Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 26 to 50 of 1230 results

Psalm 23:1-6, 1 Peter 2:13-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... of us do a pretty good job of it. Did you see the figures recently that indicate that teenagers as a whole feel closer to their parents than teenagers in earlier surveys? Most of us are doing pretty well. Except in one area. That area is the teaching of Christian ideals and values. It used to be that sex was a taboo subject in most homes. I suspect today that it is religion. If our young people are confused about right and wrong, if they are not sure about what is real and what is phony, if they feel an ...

27. How Much of an Honor?

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... good shepherd, tells us he is both shepherd and gate. He is the way. He loves the sheep and has compassion for them. He wants to gather them together and keep them safe from those who would take advantage of them. One of the things that makes Jesus the ideal shepherd is that he is portrayed as one of the sheep, the Lamb of God in the gospel of John, the Lamb bearing the marks of slaughter in Revelation. As the Word was made flesh that dwelt among us, he understands our infirmity. He is one of us. That's ...

28. Serving the King of Kings

John 18:28-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... Toy Company, had a brainstorm: why not sell a Jesus doll? The majority of kids in America were Christian, so he figured parents would jump at the opportunity to make playtime a religious experience. Other Ideal executives were horrified, but Michtom consulted with some religious leaders, including most notably the Pope, and the Jesus doll was born. It had beautiful brown glass eyes and was wrapped in molded swaddling cloth. It came in a 12” x 16” package, brown with gold on the edges, made to ...

29. Josiah's Reforms

2 Chronicles 34:1-13

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... foreign king knew the will of God better than did Josiah. Josiah ignored the pharaoh’s warning, and this resulted in his own death. This ending does not cancel the positive evaluation of the king by the Chronicler, but it certainly negates any attempt to idealize King Josiah. It therefore seems as if the main focus of the Chronicler’s account is on the Passover rather than the king. In this account the king’s deeds are referred to in order to emphasize the celebration of the Passover. King Josiah is ...

30. Overseers and Deacons

1 Timothy 3:1-16

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... in a culture in which marital infidelity was common, and at times assumed. It would, of course, also rule out polygamy and divorce and remarriage, but it would not necessarily rule out the remarriage of a widower (although that would still not be the Pauline ideal; cf. 1 Cor. 7:8–9, 39–40). Although there is much to be said for either understanding of the third option, the concern that the church’s leaders live exemplary married lives seems to fit the context best—given the apparently low view of ...

31. Israel Forsakes God

Jeremiah 2:1-3:5

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... (“Jeremiah 2:2–3 and Israel’s Love for God during the Wilderness Wanderings,” CBQ 45 [1983], p. 375; M. V. Fox, “Jeremiah 2:2 and the Desert Ideal,” CBQ 35 [1983], pp. 441–50, takes a different view). Interestingly, Hosea had earlier used an idealized view of the wilderness to describe the restoration of the remnant after the judgment (Hos. 2:14–15). In any case, the description of Israel’s early relationship with God as a marriage will set up Jeremiah’s later charge that God’s ...

32. The Coming of Zion's King

Zechariah 9:9-13

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... NIV “having salvation”). Zechariah 9:9 clarifies that this salvation will come from the Lord to the people and to the king. God will save, or vindicate, this king like the Suffering servant (Isa. 49:4; 50:8–9; cf. 53:11–12). The expectation regarding the ideal king was that he would save (yshʿ) the afflicted (ʿoni) who had no help (Ps. 72:12, 13), but the coming king here in verse 9 will himself be “saved” and “poor” (ʿoni, NIV gentle) (cf. Pss. 34:6; 18:27). An ʿoni is someone in need ...

33. Solomon's Adversaries

1 Kings 11:14-25

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... read the Solomon story without echoes of the Jesus story constantly sounding in our ears (e.g., in the “coronation” scene of 1 Kgs. 1:38–40; cf. Matt. 21:1–11). All the OT characters who prefigure Jesus are, of course, less than the ideal towards whom they point. Even David had deficiencies, as Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus somewhat brutally reminds us (Matt. 1:6) in referring to Bathsheba, not by name, but as “Uriah’s wife.” We have seen plenty of evidence of Solomon’s deficiencies in our ...

