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Showing 701 to 725 of 4934 results

701. Chapter III

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

"You will not handle the name of the Lord your God as though it is nothing, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who handles his name as though it is nothing." Exodus 20:7 One of the best plays that I have seen in a long time was the prizewinner of a few years ago titled "The Miracle Worker." The story of Ann Sullivan’s battle to educate the blind, young Helen Keller, the story is a masterpiece on human perseverance and love. Called by Helen’s wealthy southern parents to train their child, "Miss Annie ...

702. What God Requires of Us

Drama

Curt M. Joseph

Characters: Caiaphas High Priest in Jerusalem; pompous, arrogant, but that arrogance hides a man who is rather insecure. Boaz - Temple Guard Obed - Priest in Jerusalem; young, brash, and sarcastic. Aaron - Priest in Jerusalem; older, more diplomatic, almost to the point of being patronizing. Nicodemus - a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin; soft-spoken. The drama opens with Caiaphas seated at his desk as he does some writing. Boaz: My Lord, High Priest Caiaphas, there are two priests who wish to have an ...

703. "I Don’t Hate Any More!"

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

A. E. Housman, in a brief verse, uncovers the awfulness of hate: I see In many an eye that measures me The mortal sickness of a mind Too unhappy to be kind. Undone with misery, all they can Is to hate their fellow man; And till they drop need must still they Look at you and wish you ill. That is a plague I would hope to escape. E. Stanley Jones shares his keen insight into the self-destruction of hate. He reminds us that "a rattlesnake, if cornered, will sometimes become so angry it will bite itself. That ...

704. The Freedom in Forgiveness

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Forgiveness. Great word. Great concept. We believe in it. We love it. We live it. Right? Say AMEN! There was a man who loved dogs. He served as a speaker in various civic clubs to benefit the SPCA. He was known far and wide as a dog lover. One day his neighbor observed as he poured a new sidewalk from his house out to the street. About the time he smoothed out the last square foot of cement a large dog strayed across his sidewalk leaving footprints in his wake. The man muttered something under his breath ...

705. God Is Greater

John 10:22-42

Sermon

King Duncan

A new kind of modern airplane was on an experimental flight. It was full of reporters and journalists. A few minutes after the takeoff the captain's voice was heard from the loudspeakers: "I'm delighted to be your pilot, and the captain of this airplane on its first historical flight. I can tell you that the flight is going well. Nevertheless, I still have to tell you about a minor inconvenience that has occurred. The passengers that are sitting on the right side can, if they look through the window, see ...

706. Resuscitating An Iguana

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

Officer Tori Matthews of the Southern California Humane Society got an emergency call: a boy's pet iguana had been scared up a tree by a neighbor's dog. It then fell from the tree into a swimming pool, where it sank like a brick. Officer Matthews came with her net. She dived into the pool, emerging seconds later with the pet's limp body. "Well, you do CPR on a person and a dog," she thought to herself, "why not an iguana?" So she put her lips to the iguana's. "Now that I look back on it," she says now, "it ...

707. Walk With Confidence

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

King Duncan

Some years ago TIME magazine reported on a nervous motorist in Lambertville, New Jersey. This man, on being stopped by the police, explained that he had been driving on two hundred and twentyfour consecutive learner's permits over the last twentyfive years. He had flunked his first driver's test and had been unsure of himself ever since! (1) Our theme for today is "Walk With Confidence." Our Scripture lesson is St. Paul's famous admonition, "...Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on ...

708. Generic Christians Or Disciples?

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

As Maxie Dunnam was driving one day on Poplar Avenue, in Memphis, Tennessee, he noticed a bumper sticker on the car in front of him. He inched closer and saw that the bumper sticker read in big letters, "I am a Generic Christian." That got his attention. He tried to get closer. Some smaller letters were written beneath the larger ones. He got dangerously close to the back of the car to read the words, "Ask me what I mean." He was intrigued even more. What was the person with this bumper sticker trying to ...

