Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 351 to 375 of 606 results

351. The Temple of Doom and the Bridegroom

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... amount of money imaginable. This woman has spent half a lifetime on touring the sights and galleries of the world’s greatest art. And she has now become bored and weary. Then she meets a Frenchman who has no money but a love for beauty and a self-acquired knowledge of art. And in his company, suddenly things became different. In her words, “I never knew what things were like until you taught me how to look at them.” Life in Christ is like that. When we see life in the light of Jesus’ light, we hear ...

352. When We Are Uncertain about The Future

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... victory over four kings from Mesopotamia. These kings had banded together for the purpose of military conquest and had kidnapped Abram’s nephew Lot. Abram is not only successful on the battlefield against these four kings and their armies, but he is beginning to acquire both wealth and stature in this new land to which God has called him. Still, in spite of all his accomplishments, his heart is uncertain about his future and uncertain about the God who had called him. Do you know what that is like ...

353. Belonging to Christ's Flock

John 10:22-42

Sermon

King Duncan

A couple retired to a small Arizona ranch and acquired a few sheep. At lambing time, it was necessary to bring two newborns into the house for care and bottle-feeding. As the lambs grew, they began to follow the rancher’s wife around the farm. She was telling a friend about this strange development. “What did you name them?” ...

354. Lift High the Cross

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... world did not know God through wisdom,” Paul claims. All the wisdom in the world does not lead anyone to God. Only through the cross can we find the God who saves us. A word of caution is in order; Paul was not saying that acquiring wisdom was not important. We benefit daily from the many scientific and medical advances made over the last fifty years. Many diseases have been eliminated through the hard work of dedicated doctors and researchers to which we are thankful. While learning is important we need ...

355. Powerless People

Judges 4:1-24

Sermon

Argile Smith

... and it can happen now. He can make us wise, and he can instill courage within us too. Also, don’t underestimate the enemy in the story. The Canaanite army had been oppressing Israel for twenty years, and the oppression had been brutal. The army had acquired the latest instruments of war: iron chariots. In fact, they owned 900 of them, and they used them in their torment of Israel. As you could imagine, the swords and spears of the men of Israel were no match for the sophisticated, tank-like chariots that ...

356. The Healing Power of Faith

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... was the most terrible disease of Jesus’ day; it was greatly feared. It was disfiguring and sometimes fatal. People in Bible times associated leprosy with sin. Surely the person thus afflicted, or perhaps his parents, had done something terrible to deserve acquiring such a dread affliction. The leper himself was considered utterly unclean physically and spiritually. He could not approach within six feet of any person including his own family members. We read in Leviticus 13:45: “His clothes shall be rent ...

357. A Faith that Works

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... they decided to “spend” a part of their extra potential income on a fuller private life. Over the last fifty years Europeans have continued this pattern, and hours of work have fallen sharply. (1) But not in the United States. We seem to choose acquiring more things as opposed to having more leisure. Of course, the recent decline in the European economy may be related to their more relaxed view of work. It’s an interesting difference in attitude. Still, even with this American work ethic, there are ...

358. Cleaned and Claimed

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... we lived in the 1500s? This is interesting. One writer tells us that in the 1500s most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, with a month having passed they were still starting to acquire an odor, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married. We are told further that baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the ...

359. Hitting the Boss Key

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... tempted tempted to anger, tempted to lust, tempted to sloth, tempted to stubbornness, tempted to vengeance, and the list goes on and on. How do you say no to the tempter? “Impulse control” we call it in children, and it is the most important virtue they can acquire. But how do we learn to control our most basic impulses and desires? It is tough. For one thing, the tempter hits us where we are most vulnerable. That is to say, your temptation may not be mine, and vice versa. A writer named Susan Nielsen ...

360. Peace Be With You

John 20:19-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... as, in combat, the infantryman could scramble into his foxhole to take cover, he relied on a “mental foxhole” in times of stress. The philosopher Marcus Aurelius shared this conviction. He believed devoutly that a human being needed the capacity to retreat within himself to acquire peace of mind and inner renewal. (7) How do you find peace of mind? If you are smart, you will find peace in the presence of the risen Christ. That is the only place where true peace is available. Barry Kolp tells about a ...

361. Be A Good Virus

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... were somewhat vaccinated by the virus when they emerged from the womb, or in the first days of life. But then came hygiene, which soaped away the immunizing viruses and placed newborns in totally antiseptic environments. Soon children were being born without any acquired immunity that came from early exposure to the virus. Suddenly mass outbreaks of polio were popping up in the most surprising places. Not in the slums but in the suburbs, not in the dirtiest places in town but in the cleanest and most ...

362. Family Re:Union - (PG) Parental Guidance Required

Psalm 127:1-5

Sermon

James Merritt

... , “I can’t believe my daughter wants to follow in my footsteps.” About that time, the child spoke into that stethoscope and said, “Welcome to McDonald’s. May I take you order please?” When you realize that 60-65% of your child’s working vocabulary is acquired by the age of 3, 80% of their character is formed by the age of 5 and 90% of their personality is set by the age of 7. When you realize the window of opportunity you have to spiritually direct your child and emotionally develop your child ...

363. Who's Your Master?

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... of you are excellent in your profession or business or in school. You’ve learned to be obedient to the rules and regulations that govern success in the business world and in school. That’s terrific. I salute you. Obedience is never an easy trait to acquire. But let me ask you, have you leaned to be obedient to God? In 1983, one of the great stories of sports history occurred when the late Jim Valvano took a supposedly undermanned North Carolina State team and won the NCAA championship. Their foes, the ...

