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Showing 551 to 575 of 4937 results

551. Advent 2: Let Us Go Over To Bethlehem And Find The Promise of Christmas

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

James W. Moore

This sermon is based on Matthew 1:18-25: Perhaps you have heard the one about the attractive young woman who boarded a plane in Los Angeles heading toward New York. The young woman was tired. She knew it would be a long flight, so immediately she asked the flight attendant for a pillow and a blanket. She hoped to be able to sleep most of the way to New York. Her head had just nestled into the pillow when an obnoxious man with a loud, booming voice boarded the plane… and sat down beside her. He tapped her ...

552. Backsliding

John 6:60-71

Sermon

Brett Blair

There was once a term frequently used in the church. In the old days it was used often. You rarely ever hear it today. Indeed, in my 12 years in the ministry I have never preached a sermon on the topic until now. Despite the infrequency with which it is mentioned, the concept, I think, is still valid. It is backsliding. The term backsliding, I discovered in my research, was popularized in the 1600’s by John Bunyan in his very famous allegory Pilgrim’s Progress. In the story, you may recall, the character ...

553. The Testimony of a Tax Collector

Matthew 9:9-13

Sermon

King Duncan

It was a simple statement but still it hurt. "SEE, this man eats with sinners and tax collectors." They hurt because I was one of those tax-collectors. Tax collectors are never popular. "Adopt a flat tax," said Steve Forbes in the primary campaigns, "and dismantle the Internal Revenue Service." "I'm proud to be paying taxes in the United States," said Arthur Godfrey. "The only thing is ” I could be just as proud for half the money." "President Clinton says he looks forward to the day a citizen can call the ...

554. Endless Line of Blunder

Exodus 1:8

Sermon

David J. Kalas

Turn the page, and the story is suddenly different. When we close the book of Genesis, the descendants of Jacob — that is, the children of Israel — are comfortably situated as honored guests in the land of Egypt. And the very best part of the land of Egypt, at that. Jacob's son, Joseph, is a local hero, having navigated the nation (and much of the region) through a devastating period of famine. The Egyptians, along with his own kin, mourn his passing. But turn the page, and the story is suddenly different ...

555. The Coat Off Your Back

Luke 3:7-18

Sermon

Cynthia Cowen

Thanksgiving — cornucopias, fall harvests, turkey and pumpkin pie, corn stalks, and scarecrows — outward signs associated with the holiday we celebrated only seventeen days ago. Even before Halloween and Thanksgiving ended, holiday colors had changed. Orange pumpkin lights were replaced by white or multicolored twinkling lights. A small town policeman looks forward every year to hanging his outside Christmas lights. His goal is to measure up to Chevy Chase's outlandish display in the movie, Christmas ...

556. “They Will Proclaim the Works of God and Ponder What He Has Done”

Psalm 64:1-10

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: God outstrategizes evil and its perpetrators and exhausts their arsenal of weapons. Understanding the Text Psalm 64 is an individual lament, identifying the problem that stimulated the psalmist as the “threat of the enemy,” the “conspiracy of the wicked,” and the “plots of evildoers” (64:1–2). It sums up with the aphoristic commentary of verse 6c: “Surely the human mind and heart are cunning” (lit., “the inward person and heart are deep”). In addition to this detailed description of the problem ( ...

557. Jesus: The Life of the Party

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

"On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding." (John 2:1-2) It is doubtful than John the Baptist would have been invited. He of the harsh garments of camel's hair and the strange diet of locusts and wild honey. (Although the word translated "locust" in the Gospels probably refers to the fruit of the carob tree.) John was a thundering prophet, austere and ascetic, far removed from the ordinary events ...

558. Our Common Life in Christ

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

It glows with light and power today as we turn to verses 1 through 4 of the second chapter of this Philippian letter. “If then our common life in Christ yields any thing to stir the heart, any loving consolation, any sharing of the Spirit, any warmth of affection or compassion, fill up my cup of happiness by thinking and feeling alike with the same love for one another, the same turn of mind, and a common care must be no room for rivalry and personal vanity among you, but you must humbly reckon others ...

