Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3801 to 3825 of 4986 results

3801. Philemon 1:1-20

Philemon 1:1-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... a fit substitute for his presence with Philemon, he also defines Onesimus now as an adequate stand-in for Philemon himself (v.13). After voicing his hope that Philemon will voluntarily respond to Paul's wishes (remember how you used to ask your best friend to stay for dinner while standing right in front of your mother, then turn to her and say, "It is OK with you, isn't it Mom?"), the apostle now suggests that Philemon consider something even more radical - the notion that his slave is now his brother in ...

3802. Deuteronomy 18:15-20

Deuteronomy 18:9-13, 14-22

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... beginning in 18:9. This list of activities and behaviors, some utterly heinous (child sacrifice), some probably harmless (seeking oracles from the dead), all share in common an attempt by men and women to determine God's will and foresee God's future plans. Staying in touch with God, knowing God's intentions, had suddenly become a holy obsession for the Hebrew people. Deuteronomy is written as a kind of Last Will and Testament of Moses. These prohibitions are enumerated by a fading leader, a man growing old ...

3803. Acts 8:26-40

Acts 8:26-40

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... and confessional dialogue. Its impromptu nature does not detract from the theological correctness of the eunuch's baptism. The immediate presence of "the Spirit of the Lord" further emphasizes the genuine fulfillment of a baptismal ceremony. The same Spirit that whisks Philip away to a new location also seems to stay with the eunuch as he goes "on his way rejoicing."

3804. John 15:9-17

John 15:9-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to make Jesus' command to "love" more emphatic. It is important to note that verse 10 will continue to discuss the results that may be expected by remaining in Jesus' love. Thus, when the disciples are ordered to "abide in my love," Jesus is urging them to stay in his love, not that they must keep loving him. It is the love that flows from Jesus to the disciples that has favored consequences. There is little ambiguity in Jesus' words. Verse 10 makes it clear that the way disciples can continue to remain in ...

3805. Ephesians 1:3-14

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... . We belong to Christ. Oikonomia has two meanings: 1) plan, and 2) "management of the household." God is at work in the world, where we who are "in Christ" are members of God's house and thus must live by the rules of the household. If we stay "in Christ" (v. 4), the hostile powers do not need to dwell "in us." We are chosen in Christ and incorporated into him. We must not let other things become incorporated into us that would compromise our incorporation. But our chosenness has a direction: "to be holy ...

3806. Luke 9:28-36 (37-43)

Luke 9:28-36 (37-43)

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... down" Peter, James and John. Was this the reason they saw but did not hear his epiphany? Peter also demonstrates he is still in the dark about the significance of these visitors when he suggests constructing the "dwellings" (tents or tabernacles) for them to stay in. Luke admits that Peter's comments revealed he was "not knowing what he said." Perhaps a more subtle indication of Peter's obtuseness is his use of the standard Lucan address "Master" for Jesus. It would seem that if Peter had truly recognized ...

3807. Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... my son to lay down his toy and forget its whereabouts. It is quite another for a toy to sneak off on its own and camouflage its location. We live in a world that has crawled away from a loving God and tried to the best of its ability to stay "lost." And like the father in the parable of the lost son, God has allowed people the freedom to act against their best interests, to sneak away and hide. But God is not content. One wonders if the father in the parable on occasion asked the older brother if he ...

3808. Acts 9:36-43

Acts 9:36-43

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... (9:41) The result of the working of this wonder in the community of Joppa is that "many believed in the Lord" (v.42). The narrator brings this account to a close in a typically Lukan fashion by noting where and with whom Peter resides during the rest of his stay in Joppa.

3809. Acts 16:9-15

Acts 16:9-15

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... faith. Likewise, this successful merchant knows how to take charge and get what she wants. Although in his travels Paul usually refuses local hospitality, preferring to pay his own way, he is unable to refuse Lydia's cannily worded invitation: "If you have judged me to be faithful ... come and stay at my home." The first person narrator explains Lydia's persistent persuasiveness by declaring "... she prevailed upon us" (v.15).

