Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 4426 to 4450 of 4999 results

Mark 11:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the phrase "The Lord needs it. . ." certainly seems to identify this as another wonder story. Jesus intuitively "knows" a colt meeting all his requirements is located on a certain street. He also is able to pass along to his disciples the words that will act as a kind of "open sesame" for them. Their response of "The Lord needs it. . ." should be seen as a reference to Jesus as "the Lord" not, as some suggest, as "the Lord" or master of the colt. Typical of Mark's gospel, the disciples' mission to get the ...

4427. Luke 24:36b-48

Luke 24:36b-48

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of joy coupled with disbelief an odd yet tellingly insightful glimpse into human reactions. As the NEB expresses it, this is a "seems too good to be true" kind of response. The text says nothing more about the disciples' thoughts, their doubts or fears. Instead, at Jesus' directive, these disciples are prodded into providing the kind of everyday sort of comfort they might offer an everyday visitor a bit of broiled fish to eat. Caught up in performing familiar hospitality rituals, they forget their ...

4428. Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... as its head. This exalted vision of what the church should be leads the writer to carefully, almost painstakingly, spell out the kinds of behaviors that new Christians should exhibit to each other and to the world. Today's text singles out for discussion those ... are intended to be "useful for building up" and to "give grace" (v.29) to members of the church. To be "kind," "tenderhearted" and "forgiving" is the goal set for the Ephesian Christians. There is only one reason that the writer advocates such ...

4429. James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a

James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Christian community those whose trade was in their correct grasp of knowledge. At the very outset of his words to teachers, James cautions that few could qualify, few could meet the strict requirements demanded (James 3:1). Now James challenges these potential teachers with a kind of "trick question." "Who is wise and understanding among you?" (v.13). To any who might pipe up too quickly, the epistle writer is ready with a warning. If envy or ambition makes up any part of your desire to act as teacher, then ...

4430. 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... dozens of other pagan cultic communities which also claimed to give their members a deity-directed existence. From their previous experience with other ecstatic cults (such as the riotous Dionysians), the Corinthians knew firsthand the many different kinds of behaviors that believers readily attributed to outside spiritual forces. As "charismata" gifts began to surface in their own Christian community, the Corinthians were both pleased and confused. Were all those who experienced an ecstatic experience of ...

4431. Jeremiah 18:1-11

Jeremiah 18:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... . The warning about impending divine judgment given in verse 7 is clearly the main force behind the Lord's word to Jeremiah. But never forget that God is free to act as God wills in response to Judah's own behavior. Verses 7-10 read as a double sequence, a kind of stuttering "if ... if ... then ... then ..." argument. "If ... if ... then ... I will repent of the evil that I intended to do to it" (vv.7-8). "If ... if ... then ... I will repent of the good which I had intended to do to it" (vv.9-10). In both ...

4432. Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15

Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... . Although still technically a prisoner, he was moved from the dreary cells in the improvised cistern house prison to a kind of "house arrest" in the "court of the guard" (37:21; 32:2). Here he remained until Jerusalem finally fell to the Babylonians ( ... 38:13, 28; 39:14). This "court of the guard" was probably a kind of stockade within the palace itself, a "minimum security" area where prisoners could receive communications and even visits from friends and ...

4433. 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12

2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... in daily work and life (v.12). It's a remarkable revelation Paul makes here: Just as a believer's true glory is found only in Christ, so, too, Christ enjoys his greatest glory when he is found in the lives of others. The possibility of this kind of "reciprocal glory" was first articulated by Jesus himself. The "he in you/you in him" relationship was first revealed as part of Jesus' special teachings to his disciples. In both John 17:10 and 17:22 Jesus specifically proclaims that glory is magnified as it is ...

4434. Weakness into Strength

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

James McCormick

... speculating about it for years – some have suggested it was near sightedness, or recurring bouts of malaria, or a hunchback condition – someone even thought he might have been writing about his mother in law! We just don’t know. But, it was some kind of weakness, some kind of affliction that was causing him difficulty and he wanted it gone. He prayed about it again and again, but the thorn remained. Instead of removing the thorn, God kept saying to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power ...

4435. A Burden or a Song

Matthew 5:43-48

Sermon

James McCormick

... again at our scripture in that light. What if we heard these words of Jesus not so much as demands to be obeyed, as gifts to be received? What if God is saying to us, not “These are things you must do”, but “this is the kind of person I will help you to become”? Doesn’t that change everything? Take that most difficult verse of all, the one about being perfect. What if “be perfect” is not a commandment, but a promise? And what if perfection really means complete – the complete you – the ...

4436. Romans 12:9-21

Romans 12:9-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... long litany, this first line remains the most difficult to consistently recreate. Where genuine love thrives, Paul suggests, these other attitudes will spring up and prosper - a hatred of all evil, a commitment to the good (that is, God's will) and the kind of caring concern usually reserved for one's own family, directed towards the welfare and well-being of the entire koinonia community. With individuals so tuned to God's will and ways, so attuned to the lives of others, Paul naturally expects Christians ...

4437. Romans 13:8-14

Romans 13:8-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , only when this attitude and action of love was honored. By paying taxes and obeying government authority, individuals fulfill the civil law. But it is only by loving others that the Torah's demands are met. In verse 9 Paul offers a kind of Reader's Digest condensed version of the Ten Commandments. Such "short forms" were common heuristic devices and Paul's list apparently follows a popular form. Philo divided the Ten Commandments into two sections - one composed of those commandments directed towards God ...

