Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: contest, tournament, match, game, round, heat, fixture, event, meet, encounter, rivalry, competitiveness, vying, contesting, opposition, contention, conflict, feuding, battling, fighting, struggling, strife, war, opposing side, other side, other team, field, enemy, foe

Showing 576 to 600 of 676 results

576. Eliphaz

Job 4:1-5:27

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... curse. Following the flood in Gen. 6–8, God recommissions humanity to fill and exercise authority over the earth, but the post-flood relationship between humans and “beasts of the earth” (khayyat haʾarets, Gen. 9) is one of fear and carnivorous competition rather than harmony. 5:24 On the one hand the tent reference reflects the nomadic, patriarchal setting. On the other hand, the “tent” in Job is sometimes a metaphor for the vulnerability of human life that is constantly under threat. See 4 ...

577. Personal Requests

1 Corinthians 16:5-18

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... cautious character of the present verse is, however, striking, recognizing the possibility that Timothy might find opposition in Corinth which he should fear. This opposition apparently would have been to Paul, as one of those cited as a leader, among competitive cliques (ch. 1), and so Timothy as Paul’s agent might have encountered difficulties. Indeed, the labored manner in which Paul addresses Timothy’s possible reception—or lack of a reception—in Corinth probably indicates the strength of the ...

578. War Between the Houses of David and Saul

2 Samuel 2:8-3:5

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... , in Benjamite territory but within reach of Judah. It may be that the discussions there were originally intended as a summit meeting to work out whether or not compromise was possible. Joab, David’s nephew and general, and Abner arrange an intriguing competition between twelve of the young men on either side that ended in a grisly draw. The twenty-four young soldiers were killed, and instead of saving further bloodshed, the unsatisfactory contest led to an extended battle. There is no sign of the ...

579. Listening and Doing

James 1:19-27, James 1:1-18

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... 1 Cor. 1–3; 5:19; Eph. 2:2; John 12:31; 15:18–17:16; 1 John 2:15–17). True piety is not conformity to human culture but transformation into Christ’s image (Rom. 12:1–2). For James this means specifically rejecting the motives of competition, personal ambition, and accumulation that lie at the root of a lack of charity and an abundance of community conflict (e.g., 4:1–4). In declaring this alone to be true religion in God’s eyes, James declares that conversion is meaningless unless it leads to ...

580. Suffering for Doing Good

1 Peter 3:8-22

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... (1:22), for in truth they all belong to the one family of God in Christ. They are to treat one another (and both male and female are included under brothers) as having an equal standing in the sight of God—a notion that challenges the competitive nature of so much in the modern Western world. Such a sensitiveness to the feelings of other Christians will follow from a growing appreciation of belonging to the one body of believers (1 Cor. 12:26). Peter is simply relaying the teaching of Jesus that he ...

581. The Plague of Gnats

Exodus 8:16-19

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... third employs the dust from which God created. God is in the process of creating something new. The magicians had reached their limit. They could not produce gnats from the dust. There was no one like the Lord “in all the earth” (9:14, 16). Their competition with Aaron and with the Lord was over. In 7:12, Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. In 7:22 they mimicked turning water to blood, exacerbating Egypt’s drinking water crisis. In verse 7 they also called forth frogs, so that Pharaoh had to ...

582. Israel Exiled because of Sin

2 Kings 17:7-23

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... of irony in 2 Kings 17:25–33. It is not a passage meant to be taken at face value. The authors are simply setting up a particular point of view in order to demolish it—rather in the manner of a participant in a debating competition. The tone of the passage is best caught, in fact, if the reader mentally supplies quotation marks to the words “worship” and “worshiped” in the NIV translation of verses 28 and 32–33. For we are certainly not to regard the “worship” described in these verses ...

