Sermon and Worship Resources

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John 6:60-71

Sermon

King Duncan

... why millions of people two thousand years after his death and resurrection call him their Savior. (6) But here is the critical point: Christ was willing “to bell the cat” for us. The question we are left with is this: what are we willing to do for him? 1. David C. Noonan, Aesop & the CEO (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, Inc., 2005), p.34. 2. William H. Cosby Jr. and Alvin F. Poussaint, M.D., Come On (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc, 2007), pp. 216-217. 3. Getting Through What You’re Going ...

2. Saved by the Bell

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Faulkner's Light in August, the suggestion is made that the problem with the church is "not the outward groping of those within it nor the inward groping of those without, but the professionals who control it and who have removed the bells from its steeples." [William Faulkner, Light in August New York: Modern Library, 1950), 426 (With thanks to Dr. Lovett Weems, President of St. Paul School of Theology, for this quote.) Wait a minute, you say: But people aren't being buried alive today. Oh, really? You ...

3. Leaping Lepers - Thanksgiving

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... ten and where they were and where they went and why they were and who they were, and he healed them all the same. Martin Bell concludes with the thought that perhaps the point is not in the one who returns, but in the ten who were healed. Perhaps. Actually, I think ... he healed, he was made whole. What do you see this morning? A glass half-full? Half-empty? No glass at all? William Sloan Coffin, one of our generation's truly prophetic voices, reflects thoughtfully on the issues that he now faces due to declining ...

4. Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams

Luke 1:67-80

Sermon

Carroll Gunkel

... women - two good women who met the Master, and knew that he was calling them to be peacemakers. John Donne has given us the haunting lines which say: Ask not for whom the bell tolls, The bell tolls for thee.3 Just as surely as the shepherds heard angels singing of peace and goodwill on the night Jesus was born, so did Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan hear the voice of the Master calling them to be agents of that heralded but unfulfilled longing for peace and goodwill. At the first such rally a boy was ...

5. Just Speak The Word

Luke 7:1-10

Sermon

Larry Powell

... from the ship and made for the little boy. "What is your name?" he asked. "William," the surprised lad answered. "William, would you like to earn six-pence," Brooke asked. William was agreeable to do that. "All I want you to do," Brooke informed him, "is ... note, until at last a faint response from the bell was detected. He prolonged that specific note until the bell began to vibrate, every molecule awakened. The man then explains, "The deepest thing about that bell which no hand of mine could reach was the ...

6. On Being a Beautiful Christian

Mark 14:1-11

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... is a matter of overtones; a matter of sensitivity; a matter of inner beauty or inner ugliness. We need the grace of Christ. William Essex, in the novel, My Son, My Son, had failed to show love to his wife, Nellie. She had died young, partly due ... from the place where the bells were cast - came to Duke University to tune the bells for their overtones. He had to do this up in the tower, in the life situation. What if the Duke officials had locked him out, saying, "we have bought the bells; we’ve paid for them ...

7. Don't Mess with the IRS

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... extravagant claims about cutting taxes, don’t follow Lady Godiva’s example. One of my favorite IRS stories is told by Donna Bell, an IRS employee. She says that she was working at her desk close to tax day, April 15, one year when an ... everything we hope to be. Many years ago an American church leader named Wilber Chapman asked the founder of The Salvation Army, General William Booth, if he could explain why his work had prospered so. “He hesitated for a second,” Dr. Chapman said, “and . . . I saw ...

8. Jingle Bells at a Funeral

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... has come into our world, every day should be a time of joy. That says to me that we should even be able to sing “Jingle Bells” at a funeral if we understand the Gospel rightly. I Thessalonians 5, verse 16, only contains two words . . . making it one of the shortest verses in ... (Nashville: Upper Room Books, 1992), pp. 45-46. 3. James Boswell, Life of Dr. Johnson, entry for 17 April 1778. William Barclay, And He Had Compassion (Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 1976), p. 162. 4, Cited by the Very Rev. Sherry ...

