Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3751 to 3775 of 4914 results

3751. Here's Mud in Your Eye

John 9:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

There is much speculation on the Internet about the origin of the time-honored toast, “Here’s mud in your eye!” Google the sentence and you will find numerous explanations as to its origin. Some say it became common in the trenches of Word War I as mud was everywhere, and in everything, including the drinks. But we know it didn’t originate there. The phrase was being bandied about in U.S. saloons as early as 1890 and was popular with the English fox hunting crowd before then. Others contend it comes from ...

3752. Dust Off The Throne

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16, Luke 1:26-38, Romans 16:25-27

Sermon

David J. Kalas

When I was a kid, my parents would host several Christmas parties each year — one for each of the adult Sunday school classes from our church. In preparation for each party, my mother would employ me in vacuuming the living room, mixing the punch, lighting the candles, and such. One task that invariably came before the first party of each Christmas season involved the silver tea set. It was a lovely set, but we seldom used it apart from the annual Christmas parties. Consequently, when December rolled ...

3753. While It Was Still Dark

John 20:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

Welcome on this Easter Sunday 2015 the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave. This is the most important day in the year for Christians. Unfortunately, tomorrow is the biggest day of the year for some golfers. It is the start of The Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia. You think I’m kidding about their relative importance? Years ago, Frank Chirkinian, the head of CBS Sports, discovered that The Masters and Easter Sunday happened on the same day that year. Upset at this ...

3754. A Watery Grave

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

David J. Kalas

A photograph of the earth from outer space reveals how much of our world is water. Indeed, that cosmic view prompted folks to refer to the Earth a “blue marble in space.” Scientists report that approximately seventy percent of the Earth’s surface is covered with water. Genesis, meanwhile, reports an occasion when 100 percent of the Earth’s surface was covered with water. This is the familiar story of Noah and the flood. Archaeologists have discovered other ancient flood narratives that bear striking ...

3755. I'll Never Forget That Night

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

Years ago, a band called Lobo sang about an international memorable event. Describing the impoverished plights of a boy from Chicago’s racial ghetto and a girl living among India’s “Untouchables,” the singers went on to shake their heads in wonder that both, on a “July afternoon,” along with the entire population of planet earth, heard and saw Neil Armstrong “walk upon the moon.” Some incidents are so unusual or catastrophic or fraught with meaning that they cannot be forgotten, and all who were alive ...

3756. Seismic Shift

2 Corinthians 7:2-16

Sermon

James Merritt

Not too long ago there was a young lady who visited our church from another church in our area. After the service, she was walking through the lobby and one of our ladies noticed her and not recognizing her walked over to ask if she was a guest. She replied that she was. She said, “Did you enjoy the service?” The lady said, “Yes, but I won’t be back.” She said, “Were we not friendly to you?” She said, “Oh no. Your people were very friendly.” She said, “Did you not enjoy the worship?” She said, “Oh no. The ...

3757. Peace Comes to Our Hearts

Philippians 4:4-7

Sermon

King Duncan

About this time of year many of us start getting a little frantic, don’t we? Christmas is so near. There is still so much to do. This is a frantic time for many of us. The season of Advent was supposed to be our chance to get ready, but in another week it will be over and the big day will be here. All the decorations will be in place, the packages will all be wrapped, the last card will have been sent--then, ready or not, Christmas Day will arrive. Are you prepared for Christmas? I mean the real Christmas ...

3758. Second Chances

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

(Growing Strong in the Season of Lent, Lent 3) There is a hilarious story about a farmer who had three sons: Ron, Don and Little John. All had their names on the church roll but none ever attended church or had time for God. Then one day Don was bitten by a rattlesnake. The doctor was called and he did all he could to help Don, but the outlook for his recovery was very dim indeed. So the pastor was called to evaluate the situation. The pastor arrived, and began to pray: “O wise and righteous Father, we ...