3810. Luke 8:26-39

Luke 8:26-39

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to a private dialogue shared between Jesus and the man he has healed. Now fully in his right mind, in his own mind, the man begs to be made a part of Jesus' team, to "be with him." But while Jesus refuses to allow the Gerasene to stay with him, he completes the man's rehabilitation. Jesus orders the Gerasene to return to his former home. And Jesus calls him to a new vocation, giving purpose and point to this man's now unfettered mind and unfurled spirit. Under Jesus' direct instruction, the Gerasene ...

3811. 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14

2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... is equally irritable, equivalent to: "Yes, I know; be quiet already!" (v.5). The geography is specific and each stage of their journey is characterized by not only the dialogue between the prophets and Elisha but between Elijah and Elisha. At each point, Elijah says, "Stay here," (2:2, 4, 6) and each time Elisha responds: "I will not leave you" (2:2, 4, 6). This repetitive structure ends when they reach the Jordan River. Even the prophets, some 50 of them, stand apart and at a distance as the two cross ...

3812. Luke 9:51-62

Luke 9:51-62

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... act as burying one's father should be left aside in order to proclaim the kingdom of God. In a little recognized display of dark humor, Jesus suggests to this potential disciple that he should "let the dead bury their own dead" suggesting that those who "stay behind," those who refuse to embrace or expound the kingdom, are as dead as any corpses that need to be buried. Those who CAN proclaim the kingdom of God, who respond fully to Jesus' invitation to "follow me," are NOT among the dead, and so they ...

3813. Luke 19:1-10

Luke 19:1-10

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... person to climb. Zacchaeus, literally out on a limb, now waits to see Jesus. But rather than calling out to Jesus as had the blind beggar outside the city walls, it is Jesus who first calls Zacchaeus: "Hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today" (v.5). Jesus' intention to simply "pass through" Jericho is thus altered. Zacchaeus, for his part, appears delighted to be singled out by this person whose presence attracts the population of the city. Yet, if Zacchaeus rejoices, the crowd grumbles ...

3814. A Powerful Sacrament

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... of baptism is to set us free from the script that has failed us. Having this new script in hand offers us new possibilities. Commenting on the new possibilities baptism gives us, one pastor writes, “So if someone tempts you, ‘Why don’t you stay the night?’ You can say, ‘Oh, I couldn’t possibly.’ ‘Why not?’ they wonder. ‘Baptized!’ you say. ‘Ohhh . . .’ “You may feel like just giving up on God and religion, like no one cares about you and nothing really makes any difference anyway ...

3815. Refusing to Quit

2 Timothy 4:5-8

Sermon

James McCormick

... , “but what did he do the next day?” That’s a good question, because the most important tasks in life are not accomplished in a day or in several days. The most important tasks require a lifetime of commitment. If you don’t have staying power, dogged determination, you’re not going to make it. Because the successful living of life demands perseverance. II. I have begun this sermon with that reminder, because we all know the temptation to quit. And I’m not just talking about quitting in the ...

3816. Mark 1:1-8

Mark 1:1-8

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to him. The Jordan River was not just a handy source of water for these baptisms. Though a true wilderness, this area was not a lifeless desert. The presence of the Jordan provided water for life and made it possible for the people to stay and listen to John's words. With the swiftly running, cleansing waters of the Jordan in the wilderness, both purging and purification were possible. Scholars have compared this watery entrance into a new age of deliverance the second exodus with the "dry cleaning" the ...

3817. Mark 1:29-39

Mark 1:29-39

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... his true identity. The success of Jesus' healings and exorcisms in that pleasant home environment is short-lived. Much of Mark's gospel focuses on the theme of conflict and confrontation in Jesus' life and ministry. Things are just too good for Jesus to stay in the shalom zone of Simon's home any longer. Given this Markan concern, the gospel writer is probably implying that Jesus' solitary sojourn in that "deserted place" for private prayer was more in preparation for his return to the road than as ...