9. A Church Shaped By The Great Commission

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... and Dad—whom in my adult life I affectionately called, “Mutt” and “Co-bell”—they are buried there. Co-bell died eight years ago; and Mutt five years ago—I still miss them. On Co-bell’s tombstone are the last words she spoke to Mutt from her deathbed ... in poverty. Of those, the portion living in our urban centers has increased from 30% in 1968 to about 47% today. (William Pennell, The Coming Race Wars: A Cry For Reconciliation, p.32). Are we going to them? In his book, Countering the ...

10. Thanks Be to God

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... man," the serpent hissed. "Tonight at midnight I will kill you." "Is there anything that can save me?" asked the woodcutter. "Yes," said the snake. "If the bell in the old church tower rings twelve times before midnight, you will be set free." The woodcutter was filled with fear and began to panic. He wanted ... . Pratt Green 1. Paraphrased from "The Woodcutter and the Doves," in William J. Bausch, A World of Stories for Preachers and Teachers (Mystic, Connecticut: Twenty-Third Publications, 1999), pp. 31-33.

11. A Stone’s Throw From: The Harvest

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... when Mary and I were gardening. We went to the nursery and bought a number of different starter plants. One was Bell Peppers and the other was Beefeater Tomatoes. For weeks everything went along fine. Everything else was coming up right. However the ... worthy of the seed we have to sow. We're simply called to sow and plant the seeds of faith, hope and encouragement. Conclusion William Barclay tells this story related by a friend of his. In the church where he worshiped there was a lonely old man, old Thomas. ...

12. Characteristics of the Church

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

In one of his novels, William Faulkner wrote, “That which is destroying the church is not the outward groping of those with in it, or the inward groping of those without, but the professionals who control it and have removed the bells from its steeples.” (quoted by Dr. Lovitt H. Weems, Jr., at his Inaugural Address as President of St. Paul’s School of Theology, December 11, 1985.) I don’t know everything that Faulkner meant by that. He may have been talking about the fact that the professionals ...

13. A Daffy, Magnificent Hope

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Sermon

... , calling the school to class. He acted as if the school was still there. People thought he was crazy. But for seven years, every day, President Ewell rang the bells at William and Mary, in defiance of the despair and hopelessness that would destroy everything he held valuable. And eventually, miraculously, it worked. Others caught his vision. Students, teachers, and money returned. Today, America's second oldest university thrives again, because of the hope of a daffy, magnificent dreamer. Ezekiel was made ...

14. Insincere Religion

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... after Shaq insisted he be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. "I admire Shaq," said Williams, "Besides playing basketball, he is now making movies and writing books." Then Williams added, "His books are the kind that once you put them down, you simply ... beige stones, stained and covered with fungus. On the roof was something that looked more like a chimney than a bell tower. In any case, there was no bell to ring. Not a single flower or blade of grass grew in the grim clay ground around. Mother and daughters ...

15. General William Booth

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

Carroll Gunkel

... day and time. Or, we might think of Christmas when Salvationists appear on street corners and in shopping centers with bells, buckets, and tambourines. Or, we might remember the concern shown by members of the Salvation Army in wartime or ... observation as well as a physiological one for the whole city - the whole of society reeked with corruption ... and in the effluvia of East London William Booth met the Master. As the result of that meeting, Booth knew what work God had called him to do. He was able to say ...

16. Recognizing The Hidden

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

... in the shop grew stronger, the bell sounded nearer. Through the pain and fear the old man heard the bell, as did the priest and lad. The eyes of the old man and the priest met. The priest spoke again. But somehow, the cathedral bell had mellowed his voice. He knew ... To be a student in 1961 was to study in a time of rapidly expanding knowledge. It was an exciting time. So thought Michael Williams III. Mike was just about to enter college, and he had chosen his place of study with great care. He knew what Oak ...

17. Light For A New Year

Isaiah 60:1-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... doing it for the publicity or the glory. He just admired the legacy, and believed that it was worth preserving. We don't know when William Morris died. But when Hamp Alexander Owens died in 1948, his obituary stated that he was "the keeper of the Saluda fire." The fire itself had ... Living, 1993), 69-70. 3. NEWSWEEK, June 22, 1998. 4. Carden, Gary & Nina Anderson, BELLED BUZZARDS, HUCKSTERS AND GRIEVING SPECTERS, APPALACHIAN TALES (Asheboro, N.C.: Down Home Press, 1994), 151-153. 5. John F. Westfall ...

