Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3776 to 3800 of 4936 results

3776. When We Are Uncertain about The Future

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

Sermon

King Duncan

A young man tells of visiting a college, which had a series of security call boxes every few hundred feet or so. If you were wandering around the campus at night and felt uneasy about somebody following you, for instance, you could hit the button and have a security officer come investigate immediately. On one of these phones hung a sign that said, “Out of Order.” Underneath it someone had scrawled. . . “Keep Running!” (1) Fear is a powerful emotion, isn’t it? It’s like the story of the Bishop who had an ...

3777. Suffered under (Saint) Pontius Pilate

John 18:28-40

Sermon

David O. Bales

Christians Sunday by Sunday announce our collective memory of Pontius Pilate: “Suffered under Pontius Pilate.” By repeating this creed regularly, we agree with church tradition and we don’t wonder further about Pilate. We certainly have no sympathy for him. Pilate’s Jewish contemporaries had nothing good to say about him. Christians, especially on Good Friday, don’t let anyone forget our opinion of him. However, some early church traditions decided that Pilate was a believer and two churches still, ...

3778. When We No Longer Recognize Ourselves

Psalm 51:1-19

Sermon

King Duncan

Andras Tamas is the name officials gave a certain man decades ago in a Russian psychiatric hospital. He’d been drafted into the army, but the authorities had mistaken his native Hungarian language for the gibberish of a lunatic and had him committed. Then they forgot about him. For 53 years. A few years ago a psychiatrist at the hospital began to realize what had happened and helped Tamas recover the memories of who he was and where he came from. He recently returned home to Budapest as a war hero, “the ...

3779. Around the Family Table

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

King Duncan

Pastor Deana Dudley tells about a movie called Soul Food, which came out five or six years ago. In the movie, Mama Joe, the mother of an African American family, has held her clan together for 40 years around a Sunday dinner of soul food fried chicken, smothered pork chops, greens, cabbage, mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese. Sounds good, doesn’t it? [I shouldn’t torture you so close to lunch.] But one day Mama Joe has to go to the hospital, so the dinners stop. And the family begins to fall ...

3780. The Lord Is (More Than) My Shepherd

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

King Duncan

A little girl lost her front teeth and it caused her to talk with a lisp. One day her grandmother was reading to her from the King James Version of the Bible. She read such words as ‘sayeth’ and ‘hath’ and ‘doth’ and so on. After a while, the little girl exclaimed, “So God had his teeth out, too!” I always wondered why the King James Version read like that . . . A family moved from a little apartment to a big house in the country. A friend asked the eight‑year‑old‑son, “How do you like your new house?” He ...

3781. The Parable of the Careless Farmer

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

Somewhere I saw a long list of wise sayings attributed to farmers. Let me list just a few of these wise sayings for you. Maybe you will relate to one of these: 1. Keep skunks and bankers and lawyers at a distance. 2. Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads. 3. Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you. 4. Life is simpler when you plow around the stump. 5. When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty. 6. And this last bit of advice: Always drink upstream from the herd. Jesus told ...

3782. The Insanity of Profanity

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

James Merritt

A few years ago Time magazine reported an incident that took place in the State of Maryland. A truck driver had been arrested for drunk driving and disorderly conduct. When the police officers arrived on the scene to arrest the man, he became abusive. He began to use filthy and profane language, and repeatedly took God’s name in vain. When the man was brought before the magistrate, he was still using profane language. The maximum penalty the magistrate could impose for drunk and disorderly conduct was $100 ...

3783. The Journey Begins

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

If I told you that God would send His son to this earth, that He would only live about 33 years and only the last three of those years would be how His life would be measured, what do you think He would do with those three years? Let’s make it personal. Suppose from the day you were born you knew you would only live 33 years and that your life would be measured by only the last three. What would you do with your life? It is indisputable that Jesus did more and accomplished more in the last three years of ...

3784. 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 ...

3785. Love Sender

John 3:1-21

Sermon

James Merritt

Without even trying kids can teach us some of the greatest life lessons and when you are a kid you learn some of the greatest lessons in life. I want to share with you a lesson that I learned as a child. It all revolves around this gift [open gift – take out gumballs and a Milky Way]. Now here is the story behind this gum and this candy bar. When I was a child, I had saved enough money to do something I had never done before at Christmas which was to buy my parents a Christmas gift. I had saved up a dollar ...

3786. When You Reach the Rejection Hotline

Acts 4:1-22

Sermon

King Duncan

Is there anything harder on the ego than being rejected? I suspect that is one reason many married persons are happy they are no longer playing the dating game. It hurts too much when someone rejects you. “What’s wrong with me?” is the question we inevitably ask. Charles R. Boatman tells about a strange, new twist on this ancient ritual. He notes that traditionally, the male of our species makes the first approach in the dating game. Men have developed all sorts of pick-up lines to interest the women they ...

3787. In Corinth

Acts 18:1-17

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

Corinth was the most important city to which Paul had come since leaving Syrian Antioch, and he stayed there longer than in any other city (as far as we know). Luke tells us of the establishment of the church in Corinth, but nothing of its life. For this we must turn to Paul’s letters. So little does Luke say of this church that he has opened himself to the charge of being less interested in Corinth than in Macedonia and Ephesus (Rackham, p. 322). There may be something in this, but the reason lies more in ...

