Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 26 to 50 of 1858 results

26. The Golden Calf

Exodus 32:1-33:6

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... Isaac and Rebecca in Gen. 26:8. It is more likely that the mocking was rooted in the knowledge that the calf-bull was in their control and they were free to do anything they liked. The unrestrained sexuality is a more likely reference in v. 25, “running wild” (paraʿ) that also means “uncovered.” 32:9 God called them a stiff-necked people three times in this crisis (v. 9; 33:3, 5). God makes sure that Moses tells them so (33:5). When God forgave them, it was not because they were no longer stiff ...

27. Proper 22

Philippians 4:2-9, Philippians 3:1-11, Philippians 3:12-4:1, Isaiah 5:1-7, Exodus 20:1-21, Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... : Isaiah 5:1-7 1. Sermon Title: Does God Give Up? Sermon Angle: According to Isaiah, God expected more from his people than he received. It was a bitter harvest. It seems that the prophet is claiming that the Lord was abandoning his people, letting them go a-wilding. It appears that God is giving up on his people. The Old Testament suggests that God does reach a point where he gives humankind over to their own devices. For a time, it may be true that the Lord has to sit back because there is nothing more ...

28. Imagine

Revelation 21:10, 22-26

Sermon

Will Willimon

... living there. Perhaps I’ll take up gardening, but you'll love it! Sounds good, doesn't it? A little too good? Too good to be true? Well, it's just a dream. A vision John had while in jail on the island of Patmos. Desperate people sometimes have such wild dreams. And John was desperate. But most of us today, most of us here, are not desperate. Oh, I had a bout with a bad back last week, something related to an unwelcomed birthday, but I’m not yet desperate. And people like us, who are fairly happy with ...

29. Proper 15

Luke 12:54-59, Hebrews 12:1-13, Luke 12:49-53, Isaiah 5:1-7, Hebrews 11:1-40

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... grapes. Chapter 5 closes a series of oracles beginning with chapter 1. Today's lesson is a parable of a vineyard. Yahweh planted it and did everything to make it grow and be fruitful. But, the grapes turned out to be wild, that is, sour and bitter. What more could he have done for his vineyard? Nothing. Therefore, the vineyard will be destroyed. Lesson 2: Hebrews 11:29--12:2 Surrounded by past faithful ones, we are to run the race of faith with Jesus as our model. On the basis of ...

30. A Not So Simple Story of Demons and Pigs

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

... east of my nose. The Crazies. Jesus encounters a man with an unclean spirit. The man is demon-possessed. He cannot be bound, even with a chain. The chains he wrenches apart, and the fetters he breaks in pieces. In other words, you are supposed to picture a "wild and crazy guy." Mark tells us that by day and by night, this man is constantly crying aloud and bruising himself with stones. In other words, he is self-destructive. He is the kind of person for whom we pad the walls. Luke adds that he neither wears ...

31. Genesis 9:8-17

Genesis 9:8-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... four distinct things about this event: Jesus was in the wilderness forty days, he was tempted by Satan, he was with wild beasts, and angels ministered to him. The forty day unit of time had good biblical precedent: Moses spent forty days on ... first two units of verse 13 are fairly straightforward, the next two units of the verse are much cloudier in meaning. The wild beasts, which are Jesus' only earthly contacts during these forty days, are usually interpreted as hostile forces, almost as though they are ...

32. Punishment for Israel

Hosea 9:1--10:15

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... good of his people at heart. Moreover, he says he is a watcher with my God; that is, his message comes from the presence of God with him. But the Israelites respond to his care with hatred, laying fowler’s snares in all his paths, as if he were some wild animal to be caught, and showing him nothing but hostility. The phrase, in the house of his God refers to the whole region of Israel (cf. 8:1; 9:15), which is Yahweh’s land (cf. 9:3). The Israelites have deeply corrupted themselves, verse 9. The prophet ...

33. Signs, Sayings, and Oracles of Judgment

Ezekiel 12:1-28, Ezekiel 13:1-23, Ezekiel 14:1-11, Ezekiel 14:12-23

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... in verses 12–20 recall the judgments in the sign-acts and oracles of judgment in chapters 4–7. The expression cut off its food supply (lit., “break the staff of bread,” v. 13) appears in connection with both the third (4:16) and fourth (5:16) sign-acts. Wild beasts (v. 15) are part of the devastation 5:17 described. Both Ezekiel’s fourth sign-act (5:1–2, 12, 17) and the two oracles of judgment (6:3, 12; 7:15) also mention the sword (v. 17). Plague (v. 19) and famine feature in both the fourth ...

