Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3776 to 3800 of 4914 results

3776. The Rights of an Apostle

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

This chapter may appear to be an intrusion into the discussion of idols and eating foods that were sacrificed to an idol, but Paul takes himself and the matter of his rights as an apostle as an illustration of a proper demeanor for Christians. W. Willis (“An Apostolic Apologia? The Form and Function of 1 Corinthians 9,” JSNT 24 [1985], pp. 33–48) is correct in observing that this section of the epistle is not about Paul’s claiming of his rights as an apostle, despite the titles given to this portion of the ...

3777. Jesus Is Coming

Revelation 22:7-21

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

The concluding section of early Christian letters often contains the author’s benediction, typically expressed as a prayer or doxology, but often accompanied by many other pastoral conventions as well. In his letters, for example, Paul sometimes closes his correspondence by greeting various acquaintances in a particular congregation (cf. Rom. 16), perhaps to encourage them in their faith (cf. 1 Cor. 16:19–20) or to give them instructions (cf. Col. 4:15–16). In several of his letters, he includes a list of ...

3778. David Again Spares Saul's Life

1 Samuel 26:1-25

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

Saul’s Second Escape: 26:1–3 The Ziphites, who nearly enabled Saul to find David once before, may have looked for a second chance. However, the wording in verse 1 is the same as that used on the previous occasion (23:19), which seems strange, even given the fact that David was likely to use the same hiding places on a number of occasions. Some scholars have concluded from this, from the similarity between the two occasions on which Saul’s life was spared, and from the fact that the second account makes no ...

3779. Zophar

Job 11:1-20

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

11:1 The last of Job’s three friends makes his debut with rather breathtaking harshness. Zophar rejects Job’s claim to righteousness and even undermines his integrity by classifying Job’s claims as idle mockery which cannot go uncontested. The key to Zophar’s viewpoint is found in 11:6, where he clearly states that Job’s suffering is the result of his sin and is even less severe than deserved. While Zophar does hold out hope for Job, it has little to do with a confrontation with God. Such a collision would ...

3780. Praise to the God of Zion as Creator and God of Agricultural Fertility

Psalm 65:1-13

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

This corporate hymn has three sections, each focusing on a different locale and each placing Yahweh in a distinct role. He is the atoner at the temple (vv. 1–4), the warrior who establishes order in all creation (vv. 5–8), and the dispenser of water and fertility in the land (vv. 9–13). Several key phrases confirm this structuring of the psalm’s contents. The respective locations form an inclusion for each strophe: Zion and temple (vv. 1, 4), “all the ends of the earth” and “where morning dawns and evening ...

3781. Hearts / Repentance

2 Corinthians 7:2-16

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

7:2–4 Here, Paul resumes his train of thought from 6:13, that the Corinthians should open wide their hearts to him just as he has done to them. This incidently shows that 6:14–7:1 must be integral to the present context, for otherwise 7:2 would sound redundant coming directly after 6:13. The intervening exhortation in 6:14–7:1 explains how they are to open their heart. As was shown above, 6:14–7:1 exhorts the Corinthians to put into practice the implications of the new covenant for their sanctification, ...

3782. The Bethsaida Boys

Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

John Jamison

After Jesus was baptized by John, he went to spend time in the desert lands east of the Jordan River, to begin preparing for the work he was going to do. While he was there in the wilderness, he got word that John had been arrested and killed. It was then that he decided it was time to come back to Galilee and get to work. He traveled around Galilee, which is not a big place, and began preaching and teaching, picking up where John the Baptist had stopped. We could spend a lot of time talking about John’s ...

3783. A Remedy for Rejection

Luke 4:22-30

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever been rejected? Have you ever had a door shut in your face? Welcome to the real world. Parents spend years grooming their children for success. Perhaps it would be more profitable to train our children to handle failure and rejection because everyone faces these unhappy experiences sooner or later. Go to Google. Type in the words “famous rejections.” If you do, you will learn that J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series of novels, was rejected by 12 different publishers before her work ...

