Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic

Showing 2651 to 2675 of 4942 results

2651. Unfettered Faith

Mark 1:35-39, Mark 1:40-45, Exodus 15:22-27

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“I am the Lord who heals you.” --Exodus 15 One of the most dangerous forms of infection today is something called sepsis. Sepsis is caused by bacteria which invade the body through an open wound, then cause an inflammatory response within which quickly attacks the body, shuts down organs, and can even cause death. It’s a frightening and debilitating experience. It literally binds up one’s bodily systems and breaks down the body from the inside out. And it can all start from one small wound. But physical ...

2652. Almond Joy!

Numbers 17:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“There shall come forth a rod from the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of its root.” (Isaiah 11:1) “Jeremiah, what do you see? I see an almond branch. You have seen well, for I am watching to fulfill my word.” (Jeremiah 1:11-12) Props: menorah, shepherd’s rod, almond tree, almonds “You are the apple of God’s eye.” So says the psalmist in psalm 17:8. God is watching over you. God is protecting you. God is watchful of what happens to you in your life. And at certain key moments, God will leave God ...

2653. Dangerous

John 12:12-19, Zechariah 9:9-13, Zechariah 9:14-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Are you dangerous? Are you sure? Today, I want to ask you, what does it mean to be a “dangerous” follower of Jesus? What does it mean to live “dangerously” in this world as a follower of Jesus? Would Jesus want us to live dangerously, or to be dangerous? Let’s put it another way…. How many of you feel that your faith is a dangerous force that can disrupt the powers and principalities of this world? How many of you believe that Jesus is a dangerous force? That the Holy Spirit is a dangerous force that can ...

2654. The Alabaster Jar

Mark 14:27-31, Mark 14:12-26, Mark 14:1-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Your fragrance is sweet; your very name is perfume. That's why the young women love you.” (Song of Songs 1:3) “While the king sat at his table, my spikenard sent forth its fragrance.” (Song of Songs 1:12 Tanakh) “May my prayer be like special perfume before You. May the lifting up of my hands be like the evening gift given on the altar in worship. O Lord, put a watch over my mouth. Keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not let my heart turn to any sinful thing, to do wrong with men who sin. And do not ...

2655. Lamb Parade

John 12:12-19

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Props: all of the people [this is an interactive sermon] Today is the day Jesus rides into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. The crowds of people go wild, cheering him and encouraging him. They shout. They wave palms. They lay down their cloaks in the road in honor. They sing. They praise God. This is the Lamb Parade. And Jesus has taken the place of the Passover Lamb, inserting himself into the parade of lambs, waiting to be bought and sold for sacrifice. The high priest will choose the best lamb to be ...

2656. The Overtaxed Soul (Even Me)

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Parable: Phyllis worked as a secretary/bookkeeper in a large company. No one noticed her. She didn’t have a flashy job like the group surrounding the CEO. She was just a shy, retiring clerk. But she had a significant responsibility taking care of the books and depositing the money for the thriving business. When trouble hit at home and she found herself in financial straits, she “borrowed” from the corporate kitty. Soon, this became rather a habit. One day, when news spread that the President of the ...

2657. Living in the Shadow of Jesus' Resurrection Glory (Chiaroscuro)

Acts 12:1-19a, Acts 5:17-42, Matthew 28:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”(Deuteronomy 31:8) Creative photographers will tell you that “to photograph is to write or draw with light.” In fact the name photography means “light” (Greek photos, the genitive of phos) and “to draw” (Greek graphe). What a great way to think about God’s creativity, God’s creative Being and Energy. God creates the universe by “drawing” into reality “images” with the ...

2658. Against the Grain

Mark 3:13-19, Isaiah 28:1-29

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Everyone here has probably heard the phrase, “to go against the grain.” The idiom means, to do something contrary to one’s natural inclination, to go in opposition to one’s natural direction, to do something different than the norm. It may mean taking a difficult path, the road less traveled, as Robert Frost said in his famous poem about roads converging in a wood. It might mean going up against the rules or society’s expectations, behaving differently, counter-culturally, ruffling some feathers by doing ...

