Sermon and Worship Resources

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1. You Can Know What to Do With Your Life

Proverbs 3:5-6

Sermon

James Merritt

... beginning with those four letters that can tell us how we can know what to do with our lives. You can take it to the bank. I. Look To God's Leadership Completely Here is the first step in knowing what to do with your life. "Trust in the LORD with ... cannot know what to do with your life until you do have a relationship with God. Don't take my word for it. Bertrand Russell, one of the most famous atheists who ever lived, said himself "Unless you assume a god, the question of life's purpose is meaningless." [[ ...

2. Grace in the Midst of Limited Resources

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

... dollars." Stumpy and Martha thought that sounded fair, and off they went. The pilot put on quite a show. He took his plane through banks and spins and loop-the-loops, and then did the whole thing over again. Amazingly, he never heard a single word. When the ... looking more and more like him? In recent years Paul Azinger has been at or near the top of professional golf. As Bob Russell points out in his book Money: A User's Guide, he's known for three things: being an outspoken follower of Christ, recovering ...

3. Who Wants To Be a Millionaire

Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

James Merritt

... You may have your money invested in Blue chip stocks; you may have your cash in a state of the art vault, in a government-backed bank, or you may have it invested in the finest real estate in the world. But, believe me, either it can be taken away from you, ... in God lasts forever. 1 "Everyone Wants a Shot at Being a Millionaire," Maria Puente, usa Today, 1998. 2 Ibid. 3 Bob Russell, Money: A Users Manual (Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Books, 1997) p. 82. 4 Cited by James C. Dobson, Home with a Heart (Wheaton ...

4. Four Magic Words

Psalm 126:1-6, Psalm 145:2-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... brilliant man who enjoyed debating some of his illustrious contemporaries, men such as George Bernard Shaw, H. G. Wells, Bertrand Russell and Clarence Darrow. He was a man of many interests and accomplishments. The older Chesterton became, however, the more important ... of a job, lost all his savings, and was deeply in debt. There was no way to go but up. He was on his way to the bank to borrow money to go to Kansas City to look for a job. He felt hopeless and beaten. He was a man who, in his own words, had ...

5. Blessed Are The Believers

John 20:24-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... DOUBTS. All of us do. Woody Allen is right. Faith would be easier if God would show Himself by depositing a million dollars in a Swiss bank account in our name. I read a true story recently about a young man named Charlie who was in love with a charming young lady ... like that? We can sympathize with British philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell who was once asked what he would say if after death he found himself confronted by God. Russell replied, "I shall say to Him, `Why did you make the ...

6. Gaining A Gratitude Attitude

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... have any idea how fortunate we are? And yet we whine, we complain, we act as if somehow life has mistreated us. David Russell, a pastor in Union City, Tennessee tells about Nathan, a precocious three-year-old in his church. Nathan's parents were trying to ... act, a conditioned response. For others, it is a way of manipulating God. A lady who works as a bookkeeping clerk in a large bank tells about an elderly lady who came to her desk one day, obviously ecstatic. "Honey, I don't need those praying hands on my ...

7. Believing Thomas

John 20:24-31

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... have doubts. Woody Allen is right: Faith would be easier if only God would show Himself by depositing a million dollars in a Swiss bank account in our name. Why doesn’t God do something spectacular like that? We can sympathize with British philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell who was once asked what he would say if after death he found himself confronted by God. Russell replied, “I shall say to Him, ‘Why did you make the evidence of your existence so insufficient?’” There is a part of us ...

8. Blessed Are Those Who Believe

John 20:19-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... thinking people do. Woody Allen was right. Faith would be easier if God would show Himself by depositing a million dollars in a Swiss bank account in our name, but God doesn’t work like that. I read a true story recently about a young man named Charlie who ... ’s there? We can sympathize with British philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell who was once asked what he would say if after death he found himself confronted by God. Russell replied, “I shall say to Him, ‘Why did you make the evidence ...

