Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 626 to 650 of 990 results

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: How to overcome a contrary wind. The disciples faced a fiercely opposing wind on the Sea of Galilee. So too did Elijah, after his victory on Mount Carmel. Queen Jezebel was after his life. In both instances, they felt overwhelmed. Then, God came to still the storm. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 Joseph, who was given a long robe with sleeves as a sign of his father's favo...

627. POTTER

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

Jeremiah 18:4 - "And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do." Romans 9:21 - "Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lamp one vessel for beauty and another for menial use?" The exact origin of pottery is not known, although its use is traced to Neolithic times, and pro...

628. Breaking The Pastor's Heart

Illustration

Michael P. Green

A man said to a friend, “I hear you dismissed your pastor. What was wrong?” The friend said, “Well, he kept telling us we’re all going to hell.” The first man then asked, “What does the new pastor say?” The friend replied, “The new pastor says we’re going to hell, too.” “So what’s the difference?” asked the first man. “Well,” said the friend, “the difference is that when the previous pastor said...

629. Proper 14

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

The Miracle Of Walking On Water When it comes to a body of water (river, lake, gulf or sea), there is one thing humans cannot do. We can drink water, float on it, swim in it and under it, and drown in it. We can sail on it, fly over it and in submarines we can travel and explore under it. But, there is one thing we cannot do: walk on it. Yes, we can ski on it, even without skis when we barefoot s...

630. Proper 13

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS Genesis 32:22-31 is the account of Jacob's fight with God at the Jabbok River, while Psalm 17:1-9, 15 is a psalm of lament that ends with words of confidence. Genesis 32:22-31 - "A Story of Transformation" Setting. An interpretation of Jacob's struggle with God at the Jabbok River requires that we look briefly at the larger context of the Jacob cycle and return to a topic th...

631. Paul: The Man and His Message

Sermon Aid

T. A. Kantonen

Hans Lietzmann, noted New Testament scholar, once remarked that no one has correctly understood Jesus except Paul and no one has correctly understood Paul. The attempts to understand Paul are legion. The literature on him is immense and the interpretations of his thought are varied. To Bultmann he is "the founder of Christian theology," while to Morton Enslin he is not a theologian at all but simp...

632. Romans 10:8b-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

We’ve all been taught that actions speak louder than words. But words also provide us with the reason for taking action in the first place. In this week’s epistle text, Paul emphasizes this interconnectedness of words and actions, of interior motivations and exterior motions, in the expression of faith in Christ. Paul cites Deuteronomy 30:14 to contrast his contention about “the righteousness tha...

633. How Beautiful the Feet

Sermon

Larry Lange

The whole thing is stupid and unnecessary, Judy was thinking as she was driving to the nursing home. There was no reason to get rid of Pastor Kyle except the town congregation wanted him all to themselves. But that was enough for the rural congregation's council. "If that's the way they feel about it, then let them have Pastor Kyle. He's never around here, anyway. We'll go it on our own." So the ...

634. The Reversal of the Deuteronomic Curses and Blessings: Replacing Law with Faith

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: The key issue in this controversial text is the role of the law in light of the work of Christ. Paul reverses the Deuteronomic curses and blessings: non-Christian Jews experience the Deuteronomic curses because they attempt to be justified by the law, while believing Gentiles are justified because their faith is in Christ, so to them belong the Deuteronomic blessings. Understanding the ...

635. Israel’s Unbelief

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

9:30–10:21 Review · Israel’s resistance to God’s righteousness:After evaluating God’s responsibilities, Paul addresses the responsibility of Israel. The reason for Israel’s unbelief rests squarely with Israel. The Jewish people insist on attaining righteousness through the law, rejecting Jesus Christ, while Gentiles believe in Jesus and thus receive righteousness (9:30–33). Israel’s zeal is misgui...

636. Israel's Unbelief

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

Righteousness: Gift or Reward? So far Paul has considered the case of Israel from God’s side. God made choices from among Abraham’s descendants to create a peculiar people for himself. The election of Jacob over Esau was independent of human merit or responsibility, since the choice was made when both were still in Rebekah’s womb. If in subsequent generations God hardened Pharaoh and blessed Isra...

637. Building God’s Kingdom: The Christian Challenge

Sermon

Richard Gribble

On December 26, 2004, the greatest natural disaster experienced in the world in over a century struck southern Asia. The 9.0 magnitude earthquake, with its epicenter some 1,000 miles southwest of the island of Java, generated a tsunami that traveled outward at almost supersonic speed in all directions. It created death, destruction, dislocation, and mayhem for literally millions of people in some ...

638. Others

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

One of the most terrifying places you can visit with a small, speedy toddler is a big, slow-you-down department store. The marketing geniuses who design floor layouts for these big stores have come up with a common strategy. Do away with nice direct aisles through the store; Do away with any and all right-angled organization within the various departments; Do away with straight lines, and customer...

