Sermon and Worship Resources

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Mark 11:20-25 (26)

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... strong emphasis upon the importance of faith (cf. 2:5; 4:40; 5:34; 9:23–24; 10:52), making this one of his favorite themes. Here Mark presents Jesus as an example of faith, and his readers are not only to admire Jesus’ faith but also to imitate it. This theme must not be separated, however, from the context. Overall, Mark teaches that Christians are to follow in Jesus’ ministry, as we have noted already, and this means that the faith is to be seen as faith demanded in the course of mission, not faith ...

577. Absalom's Conspiracy

2 Samuel 15:1-12

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... drastically. He had been the disgraced prince, guilty of fratricide. He became a popular hero. Absalom had a three-pronged strategy. First the people were going to notice that Absalom was back and be made to think that Absalom was significant. He imitated the custom of surrounding nations with his display of pomp, exploiting his own good looks. The bodyguard of fifty men and the showy chariot were different from anything known in Israel so far. Jonathan, the ostensible heir in the previous regime, was ...

578. David Mourns

2 Sam 18:19–19:8

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... Brueggemann (First and Second Samuel, p. 322) views Ahimaaz as “blurting out” the news of victory and then exhibiting cowardice as he fails to give David the news of Absalom’s death. However, it is equally likely that the young man exhibits diplomatic skills, imitating Joab’s wiliness. 18:33 David’s desire to have died instead of his son may be an expression of parental grief but seems likely to portray his own sense of responsibility. However, it is not clear whether he saw his original actions ...

579. Life Through the Son

John 5:16-30, John 5:1-15

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... Jesus is not backing down, for his words reiterate the claim of verse 17 that the works he performs are the very works of God (v. 19). His language is like that of a parable; he is like a son apprenticed to a human father, learning by example and imitation (v. 20). His authority is absolute, not in spite of the fact that he does nothing by himself, but because of it. His authority is a derived authority. In all that he does he is subject to his Father and totally dependent on his Father’s power and love ...

580. The World Hates the Disciples

John 15:18--16:4

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... love for his servants does not involve telling them his business (except what they need to know to do their jobs), but shared knowledge and insight is an important part of true friendship (v. 15). Friendship is here defined in terms of both revelation and imitation. Almost at the beginning of his ministry, Jesus had said: “Whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves [Gr.: philei] the Son and shows him all he does” (5:19b–20). Now that Jesus has told his disciples everything he has ...

581. Boasting

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

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... the reader realizes that verses 2–4 refer to Paul’s own experience, for the apostle boasts in the experience. The reason for this use of the third person remains unclear, although many explanations have been offered. It is perhaps worth pointing out that Jesus, whom Paul otherwise seeks to imitate (cf. 1 Cor. 11:1; 2 Cor. 1:5; 4:10; see below on 12:8), referred to himself in the third person as the “Son of Man” (cf. Mark 2:10, 28; 8:31, 38, etc.). In any case, Paul’s evasiveness in 12:2–4 is not ...

582. Paul's Vision and His Thorn

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

583. Faith and Deeds

James 2:14-26, James 2:1-13

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... class (plural), a group outside the church. At this point the author shifts to the word “rich” (plousios, cf. 2:2), for he is not referring to a wealthy individual in the church but to an oppressing class that the church as a group is imitating. When the Old Testament speaks of “oppression,” e.g., Ezek. 22:7, 29; Heb. 1:4; Zech. 7:10, it rarely calls the oppressor “the rich” but normally uses the term “the violent.” However, it is clear that the oppressors are invariably wealthy and powerful ...

584. Walking in the Light and the Problem of Sin

1 John 2:15-17, 1 John 1:5--2:14

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... /Christ unbroken by sin (1:8, 10), whereas the believer confesses sin (1:9) and counts on Christ as advocate (NIV, “one who speaks … in our defense” [2:1]) and “atoning sacrifice” (2:2). The Elder insists that the opponents’ claim be tested by a life in imitation of Jesus. You must walk as Jesus did. This test, he is convinced, they cannot pass, because they do not keep God’s commands (2:3–4), as Jesus did. Above all, they do not love as Jesus loved (John 13:34). “The test of our religious ...

585. The Plague of Blood

Exodus 7:14-24

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... water (v. 21). They had no voice in Pharaoh’s realm. Their only response was thirst. They dug along the Nile to get drinking water, to find water that had filtered through sand. The magicians would have had to use this water to perform their imitative magic, since all the surface water was already blood. Blood was everywhere in Egypt, even in the wooden buckets and stone jars. The mention of these containers for water is a translator’s interpretation. The Hebrew simply says, “in the trees and in the ...

586. Amon King of Judah

2 Kings 21:19-26

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... . 18:4). It is his grandfather Ahaz who is the new king’s role-model, as he sacrifices his own son in the fire and practices divination (v. 6; cf. 16:3, and possibly 16:15), following the detestable practices of the nations (v. 2; cf. 16:3). Manasseh also imitates the arch-apostate Ahab, by building altars to Baal (v. 3; cf. also the Asherah pole in 1 Kgs. 16:33) and worshiping idols (v. 11; cf. 1 Kgs. 21:26); he emulates Jeroboam and the other Israelite kings who caused Israel to commit sin (v. 16; cf. 1 ...

587. Wimps or Water Walkers

Matthew 14:22-33

Sermon

King Duncan

... nervous about even the thought of driving on a rickety bridge suspended a 1,000 feet in the air. Fifty feet in the air would make us nervous. If you have ever been afraid, you can sympathize with poor Simon Peter. Impetuously he had told Jesus that he wanted to imitate the Master and walk to him on the water. But then he looked down at the waves and became suddenly fearful and began to sink. You know the story well. Jesus has just fed 5,000 hungry men and an untold number of women and children. He tells his ...

