Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 251 to 275 of 2331 results

251. Just the Right Touch

Mark 5:25-34

Sermon

James Merritt

... man saying he is going to get well before he goes to the doctor. Jesus said, "Those who are well do not need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." (Lk. 5:31-32) c. She Was a Deserted Woman Because of this woman's disease she was ostracized by society. By the very law of her own people she was divorced from her husband, and could not live in her home. She was forbidden to be with her children. She was excluded from going to the temple to ...

252. When the Pressure Is On

John 6:1-14

Sermon

James Merritt

... to be fed, and in order to feed them Moses would have had to had 1,500 tons of food each day. Now do you know that to bring that much food each day two freight trains each a mile long would be required! Remember they were out in the desert so they would have to have firewood to use in cooking the food. This would take 4,000 tons of wood and a few more freight trains each a mile long. Then think they were 40 years in the wilderness. They would have to have water. If they only had ...

253. Matthew 14:13-21

Matthew 14:13-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... behind both Jesus’ healing activities and the miraculous amount of food he provides. Matthew’s text does much to rehabilitate the reputation of Jesus’ disciples in this event. It is the disciples who first voice genuine concern for the people, noting that in this deserted place there would be nothing for them to eat. If anyone wanted to get any dinner, they needed to get a move on, trek back to the nearest villages, and start scaring up some grub. The “hour” that is “late” is the generally ...

254. Why Not Now?

Acts 8:26-40

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... of our world; the road most needed and hardest to travel; the road on which the future of the world seems to hang; the road which symbolizes the difficult path to peace in our world today. Luke says it was a "desert road" and, unfortunately, it still is. Desert…and deserted. It is a hard road to travel, but it is the path to reconciliation, to justice, to peace. And there he met an Ethiopian. It's quite amazing, really, this African tourist, a black government official, making the journey into the ...

255. Isaiah 43:16-21

Isaiah 43:16-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of security. Not only does God promise to ease the Israelites' new existence with this means of civilization, but also God proclaims that the additional miracle of water, "rivers in the desert," "water in the wilderness," will be present in abundance. What could be more transformative than water to these dry lands? The desert, that abandoned space, will become the site of life-sustaining luxuriance. In delivering the people, God also gives a new lease on life to all creation. Even the animals who have ...

256. Psalm 23

Psalm 23:1-6

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... at our side. This personalized vision of the universal reality of death has suggested to some scholars that here the psalmist is alluding to his own tenuous grip on life in the midst of a serious illness. The knowledge that we are never alone, never deserted, even in the "depths" of this valley, instills a peace of mind and heart that is unexpected on such a dark and frightening journey. Notice: The enemies of life are not blotted out; the "valley of the shadow of death" remains a destination for all ...

257. Isaiah 35:1-10

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... text is found in that portion of Isaiah usually attributed to the First Isaiah author, its focus and theme suggest that it is actually the work of Second Isaiah and has been transplanted into the earlier portion of this book. Note the recurring theme of the wilderness and desert becoming enriched fertile land (cf. Isaiah 40:3-4, 41:17-20, 42:16b, 43:19ff, 44:3, 48:20-21, 49:9ff, 51:3, 55:12ff). This motif is characteristic of Second Isaiah's use of the traditional creation theme in a new way. Yahweh is ...

258. Psalm 23

Psalm 23

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

259. 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... grounds for a trial. The vocabulary Paul uses in verses 16-18 suggests that he had in mind the poetry and power of Psalm 22 as he reflected on both his experiences of suffering and of his deliverance by the Lord's strength. Psalm 22 likewise speaks of desertion (22:1), deliverance (22:4), salvation (22:5), God's presence (22:11) and even the threat of the lion's mouth (22:13). Paul confidently asserts that the divine hand that has rescued him from his enemies up to this point will continue to keep him safe ...

260. Facing the Wild Beasts Within

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... does it mean to be the Beloved Child of God? Answering that question and living the answer is why the Spirit has driven him into the desert. What does it mean for us to be beloved children of God? And how well are we being who we are? Isn’t this what Lent ... of two reactions: fight or flight. I believe that what Palmer is referring to is that which Jesus came to terms in the desert. The wild beasts are as much inside us, as our animal nature, as outside us. C. “Standing in the tragic gap” Jesus faces ...

261. Advent 2

Mark 1:1-8, 2 Peter 3:1-18, Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... . b. A level road of humility Isaiah 40:4a. c. A smooth road of graciousness Isaiah 40:4b. Old Testament: Isaiah 40:1-11 1. Meeting God in a wilderness (40:3). Need: The most unlikely place you would think of meeting God would be in a wilderness or a desert. Yet the prophet calls for the building of a road in the wilderness for God to come to his people. For 40 years God was with his people in the wilderness. There they made the Mosaic covenant. Then God was real to the people. When they entered the land of ...

262. I’m At the End of My Rope

2 Kings 4:1-7

Sermon

James Merritt

... had in that jar of oil. She had underrated it and overlooked it. She thought the jar was incidental, when in reality it was fundamental. I want you to remember something, and it is illustrated by a story I read about a man who was wandering lost in the desert. As he stumbled over a sand dune, trying to stagger his way back to civilization, he was greeted by a man selling ties. Well the dehydrated man begged for water, but the salesman said, "The only thing I have to offer you are these ties." The man said ...

263. All By Myself: The Fear of Loneliness

2 Timothy 4:9-21

Sermon

James Merritt

... She was an elderly lady and a wonderful Christian. We struck up a conversation and she told me when she was sixteen years old, she became pregnant. She was about to become an unwed mother and this was back in the days when it was a shameful thing. She was deserted by all of her friends, ostracized by the people who lived around her, and she became a social outcast. She felt so alone. She told me that she was contemplating suicide one day and a voice spoke to her out of the blue and said, "Alma, you are not ...