9. Why Doesn’t God Prove Himself To Doubters?

2 Peter 1:16-21

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... asked what he would say if, after death, he found himself confronted by God, Russell replied, “I would say, `Why didn’t you prove yourself to those who doubted you?’” A clever comedian once said that he would have no difficulty believing in God: “All God would have to do would be to deposit $1,000,000 in my bank account.” Unfortunately, God does not operate that way. Many believe that God has left no evidence or proof that he exists. The writer of 2 Peter would beg to differ. In the following ...

10. Wanted: A Lasting Marriage. Only Good Chemists, Bad mathematicians, Expert Soul-O-Flexors Need Apply

Mark 10:2-16

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... divorce statistics have skyrocketed (today's divorces are initiated as often by wives as by husbands, reveals Jan Jarboe Russell in "What Really Makes Marriage Last," Good Housekeeping, 1996, 98-99, 144), as divorce proceedings and grounds have shifted ... you and your spouse are making. When your bank account is nearly empty, every deposit or withdrawal is keenly felt. In relationships, every act of love or caring is like money in the relationship bank. Each argument or instance of uncaring is like ...

11. The Power to Begin Again

Acts 3:12-19

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... killed the author of life and you went along with it. Surely you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders," says Peter. James Russell Lowell wrote: “Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide, In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good ... As the road came to an end, I realized I was next to a river. A single car was parked on the bank. I stepped up on the bank and said to the lonely fisherman sitting there, “Catching anything?" He took one look at my white pants and black loafers and ...

12. Spiritually Prepared

Mark 1:4-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... nine times and left him for dead. Miraculously he survived. In the hospital, Taylor met a pastor named Bill Banks. Banks befriended this burned-out, dying addict and helped him find Christ. Taylor eventually recovered enough to leave the hospital ... with all that? Why not repent of our waywardness before it is too late? In 1991, a judge fined brothers Geno and Russell Capozziello, owners of a Bridgeport, Connecticut, wrecking company, nearly $900,000 for operating an illegal dump. In 1986, on the empty lots ...

13. Seven Habits Of Highly Effective Christians

2 Kings 5:1-27

Sermon

William L. Self

... Elisha bid Naaman to bathe seven times in the Jordan. Indignant, Naaman at first refused. The Jordan, a muddy river between two muddy banks, is not like the clean, pretty rivers of Syria. Finally, he agreed to do this as instructed, and was healed. To how many ... 've done for Mom, me and the family."4 Only washing in the old Jordan can do that. 1. Russell Dilday, Communicator's Commentary, Vol. 9, p. 307. 2. Stephen Covey, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (New York: Fireside Books, Simon & Schuster, 1989), p ...

14. Getting Your Politics Right

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... no revival lasts for long. Forces of resistance rise up within and around us, and the raging flames of divine love flicker down to a bank of coals and once-warned hearts. Our own United Methodist Church is no longer a movement but a monument to a long-gone revival. Churches ... under Mt. 6:5-15. 10. For a fresh treatment by a first class Christian intellectual historian, see Jeffrey Burton Russell, Paradise Mislaid (Oxford University Press, 2006). 11. The U.M. Articles of Religion, Article I—Of Faith in the ...

15. Not a Servant, but a Son

Galatians 4:6-7

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... that we are welcome. In his nostalgic, heart-warming, disarmingly funny best-selling book, Growing Up, Pulitzer Prize Winner, Russell Baker tells of those long summer evenings after supper in Morrisonville when men and women would gather on Ida-Rebecca ... mind when the collection plate passes each Sunday when you make your pledge to the church, when you fill up those little bread banks write a check as a Lenten offering to feed starving children you hear the call for some special mission need or ministry. Joy ...

16. Deciding To Excel In Everything

II Corinthians 8:1-7, 11-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

James Russell Lowell wrote: “Life is a leaf of paper white Whereon each of us may write A line or two, and then comes night. Greatly ... to talk with you about it for just a moment. Someone said, “Money talks.” I guess it does. According to legend, a hundred dollar bill and a dollar bill got into a conversation at a local bank. The hundred dollar bill said to the dollar bill, “Man, I’ve had quite a life. It’s been a wonderful life. I’ve been on cruises; I’ve been to resorts; I’ve been to ...

