Sermon and Worship Resources

Antonyms: keep, claim, continue, stick by, self-control, power through, achieve, defend, bear, hope, acquire, quick visit, adopt, continue along, adhere, remain, pursue, support, take up, keep up, reuse, advocate, stay, persevere, cherish, keep going, carry on

Showing 4476 to 4500 of 4977 results

4476. “Trust in the Lord and Do Good”

Psalm 37:1-40

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... —it could not be seen; and their face to the past—it could be seen because it had been experienced. 37:40 The Lord helps them and delivers them. Verse 40 summarizes the theology of the poem that is found in verse 34: “Hope in the Lord and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it” (37:34). The righteous will see it just like the psalmist himself has seen it (37:35). Theological Insights This psalm, much like Psalm 73, puts the problem of ...

4477. “Blessed Are Those Who Have Regard for the Weak; the Lord Delivers Them”

Psalm 41:1-13

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... singular11(“he restores them”), evidently to agree with the third-person singular in the first half of the verse, but the verb is second masculine singular, addressed to God: “You restore him to full health” (ESV). The change is unnecessary, however. While we tend to keep our grammatical persons consistent in English, it is not uncommon in the Psalms for the suppliant to change persons abruptly. The psalmist does the same thing in the second half of 41:2 (“You do not give him up to the will of his ...

4478. “Be Exalted, O God, above the Heavens; Let Your Glory Be over All the Earth”

Psalm 57:1-11

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... bird, sheltering her young under her wings. This is a powerful image that provides comfort for God’s people. But what does it really mean? Perhaps it is best to look to nature for this answer. For example, consider the wood storks that spread their wings out to keep the sun off their young. Birds also use their wings to hide their young and protect them when danger is near. The spreading of a bird’s wings over its babies is also done to provide warmth. This is the picture the Bible gives of God’s care ...

4479. “When We Were Overwhelmed by Our Sins, You Forgave Our Transgressions”

Psalm 65:1-13

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... his belt to augment his strength before engaging in a strenuous task (cf. Job 40:7). 65:7 who stilled the roaring of the seas . . . the turmoil of the nations. See also Psalm 89:9. The idea seems to be that God rules over the seas to keep them from flooding the dry land. See Psalms 29 and 46 for the idea that God, in the beginning, stilled the roaring of the seas. Note that the Hebrew participle (“who stilled”) governs three objects: “the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the ...

4480. “Even When I Am Old and Gray, Do Not Forsake Me, My God”

Psalm 71:1-24

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... as compared to the shame of his opponents. The use of the adverb “always/continually” (tamid, 71:3, 6, 14; see the “Additional Insights” following the unit on Ps. 72) strengthens the psalmist’s constancy. Crenshaw says it underlies his vow, and he renders it, “But I keep on hoping.”3 71:16 I will come.He does not say where, but we assume he comes to the temple, where he rehearses God’s mighty acts, which are so many he could never relate them all (71:15). 71:17 Since my youth, God, you ...

4481. “Endow the King with Your Justice, O God”

Psalm 72:1-20

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... 72:20) Historical and Cultural Background The prayer that God would “endow the king with justice” (72:1) is in keeping with other ancient Near Eastern documents, one of the best known being Hammurabi’s Law Code (eighteenth century BC).2The ... end of David’s reign in the first half of the tenth century BC. The hopes in the psalm expressed for Solomon’s reign are quite in keeping with the historical data of the book of 1 Kings. His reign was one of prosperity and peace (Ps. 72:3–7, 16; 1 Kings 4:21b ...

4482. God Subjugates Judah under Babylon

Daniel 1:1-21

Teach the Text

Ronald W. Pierce

... sometimes allows the innocent to suffer with the guilty when his people are judged as a community. Third, Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God of Israel, is just, gracious, incomparable, and an ever-present help in times of need. Teaching the Text 1. The ... this narrative is that it is in God’s character to honor the heartfelt resolve of faithful believers. When teaching this text, keep Daniel’s faithfulness in perspective by highlighting God as the active agent in the story. Daniel is merely a recipient of ...

4483. Nebuchadnezzar’s Judgment and Repentance

Daniel 4:28-37

Teach the Text

Ronald W. Pierce

... out for their own pride, especially a spiritual pride, when seeking to assist others. 3. God is sovereign over heaven and earth. When we look earnestly at the person of God, we are compelled to honor and glorify him. This is why it is so important to keep the focus of our preaching and teaching on who God is and how he works with humanity. The former drives the latter, and we are recipients of both—even though we often come to know God through the way he works with mere mortals in Scripture. Emphasize ...

