Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 3201 to 3225 of 5000 results

Isaiah 9:1-7

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... the whole of v. 6, despite NIV). It resembles a song of thanksgiving for what Yahweh has already done (cf. Isa. 12), until the promise in verse 7b makes explicit that in real time the whole lies in the future. Its reference to Yahweh’s zeal further illustrates the importance of Yahweh’s passion to Israel’s reaching its destiny (see on 5:25–30). The birth of another son, explicitly David’s rather than Isaiah’s, is the key to the move from death to life. The words in verse 6a are the words ...

3202. The Remnant of Israel

Isaiah 10:20-34

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... –27 As he did in Egypt: in Exod. 14:16 it is actually Moses who is commanded to lift his staff. Literally the text here reads “in the way of Egypt” and does not say who lifted the staff then. Perhaps Yahweh’s now lifting the staff illustrates the heightening that is often a feature when Yahweh acts again as in the past. It is a feature of typology. For that matter, Judges says nothing of Yahweh whipping Midian, though it is Yahweh who causes the Midianites to slaughter each other. The language of v ...

3203. A Prophecy Against Egypt and Cush

Isaiah 20:1-6

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... is again a sign and a portent (see 8:18). Perhaps he has already been involved in one form of such action, if sackcloth suggested mourning. He now changes it for another, going about as if stripped for a humiliating transportation. In this, God is giving people not merely an illustration of what will or could happen but a sign of being in the midst of actually making it happen. It has the power of a sacrament. God is putting a decision into effect before their eyes.

3204. A Prophecy Against Arabia

Isaiah 21:13-17

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... the Jordan rift). Only later did the word come to denote the Arab people. But the word also resembles another root and could mean “evening”: cf. vv. 11–12. The heading is lit. “an oracle/poem in the steppe” or “. . . in Arabia,” illustrating how the headings are taken from the actual poems. The verse division implies “You caravans of Dedanites will camp . . .” (see NRSV) and implies that this location is the Dedanites’ punishment. It is they who have been defeated. This is an easier way ...

3205. Joy of the Redeemed

Isaiah 35:1-10

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... , each of its motifs is taken up there. Jesus then also takes up some of its motifs and applies them to his own ministry (Matt. 11:5). These two examples of the use of chapter 35 elsewhere provide interim fulfillments of its vision and illustrations of what other such interim fulfillments might look like. In our own experience, when we see God replacing desolation by fruitfulness, fear by hope, silence by shouting, or desert by pool, and when we see believing communities finding their way back to God and ...

3206. Jeremiah Freed

Jeremiah 40:1-6

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... also reminded of the fact that Josiah later died because he did not heed the word of Yahweh as it was spoken through the mouth of Neco, pharaoh of Egypt (2 Chr. 35:20–22). Outside of the Bible the same understanding may be found as illustrated by the so-called Apology of Tukulti-Ninurta, where that Assyrian king claims that Marduk, the god of Babylon, commanded him to destroy that city. Additional Notes 40:6 Jeremiah, having chosen to stay in Judah, goes to Gedaliah who is at Mizpah. Since Jerusalem was ...

3207. Like Fighting a Giant Tuna

Romans 7:14-25a

Sermon

King Duncan

... s ever done battle with temptation? Some of us fight that battle every day. And sometimes it’s like fighting a giant tuna. We get pulled under and we worry that we are going to drown. It’s almost demonic how temptation works. To use just one more illustration from the world of dieting, a man named Justin joined a Weight-Watchers group six years ago to lose forty pounds. He succeeded. He lost the weight and got down to a slender and healthy 170 pounds on the scales. Almost as soon as he reached his goal ...

3208. The Baby or the Window?

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

King Duncan

... your treasure in a field, your pearl of great price? As Jesus said in another place, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). 1. Craig Brian Larson, 750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers, and Writers, p. 432. Cited in a sermon by Brandon Mayfield. 2. Monday Fodder. 3. Bill Harley on NPR’s All Things Considered, July 11, 1995. Cited by Michael Yaconelli, Dangerous Wonder (Colorado Springs, CO.: NavPress, 1998), pp. 58 ...

