Sermon and Worship Resources

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376. Nothing Is Done

Illustration

... Nothing is done," Lincoln Steffens once wrote. "Everything in the world remains to be done or done over. The greatest picture is not yet painted. The greatest play isn't written. The greatest poem is unsung." Nothing is perfect, we can add. There's no perfect airline. There's no perfect government. there's no perfect law. Faucets still drip, as one did years ago in the Steffens household. As he and his seven-year-old son tried to fix it, Steffens had to admit that his generation could not make a fit faucet ...

377. Thank You for Coming

Hebrews 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... how important we are to God’s purpose for the world. The second thing the writer says to us is that Christ is the perfect reflection of the character of God. He writes, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being ... meaning of Christmas day. God’s plan for humankind has been fulfilled. The Savior of the world has come. He is the perfect representation of God, and now he reigns with God, world without end, forever and ever. 1. A story from Norman Vincent Peale, ...

378. Practicing the Presence

Acts 8:26-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... this text is obvious. Jesus had claimed the identity of the suffering servant for himself and had personally fulfilled Isaiah’s words through his sacrificial and atoning death. The eunuch’s question “About whom . . . does the prophet say this . . .?” perfectly open the door for Philip to declare “The good news about Jesus” (v.35). All that Isaiah’s suffering servant encounters and endures is found in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Despite the desert conditions through which they are ...

379. Colossians 3:12-17

Colossians 3:1-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... faced found no benefit in any of these qualities, the community of the faithful, those who are part of the new Christbody community, claimed these same qualities as the attitudes and actions that kept their community together and tuned in perfect harmony. In a world where might was always right, Colossian Christians were encouraged to embrace forgiveness rather than judgment. Forgiveness was based upon the template of personal experience “as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” But ...

380. When We're Estranged from God

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... the universe we live in.” (4) And that’s true. It may not be fashionable to use the word sin. To many it is archaic. Still, it is the central fact of human nature. No matter who we are, no matter how hard we try, we have not arrived at perfection. Children sing the little nursery rhyme, “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall; All the king’s horses, and all the king’s men, Couldn’t put Humpty together again.” And it is true of our lives. We are broken people and the only ...

381. The Runner

Romans 9:30--10:21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , most stained, most beat up thing anyone has ever seen. But the condition it was in mattered not a wit at nap time, or bedtime, or cry time. Or what about that stuffed animal? Come on, now. You all had one. And it was in perfect shape, right? No matter how unstuffed your stuffed animal, or how smelly and gross it was, all that mattered was that your special, indispensable friend was within arms’ length when you needed a comforter. Isaiah 40:1 offers the ultimate “comfort food” – at least for ...

382. The Loser

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

James Merritt

... young in the Bible is a reference to someone under 40. So if you are over 40, you really can no longer call yourself “young” and if you do you are being unbiblical. He had his whole life ahead of him. He works out daily, is in great shape and perfect health. He is a ruler. He was either a magistrate or he worked in the office of the high priest, but you get the picture. He was rich. He was respected and as you are going to see in a few moments at least outwardly he was righteous. How did ...

383. To the Rescue

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

James Merritt

... say you could divide the Bible up into four chapters. Chapter 1 is “Creation”. By way of review, the story begins in all places in a garden - the Garden of Eden. It was a place of perfect peace. There were only two people: a man named Adam and a woman named Eve. They had it just perfect - perfect environment, perfect harmony, at peace with the world, peace with each other and at peace with God. That was Chapter 1. Then something happened which to this day is the most terrible tragedy in the history of ...

384. Planting Your Feet

Psalm 32:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... Remember, this is not a song of sadness, but a song of gladness. Yes, David was sad over his faults, but he was even more glad over his forgiveness. For every way we do wrong, for every type of sin we can commit, God has the perfect remedy. For every spiritual sickness God has a spiritual cure. What about the times we trespass, go into forbidden territory, and do what we shouldn’t do? “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven.” (Psalm 32:1, ESV) The word “forgive” literally means to ...

