Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 601 to 625 of 3160 results

Job 19:1-29

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... of the “redeemer” Job so earnestly desires to see. Some interpreters would understand Job’s “words,” permanently “engraved in rock,” to be his goʾel remaining even after his death, to plead his case in a sort of continuing public vindication. Others would think of some unknown heavenly advocate, a sort of counter to the Satan who accuses Job, who would arise to defend him. Clines (Job 1–20, pp. 457–66), who opts for and defends the first of these two options, offers extensive comments on ...

602. The Parable of the Net

Matthew 13:47-52

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... are thrown away. In Jesus’ day it was common to fish with a dragnet, a large square net that was made to hang upright in the water by means of weights. It was pulled into shore by ropes attached to the corners. By means of this seine net all sorts of fish would be gathered in. The worthless fish would be those forbidden by Jewish law (Lev. 11:10–11;) or perhaps simply those that were inedible. Legend (perhaps based on John 21:11) has it that there were 153 different kinds of fish. The Sea of Galilee is ...

603. Nebuchadnezzer’s Dream of a Tree

Daniel 4:1-18

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... of the earth” (not “in the middle of the land,” as in the NIV, as if it were a local tree) and binds everything together: its branches reach up into heaven, while its roots touch the earth and spread down into the underworld. It is a sort of tree of life that provides food and shelter to all creatures and humans who dwell on earth. The king, who has an important role in maintaining the cosmic order, sometimes stands in for the tree in pictures, so it makes great sense that King Nebuchadnezzar should ...

604. A Prophet Without Honor

Mark 6:1-6

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. The questions come tumbling forth. If Jesus did no miracle in Nazareth, to what miracles does the crowd refer in 6:2? Is not the healing of a few sick people by his touch precisely the sort of thing that seems to be regarded as a miracle elsewhere in Mark (cf. 5:23, 28)? What then does Mark mean by saying that Jesus could do no miracle here? However awkward Mark’s phrasing seems to us, he was probably saying that just as faith has positive ...

605. Jesus Predicts His Death

Mark 8:31--9:1

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... following of him even to death. We must understand that in ancient Judaism there was no concept that the Messiah would suffer the sort of horrible fate that Jesus describes in 8:31. Thus Peter’s response in 8:32 is in one sense fully understandable. ... led him to a collision with both Jewish and Roman authorities, the disciples (and readers) are warned to be prepared for the same sort of trouble. This is made all the clearer by Jesus’ warning about trying to save one’s life by denying him. The situation ...

606. Jesus Heals Many

Luke 4:38-44

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... authorities of darkness. 4:38–39 Although not obvious at first glance, the healing of Simon Peter’s mother-in-law may actually be a sort of exorcism as well. In v. 39 Jesus rebuked the fever. The word “rebuke” is the same word often used in casting out demons ( ... and his household) for having carried off Sarai” (see Gen. 12:10–20; 20:8–18). The laying on of hands, as a sort of ordination, appears in Num. 8:10, where hands are laid on the Levites as part of their preparation for ministry. But for ...

607. Ahab Defeats Ben-Hadad

1 Kings 20:13-34

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... . He knows that the LORD is God, but he acts in ways that belie this. The Jericho-like victory at Aphek (cf. Josh. 6) leads on to an aftermath of Achan-like (and Saul-like) actions that bring prophetic judgment. The threat to Ahab, as a character of this sort, was in chapter 18 only implicit. In chapter 20 it becomes explicit, and we are thus prepared for the king’s death in chapter 22. 20:1–12 Asa, king of Judah, had first involved Aram in the affairs of Israel, inviting a previous Ben-Hadad, king of ...

608. A Prophet Condemns Ahab

1 Kings 20:35-43

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

609. Why Am I Afraid?

Romans 8:14-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... to the window, ripped open the curtains, and screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping to scare the intruder more than he was scaring her. She jumped back, startled. There, staring at her through the window was . . . a horse! She says he looked at her in a curious sort of way as if to say, “Hey lady, what’s your problem?” That was the first time she had ever seen a horse at that end of the pasture. She says she laughed and apologized to the horse for screaming at him. She told the horse she would be ...

