Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2651 to 2675 of 4914 results

2651. News Too Good To Tell

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Did you hear the story about an inattentive, workaholic husband who suddenly decided to surprise his wife with a night to remember? He went down to the department store and bought her the expensive dress she had been admiring. He bought her a large bottle of perfume to go with it. He ordered tickets to the Broadway play she had been wanting to see and made reservations at their favorite restaurant. On his way home he stopped by the florist and bought two dozen red roses which he carried home under his arm ...

2652. Valuing Life Without Playing God

John 10:10-15

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

God likes life, He invented it. It is to the full-flowing, free life that He invites us. I have lived my life by that simple motto. Jesus put it even better in John 10:10 which is the text I want to linger on today. “I have come that you may have life, and have it abundantly," or to the full, to the maximum. In our quest for Christian values, we must do some serious thinking about this thing called life. Who gives it? What's it worth? Who has the right to end it? Those are some of the questions I would ...

2653. Personal Politics

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

Thomas Browne said that "the vices we scoff at in others laugh at us from within ourselves." More than any other relational failure this is true of hurt and vengeance. When the great nineteenth-century Spanish General, Ramon Narvaez, lay dying in Madrid, a priest was called in to give him last rites. "Have you forgiven your enemies?" the padre asked. "Father," confessed Narvaez, "I have no enemies. I shot them all." Too often that is the story of our lives, and Jesus knows it. Lewis Smedes wrote a book we ...

2654. WWF: Smack Down In The Wilderness

Mark 1:9-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A kindergarten teacher was suddenly taken ill and a replacement was hastily found. The substitute teacher was at a loss as to what to do with the children. She decided to tell them stories. And always, at the end of each story, she would say, "And the moral of that story is..." After dozens of stories, the children had sat through dozens of morals. The regular teacher recovered from her illness and returned to her class. One of her students greeted her with a smile and said, "Teacher, I'm sure glad you're ...

2655. When Did This Start? — Part 1

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Robert J. Elder

The four gospels each have very different ways of introducing the story about Jesus. Matthew begins his gospel with a long genealogy, tracing Jesus' lineage — "son of David, son of Abraham" (Matthew 1:1-16) from the time of Abraham through fourteen generations, through the line of Mary's husband, Joseph, all the way to Jesus. Luke's gospel begins differently, first with stories of the foretelling of the birth of John the Baptist and of Jesus, the more familiar portions of what we think of as the Christmas ...

2656. Dividing Walls

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

Gibson “Nibs” Stroupe

"Welcome to the center of the world!" This is the message of the first chapter of Ephesians. The author of Ephesians has told the Gentile-based churches that they have been brought into the center of all that is — in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the rest of this letter, he will be seeking to tell them the meaning of this great news. He wants to stress that this relocation of themselves by God's motivating grace means that they are called to change the way they understand their ...

2657. Don't Mess with the IRS

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

King Duncan

It is a familiar saying, even to non-believers particularly in the King James translation: “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.” There are only two things which are inevitable goes the old expression, death and taxes. At least death doesn’t increase, someone has opined, every time Congress meets. The Eiffel Tower, someone else has said, is the Empire State Building after taxes. Have you ever noticed that when you combine the two words, “THE” ...

2658. Jesus Brings New Life

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

Richard Gribble

The end of World War II and the onset of the Cold War, which saw the super powers of the United States and the Soviet Union at odds, brought a dark night to eastern Europe, which almost overnight seemed to come under the control of the Soviets and their ideology of Communism. The Iron Curtain, as it came to be known, seemed impenetrable. In 1980, however, at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk, Poland, some brave workers, seeking rights and freedom, provided the catalyst to bring this dark night to an end. The ...

2659. So Send I You

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

One of the fastest growing, most profitable investment ventures in today’s economy is . . . . anything having anything to do with security. You couldn’t have lost money in the last twenty years if you invested in storage or security: national security, personal security, home security, financial security, Internet security. The dangers of this world seem to be breathing hotter and closer down our necks. Any offering that promises to cool that threat down is welcomed with open arms and wallets. We gladly ...

