Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 226 to 250 of 538 results

There is nothing in life but refraining from hurting others, and comforting those that are sad.

Olive Schreiner

227. Threats from Personal Attackers, Urban Unrest, and Foreign Nations

Psalm 59:1-17

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Psalm 59 contains the motifs typical of prayer psalms, but it uniquely combines threats from personal enemies, urban unrest, and foreign nations—all within a structure whose development is more complex than what we find in most individual prayers. Verses Form-Critical Motif Opponents: 1–4: petition and lament individual’s enemies 5: petition all the nations 6–7 (refrain A): lament urban/foreign prowlers 8: confession of trust nations 9–10 (refrain B): confession of trust those who slander (lit. “lurk for”) ...

228. Drinking From His Cup

Matthew 20:20-28

Sermon

King Duncan

What is there about certain people that sets them apart from the crowd? That causes other people to hold them in awe? Kyle Rote, former All-American football player from S.M.U., played eleven years for the N.Y. Giants in the NFL. He scored a touchdown on an average of once every six times he caught a pass. He scored fifty times in three hundred receptions. The greatest tribute ever paid an athlete in modern times was paid by his college and pro teammates. Fourteen of them named their sons Kyle! (1) Stan ...

229. Building Bridges While Getting Shot at from Both Shores

Revelation 22:1-6

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

[This sermon seeks to address what's going on in the world right now both with priestly sensitivity and with prophetic strength. If you want to make it more pointed, more linear, you might want to build it around the major themes that are subtly introduced in the narrative: 1. The world is a violent place, and getting more violent; 2. Christians shouldn't be surprised, since we have a doctrine of sin that warns us that our estrangement from God will have ghastly consequences; 3. Christians have always been ...

230. Turn Your Gaze from Me before I Am No More

Psalm 39:1-13

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Psalm 39 is most akin to the prayer psalms of the individual but it is unlike any other, as its closing petition alone shows: “Look away from me, that I may rejoice again before I depart and am no more.” It resonates with Job and Ecclesiastes more than with other psalms. The refrain, “each man’s life is but a breath” (Hb. hebel, vv. 5, 11), echoes that of Ecclesiastes: “Everything is a breath” (Hb. hebel, NIV “meaningless,”Eccl. 1:2; 12:8). Unlike most psalms, this one has a ring of autobiography (esp. vv ...

231. God Will Redeem My Soul from the Grave

Psalm 49:1-20

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

49:1–4 Unlike most psalms, this one explicitly labels its genre as a proverb and a riddle, though sung with the harp. The reason for the latter designation becomes evident in the question of verses 5–6. The psalm stems from Israel’s wisdom tradition—comparable especially to Ecclesiastes—and its purpose is didactic. This proverb is not just for Israelites but for all you peoples, all who live in this world—irrespective of social station (both low and high) and economic status (rich and poor alike). For the ...

232. Whose Fault Is It?

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

The youth pastor at one of my former congregations had a cartoon taped to his office door. It pictured a little guy standing, trembling, in front of a massive desk behind which was sitting a big, big man. The little guy wore torn jeans and a T-shirt, and had a leather loop around his neck holding a cross in front of his chest. His hair was messy and his toes peeked out the front of his sandals. A stick-on name patch read, “Hi! I’m Mike! I’m the Youth Pastor.” On the dark and imposing desk was a bronze ...

233. Twelve Inches From God

Mark 7:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

Success has always been measured in inches. A few short inches can be the difference between a home run and a putout in a baseball game. In the Olympics, the difference between winning the gold medal and finishing in the back of the pack is often measured in fractions. If you hold your thumb and forefinger about 2-1/2 inches apart, you get an idea of what one-hundredth of a second translates to in a 100-meter race. At the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona a runner from Jamaica finished six one-hundredths of a ...

234. God's Whatever

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

"Whatever!" It's a mantra of today's world. Behind that one word, that neck thing they do, the rolling of the eyes and the tone of voice what's really being said by many people is: "Do what you want, it’s not like you're going to listen to me anyway, or if you do, what are the chances you'll understand what I'm saying? Whatever!" There's a lack of hope and a I could care less attitude. I don't know where it comes from. I'm not sure the professionals even know. But we're living in a "Whatever" society. And ...

235. From Within

Mark 7:1-23

Bulletin Aid

Dallas A. Brauninger

Call to Worship Leader: Let us be transformers in a broken world. People: Rather than bringers of harm, we would be healers. Leader: Let us be transformers in a broken world. People: Rather than destroyers, we would be builders. Leader: Let us be transformers in a broken world. People: Rather than devising havoc, we would bring about wholeness. Collect We gather, O God, as people who want to be stronger Christians. We want our lives to make a positive impact on the world around us. We want to be more ...

236. “You Laugh at Them, Lord; You Scoff at All Those Nations”

Psalm 59:1-17

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: Although the enemies of our personal world—sickness, slander, uncertainty, and so on—may roam as scavengers of the night, in faithful trust we will sing God’s morning song of love. Understanding the Text In terms of traditional categories, this psalm is an individual lament, for the suppliant’s character has been maligned by his enemies, to which he attests his innocence and confesses his faith in the loving God. Judging from the titles of Psalms 56–60, we see literary threads that connect these ...

237. “Lord, Our Lord, How Majestic Is Your Name in All the Earth!”

Psalm 9:1-20

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: God wrote his character into the world of nature, but as awesome as that is, it is no match for the mindful care of his human creation. Understanding the Text Psalm 8 immediately follows the pledge of Psalm 7:17 to sing praise to “the name of the Lord Most High” (7:17). Now the psalmist does that in majestic words that honor the majesty of the Name. As in the creation narrative of Genesis 1, the psalmist employs an economy of words that stylistically reveals the Creator’s orderly manner and ...

238. “Lord, Our Lord, How Majestic Is Your Name in All the Earth!”

Psalm 8:1-9

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

239. “As the Deer Pants for Streams of Water, So My Soul Pants for You, My God”

Psalm 42:1-11, Psalm 43:1-5

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: Even in adverse circumstances of place, atmosphere, and our own troubled thoughts, we can rally our hearts to joy and hope in God. Understanding the Text Psalms 42 and 43 are distinct psalms in the Hebrew (MT), Greek (LXX), Syriac, and Vulgate, which suggests that they were separate compositions. Yet the seamless relationship of the two poems is indicated by these factors: (1) they share a refrain (42:5, 11; 43:5); (2) Psalm 43 has no title (Ps. 71 is the only other exception in Book 2); (3) both ...

240. “In God I Trust and Am Not Afraid. What Can Mere Mortals Do to Me?”

Psalm 56:1-13

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: To ask God to store our tears “in his bottle” is to affirm our trust in God’s attentive care to the detail of our miseries. Understanding the Text Psalm 56 is an individual lament that, suggested by the Greek and Aramaic translations of “A Dove on Distant Oaks,” came to be used as a community lament (see the comments on the title below). As is often the case with laments, the psalm is tempered by statements of trust (56:3, 4, 11), so much so that we would not go entirely wrong if we called it an ...

241. I Am a Rose of Sharon

Song of Songs 2:1-17

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

The Lovers Together (2:1-7): As this section opens, the two lovers are clearly together: they become partners in dialogue. The woman and the man first exchange playful banter, then admiring comments. The admiration closes with the woman speaking to or about the man. She then speaks for the first time a verse which will recur. This verse is clear in imagery although not in time (2:6). Then there follows the first instance of another recurring verse, the adjuration to the daughters of Jerusalem (2:7). 2:1–7 ...

242. Song of the Sabbath

Genesis 1:1-2:3, Luke 5:33-39, Luke 6:1-11, Luke 7:18-35, Mark 2:18-22, Mark 2:23-3:6, Mark 3:7-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Props: Visuals of Hubbel Space Photos and/or eclipse photos [Begin running about 30 or more Hubbel photos as you begin your sermon. If you want to take an especially creative field trip, deliver your sermon inside of a conservatory or planetarium with stars above and the Creation story displayed.] Part of the “human” in human being is to be fascinated with space. We lie back and imagine images in the sky we call constellations. We count stars. We contemplate life on other planets. We attach astrological ...