610. On Welcoming the Imperfect

John 10:22-30

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... wanted to draw the circle to shut some out. They wanted to say, “You and you and you are all right — but you can’t come.” Jesus, on the other hand, wanted to draw the circle to include all people. Jesus was a “y’all come” sort of fellow. There is said to be a local congregation so committed to the core value of hospitality that they include the following in their Sunday bulletin each week. Welcome to this church. We welcome those who are single, married, divorced, gay, filthy rich, dirt poor ...

611. Clearing the Eyes

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

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

... a newspaper about a survey. The survey attempted to determine if one’s views of God and church affiliation were influenced by the political party one belonged to or if one’s political party of choice was determined by one’s view of God. Of course, this is sort of a chicken and egg kind of question. I’ve tried unsuccessfully to use the internet to find the story with no avail but my understanding of the results were that if one tended to see God as a judging God, that heaven and hell were an absolute ...

612. Loving Made Real

John 13:1-17, John 13:31-38

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

... mimics the same level of intimacy reflected in Jesus’ actions toward his disciples. For us, in our time, touch of any kind is intimate. We are certainly aware of the damage touching can do when forced upon someone. In a day when we find all sorts of prohibitions against touch, the church in its wisdom still attempts to pass the peace, extend a hand of fellowship, give and receive hugs of greeting or of comfort when requested without judgment or penalty, and with all due respect inquiring if such a touch ...

613. Hosanna! Please Save Us!

Matthew 21:1-11, Matthew 26:14-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... Depp said in an interview on the Today show, “[Being famous] is a little bit like living like a fugitive. Everything has to be some sort of strategy. To get you into the hotel, to get you out of the hotel, to get you into the restaurant, to get you out of ... Jerusalem for Passover week. He knows he can’t just enter quietly, anonymously. He realizes, too, there has to be some sort of strategy. Too many people have heard about his teachings, how he confounds the rules of the Pharisees and the arrogance ...

614. Sitting Shiva Behind Closed Doors

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... as coincidence or just one of those strange and quirky things that mean nothing in particular. But in the Gospel story we’ve heard today, Jesus is no ghost! No mere apparition. His appearance is a true “resurrection,” a supernatural miracle of sorts that puts us out of sorts. It’s just not possible, right? I’m sure when Mary appears at Jesus’ tomb, the last person she expects to run into is Jesus. She no doubt wonders, as she hears His voice repeat exactly what the angels have just asked her ...

615. Praise God! Selah!

Luke 1:67-80, Luke 1:57-66, Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:39-45, Luke 1:26-38, Luke 1:5-25, Luke 1:1-4

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son ...

616. The Curse of the Tongue

James 3:1-12, James 3:13-18, 2 Timothy 2:14-26, Psalm 34:1-22

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... uttering “Be clean!” And then bidding the man to present himself to the priest, so that he could re-enter the community and be at peace. Malicious speech is damaging no matter how or why it occurs. And it can come from all sorts of places. And all sorts of well-meaning people. We know that all too well in the church. And when the “body” of Christ becomes afflicted with “sins of the tongue,” the entire body becomes crippled. Whether gossip, or slander, or well-meaning reports of someone else’s ...

617. A Restless Spirit

1 Samuel 28:1-25

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... and mediums throughout the kingdom for religious reasons. Honor God only, say the Scriptures. So, Saul has made it illegal to do anything else. Out of faithfulness to God, no one was to consult a spiritualist, a medium, a soothsayer, or tarot reader, or anything of the sort. The people of Israel were to trust in God alone. But when the going gets tough, and things didn’t seem to be going Saul’s way, who is quick to turn away and seek another path? Well, Saul of course! Saul himself! He dresses up in ...

Interest speaks all sorts of tongues, and plays all sorts of parts, even that of disinterestedness.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld

It is a good rule in life never to apologize. The right sort of people do not want apologies, and the wrong sort take a mean advantage of them.

P. G. Wodehouse

620. Dealing with T-A-R-E-ists

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

... caused, we are told (by the enemy of the master) the servants want to immediately fix the problem by tearing out the weeds and make things right again. But the master says, “No, wait, be patient; let’s not cause any collateral damage; it will all get sorted out at the harvest.” Jesus, in the words of the master, is teaching us the reality we all experience: weeds or tares, both literally and spiritually, are a post-Eden fact of life in the world, the church, and in our lives. Weeds or tares happen, so ...