2660. Between a Rock and a Hard Rock Thrower

Galatians 1:11-24

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

As a kid were you ever convinced that you HAD to be adopted? I mean, really: how could you be related to your big-mouthed brother when you are so reserved and quiet? . . . Your math genius parents could never have produced your brain — a brain that can’t add up anything without using fingers and toes. . . . How can you be related when you can play almost any musical instrument and your sister is completely tone deaf? As our personalities develop, as our individual quirks and oddities, likes and dislikes, ...

2661. A New Name for a New Year

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

A minister wrote in the church newsletter that he was setting goals for the New Year. One of his goals was to clean up his desk. Another of his goals was to find last year’s goals. Some of you probably keep desks like that. Some of you will remember the “Calvin and Hobbes” comic strip. In one strip, Calvin and Hobbes are talking about the New Year. Calvin says, “I’m getting disillusioned with these New Years. They don’t seem very new at all. Each New Year is just like the old year. Here another year has ...

2662. Prescription on a Pole

John 3:1-21

Sermon

David J. Kalas

We have so many aisles of medications in our country today that home remedies may be a vanishing art. So many over-the-counter products boast that they can cure what ails us, not to mention the almost infinite number of prescription medicines that our doctors may commend to us for our good. An older generation, however, remembers the homemade treatments and concoctions that were handed down from Grandma. It was hard to trace the science behind such traditional home remedies, but they had the credibility ...

2663. The Law of Unintended Consequences

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

King Duncan

Anyone who has ever worked with complex systems is familiar with the law of unintended consequences. You attempt something beneficial but it leads to something else unforeseen that is terrible. For example, a couple of decades ago, the fashionable mantra among environmentalists was, “Save the trees! Use plastic instead of paper!” Today New York City alone goes through more than 5 billion plastic bags each year, which pollute the seas and highways, and endanger fish and wildlife. The law of unintended ...

2664. Sunday's Here

John 20:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

Many of you are familiar with Tony Campolo’s classic sermon, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s Coming.” It was based on a sermon Tony once heard his African-American pastor preach on Good Friday. This pastor began his message by quietly saying, “It’s Friday and my Jesus is hanging dead on a tree. But it’s Friday, and Sunday’s coming.” One of the deacons yelled, “Preach, brother, preach!” It was all the encouragement that preacher needed. He grew a little louder. “It’s Friday, and Mary’s crying her eyes out and ...

2665. Paul’s Second Visit to the Jerusalem Church

Galatians 2:1-10

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

2:1–2 Paul says his next visit to Jerusalem was not for another fourteen years. We do not know if the fourteen years later refers to fourteen years after his conversion or after his first visit to Jerusalem. Paul says he and Barnabas went up together and that he took Titus with him. Barnabas and Paul had a functional partnership—Paul must have trusted Barnabas to share his views, or he would not have wanted him present at the Jerusalem meeting. At this stage of his ministry Paul identifies Barnabas as his ...

2666. Hagar and Sally

Galatians 4:21-31

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

4:21 Paul’s tone changes somewhat at this point, turning from a personal appeal back to an argument from Scripture (cf. 3:6–9) and to teaching what he and the Galatian believers already have in Christ. Paul begins with a direct address, Tell me, you who want to be under the law. The wording of the question critiques their desire, for Paul presents the law as something under which people are held. The passage beginning in this verse and extending to 5:1 works with several themes that have already been ...

2667. The Greatness of Mordecai

Esther 10:1-3

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

Epilogue: Mordecai’s Greatness: The final chapter of Esther, which says nothing about Esther, is a tribute to the leadership of Mordecai. It begins with an image of the vast empire under Xerxes’ control. The second in command of this imposing realm is “Mordecai the Jew.” He has proven that a Jew in the Diaspora can serve his king and his people well. The book of Esther closes with a triumphant note of public vindication for the Jews and personal exoneration for Mordecai, their representative leader. If we ...

2668. A Message About Egypt

Jeremiah 46:1-28

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

Oracles against the Nations: The next six chapters contain Jeremiah’s oracles against the nations. We are reminded that Jeremiah’s commission appointed him not just over Judah, but “over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant” (1:10). Similar types of oracles may be found in Isaiah 13–23; Ezekiel 25–32; Amos 1–2; Nahum, and Obadiah. Up to this point, his prophecies have been directed toward Judah announcing judgment against God’s people because they ...

