Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 66 results

1. Samson's Vengeance on the Philistines

Judges 15:1-20

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... is easy to understand why he wanted to burn their crops at harvest time, but why by tying burning torches to foxes’ tails? Besides the fact that he could thereby inflict a much greater harm, not to mention the sheer entertainment factor, the theme of ... in a mass!” 15:19 Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi: This verse calls to mind imagery from Deut. 32, where the rock is a symbol of the Lord (vv. 15, 18, 30–31; note especially v. 36: “The LORD will judge his people and have compassion on his ...

2. The Dachshund Dilemma

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... of young adults and the church was filled. “And so it happened, while his eyes were filled with woe and sadness, his little tail went wagging on because of previous gladness.” How do we deal with the “Dachshund Dilemma”? How do we revive a church ... one thing is clear everyone has his or her role to play, and no part is more important than another. Simon Peter was the rock of the church at Jerusalem. Yet there would have been no Simon Peter leading the church if there had been no humble Andrew to lead ...

3. The Lord Speaks

Job 38:1--41:34

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... and needs. God has other creatures to care for, other opportunities to create beauty and to pour out his grace on rock, plant, and animal alike. 38:31–32 Can you bind . . . Can you loose . . . ? The focus on human powerlessness is immediately ... ostrich does not fly. Others understand the meaning to be “urge oneself on,” or think that it describes a peculiar spreading of the tail feathers as the ostrich accelerates (see Gordis, Job, pp. 460–61; Pope, Job, p. 262). In a chase or race, the ostrich leaves ...

4. The Thing With Two Heads

Matthew 16:13-24

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... I am!" And then there are those who say, "Ah, there you are!" (2) Everything has two sides doesn't it? A coin has heads or tails. An old 45 record has a Hit side and the flip side. A piece of bread has two sides, the side that's buttered that always ... Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. [18] And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. [19] I will give you the keys of the kingdom of ...

5. Raising Power

Mark 16:1-8

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... must have sounded like something out of a Nancy Drew novel: “Terror at the Tomb!” The women fled fast! They high tailed it out of there! Our scriptural translation today tells us that the women were seized with terror and amazement. But those ... to take your breath away! They were amazed![2] We know too that the guards, who had witnessed the power of God move that rock, fell to the ground shivering in shock, that’s how terrified they were too! In fact, anyone who has encountered a God revelation in ...

6. Walking On The Water

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... and it is contagious. In the children's story, Chicken Little was in the garden one morning when a cabbage leaf fell on her tail. She concluded that the sky was falling. Crazed with terror, she began to run. By and by she met Henny Penny and told ... miracle. I doubt that Simon Peter ever tried to walk on the water again. But he knew a miracle had occurred - a reed did become a rock. That can happen to you and me. That's why this little story was included in our Scriptures. Jesus says to us, "Take heart, it is ...

7. Did God Really Say...?

Romans 10:8-13

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... appearance is never described. It is unimportant. There is no mention of any ghoulish features, no horns, no pitchfork, no long tail, no monstrous fangs or claws that we would expect to see on the devil in a late night horror flick. Instead ... then why did he send you out into the desert for forty days? After that kind of treatment, aren't you hungry? Why not turn these rocks into bread? Then I might believe that God really said that you were his beloved son. Then even you could believe that you were his ...

8. Jesus Clears the Temple

John 2:12-25

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... John the Baptist or of Nathanael. Jesus knows such people’s hearts just as surely as he knew that Simon would be a “rock” or that Nathanael was a “true Israelite.” He unmasks their unbelief in a later confrontation: “I do not accept praise from men, ... least are still on the scene and that he has not used the whip on them. Jesus probably improvised the cat-o’-nine-tails to move the livestock out of the temple, knowing that the owners would be close behind to protect their investments. 2:18 What ...

9. Dim Visions And Blind Guides

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... large church. Then one day, a yellow flash came. Mr. Tanimoto dove instinctively into a garden and wedged himself between two huge rocks. A powerful blast of wind and fire blew over him. It knocked him unconscious. When he came to and got on ... within 15 feet of the circle. All of a sudden a black mountain seemed to rise out of the circle and plunge down again, leaving a huge tail to slam the water. It was a whale, the largest living thing any of us had ever seen. It was almost seventy feet long. We hastily ...