3818. Mark 6:1-13

Mark 6:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... by Jesus are more than enough to sustain them. In 6:10-11 Jesus' instructions continue. Perhaps revealing Jesus' own genius for a successful peripatetic ministry, he orders his traveling disciples to quickly create a "home base" while they are staying in one locale. Jesus' method serves a dual purpose. First, by establishing residence at the home of a faithful supporter, the disciples will show honor and respect for that follower. Secondly, by establishing a temporary residence, people of that locale ...

3819. James 1:17-27

James 1:17-27

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... while they are actually gazing into the mirror. In other words out of sight, out of mind. The "doers" on the other hand need only to glance into the "perfect law, the law of liberty," in order to be changed for life. The vision they catch stays with them, they "persevere," and become "doers who act." This "perfect law" recalls James' mention of the "perfect gift" in verse 17. This perfect law James speaks of is the law as now perfected by Jesus' own ethical demands the "law" according to Jesus. This also ...

3820. John 1:43-51

John 1:43-51

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... is written to disprove. For John Jesus is the Lamb of God, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Messiah, the Son of Man, the Son of God. But Jesus is NOT Joseph’s son. Philip’s testimony does uphold the identity that will stay with Jesus and his disciples he is from Nazareth. But Philip’s description further obscures Jesus’ royal roots and his birthplace in the royal city of David, Bethlehem. Nathanael’s first reaction to Philip’s invitation has a proverbial sound to it: “Can anything good ...

3821. Out of Nazareth

John 1:43-51

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Historically that just isn’t so. Before Nathanael’s nay-saying there was nary a word recorded one way or the other about the town of Nazareth. It was what it was, a small, dusty, insignificant village of stone homes struggling to stay solvent. Nazareth was unremarkable, undistinguished, unconsidered. It wasn’t remarkable for being unremarkable. It was what it was. That is, until John’s gospel recorded Nathanael’s dismissal of a “no-good Nazareth.” From the viewpoint of the twenty-first century ...

3822. About Sex

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... is a gift from God. It is to be exercised with discipline. Our bodies are the temple of God, and we should honor God with how we use our bodies. Sexual relations are to be exercised joyfully and thankfully within a lifelong monogamous relationship. 1. Zig Ziglar, Up, Up, Staying Up in a Down, Down World (Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN, 2000). 2. David Guzik, http://www.enduringword.com/commentaries/4607.htm. 3. Bob Gass, Word For Today, http://www.wordforyoutoday.com/bobgass.php. 4. Guzik.

3823. Anyone You Recognize?

Illustration

Richard Gribble

... want to know. They were odd people, troublesome, and difficult to understand. The way they lived their lives was a shame. These men all went to the same church, but most would not have wanted them as parishioners. Everybody went fishing on Sundays or stayed home and spoke with his friends. Anybody wanted to worship, but he was afraid that Somebody would speak with him. Thus, guess who went to church - that's right, Nobody. Actually, Nobody was the only decent one of the lot. Nobody did the parish census ...

3824. Experiencing God's Call in Our Lives

Mark 1:14-20

Illustration

Joe Pennel

... did not manipulate her unexpected response. Instead, they talked for a long time about the meaning of her decision. Her parents were, understandably, furious with the new direction her life had taken. Like those fishermen, however, she heard the call and she stayed with it. And there have been others. People in the western tradition have long known about Francis of Assisi. He turned from a life of luxury to one of voluntary poverty with the intention of sharing his possessions with the poor. He became ...

3825. God's Workmanship

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... , as though he were attacking every inch of the relief station. It almost sounded like he was wrestling with a tiger in there. The construction crew suspended work temporarily, their gazes drawn to the spectacle of the port‑a‑john. The guy seemed to stay inside forever. Every man on the site wondered how he could stand it and thought of how quickly they would have raced in and out just to escape the stink. After a while the crew noticed something radically different. An inviting smell drifted across ...

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