Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic

Showing 4226 to 4250 of 5000 results

4226. Personal History

John 18:1-11

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... had no idea whose face he struck. Likewise, we see the mocking crown and purple robe with which the suffering Christ was adorned: dramatic irony, as the scoffers did not recognize at all that he was, indeed, a king. King of kings and Lord of lords, no less. Third, what happened to Jesus was the design and purpose of God. While the events of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday in the gospels appear to be entirely the orchestration of the jealous, conspiring Jewish leaders, Isaiah sees a different hand behind ...

4227. The Broken

John 8:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... mention the last day of her life, was about to turn out to be the best day of her life for Jesus says those magic words that were music to her ears and frankly music to mine, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”“She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.’” (John 8:11, ESV) I want to say it again. That is amazing! The only one qualified to throw a rock didn’t. Why didn’t He? There are two reasons. First of all ...

4228. Paradise Lost

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

James Merritt

... asks the first question ever raised in the Bible. “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1, ESV) If you remember God did not say that. In fact, in Chapter 2, verse 16, this is what God said, “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden.’” (Genesis 2:16, ESV) God never said to Eve, “You shall not eat of any tree in the garden.” He said just the opposite. He said, “You shall eat of every tree of ...

4229. Planting Your Feet

Psalm 32:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... go back to the Ten Commandments and you read sometimes you shall and sometimes you shall not when you shall and you don’t that is sin. When you shall not and you do that is transgression. He goes on to say this, “Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity.” (Psalm 32:2, ESV) It is easy to understand when you don’t do what you should do or you do what you shouldn’t do. We can understand how wrong that is. We also are guilty of iniquity. Iniquity is when we take something that is ...

4230. A Small Town Is Blessed

Micah 5:1-4

Sermon

King Duncan

... will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the ... and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. “Let’s ...

4231. The Joy of a Thankful Heart

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... . For that reason, our faith recommends responding in thanks. Ninety percent thought they were entitled. Ten percent returned to give thanks. Join the ten percent! It makes such a difference in the way you experience life. After the comment on the nine who did not return, our Lord turned his attention to this fellow lying flat on his face in front of him. The Master said, "Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well" (v. 19). What a curious comment. All ten were healed. Could it not be said that ...

4232. Two Kinds of People

Jeremiah 17:5-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... mansion? Why live in a wilderness when you can be like a tree planted by living water? Let Christ come into your life. Trust him. Let him show you new possibilities for your life. “Blessed is the man (or woman or boy or girl) who trusts in the Lord and whose hope the Lord is.” Joyce Meyer once stated it like this, “For a long time, there was so much turmoil in my life. It really saddens me to think about all the years I wasted living this way. I was a Christian and went to church, but I spent a lot ...

4233. Pet Rocks and the Big Reveal

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

King Duncan

... his disciples ahead, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” Jesus’ instruction to these two disciples was to find him the colt of a donkey and bring it to him. Jesus was clearly fulfilling Zechariah’s prophecy that the Messiah will ride a donkey (Zechariah 9:9-10). But what is the significance of the ...

4234. Solomon Builds the Temple

2 Chronicles 3:1-17

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... the temple. The Chronicler follows the source text in 1 Kings 7:48–50 with some minor alterations. 5:1 This clearly forms the conclusion to the actual temple-building process, including the point that all the work Solomon had done for the temple of the LORD was finished. This comment, as well as the indication that Solomon brought into the treasury of the temple building the things his father David had dedicated, was taken over from the source text in 1 Kings 7:51. The temple is now ready to be dedicated ...

4235. Athaliah and Joash

2 Chron 22:10–23:21

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... added the words priests and Levites in 2 Chronicles 23:4 to ensure that the narrative portrays those entering the temple as consecrated cultic personnel. This change is in line with the addition in 23:6, specifying that no one is to enter the temple of the LORD except the priests and Levites on duty . . . because they are consecrated, as well as with the specification in 23:7 that the Levites had to surround the king. Again (as in 23:3) “the king” refers here to the young Joash. 23:8–11 The plan is ...

4236. Paul in Ephesus

Acts 19:1-22

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... the “seal of the Spirit,” of which Christian baptism is the outward and visible sign (see notes on 2:2ff. and disc. on 2:38). These disciples were probably in much the same case as Apollos had been, having been “instructed in the way of the Lord” up to a point (18:25), but unaware of what had happened on the Great Pentecost some twenty years earlier (and perhaps of other things). This suggestion rests on an interpretation of verse 2. They had answered Paul’s question by declaring: We have not even ...

4237. Paul’s Farewell to the Ephesian Elders

Acts 20:13-38

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... typical of Paul; cf. Eph. 4:2; Phil. 2:3; Col. 2:18, 23; 3:12). But Paul saw himself as “the slave of the Lord” (NIV’s served the Lord misses the force of his language; for the verb “to be a slave” cf. Rom. 12:11; 14:18; 16:18; Eph. 6:7; Phil. ... “hard sayings” as well as “comfortable words,” warning his hearers that they should turn to God in repentance and have faith in (the) Lord Jesus (v. 21; see disc. on 2:38 for a similar appeal and disc. on 2:40 for the verb “to warn,” or better ...

4238. Spiritual Blessings in Christ

Ephesians 1:1-14

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... gospel to repent and be baptized (Acts 2:37ff.). Second, they believed in Christ, literally, “in whom also having believed.” Although the content of belief is not mentioned, it definitely must include the person of Christ (“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved,” Rom. 10:9) or the gospel that bears witness to him. Third, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit. The imagery behind this ...

