Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 276 to 300 of 438 results

276. Voluntary Blindness

Matthew 6:1-15

Sermon

Herchel H. Sheets

"Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing." That sounds impossible, doesn’t it? Wholeness was a major emphasis of Jesus’ message, was it not? Is he here asking us to become split personalities? No, with purposeful exaggeration he is simply emphasizing that "theatrical virtue does not count in the Kingdom of God,"1 and that we, therefore, should pay little attention to our good deeds. Some of the people among whom he lived were doing just the opposite of that. They were "religious" ...

277. Disrespect Can Be Deadly

1 Sam 2:12-36

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

Big Idea: The Lord opposes those who treat him with contempt and withholds his promised blessings from those who despise him. Understanding the Text Samuel’s arrival at Shiloh (1:28; 2:11) provides a contrastive backdrop for the author’s negative portrait of Eli and his sons. The narrator alternates between negative accounts of Eli’s house (2:12–17, 22–25, 27–36) and brief positive observations about Samuel’s growing relationship with the Lord (2:18–21, 26). This culminates in the account of how Samuel ...

278. Proper 23

Exodus 32:1-33:6, Isaiah 25:1-12, Matthew 22:1-14, Philippians 4:1-9

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: The importance of accepting God's gracious invitation to the feast of life. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Exodus 32:1-14 Moses is meeting with the Lord on Mount Horeb and is away from the people for a long time. The people suspect that something perverse has happened to their leader and so they petition Aaron to make gods for them. Taking their jewelry, he fashions a gold calf and proclaims it the object of their worship. Seeing this unfaithfulness, God wants to destroy the people and make a nation from ...

279. When We Feel God Has Moved And Left No Forwarding Address

Job 23:1--24:25

Sermon

Zan W. Holmes

There are times in our lives when we have a greater awareness of God's absence than we do of God's presence. Indeed, this is the experience which confronts Job in our text. In the midst of his suffering he has tried to lay his case before God. He goes forward and backward, to the left and to the right, seeking in every place to find God. To be sure, Job wants to find God because Job knows that he is an innocent sufferer, that he is an upright person. And since God is just, Job is confident that he would ...

280. The Kingdom of God Is Like… a Joke!

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Steven Burt

The story of the good Samaritan is perhaps the most misunderstood of all Jesus’ parables. We’ve lost sight, over the nineteen centuries since Jesus told it, of its real impact. Since we’re not familiar with the original context in which its hearers heard it, we’ve seen it reduced to a good neighbor story, a Boy Scout doing a good deed a day, a driver stopping to help a little old lady change a flat tire. The emphasis is on the good Samaritan, the one who stops to help. Although that’s a wonderful value to ...

281. The Bite of The Lying Tongue

Exodus 20:1-21, James 3:1-12

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

George Washington, father of our country, is honored as an example of honesty, dating back to his boyhood when he cut down that cherry tree and did not deny it. A recent theory has been circulated that George may have been born in Texas rather than Virginia; that his father gave him a bowie knife instead of a hatchet; and that little George cut down a mesquite tree rather than a cherry tree. When his father asked him about it, George said, "Papa, I cannot tell a lie. I cut it down with my bowie knife." His ...

282. All You Need To Know About Heaven

John 14:5-14, John 14:1-4

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

I'm thinking of another Easter morning approximately ten years ago. Four neighborhood churches in Columbia, South Carolina were sponsoring a sunrise service. Some 300 folks gathered in the front yard of a Baptist church, with coats buttoned snugly against the early morning chill. Sometime in the midst of the service, I noticed Jimmy, sitting in his car as close to the crowd as possible, with the window rolled down. I thanked God for the P.A. system that enabled him to hear. His wife had driven him to the ...

283. Christmasize Your Life

Isaiah 11:1-16

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

(This first section is meant for you to personalize for your own context. Find local parallels to the following images, and provide pictures - if possible - of local landmarks for your people to see in a new way.) Washington State is evergreen country. In some parts of the world like the Pacific Northwest, deciduous trees are but random presences in nature. That's why this stretch of interstate was so striking. Driving along the freeway on a grey November afternoon, we passed an unnaturally large expanse ...