709. The Huddle Is Not the Game

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

Not being a great sports fan myself, I have to rely upon others to help me with the sports imagery in writing about the topic above. In this case, I want to call upon evangelist Tom Skinner to flesh out the metaphor which gives us the title for this chapter and which helps us to understand the mission and purpose of the Church. He writes, In football we have what is called the huddle. We have only 25 seconds in the huddle. If you stay longer than 25 seconds, you are penalized five yards for delay of game ...

710. The Dangerous Truth

John 18:28-40

Sermon

Cathy A. Ammlung

I'd rather hear Saint Matthew talk about Christ the King. His story of the Last Judgment is vivid. Concrete acts are laid out. "As you have done to the least of these," Jesus says, "you have done to me." We may disagree or cringe, but we can picture this King claiming kinship with the lowly. Luke's story is good, too. Jesus hangs between two criminals and promises to one that "today you will be with me in Paradise." We see a dying King offering kingly gifts to the dying who trust in him. We may be puzzled ...

711. Obedience to God's Plan

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Richard Gribble

In a vast field that stretched as far as the eye could see, a great multitude of people milled about waiting for something to happen. Quite unexpectedly a messenger came into the midst of the people and announced, "You are to walk around this field 25 times carrying a baton." The people were a bit mystified by these words and asked, "What will happen when we finish?" "You will learn the answer when you are done," came the reply. So the crowd ambled off to make its first lap of the field. It took almost a ...

712. Sheep that Count

1 Peter 2:19-25

Sermon

Richard W. Ferris

Once upon a time there was a lamb named Edgar. Edgar lived with his family and friends in a large flock that roamed the countryside under the leadership of a kind and protective shepherd. Edgar followed his mother, along with the others, from one grazing spot to another, and seemed perfectly content with his life. He would play games with the other lambs, chase butterflies in the meadows, and nuzzle up close to his mother for afternoon naps in the sun. Like all the other sheep in his flock, he went ...

713. Proper 20

Exodus 16:1-36, Isaiah 55:1-13, Jonah 3:1-10, Jonah 4:1-11, Philippians 1:12-30, Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Exodus 16:2-15 Yahweh provides food for the Israelites in the wilderness. Only a few weeks after deliverance from Egypt, the people complain about the lack of food. They murmur against Moses and Aaron, but God knows that they complain about him. They doubt whether Yahweh cares about them and his ability to provide for them. In response to their complaints, Yahweh sends quail in the evening and bread, "manna," in the morning. To this day the manna is a mystery - "What is it?" Moses ...

714. On the Road with the Hemorrhaging Woman

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

James W. Moore

Some years ago, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote these powerful words. Listen… “How do you measure success? To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty; To find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a redeemed social condition, or a job well done; To know that even one life has breathed because you lived… that is to ...

715. Paul’s Request for Onesimus

Philemon 1:8-25

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

Now that Paul has sufficiently commended Philemon for his exemplary Christian life, he moves to the heart of his request regarding Onesimus. In one way, Paul gives the impression that he is “shadow boxing,” that is, skirting around the real issue and not confronting Philemon directly. But Paul’s strategy is determined by two factors: First, he needs to move very carefully and weigh every word. After all, a request to reinstate a runaway slave was quite unusual in the first century. According to Roman law, ...

716. The Power of Persistence

Luke 11:1-13, Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A hesitant driver, waiting for a traffic jam to clear, came to a stop on the expressway ramp. The traffic thinned, but the timid driver still waited. Finally, an infuriated voice came from behind shouting: “The sign says Yield, not give up.” The primary actors in today’s parables neither yielded nor gave up. In fact, that really is the lesson of these parables: The Power of Persistence. Jesus told two parables with almost identical messages about persistence. The stories are different only in their setting ...

