Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2676 to 2700 of 5000 results

Luke 14:15-24

Sermon

James Merritt

... of Jesus. He had invited them to follow Him. He had invited them to fellowship with Him. Feeling they were already in, feeling they were good enough on their own, feeling they had earned their spot in the Kingdom, they turned His invitation down. Jesus is going to illustrate (Key Take Away): An excuse to God is just an abuse of God.) As we read this story, I want all of us to ask ourselves three questions that Jesus was really asking these Pharisees then and He is asking us now. I. Have I Heard God’s ...

2677. Seismic Shift

2 Corinthians 7:2-16

Sermon

James Merritt

... in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:47, ESV) If we are not preaching repentance we are not preaching what Jesus told us to preach. Today, we are going to study a situation that actually took place in a church that illustrates exactly what true repentance is and what true repentance does. [Turn to II Corinthians 7]. Here is the background of the story. Paul had gotten involved in a disciplinary problem in this church at Corinth. There was a church member who had committed a very ...

2678. Shockproof

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

James Merritt

... cause relational earthquakes. Sometimes it will be your fault – not theirs. Sometimes it will be their fault – not yours. Either way you can shockproof your life if you will choose to forgive others just as God has forgiven you. [1] “Should All Be Forgiven?”, Time, April 5, 1999. [2] 1001 Illustrations That Connect, EDS. Craig Brian Larson and Phyllis Elshof, p. 89.

2679. You Are God's Child

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... Communicator’s Commentary (Luke) (Waco: Word, Inc. 1983), p. 127. 4. Jim Birchfield. Cited by John A. Huffman Jr., http://www.preaching.com/sermons/11600669/ 5. http://www.youngclergywomen.org/the_young_clergy_women_pr/2010/03/spring-pruning-a-sermon-on-john-1518.html. 6. Craig Brian Larson and Andrew Zahn, Movie-Based Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003).

2680. Don't Forget the Bread

John 6:25-59

Sermon

... gain! The bread of life has come so that we can have life! Are we, like that young lady, going to respond with indifference, or will we with gratitude and appreciation surrender our lives to him? 1. http://maxlucado.com/read/topical/the-write-stuff-2/ 2. Michael P. Green, Illustrations for Biblical Preaching (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989). 3. http://pastormikescorner.blogspot.com/2013_09_01_archive.html. 4. Sermonsearch.com. 5. Contributed. Source unknown.

2681. About Getting Drunk

Ephesians 5:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... www.laughandlift.com/ 2. http://www.alcohol-information.com/Alcohol_Statistics.html. 3. Rev. Lee Woofenden, http://www.egogahan.com/leewoof/1998/2?15?98.htm. 4. Rev. John Schmidt, http://www.centralpc.org/sermons/2005/s050306.htm. 5. Reader’s Digest (Reader’s Digest USA). 6. Using Illustrations to Preach with Power (Wheaton: Crossway, 2001, Revised Edition). 7. Mark Adams, http://www.redlandbaptist.org/sermon/a-service-of-thanksgiving-and-prayer/. 8. http://www.tanbible.com/tol_ill/glorifyinggod.htm.

2682. When Is Enough...Enough?

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... Ministries, 2005), p. 121. 2. (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1992), p. 128. 3. John C. Maxwell, Today Matters (New York: Warner Books, 2004), p. 15. 4. http://www.raystedman.org/old-testament/leviticus/the-true-basis-of-social-concern. 5. Our Daily Bread. Cited at http://www.preceptaustin.org/1_timothy_commentaries_2.htm#illustrations.

2683. A Small Town Is Blessed

Micah 5:1-4

Sermon

King Duncan

... York: The Abingdon Press, 1923). 2. Matthew Rogers, http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/an-unimpressive- christmas-matthew-rogers-sermon-on-christmas-41581.asp. 3. http://www.docstoc.com/docs/154738952/sermon-notes---Gateway-Community- Church. 4. Rogers. 5. (HarperOne, 1982). 6. Daniel J. Dyke, http://www.dabar.org/Homiletics/Celebrating/Illustrations.html. 7. Sally B. Beis in Circuit Rider, July/August 1990, p. 8.