17. Vetted

Luke 3:21-38, Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... at, asked to prove ourselves, prove our identity, prove to be who we say we are. Each time you log in to your bank online, each time you buy something from Wayfair or Overstock or Amazon from an unknown computer, each time you even call your health ... person of Jesus. Jesus is victorious, and in Him, so are we! Let’s sing together --“Standing on the Promises of God” by Russell Kelso Carter, written in 1886: 1 Standing on the promises of Christ my king, through eternal ages let his praises ring; glory in ...

18. Acres of Diamonds

1 Timothy 6:10

Sermon

Russell Conwell

I am astonished that so many people should care to hear this story over again. Indeed, this lecture has become a study in psychology; it often breaks all rules of oratory, departs from the precepts of rhetoric, and yet remains the most popular of any lecture I have delivered in the fifty-seven years of my public life. I have sometimes studied for a year upon a lecture and made careful research, and then presented the lecture just once -- never delivered it again. I put too much work on it. But this had no ...

19. Proper 24

Exodus 33:12-23, Isaiah 45:1-7, Matthew 22:15-22, 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: The rule of God. In the Isaiah text, God rules through a heathen king, Cyrus. In the Second Lesson, he claims us through the gospel. In the Gospel Lesson, Jesus reminds us that God's rule includes the power structures of this world, yet transcends these structures. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Exodus 33:12-23 The Lord is still stung by the golden calf episode and is threatening to withhold his presence. Moses pleads that God would go with him and the people as they made their way to the Promised Land. ...

20. Lent 2

Mk 8:31-38 · Rom 4:13-25; 8:31-39 · Gen 17:1-7, 15-16; 22:1-18 · Ps 22

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 God establishes his covenant with Abraham and his descendants. Like the covenant with Noah, it is an eternal covenant. Unlike that covenant, the beneficiaries of this covenant are Abraham's descendants exclusively. God promises to multiply his progeny so that nations and kings come from his line. As a result of this new relationship, the names of Abram and his wife, Sarai, are changed to Abraham and Sarah. Abraham means "the divine father is exalted." Sarah ...

21. Advent 4

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: Both Old Testament and Gospel portray the theme of God building a house, a kingdom or a people. In the Old Testament text, King David desires to build a temple for God but finds out that God is going to be the One building a house (dynasty) of David's descendents. In the Gospel, Angel Gabriel informs the Virgin Mary that God is going to build up his Kingdom through the son she was to conceive through the Holy Spirit. COMMENTARY Old Testament: 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 David wants to build in Jerusalem a ...

22. Epiphany 8

Hosea 2:2-23, Mark 2:18-22, 2 Corinthians 3:1-6

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: The marriage covenant in both the First Lesson and the Gospel provides an image of the kind of intimacy which God seeks with his people. For Hosea this means going back to the honeymoon period (the Exodus). In the Gospel Jesus suggests that he is the bridegroom and his disciples are the bride. It was a fitting time to celebrate the marriage. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Hosea 2:14-23 The prophet Hosea speaks the word of God to the eighth century people of Israel (the northern kingdom). It was an age of ...

23. Proper 5

2 Corinthians 4:1-18, 1 Samuel 8:1-22, Mark 3:31-35, Mark 3:20-30

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: Facing the enemy. God and his servants can expect opposition. In the First Lesson Samuel and the Lord experience flack because the people want a king. In the Second Lesson Paul continues to be pummeled by all sorts of enemies and by the weakness of his body. In the Gospel Jesus discovers that his opponents are not only the scribes but his own family, who regard him as crazy. COMMENTARY Lesson 1: 1 Samuel 8:4-20 (11:14-15) (C) The people plead with Samuel to obtain a king for them so that they might ...

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