Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 26 to 50 of 201 results

Romans 12:1-8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

We move now to talk about discipline and means of grace. In my definition of Spiritual Form I chose words very carefully – Listen again: “and appropriating by commitment, discipline and action.” Our discipline is armed at cultivating an awareness of the indwelling Christ. Paul’s words to the Romans make it clear. Listen to Paul in Rom. 12:1-2: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your ...

27. The Shared Life of the People of God

Galatians 6:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Here again chapter divisions do not adequately communicate content and continuity. Verses 24—26 of Chapter 5 could easily be a part of this chapter because Paul is talking about how the Spirit governs our lives in our social relationships. As indicated in our commentary on Gal. 5:13—15, Paul calls us to be servants. This requires more than service when, where and to whom we choose; it is a style of life. We willfully become servants. The constraining force of Christ love replaces the binding force of law ...

28. Apostles of Christ

1 Corinthians 4:1-21

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

God as the Only Real Judge The thought and logic of this passage are clear, although in Greek much of Paul’s language is awkward. Any translation struggles to render Paul’s statements in a sensible and reliable way. These verses begin by informing the Corinthians how they are to regard Paul, Apollos, Cephas, and all other early Christian workers. They are merely servants and stewards who are called to serve Christ as agents of the proclamation of the mysteries of God’s grace. A single quality must ...

29. The Rights of an Apostle

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

This chapter may appear to be an intrusion into the discussion of idols and eating foods that were sacrificed to an idol, but Paul takes himself and the matter of his rights as an apostle as an illustration of a proper demeanor for Christians. W. Willis (“An Apostolic Apologia? The Form and Function of 1 Corinthians 9,” JSNT 24 [1985], pp. 33–48) is correct in observing that this section of the epistle is not about Paul’s claiming of his rights as an apostle, despite the titles given to this portion of the ...

30. The Believer's Freedom

1 Corinthians 10:23--11:1

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

Once again Paul broaches the subject of merely eating idol meat, but now he seems concerned with the eating of such previously sacrificed foods outside the confines of the pagan temple. The section is challenging to translators and interpreters because Paul writes in a vigorous style that takes abrupt rhetorical turns that can be and often are lost in the reading of the text. Identifying Paul’s line of thought is crucial to comprehending this otherwise confusing passage. Paul gives a helpful hint when he ...

31. The Throne in Heaven

Revelation 4:1-11

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

A clear break in John’s book of visions is indicated by the events of 4:1. The seer sees an open door, and he hears the angel’s trumpetlike voice summoning him to enter through heaven’s portal. This passage into the visionary world will lead John to understand what will take place on earth. This is not to say that what follows in this chapter is unrelated to what precedes it; in fact, the various visions of this book are interrelated according to the seer’s own commission (cf. 1:19). In our view, it is ...

32. Jumping through Hoops

Acts 11:1-18

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is a place where the old ways matter. The Amish still ride their buggies up and down the green hills. Most churches have spires, and they frame the landscape with the proclaimed piety of their people. Change comes slowly. Sometimes that's good, especially when we're talking about the basics of the faith. Sometimes that's bad. Like when people refuse to change the little things. A lot of the churches, especially the Plain People like the Amish, Brethren, and Mennonite, ...

33. The Promising Child

1 Samuel 2:12-26

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

The Holy Gospel appointed for this First Sunday after Christmas was chosen to help us understand the development of that Holy Child whose birth we have just celebrated with joy and high delight. However, in Bible classes pastors generally have difficulty handling the protests of mothers who think that the behavior of the twelve-year-old boy Jesus was quite reprehensible. Mothers normally contend that no matter how impressive Jesus may have been with the teachers in the Temple, he gets poor marks for the ...

