Sermon and Worship Resources

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John 19:17-27

Sermon

Robert Allen

... Calvary is the richest hill on earth because it revealed the nature of God. Recently at one of our Annual Conferences, Bishop John Russell of the Dallas/Fort Worth area was our conference preacher. John had served most of his ministry in Oklahoma and he was ... God, we often get lost in childish concepts and argue about whether or not it means that God is going to do something miraculous or magical. Sometimes we think the power of God means that anything that happens to us is the direct result of his will or ...

2. The Call

Matthew 16:13-20, Mark 1:14-20, Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

Will Willimon

... it makes its money, who is in power. It is rather frightening to be told that what we call ''reason'' is really only a statement of what the majority thinks is reasonable. Oh that Russell's plea might be heeded, oh for some independent, unassailable, uncontested, economically independent means (''reason'') of deciding who is, or is not, a fool. Alas, postmodernity has demonstrated that we cannot, with “reason,” defend our distinctions between “reason” and “unreason.” If one of you comes up to me ...

3. Who Is This Jesus?

Colossians 1:15-23

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... get a little older, I'm going to look into this Jesus business." The old professor braced himself, looked straight into the eyes of young Russell, and said, "And I hope you do. And if you look into this Jesus business seriously, he'll get you just like he got ... is tainted by sin. All of creation is intended to be his and to give him glory. What does all that mean in practical terms? It means that every new baby bears the fingerprint of Christ. None of us could sustain a marriage relationship even one day if ...

4. Warnings Against Idleness

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... :17) for you to follow (“to mimic,” see disc. on 3:7). Exousia meant originally the freedom to do as one pleased but came to mean right in the legal sense, the right of authority. Paul discusses this right more fully in 1 Corinthians 9:13f., where he shows that it rests ... to this discussion. “Because Paul associated the problem of disorderliness with manual workers, it is more likely,” Russell argues, “that the reason and model lies within the situation of the urban poor of the Hellenistic city ...

5. When All Is Said And Done

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

William G. Carter

... end tomorrow, they will have a harder time motivating their members to ring more doorbells and gather more followers.1 What that means, of course, is that the Jehovah's Witnesses are now like many of the rest of us. We have grown relaxed in ... God is going to win. We are invited to live as if God's final victory is a done deal. But can we believe it? Iwan Russell-Jones recently asked why so many wild-eyed prophets of the future end up as television preachers. In the world of religious broadcasting, you have to ...

6. When All Is Said And Done

Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon

William G. Carter

7. Altar Your Witness

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... with whom they're talking for not having the same beliefs the have. Or we're afraid we're going to be treated like Carl treated Russell in our opening clip. In Romans 10:9-15 (NRSV) the Apostle Paul writes [9] if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord ... are the feet of those who bring good news!" Paul reminds us that we are sent by Christ as emissaries and ambassadors and that means we're going to have to give Witness verbally. But that's not the only way. Matthew 5:12-16 (NRSV) Jesus said: [12] ...

8. First Class Freedom

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... illustrates the whole idea of Becoming Ensnared. (Watch: Up Clip) If you haven't seen it, The basic story is about the adventures of Carl and Russell. Carl Fredricksen is a 78-year-old man, stuck in the past and stuck in his house which he has been ordered to vacate by the ... law is summed up in the command by Christ to "Love your neighbor as yourself." I've always understood that to mean that as followers of Christ, we have a mutual responsibility for one another. Everything we do has an impact upon the ...

9. Caring for the Vineyard We Did Not Plant

Matthew 20:1-16, Joshua 24:1-27

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... bit of risk-taking, and a lot of faith in the finesse of your master designer. Creative designer and imagineer Russell Morash conceived of the idea for “This Old House” as he was designing and renovating his own 19th century home. ... there for others! The issue of ownership in our culture and in our churches has in some sense warped our understanding of what it means to “go to God’s mission fields” wherever God determines on God’s Vineyard that a field needs restoring! A mission field is seldom “ ...

10. God Communicates in Humanly Understandable Terms

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

Richard D. Campbell

... in a home like many others. He did not grow up in a wealthy home. We can tell Mary and Joseph were persons of small means by the humble thank-offering they brought to the Temple -- i.e., "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons" (Luke 2:24). A well-to ... Beck of the Boston University School of Theology speaking to a pastor's school in Bennington, Vermont, in 1975. 2. Walter Russell Bowie, The Gospel According to St. Luke, The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 8 (New York and Nashville: Abingdon, 1952), p. 69 ...

11. Gaining A Gratitude Attitude

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... money each year than a lot of people earn. (2) Do we 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 introduce him to what it means to be in church. One Sunday they gave him a one-dollar bill that Nathan was to place in the offering plate. When the plate moved down Nathan's pew, his parents held it in ...

12. Essential Personnel!

Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

William B. Kincaid, III

... that horrible disease. We are glad to see Jesus healing the sick, those who are on death's door, but that doesn't mean we want the house in our neighborhood converted into a shelter for AIDS patients. We sort of like the idea of Jesus letting ... all are welcome. It is a call to share a way of life together that the world has said is not reasonable or desirable. Letty Russell, in her book Church in the Round, uses a round table as the metaphor for the church. "The round table in itself emphasizes connection, ...

13. Excuse Me!

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

Carl Jech

... love ourselves, then we are strong enough to love even our enemies. In his film Crimes of Passion, eccentric British director Ken Russell presents us with a caricature of a priest/minister (it's not clear which) one who is riddled with self-hate ... impove. We have been given a clean slate in order that we might go out and begin again to be what God intends us to be! It means that the good image of God in us can never be entirely erased! Last week we chuckled at the paraphrase of the 23rd Psalm which includes ...