2659. Our Need and God's Provision

John 6:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

What’s your favorite food? The food you could eat once a day for the rest of your life, if you had to? At this time of year, you can find food festivals all over the U.S. that celebrate just about any kind of food you might enjoy. There’s a Garlic Festival in Gilroy, California. Waikiki, Hawaii hosts a Spam Festival every year—if Spam is really what you long for. Atlanta, Georgia holds a Chomp and Stomp Festival every year that features a chili cook-off and bluegrass concert and dance. If you Google your ...

2660. Seeking Jesus

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

King Duncan

If you’ve ever been unfortunate enough to get lost in a strange city, then you can appreciate the great sense of relief you feel when you finally make it back to someplace familiar. There are few experiences more satisfying than finding your way back to the place you want to be. A few years back, an Asian woman was on a sightseeing tour in Iceland. After spending an afternoon exploring a volcanic canyon, the woman changed into fresh clothes and rejoined the rest of her tour group. Sadly, a member of their ...

2661. Faith and Freedom

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

During World War II, a General and one of his Lieutenants were traveling from their base to a base in another state. They were forced to travel with civilians aboard a passenger train. They found their compartment, where two other folks were already seated. There they found an attractive young lady and her grandmother. The four of them had a friendly visit for most of the trip, at least until the train entered a long and rather dark tunnel. Once inside the tunnel, the passengers in this particular car ...

2662. Deliverance through adversity

Sermon

Willie Soler

INTRODUCTION Throughout biblical history, both Old and New Testament times, adversity has been prevalent in many of the stories that we have come to recognize. Stories that depict the trials and tribulations that God’s chosen people, the Israelites, and the adopted Gentiles, have had to endure. However, since the beginning of time, God’s plan and purposes have always been to provide deliverance in some form or fashion. God’s unconditional love desires that we live free. Today, we can see adversity taking ...

2663. Big Boys Do Cry

Joel 2:1-2,12-17

Sermon

King Duncan

Bob Laurent, in his book, A World of Differents, tells of sitting in the living room reading when he heard a terrible scream just outside his front door. Like most parents, he could distinguish his own child’s crying, and so he flew out the door to the scene of the accident. There was his three-year-old son, Christopher, upside down and bawling, the victim of a hit-and-run collision with a Big Wheel 16 inch toy Tricycle. In one fell swoop, Laurent scooped his son up and had him in the house and up in his ...

2664. Stay Awake

Matthew 24:36-44

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever fallen asleep at the wrong time or in the wrong place? That’s so embarrassing, but it’s a common experience. It’s hard to fight off sleep when your body decides to shut down. During the 2019 Super Bowl game, Karisa Maxwell, deputy editor and producer with Sporting News, spotted a man sleeping in the stands and took a photo. She kept an eye on the man and reported that he slept through the entire first quarter of the game. She posted the photo of the Super Bowl sleeper to Twitter that ...

2665. Finding Your Dream Job

Matthew 4:12-23

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

Just for a second let yourself dream big. What would be your dream job? The one that would even made Mondays exciting. I came across a list of real but unusual jobs. Some of them require unusual skills. Some of them just require patience or a strong stomach. See if any of these fit the criteria for your dream job: The first one is golf ball diver: these folks dive for the golf balls that end up in ponds or lakes on golf courses. They sell the balls to companies that clean them and re-sell them. Or, how ...

2666. Capernaum by the Sea

Matthew 4:12-23

Sermon

Lori Wagner

In today’s world, when we think of a “hub,” a multi-cultural epicenter, a district of the arts, business, finance, and excitement, filled with diversity and change, multiple voices and traditions with a window to the world, we think of a place like New York, Miami, Los Angeles, or London. Perhaps you know of a neighborhood in your own city –swirling with cultural richness and divergence, the “place to be.” In Jesus’ time, that was Capernaum. Capernaum lay on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, along ...