34. The House of Hope

Hosea 2:2-23

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

A friend of mine lives in a remote area of the United States which has a very low emotional quotient. Because of this, alcoholism is rampant, incest is above average, and spousal abuse is prevalent. One of the dominating social ills is the abuse suffered by teenagers. In a recent study released by the state where my friend resides, a survey revealed that one out of every three teenagers has been abused sexually. In order to help these teens who have suffered mentally, emotionally, and physically because of ...

35. The Vocation of Leadership: A Prophet Among Them

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

The original invitation to deliver this Johannaber Lecture included the general instruction that the lecture theme have something to do with spirituality and/or spiritual formation. The more I thought of that in the context of a “ministers week,” the more certain I was that I wanted to focus on leadership – the vocation of leadership. Pastors are leaders, but they are specifically Christian leaders. So that’s my focus: leadership from a Christian perspective. I begin with three pictures. The first is out ...

36. Advent 3

Psalm 146:1-10, Isaiah 35:1-10, James 5:7-12, Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS Our Old Testament lessons for the third week of Advent explore hope. Isaiah 35 proclaims the inevitability of God's salvation, even when we find ourselves at a great distance from Zion in situations that appear to be hopeless. Psalm 146:5-10 is a hymn of praise that calls us to trust in God because of God's enduring reliability. Isaiah 35:1-10 - "Hope for the Hopeless" Setting. Theophanies are biblical texts that describe the appearance of God. The oldest theophany traditions in Israel ...

37. In the Potter's Hands

Jeremiah 18:1-11

Sermon

Chrysanne Timm

I am not a potter, and I do not play one on television! However, as a student of the scriptures and the life and times of the people in the biblical narrative, I can say with some certainty that crafting pottery is one of the world's oldest professions. Alongside bone and bricks, fragments of earthenware or pottery have long been gathered and studied by archeologists to understand something of the ancient inhabitants of the Middle East and nearly every other ancient culture throughout the world. Few of ...

38. Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ

Romans 5:12-21

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

Paul now embarks on a bold typological contrast between Adam and Christ. He continues the train of thought already begun in chapter 5, however, for verse 12 begins, “on account of this,” or therefore, which links 5:12–21 to 5:1–11. Paul’s purpose is to illustrate that the work of redemption has universal significance. The focus shifts from our redemption in the first person plural in 5:1–11 to the two seminal figures of humanity, Adam and Christ, in the third person singular. Heretofore the gospel has been ...

39. The Importance of Unity

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Sermon

Hubert Beck

Sometimes want to cry when hear non-Christians say that they have rejected the church because of its divisions. They may mean denominational divisions on occasion, and that is bad enough. But more frequently they mean the internal strife that characterizes all too many congregations. For it is, after all, on the local level that most people encounter the church, and when they see discord and argumentation marking a congregation, they want nothing to do with that. I want to cry because the very body of ...

40. The Bible, Your Mirror? by Dr. Lawrence L. Lacour

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon

Leonard Mann

Jesus, the authority on people, knows and understands you. We have our text to assure us. Think of it! Through faith in Christ we can understand ourselves and others. These words about Jesus have a unique relationship to the theme for this series. The Greeks, who asked Paul about the meaning of "this new teaching" were hearing this message for the first time. But the teaching about Jesus and the Resurrection is not new to you. Most of you have been taught it from your youth. But if you are like the people ...

41. The Measure of Greatness

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

Brett Blair

Some years ago St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City was seeking a new president. Over one hundred candidates applied for the position. The search committee narrowed the list to five eminently qualified persons. Then somebody came up with a brilliant idea: let's send a person to the institutions where each of the five finalists is currently employed, and let's interview the janitor at each place, asking him what he thinks of the man seeking to be our president. This was done and a janitor gave such a ...

42. The Fruit of One's Doing

Jeremiah 16:1--17:18

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

A biography of Humphrey Bogart by Sperber and Lax portrays the star of the golden era of Hollywood as a troubled man. Bogart reached stardom in Hollywood as only a limited number have. He was the leading male box office attraction. He was financially secure. He married Lauren Bacall. Yet his discomfort with what he did was obvious always to those who knew him. He worked intensely at his craft. Yet one day while on the set making a new film, he remarked, “What a way to make a living!” On one occasion a ...