284. True Blood

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The most famous journalist saying of all time is arguably “if it bleeds, it leads.” Rolling Stone magazine decided to take that adage literally. The 18 August 2010 cover of Rolling Stone magazine featured a bloody mess and it was a huge hit, creating a big stir, selling lots of copies. Wearing nothing but dripping, smeared, puddling blood, the three young stars of "True Blood" posed in way meant to sell magazines rather than report on the series. "True Blood" is an American television drama series. It ...

285. Paul Speaks to the Crowd

Acts 21:37--22:21

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

There begins in this section the first of three speeches by Paul in his own defense (22:1–21; 24:10–21; 26:2–23). To a certain extent, these speeches are complementary with respect to both the details they give of Paul’s life and their theological thrust. The latter is most evident in the two accounts of Paul’s conversion (22:6–16; 26:12–23). Acts 22:6–16 makes the point that Paul, alone of all the disciples, had seen the Christ exalted in glory (vv. 11, 14) and that the glorified Christ had spoken in a ...

286. Parables Discourse: Importance of Response to the Kingdom Message

Matthew 13:1-23

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Though the kingdom has a hidden quality so that some do not see or understand it, Jesus teaches his disciples the importance of receiving the kingdom message and bearing fruit. Understanding the Text The third major Matthean discourse, the Parables Discourse (chap. 13), explores through teachings and parables the varied responses that have been narrated in chapters 11–12. Matthew’s two previous discourses have introduced the kingdom—its covenantal nature (chaps. 5–7) and its mission (chap. 10). ...

287. Proper 25

Lk 18:9-14 · 2 Tim 4:9-18 · Sirach 35:12-18 · Deut 10:12-22 · Zeph 3:1-9

Sermon Aid

THE LESSONS Zephaniah 3:1-9 The day of judgment will come to the nations because of their sins. Zephaniah served as a prophet during the reign of Josiah (637-607 BC) before he instituted his reforms. When Zephaniah surveyed the moral and religious conditions of his day, he proclaimed the word of the Lord that the Day of the Lord, the day of judgment, was coming. He called for absolute monotheism, social righteousness, and the fear of the Lord. In our pericope, Jerusalem is described as a city of crime and ...

288. God Enjoys AND Enjoins Us

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Director/actor Woody Allen is known for a lot of quotes. But maybe his most famous quote is this one. Anyone want to guess what it is? “Ninety percent of life is just showing up.” But Woody Allen is famously wrong. Ninety percent of life is what we do AFTER we show up. Why do we want to believe Allen’s computations so badly? We eagerly embrace Woody’s calculus because it takes us off the hook for all but ten percent of our lifetime of screw-ups, fall-flats, and melt-downs. It is easy to just “be there.” It ...

289. Worship and Humility

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

Big Idea: Christian worship must happen in an atmosphere of humility and self-giving. Self-promoting pride desecrates Christ and brings devastation to his community. Understanding the Text The danger of an amalgamation between pagan and Christian worship loomed in the Corinthian setting. After pointing out how clothing (veiling) blurred what should have been a clear distinction between pagan and Christian worship practices (11:2–16), Paul now turns to the issue of the Lord’s Supper itself. The very rooms ...

290. Living Sacrifices

Romans 12:1-8

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

The person who is justified by faith shall live (1:17). That is the theme of the epistle. In chapters 5–8 Paul began to discuss the characteristics of the “new life” (6:4), but not until chapter 12 does he devote himself to the ethical and ecclesiastical shape of it. Justification by faith produces neither moral passivity nor permissiveness. Rather, the indicative of chapters 1–11 leads to the imperative of chapters 12–16. The faith which saves is a faith which can and must be lived, and only the faith ...

291. Kingdom Etiquette

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

W. Robert McClelland

This parable of Jesus is often treated as a call for humility. When invited out for dinner, stand aside and let others be seated first. If that is its purpose it seems to be much ado about very little. But to interpret his words as a teaching on self effacement is to miss the point of the parable. Jesus told parables to describe the kingdom of God not to give lessons in social etiquette. Here, Jesus apparently used the occasion of his sabbath's dinner invitation to tell yet another parable about the ...

292. A Word About the Right Time

Haggai 2:1-9

Sermon

It’s good to see that God gets what he wants, once in a while. The events of this text differ from those we’ve heard of the last Sundays. Here there is no rampant trampling on the poor, no idolatrous affluence, no thwarting of justice against which Micah, Zephaniah and Haggai railed. A remnant of people had returned to Israel some eighteen years before from exile, an exile imposed by Darius and then relieved by Cyrus. Eighteen years is not a long time to resettle after your country has been devastated. ...