385. An Unforgettable Baptism

Luke 3:21-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... Nature is beautiful. Nature sometimes leaves us breathless. But nature is also terrifying, cruel, unforgiving. Where shall we look to find a God worth worshipping? We can look to nature to show us a God of grandeur and might. But we cannot find there a God of perfect and complete love. Neither can we look to other great religions to show such a God. These religions are helpful to those who follow them, but none of them speak of a God whose very nature is love. Only within the pages of the New Testament can ...

386. Boasting

2 Corinthians 11:1-15, 2 Corinthians 11:16-33, 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... , and sustains him in the process (cf. Gal. 1:15; 2:9; 1 Cor. 3:10; 15:10; Rom. 1:5; 12:3; 15:15). The risen Lord goes on to state the reason his grace is sufficient for Paul in his physical distress: Christ’s power is made perfect in Paul’s weakness. The contrast of terms is striking. Ultimately, the quality and character of the revelatory mediator is inconsequential, a lesson that is abundantly reinforced by the example of the OT prophets (cf., e.g., 1 Kgs. 18:4–18). Moses is the prime example of ...

387. A Prayer for the Ephesians

Ephesians 3:14-21

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... , the indwelling of Christ, and grounding in love would lead to an understanding of Christ’s love. But the ultimate goal is that the believers attain the fullness that belongs to God, that is, all the riches and glory that belong to him. “God’s fullness or perfection becomes the standard or level up to which we pray to be filled” (Stott, p. 138). The concept of “fullness” (plērōma) in Colossians (1:19; 2:9, 10) and Ephesians (1:23; 3:19; 4:13) is another way by which the author describes the ...

388. Paul's Ministry in Thessalonica

1 Thessalonians 2:1-16

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... or bad conduct (cf. 2 Cor. 4:2; 10:2). Here, of course, it is good and, indeed, with the infinitive in the present tense, it indicates persistence in doing good. Specifically, Paul wanted their lives to persistently reflect the life of God—striving to be perfect because God is perfect (Matt. 5:48), to be loving because God is love (John 13:34; 1 John 4:16). This is “to walk worthily” of God and only such a life befits the people of God’s kingdom. Perhaps Paul arrived at his description of God as the ...

389. Living to Please God

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... with that meaning: “that each of you should acquire his own wife.” But given that “wife” is a less likely meaning of skeuos than “body,” we should take ktaomai to mean “to possess.” In classical usage, this sense is restricted to the perfect and pluperfect tenses, but Moulton-Milligan cite evidence that this restriction no longer applied in NT Greek. Here Paul uses the verb in the present tense (of the infinitive) with the sense, “to be in the process of gaining possession, i.e., control ...

390. Warning Against Falling Away

Hebrews 5:11-6:12

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... become a common metaphor for the wrong kind of fruitfulness (e.g., Matt. 7:16; 13:7, 24–30), and in the same contexts, destruction by fire, as a symbol of eschatological judgment, is almost always present. 6:9 Confident translates a common word (perfect passive of peithō) meaning to be “convinced” or “certain” (cf. same use in 13:18). “Beloved” occurs only here in Hebrews. For the importance of better in Hebrews, see note on 1:4. 6:10 Shown him abbreviates the original “for his name ...

391. The Day of the Lord

2 Peter 3:1-18

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... by their godly lives, will be the means by which they give expression to the way they look forward to the day of God, and so help to speed its coming. Peter is not propounding a novel doctrine. The rabbis declared that “if Israel kept the law perfectly for one day, Messiah would come.” The more profound point behind Peter’s words is that the material world is transient and can be no sure foundation for life. By contrast, a life based on the truths of holy living and trust in a loving God concerned ...

392. Government and Marriage

Mark 12:18-27, Mark 12:13-17

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... in Mark 10:28: “We have left everything to follow you.” This means that we hold all our possessions to be part of our stewardship to God and make him Lord over everything that we have and are. 3. The resurrection body is a new perfection. Jesus speaks here of the “power of God” guaranteeing that in the afterlife we will be “like the angels.” Paul calls this a “spiritual body” (1 Cor. 15:44), which is “imperishable” and has a new “glory” and “power” (15:42–43) and bears the ...

