Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 501 to 525 of 609 results

501. The Cross Burden or Blessing?

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Does a fast-food nation get the church it deserves, or demands . . . . a fast-food church? Not if Lent has anything to do with it. Have you noticed that all the big fast food chains are touting their great new fish menus in the past couple of weeks? McDonald’s Fish McBites. Wendy’s Alaskan Pollack sandwiches. Red Lobster’s LobsterFest. Popeye’s Shrimp baskets. Economically it is a “down time.” No big holidays this month and downright cold and wintery most places. The big chain restaurants are going to try ...

502. When God Tests Us

Exodus 32:1-33:6

Sermon

Argile Smith

When we get nervous about the unknown, we can make mountains out of mole hills. But we aren’t by ourselves. Loads of people down through history have made the same mistake. Take the Israelites, for example. God had delivered them from Egyptian bondage through a series of mystifying miracles at the hand of Moses. Then Moses led them on a three-month journey to Mount Sinai. There God called Moses to the top of the mountain for a meeting with him. Soon Moses came down from the mountain with the Ten ...

503. God Cares

Ezekiel 34:1-31

Sermon

Argile Smith

Imagine yourself in a remote location, separated from familiar faces and places. The location could be a city teeming with people, but nobody there knows you or cares to know you. Or maybe it’s a lonesome wasteland in which you are separated from another human being by scores of miles. The distance — either geographical or relational — creates an unforgiving barrier between you and interaction with others. Not a pretty picture so far. Lonely. Isolated. Separated. Now imagine that you have been placed in ...

504. Appetites and Desires

Romans 7:7-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

A mother was preparing breakfast for her two-year-old daughter. She asked the toddler, “What would you like for breakfast a bagel or a bowl of cereal?” The little girl answered, “Chocolate.” “No,” her mother replied, “You can’t have chocolate for breakfast. Do you want a bagel or cereal?” Again the little girl said, “Chocolate.” Slightly exasperated, the mother said, “No, honey. You can’t have my chocolate until after lunch. Now what do you want . . .a bagel or cereal?” The little girl said with a grin, “ ...

505. The Kingdom Is at Hand

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

King Duncan

If any of you are Will Ferrell fans, you may be familiar with the 2006 film, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Ferrell plays the role of Ricky Bobby, a dimwitted daredevil who is also the most successful driver on the NASCAR circuit. In typical Will Farrell fashion, Ricky Bobby is morally and ethically bankrupt. The only things that matter to Ricky Bobby are winning races and self-indulgence. But Ricky Bobby is religious, after a fashion. He even prays when it suits his desires. In one scene he ...

506. Hamburgers Don't Grow on Trees

Mark 4:26-29, Mark 4:30-34

Sermon

King Duncan

A father tells of taking his four-year-old son, Josh, out to McDonald’s for dinner one evening for a “guys’ night out.” As they were eating their hamburgers, Josh asked, “Daddy, what are these little things on the hamburger buns?” Dad explained that they were tiny seeds and that they were OK to eat. Josh was quiet for a couple of minutes and his Dad could tell Josh was in deep thought. Finally, Josh looked up and said, “Dad, if we go home and plant these seeds in our backyard, we will have enough ...

507. Second Chances

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

(Growing Strong in the Season of Lent, Lent 3) There is a hilarious story about a farmer who had three sons: Ron, Don and Little John. All had their names on the church roll but none ever attended church or had time for God. Then one day Don was bitten by a rattlesnake. The doctor was called and he did all he could to help Don, but the outlook for his recovery was very dim indeed. So the pastor was called to evaluate the situation. The pastor arrived, and began to pray: “O wise and righteous Father, we ...

508. Trying to Get More

Illustration

Michael P. Green

If lasting happiness could be found in having material things and in being able to indulge ourselves in whatever we wanted, then most of us in America should be delirious with joy and happy beyond description. We should be producing books and poems that describe our state of unparalleled bliss. Our literature and art should rival that of the ancient Greeks and Romans and Renaissance craftsmen. Instead we find those who have “things” trying to get more of them, for no apparent reason other than to have more ...

