Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2726 to 2750 of 4935 results

2726. The Cost of Discipleship: Get Lost!

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

My favorite definition of the cross was given by the daughter of Dr. Joseph Cotton a number of years ago. When walking into the church for the first time, and seeing the cross on the altar, this little girl said, “Daddy, what’s that plus sign doing up there?” Have you ever thought of it that way? The cross as a plus sign. Keep that image in mind as we move through the sermon this morning. I am talking about the cross today because I’m talking about the cost of discipleship. The cost of disciple ship is to ...

2727. Cheering from the Stands

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Dr. Thomas Lane Butts tells about a World Series baseball game that took place on October 13, 1963, between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sandy Koufax was pitching for the Dodgers before a record crowd of 69,000 in Yankee Stadium. It was a crucial game, and Koufax was one strike-out short of breaking the record of 14 strike-outs in a World Series game. Koufax later said it was not only a challenge but an inspiration to know that among the spectators that day was former Dodger pitcher ...

2728. Show Me What’s Real

Exodus 33:12-23

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

Have you ever found yourself in a position or place where you would rather not be? Sometimes it is our own doing, our own poor choices that bring us to a place we would not choose. At other times it is a series of circumstances that carries us to that place. A church near campus has a chapel for university students to meditate and pray. Students have the opportunity to reflect and share their thoughts in a notebook. The entries sometimes reveal an inner struggle. One young woman candidly shared, "My ...

2729. John 1:6-8, 19-28

John 1:1-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

“Moderation should never be excessive.” That is my motto for holiday eating. Or in an alternative version, “Everything in moderation . . . including moderation.” As we continue to munch and graze our way through holiday goodies and seasonal specialties, we worry about those extra layers of padding we are putting on. But there is one kind of extra puffery, extra padding most of us have willingly participated in at some time or another — “padding” our resume. Though a few folks tread perilously close to out- ...

2730. The Bride of Jesus

John 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

Rev. Julie Ruth Harley tells about a couple in Manhattan who got hitched after meeting in a rather unusual way. They were in a car accident. They say love is blind but, according to a report in the New York Times, Joanna Greenwald really did have her eyes closed when she first met Christopher Masters. The reason she had her eyes closed was that a pickup truck had just crashed into the back of her BMW. She then sideswiped Chris’ Dodge, ricocheted onto the median and headed toward oncoming traffic. When she ...

2731. Hope from a Stump

Isaiah 11:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

In a radio interview, Nazi concentration camp survivor Gerta Weissman recalled an episode one spring when she and her fellow concentration camp inmates stood for roll call for hours on end, nearly collapsing with hunger and fatigue. She said, “We noticed in the corner of this bleak, horrid, gray place that the concrete had broken in a corner and a flower had poked its head through it. And you would see thousands of feet shuffle every morning to avoid stepping on that flower . . .” No wonder they were ...

2732. Let It Go

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Sometimes what we think is most familiar is also the most unknown. Take the case of one Midwest family. The matriarchs of the family had passed along a time-honored recipe for the traditional Easter ham. Along with the list of spices and herbs, rubs and glazes, cook times and basting procedures, was the absolutely strict instruction that the last three to four inches of the ham must be cut off — completely removed. This order was an integral part of the recipe that their great-grandmother had passed down. ...

2733. Warning Against Falling Away

Hebrews 5:11-6:12

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

The Importance of Christian Maturity Before continuing his argument concerning Melchizedek, the author pauses for an exhortation to maturity which is followed by remarks on the seriousness of apostasy. This digression is important particularly because of the information it provides concerning the character and situation of the addressees. 5:11–12 The author apparently regards the argument concerning Jesus as high priest according to the order of Melchizedek as too difficult for his readers in their present ...

2734. Nehemiah's Final Reforms

Nehemiah 13:1-31

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

Guidelines Established and Monitored: Was there anything else left to do after the grand finale of the wall dedication ceremony? Indeed there was, according to the editor. At the close of Ezra 1–6 the narrator recognized in the dedication of the rebuilt temple an opportunity to put into place normative guidelines that echoed the Torah concerning the regular staffing of the temple. Similarly here, the editor supplements the wall dedication story with the enactment of two guidelines that brought the ...