34. Nebuchadnezzer’s Dream of a Tree

Daniel 4:1-18

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... let him be fed” from 4:25, 32–33—see the Additional Note on 4:15). Nebuchadnezzar is to become animal-like and live in the wild. He will “eat grass like cattle” (4:25, 32; see also v. 33). He will be covered with dew when he sleeps outside with the ... of God to afflict Nabonidus. Both texts place the king away from court: in the Bible Nebuchadnezzar is driven out into the wild; in the Qumran passage Nabonidus is in Teima, an oasis in the Arabian desert. Both use the term gzr, “diviner,” although ...

35. The Tempest

Jonah 4:1-11, Jonah 3:1-10, Jonah 2:1-10, Jonah 1:1-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... his raging emotions and angry spirit. And when the time came that Jonah could sort through some of his feelings, God brought him safely to a new place. The story of Jonah is even more realistic for us I think than the story of Oz or the story of Wild Things. For our journey through grief and anger, our attempts to make sense of our conflicts and problems, are rarely solved in one night. Grief is a gradual process. Anger sometimes takes a while to abate. And like Jonah at the end of his story, we may take a ...

36. From Haunted to Healed

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... evil begin in those diagnosed with sociopathic and narcissistic disorders. After years of research, we still no very little about the workings of the human brain. What we do know for sure though is that we human beings are complex individuals –part “wild” and part “civilized.” We can act instinctively and impulsively at times …and we can act with reason and intention in others. Our nature relies on an intricate balance of our emotions and our reason. Even the most happy individual however can go ...

37. Resist Temptation

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... glory and power, he had to wonder over and over again why the Heavenly Father would prefer him to go the way of suffering, pain, and the cross. If at the baptism God had claimed him as God's Son, why could he not think he could walk into the wild blue yonder with the world at his feet? Each one of us daily confronts the same kind of question one way or another. We lay claim to being God's children, and we are tempted to think that affords us special privileges, immunities, and rights. However, it does not ...

38. What's The Bottom Line?

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

George Johnson

... us. God dug it, cleared it of stones, planted a choice vine. Yes, God so loved the world that God gave his a Son. Yes, God gave us the scriptures, the sacraments, the Holy Spirit, the church. But what good does it all do if the harvest produces wild grapes? What good is knowing all that God has done and promises, if we don't know what mishpat and zedekah (justice and righteousness) are. Make sure your children know what God is looking for - what the bottom line is. It is mishpat and zedekah. Did you notice ...

39. Proper 22 & Pentecost 20

Matthew 21:33-46, Philippians 4:2-9, Philippians 3:12-4:1, Numbers 27:12-23, Psalm 81:1-16, Isaiah 5:1-7

Sermon Aid

... loving and obedient service to God, must be puzzling to God. He expects us to be faithful to him in all that we do, thereby producing a good harvest - not a new cross - for Jesus. 3. Just as God took the vineyard away from Israel because it produced "wild grapes," so he does to those to whom he gave the kingdom of heaven in Jesus Christ. God is merciful and kind and just, but he cannot act against his own character and will. The cross of Calvary rips up the vineyard, condemning those who reject or neglect ...

40. Miracles In Contrast

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... the rest of the world. Nothing about her surroundings concerns her in the least. What Ruby has cupped in her hands today is a white wild daisy growing between the bricks. This daisy is a thing of color and beauty to Ruby, and to me. Ruby does not destroy it or ... life and character of Jesus, this one who came at Christmas time. These are assertions are flung down in a kind of wild abandon and confidence as though the writer is stumbling over himself, rushing hurriedly on, trying to get down on paper every ...

41. The Woods Are Lovely, Dark, and Deep

2 Samuel 18:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... did Absalom's army get slaughtered that day. But the woods killed off more of them than David's forces. Verse 8 tells us that and the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured (KJV). Some speculate that the rough terrain, dense growth, wild animals, pits, and possible swamps and morasses did them in. But whatever happened, it was the will of God. Chapter 17, verse 14 tells us that God had already decided to bring disaster on Absalom. God used the woods of Ephraim to demonstrate what always ...