2669. Jonah Flees from the Lord

Jonah 1:1-17

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

The Command and the Flight (1:1-3): 1:1–3 The NIV has omitted several rhetorical devices in these first three verses that are significant for an understanding of Jonah. Verse 1:1 begins with way e hî, which may be translated, “Now it came to pass,” or simply “Now.” The word is a sure indication that what follows is a story or narrative (cf. MT of Josh. 1:1; Judg. 1:1). Verse 2 begins with “arise” (RSV; NIV: go; qûm), and this verb is repeated at the beginning of verse 3: “But Jonah rose (qûm) to flee to ...

2670. Judgment Against Samaria and Jerusalem

Micah 1:1-7

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

The Superscription (1:1): 1:1 The superscription has been affixed to the prophecies of Micah by an unknown editor and is, in its initial phrase (The word of the LORD that came to Micah) the same form as that found in Hosea 1:1; Joel 1:1; and Zephaniah 1:1. The claim that what follows is “the word of the LORD” is intended to apply to the entire book. Not just selected portions of the book, and not just portions that scholars judge to stem from the prophet himself are to be understood as words from God. No. ...

2671. Solomon's Throne Established

1 Kings 2:13-46

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

Solomon Consolidates His Position: David has gone, and Solomon has been left to fend for himself. His rule was firmly established, 2:12 tells us. This is clearly an allusion to 2 Samuel 7:11b–16, where the verb ḵwn (established) appears on three occasions (vv. 12, 13, 16; cf. also v. 26) of God’s action in ensuring for David an everlasting dynasty. In 1 Kings 2:12–46, this same verb appears on four occasions, strategically positioned at the beginning and end of the section (vv. 12, 45–46) and halfway ...

2672. Ezekiel's Call

Ezekiel 1:1-28, Ezekiel 2:1-3:15, Ezekiel 3:16-27

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

Ezekiel’s Message of Judgment – Intro to Ezek. 1–33: The first major section of the book of Ezekiel is an unstinting portrayal of God’s judgment, communicating this message in seven parts. First, in chapters 1–3, God calls the prophet and gives him the message he is to bear through a shattering vision of the Lord’s Glory. Second, in chapters 4–7, a series of sign-acts and oracles of judgment convey the inevitability of Jerusalem’s destruction. Third, in Ezekiel’s second vision of the Glory (chs. 8–11), ...

2673. Jesus Is Tried before Pilate and Sentenced to Death

Matthew 27:1-10, Matthew 27:11-26

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Although Jesus is innocent of all charges and is truly the king of the Jews, he is delivered to be crucified by Pilate, the Roman governor, at the instigation of the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem, aided by Judas. Understanding the Text Following Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin, the chief priests and elders bring him to Pilate, the governor (27:1–2). Matthew narrates the self-inflicted death of Judas, emphasizing Judas’s belief in the innocence of Jesus, a theme that continues through this ...

2674. Jesus as Lord and as Archcriminal

Mark 2:23-3:6, Mark 2:18-22

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: In Jesus the new age has come, and this new reality cannot be immersed into the old ways. Jesus the Son of Man has authority over the Torah and is Lord over the Sabbath. Understanding the Text The opposition to Jesus intensifies with each of the episodes in this section. The central story among the five in 2:1–3:6 tells why the conflict is occurring (2:18–22): in Jesus a new era has arrived, one in which he must challenge the old traditions. Those who cling to the old (symbolized by the issue of ...

2675. The Birth of God’s Son Announced

Luke 1:26-38

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: Jesus will be miraculously born from a virgin mother and will be the Son of God and the promised Messiah. Understanding the Text The mention of “the sixth month” in 1:26, 36 ties this episode in closely with the preceding one (note “five months” in 1:24), and the angel’s news about Elizabeth (1:36) keeps the two angelic announcements closely linked, thus preparing for the meeting of the two pregnant mothers in 1:39–56. The similar announcements to Zechariah and to Mary by the same angelic ...

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