639. Beautiful Feet

Sermon

Jeff Wedge

There are some things which are not often associated with the word "beautiful." Our lesson today ends with an image associating such an item with "beautiful," and then bringing up another topic which seems completely unrelated. This odd sentence is: "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news." It is strange enough to call feet beautiful. Most often we think of feet in a much more ut...

640. Searching For A Lost God

Sermon

King Duncan

A woman had two little boys who were driving her to the edge of despair. They were into everything, non-stop. And they were mischievous as well. One day she decided to take them to her pastor. Maybe he could succeed where she had failed. The pastor wanted to see the older boy first. The younger one sat outside. The older boy was frightened. The minister looked so austere in his black robe each Su...

641. Lips And Hearts

Sermon

King Duncan

A young man was sent to Spain by his company to work in a new plant. He accepted because it would enable him to earn enough to marry his long-time girlfriend. Their plan was to pool their resources and put a down payment on a house when he returned. As the lonely weeks went by, she began expressing doubts that he was being true to her. After all, Spain is populated by beautiful women. The young ma...

642. Offer Them Christ

Sermon

King Duncan

After listening to pastor Chuck Swindoll on the radio, 8 year-old Debbie asked 6 year-old brother David, "Do you know about Jesus?" Expecting a new slant on the old gospel story, David replied, "No." Big sister continued: "Sit still, 'cause this is real scary." After explaining the gospel as only an 8 year-old could, she popped the question: "Now David, when you die, do you want to go to heaven ...

643. The Benefits Of Trusting Christ

Sermon

King Duncan

"I have good news and bad news," the defense lawyer says to his client. "What's the bad news?"asks his client. The lawyer says, "Your blood matches the DNA found at the murder scene." "No!" cries the client. "What's the good news?" "Well," the lawyer says, "your cholesterol is down to 140." (1) Good news, bad news. The world is filled with bad news. Too much bad news everywhere you look. Bad ...

644. 911 - Rescue

Children's Sermon

Tim Carpenter

Exegetical aim: Whoever calls on the Lord will be saved. Props: A telephone. Lesson: How many of you know what an emergency is? (response) Let’s name a few emergencies. (fires, etc.) A fire is a good example of an emergency. What things should we do in case there is a fire in our home? Lead the children to answer “Dial 911.” Bring out the telephone. So, the first chance we get we should dial 911...

645. On Your Lips

Children's Sermon

Tim Carpenter

Exegetical Aim: To show that the good news should always be on our lips. Props: Some pennies (enough for each child to keep one) and a Polaroid camera. Lesson: Today I want to show you a new game. It's called "Balance the Penny." Would you like to play? (response) Hold a penny in your outstretched hand. It's easy to balance a penny, don't you think? I'm doing it easily. Would you like to try? (r...

646. Cards From the Same Deck

Children's Sermon

Tim Carpenter

Exegetical aim: To demonstrate that in God’s eyes we are all within His saving power through Jesus Christ, no matter what we look like or who we are. Key verse: 12 Props: A deck of cards, setting up the bottom of the deck with four black cards and then a red card. Lesson: Today I want to show you a funny game. I call it “Fire and Water.” When I hold up the deck and you see a card that is black,...

647. Beyond the Lay to Faith

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

Call To Worship Leader: Come, all who would give praise for God's love, mercy and grace. People: Once there was only the Law as first recorded for us by Moses. Leader: But the Law soon condemned us and under the Law we had little hope. People: For we are each one sinners fallen very short before God's perfection, Leader: But by our faith we are redeemed and our sins before God forgiven. All: Bless...

648. Salvation Is For All

Bulletin Aid

H. Burnham Kirkland

Call To Worship Leader: God says, "When those who love me call to me, I will answer them." People: Praise be to God, who can be depended upon. Leader: The Lord says, "When my children are in trouble, I will be with them." People: Thanks be to the Lord who is always with us. Amen. Collect Heavenly Father, when your Son came to live with us, he underwent rejection, pain, and suffering even to death...

649. Call Upon the Name of the Lord

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

Call to Worship Leader: Call upon the name of the Lord, for only in Christ are we saved! People: We have known the mercy of God and we have truly received God's grace. Leader: Then let us proclaim the wonder of God's love to all who will hear. People: And let us lead all we meet to call upon the Lord for their salvation. Leader: Together we are the family of the living God, Creator of the Universe...

650. Our Hearts and Lips Confirm Our Salvation

Bulletin Aid

Carl Hoefler

Call to Worship Pastor: Come and consider the salvation that is ours as we worship together. People: There are times when we wish Jesus were here to tell us more about our salvation. Pastor: Yes, we do. But Paul said more important is our confessing Jesus as Lord, and believing that God raised him from the dead. Then we find salvation. People: Jesus is Lord! He is our risen Lord and Savior! Colle...

Showing 626 to 650 of 990 results