509. Self-pity: The Devil's Comfort

Illustration

Michael P. Green

Self-pity weeps on the devil’s shoulder, turning to Satan for comfort. His invitation is: “Come unto me all you that are grieved, peeved, misused, and disgruntled, and I will spread on the sympathy. You will find me a never-failing source of the meanest attitudes and the most selfish sort of misery. At my altar you may feel free to fail and fall, and there to sigh and fret. There I will feed your soul on fears, and indulge your ego with envy and jealousy, bitterness and spite. There I will excuse you from ...

510. Appealing Orange

1 Cor 6:13

Illustration

Michael P. Green

You can usually get a large audience together to watch a striptease. There is no question about it, a lot of people would come to watch a woman undress on the stage, thus indulging and misusing their sexual appetites. Now suppose you visited a country where an auditorium is packed to the walls with people watching, not a girl undressing, but a guy walking out with a big tray covered with a veil. Then music begins to play, lights begin to flash, and all of a sudden, after some rather enticing maneuvers, the ...

511. In Athens

Acts 17:16-34

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

The great interest of this section lies in Paul’s speech to the council of Areopagus. It provides us with a paradigm of his preaching to pagans, where, rather than “beginning with Moses and all the prophets” (Luke 24:27), that is, with the “revealed theology,” his approach was by way of “natural theology.” An earlier example of this method was seen in 14:15–17. But Paul was here facing a very different audience from the Lystrans. With them he had spoken of God as the one who gave the seasons and the crops ...

512. Freedom From Human Regulations Through Life With Christ

Colossians 2:6-23

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

A Summons to Steadfastness 2:6 The Greek text begins with “therefore,” indicating that what the apostle is about to say is linked with his preceding discussion on the content of the mystery which is Christ himself. As someone has said, “Whenever you see a therefore in Scripture, go back to see what it is there for!” To stand firm does not mean to stand still. Paul is aware that the best defense is a good offense. Consequently, he admonishes his readers to continue in their faith. By receiving the gospel ...

513. Paul's Charge to Timothy

1 Timothy 6:11-21

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

Final Exhortation to Timothy The preceding paragraph, with its final indictment of the false teachers, was the third such exposure of these teachers in 1 Timothy (cf. 1:3–7, 18–20 and 4:1–5). In the two preceding instances, the direct word against the false teachers was accompanied by a corresponding personal word to Timothy to resist them and to be their antithesis in the church in Ephesus (cf. 1:3, 18–19; 4:6–16). In each case that charge included an appeal to Timothy’s spiritual beginnings (1:18; 4:14 ...

514. The Living Stone and a Chosen People

1 Peter 2:4-12

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

The Stone—Living and Deadly Peter now turns from exhorting his readers to conduct that befits their life within the believing community to inviting them to consider the nature of that community which Christ has brought into existence. 2:4 The shift to stone from the figure of “milk” (v. 2) is unexpected and seemingly without reason. But for a Jewish reader there is a natural succession of ideas in this passage—not milk: stone, but the Hebraic one of babes: house. A helpful illustration is in Genesis 16:2. ...

515. Queen Vashti Deposed

Esther 1:1-22

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

Three Royal Banquets: The book of Esther opens with an extended description of a royal banquet in the Persian court of Xerxes I. More precisely, there are descriptions of three banquets: one for the noblemen and other male dignitaries, one for the male commoners, and one for the women. Banqueting is a central motif in Esther. There are feasts (mishtot) at the beginning and end of Esther, and the same root (sh-t-h) is used at crucial turning points throughout the story. In chapter 1, the celebrations for ...

516. Sayings of the Wise

Proverbs 22:17--24:22

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

The title for these chapters is taken from the Greek, since the MT buries the phrase in verse 17. See the introduction for the international character of wisdom and the influence of Israel’s neighbors, especially Egypt. There can be no doubt that this section has been influenced by the Egyptian text known as Teaching of Amenemope (about 1100 B.C.E.), but there is considerable difference of opinion on the extent and manner of the influence. There is a certain concensus on the following points. The Hebrew is ...

517. Sayings of King Lemuel

Proverbs 31:1-9

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

The opening words indicate that a new collection appears. These sayings are clearly limited to verses 1–9, since an acrostic poem begins at verse 10. Moreover, they are a rare example of advice given by the queen mother to her son. 31:1 As in 30:1 (see the comment), “Massaite” should be read instead of oracle (see the NIV margin). The prestige and role of the queen mother in the ancient Near East was great. The role of women in society (and education) is not as prominent elsewhere in the OT as it is in ...