18. The Vine That Lives Forever

John 15:1-17

Sermon

George Bass

... gentle peace of soul at this sound which announced the betrothal of a poor old woman and the earth." That village church bell spoke boldly and continually, "Christ is risen!" and "Lo, I am with you," and the writer got the message loudly and clearly ... - alive again! Nothing can take him away from us now, or ever again. Jesus is risen. He is alive and all is well! William G. Storey suggests that "Daily Prayer in Eastertide" is essential to the faith and the relationship of all believers to Jesus Christ. In ...

19. Straight Backs And Rekindled Dreams

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... the prison walls. After much bribing and begging, the woman finally convinces the old man to help her escape. He tells her that next time she hears the bell toll to announce a death in the prison, she should slip down to the prison mortuary and hide in the coffin with the dead body. He would take ... Leave At the Cross?" by Max Lucado Preaching Magazine Jan./ Feb. 2001, p. 19. 6. William Willimon, “Remember Who You Are," Upper Room, 1980, page 7. From a sermon by Eric Ritz. 8. Lorne A. Adrain, The Most ...

20. Prime The Pump!

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... , just as if the college were open. That bell-ringing was a powerful symbol. It seemed to open other doors. Important leaders in Williamsburg were reminded of the importance of the college. Also, Dr. Ewell was led to share his vision with some key citizens of Virginia. They began to step up with significant contributions. In 1888, the College of William and Mary reopened and has been thriving every since. President Ewell is a kind of hero for me. He faced a huge challenge but did not despair. Instead, he ...

21. A Time for Us

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... nations face middle-age also. Our great land struggles now with its identity corporately, as we do individually. As philosopher William Barrett says in his book, Time Of Need, "Contrary to the confidence in our powers of technology and information, the ... to the time of old age. I am reminded of the older couple who lived close to a church whose bells rang out the hour of the day. At two in the morning the bells went crazy. Instead of ringing twice to denote 2 a.m., they kept ringing up to 100 times. The man ...

22. Ring Those Bells

1 Peter 3:8-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... president. Every day, this one man did something that was absolutely insane. He walked from his office to the chapel and rang the bell. NO one was there to hear it. So why did he ring it? It was a defiant act of hope that the silence of ... sing about. Prayer is our “Instagram.” The way we connect intimately and instantly with the hope and love that drives our lives. William Faulkner defined a pastor once as “a sworn bondsman of prayer.” “E”= Energy. Hope takes Energy. Because it is a verb, “Hope ...

23. The Crime of Christmas

Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... time, lepers were required to carry with them little bells which they had to ring to warn passersby - they did this instead of shouting "Unclean!" Can we hear the warning bells this Christmas? The bells that warn of self-centered nostalgia and sentimentality? Yet ... have been no room for the child. The cacophony of activities surrounding December 25th led the hospital chaplain William Gaventa and biblical scholar Beverly Roberts Gaventa to appropriately title their annual Christmas letter for 1990 "Silent Night ...

24. The Good News about the Future

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... which clattered away constantly. What he remembers most was that these machines had bells attached that the broadcaster could hear faintly even in the broadcast booth. These bells would go off when a particularly important story came over the wire. Posted ... way? Are we prepared to meet God? 1. http://www.holyspirit‑elca.org/SERMONS/2002/021302.html 2. The Rev. William D. Oldland, http://www.stthomasreidsville.org/sermons/20031116.htm 3. (Random House, 1937). 4. Michael W Hopkins, http://www.twosaints.org ...

25. A Global Celebration

John 20:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... say, “Thank God, she is free at last!” (4) And she was free, just as each of us will be free someday. That is why church bells peal around the globe this day and why choirs lift up their Alleluias. Death has been conquered. We are free to live and love with the ... 14:19). And that is the greatest good news in the world. In a sermon titled “Easter as an Earthquake,” Bishop William Willimon tells about a devastating earthquake that took place in the 1950s in China. As a result of the quake, a huge ...

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