Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4601 to 4625 of 4946 results

4601. The Great Omission

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Charley Reeb

As Christians, we only have three things that are required of us: love God, love our neighbor as ourselves, and make disciples. To make disciples means to be witnesses of Christ in order to bring others into a relationship with Christ. When Jesus called Simon and Andrew to follow him he was very clear, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people” (Mark 1:17). The call to make disciples was clear from the start of Jesus’ earthly ministry through the very end. In fact, at the end of Matthew before Jesus ...

4602. Vengeance on the Midianites

Numbers 31:1-24

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

War with the Midianites: 31:1–2 Chapter 31 alludes to the end of chapter 25 and some unfinished business for the people of Israel. There the Midianites were declared enemies for their part in leading Israel into idolatry and immorality at Peor. The current chapter begins with the divine command to Moses, Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. This act is the last military exercise for Moses, who will soon die. So the new generation’s first military action is Moses’ last. The new generation ...

4603. Peace for Jerusalem, the City of Pilgrims

Psalm 122:1-9

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Like other psalms of ascent, this one contains hints of pilgrimage. The call, “Let us go to the house of the LORD,” signals their journey’s departure, and the declaration, “our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem,” signals their arrival in the holy city. The description of the tribes “going up” (Hb. ʿlh, v. 4) uses a key term for the worshipers’ ascent to Yahweh’s mountain (cf. 24:3). The voice of a representative liturgist is evident. The speaking “I” in verse 1 shifts to “our” in verse 2. In ...

4604. The Image of Gold and the Fiery Furnace

Daniel 3:1-30

Understanding Series

William Nelson

The Gold Image and the Blazing Furnace: There are a couple of loose links between chapter 2 and chapter 3. First, when the astrologers (Chaldeans) accuse the three friends, they refer to them as “some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon” (3:12), alluding to their promotion in chapter 2 (2:49). Secondly, the term “image” generally connects chapter 2 to chapter 3. First, Nebuchadnezzar sees an image (2:31; NIV “statue”); then he erects one (3:1). It is unlikely, as some have ...

4605. Dividing the Spoils

Numbers 31:25-54

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

4606. The Validity of Jesus' Testimony

John 8:12-30

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

8:12-29 Nicodemus disappears as abruptly as he appeared, and the stage is now set for Jesus to confront the Pharisees again (8:12), this time not through emissaries but directly. Yet his pronouncement I am the light of the world …, the sequel to 7:37–38, is not for them exclusively but for whoever follows me. It is universal in scope and probably, like 7:37–38, future in its orientation. The desire of Jesus’ brothers that he “show himself to the world” (7:4) is coming to realization but with the outcome ...

4607. Faces of Failure: The Disciples

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Don Tuttle

When my sister and I were teenagers, my mom was worried about the people with which we were friends. Every so often, she would remind us to choose wisely. “Bad company destroys good morals,” she would say. Or, “You’re defined by the company you keep.” Or my personal favorite: “If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas.” Like most parents, Mom wanted to protect us from those that might get us into trouble. In that light, I wonder if anyone every warned the disciples about hanging around with Jesus. ...

4608. Rebirth

John 3:14-21

Sermon

John Jamison

The city of Jerusalem was packed with strangers during the Passover feast, so you could walk a long distance and never see anyone you recognized. He was counting on that, as he quickly moved along the streets with his head held low and his face covered. He moved from alleyway to alleyway, looking carefully in all directions before stepping into the openness of a street, making sure there was not someone who might recognize him. But while he tried to remain hidden, he had to be careful to not appear too ...

4609. Out of Control (Good Friday sermon)

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

John Jamison

[Note to the preacher: As I write this message, my vision is that it is something more than just another sermon. It is written in four sections, each one presenting a step in the story of the events of that Friday. My personal presentation of this message would be in one of two ways, depending on the experience I am wanting to create. Option 1 would be to use this as the format for the entire Good Friday service, with each section of the story separated with music, liturgy, or any other activity desired. ...