4484. Daniel in the Den of Lions

Daniel 6:1-28

Teach the Text

Ronald W. Pierce

... their lives when they have distinguished themselves among their peers, and to reflect on the gifts and abilities that contributed to their success. Then encourage each person to consider and acknowledge God in silent prayer as the giver of every gift, aptitude, or ability. By keeping this truth before us we are better able to avoid false pride and embrace genuine humility as a testimony to God, who is the source and giver of our accomplishments. 2. Daniel’s trust in the worthy God. This is a good text for ...

4485. The Rise of Media, Persia, and Greece

Daniel 8:15-27

Teach the Text

Ronald W. Pierce

... s Babylon in chapter 2. Also, the extended focus on the Greeks is consistent with this chapter’s parallel in Daniel 10–12, as well as with the similar emphasis on the last kingdom in chapters 2 and 7. Finally, the sealing of the vision parallels Daniel “keeping the matter to himself” in 7:28. Within this context, 8:15–27 divides into four parts: Daniel’s encounter with the angelic messengers (8:15–18); the identification of the ram as the kings of Media and Persia, and the goat as Greece (8:19 ...

4486. The Ultimate Success Formula

Mark 8:31--9:1

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... the bee and stayed busy doing the things that need to be done. Of course, the best kind of busy-ness is doing God's work. We have a lot of busy bees in our church. Some of them teach Sunday School, some sing in the choir. Some of them keep our books, serve on our committees, arrange our flowers on the altar, and a hundred other things that keep our church humming. I am so thankful for these busy bees. Like the bees gathering honey for the hive, they make this church a sweet place to be.

4487. In the Bleak Mid-Winter

Isaiah 55:1-3, Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... She replied, “Nothing can happen to me in the future more dreadful than what has already happened to me in the past. And I’m alive. And I can do my work. And by the grace of God, I will continue.” She is still there today, doing her work, keeping her vigil, trusting God and growing in love because Jesus has her heart. Because He has her heart, He has her devotion. What about you? [3] What does Jesus want? He wants us to be persons of compassion and forgiving persons. He wants our heart because when He ...

4488. Our Most Common Sin

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... a good word for the Publican and criticize the Pharisee. The Publican was regarded as a grafter and a crook. He had sold out his people for a profit and he made his money by oppressing the poor. The Pharisee was taught in the law and punctilious in keeping it. Some listeners no doubt felt like calling out: ‘Just a minute, Teacher. Did you mean what you have just said? Did you not get the characters reversed?’ If a modern preacher should tell a story with a gangster as the hero and a priest as the rascal ...

4489. Tempted in the Wilderness

Matthew 4:1-11

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... , the temptation will be too strong and it will disobey. That's a great lesson, isn't it? Whenever we are tempted to do something we know we shouldn't, the best thing is not to even get close to the temptation, not to even look at it, but to keep our thoughts on our Master. Who is our Master? That's right, Jesus. Keep our thoughts on Jesus and those things that are good and right. That's the way to resist temptation. What a great lesson--and to think it came from a dog.

4490. God Has No Grandchildren

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... matter. You have been trying to find peace and rest and joy and salvation by doctoring the outside of life. You have found that your well is poisonous and you have tried to remedy it by painting the curb. You have found that the clock of life does not keep good time and you have spent endless care polishing the hands. You have found the fountain of the heart sending forth a bitter stream and you have tried to remedy it by pulling up a few weeds that grew around it. Nicodemus, you must be put right at heart ...

4491. The Grace Question: “Are You a Teacher…and Yet Do Not Understand These Things?”

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... truth is Nicodemus would have been pleased if Jesus had given him a list—things to do, ways to act, laws to keep. That’s what he was about; that’s the way the Pharisees understood a proper relationship with God. Nicodemus didn’t understand ... honesty of it. And we need to be honest. We live as though we deserved life—that we had something to do with getting it and keeping it. But, think about it. What did you do to receive life? What are you doing to deserve life? Life is grace. It is a gift. Love ...

