a ... Nor were they the first to challenge the status quo of the Roman Church. Others had preceded them. Some, like Patrick Hamilton of St. Andrews, Scotland, had given their lives for the cause. Finally Luther, Calvin, and Knox came to the point where ...

14. Dim Visions And Blind Guides

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... base for living in a pluralistic world, so, too, do some of our individual aspirations place us on the brink of frustration. Dr. J. Wallace Hamilton, in his book Horns and Halos in Human Nature, tells of one of the weirdest auction sales in history. It was held in the city ... 's authority. The "sign" will never be authoritative enough. How much money would God have to raise as God's sign? Oral Roberts once said eleven million dollars. How many cures would God have to work? Are we so evil that we need a sign? ...

15. Make Way For Poets Of The Heart

Sermon

James Angell

... myself the luxury of a second decalogue, I also name Louis Evans, Carlyle Marney, James Pike, Ted Loder, Wallace Hamilton, Gerald Kennedy, Eugene Carson Blake, Liston Pope, Elton Trueblood, and Richard Raines. Plus the following, whose writing informed ... to my faith: Loren Eiseley, Thomas Merton, Halford Luccock, Reinhold Niebuhr, Frederick Buechner, Walter Brueggemann, C. S. Lewis, Robert McAfee Brown, Ernest Fremont Tittle, John Sutherland Bonnell, Henri J. M. Nouwen, Howard Thurman, Samuel Miller, David H ...

16. Midnight Turned Into High Noon

Isaiah 42:10-17, Isaiah 42:18-25

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... suffered from depression. Two of the best preachers of this century, Harry Emerson Fosdick and J. Wallace Hamilton, fought depression. Winston Churchill waged a life-long battle against depression, which he called, "My black ... we need forgiveness! Unless we confess it plainly, we are simply betraying the truth of the Gospel and missing the chance of freedom from our wrongs. Robert Louis Stevenson, as a small boy, loved to watch the old lamp lighter go down the street. One night he said to his nurse, "Look, ...

17. Do Not Lose Heart

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... demons, worry. Every problem we have is magnified by the amount of anxiety with which we surround it. A candidate for sheriff in Hamilton County, TN was a winner in a recent Coca-Cola promotional contest. You may remember the contest. Certain cans of Coca-Cola were ... our eyes under the heavy responsibilities of their office. We are told that during the Vietnam War, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara busied himself with the minor details of war planning to distract himself from the futility of that ...

18. How Shall We Pray?

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Mother Teresa appeared this Spring on Robert Schuller’s television program. Schuller reminded her that the show was being carried all over America and in 22 ... that part of our prayers will be primarily a prayer of thanksgiving. We have so much. I enjoyed reading about a couples’ club at the First United Church in Hamilton, Canada who sponsored an annual auction sale. Everybody gathered up their accumulated junk and sent it down to the church. They brought in a professional auctioneer for the occasion. ...

19. Are You the One Who Is to Come?

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

King Duncan

In his book Horns and Halos, Dr. J. Wallace Hamilton tells about one of the weirdest auction sales in history; and it was held in Washington, D.C., in 1926, where 150,000 ... a simple babe and humble surroundings and He works slowly, surely. But He is at work. Let us not lose hope. Joy to the world, the Lord is come. 1. Rev. Robert Morgan, Montgomery UMC, Montgomery, Texas 2. Leo Buscalgia, BUS 9 TO PARADISE (New York: Slack, 1986), pp. 25-26. 3. Charles Kuralt, ON THE ROAD WITH CHARLES KURALT (New York: G. P ...

20. Don't Look Down

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... IS NO RISK AT ALL. When we attempt to do great things for God, we find that God is with us each step of the way. Robert J. Morgan, in his book, On This Day, tells about missionaries Dick and Margaret Hillis. These committed Christians found themselves caught in China during the ... the water, too. 1. Randy Cassingham, THIS is TRUE for 28 February 1999. 2. Jon Hamilton, AMERICAN HEALTH, June 1996, p. 47. 3. Maxie Dunnam in Dale Galloway, LEADING WITH VISION (Kansas City, Beacon Hill Press: 1999), pp. 97-98 ...

21. A Sign for a Sign

Mark 8:11-13

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... could this hold it? Not this little box of brains. You haven’t things to hold it with...” Robert Browning, in his poem, “Bishop Blougram’s Apology” has the bishop addressing a skeptical companion: Pure faith indeed - you ... with might, but with mercy, with “enormous respect for our frailty and our freedom, standing at heart’s door to seek admission there.” (Wallace Hamilton, WHO GOES THERE? N.Y: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1958, p. 34.) As an unknown poet put it: Thou shalt know Him when He comes ...

22. When Tragedy Strikes

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

James W. Moore

... so painful… and in these recent days as I have mourned with Jerry's family… and our church family… and as I have grieved personally, I have had some old ideas reaffirmed and verified and I'm learning new things. Sorrow has so much to teach us. Remember how Robert Browning Hamilton put it in his poem called Along the Road: "I walked a mile with Pleasure She chattered all the way But left me none the wiser For all she had to say. I walked a mile with Sorrow And ne'er a word said she; But, oh the things ...

23. The Supreme Test

Genesis 22:1-19

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... times when you did the most growing and maturing. Were those periods when life was tranquil and easy or were those periods of difficulty? My guess is that we do most of our growing and maturing during times of stress and difficulty. There is a poem by Robert Browning Hamilton that is locked in my heart because I have personally experienced its truth— “I walked a mile with pleasure; she chattered all the way, But left me none the wiser for all she had to say. I walked a mile with sorrow and not a word ...

24. The Power to Belong

Acts 4:32-35

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... that could not be ignored The fastest going United Methodist Church in America today is named the Church of the Resurrection. For Adam Hamilton and that great congregation in Kansas City, Resurrection is more than a name. It's the name of the game. It's their ... right, “People who need people are the luckiest people in the world." Affluence has led Americans to a new isolationism. Robert Putnum in his book Bowling Alone reports that over the last 25 years, civic club memberships are down 58%. Families ...

25. A Class Act

Illustration

John Berendt

... act," I mean any behavior so virtuous that it puts normal behavior to shame. It was a class act, for instance, when Alexander Hamilton aimed high and fired over Aaron Burr's head. Benjamin Geggenhiem performed a class act on the Titanic when he gave his ... tie and tails so he could die "like a gentleman." That same year, 1912, Capt, Lawrence Oates became so frostbitten and lame on Robert Scott's ill-fated expedition to the South Pole. Rather than delay the others in their desperate trek back from the Pole, he ...

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