3759. A Call to Return to the Lord

Zechariah 1:1-6

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

Superscription (1:1): Zechariah prophesied to a community that knew the fulfillment of prophecy as a fact of their lives. Earlier prophetic announcements of judgment had been proven true in the destruction of their nation. The prophet’s ministry, and the ongoing ministry of the book, is to persuade its audience that the reliability of God’s earlier words of judgment stands as evidence that God’s promises and commands are also true. While fulfillment of salvation promises began in the early years of the ...

3760. No More Tears

Sermon

King Duncan

One of these days I ought to give you a quiz on my sermon from the week before. Don’t worry. I’m not actually going to do it. It would be too embarrassing. Truthfully, there are times when I can’t remember what I preached on the week before. That’s why it caught my attention when a pastor named Benton Lutz told about the one sermon he most remembers. The pastor who preached this sermon described an experience he once had in a bathtub. The preacher said, that he was in a tub, the water was running; the tub ...

3761. Thanks for Their Gifts

Philippians 4:10-20

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

Paul’s Sufficiency Paul now comes to one of his main reasons for writing. If this note (4:10–20) was an integral part of the main letter, he has reserved it to the end to give it prominence—his expression of thanks for the gift that Epaphroditus had brought him from the Philippian church. 4:10 I rejoice greatly in the Lord, meaning “I gave joyful thanks to the Lord” (when I received your gift). Paul is grateful to the Philippian Christians for the gift they have sent, but his rejoicing arises chiefly from ...

3762. God’s Covenant with Abram

Genesis 15:1-18

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

God’s Covenant with Abram: In this account God appears twice to Abram, each time giving him special promises. The text gives no indication of the length of time between these appearances, although it must have been at least a day. In the first appearance God gives Abram an object lesson at night (v. 5), and in the next there is mention of the sun setting (v. 12). On both occasions Abram receives God’s word like a prophet. In the first he has a vision in which he receives two words, both introduced by a ...

3763. Renewal of the Covenant

Deuteronomy 29:1-29

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Summary and Renewal of the Covenant: In terms of the rhetorical nature of the book, Moses’ third speech to Israel begins here at 29:2 (which is 29:1 in the Hebrew text). In terms of the concentric structure of the book, we are still within what Christensen calls “the inner frame” (chs. 27–30), which is in a position corresponding to chapters 4–11 (cf. introduction, p. 4). And in terms of the message of the book, this section picks up and summarizes much of the earlier material, setting it once again within ...

3764. Israel Rebels Against Rehoboam

1 Kings 12:1-24

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

The Kingdom Torn Away: The king is dead. Long live the king! Well, not quite. We are now to read of the tearing away of the kingdom that has been threatened in chapter 11. As Moses led his people out from slavery under the house of the Egyptian Pharaoh, so Jeroboam will lead Israel out from “slavery” under the house of David; as God hardened Pharaoh’s heart in order to accomplish all his will, so the hardness of Rehoboam’s heart will precipitate this schism also. The exodus will take Israel towards a new ...

3765. Sabbath Controversies with the Pharisees

Matthew 12:1-14

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Matthew portrays Jesus (versus the Jewish leaders) as the true interpreter of the Torah, who understands its center to be mercy and who keeps the Sabbath while also being Lord over it. Understanding the Text This passage, which focuses on Jesus as rightly interpreting the Torah, follows directly Matthew’s comparison of Jesus to Wisdom, whose instruction (yoke) is “easy” (11:28–30; cf. 11:19). Here Matthew begins to narrate the heightened conflict between the Galilean Jewish leaders, specifically ...

3766. Jesus’s Glory and Majesty Disclosed

Mark 9:2-13

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: The two primary thrusts in this passage are Christology and discipleship. First, this is an epiphany story in which God reveals the preexistent glory of his Son as the majestic Lord and eschatological Moses. Second, the disciples continue to struggle and yet begin to experience a dawning comprehension. Understanding the Text This event is intimately connected with what has preceded. Most of the Jewish people have only rumors, no realization of the identity of Jesus (8:28), while the disciples ...

