Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 651 to 675 of 747 results

651. The End Times

Daniel 12:1-13

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... into a legal dispute with Satan over the body of Moses before the bar of heaven (Jude 9). The two roles are not contradictory but complementary, so it is possible that the biblical writer intends to project both of them—Michael as combatant and advocate. The “time of distress” will be greater than any previous one, yet Daniel’s “people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered” (12:1). Perhaps the writer is reflecting on Jeremiah 30:7: “How awful that day will be ...

652. Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

John 14:15-31, John 14:1-4, John 14:5-14

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... , i.e., when the conditions described in verses 15–21 are in effect. 14:16 Another Counselor: Another implies that Jesus too is a Counselor (Gr.: paraklētos; cf. 1 John 2:1, which speaks of the risen Jesus helping believers by serving as their advocate before God). The Spirit is here characterized as continuing to do for believers all that Jesus did for them while he was on earth—especially teaching and encouraging them. The Spirit’s function is a revelatory and a pastoral one. He (or she; the term ...

653. Faith or Observance of the Law

Galatians 3:1-14, Galatians 3:15-25

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... criticizes the rival evangelists for suggesting that in the law God has annulled God’s promise that the righteous shall live by faith. This appears to be a response to what the troublemakers may have been preaching or what Paul understands as the consequence of their advocating of the law. Paul is convinced that the result of the rival gospel is to set aside or add to God’s covenant with Abraham. 3:16 Paul takes up the matter of the promises that he introduced in 3:14. Normally Paul speaks of promise ...

654. The Fall of Man

Genesis 3:1-24

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... everything they have for good and not for evil. This burden is even heavier because the line of demarcation between good and evil is never sharp. This state of affairs explains why so many issues produce strong conflicts in society. When one group advocates a specific position out of concern for the greater good, it arouses resentment in another group at the potential hardship that position will cause the second group. Limited insight clouded by selfish interest leads humans to call good evil and evil good ...

655. The Call of Abram

Genesis 12:1-9

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... at the end of v. 3 is debated. It stands in the Niphal, thus having either a middle or a passive sense. Which sense is preferable? The versions, including Vg. and Tg., along with Eng. translations, have favored the passive. But some scholars advocate a reflexive meaning, “bless themselves,” drawing support from restatements of this promise with the Hitpael (22:18; 26:4). Others have argued for a middle sense, i.e., “find or obtain a blessing.” This latter position captures the need of the nations to ...

656. Firstborn Animals

Deuteronomy 15:19-23

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... of any society is measurable in terms of the quality of its care for the weakest and most vulnerable members of it. Thirdly, the laws aim their rhetorical weaponry at those who have the power to effect change. Fourthly, God is portrayed as the advocate of the powerless, a role that the church can and should take on in God’s name. All of these have practical contemporary relevance. Finally, the sabbatical principle of the chapter is a protest against the allegedly insuperable power of market forces. In ...

657. Josiah Renews the Covenant

2 Kings 23:1-30

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... . In the second place, the NIV’s interpretation also requires that we take the passage as telling us of both orthodox and idolatrous high places functioning in the towns of Judah and in Jerusalem throughout Manasseh’s reign. It is difficult to see Manasseh as an advocate of consumer choice throughout his dominion, much less at one of his own city gates (v. 8). In the third place, it would be strange if v. 9 were saying that the king who kept “all the law of Moses” (22:2; 23:25) actually ignored ...

658. The Sons of David

1 Chronicles 3:1-9

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... of this people being described in these genealogies should not be rooted in their troubled past, but rather in reliance on “the God of Israel” in the future. This interpretation opposes the use of this little narrative in isolation for advocating an individualistic, prosperity theology. The narrative should rather be interpreted within the context of the collective social-identity negotiation that we witness in these texts. 4:21–23 The previous sections follow the genealogy of Judah, son of Israel ...

659. Other Clans of Judah

1 Chronicles 4:1-23

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

660. The Completion of the Wall

Nehemiah 6:15-7:3

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... it. 6:7 For the prophetic role in king-making, compare 1 Sam. 9–10; 1 Kgs. 11:29–39; 2 Kgs. 9:1–13 and, in recent postexilic times, Hag. 2:21–23; Zech. 6:10–13. There may have been an extreme nationalistic group in Jerusalem that advocated his kingship, but Nehemiah denies this possibility in v. 8. 6:9 The interpretation of v. 9b is uncertain and depends on the Heb. verb rendered strengthen. But I prayed is not in the original, nor is “O God” (NRSV). If the verbal form is intended as an impv ...

661. Haman's Rage Against Mordecai

Esther 5:9-14

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

... Having identified herself with the Jews (and YHWH) in relative secrecy, she now returns to her public role as Persian queen. This is a dramatic moment that signals an invisible change in Esther. Underneath the garments of Persian royalty is a true Jew, a determined advocate for her people. She will now use the accoutrements of her role for larger purposes. While the other Jews continue to fast, she will bear their cause under the disguise of a feast. Like Moses, she will return to the court as a deliverer ...

662. Jeremiah Buys a Field

Jeremiah 32:1-44

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... story taking place within the walls of Jerusalem which was encircled by the Babylonian army. Furthermore, Jeremiah himself has been confined in the courtyard of the guard of the royal palace of Judah. The prophet was thought to be a collaborator since he advocated the view that Zedekiah ought to capitulate to Nebuchadnezzar. As verses 3–5 state, he was preaching that there was no way Zedekiah could hold out against the Babylonians. God will hand the city and its king over to their enemies. Zedekiah’s ...