393. God’s Saving Righteousness and the Restoration of Israel

Romans 3:21-31

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... Verse 27b: principle (nomos) of faith (cf. v. 28a) On this reading, in 3:27–28 Paul is summarizing his argument in 1:18–3:26: no individual can boast before God regarding obedience to the law of Moses because no one can ever follow the law perfectly enough to be accepted by God on judgment day. More than that, the law stirs up disobedience, not obedience, to God in the first place. Verses 27–28 add one more vital detail to Paul’s argument: the law itself stirs up individual pride before God and ...

394. The Garden City as Paradise Transformed

Revelation 22:1-5

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... of John’s vision of the new Jerusalem in 21:9–22:5. In 22:1–5 John describes the eternal city as a garden, much like the original Garden of Eden. But now we learn that paradise has been not only restored but also transformed into the perfect eternal paradise. John draws imagery and language from Ezekiel 47:1–12, where the prophet sees a river flowing from the renewed temple and trees growing on the banks of the river (cf. Zech. 14:8). He also seems to be reflecting on Genesis, since the image of ...

395. Holiness of Priests

Lev 21:1–23:2

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... remedy (along with restitution plus 20 percent) for this kind of offense. Theological Insights Priests are set apart from ordinary Israelites as holy (Lev. 21:6, 7, 8, 15, 23). As God’s special servants, they are to reflect as much as possible the purity and perfections of the realm of the divine.3 God is to be associated with life, not death, so priests—especially the high priest—must avoid that which has to do with death, including mourning rituals for the dead (Lev. 21:1–8, 10–12). God is ...

396. The Power of the Trust Factor

John 14:1-4, John 14:5-14

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... this plan we begin by admitting to God that we cannot qualify for Plan A. We need to believe Jesus Christ when he says, "I am the way, the truth and the life." He was the only person who ever qualified for Plan A and by trusting in his perfection and establishing a relationship with him, we get in on his goodness. Without Jesus' way, there is no going. Without his truth, there is no knowing. Without his life, there is no growing. These are life's three firm foundations. Now go out into the world to build ...

397. I Wonder about God’s Will for My Life

Romans 12:1-2

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... for us—he went all the way to cross to prove that to us! What God Desires for Us Romans 12:1-2 is clear about God’s intentions for us. What God has in mind for us comes in three words in verse 2: “Good, acceptable, and perfect.” God’s will is good, acceptable, and perfect. First, God’s will is good. This means that God has the highest and best for us in mind. Second, God’s will is acceptable. The Greek word for acceptable means “well pleasing” and “agreeable.” Third, God’s will is ...

398. Wisdom from the Spirit

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... ones” or the mature (Gk. teleioi) should be seen to anticipate his naming a second group in Corinth in 3:1, “mere infants” (Gk. nēpioi), so while the Corinthians may call themselves “perfect” or “mature,” Paul’s use of the Gk. word teleioi (mature) could at times be sarcastic. 2:8 O. Cullmann’s work (Christ and Time: The Primitive Christian Conception of Time and History [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1950; rev. ed., 1962) suggested that in the mind of Paul angelic or demonic powers ...

399. Love

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... ’s new creation. Moreover, and in further pursuit of the dramatic contrast between love and gifts, in verse 10 Paul identifies the basis for the cessation of knowledge and prophecy—they are imperfect. Finally Paul promises the survival of that which is perfect and declares the eschatological end of imperfection. Again, the statements should cause the attentive reader to recall Paul’s statements in 1 Corinthians 3:10–15 concerning what kinds of things will survive God’s scrutiny on the Day of final ...

400. Elihu

Job 32:1--37:24

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... false is, of course, the issue under discussion. If Job’s claims are true, then Elihu’s words would indeed be proven false—as they are by the end of the book. Not only does Elihu deny falsehood, he also claims that he is perfect in knowledge. The word “perfect” here (temim) is from the same root (tmm) that describes Job’s own character in chapters 1 through 2 (see the discussion on 1:1 in §1 and on 31:40 in §111). This verbal link pits these two characters and their conflicting words against ...

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