10. Bitter-Sweet Recollections

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... it was like a plowed field. Jewish scourging was a somewhat merciful "forty stripes save one," but the Roman cat-o-nine-tails, used on their prisoners, had no such numerical limits. They struck the victim with repeated lashes, often stopped only by the ... surely a Psalm, but which one? Maybe it was Psalm 95:1, "O come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation." Or perhaps it was Psalm 91:1, "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow ...

11. A WALL OF ROCK AND THE EVERYBODY GAP

Drama

William McKee Aber

... this dialogue-drama is that people build walls between themselves in everyday life. They wear masks and become hard, like rocks, as they endeavor to protect themselves. It is hoped that each person viewing this dialogue-drama will realize that ... I am Wormwood, top lieutenant in the service of loneliness, despair, and bitterness. Perhaps you expected horns, cloven feet, and pointy tail? In so doing you show your ignorance and innocence. Workers for evil rarely look conspicuous; we’d rather melt into crowds ...

12. The Secret Of A Great New Year

Luke 3:1-20, Matthew 4:12-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... Broom Hilda cartoon in which her troll-like, naive, innocent little friend Irwin puts on a long-tailed formal tuxedo jacket, picks up a conductor's baton and walks into the woods alone. Irwin steps up on a fallen tree trunk ... and begins to wave his arms as if to conduct. There are no musicians, only rocks, trees and flowers. Soon, musical notes pour from the rocks, trees and flowers and fill the panel. Finally, Irwin turns and confidently says to the reader, “It's all in ...

13. Love without Limits

John 13:31-38

Sermon

John K. Bergland

... I can be a friend." He retorted, "Charley, I don't need anyone. Just leave me alone!" So I proceeded to the door with my tail tucked between my legs. Yet before I could leave the room, Walter said, "I have not always been this way, you know. There was a ... and his hands were up in the air, waiting for a hug. I leaned over and hugged him, and he began to rock me back and forth. As he rocked me, he kept repeating, "Yes, Lord, cover me like a blanket ...Yes, Lord, cover me like a blanket ...Yes, Lord, cover me ...

14. A Deserter in God's Army

1 Timothy 4:9-10

Sermon

James Merritt

... that coliseum, underground, dug out of rock, are the remains of what was called the Mammertine Prison. It was literally carved out of stone. There were no windows. There was a hole in the top of that rock that had been bored to ... condition? He shunned his companion. He left Paul holding the bag. He left the church. When God's army needed him the most, he tucked tail and ran. He shirked his calling. He resigned his divine commission. He deserted the army of God. He committed high treason against heaven's King ...

15. A Time for Opportunity

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

King Duncan

... Ski-doo snowmobile. He bartered the snowmobile all the way up to an afternoon with rock star Alice Cooper which he promptly traded for a Snow Globe depicting the rock group KISS. Then he approached actor Corbin Bernsen with the snow globe in exchange for ... . Otters catch what they need to survive, but also make time to chase after pebbles, slide down slopes, and tweak the tails of their more industrious neighbors. “Both animals live about the same length of time, but you have to believe that otters ...

16. Jailhouse Rock

Acts 16:16-34

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... our successes. Certainly, Paul at this point has run into a great brick wall — that place where Christianity meets economics, and where many Christians turn tail and run. The gospel has a cost, and it isn't just a case of going without chocolate once in a while. If we ... as population groups and started to see each other as people, and when that happens, church happens. This is jailhouse rock with a vengeance. One earthquake, two prisoners, and a whole family of changed lives. And who knows where it ended ...

17. No Time for a Sermon

Hebrews 1:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to give away, especially to children. And in his basement he ground rocks into gemstones, which he turned into jewelry and cuff-links which he lavished on parishioners. He drew out of rocks and roses spiritual lessons he wanted to pass on. If Luther felt ... freakish and spoil the whole season.Until then we are about ready to conclude that Christmas may be a tiger we caught by the tail, or a revolving mirror that won’t stop long enough for us to get out. And then it happens, the moment of tranquility comes ...