583. Samaria Resettled

2 Kings 17:24-41

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

584. A Tribute to a Woman's Love

Matthew 22:34-46

Sermon

King Duncan

... been a completely disappointing outing, but for a fellow competitor named Lawrence Lemieux of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Lemieux saved his countrymen from total embarrassment. Lemieux, an experienced yacht sailor was well on his way to clinching silver in the yacht competition. Competing in the Olympics had been his life-long dream. But then something occurred that no one ever expected. Joseph Chan of Singapore was racing close to Lemieux when he lost control of his yacht. When Lemieux noticed him, Chan ...

585. A Time to Get Angry

John 2:13-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... their little shops right into the Temple itself. Even worse, they were also selling sacrificial animals right there in the temple precincts. They were clearly running the risk that an animal might get loose and violate the sanctuary. Worse than that was the competitiveness among the shopkeepers vying for the business of the worshippers. The most sacred shrine of the Jews had become a tawdry, commercialized circus. This made Jesus mad and he wasn’t going to take it anymore. This was his Father’s house ...

586. Actors

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

John Jamison

... to make them look really, really dismal when they were fasting, just like an actor would do. Fasting was a common ritual at the time, so there were plenty of opportunities to spruce yourself up in your best “I’m miserable” outfit and enter the competition. In fact, to help make his point sink in, we’re told that Jesus called these people “hypocrites,” but the word he used actually meant actor. What he actually said was, “Don’t be like those actors who are pretending to be something they’re ...

587. The Bethsaida Boys

Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

John Jamison

... understand the flaws in his approach. In my imagination, I can see many evenings sitting around the fire while the disciples lectured Jesus on good business and marketing principles, trying to help him understand. You build on strengths, not weaknesses. You confront competition with force, not with meekness. They were trying to be helpful. After three years, Jesus’ popularity and visibility had grown to a point at which he was recognized wherever he went. He was becoming more of a high-profile target and ...

588. Playing Golf at Midnight

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Mr. Hogan agreed to play a round of golf with Charley. Charley said, “Would you like to play for money?” Hogan said, “That wouldn’t be fair!” Charley said, “C’mon, Mr. Hogan, are you afraid to play a blind golfer?” Hogan was really pretty competitive so he said, “Okay, I’ll play for money. How much?” Boswell said, “$1,000 per hole.” Hogan said, “That’s a lot. How many strokes do you want me to give you?” Boswell said, “No strokes. I’ll play you heads up.” Hogan said ...

589. The Future Present

Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... is that the great economic reversal described in Mary’s revolutionary song, doesn’t do to the rich what the rich have been doing to the poor since the beginning of time. It doesn’t make them (us) poor. Instead it turns an ethic of scarcity for some and competition among all into an ethic of generosity, where everyone has what they need. The part of this text about the rich, I get. But it is the proud part that I have been forced to learn. Serving as moderator of the PCUSA for a year was a thrilling ...

590. The Way Up Is Down!

Mark 9:30-37

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... real problem. Yet, without the second fiddle, we have no harmony in the orchestra." Pride Is A Baseless Emotion Pride is perhaps the one thing above all things that we have no right to have because we did not create ourselves. Pride by its very nature sets itself up in competition with God who made us. It supplants who God is and what he has done to redeem us on Christ's cross and replaces it with a "me-first" mentality. None of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we ...

591. Working as a Team

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... only puzzled the Negrito friend. "Why would I want to knock his ball out of the court?" he asked. "So, you will be the one to win!" a missionary said. The short-statured man, clad only in a loincloth, shook his head in bewilderment. Competition is generally ruled out in a hunting and gathering society, where people survive not by competing but by sharing equally in every activity. The game continued, but no one followed the missionaries' advice. When a player successfully got through all the wickets, the ...

592. Can't vs. Can Do Attitudes

Philippians 4:10-20

Illustration

Unknown, Edited by Brett Blair

... Think of the possibilities It's a waste of money........................The investment will be worth it We'll cannibalize our own sales........We'll do it before they do We can't compete.............................We'll get a jump on the competition Our vendors won't go for it................Let's show them the opportunities It's good enough...............................There's always room for improvement We don't have enough money..........Maybe there's something we can cut We're understaffed ...