2684. The Transforming Power of Grace

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... feelings require responsible disposal. So often we hear people say, "I know I shouldn't feel that way." Actually, we cannot help how we feel. Like trash, feelings just happen. What is crucial is not what we feel, but how we act on the feeling. Let me illustrate with the emotion of anger. In spite of the multitudes of problems that come from this feeling, it is neither good nor bad to be angry. Anger is a common by-product of human interaction. We get angry from time to time. It happens. The question is ...

2685. When the Dragon Wins

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... then expressed in ways unique to that language. A case might even be made that in addition to changing the way we think and speak, a new language offers the possibility of changing the way we experience life. Lest you dismiss that assertion too quickly, let me illustrate. In the Spanish language, the idiom for giving birth to a child is dar la luz. Literally that means, "to give the light." In Spanish, when a mother delivers her child, they say she gives that child the light of life. Let us imagine there is ...

2686. Discipleship: Backward or Forward to God

Luke 9:51-62

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... of the law. As was the case with most legal minds, his was back-ward-looking rather than forward-looking. When asked a question, he would look back to what was written in the law. More than that, he looked for precedents, past decisions, and illustrations from yesteryear. Reality for the scribe and lawyer tended to be located in the past. The present was to be defined by the past. That is why Jesus' apparently abrupt statement was so much on target. Firmly convinced God was not to be found so ...

2687. God's Adopted Children

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Cited in James Emery White, Life-Defining Moments (WaterBrook Press), 2001, p. 72. 5. John Ortberg, Love Beyond Reason (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1999), pp. 11-12. Cited by Scott A. Wenig , “Hide and Seek,” Preaching Magazine Jan./ Feb. 2001, p. 25. 6. Cited in Craig Brian Larson, Perfect Illustrations for Every Topic and Occasion (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2002), pp. 112-113.

2688. Mighty Morphin Power People

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Doc’s Daily Chuckles, http://family-safe-mail.com/. 2. Daily Encounter, http://www.actsweb.org/. 3. http://genebrooks.blogspot.com/2012/04/luke-928-36-transfiguration.html. 4. Contributed. Source unknown. 5. John Ortberg, The Life You’ve Always Wanted (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002). 6. Craig B. Larson, editor, Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching, (Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group, 1994), p. 109. 7. Contributed. Source unknown.

2689. Antinomy

Illustration

J.I. Packer

J. I. Packer uses the following illustration of the antinomy of divine sovereignty and human responsibility: “Modern physics faces an antinomy, in this sense, in its study of light. There is cogent evidence to show that light consists of waves, and equally cogent evidence to show that it consists of particles. It is not apparent how light ...

2690. Child-rearing and Discipline

Illustration

Rebecca Lamar Harmon

... she has punished you. (She’s wrong.) No child has ever resented punishment he knew he had coming. Discipline is “proof” of love, … Children “know” this. I wish more parents did.113 Susanna Wesley, mother of Charles and John Wesley, is perhaps the classic illustration of one who pursued discipline early in a child’s life. She believed the assertive self-will of a child must be broken at a young age by the parent. One of her rules in her “plan of education” was: “When turned a year old ...

2691. Ananias and Sapphira

Acts 5:1-11

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... whether a rich man could be saved—important for the church of Luke’s day—and Luke’s reply to that question (v. 4), that riches are not in themselves bad but constitute a sore temptation to the Christian (p. 22). Thus the story illustrates the “mortal danger present in the attachment to the world effected through possessions and riches” (S. Brown, p. 107). 5:1–2 Two members of the community, a man named Ananias and his wife, Sapphira (v. 1), conspired to deceive their fellow believers. Like ...

2692. Philip in Samaria

Acts 8:4-8

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... the actual beginnings of the Christian mission” to a non-Jewish community (pp. 185–94; but cf. Luke 9:52ff.; 10:30ff.; 17:16; John 4:5–42). Second, he baptized a Gentile. By the nature of the case, this made little impact on the church, but it illustrated Luke’s theme, and the more so since in the Ethiopian the gospel reached “the ends of the earth” (1:8; cf. Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.12.8; 4.22.2). In ancient geography, Ethiopia was regarded as the far boundary in the south of the inhabited ...