588. Could the Pharisees Have Been Irish?

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

Sermon

King Duncan

... heart? We all have our traditions that are sacred to us. That’s good. Let’s not use them to look down on others whose traditions are not our traditions. Instead let’s focus on the God who is at the center of our traditions. Let’s seek to imitate the God whom we have encountered in Jesus Christ, whose nature and whose name is love. 1. Ed McManus, The Jokesmith. 2. This is retelling from memory (so some of the details may be wrong) from a true story told to the congregation at Matthew Weil’s Bar ...

589. God with Skin On

Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... the child said, “please forgive us our Christmases as we forgive those who Christmas against us.” Christmas can be so wonderful. And it can be so terrible as we get caught up in the whirlwind — trying to doing it all. We get caught up trying to imitate Grandma and trying to balance the true meaning of this night with the TV inspired expectations of our children. As the poet W.H. Auden suggested, we are so materially bound, that we fail to see “the actual vision,” and only find fleeting time to ...

590. An Absolute Cure for Boredom

Philippians 3:7-4:1

Sermon

King Duncan

... go to desperate measures to escape boredom. There once was a major league pitcher named Moe Drabowsky. Moe was known among baseball players as the ultimate prankster. He used practical jokes to escape the boredom of long days in the bullpen. Moe was a specialist at imitating voices. He was so good at it, that he was known to call opposing bullpens and in a voice sounding just like the opposing manager, order pitchers on the opposing team to warm up. He was also known for changing the numbers on hotel room ...

Mercy imitates God and disappoints Satan.

St. John Chrysostom

However much we guard against it, we tend to shape ourselves in the image others have of us. It is not so much the example of theirs we imitate, as the reflection of ourselves in their eyes and the echo of ourselves in their words.

Eric Hoffer

593. Speaking with Prophetic Authority

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... . King's life and his campaign for justice; he was only 39 years old. In his relatively short life he had served the African-American community specifically, and the world at large, as a prophetic voice. Undeterred by opposition, he spoke with authority in imitation of the one upon whom he patterned his whole life and work, Jesus, the Nazarean. When we hear the word "prophet" what images and names come to mind? Possibly some think of the great evangelists, such as the character of Elmer Gantry in literature ...

594. The Pearl of Great Price

Matthew 13:45-46

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: enough imitation pearls so that each child may take one home; one pearl larger than the other pearls. What is really important to you? What is the most important thing that you call your own? Is it your doll or baseball glove? Maybe it is a pretty dress or a chemistry set. ...

595. The Art of Impersonation

Matthew 5:21-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... come close to understanding what it’s like to walk in their shoes might be celebrity impersonators. Did you know there is a worldwide industry of people who pretend to be famous celebrities? These impersonators usually look like the people they are imitating. They dress like them. They take on the celebrity’s mannerisms and voice patterns and attitudes. Many of these celebrity impersonators say that the attitude of the celebrity is even more important to their act than their appearance. A man named John ...

596. Clearing the Eyes

John 9:1-12, John 9:13-34, John 9:35-41

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

... been formed to address them, and now, how Jesus is reframing them. Night was coming... a portent of darkness. Jesus was saying he was the light of the world. The mud and saliva... a crude mixture reflecting uncleanliness was being used to clean. Jesus was imitating God when God formed humankind from the dirt. Healing on the Sabbath... a heresy never to be violated for it would anger God. Jesus was challenging that perception and making it clear that the only violation of God comes from those who do not heal ...

597. The Sign of the Dove

Matthew 3:1-17 · John 1:1-34 · Mark 1:1-8 · Luke 3:1-38

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... soulfully. But more beautiful even than the mating dance of the dove is the dove that hovers and soars with wings outstretched and lifted in the air. The dove gracefully navigates its space in movements that look much like an elaborate ballet. [Have your liturgical dancers imitate the wings of the dove]. The dove’s wings raise up and in over its head in a kind of “releve” (a ballet term that describes the dancer on his/her toes with hands arched over the head----go ahead and show them). The dove will ...

598. The Surrogate

Matthew 1:1-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... a participant in the French resistance, wrote to that effect in 1948 with the publication of “The Presence of the Kingdom.” With every passing decade, it seems, the spirit of Hitler rises up higher and higher. Hitler himself didn’t win, but his enemies imitated him and mastered his means to a “secure state.” In a few weeks Jurassic Park 4: Jurassic World will be released in the theatres. You can bet it will be a blockbuster. Some of you “elderly” probably remember the first one. It scared the ...

599. Are You a Lemming or a Lassie?

Luke 12:13-21, Luke 12:22-34, Luke 12:35-48, Luke 12:49-53, Luke 12:54-59

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... off of cliffs and into traps. In fact, the “lemming” is known in pop culture as a kind of mindless creature that doesn’t think for itself, but simply follows along, even unto sure death. We may not admire the lemming. But sometimes, we sure do imitate them. And this is exactly Jesus’ thought as he directs his attention to his most ardent disciples sitting among the thousands there to hear him just before his journey to Jerusalem sometime in his third year of ministry. He had just come from a large ...

600. Translucent Grace

Mark 9:2-13, Luke 9:28-36, Revelation 1:9-20, Revelation 2:12-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... that you were a follower of the One True Light, Jesus the Christ. In Paul’s theology, when Christ lives within you, your life becomes a light. You become sons and daughters of that light (Ephesians 5:8). In a sense, you become not just an “imitator” of Christ, not just “like” Christ, but you become a “little Christ,” which is what the word “Christ-ian” literally means. As Christ lives in you, you become part of the Light that is the Light of the World. You are not just converted or changed ...

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