559. About Donkeys and True Greatness

Mark 11:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

A few years ago, the devotional guide, Our Daily Bread, carried a story of a pastor who was also a traveling evangelist who rode a donkey as he traveled from village to village in Brazil preaching the gospel. One day the evangelist fell asleep in the saddle as he made his return home after a tiring day. A couple of hours later he was rudely awakened by the roughness of the ride. His donkey had left the trail and was walking through a rocky field. At first the pastor was angry, but he calmed down when he ...

560. Unity in the Body of Christ

Ephesians 4:1-16

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

The Appeal and Pattern for Unity Chapter 4 begins what often is referred to as the ethical or practical section of the epistle. If chapters 1–3 provide the theological basis for Christian unity, then chapters 4–6 contain the practical instruction for its maintenance. Unity has been established (the indicative); now it becomes the duty of the believers to strengthen and maintain unity in their fellowship (the imperative). This generalization does not mean that chapters 4–6 are devoid of theological content ...

561. When The Cheering Stopped

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

Brett Blair

Some years ago a book was written by a noted American historian entitled “When The Cheering Stopped.” It was the story of President Woodrow Wilson and the events leading up to and following WWI. When that war was over Wilson was an international hero, There was a great spirit of optimism abroad, and people actually believed that the last war had been fought and the world had been made safe for democracy. On his first visit to Paris after the war Wilson was greeted by cheering mobs. He was actually more ...

562. The Bloodline of Christ

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

In a few short years, Dan Brown’s 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code, became one of the most widely read books of all time. The 2006 Ron Howard Hollywood movie starring Tom Hanks only made the novel all the more popular. Why such a blockbuster for a novel about Jesus? Because it was well-written? Because it was well-researched? No, the real reason The Da Vinci Code caught fire was because it served up a juicy heretical tidbit as its main course: the suggestion that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and that ...

563. A Powerful Sacrament

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

Dr. William Culbertson, president of Moody Bible Institute, is an Episcopalian. So naturally he enjoys a joke at the expense of his Baptist friends. He tells a hilarious story about three rather notorious characters who had been converted and were to be baptized by immersion in the local Baptist Church. The whole community turned out. The little church had only one small dressing room which opened from the baptistery (the pool in which the men would be immersed at the front of the church). The dressing ...

564. Gift

2 Corinthians 8:16--9:5, 2 Corinthians 8:1-15, 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

The first part of this letter to the Corinthians (1:12–7:16) is concerned primarily with a defense of Paul’s apostolic authority. The second part (chs. 8–9), which deals with the collection for the church in Jerusalem, has a related issue. When Paul went with Titus to the so-called apostolic council in Jerusalem in order to present his gospel, the other apostles not only unequivocally acknowledged his gospel, his apostolic authority, and his mission to the nations, but they also added nothing to him, ...

565. I am the Man Who Has Seen Affliction

Lamentations 3:1-66

One Volume

Tremper Longman III

Man of Affliction: Chapter 3 constitutes a new and complete poem. Like the two chapters that precede it, it is marked by a complete acrostic. Unlike the previous chapters where each verse started with a successive letter of the alphabet, in chapter 3 each letter repeats at the start of three verses before going on to the next letter. Thus, there are sixty-six verses, not twenty-two verses. However, since the verses are shorter in chapter 3, the overall length of the chapters is approximately the same. The ...

566. God Has No Grandchildren

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

On a children’s TV program, the announcer asked a little boy what he wanted to do when he grew up. “I want to be an animal trainer,” said the child, loudly and clearly into the mike. “And I’ll have lots of wild lions and tigers and leopards,” he continued boldly. “And then I’ll walk into the cage…” Here he hesitated for a second, and then added softly, “but, of course, I’ll have my granddaddy with me.” Granddaddies and Grandmothers are special. Ask any boy or girl. Grandsons and granddaughters are special ...