621. How Could We Possibly Forget?

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... people who are least likely to serve in ministries in the church. When we pray for the church, we start to see more opportunities where we can serve others. When we pray for the church, God may work all sorts of positive changes in our church. But more importantly, God will work all sorts of positive changes in us. In 2001 Mary Parry was homeless. Her life had taken a tough turn. She lived in a tent in Pennsylvania alongside the Appalachian Trail. Mary began making friends with the dozens of trail hikers ...

622. The Gospel We Preach

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

... setting sun. Talking theology was the last thing on my mind. So the cabbie’s question came like a bolt out of the blue. What kind of God do you believe in? What kind of gospel do you preach? The truth of the matter is that we all have some sort of image of what God is like. You have yours and I have mine, and while many of these images are helpful and wholesome, some of them are not. In Tennessee Williams’ provocative play, The Night of the Iguana, the lead character is a defrocked minister by the name ...

623. Survival

Luke 21:5-19

Sermon

Will Willimon

... hold the powers of life and death within our hands. Our nuclear weapons could destroy every living thing upon the earth. The end is near, the doomsday clock is ticking if we don't take matters into our hands and work for peace. Ironically, it is just that sort of thinking that may have gotten us into this nuclear madness in the first place. The people who believe-that the bomb is our only hope and the people who believe that doing away with the bomb is our only hope have much in common. As Christopher Lasch ...

624. Be Healed

Mark 1:29-39

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

... only in Mark, has proven awkward for those who believe that clergy should not marry. Clearly Peter, who is believed by some to have become the first pope in Rome, was married — and had a mother-in-law. The second incident includes people with all sorts of ailments. Jesus guaranteed his growing fame and celebrity by offering healing to those needing it within a large crowd of seekers. It is a fair question to ask: When Jesus healed people, what exactly was going on? There is no good evidence to suggest ...

625. Being Good

Matthew 5:17-20

Sermon

Will Willimon

... legalistic scribes and Pharisees on the one hand and rule-breaking tax collectors and harlots on the other, you know on whose side we stand. Big deal that Jesus abrogates religious laws about how we keep the Sabbath holy, how we prepare ourselves for worship, the sort of company we keep, the sanctity of the marriage bond-we never kept any of those laws anyway. They gathered to stone a person to death for adultery. Jesus says to them, "Let the one who is without sin throw the first stone." As they silently ...

Showing results

Antonyms: deficient, imperfect

Showing 601 to 625 of 3160 results

601. Job's Second Reply to Bildad

Job 19:1-29

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

602. The Parable of the Net

Matthew 13:47-52

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

603. Nebuchadnezzer’s Dream of a Tree

Daniel 4:1-18

Understanding Series

William Nelson

604. A Prophet Without Honor

Mark 6:1-6

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

605. Jesus Predicts His Death

Mark 8:31--9:1

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

606. Jesus Heals Many

Luke 4:38-44

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

607. Ahab Defeats Ben-Hadad

1 Kings 20:13-34

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

608. A Prophet Condemns Ahab

1 Kings 20:35-43

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

609. Why Am I Afraid?

Romans 8:14-17

Sermon

King Duncan

610. On Welcoming the Imperfect

John 10:22-30

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

611. Clearing the Eyes

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

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

612. Loving Made Real

John 13:1-17, John 13:31-38

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

613. Hosanna! Please Save Us!

Matthew 21:1-11, Matthew 26:14-16

Sermon

King Duncan

614. Sitting Shiva Behind Closed Doors

Sermon

Lori Wagner

615. Praise God! Selah!

Luke 1:67-80, Luke 1:57-66, Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:39-45, Luke 1:26-38, Luke 1:5-25, Luke 1:1-4

Sermon

Lori Wagner

616. The Curse of the Tongue

James 3:1-12, James 3:13-18, 2 Timothy 2:14-26, Psalm 34:1-22

Sermon

Lori Wagner

617. A Restless Spirit

1 Samuel 28:1-25

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Interest speaks all sorts of tongues, and plays all sorts of parts, even that of disinterestedness.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld

It is a good rule in life never to apologize. The right sort of people do not want apologies, and the wrong sort take a mean advantage of them.

P. G. Wodehouse

620. Dealing with T-A-R-E-ists

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

621. How Could We Possibly Forget?

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

King Duncan

622. The Gospel We Preach

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon