Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3126 to 3150 of 4935 results

3126. Digging Deeper

Luke 1:1-4

Sermon

James Merritt

The Christian faith is without question the most unique religious faith in history. If there is any religious faith that proves that the thinking that all religions basically teach the same thing and are leading us to the same path is false, it is the Christian faith. The reasons for that are many, but the greatest reason is this. The Christian faith is based on one single man. Not only that, it is based on the belief that this man, named Jesus, not only lived like every other man and died like every other ...

3127. In Athens

Acts 17:16-34

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

The great interest of this section lies in Paul’s speech to the council of Areopagus. It provides us with a paradigm of his preaching to pagans, where, rather than “beginning with Moses and all the prophets” (Luke 24:27), that is, with the “revealed theology,” his approach was by way of “natural theology.” An earlier example of this method was seen in 14:15–17. But Paul was here facing a very different audience from the Lystrans. With them he had spoken of God as the one who gave the seasons and the crops ...

3128. Timothy’s Encouraging Report

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

The somber note on which the previous section ended now gives way to joy at the news brought to Paul at Corinth by Timothy. The Thessalonians were standing firm in the faith and still held the missionaries dear. In view of the missionaries’ intense longing for the Thessalonians (2:17), this news is like a breath of life to them—“now we really live” (vv. 6–9). On the strength of it, Paul reports, they pray night and day that they may see them again (v. 10). An actual prayer to that end follows in verses 11 ...

3129. The Flood

Genesis 6:1-8:22

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

The Increase of Wickedness on Earth: This passage explains why God had to judge the inhabited earth with a deluge (6:9–8:22). It has two distinct sections: a description of the rapid increase in population, when the sons of God married daughters of men (vv. 1–4), and God’s response to human violence (vv. 5–8). The first section reports the population explosion, presumably spurred by the extraordinary marriages between the sons of God and the daughters of men. During that era superheroes are said to have ...

3130. Signs and Oracles of Judgment

Ezekiel 4:1-5:17, Ezekiel 6:1-14, Ezekiel 7:1-27

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

The material between Ezekiel’s call (chs. 1–3) and his vision of Jerusalem’s destruction (chs. 8–11) falls into two parts. Chapters 4 and 5 present a series of four sign-acts depicting Jerusalem’s siege and fall (4:1–3, 4–8, 9–17; 5:1–17). Chapters 6 and 7 are oracles of judgment directed against the mountains of Israel (ch. 6) and the people, particularly the leaders, of Jerusalem (ch. 7). However, these two sections are neatly interwoven. In the fourth sign-act, the Lord calls down destruction upon ...

3131. Jesus or Niccolo?

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

This world's kingdoms have never been presented in a more Machiavellian fashion or more compellingly. And never before and never again have they been nor will they be targeted to one with more reason to succumb. Surely one of the great strengthening comforts of taking Jesus Christ as our Lord is that he, more than anyone else, understands our temptations. Scripture tells us, "He himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested" (Hebrews 2:18). So we can say with ...

3132. Praise to God for a Living Hope

1 Peter 1:1-12

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

Greetings to Readers 1:1 The writer introduces himself in a brief and modest manner. The Gospels all agree on the prominence of Peter, a born leader, impulsive, yet burning with love and enthusiasm. It was to him that Jesus said both the toughest and the choicest things. Whatever Peter’s faults, a cold heart was not one of them. His warm pastoral concern for others glows in his letters. Peter succinctly states his credentials by describing himself simply as an apostle, an accredited messenger, of Jesus ...

3133. Be Holy

1 Peter 1:13-2:3

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

The Believers’ Response in Conduct 1:13 Do the readers now appreciate the magnificence of God’s far-reaching salvation plan in which they have been caught up? Then their response has to be a wholehearted commitment to their new life in Christ. They are to prepare their minds for action, that is, they must put away any distractions which would hinder their growth in grace and their being available to carry forward God’s work of salvation in whatever way he may indicate. The Greek is literally “gird up the ...