3788. The Decree of Darius

Ezra 6:1-12

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

The Green Light: This chapter draws to a triumphant close the accomplishment of the first mission given by God through the Persian king Cyrus in 1:1–4. Stage one was realized by chapter 3. Now stage two is brought to a satisfying finale in the completion of the temple-building project. The temple represented the heart of Israel’s spiritual life as the sign of God’s presence with the people, the focus of their worship and the source of divine blessing. Now, in principle, the postexilic community stood on a ...

3789. More Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 26:1-28

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

These chapters are introduced by a superscription indicating that they are from Solomon by way of the “men of Hezekiah.” The sayings break from the admonitory style of 22:17–24:34 and resemble those of chapters 10–22:16. However, these sayings are much more vivid, and in chapters 25–27 they form larger units (“proverb poems,” as they have been called). Explicit comparisons are frequent. We are unable to say much about the general setting of the collection, but the ambience of the court predominates in ...

3790. People Who Procrastinate

Luke 9:51-62

Sermon

King Duncan

Most of you are familiar with that time-honored story about a board meeting that Satan once called in hell. At this meeting Satan put this question to his senior advisors: “We need to develop a new strategy for causing havoc upon earth. Do you have any suggestions for a new means of reaching human beings for our side?” One advisor suggested, “Tell them there is no heaven.” Another said, “Tell them there is no hell.” But the prize winning suggestion was judged to be much more effective: “Tell them there is ...

3791. Comfort for God's People

Isaiah 40:1-31

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

The Gifts of Comfort and Energy: So Isaiah 39, set in Isaiah’s own day, envisages the future deportation of Judeans to Babylon. Isaiah 40–55, however, is set in the time after this deportation has happened. It does not say “In days to come God will send a message of comfort to people who have been punished,” in the manner of a passage such as 30:19–26. It says, rather, “God is now comforting you who have been punished.” The traditional view is that these chapters were written by Isaiah ben Amoz, and we may ...

3792. The Story of Abraham versus the Story of Israel

Romans 4:1-25

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Unlike the Mosaic covenant, based on obeying the Torah, the Abrahamic covenant is based on faith. Abraham becomes Paul’s star witness that justification is by faith alone. Paul marshals five arguments to refute the commonly held view that Abraham was justified by his good works: theological (4:1–5), hermeneutical (4:6–8), historical (4:9–12), logical (4:13–17a), and experiential (4:17b–25). Understanding the Text The general context of Romans 4 is that it continues the discussion of 3:27–31: the ...

3793. A Prodigal Son Comes Home in Body, but Not in Spirit

2 Sam 14:1–15:12

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

Big Idea: One’s failure to do what is just can have serious personal repercussions. Understanding the Text After the murder of Amnon, Absalom found asylum with his maternal grandfather, the king of Geshur (13:37–38; cf. 3:3). After three years, David calmed down and no longer desired to take hostile action against Absalom (13:39). Sensing an opening, Joab now works hard to persuade David to let Absalom come home. David agrees, but he does not reinstate Absalom to the royal court right away. Eventually, ...

3794. God’s Protection Takes the Form of a Faithful Friend

1 Samuel 20:1-42

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

Big Idea: Sometimes God protects his chosen servants through other faithful servants who are willing to put God’s agenda above self-interest. Understanding the Text Saul persisted in his efforts to kill David, but Jonathan saved David again, risking his own life in the process. David was finally forced to run away, setting the stage for the next part of the story: David needs to wander from place to place to escape Saul’s hostility. As in the previous chapters, the narrator presents contrasting responses ...

3795. The Beatitudes

Matthew 5:1-12

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

Sermon on the Mount: Kingdom Ethics and the Law: Matthew’s Gospel has a didactic purpose. Special emphasis is given to the message of Jesus. One of the distinct features of Matthew’s Gospel is that the teaching of Jesus is collected into five sections. The Sermon on the Mount (chaps. 5–7) is the first of these blocks. The others are Instructions to the Twelve (chap. 10), Parables of the Kingdom (chap. 13), Life in the Christian Community (chap. 18), and Eschatological Judgment (chaps. 23–25). Each block ...

3796. The Coming of the Kingdom of God

Luke 17:20-37

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

Unlike Matthew (24:3–25:46) and Mark (13:3–37), Luke scatters his materials concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, the last days, and the return of Jesus as Son of Man in at least five different locations (13:34–35; 17:20–37; 19:41–45; 21:7–36; 23:28–31). The passage presently under consideration (17:20–37) is paralleled at many points in Matthew (10:39; 16:21; 24:17, 18, 23, 26–28, 37, 39–41) and in Mark (8:31; 13:15–16, 21). 17:20–21 The first part of this section is that part which actually relates ...

3797. Completion and Dedication of the Temple

Ezra 6:13-18

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

3798. The Passover

Ezra 6:19-22

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

3799. His Name Is John

Luke 1:57-66, 80

Sermon

King Duncan

It is one of life’s ironies, isn’t it? Some couples have unexpected and even unwanted pregnancies. Other couples who are totally unfit to be parents also have no difficulty breeding. Then there are those couples who have so much love to give that they would probably make wonderful parents, but are denied the opportunity. Not everyone in our society wants to be a parent. That’s okay. No one should ever be made to feel unworthy because they make this choice. But there are some couples who want desperately to ...

3800. Advice from a Billionaire

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

King Duncan

How much would you pay for some spot-on financial advice from billionaire investor Warren Buffett? They call him the Oracle of Omaha. He is a legend when it comes to making wise decisions in the financial world. Some people are willing to pay thousands of dollars for his wisdom about the stock market. And yet when some reporters asked Buffett for the best advice he ever received, Buffett didn’t talk about money at all. Rather he focused on how best to live . . . and how to raise your children. Buffett said ...

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