364. Dealing with Cantankerous People

Ephesians 4:30-5:2

Sermon

King Duncan

... man made me just like him. I began to do things the way he did, and that accounts for what I am today.” (5) If you want to be better than you are right now, spend time in the company of someone who embodies the virtues you would like to acquire. Or be a mentor and role model to someone else who is just beginning the journey. Mark Roberts in his book, Dare to Be True, tells about a friend years ago who decided she wanted to run a marathon. Even though Nancy had been a faithful jogger for many years ...

365. Second Chances

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... a lawyer. He funded these adventures by passing hundreds of fake checks. He succeeded partly because he was careful to dress right--after all, clothes make the man (they say), and more importantly because he possessed a convincing charm--enough charm to acquire information, hotel rooms, flights around the world, and oodles of cash. In the film a determined FBI agent, played by Tom Hanks, tracks Frank across several continents. Arrested and sentenced to 12 years in jail, 26-year-old Frank is given a ...

366. Died In the Harness

Humor Illustration

Michael P. Green

The story has been told of a woman who had acquired wealth and social prominence and decided to have a book written about her genealogy. The well-known author she engaged for the assignment discovered that one of her grandfathers was a murderer who had been electrocuted in Sing Sing. When he said this would have to be included in the ...

367. Not Satisfied

Revelation 3:14-22

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... . He opened his jaws to snarl and snatch at the bone’s reflection—and of course lost his bone when it fell into the water. How accurately this pictures the “church in Laodicea”! Not satisfied with the promises of God, the church in this wealthy Roman city sought for and acquired earthly power through wealth. But she had in reality become poor, and in the end her wealth would be denied her.

368. Wisdom For The Future

Illustration

G. K. C. MacDonald

William Thomson (later Lord Kelvin) was one of the greatest physicists of nineteenth-century England. When he was away at college, his father wrote to him: “You are young: take care you be not led to what is wrong. A false step now, or the acquiring of an improper habit, might ruin you for life. Frequently look back on your conduct and thence learn wisdom for the future.”

369. The Fall of Jerusalem

2 Chronicles 36:15-23

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... as “to seek” (darash or biqqesh) Yahweh, “to rely” (sha?an) upon Yahweh, and “to humble oneself” (kana?) before Yahweh. An attitude characterized by these inclinations leads to winning battles, having a very able military force, gaining influence and fame, acquiring many wives, and even receiving a proper burial in the City of David together with deceased royalty of the past. The other side of the spectrum is represented by concepts such as “to forsake” (?azab) Yahweh and “to be disloyal ...

370. The Believers Share Their Possessions

Acts 4:32-37

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... point to the latter. It is said only that he was born in Cyprus. Additional Notes 4:35 And put it (the money) at the apostles feet: Haenchen argues that behind this expression is an old custom whereby one setting his foot on a person or object acquired rights of property and free disposal over the same (p. 231). But even if Haenchen is right in deriving the term from this custom, as used here it probably did not imply any legal right to the property. Alternatively, the expression may derive from the usual ...

371. Philip and the Ethiopian

Acts 8:26-40

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... was already settled in Caesarea at the time of the events of chapter 10, or whether they preceded his coming, we cannot tell. Additional Notes 8:26 Go south: The Greek word means “middle of the day,” but from the position of the sun at noon, it acquired the sense adopted here. But if the command was to travel at noon, Philip’s ready obedience is even more striking—temperatures in this region can be very high—to say nothing of his running to catch up (v. 30). 8:27 Candace, queen of the Ethiopians ...

372. Paul in Ephesus

Acts 19:1-22

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... Seleucid king, Antiochus III (190 B.C. at Magnesia), much of it passed to Eumenes II of Pergamum, an ally of Rome. Subsequently, on the death of the last king of Pergamum, Attalus III (133 B.C.), it was bequeathed back to the Romans. The new province thus acquired was called Asia because the Attalids were known to the Romans as the kings of Asia. It took in Mysia (see disc. on 16:7f.); Lydia and Caria; the coastal areas of Aeolia, Ionia, and the Troad; and many of the islands of the Aegean. The province was ...

373. Paul Speaks to the Crowd

Acts 21:37--22:21

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... on 26:11; for the construction “to believe toward …,” see disc. on 9:42). But then he had become a believer himself. Before that, he had even taken part in the murder of Stephen (notice how the word “witness,” martys, applied here to Stephen, was acquiring its sense of “martyr”). Paul’s intention in all this was to show that his life’s work among the Gentiles had not been his own, but the Lord’s, choice. He would have stayed in Jerusalem, but the Lord had been unmoved by his arguments ...

374. The Trial Before Felix

Acts 24:1-27

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... unable to condemn the apostle. This was the real reason for the adjournment; the reason alleged was that he needed the evidence of the prefect in person. But we never hear of Lysias’ coming, and we can only suppose that he was never summoned. How Felix had acquired his knowledge of the Way, we are not told. It may have been by meeting Christians in the ordinary course of his duties or by hearing about them in Caesarea or from his wife, Drusilla, who was a Jew. 24:23 Meanwhile, Paul had no redress and ...

375. Freedom In Christ

Galatians 5:1-15, Galatians 5:16-26

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... it was a trap from which it was necessary to be freed. Desire means one makes one’s happiness or peace hostage to achieving or receiving what one desires, whether it be money, position, or another person. Epictetus said: “For freedom is not acquired by satisfying yourself with what you desire, but by destroying your desire” (Arrian’s Discourses 4.1.175 [Oldfather, LCL]). Xenophon has Socrates say: Some are ruled by gluttony, some by fornication, some by drunkenness, and some by foolish and expensive ...

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