2667. When Everything That Matters Has Been Torn Away

Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

If I were to ask you what is the average size of an American family today, what would you say? We’re talking about the number of family members living in one household. According to statistics from 2022, the average American household has 2.5 people in it. (1) I feel a little sorry for that half-person, don’t you? For the last century, families have been shrinking in numbers. This trend is consistent around the world. According to U.S. Census Bureau data from 1850, it was fairly common back then for ...

2668. Bearers of the Seed

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“The Word of God continued to flourish.” (Acts 12:24) “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” (John 15:8) Prop: apples or small oranges or another small fruit Fruit of my loins! Today, it’s a comical phrase, but it has a scriptural origin: “And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins.” (Genesis 35:11, King James version) “Whereas therefore he ...

2669.

Psalm 76:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

The God of Zion Breaks the Weapons of War This is another of the Songs of Zion (see the Introduction and the comments on Ps. 46), which celebrate Yahweh’s dramatic protection of the temple and its sacred mountain from foreign invasion. Yahweh’s deliverance of Jerusalem from Assyrian invasion in 701 B.C. may be a case in point (Isa. 36–37). 76:1–3 The psalm begins with Judah’s special knowledge of Yahweh. His name, or self-revelation, is great in Israel. The terms chosen to designate Yahweh’s dwelling in ...

2670.

Psalm 80:1-19

Teach the Text

Craig C. Broyles

The Vinedresser and the Plundered Vine of Israel The occasion underlying this corporate prayer psalm appears to be one of extreme national distress: passers-by ravage as they please, burning and destroying (vv. 12–13, 16). The people experience sorrow and strife (vv. 5–6). The question “How long?” implies that this tragedy has persisted for some time. As with most psalms, historical details are omitted so the psalm can be used for any similar national emergency (see the Additional Note). This psalm, ...

2671.

Psalm 116:1-19

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

A Thank Offering for Deliverance from Death Psalm 116 is a thanksgiving psalm that celebrates deliverance from near-death distress (cf. esp. Ps. 30). It consists of a proclamation of praise and an introductory summary (vv. 1–2), as well as recollections of the distress (v. 3), of the cry to God (v. 4), and of Yahweh’s deliverance (vv. 8–11). Contained in this report is hymnic praise (vv. 5–6; so cf. 30:4–5, which also “interrupts” a report of deliverance) that confesses a general principle of praise ...

2672. “Lord, Our Lord, How Majestic Is Your Name in All the Earth!”

Psalm 8:1-9

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 ...

2673. “I Will Sing the Lord’s Praise, for He Has Been Good to Me”

Psalm 13:1-6

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: Faith has its personae, from skepticism to personal conflict, but trust, its true persona, sings its way into the joy of God’s goodness. Understanding the Text Psalm 13 is an individual lament that leaves the cause of lament uncertain (see below) but calls attention to the joy of buoyant faith (13:5). The biblical laments always hover near words of trust and assurance, and such a question as we have in verses 1 and 2 should send us on a search for words of faith in the lament psalms. Also, it ...

2674. To Us a Child is Born

Isaiah 9:1-7

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

Isaiah’s Significance, and the Fall of Darkness: We come to the close of the material that focuses on the crisis presented by the pressure of the northern allies (6:1–9:7). Isaiah speaks further about his ministry and its significance for Judah (8:11–22) and Yahweh offers a vision of light dawning the other side of the coming darkness (9:1–7). 9:1–7 To close 6:1–9:7, light replaces darkness (v. 2), joy replaces death (v. 3), and deliverance replaces oppression (v. 4). An earlier vision pictured weapons ...

2675. Woe to the Complacent

Amos 6:1-7

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

Israel’s Ill-Placed Confidence: In the preceding group of oracles, Amos announced that God would pass through Israel’s midst to do them to death. Undoubtedly that message met with skepticism on the part of those who bothered to listen to this prophet with a Judean accent. Like everyone who is prosperous and comfortable, most of those in Israel who counted for anything felt that they were enjoying the results of God’s favor toward them, or, if they took no thought of God, that their good life was secure. In ...

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