2693. Peter’s Miraculous Escape from Prison

Acts 12:1-19a

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

This chapter illustrates both the suffering entailed in the service of Christ (12:1–19) and God’s judgment on those who inflict it (12:20–25). It also exemplifies the power of prayer. However, not for these reasons chiefly has Luke told the story of Peter’s rescue from prison, but for ...

2694. Paul in Ephesus

Acts 19:1-22

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... . They are both concerned with the relationship of Christianity to an imperfect form of the faith—“the baptism of John.” In this case Paul deals with the situation himself. These verses include also a brief description of his ministry in Ephesus, aspects of which are illustrated in the following section. But again we must turn to Paul’s letters to fill out our knowledge of these years. They show that his achievement in Ephesus was at the cost of much suffering (1 Cor. 15:32; 2 Cor. 1:8; 4:9ff.; 6 ...

2695. Paul’s Farewell to the Ephesian Elders

Acts 20:13-38

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... was given to “local officials or the officers of societies” who were involved in finance and general administration but there is no reason to think that the title as used by the church was ever restricted to finance. Rather, it seems to have been employed in the much broader sense illustrated by the LXX (e.g., 2 Kings 11:18; 2 Chron. 34:12, 17; Neh. 11:9, 14; Isa. 60:17; 1 Macc. 1:15) and enriched by its association with the idea of tending the flock (cf. 1 Pet. 2:25; 5:2; perhaps also Num. 27:16). The ...

2696. Paul Arrested

Acts 21:27-36

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... (cf. Luke 23:18 and John 19:15, where the same verb is used; cf. also Acts 22:22). Additional Notes 21:28 And besides, he has brought Greeks …: The Greek conjunctions closely connect Paul’s alleged act of introducing Gentiles into the temple with what precedes, as though to illustrate that he did not confine himself to teaching against the temple, but expressed that teaching in action.

2697. Paul Preaches at Rome Under Guard

Acts 28:17-31

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... would gather in “the full number of Gentiles” (Rom. 11:25; cf. Isa. 55:11). They will listen is the final word of the Pauline testimony. Nothing can stop the onward march of God’s truth “to the ends of the earth” (1:8). 28:30–31 By way of illustration of this theme, Luke leaves us with a picture—not unlike the series of cameos in the earlier chapters that depicted the steady growth of the church (see disc. on 2:42–47)—of Paul doing the work of an evangelist among all who came to see him in ...

2698. Hearts

2 Corinthians 6:14--7:1

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... :33; Ascen. Isa. 1:8–9; 2:4; 3:11, 13; 4:2, 4, 14, 16, 18; 5:1; Sib. Or. 3:63, 73; T. Levi 3:3; 18:12; T. Dan. 5:1, 10–11. The dualistic contrast between the mutually exclusive spheres of Christ and Belial is well illustrated by Levi’s exhortation to his children: “Choose for yourselves light or darkness, the Law of the Lord or the works of Beliar” (T. Levi 19:1; cf. T. Jos. 20:2). Likewise, the Qumran scrolls (cf. 1QS1.17, 23–24; CD 4.13, 15; 5.8) describe an ongoing ...

2699. Paul's Concern for the Corinthians

2 Corinthians 12:11-21

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... evidently three parties to consider in Corinth: the congregation as a whole and two rebellious factions within the congregation. These factions do not necessarily correspond to those mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1:12, although that passage certainly illustrates the Corinthians’ schismatic tendency, which the interlopers would have manipulated to their own advantage. Moreover, if the Corinthians were divided into separate house churches (cf. R. Banks), which only occasionally met together as a whole in one ...

2700. Hagar and Sally

Galatians 4:21-31

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... means “stand in the same line.” Paul’s point is that the Galatian congregation chose the wrong line to stand in when they agreed to be influenced by the present Jerusalem. In Galatians the word covenant appears only here and in Paul’s illustration in Galatians 3:15–17. The word is especially fitting in the context of dealing with the Abraham tradition, for in the Septuagint the same word appears in the story of God establishing his covenant with Abraham and requiring from Abraham circumcision (Gen ...

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