4438. Mark 6:1-13

Mark 6:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... day. As Jesus sends his disciples out, he not only empowers them for action, he prepares them for the inevitable moments of frustration and failure they will encounter. Jesus' own experience in Nazareth now serves as both an example of the kind of rejection they will face and of the kind of response it should elicit. If a household or a village refuses to hear these missionaries' words or recognize the power they wield, the disciples are to move on quickly, shaking the dust off their feet as they go from ...

4439. Mark 12:28-34

Mark 12:28-34

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... does seem to get right Jesus' rendition of Leviticus 19:18, word for word. The scribe continues to add his own interpretations by comparing the importance of Jesus' words with the importance of cultic obedience. He designates two different kinds of cultic sacrifices here, both the "whole burnt offering" type and "sacrifices." The "burnt offerings" refer to animal sacrifices which were completely consumed by the flames. "Sacrifices" include any offerings, either animal or vegetable, made at the temple. What ...

4440. Mark 1:21-28

Mark 1:21-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of decisions made a first century scribe part rabbi/part lawyer, a definitive top drawer authority in the religious community. Since scribes DID have authority, there must have been some discernable difference in the kind of authoritative spirit Jesus expressed in the synagogue. Jesus’ words moved beyond the normal structures of scriptural interpretation and offered a new perspective, words vital and real to the world, not frozen on a parchment. Although Mark does not reveal the content of that teaching ...

4441. Don’t Forget Your Dance Partner!

Mark 1: 21-28

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

C.S. Lewis once penned some thoughts on worship, particularly in the face of liturgical innovators in England who seemed to think that every worship service needed to be a kind of variety show with each week being different from the week prior. Lewis had no truck with that kind of thinking. Worship, Lewis wrote, should be a bit like dancing. Once you have learned how to dance and have become good at it, you are able to immerse yourself in the dance and just do it almost without thinking about it. But if ...

4442. Where a Cross Should Be Worn

Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

King Duncan

... like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full . . .” And so, we approach this night with caution. This is not a night for a sham kind of religion. It is a night for focusing on the meaning of our lives in the light of the cross of Jesus Christ a night for basting the cross on our hearts, even as we place it on our foreheads. Someone gave his life in our behalf. In the movie ...

4443. 1 Corinthians 9:16-23

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... here is “kauchema,” which refers to the content of boasting, not “kauchesis,” the term Paul uses often to describe the act itself of boasting. The content of Paul’s boasting is that as Christ’s captive, Paul preaches the gospel without payment of any kind. He pleads for no one to interfere with the content of this “boast,” and asks the Corinthians to accept that Paul will continue to work to support himself. But Paul’s pleasure comes from being able to preach the gospel free of any charge ...

4444. Jesus Is Contagious!

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... information about yourself whether you like it or not, or whether you want to or not. *The grocery clerk who doesn’t know your name, knows you buy extra soda and chips on Wednesday because extra kids are coming over. *Local UPS delivery drivers know what kinds of packages you get, and from where. *The kid at the video store knows the movie tastes of all regular customers. The more “intentional” sharing we do is with those to whom we feel emotionally close. We share hopes and dreams with our spouse. We ...

4445. He Stands Alone

Mark 1:29-39

Sermon

King Duncan

... hymn, just before Ratigliano spoke: “Drop kick me Jesus through the goal posts of life, end over end neither left or the right, straight through the heart of those glorious uprights, drop‑kick me Jesus through the goal posts of life.” That’s the kind of witness Markquart expected. Instead Sam Ratigliano told how he and his wife were driving one evening with their two-year-old daughter in the back seat. Suddenly a car was upon them; there was an accident; their car rolled over; the child was thrown ...

4446. Divorce and Swearing

Matthew 5:31-32

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... that grieves God. From the beginning God intended marriage to be a relationship that reflects the holy communion that exists within the Trinity. But reality is that due to our hard heartedness marriages fail. Marriages become the context, not for mutual loving kindness but for mutual meanness, disrespect, hurtfulness. So, did Jesus intend to say that divorce is prohibited, except for one exception? First of all, you’ve got to recall what Jesus said about forgiving 70 X 7. Adultery need not end a marriage ...

4447. God Be With You All

2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... as perichoreis. The Greek word means “to dance around.” Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have a life like a dance. Each dance partner holds and follows the others, with no partner dominating. To be created in the image of God is to be created for this kind of relationship. You are here today because of all the people who have tried to teach you to dance the Christian dance by dancing with you. Sometimes it has looked and felt more like a wrestling match than a dance. But that’s the way relationships work ...

4448. Said the Night Wind….

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... essential role, each so connected to the rest, that when one part suffers, all suffer. And when one part rejoices all rejoice. When our spiritual senses are working as God intends, our tears express both pain and joy. Recently I read a book entitled, same kind of different as me. It’s about Denver, a sharecropper from Louisiana, who hops a train and ends up in Fort Worth, Texas. He lives on the streets, homeless. And it’s about Ron, who becomes a successful art dealer and very wealthy. The two become ...

4449. Tested, for God’s Sake

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... that we learn who we are and who we aren’t. The purpose of a test is to learn – not to get a grade. What kind of Savior, King, Lord, Liberator, Deliverer, Redeemer, Messiah, will Jesus be? There are a lot of options to choose from. Just as we know ... election. Forget the blue states and the red states – they’ll be whatever color I make them. Jesus would be king, but not that kind of king. He would rule, but not that way. Jesus says to the Tester, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship ...

4450. Theology 101

Psalm 111:1-10

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... . This God is with us through the passages of life. The truth is that all of life is a passage. It is movement. And even though we debate whether we want change or not, the reality is change is constant. At issue is not whether we want change, but what kind of change it will be. Just look in the mirror. We cannot stop life where we want it and build a wall around it to keep it that way. Botox is temporary. The covenant that God has commanded forever is that God is with us, redeeming us, renewing the earth ...

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