3209. Fake News? No! Fake Religion

Matthew 23:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... make to our faith in Christ is simply to live out what we say we believe. 1. Help! I’m Laughing and I Can’t Get Up, pp.128-129. 2. Parade magazine, August 13, 1989, p. 8. 3. Donald Grey Barnhouse, Timeless Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 2004), pp. 78-79. 4. Daily Bread, June 22, 1992. 5. Evie Megginson, http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/because-he-lives-evie-megginson-sermon-on-easter-resurrection-67430.asp. 6. God’s Devotional Book: Inspiration ...

3210. We've Got a Friend in High Places

1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28, Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... Avenue to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. There behind the high altar of that great cathedral is a little shrine of the boy Jesus, perhaps eight or nine years old, and with no effort he is holding the world in one hand. In Larson’s mind his point was illustrated graphically. “We have a choice,” he would say. “We can carry the world on our shoulders, or we can say, ‘I give up, Lord; here’s my life. I give you my world, the whole world.’” (7) What a simple but beautiful reminder of a choice we ...

3211. How to Have a Rich Future

Mark 13:24-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... who are in Christ win. 1. MONDAY FODDER, http://mail.family-safe-mail.com/. 2. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/17/preacher-harold-camping-dies-the-rapture. 3. Cited in Robert J. Morgan, Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes. Electronic ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000). 4. By David Borgenicht and Joshua Piven (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2000). Cited in “Help! Quicksand!” by Nadya Labi, Time Magazine, April 17, 2000. 5. Cited by Dr. Daniel W. Massie ...

3212. How It All Began

Luke 2:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... by Dr. Ray Pritchard, http://www.keepbelieving.com/sermon/1997-12-21-Christmas-Joy/. 4. Michael Frost, Exiles: Living Missionally in a Post-Christian Culture (Kindle Edition). 5. Larson, Bruce. The Communicator’s Commentary #3 (Waco, TX: Word Books, 1983), pp. 40, 51. 6. http://www.dabar.org/Homiletics/Celebrating/Illustrations.html. 7. Contributed. Source unknown.

3213. The Ultimate Mountaintop Experience

Mark 9:2-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... ? 1. Pastor Leith Anderson in a script for his broadcast ministry. Cited at http://wooddale.org/sites/default/files/media/faith_matters/sermon_transcripts/BOJ-42_2.pdf. 2. Charles Colson, “A Way of Escape at San Quentin,” Christianity Today. Contributed. Source unknown. 3. Robert J. Morgan, Preacher’s Sourcebook Creative Sermon Illustrations (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2007), p. 291. 4. God’s Little Lessons For Leaders (Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications Ministries, 2005), p. 123.

3214. A Time to Get Angry

John 2:13-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... to do with our anger. We are aware of the negative results of anger. Anger can cause us to do some really dumb things. Recently I heard a ridiculous joke that tickled my funny bone. I normally don’t tell bar jokes from the pulpit, but the story perfectly illustrates the problems we can cause for ourselves, if not for others, when we get angry. It is about a man who walks into a bar and says, “Bartender, give me two shots.” The bartender asks, “You want them both now or one at a time?” The guy says ...

3215. A Law Written On Our Hearts

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... Rises, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and A Farewell to Arms was the son of devout Christian parents. Hemingway’s writing, however, exhibited none of the beliefs his parents tried to instill in him. A letter from his mother written in 1920 illustrates how completely he had divorced himself from their beliefs: “Unless you, my son, Ernest, come to yourself, cease your lazy loafing and pleasure seeking . . . stop trading on your handsome face . . . and neglecting your duties to God and your Savior Jesus Christ ...

3216. His Final Words

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

King Duncan

... calling for his Father God, just as you or I would have in such a situation. Jesus could not adequately have taken our place unless he came to that point that each of us will one day come to when we question whether God Himself has forsaken us. To illustrate the pain and torment in Jesus’ spirit, a story is told of a couple of missionaries in a far and remote place. They have their four-year-old son with them. The son enjoys a beautiful trust and love relationship with his father. One day it is discovered ...