2735. Unfaithful Israel

Jeremiah 3:6-4:4

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

Israel More Righteous Than Judah (3:6-11): 3:6–11 We now have a prose oracle that is set during the reign of Josiah. Jeremiah 1:2 indicates that Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry began in Josiah’s thirteenth year (626 B.C.) Since Josiah’s reign came to a close with his death on the battlefield in 609 B.C., this oracle should be dated between these two dates. The oracles are not in chronological order so we cannot use this rare dating to fix the time of the surrounding oracles. Josiah was the first king to rule ...

2736. Sin and Punishment

Jeremiah 8:4--9:26

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

My Stubborn People (8:4-7): The next oracle denigrates God’s people for their foolish stubbornness. Through a series of rhetorical questions and comparisons, it emphasizes their unwillingness to restore their broken relationship with their God. 8:4–5 The oracle begins with two rhetorical questions. When someone falls they naturally get themselves on their feet again. When someone turns away, presumably from the right path, they try to return to go in the right direction. After these rhetorical questions, ...

2737. The Indictment and Punishment of Israel Spelled Out

Amos 4:1-13

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

The Indictment and Punishment of Israel Spelled Out: Introductory and summarizing material has been concluded. We now enter into the principal collection of Amos’s oracles, encompassing 3:13–6:14, interrupted by the visions and encounter with Amaziah in chapter 7 and 8:1–3, and resuming with 8:4–9:6. This section of 3:13–4:13 forms the first large unit in the collection. 4:1–3 Throughout history women have served as “decorations” for the rich and powerful. In Western society, the more beautiful the woman, ...

2738. The Jews Continue in Their Disbelief

John 12:37-50

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

Jesus’ last plea to the crowd was “put your trust in the light” (v. 36), and the first note struck in the narrator’s concluding summary (v. 37) is that they would not believe in him. Jesus’ public ministry is summarized as a series of miraculous signs intended to nourish faith, but the result instead was unbelief. The very purpose of John’s Gospel, as stated in 20:30–31, was to reverse that result, but in order to do so realistically the strength and stubbornness of unbelief had to be presented in the most ...

2739. Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

Genesis 19:30-38, Genesis 19:1-29

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

The Rescue of Lot from the Destruction of Sodom: God finds it necessary to execute judgment again, and as was the case in the deluge, God rescues those who are righteous. The great difference in these two accounts of judgment is that this time God punishes only a small region where wickedness had increased intolerably, rather than the entire inhabited land. The narrator tells about Lot’s fleeing Sodom (vv. 1–29) and the children of Lot’s daughters (vv. 30–38). In the first section there are five scenes, in ...

2740. Ezekiel a Watchman

Ezekiel 33:1-20, Ezekiel 33:21-33

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

We come now to the major turning point in this book. References to Ezekiel’s role as a watchman (3:16–21; 33:1–9) as well as to his muteness (3:24–27; 33:22), and particularly the statement they will know that a prophet has been among them (2:5; 33:33) all bracket Ezekiel 1–33. Thematically, the concerns of the first, major movement of this work are oracles of judgment and condemnation, directed toward Jerusalem’s fall. Once Ezekiel hears from a fugitive the word that Jerusalem indeed has fallen (33:21), ...

2741. A Special Child Promised

Luke 1:5-25

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: The promise of the birth of a special child shows that a new age is dawning: John the Baptist will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. Understanding the Text We have considered Luke’s introductory statement of intent (1:1–4) in the introduction (“Luke the Historian: Luke 1:1–4”), and I will not comment further on it here. The story then begins, to the reader’s surprise, not with Jesus but with the promise of the birth of John the Baptist. The reader will be invited to compare the ...

2742. “When Will These Things Happen?”

Luke 21:5-38

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: The coming destruction of Jerusalem and its temple will mark a new phase in the establishment of God’s kingdom under the vindicated Son of Man. Understanding the Text Since Jesus’s arrival in Jerusalem it has become clear that his messianic authority is in irreconcilable conflict with the existing power structure in Jerusalem. His prediction of the destruction of the temple (21:5–6) now leads to an extended explanation (addressed to his disciples) that looks beyond his own imminent death and ...