264. When I’m In Trouble

2 Timothy 4:16-18

Sermon

James Merritt

... . Here was the world's greatest missionary, the world's greatest preacher, the world's greatest theologian and he couldn't find one person willing to stand up and speak. Nobody was singing "Stand By Your Man" in this trial. All of Paul's so-called friends had deserted him like rats jumping off a sinking ship. On the other hand, Paul did not stand alone, because he says in verse 17, "But the Lord stood with me." (II Timothy 4:17, NASB) No matter how much trouble you get into, you can always count on the ...

265. Israel: The World’s Invincible Nation

Jeremiah 23:2, 7-8

Sermon

James Merritt

... no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them," says the Lord your God. (Amos 9:14-15) You wouldn't know it now. But the Israel of 50+ years ago was basically swampland filled with rocks and dirt; 60% of the land was barren desert; but no more. Even though it only rains in the winter and there is a scarcity of water, because of the most effective irrigation system in the world, the land now blossoms like a rose, and today Israel is one of only six nations that produces enough food to ...

266. He Will Abundantly Pardon

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... stop and listen, truly listen, to what God has to offer. Instead, we fall back on the old ways and forget. The sin of forgetting what God has done for us as individuals and as people, that's something we see with God's people in the desert, and ourselves in our own desert. We cling to the ways of violence instead of redemption, of hatred instead of risking love, of fear instead of overwhelming joy. It's not that the world is not dangerous. Of course it is. But we are the people of God's peace. We were not ...

267. Climbing the Right Ladder

Genesis 28:10-19a

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... us not. If I had been God, I would just let Jacob wallow in it. Thank God I’m not God. God views things totally differently than I. If your ladder climbing has left you out on a limb of isolation, I have good news for you. God does not desert his own. Sure, Jacob missed the mark. Sure, he has not understood his calling. Sure, he has not really grasped the notion of the blessing that is his. In reality, God comes to him anyway. Here the Lord builds a ladder all the way to Jacob. The Bible says, “The ...

268. Marching Forward by Faith!

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... some first. So pour about a quarter of the water in and let it soak to wet the leather. Then pour in the rest medium fast and pump like crazy. You'll get water. Have faith. When you get all you want, fill her up for the next fella. Signed, Desert Pete. P.S. Don't go drinking up the water first, you have to prime the pump." O, For a faith that will not shrink, though pressed by every foe That will not tremble on the brink of any earthly woe Lord give me such a faith as this, and ...

269. Streams of Living Water

John 4:5-42

Sermon

Lee Griess

... this kind of trust in God. We need this kind of faith in Christ because without this living water, our lives are like a desert. The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah knew this and so he wrote in chapter 17 of his book the words of the Lord, saying, "I will condemn ... the person who turns away from me and put his trust in human things. He will be like a bush in the desert which grows in the dry wasteland on salty ground where nothing else grows. Nothing good will ever happen to that person." Wow! Pretty ...

270. Look Up and Live

Numbers 21:4-9

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... the grapes — also huge. Two of the twelve spies — Joshua and Caleb — said, "So what, let's go." But the other ten said, "No way; they would turn us into dog meat." Again, the weeping and wailing and whining starts: "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" (Numbers 14:2-3). Then they wanted to choose a new leader ...

271. Curiosity and Questions

John 3:1-7

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

... way of thinking about God. For Nicodemus, the living water of the Torah was expanding into a whole new pool of wisdom. Curiosity was opening the door to transformation. Another group of spiritual people who were curious were the desert fathers. They were the first Christian hermits, escaping to the deserts of Egypt in the fourth century. They were way ahead of their time. They sought a new way to God that was uncharted and freely chosen. They were willing to lose themselves in Christ and the mysteries of ...

272. The Renewal of Life

Isaiah 43:18-25

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... , speaking through the prophet, is very clear: "Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert" (Isaiah 43:18-19). God will provide the proper route that will allow us to renew our lives. This certainly must have been a comforting message to the Hebrews since, I suspect, many may have felt lost, as if they were in the wilderness. A sense of lifelessness ...

273. Sandbox First, Soapbox Second

Mark 1:29-34, Mark 1:35-39

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... life of Jesus was the swing between socialness and solitude. Like a bear, Jesus was either hibernating or hiking. But Jesus did not retreat from the crowds in order to indulge in “me time.” Jesus sought the oneness and one-on-oneness with the desert, mountains and water in order to find one anotherness with the Father. One of our worst mistakes is to confuse solitude with solitariness, especially since, as John Wesley put it, “There is no such thing as a solitary Christian.” Jesus’ spirit did not ...

274. Acts 8:26 40

Acts 8:26-40

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of the Lord” to get on the road to Gaza. The angel’s directive is decidedly odd. It orders Philip away from his companions Peter and John and successful missional endeavors, and instead sends him out on his own into a scarcely inhabited desert region. Even stranger, the term translated as “south” or “southward” (“meembria”) can also mean “noon” or “mid‑day.” In other words, Philip was being called to make this lonely trek out into the middle of nowhere in the heat of the day when ...

275. A People of Compassion

Eph 4:32

Illustration

H. Stephen Shoemaker

Here's a story from the desert tradition: A brother had committed a fault and was called before the council. The council invited the revered Abba Moses to join, but ... is not incidental that in the midst of ministry and the unrelenting needs of the crowd, Jesus, the good shepherd, called his disciples to join him in the desert: "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest awhile." It is not all rest, all shabbat in the wilderness. There, wrestling with our own hearts in the darkness before God, ...

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