3134. The New Moses

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

Two Christmas Stories The Bible gives us two Christmas stories — one in Matthew and one in Luke. We tend to think of Christmas as one seamless narrative but that’s because we have all grown up in churches where, every Christmas Eve, we take the two stories and “harmonize” them into one. We take bits and pieces from each gospel and we leave out other parts and we flip back and forth between them so that they sound like one smooth, uninterrupted story. And that’s fine. It’s a nice way to read the story on ...

3135. No Fair!

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: a ruler or yardstick We love our measuring sticks. When our children are young, we measure their growth and notch little marks in the wall, as they grow taller and taller. We measure our flour and our water to make just the right bread. We measure how much money we put into the bank, so that we can save for college for our kids and our grandkids. We measure our anniversaries, our birthdays, our tenures at various positions. In fact, we measure how many years we’ve been members of this church, don’t ...

3136. Epiphany 3

Lk 4:14-21 · 1 Cor 12:12-31a · Isa 61:1-6 · Neh 8:1-10 · Ps 19

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 Ezra reads the Book of the Law to the returned Exiles. The book of Nehemiah tells the story of the return of the Exiles under Governor Nehemiah during the reign of Artaxerxes. Under Nehemiah the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt and various reforms were introduced. He is known for his relationship with Yahweh and his frequent prayers. Today's pericope tells us of the gathering of the people for the reading of the Mosaic law by Ezra, the priest and scribe. ...

3137. Choosing Your Spirituality

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

“Go and make disciples of all the nations.” The authority of those words sent the Twelve Apostles on a gigantic mission to evangelize the whole world, to share with all people everywhere the spirituality they learned at the feet of Jesus.1 The choice of spirituality was rather direct for the first followers of Jesus. One could choose Christ, Hindu, Buddha, Zarathustra, one of the Baals or something else. But with the passing of time the styles of spirituality have proliferated. Many Christians today still ...

3138. Read the Directions

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Late in the evening before his little son’s birthday, a father was trying to put together a complicated toy as a birthday present. He was not making very good progress. There were a lot of parts in that shipping carton. He realized that he should have begun this days ago, but he had left it until the last hour. Yet he had confidence that he could complete the job with his mechanical knowledge. In his haste, he cut his hand badly on a sharp corner, and it bled profusely until bandaged. When he had finished ...

3139. Receive The Holy Spirit

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Larry Powell

"It is my heart-warming and world-embracing hope," said Mark Twain, "that all of us - the high, the low, the rich, the poor, the admired, the despised, the loved, the hated, the civilized, and the savage - may eventually be gathered in a heaven of everlasting rest and peace and bliss, except the inventor of the telephone." Mark Twain obviously held a great dislike for the telephone, probably because, among other things, it renders a person to be easily accessible, even when they prefer to be inaccessible. ...

3140. Tears And Ointment

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Larry Powell

Senator William Proximire (D-Wisconsin) regularly delights the general public by awarding his now-famous "Golden Fleece Award" to some government committee or agency which, because of some redundant high-dollar project, has achieved recognition for excelling in flagrant, wasteful, unnecessary spending. Senator Proximire gets our attention because he illuminates a subject of interest to us all: how money is spent. We do not like to spend more than we have to and have little tolerance for irresponsible, ...

3141. God's Bag of Cookies

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

Johnny Dean

Bertrand Russell once said, "It is preoccupation with possession, more than anything else, that prevents men from living freely and nobly." Since Russell was an atheist, I’m very careful how and when to express agreement with his philosophy of life. But this is one area where I’m tempted to say the same thing when it comes to people’s possession of religion and politics (and I know I’m not supposed to use those two words in the same sentence from the pulpit, but its done now and I can’t take it back). We ...

3142. Where is the Nearest Sycamore Tree?

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Johnny Dean

Theologian John Killinger has written that Zaccheus is just about the only person in the New Testament who is singled out for comment on the basis of his physical appearance, the fact that he was small in stature. Whenever I read this passage of scripture, I can’t help but think about the song about short people that was popular a few years ago, remember? Maybe that’s part of the appeal of this story, because so many of us are not happy with our physical appearance. How else could you explain the immense ...