2743. Reviewing the Past

Numbers 33:1-56

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

Big Idea: Reviewing God’s dealings in the past helps people to keep following God in the present. Understanding the Text All the major events in the book of Numbers are now complete. So this seems an appropriate occasion for the book to review what has gone before by listing campsites from Egypt to Canaan, starting with Rameses in Egypt, where Israel had lived, and ending at the plains of Moab with some forty campsites in between. Verses 1–15 take us to Mount Sinai. Verses 16–36 list camps in the desert. ...

2744. “The Lord Is My Shepherd, I Lack Nothing”

Psalm 23:1-6

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: The Lord as David’s shepherd watches over him and, with his gentle agents of goodness and mercy, pursues him into the Lord’s house. Understanding the Text Psalm 23 is an individual psalm of trust (see the sidebar “Psalms of Trust” in the unit on Ps. 16).[1] Psalms of trust arise out of some trouble that the psalmist has experienced, although we cannot always determine specifically what it was. Yet through this experience the psalmist has learned to trust in the Lord. Sometimes these psalms ...

2745. The Real Thing

Matthew 23:1-12

Sermon

David G. Rogne

Mahatma Gandhi of India is alleged to have said, "If I had ever met someone who was a genuine Christian, I would have become one immediately." It is a stinging judgment of Christians. At the same time, it challenges every Christian to examine the genuineness of his or her walk and witness. We need to ask ourselves: "How authentic, how credible is my demonstration of the Christian life?" In our scripture lesson for today Jesus criticizes certain characteristics of the Pharisees, a sectarian group within ...

2746. When I Am Old and Gray

Psalm 71:1-24

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Old age can be a fearful time, especially as one becomes more and more vulnerable to the manipulations of others. This psalm is a prayer of an old person (“when I am old,” v. 9, and “when I am old and gray,” v. 18) whose devotion to God has been lifelong (“since my youth,” vv. 5, 17, “from birth,” v. 6). The bond between the speaker and God is expressed in the characteristic phrase of the individual prayer psalms, “my God” (vv. 4, 12, 22), that is, “my personal God.” The psalm also gives repeated attention ...

2747. The Completion of the Wall

Nehemiah 6:15-7:3

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

Success in Spite of Intimidation: The keyword of this chapter is intimidation. Of the major English versions, only the NJPS is consistent in its fivefold rendering of the same Hebrew verb for intimidation. It occurs regularly at the conclusion of paragraphs, in verses 9, 13–14, 16, and 19. The first main section, consisting of verses 1–14, is divided into two parallel subsections describing different attempts to intimidate, in verses 1–9 and 10–14. Then verses 15–16 record a great reversal of the ...

2748. Jeremiah Buys a Field

Jeremiah 32:1-44

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

32:1–15 The narrative begins by giving the date of the event that follows. It is the tenth year of Zedekiah, the eighteenth of Nebuchadnezzar, clearly within months of the downfall of Jerusalem. Indeed, the siege of Jerusalem has begun. According to Jeremiah 52:4–5, the Babylonian army arrived at the gates of Jerusalem in the tenth month of Zedekiah’s ninth year. Thus we are to imagine this story taking place within the walls of Jerusalem which was encircled by the Babylonian army. Furthermore, Jeremiah ...

2749. Don't Give In

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

A colleague in ministry, nearing retirement, said something startling to me. Upon looking at his time in ministry coming to an end he shared he wanted a complete break from anything church related. He stated, “After all, I’ve been preaching the lectionary for 35 years, there really isn’t anything new left to say.” His attitude was light years in another direction from mine, even though I have served more years in ministry than him. For me, the beauty and elegance of scripture is that it allows any of us ...

2750. Harmless Hospitality

Luke 10:38-42 · 2 Kings 4:8-17

Sermon

Will Willimon

A few weeks ago I was to speak at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. I took the last flight out of Durham. We landed late. A hair-raising, fifty-dollar, one hour cab ride later, I was deposited at a now utterly dark, locked up tight, Lutheran Seminary. Had no idea where I was supposed to sleep. Wandered about, Willy Loman-like, bag in hand, trying this door and that, everything locked and dark. Midnight. Finally, I saw one last light in a house on campus. In desperation I knocked on the ...

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