Sermon and Worship Resources

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2 Kings 2:1-18

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... mother stayed in church so she could get as much of the Holy Spirit as she could to raise us right and give us what we needed so we could grow into healthy, strong, and productive citizens of our community." This friend realized the value of getting a double portion of the Holy Spirit and the full power of God's anointing in church "all day Sunday." Even if it meant hanging around the church so that the Spirit could bless, guide and empower a little longer, it was all necessary to garner strength to fight ...

2. A Double Portion

2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... , Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you." Elisha said, "Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit." [10] He responded, "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, ... the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over. I'll bet you're sitting out there thinking to yourself, "OK, what do Double Stuf Oreos and Elijah being taken to heaven in a chariot of fire have to do with healing and wholeness." Actually, the part I'm ...

3. The Double Cross

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... respond to the personal challenge that Jesus brought to his disciples both those in the first century and those in the twenty-first in the form of a "double-cross." Jesus' "double-cross" discipleship, however, was the call to experience the power of the vertical crossbeam combined with the compassion of the horizontal crossbeam. It was this "double-cross" that informed Jesus' sense of mission and enabled him to carry out his sacrificial gift of love for all. Jesus understood, and experienced in his ultimate ...

4. A Double Share of the Spirit

2 Kings 2:1-12

Sermon

Schuyler Rhodes

... , and now that he's gone, I often think that if I could ask for one more thing from him, it would be for a double measure of his spirit. I would stand with Elisha, who was bidding his master and mentor farewell. And rather than more time with Dad; rather ... this, the question comes as to what we have done with the great gifts we have received. What will we do with the gift of spirit, double measure or not that we have received as pure grace? Are we to go on and try to fill the shoes of our benefactors? Are we ...

5. Double Citizenship

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... the coin, it is his, and so give it to him. "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s." So here is a great principle laid down by Jesus. A Christian, a disciple of Jesus, is a person with double citizenship. We are citizens of the country and world in which we live, and we are fortunate to live here! Earl Warren said, "I believe no one can read the history of our country without realizing that the Good Book and the Spirit of the Savior have from the ...

6. Friendship and a Double Boiler

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Illustration

In explaining the virtues of a double boiler the hardware man said, "These pans can be used separately or together and either way they are most serviceable. You see how one fits into the other but they ... joy to behold. Those who learn to give themselves in friendship are welcome wherever they go for the world needs such citizens and such life is well invested. Like the double boiler which can serve many purposes together or separately, so real friends find themselves able to fit many circumstances in life.

7. Double Wishes

Illustration

Staff

... . She picked it up and pulled out the cork. Whoosh! A big puff of smoke appeared. "You have released me from my prison," the genie told her. "To show my thanks, I grant you three wishes. But take care, for with each wish, your mate will receive double of whatever you request." "Why?" the woman asked. "That bum left me for another woman." "That is how it is written," replied the genie. The woman shrugged and then asked for a million dollars. There was a flash of light, and a million dollars appeared at her ...

8. The Lord’s Refined Words and Humans with Double Tongues

Psalm 12:1-8

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... !” (Hb. hôšîʿâ, NIV Help). A more literal translation of the description of the opponents in verses 1–4 gives insight into why the faithful have vanished: “Each speaks vanity with his neighbor; with smooth lips they speak with a double mind” (i.e., deceitfully), and they “speak of great things” (vv. 2, 3b). Verse 4 cites their arrogant speech, which asserts their self-proclaimed independence and ability to determine their own destiny. Their grand advertisements and promises may thus have ...

Repentance has a double aspect; it looks upon things past with a weeping eye, and upon the future with a watchful eye.

Robert South

10. A Double Recipe

John 6:25-59

Illustration

CSS

Karenza picked up the telephone for her study. It was Mr. Edwards calling about the summer parish meals. Each year they had chosen a theme for five weeks of supper gatherings. It had been a way to maintain fellowship during the summer months. He was writing a piece for the parish newsletter and wondered what the committee had decided on the theme. "It will be bread," she replied. He was silent for a moment. "Bread?" "Yes. Jesus calls himself 'the living bread' and there is a lot in that phrase that will ...

11. Double Image

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

William G. Carter

"You know why I want to join the church?" The speaker was a father in his thirties, holding an infant on his shoulder. A red Land's End diaper bag was slung over his other shoulder. His wife stood next to him in the church narthex, holding the hand of a cranky two-year-old with a runny nose. The father said, "We began to worry about raising our children. There are too many opinions about what's right and what's wrong, too many temptations, too many possible wrong turns. We want our kids to learn some ...

12. Double Dipping

Illustration

A farmer went each week to the Farmers' Market to sell, among other things, the cottage cheese and apple butter made on his farm. He carried these in two large tubs, from which he ladled the cottage cheese or apple butter into smaller containers the customer brought. One day he got to market and discovered he'd forgotten one ladle. He felt he had no choice but to use the one he had for both products. Before long he couldn't tell which was which. That's the way it is when we try to dispense the good news of ...

13. Double Duty

Humor Illustration

The sheriff of a small town was also the town's veterinarian. One night the phone rang, and his wife answered. An agitated voice inquired, "Is your husband there?" "Do you require his services as a sheriff or as a vet?" the wife asked. "Both!" was the reply. "We can't get our dog's mouth open, and there's a burglar in it."