4610. When a Storm Is Raging

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

King Duncan

Benjamin Franklin was one of the cleverest men of his generation. It is said that in the spring of 1772 Franklin attended a party thrown by Lord Shelburne at one of Shelburne’s estates. The other guests watched as Franklin approached a turbulent stream with his gold-headed bamboo cane in hand. He boasted to the other guests that he could calm the water. Franklin walked upstream about 100 yards. Waving his cane over the stream three times in the best abracadabra fashion, he stepped back, his feat ...

4611. When Your Life Is Put On Hold

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

King Duncan

An intriguing story appeared sometime back in USA Today. It seems that a Miss Candy Postlethwaite received a sizeable check from the Veteran’s Administration. That’s not the strange part. The strange part is that the check was not made out to her, nor did she know the person to whom the check was made out, nor had she ever been in the military. She put an envelope containing the check back outside for the postman to pick up on his next round. Five days later she got it back in a different envelope. She ...

4612. Commitment Beyond Calculation

Mark 12:38-44

Sermon

William G. Carter

Here she is again: the widow who goes up to the temple treasury to put in her two cents. Every year she shows up at stewardship time. Teachers and preachers love to point and say, "Look at her! Truly I tell you, she has put in more than all the others." That is not literally true, of course. In terms of quantity, many people in that line put a lot more money in the temple offering. Certainly she has earned a reputation through the centuries as a good example of sacrificial giving. Yet I have a hunch this ...

4613. Lying By the Side of the Road

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

King Duncan

In October of 2015 Reader’s Digest carried an article that featured 24 stories about what the editor called “the touching kindness of strangers.” One story was titled “The Man at the Market.” It was contributed by Leslie Wagner from Peel, Arkansas. Ms. Wagner told of being in a supermarket one time. When she checked out, the clerk tallied up her groceries. Much to Ms. Wagner’s surprise she discovered that her bill was $12 over what she had in her purse. With embarrassment she began to remove items from the ...

4614. Revised and Revisioned

John 8:48-59, John 9:1-12, John 9:13-34, John 9:35-41, John 10:1-21

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: Siri (phone or ipad) [Hold up the phone.] This….is Siri. Anyone have one of these? Talk to her, and she answers you! [Demonstrate in any way you wish.] Siri….what is the capital of Nevada? …….Siri….what will the weather be like tomorrow? But ask her this…. Siri….do you love me? What happens? She’s giving you a song! [A youtube appears! Siri doesn’t understand the question, because Siri is missing that human element of emotion.] Siri doesn’t understand the question. Siri is the creation of our minds ...

4615. Redeemed

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Animation: paycheck (month) or $2000-$3000 in cash [Hold up the check or cash.] I’m holding here a paycheck for $3,000. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that’s an approximate month’s take-home salary for an average American today. $4,000 gross. $3,000 net. Some of you probably make more than that, some less. But that’s the national average for 2015. At the dawn of the first century, an average wage for an Israelite would have been the equivalent of about 7 or 8 silver shekels per month (in ...

4616. The Infiltrator

John 10:1-21, John 10:22-42

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: visual of Solomon’s Porch on the east side of the Jerusalem Temple / visual of David’s threshing floor The Infiltrator is a 2016 movie about the true-life take-down of Pablo Escobar’s drug trafficking ring. The hero is federal agent Robert Mazur. The movie tells the story of Mazur’s infiltration of the famous money laundering crime family in-order-to expose them and tumble them down from their impenetrable perch. That meant it had to be an inside job. Beautifully symbolic, the big reveal happens at a ...

4617. Goin' Down the Road

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

One of our family’s favorite films is the original Muppet Movie. It has a key song about moving down the road, being footloose and fancy free. The Emmaus road on the day of the encounter between Jesus and two disciples in our text was not a place for being footloose and fancy free. It was a road filled with people trying to make sense of the great tragedy that they witnessed in Jesus’ death. The word was everywhere. Not unlike what it must have felt several days after Pearl Harbor, after the planes crashed ...

