Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 3826 to 3850 of 4944 results

3826. Various Laws

Leviticus 19:1-37

Understanding Series

W. H. Bellinger, Jr.

This chapter contains a variety of instructions regarding worship and other relationships in life. There is unity and diversity here, and connections to the Decalogue in Exodus 20 as well as to Deuteronomy. Themes characteristic of the Holiness Code appear at the beginning and at the end of the chapter, suggesting that the Priestly editors have subsumed a variety of legislation in this context as part of the divine revelation. Most of the instructions are apodictic, or universal, in form. The parallels ...

3827. David's Lament for Saul and Jonathan

2 Samuel 1:17-27

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

David’s Lament: David’s grief over the deaths of Saul, who had once been like a father to him, and of his friend Jonathan, was heartfelt. He found an outlet for that grief in writing poetry, and this lament is the result. 1:17–18 The insistence that all the men of Judah learn the lament is likely to have been politically motivated. If the Judeans could be shown as paying proper respect to Saul’s memory, there was a much greater likelihood of the northern tribes transferring their loyalty to David, who was ...

3828. Instruction for Temple Entry

Psalm 15:1-5

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Psalm 15 is part of a liturgy of temple entrance (see the Introduction for a fuller discussion of this momentous rite of passage). It shares with Psalm 24:3–6 and Isaiah 33:14b–16 the threefold pattern of a question of who may sojourn on Yahweh’s holy hill (v. 1), a reply consisting of the qualifications for worshipers (vv. 2–5a) and a promise (v. 5b). 15:1 A literal translation of verse 1, “Who may sojourn (Hb. gwr) in your tent (Hb. ʾohel); who may camp (Hb. škn) on your holy hill?” makes plain that the ...

3829. A Tale of Two Oaths: David’s for the Lord’s Dwelling and the Lord’s for David’s Dynasty in Zion

Psalm 132:1-18

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

A Tale of Two Oaths: David’s for the Lord’s Dwelling and the Lord’s for David’s Dynasty in Zion 132:1–18 Most commentators believe this psalm was a liturgical composition used at the preexilic Jerusalem temple. It appears to presuppose the existence of the Davidic dynasty (esp. v. 17), the Solomonic temple (vv. 13–14), and the ark of the covenant (vv. 7–9). On the other hand, the psalm’s presence in the Psalms of Ascent, an otherwise postexilic collection, may imply that at least the final form of the ...

3830. Accusations

2 Corinthians 2:12--3:6

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

For Paul, Satan is a conquered, yet still dangerous, foe. Although “the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Rom. 16:20), Satan is still “the god of this age,” who blinds the minds of unbelievers from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Cor. 4:4), and he is “the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (Eph. 2:2). There can be no fellowship between the realm of Belial and unbelievers, on the one hand, and the realm of ...

3831. Something is About to Happen!

John 1:1-14

Sermon

Charley Reeb

Tom Long tells of the time when he visited a Sunday school class and heard something he had never heard in church before. The topic for the day was quite simply, “Scandals in The Church.” The teacher mentioned all the tough times the church has endured throughout history. He spoke of the hypocrisy, the scandals, the persecution—the awful things that have been done in the name of the church and of God. As he was lecturing, a woman in the class raised her hand. When the teacher called on her, she asked, “ ...

3832. Dream Weaver

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Lori Wagner

How many know the 1975 song, “Dream Weaver” by Gary Wright? Wright apparently took the idea for the song from John Lennon, who in his song “God” saw himself as the “dream weaver” of the 1960s, “breaking away from the influences and dogmas that informed his life.”* Lennon in fact spent his life trying to “break free” of the childhood traumas and psychological demons that plagued him, as well as cultural conventions. That “liberation” theme came out frequently in his music, and in his life. Lennon was ...

3833. Going Into Labor

Mark 13:1-8

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

The Baldwin Hills dam was built on a steep hillside in Southern California overlooking a packed residential community. It was considered an architectural wonder, at least by its designers. It also rested squarely on an earthquake fault. The designers insisted that the fault line would not affect their structure. Nestled away on a hillside, where it would not interfere with development, it served as a storage facility for the waters that follow in the form of rain and snow melt. Then, on December 14, 1963, ...