3217. Faces of Failure: Peter

Matthew 26 (selections)

Sermon

Don Tuttle

... on the Faces of Failure. “It may be your purpose in life,” it read, “to simply serve as a warning to others.” One could certainly apply that to those we have been considering. Nicodemus warns us about the failure of imagination. The disciples illustrate what happens when we fail to trust Jesus. Our Lord’s mother, brothers, and sisters reveal what willful blindness to Jesus and his work looks like. Then, last Sunday, we saw the failure of lost hope overwhelm Judas Iscariot. Each of these biblical ...

3218. Such a Little Thing

Mark 4:26-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... . (6) Wooden never left anything to chance. And neither should we. Little things can make a big contribution to achieving a successful outcome in any undertaking. Conversely, the neglect of little things can doom even the most ambitious undertaking. A tragic illustration of the crucial importance of little things was furnished a few years ago by the crash of a jet airliner shortly after takeoff. All ninety-five persons aboard were killed. An exhaustive study of the disaster concluded that it might have ...

3219. Hope for People Who Are Angry

Ephesians 4:30-5:2

Sermon

King Duncan

... than anger, love rather than hate, forgiveness rather than bitterness. “Walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” 1. Michael E. Hodgin, Humorous Illustrations for Public Speaking (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004). 2. From the Internet. 3. Adapted from a sermon by Tim Diebel, http://www.fccdm.org/copies_of_sermons/Sermons2003/081003.htm. 4. Dr. Daniel Lioy, Tarbell’s Lesson Commentary, September 2004‑ August 2005 (Colorado ...

3220. In It for the Long Haul

John 6:60-69

Sermon

King Duncan

... like this: “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown” (2:10). That is faith for the long haul--the only kind of faith that really counts. 1. Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks 4: Another 100 Attention-getting Tales (Zondervan.com). Kindle Edition. 2. Tony Robbins, Unshakeable: Your Financial Freedom Playbook (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2017, Kindle Edition). 3. Jason Navallo, Thrive: 30 Inspirational Rags-to-Riches Stories (Navallo Publishing. Kindle ...

3221. A Word to the Wealthy

Mark 10:17-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... our lives, and most important of all, so that it is creating a distance between ourselves and God? 1. Scams, True Stories from the Edge (Buffalo, NY: Annick Press Ltd., 2004), pp. 2-3. 2. I have misplaced the source of this illustration. 3. G. Krause, “Rent-a-family.” Cited in 600 minutes with God: 200 Devotionals for Christian Men by Dick Duerksen and Ray Dabrowski, editors (AdvenTalk Media, 1996), p. 8. 4. Unshakeable: Your Financial Freedom Playbook (Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition). 5. When the ...

3222. Of Mice and Men

Hebrews 10:11-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... Today, #208. 3. Rumours of Another World (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003), pp. 145-146. 4. Brennan Manning, Lion and Lamb (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Chosen Books, 1986). 5. Mark Strand, “I Couldn’t Forget That Door,” Decision, December 1996, 19. Cited in Robert J. Morgan, Preacher’s Sourcebook Creative Sermon Illustrations (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2007), p. 310.

3223. Who Owns the Cloud: Google or God?

Luke 21:25-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... one. Theologians speak of realized eschatology. That is a fancy term that means we can live now in the light of Christ’s final victory, even though that victory is yet to be won. Let me give you an example. Dan Bauman in his book, Dare to Believe, illustrates how we are to experience tomorrow’s joy today. He explains that at Christmas time as a youth he always did a lot of snooping, trying to find the gift-wrapped presents and figure out what was in them. Some of you have undoubtedly done the same thing ...

3224. The Way Up Is Down!

Mark 9:30-37

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... be first with God? Then get in the habit of stooping low, for the way up is down and the way down is up! Reach down to give a hand to someone in need. Sacrifice your wants for the needs of another. Practice the art of humility. Jesus, to illustrate this lesson, embraces a small child and says, "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me" (v. 37). In a society that regarded its children as little more than trophies ...

3225. Hard and Soft Hearts

Mark 10:2-16

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... disciples couldn't have that. But Jesus is determined to make his point. Mark says Jesus was "indignant" with his disciples. In other words, Jesus was ticked off. When would these dolts ever catch on? And so, as a kind of object lesson, as a visual illustration of what kind of messiah he was and what his kingdom was all about, Jesus insists that they let the little children come to him. It is to such weak and vulnerable ones, to such marginalized and outcast, that the kingdom belongs. And to make his ...

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