4492. Beyond Judgment

Matthew 24:36-44

Sermon

James L. Killen

... that we read today comes from a two-chapter collection of teachings of Jesus having to do with the last things as the people he knew expected them. In our text and several others in these two chapters, Jesus urges his followers -- Jesus urges us -- to keep things in perspective and to be watchful and ready for the ultimate reckoning with God. Now, what are we to make of that? These passages have been troublesome for many people who have taken the teachings of Jesus seriously. Jesus did not come as a prophet ...

4493. Claiming Hope

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

James L. Killen

... of rebels hung from crosses. It is hard to feel safe in that kind of an environment. Their own people were trying as best they could to cope with their situation. The Sadducees, the conservative party that held power in Jerusalem, were trying to keep peace with the Romans. The Pharisees were trying to find stability in their religious faith, but they were going to such extremes with it that the demands they made upon the people were oppressive. The Essenes, the monastic group, were trying to withdraw from ...

4494. Called to Participate

Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

James L. Killen

... of hurt, lonely, and broken people who need to be loved into wholeness. Some of the people are very near to you, sitting on the same pew with you, maybe living at your house with you. Many others are within your reach. Some of them are the troublesome people you keep hoping you don't have to meet. Some of them are the people you see on the streets who seem to have trashed out their lives. Some of them may even be people you have identified as your enemies. Some are close at hand. Some live on the other side ...

4495. Being Thankful for the Right Reasons

John 1:14, Colossians 1:11-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... open arms. “Are you certain that you didn’t make a mistake?” he asked St. Peter. “You see, there are certain parts of my life of which I’m sort of ashamed.” St Peter answered, “No, we didn’t make a mistake. You see, we don’t keep any records up here.” The man was greatly relieved and overjoyed. Then he saw a group of men over in a corner beating their heads against a celestial wall and clinching their fists and stomping their feet in disgust. “What is the matter with them?” the man ...

4496. Unnoticed at Your Own Party

Isaiah 35:1-10, Matthew 11:2-11, James 5:7-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... of flawless character. Indeed, Jesus said that no better man had ever lived than John the Baptist (Matthew 11:11). But that did not keep him from needing a back door. All true prophets yearn for a back door at some time in their lives, as we all do ... world ever end? Truly only God knows. But in that little hope part of the world, more than 2,000 years ago, there were shepherds keeping watch over their sheep who beheld angels in the sky who directed them to a manger in Bethlehem. And there were magi who saw a ...

4497. The Covenant of Circumcision

Genesis 17:1-27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... name indicates a new destiny. The name change is followed by another series of promises about progeny (17:6–7) and land (17:8), and here the point is made that Abraham is to keep the covenant. He is not to play fast and loose with the word of the Lord. There are four great imperatives addressed to Abraham: walk, be blameless, keep, and circumcise. Verses 9–14 focus on the last of these. This is not something presented to Abraham as an option. It is mandatory. It is to be administered to every male after ...

4498. The Plagues of Gnats and Flies

Ex 8:16-32

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... and the floodwaters of judgment. The magicians capitulate at the third plague when they fail to produce gnats, acknowledging “the finger of God” (8:19), by which they mean God’s power evident in the rod. Up until this point, Egypt has suffered double onslaught as Pharaoh tried to keep up with Moses. With the plague of flies, God announces and makes a distinction between the Egyptians and the Israelites who live in Goshen. Pharaoh poses the alternative of worship in the land, a futile attempt to ...

4499. Instructions for Passover

Exodus 12:1-30

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... This section includes instructions both for the Passover in Egypt and for its commemoration on an annual basis. The liturgical component keeps alive for each successive generation the memory of God’s deliverance, particularly engaging the children. The Lord gives both sets of ... instructed to take a one-year-old male lamb or kid without defect on the tenth day of the month and keep it until the fourteenth day. The four days of guarding the animal would ensure its unblemished state. One animal suffices for ...

4500. Covenant Blessings and Curses

Lev 26:1-46

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... God’s laws as the condition for enjoying the covenant blessings, the whole collection of divine statutes is in view. Repetition of two of the Ten Commandments at the outset in verses 1–2—against idolatry and for keeping the Lord’s Sabbath—is significant. Obeying these commands is crucial for showing loyalty to God. Most of chapter 26 consists of conditional blessings for faithfulness to the Lord’s covenant stipulations (26:3–13) and curses for failure to obey (26:14–39). Such contrasting ...

Showing results