4239. Thanksgiving and Prayer

Ephesians 1:15-23

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... 7, 9). But it is remotely possible that he could be referring to a recent report—perhaps from someone like Epaphras—on the progress of their faith. All that he has heard is that God’s people who are faithful (1:1) have their faith grounded in the Lord Jesus. Faith is given practical expression through their love for all the saints (cf. Col. 1:4); or to state it another way, love toward God’s people is an outgrowth of their faith in Christ. Love, faith, and hope (1:12, 18) appear in Ephesians and in ...

4240. Thanksgiving and Prayer

Philemon 1:1-7

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... probably employs a grammatical structure known as chiasm. The term comes from the Greek letter chi, which is written like an X. In a sentence, words or phrases are arranged in inverted parallelism. Verse 5, for example, would read: a love b faith b′ in the Lord Jesus a′ for all the saints Love (a) comes first because Paul is thinking of Philemon’s love, both explicitly (vv. 7, 9) and implicitly (vv. 14, 16, 17, 20); (b) faith is the source from which love is derived; (b′) faith has as its object ...

4241. The Christian and the World

James 4:1-12

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... adulterous wife, who wants to keep the security and respectability of her home and husband but also wants to enjoy her lover (Isa. 1:21; Jer. 3; Hos. 1–3). James, in applying this image to the church, accuses it of serving some “idol” as well as the Lord. The “idol” is easily found: It is the world. Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. The people should have recognized the fact, for the don’t ...

4242. Suffering for Being a Christian

1 Peter 4:12-19

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... (such is the implication of the word for ungodly: impious) is left hanging threateningly in the air. 4:19 Summing up, Peter declares that all this means that believers who suffer in the course of following God’s will are to express their trust in the Lord by a deliberate handing over of their lives to him. Meanwhile, regardless of discouragements, they are to carry on with the good work he wants them to do. Those who commit themselves to God can be assured that, far more faithfully than the most loyal of ...

4243. Prophecy of Scripture

2 Peter 1:12-21

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... borne in mind, and the telling metaphor of the tent was often employed by early writers. A tent is a frail, temporary dwelling, up for a short period, and appropriate for a pilgrim on a journey. 1:14 It was a memorable occasion, thirty years earlier, when our Lord Jesus Christ (the full title adds solemnity to Peter’s words) made it clear that one day Peter would die a martyr’s death (John 21:18–19; cf. John 13:36). Peter must be well into his sixties by now. Nero is the Roman emperor and Christians ...

4244. Laws of Justice and Mercy

Exodus 23:1-9

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... from God, but rather use an impartial weighing of circumstances with the law (Tigay, “Exodus,” p. 158). The fifth law in this first sequence is surprising: “do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit.” The context of 22:21–27 and the Lord’s partiality to the vulnerable have led some interpreters to consider this a mistake. Several have emended it to read “to a great man,” but the rhetorical impact of this verse drives home the point of this whole block of laws: never show partiality ...

4245. The Table

Exodus 25:23-30

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... when they were running from Saul (1 Sam. 21:3–6). The table also held pure gold pitchers and bowls for the pouring out of offerings. The presence of bread and drink on the table in the tent echoes the meals the elders ate on Mt. Sinai in the Lord’s presence (18:12; 24:11). In other ancient Middle Eastern cultures people offered bread and drink to their gods daily. In the tent of meeting the priests consumed the bread (and probably drink, since the bread was a week old) as a sign of relationship with God ...

4246. Buried in the Promised Land

Joshua 24:28-33

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... and the people. Joshua, the assistant of Moses, no doubt faces a crisis of confidence upon succeeding the great Moses. Chapter by chapter, the book describes how Joshua emerges as a leader like Moses until he too is called the “servant of the Lord” (24:29) after his death. Joshua tells how God develops leadership and defines its characteristics. Key words challenge Joshua to lead the people successfully. He is to be strong, courageous, obedient, not afraid, not confused, a follower of God’s ways, and ...

4247. Micah’s Idols

Judges 17:1-13

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... him. He offered to pay his expenses plus some pocket money, even treat him as a son, if he would be his very own priest, an offer the young Levite could not refuse (v. 12b). Micah was elated, assuming that he now had a special connection with the Lord. Now he knew God would bless him. It is easy to look at this as just another story that happened to “them,” “back then,” “over there,” and miss what it reveals about human nature and about God. Micah wanted to be in control; he worked hard to do ...

4248. Saul Takes His Life

1 Chronicles 10:1-14

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... s own material, since the information is not attested in 1 Samuel 31 (MT or LXX). It is clear that the Chronicler wanted to give a theological interpretation to Saul’s death. According to 10:13, Saul died because he was unfaithful to the LORD (literally “because of his unfaithfulness in which he has acted unfaithfully against Yahweh”)—the noun and verb are from the root maʿal, which we have already seen is one of the Chronicler’s favorite theological terms. This unfaithfulness is then defined in ...

4249. The Levites

1 Chronicles 23:1-6

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... duties (24:3); he sets apart the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun for special service (25:1); and he appoints officials (26:32). In concluding these lists (27:23) the Chronicler makes the point that David did not count those below twenty years of age, for “the LORD had promised to make Israel as numerous as the stars in the sky.” 23:1 The opening clause when David was old and full of years indicates that the end of David’s reign is near. David now makes his son Solomon king over Israel. Although the ...

4250. Further Benefits of Wisdom

Proverbs 3:1-35

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

... royal rule (20:28) and also social relationship (14:22; 16:6). These ideals are to penetrate deeply, written on the tablet of your heart (cf. Jer. 31:33). The result will be favor and prestige before God and mortals. 3:5–6 The command to trust in the LORD is expressed positively and negatively (it is foolish to trust in oneself; cf. 26:5, 12; 28:26a). The motive in 6b is the assurance of divine direction in life. 3:7–8 The antithetic character of prohibition and command defines an aspect of fear of the ...

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