293. Glorious Surprises

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Did you notice an article in the Commercial Appeal last week about a young man from Costa Rica? Roger Madrigal longed to represent his country in the Olympic white-water competition. But due to lack of funds, it seemed to be an impossible dream. Roger happened to meet a Memphis couple, George and Ginny Steffens, who are members of Christ Church. The Steffens were touched by his situation. Along with some of their friends, they raised enough money to bring him to the Olympic qualifying event last month in ...

294. Those Who Doubt

John 20:19-31

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

Christianity has always had its doubters. Sometimes it comes in open and public terms. Perhaps more often, despite our attempts at accurate measurements, are the doubters who speak only to intimate friends or not at all. When you and I doubt we are not alone. In the ancient world, our precious faith made little sense to most Jews or Gentiles. Some great souls, even saints, have been born out of times of skepticism. We have always had our "doubting Thomases." Read the autobiographies and biographies of ...

295. Jesus, Not Jewish Leaders, Interprets the Torah Rightly

Matthew 15:1-20

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Jesus and his followers are shown to be true adherents of the Torah, contrasting with the Jewish leaders who disobey the law and so are defiled even as they follow their traditions. Understanding the Text In this passage Matthew narrates another conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees and teachers of the law (15:1). This controversy, like the earlier one (12:1–14), focuses on Torah observance, particularly teaching traditions on the Torah. Matthew affirms Jesus as the one who rightly interprets ...

296. Applying God’s Wisdom to Life’s Issues

1 Corinthians 2:6-16, 1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

Big Idea: God’s wisdom is understood only through the Spirit’s revelation. Spiritual maturity comes from applying God’s wisdom to all aspects of life. Understanding the Text Not only did the reality of the church members’ inclusion in the Christ community directly demonstrate how God’s wisdom was unusual (1:26–31), but Paul’s own life and preaching were living proof that God’s wisdom easily superseded any of the human wisdom being offered in Corinth. Although Paul avoids calling himself an idi?t?s, a term ...

297. Acquittal for the Falsely Accused (Ps. 7)

Psalm 7:1-17

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Psalm 7 is a prayer psalm of the individual. It uses a variety of images (God as refuge and judge, enemies as lions and hunters; legal, militaristic, and birth imagery), and it is difficult to discern which features might indicate the speaker’s personal circumstances and which might derive from the general symbolism of the temple and its regular liturgies. There is also a combination of individual (“me” in vv. 1–6, 8, 10, 17), corporate (“peoples” and the “righteous” and “wicked” in vv. 7–10), and ...

298. The Story of Israel Now and Later

Romans 2:1-16

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Paul makes explicit the story of Israel. Obedience to God’s law was required for Israel to remain in covenantal relationship with God. But Israel repeatedly broke the law, and consequently divine judgment fell on Jews. Moreover, God’s judgment will fall on individual Jews on the final day of reckoning if they do not repent by accepting Jesus as the Messiah. Understanding the Text In placing Romans 2:1–11 in its literary context, we focus in from the big picture of 1:18–3:20, which condemns all of ...

299. Proper 6

Lk 7:36--8:3 · Gal 2:11-21 · 1 Ki 19:1-8

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: 1 Kings 19:1-8 Threatened by Jezebel, Elijah flees for his life and is fed by an angel on his way to Mount Horeb. To understand this pericope, we need to get the background in chapter 18. On Mount Carmel, Elijah calls down fire from heaven to prove that Yahweh is the only true God. This is followed by his slaughter of the four hundred fifty prophets of Baal supported by King Ahab and Queen Jezebel who sends a messenger to Elijah to tell him that within twenty-four hours she will ...

300. A Streak of Common Sense

Deuteronomy 18:14-22

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

When I was growing up my mother often pleaded with me to use common sense. She was evidently convinced I did not have it or else, for some obstinate reason, refused to use it. Perhaps she was right. I was a wool-gatherer, a day-dreamer, off someplace that she did not know or understand. On the other hand, my older brother was evidently a paragon of common sense. I figured this out because she never urged him to use it. He must have been endowed with a suitable supply, for he was an operator and got things ...

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