4618. Baby Steps on the Sea of Galilee

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

King Duncan

A comedian said he was in a shoe shop recently trying out a new pair of sneakers. He said to the salesclerk, “It’s too tight.” She said, “Try it with the tongue out.” [Pastor, stick out your tongue.] He said, “It’th nho ghood, it’th thtill thoo thight!” [It’s no good. It’s still too tight.] Sorry, sometimes I can’t resist a little joke like that. If you’re into fashion or social media, then you probably know that the market for sneakers and athletic shoes is huge. In 2017, the global sneaker market reached ...

4619. The Rabbi's Apprentice

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Lori Wagner

In 1797, prominent German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote a poem called “Der Zauberlehrling,” in which an apprentice of a master sorcerer is left alone with chores to do. Invoking magic that he was not yet properly trained to use, the apprentice commanded a bucket and broom to do his work. Because he could not properly control them, everything got quickly out of hand, and chaos ensued. Finally, the master returned and restored order to the mess. Walt Disney famously employed the plot of the poem in ...

4620. Oh, That You Would Come Down?

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

King Duncan

The Guinness Book of World Records keeps track of some very unusual records. The 1999 edition contains one entry titled “The longest time living in a tree.” It seems a man in Indonesia named Bungkas went up a tree in 1970 and has been there ever since. He lives in a crude tree house he made from the branches and leaves of the trees. No one knows exactly why he took up residence in a tree, but 29 years later he was still there. Neighbors, friends and family have repeatedly tried to get him to come down, but ...

4621. The Angel's Message

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

King Duncan

In our lesson for today the angel Gabriel makes an announcement to the virgin Mary that will change the world forever. But before we get to that, I ran across some thoughts on the Internet that children have expressed about angels. I thought you would enjoy them this close to Christmas: “I only know the names of two angels,” says Gregory, age 5. “Hark and Harold.” “Everybody’s got it all wrong,” says Olive, age 9. “Angels don’t wear halos anymore. I forget why, but scientists are working on it.” “It’s not ...

4622. A Nod of Recognition

John 3:14-21

Sermon

Timothy W. Ayers

There was a game show on television. Some of you may remember the 1970’s remake of it, and a few may even remember the original from the early 1950’s. It was one of those shows that keeps cycling back into our lives in different formats. Today, iTunes even has a version of the game. It is called “Name That Tune.” The rules were simple, the host would play a few notes from a popular song and the contestants tried to be the first to guess it. There are some songs that are easy to recognize from the first ...

4623. The Dean's Dilemma

Ephesians 5:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

When you were a kid did you ever fantasize about finding a magical being who would grant wishes for you? Kids see endless possibilities in the world, yet their power is fairly limited, so they get a lot of satisfaction from imagining a magical being, like a genie or a fairy or an angel, who can instantly give them whatever they desire. But the movies and stories along these lines almost always come with a moral: Be very careful what you wish for—you just might get it. It reminds me of the story I like to ...

4624. Can You Deny Yourself?

Mark 8:27-38

Sermon

King Duncan

How many dreams would you say you have each week? Do you remember them? Have you ever awakened from a dream and thought, “What was that all about?” Discover Magazine interviewed a man named Chuck Lamb who found his life’s work in a very strange—even disturbing—dream. One night Lamb, a computer programmer for Nationwide Insurance, dreamed that he was lying on the floor dead, with a detective standing over his body. How would you feel if you had a dream like that? It sounds like a bad television show. ...

4625. Get Out of the Seed Box

1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

Sermon

Mary Austin

Years ago, when my daughter was a tiny baby, just a couple weeks old, I could already feel the time zipping by. The five-pound newborn had turned into an eight-pound baby, and she already felt different when I held her. I looked into the future and could see the time zipping by. I lamented the speed of life to my dad, and he said, “Well, time only goes one way, honey.” It does only go one way. And it goes quickly. You know that experience from your own lives, or from the kids you know. From Christmas to ...

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