Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 476 to 500 of 4977 results

476. K.I.S.S.

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

King Duncan

... Think about the implications of that for a moment. Is it possible that going to seminary might actually make a pastor less effective? I don’t think so. However, this might say something to us about what happens in the pulpit. It might be a reminder to pastors to keep our preaching accessible to all.If you think that the K.I.S.S. approach to preaching is a little too unsophisticated for a learned church like ours, let me hasten to say to you that the idea is not my own. Listen as the Apostle Paul describes ...

477. Distract the Christians!

Illustration

Ray Osborne

... their time, so they can't gain that experience in Jesus Christ. This is what I want you to do, angels. Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!" "How shall we do this?" shouted his angels. "Keep them busy in the nonessentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds, "he answered. "Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow. Persuade them to work for long hours, to work 6-7 days a week, 10-12 hours a ...

478. A Higher Calling

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sermon

Thomas Lentz

... kind and gentle as I should be, but I have time to improve. There are some people I just can't stand, but I'm going to pretend they are my friends. I may not be as compassionate as I should be, but God will give me the patience to keep trying. A salesman called on old Mr. Steinway to show him a new piano key pin his company had developed. "My company believes this aluminum pin is greatly superior to the pin you have been using," he said. After some reflection, Mr. Steinway said, "We are an old firm, slow ...

479. A New Point of View

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... . If that is the case, then why do we work such long hours? Why do we complain that we are always under pressure? Why do we say there are not enough hours in the day? Why are we always worried about tomorrow? Why does our lifestyle always have to keep up with the Joneses in Zionsville or Carmel? Because the truth of the matter is that the "human point of view" has become the most important thing in our lives. "The human point of view," what others think of us, has become our god. The problem is that those ...

480. On Not Giving Up

Galatians 6: 7-16

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... to be very clear: To be a Christian you don't have to become a circumcised male baby first. In Christ, there is a new creation, a new order of things. There is a new freedom from the old religious law. Even those who were pushing for circumcision didn't keep the whole law, Paul argued. As he writes earlier in Galatians 3:28: "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." All those distinctions no longer make ...

481. Running with Perseverance

Hebrews 11:29 – 12:2

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... us! We don't run this race alone. Abraham, Moses, David, Samuel, and even Rahab the redeemed prostitute, are rooting for us to keep going. I've talked to people who run the Susan Komen Race for the Cure every year. Cancer survivors will line the streets ... and bickering? Let us not give up. God still works through the church in spite of all of its problems. Let us persevere. Let us keep going. Are we ready to give up in the fight for justice? Does it seem as though we never get anywhere trying to help the ...

482. The Healing Fountain of Tears

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of tears. Water washes things clean. One of the greatest miracles about water is that it is such a dissolver of problems. No, not grease, oil spills, or nuclear fallout. But water does clean a whole lot of stuff. And not just in the environment. Water keeps our souls clean. That’s baptism. But the water-works we have operating for us internally is called “tears.” Our tears rain down and flush out our guilt. Our tears rain down and release our fears. Our tears rain down and renew our souls. Frederick ...

483. Don't Roll It Back

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... up against Jesus’ tomb. It was a sad but simple piece of closure. But that stone did not stay put. Jesus escaped the tomb. The stone rolled back. The “stone” became a living thing. So...why do we keep rolling the stone back? Why do we keep putting back the stone over the tomb? Why do we keep trying to keep Jesus in his place…where we can contain and control him? Why do we block Jesus from leaving the tomb to become the cornerstone of our lives? *Are we afraid of a living Lord, a living stone? *Does ...

484. Great Balls of Fire!

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... offered both light and warmth to the cold darkness of night. It gave our ancestors an idea. Figuring out how to keep a fire going, without the thunder and lightning, was the beginning of human civilization. Taming “fire” was the first great human ... Spirit planted an eternal “hot spot” in our souls. This means that we are now and forever among those who are responsible for keeping the fire going, the embers burning. The Holy Spirit in and through us fires up Christ’s presence to be a living, life- ...

