Sermon and Worship Resources

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James 3:13-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... possible. But instead of falling over dead, the rooster fluffed up his feathers over his headless neck and went through the motions of pecking for food. His only crow was a gurgle. The next morning the rooster was still alive. So Farmer Olsen started putting feed and ... guidance system. And like Mike, the Headless Chicken, we don't even know it. Back in the late 1960s, William M. Birenbaum came up with the concept of "The Overlive Factor." He defined "overlive" as "the nonmilitary counterpart of overkill - ...

2. No-fault Religion

2 Corinthians 5:6-10 (11-13), 14-17

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... and groups, than the belief that we are men of good will and all the ill will lies in the other." Dr. Williams continues, "The history of human pretenses, self-deception, and failure to see our hostility and resentment of the other is a constant ... it is the power of God that does it, says Paul. And M. Scott Peck, the psychiatrist says the same thing. In his book, The Road Less Traveled, which has been on the best-seller list for many years, Dr. Peck says, "God's grace and God's love can help people ...

3. Live Spelled Backward

Matthew 26:14-27:66

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... I'm gaining every day; Still praying as I onward bound, Lord, plant my feet on higher ground. Lord, lift me up and let me stand; By faith on heaven's table land, A higher plane than I have found; Lord, plant my feet on higher ground. My heart has no desire to stay; Where doubts arise and fears dismay; Though some may dwell where these abound; My prayer, My aim, is higher ground. -- Johnson Oatman Jr., 1898 (public domain) __________ 1. CBS News 60 Minutes broadcast on January 13, 2013. 2. Dr. Scott Peck ...

4. Why We Believe In God

Hebrews 11:1-40

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... he did know God. And Tertullian became a Christian that day. Some of you have read the book by M. Scott Peck called THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED. M. Scott Peck is a psychiatrist. And he wrote that book to try to help people find meaning to their lives. When ... , why we look for the meaning of our lives in the future, why we carry our question marks with us toward that far horizon. William Wordsworth put it beautifully in one of his poems. He describes our life as a journey across a tiny island. In the morning of our ...

5. God's Job Profile

Amos 7:10-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... not fear? The Lord God has spoken, who can but prophesy?" (3:8) In his book, PEOPLE OF THE LIE, Dr. M. Scott Peck writes about one of his most difficult counselling situations ” a woman he calls Charlene. At a crucial point in her counselling, right ... . How about you? Do you fit God's job profile? 1. Albert C. Goss, Mile Straight Baptist Church, Soddy-Daisy, TN 2. William E. Diehl, THANK GOD, IT'S MONDAY, (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1982). 3. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1983) pp. 167-168. Submitted by ...

6. Advent 1

1 Corinthians 1:1-9, Isaiah 63:7--64:12, Mark 13:32-37, Mark 13:1-31

Sermon Aid

E. Carver McGriff

... them. He knew them pretty well, and was aware that some of them could be pretty contentious. Referring to Corinth, William Barclay acknowledges her greatness when it comes to economics and culture, but he also notes, "But there was another side ... hurries to the point of exasperation, then ends up with extra parts which were supposed to belong somewhere. Since I'm the same way, I was interested in Peck's advice. He was out walking one day and passed a neighbor who was repairing his lawn mower. He remarked ...

7. A Hearing Heart

1 Kings 2:10-12, 3:3-14

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... . 2. Selections from the Writings of Thomas Coke, Warren Thomas Smith, ed. (Nashville: The Upper Room, 1966), p. 15. 3. M. Scott Peck, People of the Lie (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983), pp. 62-66. 4. These questions have been drawn from two sources: Gerald May, Care of Mind/Care of Spirit (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, reprint edition, 1992), p. 144; and Michael Battle, writing in Essentials of Christian Theology, William C. Placher, ed. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003), p. 287.

8. Staying Alive All Your Ministry Life: Will You Finish Well?

Exodus 32:1-33:6

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... convention attended by a lot of people. I had not had time to make the kind of preparation I’m committed to making; I was just too busy. I kept saying to myself, “Well, undoubtedly, I’ll get some time ... to whose writings I was a stranger: Julian or Norwich, William Law, Francois Fenelon, Francis of Assisi, Evelyn Underhill, Brother Lawrence ... live as He lived. In his book The Road Less Traveled, psychiatrist Scott Peck observed: There are many people I know who possess a vision of [personal] evolution ...

9. A Parable in a Miracle

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... damn thing was behaving just about like the rest of them chickens. Man, it would fight back, peck the hell out of the ones littler than it was, knock them down to catch a ... and said with great earnestness, “Leave me, friend, leave me! I must examine my heart.” (William E. Sangster, The Pure in Heart pp. 161—162) The leper knew his condition, but do ... to buy one, if it doesn’t cost too much.” “Well, son, I’m asking ten dollars.” Disappointment clouded the youngster’s face. “Gee,” he said ...

10. The Honor Of A Limp

Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon

... knows that what he does and says matters in a significant way, both for himself and for those to whom he is accountable. William Muehl, a professor of ethics at Yale Divinity School, tells this story about the importance of our lives. "One December afternoon many years ... expressions of wisdom in this century came from a psychiatrist named M. Scott Peck. In his book The Road Less Traveled, the first three printed words are these: "Life is difficult." Peck goes on to say that a quality life, a life that ...

11. Liberating the Possessed

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

Arley K. Fadness

... an exorcism true story in Mount Rainer, Maryland, performed upon a fourteen-year-old boy by Jesuit Priest Father William Boadern and Father Raymond Bishop, gained literary and Hollywood notoriety. Some years ago, I experienced a front row ... this phenomenon as a vital part of his pastoral care ministry, was successful at it, and is still revered and remembered by many today. M. Scott Peck wrote after much reflection and prayer, "I now know Satan is real. I have met it."1 The demons in "Legion" beg Jesus not ...

12. Job Hears the Whispers of God’s Works

Job 26:1--31:40

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

... a burden that He doth not bear, Never a sorrow that He doth not share, Moment by moment I’m under his care. Never a heartache and never a groan, Never a tear-drop and never a moan; Never ... on the novel by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch, the main character (played by Gregory Peck), is a lawyer who chooses to defend a wrongly accused black man in a ... must put our case in God’s hands. Literature: “A Job of the Plains,” by William Humphrey. This short story is based on the story of Job, though it is certainly ...

13. Proper 9

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon Aid

... want to pray following the silence. Then to introduce the assurance, you may choose to use Scott Peck's idea of love, which is to stop rescuing others and begin nurturing them so growth can ... don't satisfy. You may want to include this statement by William Law: "... Sleep is the poorest, dullest refreshment of the body ... ... to the Congregation Suggestion: Martin Luther recommended saying to the devil, "Leave me alone; I'm baptized." What would happen in our lives this week if that became our motto. Would ...

14. What’s So Amazing about Grace?

2 Samuel 7:1-14a

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... ministry, this ex-slave ship captain assisted in the religious conversion of a member of Parliament by the name of William Wilberforce. In 1807, the year Newton died, Wilberforce succeeded in putting through Parliament a bill that abolished slave trade throughout ... Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life (New York: Bantam, 1993), p. 120. 3. M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled (New York: Touchstone, 1978) pp. 237-238. 4. John Oman, Grace and Personality (1917; reprint, New York: Association ...

15. Becoming One of the Beautiful People

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... classes, across gender. We all want to be recognized. To quote Harvard psychologist William James: "The deepest principle of human nature is a craving to be appreciated ... our children might say, "That's yucky!" But that's their way of establishing the pecking order of establishing who belongs among the beautiful people. We establish the rules in ... , the date and the teacher's signature. His pride was undaunted. "I'm a math whiz," he went on beaming, not waiting for the jogger to come to that conclusion by ...

16. Deadly Sins - A Matter Of Sutton's Law

Romans 7:14-25

Sermon

R. Curtis Fussell

... the problem of sin. Wholeness and health come to us with the confession, "I did the thing I didn't want to do. I'm sorry. I am to blame." Chris Webber, the star basketball player for the University of Michigan, managed to get ahold of the ball with ... ). 4. Adapted from Jones, ibid. 5. Scott Peck, Further Along the Road Less Traveled: The Unending Journey Toward Spiritual Growth (Simon and Schuster: New York, NY, 1993), p. 45. 6. "I Cost Our Team the Game," by William F. Reed in Sports Illustrated, Vol. 78 ...

17. The Lure Of The Easy Way

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... we don't shelter the homeless, who will? If we don't tell the world about Christ, who will? I recall the words of General William Booth, founder of The Salvation Army and a friend to the down and out. Three months before his death he wrote: "While women weep ... deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." That is the word we desperately need to hear. It is a call, as M. Scott Peck would phrase it to "a road less travelled." In Zig Ziglar's analogy it is the lonely stairs as opposed to the crowded ...

18. Why Doesn’t God Do Away With Evil?

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... the crossroad of faith that I want to tackle today. I. WHAT IS EVIL? Author Scott Peck says, “My eight year old son gave the best definition of evil I've ever gotten ... children wanted everything to be beautiful. We preached the gospel of Transactional Analysis. “I'm O.K. You're O.K. We are all O.K." If we treated ... Vietnam, where troops of Charlie Company of the United States Army under the command of Lt. William L. Calley, Jr. gunned down hundreds of innocent children and women, firing as they entered ...

19. Checking Out the Scene

John 1:35-42

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... people who came to Jesus were looking for truth, they were wanting relief. Renowned author Scott Peck opens his famous book The Road Less Traveled with these words. “Life is difficult.” Indeed ... my father is dead and I’m not responsible for making the world go round. In fact, some things even in church go better when I keep my hands off them. Slowly I’m learning to STOP. Get some ... and ears to hear. William Barclay would turn his hearing aids off when concentrating on his study, so he could listen for the ...

20. Preaching the Miracles of Jesus

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... in Lubbock, Texas, to experience the miracle of the Virgin Mary's appearance with a message. In The Road Less Traveled, Dr. M. Scott Peck reports his change of mind about miracles: "Fifteen years ago, when I graduated from medical school, I was certain there were no ... what is known of nature." C. S. Lewis: "I use the word, miracle, to mean an interference with nature by supernatural power." William Barclay: "A miracle is an event in which God's power has made a special entry into our lives." The Bible has ...

21. Preaching the Miracles of Jesus

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

22. A Difficult Day to Follow Jesus

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... it comes to 9-11, forgiveness is the last thing many Americans plan to do. The day after September 11, Bishop William H. Willimon saw a couple being interviewed on the news. They were standing on the street, before the wreckage of ground zero ... have been a healthier response for all concerned than a lifetime of anger and resentment. Anger and resentment take an enormous toll. Dr. M. Scott Peck, a psychiatrist, says in his book The Road Less Traveled, that unless we are able to at least move toward the work of ...

23. Driven to Complete

Mark 9:30-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... I want to tell you how it has changed me. For the first time in my life, I’m at peace. Here there is no competing, no trying to get ahead of anyone. This way of ... good works. So what would happen if you and I did the same thing? Pastor William Hinson and his wife Jean visited Plymouth, England, a few years ago. As they visited ... Why did God create you? Was it to collect paychecks and promotions and first place in the pecking order? Or was it to bring hope and life to a dying world? Greatness, as defined by ...

24. Which Mask Will You Wear?

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

King Duncan

... are of Christ’s call, the more you are aware of how inadequate your own witness is. In an interview in the magazine The Door, famed psychiatrist M. Scott Peck tells about the first time he went to hear the Swiss physician Paul Tournier, one of the most influential Christians in the world. Following Tournier’s lecture ... .htm. 6. Daily Guideposts, 1991 (Carmel, New York: Guideposts, 1990), p. 285. 7. Dr. William P. Barker, Ed., Tarbell’s Teacher’s Guide (Elgin, IL: David C. Cook Co., 1990).

25. Answers To Life's Three Critical Questions

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... sailing to and from the Indies carried a passenger list with the names written down according to the social pecking order: Royalty and Crown officials at the top, acknowledging their status, until, at the very bottom of the list ... their exalted job title. Not that the old man was a fierce interrogator. He was delighted by a woman who answered, "I'm doing a good job raising three children," and by a cabinetmaker who said, "I believe in good workmanship and practice it," and ... William Morrow, 1990), pp. 174-178.

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