243. “Truly My Soul Finds Rest in God”

Psalm 62:1-12

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: God is our “all in all,” and that truth prompts us to invite others into our faith. Understanding the Text Psalm 62 is an individual psalm of trust.1 (See sidebar “Psalms of Trust” in the unit on Ps. 16.) The crisis that has called forth this marvelous expression of faith is not clear. However, we can be confident of this much: David has been assaulted by the unscrupulous attacks of his enemies, who flattered him with their words but cursed him in their hearts (62:3–4). Their erroneous assessment ...

244. Who Let the Dogs Out?

Romans 13:8-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Last Christmas, K-Mart (or was it Wal-Mart?) announced it would be open for 82 hours straight with all sorts of bargains. On the morning the selling marathon began, over one hundred people were lined up waiting to get into the store. Some of them had been there for two or three hours. The crowds watched in disbelief as a man walked past the entire crowd, and began to squeeze himself in at the head of the line. As if with a single motion, the crowd moved him back to the end of the line. The man tried again ...

245. “Be Exalted, O God, above the Heavens; Let Your Glory Be over All the Earth”

Psalm 57:1-11

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: In our deepest conflicts God’s emissaries of love and truth will guide us into safe harbor. Understanding the Text Psalm 57 is generally recognized as an individual lament. Some commentators, including Dahood, also see a royal element, and he calls it a “lament of a king.”1This view is largely based on the title’s association of David with the psalm and the description of persecution that could easily be applied to a national leader. We should also note that the psalm is a prayer with ...

246. Praise God! Selah!

Luke 1:67-80, Luke 1:57-66, Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:39-45, Luke 1:26-38, Luke 1:5-25, Luke 1:1-4

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Animation: Music: To God Be the Glory [You can have it playing just before the sermon. There are a lot of good versions, both old and new. You can also play a YouTube for your people.] To God be the glory! Say it with me: To God be the glory! Now I want you to repeat that phrase after me, like a refrain. Each time I speak a line, I want you to respond with: To God be the glory! Ok? Let’s try it! “The weather is beautiful today!” [To God be the glory!] The beginning of the season of advent has come upon us ...

247. “May All the Peoples Praise You”

Psalm 67:1-7

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: As the nations see God’s equitable judgment and guidance in the life of Israel, they will come to acknowledge his sovereignty. Understanding the Text Judging from its first-person plural pronouns (“us”), this psalm is a community psalm of thanksgiving.1 Hakham calls it a psalm of thanksgiving for an abundant harvest.2 Israel acknowledges God’s blessings and prays for their extension, even salvation to the nations of the world (67:2, 7). Psalm 66 ends with a word of blessing (“Blessed [baruk] be ...

248. “No One Can Redeem the Life of Another or Give to God a Ransom for Them”

Psalm 49:1-20

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: In the face of death, wealth cannot buy God off, but he can and does redeem (spare) our lives from the power of death at his own will. Understanding the Text Psalm 49 has typically been classified as a wisdom psalm and dated anywhere from the tenth to the second century BC (see the sidebar “Wisdom Psalms” in the unit on Ps. 37). Kraus prefers the category of didactic poem because this psalm, like Psalms 73 and 139, aims to reflect on a problem.1In the same frame of thought, Craigie imagines that ...

249. “God Is Our Refuge and Strength, an Ever-Present Help in Trouble”

Psalm 46:1-11

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: Human effort is necessary to build God’s kingdom, but the final word is that we should “be still” and recognize that God is the real Builder. Understanding the Text Psalm 46 is a type of poem that challenges form criticism’s assumptions. Gunkel has identified it as a subtype of the hymn, which he labels “Zion Songs.”1 Goldingay helpfully lays out the features of this psalm that overlap with other types and concludes that the psalm of trust is the best choice of categories.2 Indeed, the spirit of ...

250. Aaron to Speak for Moses

Exodus 6:28--7:7

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

Exodus 7–12 describes the Lord’s dramatic intervention in the lives of the Israelites. God accomplishes two main objectives through the plagues and the eventual exit from Egypt in the crossing of the sea. We see these in the refrains, “Let my people go so that they might worship me,” and “so you may know that I am the LORD.” These events reveal that God is the Creator of all things and the redeemer of this people. The Lord is not simply the one who redeems Israel, but also the Creator who draws near in a ...

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