485. Flip the Switch

Psalm 119:105

Sermon

James Merritt

... the righteous.” (Proverbs 2:20, NIV) How do you find the way of goodness? How do you know where the path of righteousness leads? The answer? The Bible. It is in the Bible where God guides our steps, to make sure we stay in the way of goodness, and we keep to the path of righteousness. When you not only read your Bible, but you obey it, it will always give you the right steps and take you on the right path. Let me get personal for just a moment and ask you some questions. Does anybody here have any regrets ...

486. Still Surprised After Christmas

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... assembled believers were surprised by Peter’s miraculous release from prison; and the apostles themselves seemed to be surprised by the Holy Spirit coming upon Gentiles. Christmas was a time full of surprises: the incarnation, virgin birth, star, and angels. But the surprises keep coming long after Christmas. If we have known his power and his goodness, we might say that nothing he does would surprise us. Yet, we leave the manger and are filled with wonder and awe day after day, year after year, as we ...

487. A Reminder to God...and to Us

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... and you discovered God was there. God is a promise keeper. Willie’s mother was right when Willie was returned to her unharmed. God keeps His promises. And He doesn’t need a rainbow to remind Him of His promise: “I will never forget you nor forsake you. I ... to a love grown cold. They stay with people who have become pains in the neck. They still dare to make promises and care enough to keep the promises they make. I want to say to you that if you have a ship you will not desert, if you have people you ...

488. Surviving the Big One

Matthew 18:10-14

Sermon

James Merritt

... focus on finding those keys. You don’t just shrug your shoulders and say, “At least I still have my car.” If you have three young children and you take them into Wal-Mart and all of a sudden you look around and one is missing you don’t just keep shopping and say, “At least I have two more.” You will get on the loud speaker and get every employee and customer in that store looking for that child. Jesus adds in verse 13, “And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than ...

489. Tranquil: The Blessed Village on a Hillside

John 6:25-59

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... he is sharing. Our needs are met. Now our wants must be met. We are entitled." As might be predicted, some hotheads in Tranquil began to plot to break into the castle and steal the Giant's hidden gold. One group even planned to steal the goose and keep all the gold themselves. The Giant hired an army to protect his life and his gold. Things began to change in Tranquil. Within a year, the Giant's royal treasury was filled to capacity. Every nook and cranny in the castle contained gold. The sheer abundance of ...

490. Boasting

2 Corinthians 11:1-15, 2 Corinthians 11:16-33, 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... to be conceited because of his merkabah experience can be compared to that of the Teacher of Righteousness in the Qumran community, who boasted of his ascent to heaven (cf. 4Q427 f7.1.8–17; 4Q471 f6.4; 4Q491 f 11.1.14, 18). To keep Paul from becoming conceited because of his revelatory experience, a thorn in my flesh was given to him (i.e., by God). In other words, the formal cause of Paul’s weakness, which the opponents so vehemently decry, is none other than his extraordinary apostolic revelations ...

491. Freedom In Christ

Galatians 5:1-15, Galatians 5:16-26

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... Romans, “we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we might no longer be slaves to sin” (Rom. 6:6). Paul now ties together what he has been saying: since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Paul has directed believers to “live by the Spirit” (cf. 5:16) and claimed that they are “led by the Spirit” (5:18). Now he shifts the emphasis by stating that the basis of their life is that they are those who “live by ...

492. Advice About Widows, Elders and Slaves

1 Timothy 5:1-6:2

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... hands and thus ordaining people who turn out to be sinners, you thereby become a partner in their sins.” This latter would seem to be supported by verses 24–25, where the reason for patience is spelled out in more detail. However, the additional imperative, keep yourself pure, seems to favor the first option, especially in light of the similar concern in 4:12. As in 4:6–16, therefore, the concern about the sins of others leads Paul to a short aside to Timothy personally about the ordering of his own ...

