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Showing 701 to 725 of 4914 results

701. Proper 22

Exodus 20:1-21, Matthew 21:33-46, Philippians 3:1-11, Psalm 19:1-14

Sermon Aid

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

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS Exodus 20:1-20 is the account of the revelation of divine law to Israel that occurred at Mount Sinai. Psalm 19 is a hymn in praise of law. Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20 - "The Gift of Law" Setting. The most prominent event in Israel's wilderness journey is the revelation of law at Mount Sinai. After Israel is led out of Egypt in Exodus 15 their initial wilderness journey is described for 3 chapters ( Exodus 16 -18). In Exodus 19:1 the journey stops and the reader is informed that Israel ...

702. “When We Were Overwhelmed by Our Sins, You Forgave Our Transgressions”

Psalm 65:1-13

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: Nature’s wonders and God’s forgiveness come together as dual witnesses of grace. Understanding the Text Psalm 65 is a community psalm of thanksgiving,1 grammatically indicated by the plural pronouns (“we” and “our”) in verses 1–5. (See the sidebar “Psalms of Thanksgiving” in the unit on Pss. 9–10.) The psalm of thanksgiving includes two essential elements: a report of the crisis that generated the thanksgiving (“we were overwhelmed by sins,” 65:3a) and the acknowledgment of deliverance (“you ...

703. More Than Conquerors

Romans 8:28-39

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

8:28 Verse 28 is a widely quoted and often misunderstood passage. It is sometimes interpreted to mean that good fortune favors nice people, or that things are not as bad as they seem and that everything “will work out in the end.” But this is to confuse wishful thinking with Christian faith. The first part of verse 28 was in fact an axiom in both Hellenism and Judaism. Plato says in the Republic: This must be our notion of the just man, that even when he is in poverty or sickness, or any other seeming ...

704. The Eye of the Storm

Mark 11:1-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

If you live in a coastal area of the country, you know that you have not four seasons in your year, but five: fall, winter, spring, summer, and hurricane season! For many, the period of June through November marks the time when hurricanes and tropical storms begin brewing and spewing over the Atlantic Ocean and heading lustily toward the shores. These whirlwinds of rain, ice, and wind, named each year perhaps for their personal vendettas, wreak havoc upon homes and businesses, people and pets. They tend to ...

705. Food For Thought

1 Peter 1:13-21

Sermon

James Merritt

The most powerful part of a human being is not the part that he can see, but the part that he cannot see. That is true even for a bodybuilder. You may think that the most powerful part of a bodybuilder is his muscles, but really the most powerful part is his mind. The Bible says you are what you think, and the old saying is true, "You're only as old as you think." An old man walked into a doctor's office and said, "Doc, I've got to have a blood test, I'm going to get married." The doctor looked at him with ...

706. Prayers for Memorial Day, Election, Thanksgiving

Bulletin Aid

Rolland R. Reece

Memorial Day Today, Creator God, we remember. We remember the courage of our forefathers who decided they could no longer bow to England's crown, so they went to war to gain our country's independence. We remember the agony and blood-letting of that war that pitted American against American, the north against the south. Even to this day the wounds of that fighting are yet to be healed. We remember that many years ago we sent our troops to "fight the Kaiser" in a war that was to end all wars. Then less than ...

707. Lent 1

1 Peter 3:8-22, Genesis 9:1-17, Mark 1:9-13

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: God's good news. God shows his graciousness through the covenant he established through Noah. God would never again destroy the world through flood. In the Gospel Jesus announces the kingdom of God. All we have to do is repent and believe the good news. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Genesis 9:8-17 Humans become so corrupt that Yahweh drowns them all in a great flood, except for Noah and his family. Noah, his family and various animals are kept safe on the ark which the Lord told Noah to construct. ...

708. Let Me Say That Again

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Preaching is an awesome responsibility - to mount a pulpit and proclaim God’s word. I remember my first visit to China in 1979. The Bamboo Curtain was just being drawn a bit. Miraculous things have happened since then, as you very well know. But back then you couldn’t meet publicly with Christians - so, on my trip we met in secret. I remember being with three couples in a hotel room in Beijing. It was as near to what I think it must have been in the early church when Christians gathered in the catacombs to ...