3834. A Song to Shake the World

Revelation 5:11-14

Sermon

Will Willimon

In The Shawshank Redemption Andy Dufrense is sentenced to two back to back life terms for crimes he did not commit. That tough world of Shawshank Prison conspires to destroy humanity. Andy writes every week to the state legislature requesting books for the prison library. From out of nowhere, a huge shipment of used books and records, accompanied by a check, gets dumped in the warden's office. Andy puts one of the records on the prison record player. Intoxicated by the beauty of an aria, Andy locks out the ...

3835. Mary: After The Angel

Drama

Arlys M. Winkler

A Christmas Play Notes This play explores the thoughts and feelings of Mary, her peers, her parents, and Joseph as they learn that Mary is expecting a child. Each act takes place in someone's house, making the changing of props simple (for example: different tablecloths would signal a change of location). Programs could provide scene changes as well. Simple wooden tables and stools and costuming of the period are all that is needed. All scripture quotes are from the New Revised Standard Version of the ...

3836. Redemption Near And Dear

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Erskine White

Look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. (Luke 21:28) A few years ago, a rather well-known preacher wrote a book called Shaping a Successful Life, and as is customary in the book business, his publisher arranged a series of interviews on radio and television as a way of promoting sales of the book. Now, amid everything he had written on being successful, he also included one chapter on coping with troubles and tragedies in life, and to this man’s surprise, everyone who ...

3837. A DRAMA OF LOST WORDS

Drama

The only precaution for this play is that the director pay close attention to the use of lighting. Stage directions are within the play and are very important for the mood and pacing of the production. A bare stage; when the lights come up, they are dim stage right and bright stage left. Man 1 and Woman 1 enter to the stage left area and begin to talk to one another, quietly; the audience should not be able to understand what they are saying. After a few seconds, Man 2 and Woman 2 enter to the stage right ...

3838. Separation of God and State?

Isaiah 44:24--45:25

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and ungird the loins of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: "I will go before you and level the mountains. I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut asunder the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. For the sake of my servant ...

3839. When The Waters Begin To Rise

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

We are all familiar with MURPHY'S LAW, "If anything can go wrong it will." Murphy's Law is the inspiration for a new book by Paul Dickson, titled THE OFFICIAL RULES AT HOME. Here is a sample of laws, rules, and observations collected by Dickson: Rabbe's Rule of the Bedroom: The spouse who snores louder always falls asleep first. Dickson's Gardening Discovery: When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it ...

3840. A Journey To A New Life

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

King Duncan

Danne and Jorge Martinez wanted to raise their eleven-year-old daughter Lizbet to do right. Unfortunately, they had no choice but to teach Lizbet to lie. You see, the Martinez family lived in Cuba. They were members of Castro's Communist Party. But inside their home, these devoted parents complained bitterly about the political situation that was destroying their country. And so, when Lizbet was old enough to attend school, her parents sat her down and explained the facts of life to her. She was never to ...

3841. Landing Instructions

Isaiah 40:25-31

Sermon

Mark Trotter

We were all attracted to the story of Lance Armstrong winning the Tour de France last weekend, that grueling bicycle race. It is one of the great endurance races in the world today. Lance Armstrong won it in record time, two years after undergoing surgery and then chemotherapy for cancer that spread throughout his body, including to his brain. It is a testimony first of all to the wonderful advances that medicine has made in curing cancers, but everyone recognizes as well that it is a terrific testimony to ...

3842. Doing Right When You Have Been Done Wrong

Ephesians 4:31-32

Sermon

James Merritt

I have been ordered by Dr. Freddie Gage to speak on the topic of bitterness and forgiveness. Now like most preachers, I don't like to be told what to preach, but in Freddie's case I gladly acquiesce because I knew if I didn't, Freddie would get bitter and never forgive me. Now some people might think it strange to speak on a topic of bitterness to a bunch of Baptists. But bitterness is certainly no stranger to Baptist churches. I heard about a Baptist businessman that was taking a business trip on an ...