14. Advent 4

Mt 1:18-25 · Rom 1:1-7 · Isa 7:10-17 · Ps 80

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... as he likes. For Paul, being a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ is not an option but an absolute necessity. This does not mean that he served grudgingly; no, he found joy in his willingness to fulfill the mandates of the Master. This business of freedom is ... Jews to safety by the end of October that year. After the massacre/suicide of about 1,000 people in Jonestown, Guyana, Russell Baker, columnist for The New York Times wrote an article in which he compared freaks to zombies. The 1960s was the era ...

15. The Magic Ingredient

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... of human life.” And he was right. Really, a hope-filled life is the only life worth living. Let me tell you about a young man who discovered the meaning of such hope. Some of you who are football fans may remember the name Russell Okung. Okung was chosen twice to play in the Pro Bowl while with the Seattle Seahawks. More recently he played with Denver and then with the Los Angeles Chargers. He is a man with strong convictions. While with the Seahawks he did an interview in which he shared his faith ...

16. Lean Thine Arm on the Windowsill of Heaven (Growing Old Gracefully)

Psalm 90:1-17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... ever be the same again since that bomb obliterated Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. I said a moment ago that Bertrand Russell led international peace drives at age 94. The threat of a nuclear war is ominous, more than any other single factor. ... you know what time it is, you’ll give that matter your very best attention, Now the second question. Are you taking someone with you? I mean, if Heaven is just around the corner for you, are you taking someone with you? Are you sure that those you love know where you ...

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

2 Peter 1:16-21

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... all of our doubts and silence skeptics and cynics. When British philosopher Bertrand Russell was 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 ... soul is the totality of man’s existence in relationship with God. Just because you cannot locate it on a medical chart does not mean that it does not exist.”[4] When we stop searching for proof of God on the outside and begin to seek an experience of ...

18. Day Of Decision

Mark 14:10-26, 43-52

Sermon

King Duncan

... Jesus and not care about the plight of the poor. But, friends, in God's way of doing things, the ends never justify the means. There were other ways Judas could have shown his compassion for the poor. Betraying a friend was not the right way to help ... could have been washed away by the grace of the man he delivered over into the hands of the authorities. While Pastor Bob Russell's church was under construction, he decided to go up and inspect the partially finished roof. On the roof, he saw something that ...

19. Doomsday Prophets

Matthew 25:1-13

Illustration

Steven A. Peay

... end in 1914. World War I almost gave some credence to Russell's "millennial dawn " and imminent Battle of Armageddon, but his claim that "millions now living will never die" just didn't hold. Russell died in 1916. His successors, now calling themselves Jehovah's Witnesses, ... of reference Bible fame), which espouses a very particular view of the end. It's called 'dispensational premillennialism' which means that there are a series of dispensations, ala Joachim of Flora, which will come to pass and then the ...

20. On Being a Beautiful Christian

Mark 14:1-11

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... been struck, and so on. This lingering hum has to be tuned, and that was the reason for all the noise. Dr. Albert Russell, Dean of the Divinity School, using the bells, spoke to us young ministers about overtones. He said that he assumed we had our ... temper, ten percent mental." Someone suggests an experiment: Speak to a three-year old with a kind, gentle voice, saying, "You little brat. You mean little rascal. I am going to break every bone in your little body." The child won’t mind at all. Now, change to ...

21. Believing Thomas

John 20:24-31

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... GLIMPSES WE HAVE OF THOMAS IN THE GOSPELS PORTRAY HIM AS A MAN OF CONSIDERABLE COURAGE. Actually, “Thomas” is not a name. It means simply, “The Twin.” Of course, over the years it has become a proper name. But in the beginning it was not. “The ... 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 ...

22. FEAR NOT! You've Got To Be Kidding!

Luke 1:26-37

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... will remember some old hymns which are not in the current hymnal. One of those is the stirring hymn from the pen of James Russell Lowell. Scholar, lawyer, statesman, he served as ambassador to Spain and England in the 1800's. He wrote it in 1845 as a protest ... you know what you know. We know God keeps his promises and sends a Savior. We know Jesus comes and his name is called Emmanuel, meaning "God With Us." We know the word has become flesh and dwelt among us full of grace and truth and we have beheld his ...

23. A Sense of Place

2 Samuel 5:1-5, 6-10

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... we love all of humankind, but in reality, we need to perform concrete loving actions to a few real people for those words to have meaning. Likewise, we can say we are members of God's universal kingdom, but for it to have any substance, that's got to demonstrate itself ... is in our churches, our homes, our workplaces, and our communities in solid acts of faithfulness to God. 1. Scott Russell Sanders, Staying Put: Making a Home in a Restless World (Boston: Beacon Press, 1993), p. xiii. 2. John Gladden, "Medina' ...

24. Blessed Are Those Who Believe

John 20:19-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... He’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 ... in.” We believe in God, and we see God’s presence and power everywhere we look. We believe in God’s kingdom. But the real meaning of our lives as Christians is to believe God’s kingdom in. Pope John Paul once told of an encounter he had with a Russian ...

25. On Panicking Close to Shore

John 6:16-24

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... of the cross. But it is an empty cross, for Jesus is Victor, not Victim....victor even over the cross. As James Russell Lowell said in his famous poem: Truth forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever on the throne, Yet that scaffold sways the ... exact words in the electronic Bible on my computer, and could not find them even once! But I found similar ones, and I am sure that the meaning is there. And I need no “proof text” for every day of the year. All I need to hear is the words of Jesus which keep coming ...

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