717. Jeremiah Buys a Field

Jeremiah 32:1-44

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

32:1–15 The narrative begins by giving the date of the event that follows. It is the tenth year of Zedekiah, the eighteenth of Nebuchadnezzar, clearly within months of the downfall of Jerusalem. Indeed, the siege of Jerusalem has begun. According to Jeremiah 52:4–5, the Babylonian army arrived at the gates of Jerusalem in the tenth month of Zedekiah’s ninth year. Thus we are to imagine this story taking place within the walls of Jerusalem which was encircled by the Babylonian army. Furthermore, Jeremiah ...

718. Suffering And Service

Isaiah 51:17--52:12

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

Helen Keller once said, "Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it."1 Ironically, it is in our overcoming of the suffering of life that we learn to be true servants. Without the difficult experiences of life, we remain shallow and lacking in sensitivity to others. The scriptures teach us to become servants. This is the example Christ gave us. Our call is to serve God by serving others. Yet the concept of servanthood is lost on most of us. Our culture conditions us to ...

719. Fish Miracle

1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Isaiah 6:1-13, Luke 5:1-11

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

While the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. 2 And he saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." 5 And Simon answered, "Master, we ...

720. The Youth

Drama

William Grimbol

SETTING: Three scenes, in a courtyard garden, where two young people are engaged in conversation TIME: Christ's ministry Scene One MEGHAN: You don't care about anything. You never take a stand. You never have an opinion. You are always Mr. Charm, Mr. Warmth ... everybody likes you ... DEAN: Is there something wrong with that? MEGHAN: Yes. If nobody really knows anything about you. If nobody cares about anything you are, except being very, very nice. DEAN: What do you want? I don't even know where this ...

721. Empty Prisons Without Walls

Acts 5:17-42

Sermon

Carl Jech

Introduction I shouldn't have much trouble keeping you awake today! Since the word prison brings to mind such topics as crime, victims' rights, vigilantee justice, and jailed demonstrators, I have little doubt that most of us have strong feelings and opinions on these and related issues.The most famous line in our text for today brings into particular focus the issue of civil disobedience for the sake of conscience. Having miraculously escaped from prison where they had been placed for disobeying the order ...

722. Who Has Believed?

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

"Who could believe what we have heard?" Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary in the little town of Bethlehem. When Herod heard the news that a baby boy had been born to be a new king, he sent out a decree to have all the boy babies, born at that time and in that area, killed. Mary and Joseph should have known that this was not only a dangerous threat but a serious omen concerning the future of their newborn son. Being warned in a dream, Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt out of Herod’s territory and out of his ...

723. The Beginning of a New Life

Ruth 2:1-23

Sermon

It had been over a decade since Elimelech, Naomi, and their two sons had left Bethlehem during a severe famine, but Naomi had not changed very much in that time. "The whole town was stirred" because Naomi had returned after this long absence and had a young woman with her. The women of Bethlehem, who had known her before she left, called her by name; "Do not call me Naomi," she told them. "Call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back ...

724. Let Us Cross To The Other Side

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Ron Lavin

The sea - the turbulent, unpredictable, wild, stormy sea. Our story begins with Jesus, standing on the edge of the Sea of Galilee, saying to the apostles, "Let us cross to the other side." As they crossed, the wind began to blow, the waves began to rise, and Jesus began to sleep. Have you ever been in a storm at sea or on a wind-tossed lake? One sea captain describes a storm at Cape Horn at the tip of South America like this: This mighty swell of waters that giant forces seem to be pressing upon us, this ...

725. The Bridge Builder

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

King Duncan

George Jones, one of country music's greatest stars, has lived a troubled life; his drinking and reckless behavior once came close to ruining his career. Probably the lowest point in his career came the night in 1979 when George performed a major concert in Nashville. That night, Jones did the whole concert--a string of hits--in the voice of Donald Duck. Not long afterwards, Jones checked into a rehab center. Since then, he has been sober and successful. (1) Can you imagine? How would you react if your ...

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