567. Seat of Power

Mark 10:35-45, Matthew 20:20-28

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Animation: Ring and/or Ruby Slippers and/or a Ladder “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.” (James and John…according to Mark) How many times have we said this to God? “Lord, we want you to do whatever we ask!” We humans are creatures that want our way. We want what we want and we generally want it “now.” We like to be independent. We are self-assured. And we are ambitious. And ambition is a squirrelly thing. It means that if someone won’t give us our way, we will strive to get whatever we ...

568. It’s How It Ends That Matters

Matthew 21:28-32

Sermon

If you don’t know or care where you’re headed, any road will get you there. That’s a well-worn saying we can all affirm. Yet, have we thought about a similar, but almost contradictory-sounding maxim? People come to know the truth by different highways. The second saying is as true as is the first. Imagine that you have a roadmap of our country. In your mind’s eye, right now, as you’re sitting here, imagine that you’re opening it. Fold it out and tack it up on the imaginary corkboard there in front of you. ...

569. Polished Up For Christmas

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

It's not easy to get ready for Christmas. For one thing there is so much to do. For many of us this is the busiest time of the year. It is also the most nerve-wracking, particularly if you are a person who does not enjoy shopping. I read a statistic with which many men in our congregation will relate. The Mall of America published a poll recently that states that 31 percent of men believe they have a better chance of winning the Heisman trophy than finding the right holiday gifts for their wives. Only 18 ...

570. The Triumph and the Tragedy

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

On Palm Sunday April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant, General of the Union Army, at the village of Appomattox Court House, Virginia. This surrender ended the bloodiest war ever fought on American soil. State against state, brother against brother; it was a conflict that literally tore our nation apart. Five days later Good Friday, April 14, 1865 America’s most revered president, Abraham Lincoln, was shot and mortally wounded by John Wilkes Booth in Ford’s Theatre ...

571. Choosing a God

1 Kings 18:20-21 (22-29) 30-39

Sermon

David E. Leininger

For sheer drama, there is little in fact or fiction that can surpass the stories of Elijah in 1 Kings. For interesting characters, unusual twists of plot and action, for excitement and adventure, one would be hard-pressed to find anything more entertaining. Elijah could star in an incredible mini-series. The Bible gives little background on this majestic prophet other than to mention his hometown, Tishbe in Gilead on the eastern side of the Jordan. We are abruptly introduced to him in 1 Kings 17 as he ...

572. Triumph of the Jews

Esther 9:1-19

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

The Victory of the Jews: The ninth chapter of Esther recounts the events that ensured Jewish victory. It begins with an emphasis on a particular day: On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar—a date that chillingly recalls the events in chapter 3 that led to this crisis. This chapter is about this day (and the next), about the victory the Jews achieved over those who hated them, and about the rest that followed. These events provide the etiology of the Jewish festival of Purim. Much of ...

573. Robbing God

Malachi 3:6-18

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

Return to Me (3:6-12): The fifth speech returns to the present with an appeal for repentance demonstrated in a concrete act of obedience, tithing. This obligation contributes to proper worship at the temple and to feeding even the poorest of the people. The Lord, who loves Israel, offers them reconciliation and promises blessing. 3:6–7a The opening statement of this address is a stunning non sequitur, “I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.” The Lord has remained the ...

574. When I AM Speaks, You'd Better Listen

John 6:24-35

Sermon

Ron Lavin

It appears that somebody got into the front window of life and changed the price tags. The expensive things now have cheap labels. The cheap things have expensive labels. What has happened is that today we have what might be called a transvaluation of values. Everything is turned upside down. Important values have become unimportant for many people. Unimportant values have been turned into seemingly valuable categories. Just look at the ads on television, the movies, or the magazines being produced today. ...

575. Advice About Widows, Elders and Slaves

1 Timothy 5:1-6:2

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

This paragraph serves as something of a transition in the argument. On the one hand, it flows naturally out of 4:11–16, with a set of two more imperatives to Timothy (in the second person singular), and the content continues to reflect concern over Timothy’s relationship to the church community, now in very specific ways related to his own youthfulness. This content, on the other hand, also serves as a kind of introduction to what follows: a long section on widows, old and young (vv. 3–16), a section on ...

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