42. John the Baptist: Parable and Prophet

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... instantly identify me as someone special. I was living with the Gospel of Mark when this letter came - in fact had been trying to listen to John the Baptist. I could see him in his camel’s hair clothes, about to eat his daily ration of locusts and wild honey, and I could hear him laugh at me - one of those mocking laughs that make you a little angry, but causes you to check the signals you’re receiving and the response you are making. I’ll bet American Express would be surprised if they knew that ...

43. A Greek Testament

Humor Illustration

... from the Greek. The assignment was to orally translate the Greek version of the New Testament, and Wilde began accurately translating the story of the Passion. His examiners told him that he had passed and could stop, but Wilde went on reading. They again interrupted, but Wilde continued translating. Finally, they got him to cease and asked why he was so insistent on continuing. "Oh, do let me go on," Wilde said. "I want to see how it ends." (from Frankly, My Dear . . . edited by Katherine and Richard ...

44. Poem: Adonais

Eulogy

Percy Bysshe Shelley

... ’s horn, or bell at closing day; Since she can mimic not his lips, more dear Than those for whose disdain she pined away Into a shadow of all sounds: – a drear Murmur, between their songs, is all the woodmen hear. XVI. Grief made the young Spring wild, and she threw down Her kindling buds, as if she Autumn were, Or they dead leaves; since her delight is flown, For whom should she have waked the sullen year? To Phoebus was not Hyacinth so dear Nor to himself Narcissus, as to both Thou, Adonais: wan they ...

45. The Kindness and Sternness of God

Romans 11:11-24

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... the Old Testament people of God. Paul uses his now famous analogy to illustrate the point. Gentile Christians are wild olive branches; Jews are the natural branches; the patriarchs and the covenant with God are the root. Thus, the ... Christians if they do not remain in faith. Verse 24 concludes Paul’s third reason with another qal wahomer argument: if God grafted the wild branches (Gentiles) into the tree of the people of God (greater), how much more will God regraft the natural branches (Jews) into the tree ...

46. Ingrafted Branches

Romans 11:11-24

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... , then they have no reason to boast (11:17–18). Without the promises given to Abraham, God would not have admitted the Gentiles into his people. The decisive factor in the removal of the branches (the unbelieving Jews) and in the grafting in of the wild shoots (the believing Gentiles) is the Jews’ unbelief on the one hand and faith and God’s unmerited grace on the other hand (11:19–20). Faith leading to salvation excludes (ethnic) arrogance. The only proper response to what God has been doing is to ...

47. Ingrafted Branches

Romans 11:11-24

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... not, it is not to the Gentiles’ credit. In their temptation to denigrate Jews Paul sees the danger of spiritual pride, and he warns against it: if God did not spare the natural branches (Jews), is there any reason to suppose that he will spare the wild branches (Gentiles)? Finally, the olive tree is an illustration of hope. Lest anyone suppose that Jews are condemned and that God’s sternness against them is irrevocable, Paul concludes that God is able to graft them in again (v. 23). He adds, if they do ...

48. Daniel’s Dream of Four Beasts

Daniel 7:1-14

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... . 80:1; 99:1; Isa. 37:16). A closer parallel can be found in Hosea, where God presents himself in imagery similar to that of Daniel. Like wild animals, he is about to pounce upon the Israelites for their sins: “I will come upon them like a lion, like a leopard I will lurk by ... 13 and 14 portray the coming of God’s kingdom. It is in strong contrast to the previous kingdoms. They are like wild, violent animals; this one is like a human being. They are from below, from the sea, from chaos; this one is from ...

49. The False Prophet Hananiah

Jeremiah 28:1-17

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... removed or broken. The oracle reaffirms the message that Jeremiah had been giving in the previous chapter. All the nations and even the wild animals will be subject to Nebuchadnezzar. The reference to wild animals is best to be understood as prophetic hyperbole. Wild animals, after all, are wild and thus virtually impossible to subjugate. If he can control the wild animals, he will easily control the inhabitants of these nations, including Judah. The language here is strikingly similar to the vision that ...

50. Clean and Unclean

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... Noah emerged from the ark God said, “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and just as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything (Genesis 9:3).” In Job chapters 39 and 40, God was delighted with all creatures, wild, untamed, domesticated, clean and unclean: including creatures like the crocodile or predatory birds. All of these creatures, according to Psalm 104:27-28, are fed and cared for by God. So what was the purpose of declaring some animals acceptable for eating and others ...

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