3143. Proper 9

Lk 10:1-12, 17-20 · Gal 6:7-18 · 1 Ki 21:1-3, 17-21 · Isa 66:1-14

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY 1 Kings 21:1-3, 17-21 For refusing to sell his lot to King Ahab, Naboth is falsely accused and murdered so Ahab can take possession of the land. Here we have only the beginning and ending of a dramatic story involving a king, a subject, and a prophet. To understand it, one must know and tell what happens between the first and last verses of the pericope. King Ahab offers to buy or trade the lot of Naboth whose land is next to the palace for his vegetable garden. Because he received it as an ...

3144. Epiphany 3

Lk 4:14-21 · 1 Cor 12:12-30 · Neh 8:1-10 · Isa 61:1-6

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Nehemiah 8:1-4a, 5-6, 8-10 Ezra reads the Book of the Law to the returned Exiles. The book of Nehemiah tells the story of the return of the Exiles under Governor Nehemiah during the reign of Artaxerxes. Under Nehemiah the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt and various reforms were introduced. He is known for his relationship with Yahweh and his frequent prayers. Today's pericope tells us of the gathering of the people for the reading of the Mosaic law by Ezra, the priest and scribe. When the people ...

3145. Lent 5

Jn 8:1-11; 12:1-8 · Lk 20:9-19 · Isa 43:16-21 · Php 3:8-14

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Isaiah 43:16-21 Yahweh promises to do a new thing for his people in exile. The "new thing" (v. 19) Yahweh promises is a new exodus from bondage in Babylon. The "former things" (v. 18) refer to the exodus from Egypt. As in the first exodus, Yahweh will make a way through the wilderness and provide water as the people cross six hundred miles of desert from Babylon to Jerusalem. A third exodus is the sacrifice of Christ who redeemed us from the bondage of sin and who now provides food and water in ...

3146. Anne Sullivan

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Carroll Gunkel

The name of Helen Keller is a familiar name; her story is a familiar story. Helen’s family was living in Tuscumbia, Alabama, when she was born on June 27, 1880. She was born to a distinguished family Swiss ancestry on her father’s side, and cousin to the revered General Robert E. Lee on her mother’s side. The family’s ancestry was enhanced by the birth of a beautiful daughter. At the age of eighteen months tragedy struck the family. Helen was stricken by an intensive fever of indefinite cause. Perhaps it ...

3147. Justification and Reconciliation

Romans 3:21-31

Sermon Aid

T. A. Kantonen

Two fundamental and interrelated concepts in Paul’s message of salvation are justification and reconciliation. When the apostle speaks of salvation in terms of vicarious sacrifice and redemption, he is describing salvation as a purely objective salvation-occurrence. The saving sacrifice has already been made. The redemptive deed has already been done. The victory over the forces of evil has already been won. Justification and reconciliation, on the other hand, show how what Christ has done can become for ...

3148. Loved People, Love People

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

"Remember who you are, Dick," my Dad would say. "You are a Jensen. You have a family name to live up to." I did not get that speech too often when I was young. I got it often enough, however. It usually came at very strategic times like when I went out on my first date, or got the family car, or left home for the first time. "Remember who you are." My Dad believed, and I think he was right, that he and Mom had instilled certain values in me. Most families have such values. When I went out on my own I was ...

3149. Divide and Destroy

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Harold Warlick

One day at a city gate two women were arguing over a baby. King Solomon said, “Well, first take a sword, cut the baby into two equal pieces, and give each mother a half.” Of course, you could only divide the baby by destroying it. The most vital items in our faith are like that. You can only divide them by destroying them. They are entities, not quantities. The Holy Spirit is an entity. Each part belongs to every other part. The Bible itself is an entity; it is an organic whole. In our modern mindset, ...

3150. The Unexpected Jesus

Mark 3:20-30

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever been stuck in traffic behind a really slow moving vehicle? This can be a very frustrating experience, especially when you're running late. In San Diego there is a highway where one exit leads from one highway directly onto another. To make matters worse there is a steep upward hill on the second highway which is used frequently by cement trucks. You can imagine the results as cars leave one highway traveling 55 miles per hour only to find a cement truck slowly making its way up the hill at 20 ...

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