593. Sin of Dishonesty

Illustration

Lewis Smedes

... another in all walks of life. Americans lie on their income tax returns to the tune of billions of dollars a year. Doctors fake reports in order to profit from Medicare patients. Prize athletes at great universities are kept eligible for competition through bogus credits and forged transcripts of academic records. parents pay for SAT test takers, journalist write partisan news, and science is compromised by grants. Children soon acquire the cynical assumption that lying is the normal tack for TV advertisers ...

594. Recognizing Who God Is

Job 42:7-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... accident, Jim challenged himself to become an even better athlete. Using a prosthesis, he competed in the New York City and Boston marathons. He even broke the world record for amputee runners. Next, he set his sights on the Ironman Triathlon, the most challenging athletic competition on earth. Amazingly, while training for this triathlon, Jim was hit a second time. He awoke in the hospital to the news that he was paralyzed from the neck down. Where do you go from there? How do you come back from a second ...

595. God Gives the Pharisees the Finger!

John 7:25-44, John 7:45--8:11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... ” and enter into a very different place. When they enter this realm they intermingle with things like --assumptions, and envy, and bias, and bandwagon, and rumor, and gossip, and cruelty, and stubbornness. In fact, some judgments begin to be rooted in competition, and manipulation, and selfishness, and hate. Why do we feel a need to make moral judgments on everyone and everything? Can’t we let God do that? Some have said that “crimes of passion” as well as “rumors” and “deceitfulness” always ...

596. The Samaritan

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... the “Good Samaritan” for children again and again through his imaginary tales. Rev. Rogers never shied away from the issues of our culture. But he found ways to address them in his show through make believe, storytelling, or just plain talk –about war, competition, divorce, anger, and even death. He regularly imagined tales about the importance of how to deal with angry feelings, and how to feel loving toward those we’d like to hate. The following story is from NPR’s Story Corps about black singer ...

597. Don't Stop Praying!

Luke 18:1-8, Luke 18:35-43

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , because the company doesn’t care about you. The company only cares about the company. So are the ways of the world. But your relationship with Jesus is not that way. You don’t “apply” to be a disciple with Jesus. Jesus doesn’t put out a competitive job description calling for only the best and brightest…..dare apply. Jesus calls to all of us…and all we need to do is enter in…..and answer “I do.” And Jesus will love us forever. Jesus is not comparing God to the wicked and thoughtless ...

598. The Thorn of Discontent

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... a “successful” church, a church with good “leadership?” And aren’t these the same issues many of us still wrestle with today? It’s so easy to run the church like we run our businesses, and our politics, and our athletics. We love our competitive and entrepreneurial spirit. In fact, in this country, the more “successful,” the more praised! Let’s face it. We STILL believe that strength is in “success,” and in numbers, and in “power.” We still believe that to be strong means to be in ...

599. You Are Gifted

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... ve been able to achieve. Achieve, achieve, achieve. We are a culture obsessed not so much even with giftedness but with achievement. We want to attain a certain status, a certain standard, a level more than our neighbor, a step up in an already stepped up, competitive world, so that our children can be bigger, better, more successful, have more prestige, attain more status than we were able to attain. And in the meantime, we’re still on our own attainment train of “more-I want it,” “more-I want it ...

600. Big Spender

1 Kings 10:14-29, 1 Kings 11:1-13, Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... crave for more and more and more, that we don’t feel lost in our identity, but we know exactly who and whose we are. In Christ, we are whole and content people. That doesn’t mean, we don’t engage fully in our lives, engage in healthy competition, engage in healthy aspirations. It means, that we are at peace with ourselves doing it, and that Jesus fills us in a way that makes us okay with ourselves, no matter what we do, or how we might feel at any given moment. The “prodigal son” in Jesus’ story ...

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