3784. The Journey of Salvation

Luke 22:39-46, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Sermon

King Duncan

I want to begin with a fascinating story from the Middle Ages. It is about a pope named Gregory and a king named Henry IV of Germany. In those days popes not only had ecclesiastical power but political power as well. In a dramatic move, Pope Gregory excommunicated King Henry IV when he insisted on divorcing his wife Bertha of Savoy. This was not only devastating to Henry spiritually, but politically, for this made Henry ineligible to sit on the throne of Germany. The king, who well knew what the pope ...

3785. In Which City Do You Live?

Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23

Sermon

King Duncan

I came across a report the other day from the United Nations about how more and more people are moving from rural areas and subdivisions into urban areas and big cities. That’s surprising to me because there are so many jokes about the drawbacks of living in a city. Comedian Anita Weiss says, “I moved to New York City for my health. I’m paranoid, and it was the only place where my fears were justified.” In a standup routine about traffic in Boston, Massachusetts comedian Lewis Black said, “The last person ...

3786. Recognizing Who God Is

Job 42:7-17

Sermon

King Duncan

Series on the Book of Job, #4 Suggested video clip: "Rudy" This is the last sermon in our series on Job. Maybe you are relieved, as I am relieved. This is heavy stuff. We ended last week's service by pondering the question: What has Job learned from his encounter with the Almighty God? For an answer, I want to turn to the movie Rudy. Rudy is based on the true story of a young man named Rudy Ruettiger whose only goal in life was to play football for Notre Dame. Rudy is small and he lacks athletic ability. ...

3787. Liminal Space

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere!” (Green Eggs and Ham, Dr. Seuss) Was it a dream? Or wasn’t it? Ever wake with that strange feeling? You wake and wonder if your dream is still going on? A discomfort gnaws and nags at you---maybe it wasn’t a dream after all? It seemed so real! Sometimes those dreams are hard to shake off. A kind of “dream dust” settles on your reality and your sense of time. You find yourself in a kind of “liminal space,” unsure whether a part of your ...

3788. The Good Yoke

Matthew 11:25-30, 1 Kings 19:1-8, 1 Kings 19:9-18, 1 Kings 19:19-21

Sermon

Lori Wagner

What kind of yoke are you wearing today? Not this kind you say! Are you sure? Indeed, we may not get up in the morning and fit ourselves into a wooden harness like the one you see here –although sometimes our clothing may feel like that if we’ve gained a few pounds, no? But we all do bear a yoke. We yoke ourselves to ideas, concepts, issues, material things, relationships, belief systems. Our yokes in a sense bear the markings of those identities that we are willing to take on as our own identity, the ...

3789. Holy House

Eph 2:11-22, Rev 3:1-22, Heb 9:1-28, Jn 14:15-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Today’s health food awareness has reached an all-time high. More and more people, especially generations X, Y, Z, are rejecting the fast food, calorie-laden, manufactured filler infused foods of the prior generations and are embracing healthier choices. Awareness is up. People are being educated by media and messaging, advertising and health companies, through info-medicine and culture. We are learning that good, nutritious, healthy eating habits can stave off disease, lower death rates, ward off cancers, ...

3790. An Important Village with a Questionable Reputation

John 1:43-51

Sermon

King Duncan

According to a recent report from the BBC News, inhabitants of a village in northern Nigeria are celebrating the renaming of their village. The old name of the town was “Area of Idiots.” Wonder why they wanted to change it? “Area of Idiots.” The new name of the village is “Area of Plenty.” I believe you will agree with me that’s an improvement. The local emir announced the name change after residents complained that they had been mocked for years because of that name and were ashamed to tell people where ...

3791. Walking with God

Acts 2:1-21 · John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

Sermon

Lori Wagner

How is your “Spirit Awareness Meter”? Do you know when the Spirit is beside you? You cannot see the Spirit. But you know when the Spirit of Christ surrounds you. Maybe you had a significant experience in your life, in which you could feel Christ walking with you. Maybe in times like these, at Pentecost, you become aware of the Holy Spirit’s presence more than you do when you are going shopping or mowing grass or walking the dog. Or maybe you are one of those people who can feel the Spirit with you no ...