14. Double Message Noted

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

A man sat down to supper with his family and said grace, thanking God for the food, for the hands which prepared it, and for the source of all life. But during the meal he complained about the freshness of the bread, the bitterness of the coffee, and the sharpness of the cheese. His young daughter questioned him, "Dad, do you think God heard the grace today?" He answered confidently, "Of course." Then she asked, "And do you think God heard what you said about the coffee, the cheese, and the bread?" Not so ...

15. Accusations

2 Corinthians 1:12--2:4, 2 Corinthians 2:5-11

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... DPL, pp. 560–69 (esp. pp. 563–64). 1:15–16 Note that in vv. 15–17 Paul changes to the first person singular (I). In v. 18 he switches back again to the plural, while still referring to himself. On the various exegetical options for interpreting the double benefit, see Thrall, Second Corinthians, vol. 1, pp. 137–39. 1:18 While Paul does use the term message (logos) when referring to his missionary preaching (cf. 1 Cor. 1:18; 2:4; 1 Thess. 1:6; 2:13), the connection between vv. 17 and 18 shows that ...

16. Don't Mess With Mr. In-between

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... reason we don't receive the guidance we need is that we don't ask in faith. It's too simple, and it's too good to be true. That's the reason James warns us to ask with no doubting. II. That brings us to the image of the double-minded man, and the primary focus of this sermon expressed in the title, "Don't Mess with Mr. Inbetween". Some of you remember the lines from that song. "You've got to accentuate the positive -- Eliminate the negative -- Latch on to the affirmative -- and don't mess with Mr. InBetween ...

17. Taming the Tongue

James 3:1-12, James 3:13-18

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... at anyone who did x or y were acceptable. Paul never curses his adversaries, even the Judaizers; neither does he accuse them of doing what he curses. Paul’s were more formal “if the shoe fits, wear it” curses, not personal, rash, or occasional ones. 3:10 The rejection of doubleness is an important concept for James, as the note on 1:8 shows. He has surely read Sirach 28:12, “If you blow on a spark, it will glow; if you spit on it, it will be put out; and both come out of your mouth.” This is set ...

18. Two Kinds of Wisdom

James 3:13-18, James 3:1-12

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

19. The Most Important Top Ten List

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... lower than the angels." The commandments don't give us an exhaustive list of right attitudes and good behaviors. They point us in God's direction and keep us attuned to the divine. (Get [1]images of double helix to show, and highlight the double-spine, the "twin towers" of life. Perhaps even show how the image of the double helix has made it into popular culture--packaging, perfume, etc.) But if we don't get the basics right, if we don't build our lives on this firm foundation that makes us humane, we can't ...

20. Captive Free!

Romans 7:15-25a

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... ... and still...." "Yes, Johnny, I love you anyway!" And Johnny never had a hug feel so good. It felt like a burden had been lifted, like the chains had been cut loose, like the captive had been set free. That is surely our plight. We are captive, trapped, caught in double jeopardy, damned if we do and damned if we don't. But Jesus says to folks just like us, "Come to me, all you that are weary and heavy laden ... all you who are in captivity, and I will give you rest — and I will set you free." That is ...

21. Protection of Property

Exodus 22:1-15

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... :33). “If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it,” the penalty was fivefold for oxen and fourfold for sheep. Missing oxen meant lost labor so their theft was a greater liability. For most thefts the penalty was simply double, but the value of the animals and therefore the greater loss/potential for profit increased the penalty. The second major case (v. 2) limits the liability of the homeowner who used violence in protecting his home at night. “If a thief is caught breaking in and ...

22. Trials and Temptations

James 1:1-18, James 1:19-27

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... a storm. A man of understanding will trust in the law. 1:7–8 The chief term in these verses is dipsychos, translated as double-minded. The term itself is found first in James and may have been coined by the author. The idea, however, has deep Jewish roots. A person ... is to seek God with his or her whole heart (Deut. 6:5; 18:3), and thus to doubt or have a double heart is in itself evil, a mark of hypocrisy (Ps. 12:1–2; 1 Chron. 12:33). Jewish tradition was constantly calling people to a ...

23. Listening and Doing

James 1:19-27, James 1:1-18

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

24. The Transfiguration

2 Corinthians 4:1-18, 2 Kings 2:1-18, Mark 9:2-13

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... to know that though he would no longer have Elijah's physical presence, he would have the spiritual presence of his master and teacher within himself. Outline: 1. Elisha realized that he was soon to take over Elijah's role on his own. 2. Wanting a double portion indicated his desire to be Elijah's spiritual son, the eldest son, the heir who would carry on in the father's name. 3. Elisha would succeed without his teacher; he had internalized the spirit of his teacher. 4. Who are your spiritual mentors and ...

25. Behold! Chariots of Fire!

2 Kings 2:1-18

Sermon

Richard L. Eslinger

... heavenly voice repeats the words of the Jordan: "This is my beloved Son." This first born of the new humanity, shining with the radiance of God’s presence ... this Savior turns to us and invites us to share in his life and his service. And we are offered a double share of his Spirit. We, too, have become "first born." The request is made by Elisha. And Elijah answers, "If you see me ... it shall be so." And as they still went on and talked, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of ...

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