3767. The Protective Sealing of God’s People on Earth

Revelation 7:1-8

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

Big Idea: Before God pours out his wrath on a wicked world, he will give his people spiritual protection. Understanding the Text The interlude of Revelation 7 stands between the sixth and seventh seal judgments. (There is another dramatic interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets in Revelation 10:1–11:14, but no interlude at the end of the bowl judgments.) Interludes in Revelation often shed light on the current situation of God’s people and offer insight into their present responsibilities and ...

3768. “Lord, Our Lord, How Majestic Is Your Name in All the Earth!”

Psalm 9:1-20

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: God wrote his character into the world of nature, but as awesome as that is, it is no match for the mindful care of his human creation. Understanding the Text Psalm 8 immediately follows the pledge of Psalm 7:17 to sing praise to “the name of the Lord Most High” (7:17). Now the psalmist does that in majestic words that honor the majesty of the Name. As in the creation narrative of Genesis 1, the psalmist employs an economy of words that stylistically reveals the Creator’s orderly manner and ...

3769. “Human Help Is Worthless”

Psalm 60:1-12

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: When life’s defeats have no explanation, we must affirm victory by God’s help, for all human help, without God, is worthless. Understanding the Text Psalm 60, judging from the first-person plural pronouns (“us,” “our,” “we”), is a community lament, prayed by the congregation after Israel’s daunting defeat in battle, perhaps by the Edomites (60:8b). In the psalms of lament, the complaint can take one of three directions, or any combination: against God, against oneself, and against one’s enemies. ...

3770. Peter Explains His Actions

Acts 11:1-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The surprising work of God among the Gentiles forces Peter to defend his acts, as he is accused by “the circumcised believers” (11:2) upon his return to Jerusalem. The accusation that Peter “went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them” (11:3) does not exactly repeat the earlier account of Peter’s vision and his interaction with Cornelius, but it does point to the central issue of contention. Peter already realized that a Jew is not supposed to associate with a Gentile (10:28), but through a ...

3771. The Cost of Paul’s Ministry

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

And so, transformed “through God’s mercy,” Paul has been given the ministry of bearing the message that transforms its recipients. Because he has been sent from God, his proclamation can embrace neither “deception” nor the distortion of anything that God has said in the past (4:2). Thus, where the message remains obscure, one may be sure that such obscurity is not a result of the proclamation but a result of the work of the enemy, the god of this age (cf. John 12:31), who has blinded the minds of those who ...

3772. Adoption: Removing the Barriers

Ephesians 2:11-22

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Paul turns next to the second spiritual blessing: adoption. Just as the word “redemption” does not occur in 2:1–10, although redemption is its theme, so now the words “adoption” and “inheritance” do not appear in this text, but those themes predominate. One of the deepest yearnings of the human soul is to belong. We instinctively draw circles that include ourselves and exclude others, giving us coveted membership in a group others wish they belonged to. There can be no “inner ring,” in C. S. Lewis’s terms ...

3773. Final Instructions

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

5:12–13 · Community leadership: After responding to the Thessalonians’ questions (4:9–5:11), the apostles take up a variety of issues, starting with the church’s relationship with their emerging leadership: “Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you” (5:12a). In calling the church to respect the new leaders, the apostles literally call the church “to know” them, which means they should “recognize” who the legitimate ...

3774. An Illustration from Marriage

Romans 7:1-6

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

Paul at last turns to the problem of the place of the law in salvation, a problem he has mentioned in passing but has not discussed in depth. Like all Jews, Paul made certain affirmations of the law. The law was given by God and was thus “holy, righteous, and good” (7:12). It was the definitive expression of God’s will for the ordering of human life (2:1ff.), and as such it was worthy of endorsement (3:31). But in the wake of his conversion, and unlike most of his Jewish contemporaries and even many of his ...

3775. Divisions In the Church

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

This first major segment of the body of Paul’s letter forms a coherent reflection on the specific situation in Corinth in relation to and in the light of basic matters of Christian belief. Paul examines and explains the character of the gospel itself, so that the Corinthians are directed to evaluate their situation in the light of the gospel of God’s saving work in Jesus Christ and the implication of God’s work for their lives. Paul argues against understanding the gospel as a kind of mysterious wisdom ...

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