3843. No Fear

Psalm 23:4

Sermon

James Merritt

Fear—we all know what it is. It is one of the most debilitating emotions known to the human race. As a matter of fact, it is fascinating to see just what it is that people fear most. Here are the three greatest fears people have in America: Fear number one: Going to a party where they will be surrounded by strangers. Fear number two: Having to speak before a crowd. Fear number three: Being asked a personal question in public.1 Fear is unbelievably powerful. It penetrates the heart, it poisons the spirit, ...

3844. The Great Depression

Psalm 42:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

I’m beginning a six-week series of messages that I am entitling “Dealing with Feelings.” I’m going to begin today with the most dominant destructive debilitating feeling of all. Have you ever awakened in the morning and somehow you just knew it was going to be a bad day? Somebody with a great sense of humor described a few clues to let us know that it’s “going to be a bad day” when: You wake up face down on the pavement. You call Suicide Prevention and they put you on hold. Your birthday cake collapses ...

3845. The Spin Zone

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Sermon

James Merritt

Question - What do King David, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton have in common? They all at one time entered "THE SPIN ZONE." What is "The Spin Zone"? The "Spin Zone" is when you enter into God's "No Sin Zone" out of a lust for power, sex, influence or money which causes you to sin which you then try to cover up. In the Garden of Eden God warned Adam and Eve about His "No Sin Zone" and they refused to listen, they entered into "The Spin Zone" and you know the rest of the story. Nixon had his Watergate, ...

3846. Where do You Live?

Romans 14:1-12

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

In the irreverent comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which is a send up of the King Arthur tales, there is a scene where one of the knights, Sir Bedevere is confronted by a group of villagers. It seems they have gripped one of the local women and claim she is a witch. It's very obvious that her long crooked nose is fake and has been tied on and she's been dressed up to look like a witch. Sir Bedevere questions the evidence and the people confess that they made it all up. But they still want to burn ...

3847. Remember: No Deposit, No Return

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Remember the TV series, Sanford and Son starring Red Foxx and Demond Wilson. It gave us the memorable lines: "Oh, this is the big one, I'm coming to see you Elizabeth" and "You're so ugly if you pressed your face in some dough... you'd have gorilla cookies." Sanford and Son was about Fred and Lamont Sanford who owned and ran a Junkyard. But it was really about all the junk and clutter in their lives. I think it's a parable for our lives, too. You see, we all have a lot of trash and garbage and clutter in ...

3848. Forgive Us

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

I'm ashamed to say that too often I behave like the guy laying in bed with his family refusing to get up to give loaves of bread to his friend. I wish it were otherwise, but the truth is the truth. And where better to tell the truth but in church? My life, much of the time, is all tucked in nice and warm. My doors are bolted shut. My children are sound asleep. The worries and cares of the day are well behind me. Each of my children has already been up for the obligatory glass of water and trip to the ...

3849. For Those Who Are Auditing the Class

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

Pastor Tony Evans says his wife has for years audited classes at Dallas Seminary. Some of you know what that means. When you audit a class, you go and sit in the classroom, but there are no outside requirements. You don’t have to study. You don’t have to take any tests. You get the information but you don’t have the burden of actually passing the class. Tony Evans goes on to say, “Many Christians come to church on Sunday mornings and audit the sermon. They go to class, have textbook in hand, sit in their ...

3850. Can Two Become One?

Matthew 19:1-12

Sermon

James Merritt

I recently came across a fascinating article called “The Top 10 Inventions That Changed The World.” Whenever I come across lists like these it is always fun to see how many of these I can guess. I am going to put 10 blanks up on the screen, beginning with number 10. Here are the top inventions in order from 10-to-1: 10. The Plow 9. The Wheel 8. The Printing Press 7. The Refrigerator 6. Communications (Telephone, TV, etc) 5. The Steam Engine 4. The Automobile 3. The Light Bulb 2. The Computer 1. The ...

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