3792. Because We Are Chosen

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

King Duncan

What would you do if tomorrow you found out that you had inherited an unexpected fortune? What problems would it solve for you? What problems would it create? How would a surprise inheritance affect your life? There was a wealthy bachelor from Portugal named Luis Carlos de Noronha Cabral da Camara. By our standards, that’s a long name. Luis had inherited a large amount of money which he spent on motorcycles, shooting, and drinking. The rest he wasted, as the old joke goes. Being a bachelor, he didn’t have ...

3793. A Commitment to Hope

Luke 3:1-6

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

The story is told of young boy in a church Christmas program who had one line to remember. His role was that of the Angel of the Lord and his one line consisted of: “Behold, I bring you good tidings.” He wasn’t clear about the word “tidings” so he asked his mother what it meant. She defined it as “news.” Sunday morning the play was going smoothly and all was well. He was sent onto the stage as the Angel of the Lord announcing to the shepherds about God’s message. When he got on stage and looked out at the ...

3794. A Commitment to Righteousness

Luke 3:7-18

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

Moline, Illinois, September, 1977 was the place and date for a special gift that Terry Schafer purchased for her policeman husband, David. It was a pre-Christmas gift. She had a fear that it might be too expensive, but nothing was too good for her husband! She loved him with all of her heart and wanted this to be special. Slipping into one of the stores that was on her list she found the exact item she wanted, but it was too expensive for her to buy outright. She talked with the salesman and told him that ...

3795. Moving Heaven and Earth

Acts 16:16-34

Sermon

King Duncan

The story’s told about a Chinese gentleman who was visiting the United States. His hosts took him to play golf. This was a new experience for him. When he returned to China, a friend asked what he had done in the United States. He replied, “I played most interesting game. I hit a little white ball with a long stick in a large cow pasture. “What’s this game called?” asked his friend. The Chinese gentleman thought for a minute and replied, “I think it’s called, ‘Oh, no!’” Some of us may have played the game ...

3796. Preachers, All!

Acts 2:1-13, Acts 2:14-41, Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

Will Willimon

Someone has said the church is somewhat like a football huddle, the huddle that players go into at a football game. ''You know that something important is being said there, but you can't understand a word of it, and all you can see is their rear-ends." But in fairness to the church, we must admit that it isn't easy to be understood by the world, after all, what we are talking about, in this huddle called church, is God. That's hard to talk about. I vividly remember as a pastor, sitting with a group of lay- ...

3797. A Law Against Dying?

Luke 20:27-38

Sermon

King Duncan

In a civilized society, there are laws that cover almost every facet of human life. And sometimes those laws can be overreaching or burdensome. It’s the price we pay for living as part of a community instead of as a bunch of unorganized loners. But at least most of our laws make sense. Maybe we’d complain less about the laws of our state or town if we lived in a town where there are laws that don’t make any sense. For example, how about a law against dying? That sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it, to create a ...

3798. If It Had Been a Snake

John 1:29-42

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

Have you ever been looking for something and discovered it was right in front of you? In the South there’s an old saying about missing something that is in plain view: If it had been a snake, it would have bit you. You shake your head and feel like a fool. But this experience of missing what is obvious is so common that it is even the subject of psychological studies. Alejandro Lleras is a professor of psychology who studies what he calls “inattentional blindness,” or the ability to miss something obvious ...

3799. Invictus

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

Dr. Ronald Love

Luther Haden Taylor was born on February 21, 1875, in Oskaloosa, Kansas. Taylor is a legend in baseball having played with the New York Giants before the franchise moved to San Francisco. He played with the team for nine years, from 1900 to 1908, while the team was still at the Polo Grounds in Upper Manhattan. As a pitcher, he helped the Giants win their first World Series of the modern baseball era in 1905. For his career Taylor was 115-103, with a 2.77 earned run average. Taylor was devastating on the ...

3800. Dying, We Live

1 Corinthians 15:51-58

Sermon

Will Willimon

"O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?" It was a familiar story. A nice person like me with much work to do, trapped on a four hour flight from Denver to Durham, cornered like a caged animal, seated next to a person who is determined to set me straight before we land. Where does American Airlines get these people? Hardly had our wheels left the ground than she informed me that she was returning home from a ''Wellness Convention." ''You dig wells?" I asked cutely. That was my big ...

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