Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 31 results

Romans 14:1--15:13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... know what happens next? The place goes CRAZY. Every single person jumps to their feet and belts out the lyrics, beer glasses in hand. All 15,000 to 20,000 of them. How can you explain this? What is going on here? People all singing a hymn at a Willie Nelson concert? It’s all in the name of Jesus and the power of that name. The reminder of a circle unbroken taps deep into the soul. Down where it echoes eternity, people know that God created them to live a life not for shallow pleasantries but for sacred ...

2. Set Free

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... God I am what I am." (I Cor. 15:9-10) Even though Paul once persecuted the church, through the grace of God he was forgiven and given another chance. With his new life, Paul set forth proclaiming the message of salvation to Jews and Gentiles alike! Country Western singer, Willie Nelson recalls his boyhood days attending a small Methodist church. "I was one of those kids who kept going down front when the preacher called for converts at the end of each sermon ...

3. On The Road Again (emmaus)

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... going very far away and you will never see her again." Well, this sermon isn't about either country music or opera. It is about what both country music and opera are about: life...life in the raw, life as we experience it. And a good image for that is Willy Nelson's classic "On the Road Again." Listen to some of the words: On the road again.Just can't wait to get on the road again.Goin' places where I've never been... I can't wait to get on the road again ...

4. On the Road Again

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... saying; because we’re only here for a little while. Good theology and good practical philosophy. But this sermon is not about country music. It’s about what good country music is about: life – life in the raw. Life as we experience it, and a good image for that is Willie Nelson’s classic “On the Road Again.” Do you remember it? “On the road again just can’t wait to get on the road again Goin’ places where I’ve never been… I can’t wait to get on the road again ...

5. When Your Lips Are One Place But Your Heart . . .

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... with your soul. You can even delude yourself. Memorize some scripture, serve on the church board, have a pin for perfect attendance in Sunday School, and pretty soon you've convinced yourself that your heart is right--even if it is not. Country music star Willie Nelson loves to tell the story of an image of Jesus that appeared in 1987 on the wall of a town in South America. Tabloid magazines reported the story. People from surrounding towns gathered to pray in front of the image; some reported healing from ...

6. How To Hear A Sermon

Micah 1:1-7

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... Word that he had received from the Lord confirmed his own suspicion that what they were doing was not right. As I read and reread “the wailing cry” of the prophet I said to myself he was a prophet in the mold of our contemporary country singer Willie Nelson. Do not Willie’s songs have a wailing sound? Is he not the one who goes around the nation holding free concerts on behalf of the small farmers who have come upon hard times in our day? Maybe you too can capture something of the mood of Micah’s ...

7. Sorry, The Doctor's Been Delayed

John 11:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... just as Captain Webb was. Eternal life begins here and now because we place our faith in Jesus, the giver of life. 1. Footprints in the Snow. Nashville: Dimensions for Living, 1992, pp. 54-60. 2. Hope for the Troubled Heart. Billy Graham. Minneapolis, MN: Grason, 1991, p. 225. 3. Willie: An Autobiography. Willie Nelson with Bud Shrake. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1988, pp. 218-219. 4. Is There Life After Stress? James W. Moore. Nashville: Dimensions for Living, 1992, pp. 107-108.

8. Pax Augusta, Pax Christi

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... thieves. They ran the local black market! Nobody loved a shepherd! Shepherds were liars ” you couldn't trust their word in court. Shepherds were thieves ” they'd steal you blind. Shepherds were dirty and disgusting. Shepherds were despised. Shepherds had one foot in hell. And the Willie Nelsons of that day used to sing: "Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be shepherds! And then God . . . Silly God! Doesn't he know what's right and what's wrong? Can't he see things the way we do? But God sends his ...

9. The Bridge Builder

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... ask, let's remember that Jesus, like any good leader, would never ask us to do something he wouldn't do himself. The second thing we can draw from this passage is that Jesus is to be our model for responding in love. When country music singer Willie Nelson's daughter told him that she was thinking of entering the music business, he gave her one piece of advice: "Paula, look at everything I do closely and do exactly the opposite." (3) Fortunately, that's not what Jesus says. He offers us a perfect example of ...

10. Still in One Peace

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... letters and to sign books. It brings together two biblical concepts, "Be Still and Know That I Am God" and "My Peace I Leave With You." Both these words still and peace are misunderstood. "Still" doesn't necessarily mean motionlessness. (One of my favorite Willie Nelson songs is "Still is Still Moving to Me.") And there's no more active or action word than "Shalom" or "Peace." By the phrase "Still in One Peace," I am confessing that the stillness of Christ's presence is continuing to enable my contributions ...

11. The Uncloudy Cloud?

Hebrews 11:1-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... again In that lovely land of unclouded day. O the land of cloudless day, O the land of an unclouded day, O they tell me of a home where no storm clouds rise, O they tell me of an unclouded day --Words & Music: Josiah K. Alwood, circa 1880. In 1987; Willie Nelson made this song famous when he sang it at a Farm Aid concert broadcast all over America.

12. Getting the Face We Deserve

Exodus 34:29-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the class and respect of the papparazzi. Witness that every year or so there is a new "miraculous appearance" of Jesus' face in some bizarre place. Lately Jesus has shown up in a bathroom window in Texas, on a flour tortilla (also in Texas), through a Willie Nelson photograph, on a rusty water tank in Ohio, and (perhaps slightly more appropriate) on a chalice veil on a small church's altar in Pennsylvania. At least the face of our Lord has had the good sense to appear on a mass produced piece of advertising ...