518. False Prophets

Micah 2:6-11

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

Opposition to the Prophet: As the arrangement of chapter 2 now stands, this passage shows the reaction of Micah’s listeners to his announcements in both 2:1–3 and 2:4–5. Those to whom he preaches take insulted exception to his words of doom directed against them; this is not an unusual reaction to the words of OT prophets (cf. 1 Kgs. 18:3–4; 19:10; Jer. 11:18–19; 20:1–2; Isa. 50:6, etc.). Persons, especially powerful persons who control others’ lives, do not like to hear that their God does not approve of ...

519. Jesus, Peter, and the Beloved Disciple

John 21:15-25

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

There is unfinished business with Peter. The scattered disciples have been brought into unity, but Peter’s threefold denial of Jesus (13:36–38; 18:15–18, 25–27) is a special case that must now be dealt with. The three denials must be canceled by three affirmations. In addressing Peter each time as Simon son of John (vv. 15, 16, 17), Jesus speaks to him as if he were no longer (or not yet!) a disciple, for he goes back to the name Peter had when he and Jesus first met (cf. 1:42). The framework for the set ...

520. Jacob Gets Isaac's Blessing

Genesis 27:1-40

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

Jacob Steals Esau’s Blessing: This suspense-filled narrative portrays a family torn between the conflicting wills of a father and a mother. An indulgent father favors a rugged, athletic, unpretentious older son while a brilliant, domineering mother manipulates matters to the advantage of her younger son, who loves to take care of the animals and do chores around the tent. “Son” is a controlling word in this narrative, being employed by each parent to emphasize his or her respective love for and favoritism ...

521. Adonijah Sets Himself Up as King

1 Kings 1:1-27

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

Solomon Becomes King: The narrative that begins our book (1 Kgs. 1–2) is really not a beginning at all, but the last chapter of the larger story of David, which is found in 1–2 Samuel. It is in 2 Samuel 11 that Bathsheba, who plays such a prominent role in 1 Kings 1–2, first appears—possessed by David at the cost of her husband’s life (2 Sam. 11:6–27). Later the lives of various of David’s sons are recounted (2 Sam. 12–18). The end of 2 Samuel is a sorry tale of wickedness and weakness, which raises a ...

522. Solomon's Adversaries

1 Kings 11:14-25

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

Opposition and Death: A divided heart will lead to a divided kingdom: that was effectively God’s promise to Solomon in 11:9–13. This last section on the great king pursues this theme of division. It tells us of still further seeds of destruction that were planted in the earlier part of his reign and have now grown into plants whose shadow looms darkly over the kingdom. It tells of opposition on the edges of the empire, and it introduces for the first time the man who will be the focal point of that same ...

523. Jehoahaz King of Israel

2 Kings 13:1-9

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

Jehoahaz and Jehoash: The crisis of 2 Kings 9–11 is past. A descendant of David once more sits on the throne of Judah, and a new house governs Israel, with security of tenure until the fourth generation (10:30). We anticipate a period of relative calm within the two countries, even if not in their relations with other countries (cf. 8:12; 10:32–33; 12:17–18). Chapter 13 unfolds much as expected, updating us on events in Israel during the reigns of the two Israelite kings who acceded during the reign of ...

524. The Sign of Immanuel

Isaiah 7:1-25

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

Coping with the Pressure from Syria and Ephraim: The heart of 6:1–9:7 is story and prophecy focusing on a crisis in Jerusalem about 733 B.C., soon after Isaiah’s commission. Ahaz is now king. Jotham may have died before his father and only ever been co-regent. Northern Israel (see Additional Notes on 1:3) and Aram (Syria) had been forced to become part of the Assyrian empire, and they had now combined forces to try to compel Judah to join them in their efforts to gain independence from Assyria. They failed ...

525. John the Baptist

Luke 3:1-20

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: John calls the people to a new beginning, and so prepares the way for the Messiah. Understanding the Text We now move into the story proper, and it begins, as chapter 1 led us to expect, not with Jesus but rather with John, the forerunner. At 3:21 the focus will turn to Jesus, but John’s call to repentance, and the considerable impact that it had on public opinion, will remain in the background of Jesus’s own ministry. In many ways Jesus will be, as he was popularly perceived to be, the successor ...

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