709. Obedience Really Matters

Matthew 7:15-23

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

It is because we are a people of such high intelligence, and perhaps the threat of product liability litigation, that the following warning labels were recently found on consumer products? On a Duraflame fireplace log: "Caution - Risk of Fire." On a children’s Batman costume: "Warning: Cape does not enable user to fly. On a bottle of hair coloring: "Do not use as an ice cream topping." On a cardboard sun shield for a car: "Do not drive with sun shield in place." And, for the first time parent, this label ...

710. Everyone Is Invited

Romans 1:1-17

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

Every summer Kaitlin joins her youth group on mission trips. One summer the group traveled to New Orleans to help with the Hurricane Katrina relief. Their job was to clean out houses that had not been open since the hurricane. “As I entered the first untouched home,” Kaitlin remembered, “the idea of caring and reaching to others really kicked in.” Her first thought was to complain about the conditions but she said, “I knew if this were my own home that would be the last thing thought crossing my mind. I ...

711. Paul the Apostle of the New Covenant to the Gentiles

Romans 15:14-22

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Here Paul presents himself as the apostle of the new covenant to the Gentiles. Two ideas therefore inform this text. First, Romans 15:14–16:27 corresponds to the document clause of the covenant format. Second, Paul is the eschatological apostle to the Gentiles who offers them membership in the new covenant through faith in Christ. Understanding the Text Many commentators rightly argue that Romans 15:14–16:27 completes the epistolary frame of Romans. Thus, like the conclusions in Paul’s other ...

712. Daniel in the Den of Lions

Daniel 6:1-28

Teach the Text

Ronald W. Pierce

Daniel’s Success and Darius’s Decree (6:1-9): Big Idea: God may allow those who remain faithful to him and his word to experience jealous opposition from unbelievers in a hostile environment. Understanding the Text Daniel 6:1–28 is woven into the book’s overall literary structure in two ways. First, it advances the narrative of chapters 1–6, in which the first four focus on Nebuchadnezzar (chaps. 1–2 with historical markers and 3–4 without) and the last two show the transition from Belshazzar of Babylon to ...

713. Trusting God When You've Been Hurt

Genesis 45:1-28

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

Have you ever wished you could get back at someone who has treated you unjustly? You just want them to experience, if only for a moment, the frustration or pain that they have inflicted on you. Revenge is never a good idea, is it? But sometimes it’s awfully satisfying. A few years ago, a man named Mark Bao had his laptop stolen. Fortunately, Bao had a software program on his laptop that allowed him to access it remotely. To his surprise, he discovered that the thief had used the laptop to record a video of ...

714. Dressed for Success?

Luke 24:36-49, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Judaism is the story of how the love we feel for another person leads to the love of G-d, and robes us in garments of light.” (Rabbi Jonathan Sacks) Prop: a white tie and white baptismal shawl / wear a clergy collar or robe that day How many here work in a business? In a school? In a hospital? Any other kinds of workplaces? [Give people time to answer.] No matter where you work, I’m guessing you have some kind of dress code. I’m wearing today my pastoral garb. While sometimes I don’t, you can be sure that ...

715. What Are You Looking For?

Acts 1:1-13

Sermon

John E. Harnish

Usually we move through this passage fairly quickly—ready to get on to chapter two and the excitement of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit: Flames of fire Speaking in tongues Preaching of Peter Birth of the church Or we get hung-up on the Ascension—the aerodynamics of this mystical, mysterious lift-off of the Risen Jesus into heaven. Or we focus on the promise of the Second Coming and all that might mean. But at the beginning of this series of sermons which is meant to lead us into conversation ...

716. This Spirit Is Not Spooky

John 14:15-21

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

These words were spoken just hours before the greatest act of love in world history, the death on a cross of God's incarnate Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He died in our place so that everyone who believes on him (Mark you, not in, but on him -- and there is a difference. To believe in something can be seen as nothing more than an exercise of intellectual assent for we remember that we are told, "Even the demons believe -- and shudder" [James 2:19]. To believe "on" him means to lay our whole lives on him and ...