13. Sleep Loose

2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... favorite singers. There is a T-shirt that says "Aged to Perfection." Nancy Wilson's singing of the blues, jazz and Big Band tunes is just that "aged to perfection." At a fundraiser for United Theological Seminary called "Ebony and Ivory," she and Willie Nelson came to give the Dayton community an evening of total enchantment. The final song on her latest compact disk, Love, Nancy (Sony Records), is entitled "Your Arms of Love." (A special thanks to Fourth Presbyterian's John M. Buchanan for reminding me of ...

14. Altar Your Prayers

Mark 1:29-37

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... onto the tray and said, "I give you me." I love that story. Partly because it's just cute. But partly because I think it teaches us about what God expects in our everyday Christian walk. You see, I think what God expects can be summed up in the old Willie Nelson song, "All of me." "All of me, why not take all of me, can't you see I'm no good without you. You took the part that once was my heart, so why not take all of me." And that's the truth, we are no good without God ...

15. The Gift Unwrapped

Luke 2:1-20

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... . And there' more, because they were on other people’s property, shepherds were considered to be thieves. They ran the local black market! Nobody loved a shepherd! Shepherds were liars and thieves who'd steal you blind. They were dirty, disgusting and despised. And if Willie Nelson had written the song back then it would've been: "Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be shepherds!" According to the world's standards, this Gift came to the wrong people. Conclusion But as we unwrap this Gift of God, we ...

16. Jesus Saves, We're Called To Invest

Matthew 25:14-20

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... it from God so their killing wouldn't displease God. They pledged it, instead to Constantine. When we're baptized, whether it's through sprinkling, pouring or immersion, all of us is baptized. Not just a part of us. It's sort of like the old Willie Nelson song, "All Of Me, why not take all of me." When we accept Christ, when we're baptized, we surrender all to Christ. We can't withhold anything. That includes every aspect of our lives, including our wallets. And like the servants in this parable, we ...

17. Led by the Spirit, Tempted by the Devil

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... to us. Underscore this truth as our final affirmation. Divine enforcements are always available to us in our hour of testing and trial. Jesus was not left to fight his battle alone, and neither are we. What we need to remember is that angels have human hands. Willy Nelson sings about an angel flying too close to the ground. Angels do that sometimes. They come in the person of friends around us, who meet us at the point of our deepest need, and minister to us with the love of Jesus. One of the most moving ...

18. Luke 9:51-62

Luke 9:51-56

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Man has “nowhere to lay his head,” discipleship will be defined by “journeying,” not by arriving at any final, fulfilling destination. Following Jesus is an eternally “on the move” commitment. In the words of “on-the-road-again” Willie Nelson, “still is still moving to me.” Jesus offers an invitation to follow to the next unnamed individual. But this would-be disciple makes what sounds like a completely reasonable, indeed respectful, even responsible, request. Before taking Jesus up on ...

19. Alabama Humor for Tennesseans

Humor Illustration

... to take a urine test. And get three credit hours. You probably know that in Alabama they have to show "60 Minutes" for an hour and a half so slow-thinking Alabamians can understand it. They even think a house is not a home unless there's a picture of Willie Nelson or Johnny Cash over the fireplace. Their houses don't have curtains, but their trucks do. So let's be nice to those folks. They may be uncouth at home, (even their dogs can't watch them eat without gagging), but you can bet they'll check into a ...

20. All Roads Lead To Bethlehem

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” The world wants, the world needs, to celebrate Christmas. But the world does its best to keep Jesus out of it. Perhaps the first “Christmas carol” Christians should sing, in keeping with the theme of “Advent,” is the Willie Nelson special “On the Road Again.” As stores keep having cut-rate sales and on-line deals; and as holiday partying, parades, and posturing swamp every level of our lives: it is good to stand back and look at the bigger picture. What is the ...

21. A Man of God

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... Ken Kragen to assemble some of the top names in the recording industry in order to create a hit record and then donate the proceeds to the African famine relief project. Within days pop stars like Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, Kenny Loggins, and Bob Dylan arrived at Kenny Rogers’ Lion Share Recording Studio. A few months later the super-group released the hit song “We Are the World.” “We Are the World” became the fastest-selling American pop single in ...

22. Do The Opposite

Illustration

Staff

When country music singer Willie Nelson's daughter told him that she was thinking of entering the music business, he gave her one piece of advice: "Paula, look at everything I do closely and do exactly the opposite."

23. A Reminder to God...and to Us

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... bringing back her son to her unharmed. She’s a very fortunate mother. God does live up to His promises though not usually as dramatically as He did for Willie and his mother. Today we want to look at the promise God made to Noah and, indeed, to all humankind. It is one of the best known stories in ... 1998). 3. Robert A. Schuller, The World’s Greatest Comebacks (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1988), pp. 77-78. 4. Tom Long, Editor, A Chorus of Witnesses (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1994).

24. Are You Successful Or Do You Just Have Money?

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... he mentioned the incident to his host pastor. The pastor answered: "Yes, that's Willie. We call him Mr. Love' around here. He's all smiles. He knows everyone. He loves everyone, and it is certainly reciprocal. Willie is like a ray of sunshine to our church. He always greets newcomers in ... 3. Robert A. Schuller, THE WORLD'S GREATEST COMEBACKS (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1988), p.71-74. 4. "Aspiring Citizen," ASPIRE, February 1996, p. 10. 5. (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 1995), pp. 9-10 ...

25. Tastes Great, Less Filling - Sounds Good, Not True

Proverbs 23:29-35

Sermon

James Merritt

... have a better use for my brain than to poison it with alcohol." It is now clear that consumption of alcohol, in any amount, is harmful. Professor E. Don Nelson, of the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine, concluded, based on latest research, that "the less we drink the better off we are." He noted that in any amount ... of America (New York: Summit Books, 1992), p. 118. 27 Land, Light, September/October, 1994. 28 Willie W. White, ed. Out of My Treasure (Joplin, Missouri: College Press, 1964), p. 278.

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