663. Jeremiah Thrown Into a Cistern

Jeremiah 38:1-13

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... Jeremiah sank into the mud as he reached the bottom. Though not written for this occasion, we might imagine that Jeremiah would have found Psalm 69 particularly relevant to his situation at the time. 38:7–13 Though Jeremiah’s plight was dire, he had his advocates, and the next part of the account tells us how an official named Ebed-Melech interceded with the king to get him removed from the cistern and then placed under what appears to be a less life-threatening form of imprisonment. This is our first ...

664. The Sacred Power of a Listening Heart

1 Samuel 3:1-10, 19

Sermon

King Duncan

... it first hand? To make a long story short, Bob ended up providing for the care of those Kenyan children and seeing to the supplying of that orphanage. He made such a splash that the President of Kenya invited him to his palace. There Bob advocated for prisoners of conscience in that country. Later those prisoners were released. The US Secretary of State called Bob and asked him how he did it. The United States government had been unsuccessfully seeking their freedom for some time. It was no mystery to Bob ...

665. A Time to Get Angry

John 2:13-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... was not happy. “They’ve signed me up for every advertising campaign and mailing list there is,” Ralsky complained. “These people are out of their minds. They’re harassing me!” “Spam,” quips Leland Gregory, “is a revenge best served cold.” (5) Now I’m not advocating that we stoop to the level of those who make us angry. But I am saying that it is ridiculous to say that a Christian never gets angry. Jesus got angry. Anger is not a sin. In fact, there are times when not getting angry is ...

666. Faces of Failure: Nicodemus

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Don Tuttle

... ’t help but imagine Nicodemus walking home that night, recalling the light that Jesus had shined into the darkness of his life, and thinking that just maybe the story wasn’t quite yet over, that God had something bigger and more surprising planned. [i] Alexander Campbell, The Christian System, Gospel Advocate, Nashville, TN, 2001 pp. 9-10. [ii] D. Duane Cummins, Handbook for Today’s Disciples, 3rd edition, Chalice Press, St. Louis, MO, 2003 pp 18-21.

667. Wilderness Work

Luke 3:1-6

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... judgment, between God as lover and God as judge. Recently within the presbytery I serve, our gathered body passed an overture to the General Assembly calling for gun violence prevention. It grew out of a multi-congregational process of gun owners and gun control advocates struggling with what it means to be peacemakers in Christ’s name. The overture focused on education and called for a ban on assault weapons and a limit on ammunition while also defending the second amendment right to own a gun. There was ...

668. From Deep Unto Deep

Luke 22:14--23:56

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... seminary professor sent him a pious Bible verse on how he should trust God in spite of God’s obvious indifference. Where was God when Raymond’s son was sliding across the highway into the path of that oncoming car? Job 13:15 seemed to advocate that Raymond should swallow his grief, anger, and disappointment and just trust God. What a cruel, thoughtless thing to do. ‘Though he slay me, yet will I trust him’ indeed.” Imagine my surprise when Raymond found that verse comforting. In fact, in years to ...

669. How God Brings Change

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... Florida. He agreed Florida had a criminal justice crisis, would I come down and do something about it? And we did. We got the attorney general of the state, the president of the senate; we got on Jack Eckerd's Lear jet; we went around the State of Florida advocating criminal justice reforms, and everywhere we would go Jack Eckerd would introduce me to the crowds and say, "This is Chuck Colson, my friend; I met him on Bill Buckley's television program. He's born again, I'm not. I wish I were." And then he'd ...

670. Safe In His Hands

Illustration

Charles H. Spurgeon

... trouble me for?' 'Why,' said he, 'about your soul.' 'Oh!' said I, 'that is no business of mine; I have given my soul over into the hand of Christ; I have transferred everything to him; if you want an answer to your doubts and queries, you must apply to my Advocate."'

671. Listen to the Angels

Revelation 5:11-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... if it is essential that we become acceptable to God, and if we don’t have the power to achieve that kind of holiness either by our own will power or our most righteous actions, we need someone to intervene in our behalf. We need someone to act as our advocate. We need a Savior. God is holy. We are sinners. We need a Savior. “Worthy is the Lamb,” says the writer of Revelation, but not just any lamb. That lamb is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He is the Lamb that the Lord provided. Unless we invite that Lamb ...

672. The Poor Man in the Mercedes

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... to be divided? What was to be the decisive factor between heaven and hell? “I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat . . . I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink . . . I was naked and you did not clothe me . . .” We are not advocating a theology of works, but if we are faithful to the Scripture as a whole, we have to declare that caring about the down-and-out is very important spiritual business. Our country should have learned that lesson from our own history. Germany lay devastated after ...

673. Speaking with Prophetic Authority

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... smash Apartheid in South Africa, to see that contemporary prophets are in our midst. In the church there are courageous people today who challenge us and serve as prophets. Some speak out on behalf of the unborn, some speak for the rights of the elderly. Some are advocates for the rights of prisoners and others speak for the poor, the destitute, and others who have no little or no voice in our society. Are we listening to these voices, or is the message we hear too harsh? Do we feel it is not applicable to ...

674. Seeing God

Matthew 4:12-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... and clarity, and major universities used her mathematics textbook in their classes. Pope Benedict XIV appointed Maria Agnesi as the first woman to teach mathematics at a major university, but she turned down the honor so that she could focus on her true calling which was advocating for women’s education and serving the poor. She founded a hospital in Milan. Maria Agnesi could have been one of the most esteemed women of her time, but she chose to live out the rest of her life in service to the needy. She ...

675. Hosanna! Please Save Us!

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

Sermon

King Duncan

... . In December 1918, President Wilson was greeted by cheering crowds when he visited Europe. He got a hero’s welcome everywhere he went. Wilson spent his time in Europe trying to gain support for the League of Nations, an international body that would advocate for peace and prevent devastating wars like the West had just suffered. However, members of Wilson’s own party opposed his plan for the League of Nations. He traveled across the country, trying to gain the support of the American people for this ...

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