493. The Day of the Lord

2 Peter 3:1-18

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... 15.4–7. Peter’s words gave rise to Millenarianism (or Chiliasm), the belief that at the end of the present age Christ will reign on earth for one thousand years (Rev. 20:1–10); see NIDNTT, vol. 1, pp. 52–53. 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise about the second coming. The delay in the Parousia worried Paul’s friends at Thessalonica (1 Thess. 4:13–15; 2 Thess. 2:1–2), but it did not disturb Peter. He had been warned that he himself would not live to see the Parousia (2 Pet. 1 ...

494. Eastern Tribes Return Home

Joshua 22:1-34

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... LORD commanded (also 1:13) and have obeyed me in everything I commanded (22:2; 1:18). Verse 5 reports Joshua’s challenge to the Gadite and Reubenite tribes and the message of Deuteronomy 22:5 and 6:5. The key phrases remind the people to be very careful to keep the commandment and the law given by Moses the servant of the LORD. They are to love the LORD their God, to walk in all his ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all their heart and . . . soul. Every generation of ...

495. Love One Another

1 John 3:11-24

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... , cf. John 8:51; 9:31; 14:21; 15:10.) Here it is the way to effective prayer. It is only as the community realizes its true identity before God as his children (vv. 19–21) and faithfully does what God wants (v. 22b) that its prayers bear fruit. Keeping God’s commands and doing what pleases him are synonymous. Precisely what commands the Elder has in mind is made very clear in v. 23. 3:23 While it may appear to be an overstatement, in the Gospel and letters of John, there are really only two commandments ...

496. Judah and Tamar

Genesis 38:1-30

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... to marry Shelah. Ironically, in trying to cover a small disgrace he was unaware that a much greater disgrace was being exposed—his disregard of levirate marriage. Tamar thwarted Judah’s attempt to pay his small pledge because she had been thwarted by his failure to keep his pledge of marriage to his youngest son. 38:24–25 About three months later Judah was informed that his daughter-in-law Tamar had acted as a prostitute and was now pregnant. It is instructive to note the shift in terms these men use ...

497. Love the Lord Your God

Deuteronomy 6:1-25

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... . It is also a commitment to Yahweh, which generates corresponding action in line with his word. “If you love me, keep my commandments.” This committed, covenantal response to Yahweh was to be total: with all your heart and with all your ... the law is to be found in the gospel. The basis of the law lies in the history of redemption (vv. 21–23); the reason for keeping the law is to enjoy the blessings of redemption (v. 24); the fruit of obeying the law is the righteousness that is the goal of redemption ...

498. Jesus, Not Jewish Leaders, Interprets the Torah Rightly

Matthew 15:1-20

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... ? The crux of Jesus’ counter-complaint against the Pharisees and teachers is that they care more about the traditions meant to help keep the Torah than about the Torah itself (see 23:16–22). The basic charge is leveled again at 15:6. 15:4 ... related prohibition against cursing one’s parents (Exod. 21:17) to illustrate the irony of elevating a human tradition meant to keep one from disobeying the Torah above the very commandments themselves. 15:5 devoted to God. This phrase renders the Greek doron ...

499. Eschatological Discourse: Being Prepared for Jesus’ Return

Matthew 24:36-51, Matthew 25:1-13

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... lamps. Lamps for outdoor use typically were made of cloth rags wrapped around the top of a stick and soaked in oil.[3] Since the lamp would burn through the oil before long, it was sensible (wise) to bring along a jar of oil to re-soak the cloth and keep the lamp lit. 25:5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming. This detail of the parable, along with similar references at 24:48 and 25:19, suggests that Matthew offers these parables about the return of the Son of Man to address, in part, a delay in the ...

500. Jesus’s Ministry and Popularity Continue to Grow

Mark 1:40-45, Mark 1:35-39, Mark 1:29-34

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... power of God in Jesus. Jesus makes himself available to the crowds and prioritizes his time to be with them. The compassion of God for the lost is quite evident here. Finally, those touched by Jesus join him in proclaiming the grace and mercy of God; they cannot keep quiet once they have felt the hand of God in Jesus. Teaching the Text 1. Jesus needed time alone with his Father. Jesus was the God-man, fully God as well as fully human. If God-of-very-God needed time for prayer and fellowship with his Father ...

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