18. Unconditional Puppy Love

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... , “Do you remember the two boys who used to live next door to us and the cute little puppy they got last Christmas?” “Yes.” “Do you remember how they used to tease it, throw sticks and even rocks at it?” “Yes.” “Do you also remember how the puppy would always greet them with a wagging tail and would try to lick their faces?” “Yes.” “Well, that puppy had an unconditional love for those two boys. They certainly didn’t deserve his love for them because they were mean to him. But, he ...

19. Love without Limits

Acts 11:1-18

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... can be a friend.” He retorted, “Charley, I don’t need anyone. Just leave me alone!” So I proceeded to the door with my tail tucked between my legs. Yet before I could leave the room, Walter said, “I have not always been this way, you know. There was a ... hands were up in the air, waiting for a hug. I leaned over and hugged him, and he began to rock me back and forth. As he rocked me, he kept repeating, “Yes, Lord, cover me like a blanket ...Yes, Lord, cover me like a blanket ...Yes, Lord, cover ...

20. Why Christianity?

Romans 1:1-7

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... see the boats outside, the people around the bar lit up! Their frowns turned into smiles and they reached out to play with Paul’s rock star hair! They were transformed. There was life in their eyes. A baby does that to people. You know what? Baby Jesus did that ... and before I put my hand on the door he cried out, “I haven’t always been this way, you know! I had life by the tail. Then this cancer got a hold of me and tore me apart…” He went on and on, and I just listened. When Walter finished talking ...

21. Too Soon, Monsieurs, Too Soon?

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

Thomas Long

In the late 1950s, when "rock and roll' was still shocking and auto tail fins were the rage and television was laugh-tracking its way deep into the American psyche, no one had more fun spoofing popular music and art than Stan Freberg. An eccentric comic genius, Freberg left no cultural stone unmocked. In dozens of song parodies and skits, he poked fun at ...

22. Epiphany 2

Jn 1:29-42 · 1 Cor 1:1-9 · Is 49:1-7 · Ps 27

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... brings his brother to Jesus. When the Lord lays his eyes on Peter, he calls him by a new name, Cephas, the Rock. All of these men have one thing in common: They are not fulfilling their own inward desires by responding to a call ... away the sins of the world. 2. Sermon Title: The Inviting Christ. Sermon Angle: When Andrew and the other disciple of John the Baptist tailed Jesus, he turned to them and asked, "What are you looking for?" They inquired as to where he was living. Jesus responded with an invitation ...

23. In The Carpenter's Workshop

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

... storyteller, but I think it wouldlend itself to having a young boy take part. As I writethis, I have one bright-eyed, bushy-tailed ten-year-old inmind who would have been this way, a little too smart, andstill a very thoughtful young person. In my next ... there was a farmer who wentout scattering seed. The seed that fell on the path waseaten by the birds. Some fell among the rocks and sproutedbut withered in the sun. Seeds among the weeds were chokedout before they could grow very much. But there was seedthat ...

24. On Polishing Up the 24 Karat Jesus

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

James Weekley

A newly appointed minister was preparing to deliver his first sermon. As expected, he was as nervous as a long tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs. In his introduction he misquoted Jesus as follows, "I have come to heal the dead, cast out the sick, and raise the devil." Jesus did not want to be misquoted. In fact, he wanted to make his lasting impressions stick. How could the disciples ever forget his last impression, ...

25. Tears on Easter?

John 20:10-18

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... plenty of questions and problems. We are on sinking sand until we have the truth, and then our feet are on solid rock. Like Mary, we want to take hold of Jesus, the truth, and not let go. When Eisenhower was president, he summoned Billy ... window. "Decided which one you want?" asked his Daddy. "Yes," the little fellow replied, pointing to one which was enthusiastically wagging his tail. "I want the one with the happy ending." Easter is a happy ending for all the tears of sorrow, disappointment, and tragedy. ...

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