717. God's Wrath Against Mankind

Romans 1:18-32

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

Paul now launches into the body of the epistle with an indictment against humanity. He will maintain the charge until 3:21, at which point he will return to righteousness by faith which he introduced in 1:16–17. Romans 1:18–3:20 is a sobering exposé of the dark side of human nature. Throughout the attack Paul labors to demonstrate that there is no distinction between Gentile and Jew in the matter of sin and guilt, a point reasserted in 3:10–12, 3:23, and 11:32. Gentile and Jew are equally guilty before God ...

718. The Voice

John 10:22-30

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Everyone loves the show “The Voice,” now in its 22nd season in the US. The show is exciting not only because of its fabulous music, competitive spirit, and engaged crowd, but because it catapults everyday people who love to sing into possible fame and stardom. At the very least, it gives them stage time in front of the entire country and a shot at something more. Every week hundreds of thousands of Americans gather around their televisions, phones, or computers to watch not just the singers but the ...

719. Pentecost

John 20:19-23, Acts 2:1-13, Acts 2:14-41, Genesis 11:1-9, John 14:5-14, Romans 8:1-17

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Epistle: Acts 2:1-21 On Pentecost the Disciples receive the Holy Spirit and Peter explains the happening. Luke gives an account of the Spirit's coming upon the gathered Disciples in Jerusalem on Pentecost accompanied by a mighty wind and tongues of fire. Then the reaction of the crowd is given the Disciples are accused of being drunk. Peter responds by explaining the experience as fulfillment of Joel's prophecy that at the end of the era the Spirit would come to all. The overall purpose of the ...

720. The Gift of Fire

Acts 2:14-41, Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Have you ever received a gift you were not sure you knew what to do with? I suspect we all have. Garish ties that you would not be caught dead in...rank perfumes or colognes that you would not wear for fear of dropping everyone in the room into a faint...horrible pictures from some rich, ugly old relative that are suitable only for the attic. There are some gifts we do not know how to handle. Now, let me change the subject for a moment. Let's talk about FIRE. Fire is fascinating. Little children say they ...

721. Great Expectations

1 Peter 1:3-5

Sermon

James Merritt

Easter, without question, is the greatest event that has ever happened that is the focal point of all history. Every time you write down a date you are using the resurrection of Jesus Christ as the reference point. When you write down the year 2003, you mean 2,003 years from what? Well, you obviously mean 2,003 years from the very event that we are celebrating today—the fact that the tomb is empty and Jesus is alive. But we still have to ask the question—Why is Easter so special? Why do over one billion ...

722. Does God Give Out Blank Checks?

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

One of my favorite authors is Father Andrew Greeley, who, when he is not writing newspaper columns, popular (and somewhat racy) novels, and technical sociological treatises, somehow finds time to write passable books on theology. Greeley is so prolific that some have suggested that he is a committee rather than one individual man. Some critics say that he has never had an unpublished thought; but perhaps some of the criticism leveled against him might come under the heading of jealousy...from folks who ...

723. Paul, Phoebe, Patronage, and Spain

Romans 16:1-27

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Phoebe, Paul’s patron, will deliver Paul’s covenant letter and have it read to the Roman Christians. Phoebe’s authority as patron and deaconess will reinforce the reading’s solemnity. The Roman Christians should respond to Paul’s letter by providing hospitality for Phoebe and joining their resources with hers to launch Paul’s mission to Spain. Understanding the Text Romans 16:1–2 continues the document clause of Paul’s covenant letter to the Roman Christians (15:14–16:27). Romans 16:1–27 divides ...

724. Israel's Unbelief

Romans 9:30--10:21

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 Israel, it was “in order that [his] purpose in election might stand” (9:11), a purpose rooted in mercy and directed ...

725. The Tempest

Jonah 4:1-11, Jonah 3:1-10, Jonah 2:1-10, Jonah 1:1-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“For He spoke and raised a tempest that lifted the waves of the sea.” Psalm 107:25 Wind and rain. Who loves to hear the sound of the wind rustling through leaves outside at night? Or the steady beating of the rain on the roof and windows? Hear the rumbling sound of thunder, see flickers of lightning appear across the sky? We are in awe of that kind of power of nature, aren’t we? It both thrills us and frightens us. Thunderstorms may seem like one of nature’s most powerful disturbances, but for many people ...

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