43. What Makes You Blush?

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

King Duncan

An ad once appeared in the personals column of a newsletter. It read like this: "Married, professional man, 47, with problems in home, seeks dalliance with a married/unmarried, intelligent woman." The ad had been written by some researchers. They were curious about who would respond to such an ad. Much to their astonishment, they were deluged by responses. For example, here's one: "I am a 34-year-old female, pretty, rubenesque, brown hair, dark blue eyes. I work as a nurse in large urban hospital. My ...

44. What's Really Important

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

The world's greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his faithful companion, Dr. Watson, were on a camping trip. They were in their sleeping bags looking up at the sky. Holmes said, "Watson, look up. What do you see?" Watson answered, "Well, I see thousands of stars." "And what does that mean to you?" Holmes inquired. "Well," said Watson, "I guess it means we will have another nice day tomorrow." Watson paused for a moment and then asked, "What does it mean to you, Holmes?" "To me," said Holmes somberly, " ...

45. Who Put It There? (Mother's Day)

1 Peter 5:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

I found this job description circulating on the Internet this past week. Anyone interested? [You may want/need to shorten this.] WANTED: Mom JOB DESCRIPTION: Long term team players needed for challenging permanent work in an often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping ...

46. A Man for All Seasons

1 Corinthians 9:16-23

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

The enigma of human relationships and how that relates to the living God is all about us. It always has been and likely will be. This is precisely what Saint Paul lifts up before us. We would like for all of this to be greatly simplified but it never is and so we continue to seek to live the Christian life as best we know how. The history of the church is saturated with just what the apostle puts before us. In a way we are caught between two worlds and we have no choice. We live as well we can and hope for ...

47. Proper 24

Hebrews 4:14-5:10, Job 38:1--41:34, Mark 10:35-45

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Job 38:1-7 (34-41) The arguments of Job's four friends come to an end. Now the Lord joins the discussion and answers Job. Earlier Job called upon God to answer him. This pericope is part of the Lord's answer. Verses 1 through 7 deal with God's creation of the earth. God answers with a series of rhetorical questions. In these questions Job is confronted with the sovereignty and majesty of God. Epistle: Hebrews 5:1-10 Hebrews claims that Christ is superior to the Jewish high priest ...

48. Any Given Sunday

Acts 2:41-47

Sermon

James Merritt

A little boy was standing on the side of the road when a man drove by who was lost. He stopped and rolled down his window and said, "Son, how do you get to town?" The little boy said, "I don't know." He said, "Where is Route 20?" The little boy said, "I don't know." He said, "Where does this road go?" The little boy said, "I don't know." The man, now exasperated said, "What is the name of this street that I am on?" The little boy said, "I don't know." The man sighed and said, "Boy, you don't know anything ...

49. Who Is This Man?

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

King Duncan

Every once in a while the news media carries a story about a man who claims to be the Messiah. It happened in Knoxville, TN not too long ago. A local man claiming to be Jesus Christ was arrested after he assaulted his wife. The man was charged with assault under the domestic violence law. The warrant stated that he assaulted his wife, shoved her into a chair and threatened her if she left him. He also ripped out a telephone and smashed a car windshield. “He was yelling about being Jesus,” a deputy wrote in ...

50. Dim Visions And Blind Guides

Sermon

Harold Warlick

The societal limits which impinge on our world also affect our personal existence in profound ways. Nowhere is this more critical than in our own dreams and visions. Dreams and visions are important in life. Every action we take in life was designed by someone. Every piece of clothing, every building, every hymn book, every chair, every light fixture, and every automobile existed first in someone's vision. Someone had to have the idea or the dream to turn out the product. The same holds true for the way we ...

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