34. The Lord Decides to Build David a House

2 Samuel 7:18-29, 2 Samuel 7:1-17

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... history, Israel went into exile, and David’s dynasty appeared to come to an end. But the promise, which is rooted in the Lord’s faithful character and sovereign choice of David, remained intact as the prophets looked forward to its fulfillment through an ideal Davidic king. In the course of time Jesus emerges as this king (Luke 1:32, 69; Rev. 22:16), and the promise to David finds its complete realization in and through him. 2. The beneficiaries of the Lord’s faithful promise to David should respond ...

35. “Ride Forth Victoriously in the Cause of Truth, Humility and Justice”

Psalm 45:1-17

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... as deeply to receive as God longs to give. Teaching the Text We might call the Old Testament a “glimpse book,” giving us glimpses of the future of God’s kingdom and its leaders. Psalm 45 is a chapter in that book, a picture view of the ideal king, snapped by this talented poet on the occasion of the king’s wedding, and gaining messianic clarity, like the increasing clarity of a photo,12as history moves toward its climax in the appearance of the King of kings. A sermon/lesson can be built around the ...

36. Playing One Hand

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sermon

Tom Garrison

... about ten percent of the time, about ten percent of the time you are at your worst, and the other eighty percent falls somewhere in between. Your problem is that you want every sermon to be in that top ten percent register, and that simply is an inhuman ideal. If you don't learn how to accept this fact, it's going to kill you." Those words made a deep impression, for they speak to a distortion in our mechanism of expectation that will destroy us if it is not corrected. The church leader was right. None ...

37. Love

Romans 12:9-21

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... holding fast to” or “persisting in,” and is frequently associated with prayer (Luke 18:1; Acts 1:14; 2:42; 6:4; Eph. 6:18; Col. 4:2; 1 Thess. 5:17). There is nothing either in the OT or in Judaism corresponding to the early Christian ideal of constant prayer. Here again constancy in prayer prepares the soul for its future glory. With the possible exception of faith, nothing in the Christian life requires more effort than prayer. It is a battle between flesh and Spirit, the world and God (Gal. 5:16ff ...

38. Jeroboam Rebels Against Solomon

1 Kings 11:26-40

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

39. Solomon's Death

1 Kings 11:41-43

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

40. Welcome, Joe!

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

King Duncan

... his family. He’d destroyed any chance for forgiveness. But he thought to himself, “I’ll confess my sin to my father, and I’ll ask him to take me on as a hired servant.” If you have ever thought you have gone so far away from God’s ideals that you are no longer worthy to be called God’s child, then you understand the younger son’s decision. Then Jesus says, “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his ...

41. Proper 28

Judges 4:1-24, Proverbs 31:10-31, Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18, Malachi 2:1-9, Matthew 25:14-30, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... , who sent Deborah as prophetess and judge. Deborah sent Barak and a horde of Hebrews against the Canaanite king, Jabin, and his general, Siera. The Hebrews triumphed over the technologically superior enemy army. Old Testament: Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 The ideal wife, faithful to her husband, industrious, wise and compassionate. Old Testament: Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18 Zephaniah prophesied prior to Josiah's reforms in 621 B.C. He predicts the Day of the Lord, a day of judgment for the sins of people. Old ...

42. Why Aspire to Sainthood?

Daniel 7:1-14

Sermon

... rejoice and celebrate the commitment with you. While I doubt that you ever will be a perfect saint, I am confident that by God’s grace and with his help you can be a "becoming saint." What we are all concerned about, of course, is how the ideals set forth by Jesus get translated into the behavior of everyday living. What do persons look like who are in process of living saintly lives? Some of you may remember an Italian-made film circulated a number of years ago, entitled Rocco and Brothers. Despite the ...

43. The Spiritual Fitness Demands of the New Age

Romans 7:7-25

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... , and soon others will know about it. Jesus spoke truth when he said: "That which is whispered in secret in your closet will be shouted from the rooftops." If you would not like to see it in print, the answer is "No!" 4. What does it do to my highest ideals? An ideal is something that you believe in. This is the way life should be. Will this thing make me a better person? Or does it let me down? Does it make me a finer, more wholesome, a stronger person? Or does it betray me? Is this what I really believe ...

44. Reconciling Palms and Thorns

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... days for the Jews, however, had a dimension often overlooked in ours: their great days kept both past and future in focus. The past reminded them of a time of deliverance, while the future held up a vista of the realization of national and religious ideals. Past deliverances were signs of God’s blessing, acts of God’s grace and favor, while the future called for fulfillment of the people’s obligations and responsibilities. It was easy for them to say, "God has done great things for us whereof we are ...

45. A Man Whose Dreams Came True

Genesis 37:1-11

Sermon

R. Blaine Detrick

... very promptly forgot all about Joseph - for two years. Imagine Joseph, near the end of that two-year period, crying, "Oh, what have I ever done to deserve all of this? What’s the use of loving and serving God? Is it worth it to dream, to have ideals?" How many times he must have wondered, how many times he must have questioned: at the bottom of the pit; shuffling across the desert in chains; on the slave block; deep in the dungeon; and now, completely forgotten by the butler. But one night Pharaoh had two ...

46. Human Nature Revisited

2 Samuel 18:1-18

Sermon

Roger Prescott

... the devout and idealistic youngster, "I went back there three days ago and kicked the trap to pieces." Beautiful! In this case some sparrows were saved. In the case of the "private" in Joab’s army, he managed to save his neck too. A healthy mixture of idealism and realism will stand us in good stead. The art is in finding the proper balance. Conclusion Life’s dilemmas are real. We can take heart by knowing that they have been - and probably will be - with us forever. To know that we are like others can ...

47. Motorcycles, Marriage And A Word From God

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... him through this." The wife left the office, picked up her husband, and drove him home. "Well." asked the husband, "what did the doctor say?" "He said," replied the wife, "that you're going to die." (2) I don't want to burst anyone's bubble, but ideal marriages are very difficult to find. I didn't say that there are not happy marriages. Nor did I say that marriage cannot be very fulfilling. Most people obviously prefer marriage to the single life. All I am saying is that there are no perfect marriages. Want ...

48. A Most Successful Sermon

Acts 2:14a, 36-41

Sermon

King Duncan

... planning that tower he designed a tower that reached a height of l79 feet but had only a ten foot foundation. No wonder it leans! To me, the tower of Pisa is like a person who is “not a particularly religious, but in all other respects an ideal churchman.” He or she has an inadequate foundation. Notice how the three thousand who heard Simon Peter that day responded to his preaching. They came to Peter and the rest of the apostles and asked, “Brothers, what shall we do?” This is a critical point in ...

49. Childish or Child-like?

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... tend to encourage the kids to outgrow it. Syndicated columnist Ellen Goodman, a few years ago, wrote these wise words: “We raise our children with ethical time bombs, built-in disillusionment alarms. We allow our children their ideals until they are perhaps 13 or 15 or 18 or 22. But if they don’t let go of their ideals, we worry about whether they will be able to function in the real world. After all, the real world is some place else. We have to be tough and even a little cynical.” Goodman goes on to ...

50. Where Can I Find the Church?

Acts 2:1-8; 4:32-37

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... to us. The charter was to go into the world with the message of the love that God has for us in Jesus Christ, and the mandate is to demonstrate that love by a special concern for the poor. "There was not a needy person among them." That is the ideal. That is what should be the result of the Church being in the world, no more needy persons. The poor were singled out as the object of the Church's ministry. This afternoon we are going to hear Cecil Steppe talk about the new welfare legislation as it applies to ...

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