Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 51 to 75 of 388 results

51. Message to Philadelphia

Revelation 3:7-13

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... , however, rightly cautions us to emphasize the real reason for the exclusion, lest we be tempted toward developing a victim mentality or a persecution complex and thus pursue “unnecessary separatism.” These believers were not excluding others or withdrawing from public witness, but were being excluded “against their will on account of their witness.”3 Illustrating the Text God’s strength shines brightly through our weakness. Prop: Use a length of climbing rope. Explain that there are various ...

52. The Woman, the Son, and the Dragon

Revelation 12:1--13:1a

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... into a shouting match with Satan (e.g., James 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:9; Eph. 6:10–18; Rev. 12:11). 2. How we rely on God’s provision and protection. Living in the wilderness does not mean that God expects us to withdraw from society and live a secluded life. Occasional retreats for the purpose of prayer and contemplation are powerful spiritual disciplines, but this text describes our constant “already/not yet” situation. We shouldn’t set our hopes on retreating from our surroundings in order to experience ...

53. A Pep Talk for a New Year

Matthew 2:13-23

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... lessons she learned from growing up in the cult was that she “became an expert at being afraid.” (5) Sadly, that’s how many of us respond to a world of tragedy. We become experts at being afraid. And fear turns to anger or giving up or withdrawing from the world. And all three responses keep us from seeing how God is working out His plan for creation: His plan to redeem all things through Jesus Christ and establish the Kingdom of God. And that’s tragic because even though today’s Bible story is a ...

54. Whatever became of Kingdomtide?

John 16:17-33

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... power over people. Whenever there has been a “State Church,” true Christianity has seemed to suffer. At the other extreme, sometimes Christians have come to believe that the world is so evil and unredeemed and unredeemable, that their only choice has been to withdraw from it and let the world go to hell in its own way, while the church tends its own spiritual garden on a mountain-top somewhere, its skirts politely lifted so as not to become contaminated by contact with the world. When this happens, the ...

55. Life in the Resurrection Zone

Colossians 3:1-4

Sermon

David O. Bales

... a canopy drove in with ladders on top. I was right beside it when the ladders weren't on the top anymore. For many reasons, being in the hospital should get us used to looking above. Set your minds, Paul says, on the things above. He doesn't mean withdraw from earthly life. The four short verses of our text in Colossians are surrounded by Paul's instructions about how and how not to live. Setting our minds on the things that are above means learning to live on earth in a heavenly manner. Think of the Wright ...

56. The Blood of The Lamb and The Voice of The Shepherd

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... a convention of thirsty sheep. But the shepherds do not worry about the mix-up. When it is time to go home, each one uses his or her own distinctive call — a special trill or whistle or a particular tune on reed pipe, and that shepherd's sheep withdraw from the crowd to follow their shepherd home. They know whom they belong to. They know their shepherd's voice, and it is the only one that they will follow. It reminds me of some of the research done by Harvard's Dr. Barry Brazelton I once saw demonstrated ...

57. The Fall of Babylon

Revelation 18:1-24

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... appeal to Babylon’s destruction as an outlet for envy, hatred, resentment, vengefulness, and aggression of the weak against the strong—emotions which themselves are anti-Christian! In her mind, however, the intended response is a social radicalism which withdraws from the social order rather than mourning for it or celebrating its overthrow (Crisis & Catharsis, pp. 121–38). Further, she argues that the very form into which John has shaped his vision of Babylon’s destruction suggests such a social ...

58. The Smell of Bread

2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... seen some of those folks come to a point where they can no longer carry the load of tending those who have gathered around them. Perhaps there is a point in the dying process where that kind of energy is gone, and the person seems to withdraw from the gathered family and friends, perhaps beginning the transition to the realm where the others cannot go. They come to a point where they leave others behind and begin to slip away alone. Like Elisha, those of us around them don't leave — won't leave, shouldn ...

59. Peter and John Before the Sanhedrin

Acts 4:1-22

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... simply, “this is” (NIV he is). The reference is clearly to Jesus, but in the previous verse “this” (Gk. houtos) refers to the man who was healed. The awkwardness of the Greek may point to Luke’s use of a source. 4:15 They ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin: How did Luke get his information about what went on in the council? His narrative could have been based on deduction, but there may have been those in the council who were sympathetic to the new sect and from whom the story was gleaned ...

60. Judgment Against Israel

Hosea 5:1-15

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... 15, so that the picture in that verse is one of the lion returning to his lair. More probably, the verse is either the prophet’s or the collector’s transitional device, to introduce the litany of repentance in 6:1–3. The thought that Yahweh will withdraw from the people echoes 5:6. The people’s realization of their guilt before God and their turning to God recall 3:5 and anticipate 14:2–3. However, since the prophet has earlier stated that it is impossible for the people to repent and return to ...

61. Proper 15

Mt 15:21-28 · Ex 16:2-15 · Rom 11:13-16, 29-32 · Ps 78

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... rest and reflect. His public ministry was drawing to a close. Soon he would be headed toward Caesarea Philippi where he would learn whether the disciples understood that he was the Christ. Then on to Jerusalem to die! Everyone, even Jesus, feels the need to withdraw from the frantic pace and the pressure of daily living. There is a need for solitude and silence to get in tune with God, to get things straight and to recharge one's batteries. Canaanite (v. 22). For an understanding of what is to come, one ...

62. Christmas 1

Psalm 111:1-10, Isaiah 63:7--64:12, Galatians 3:26--4:7, Matthew 2:13-18, Matthew 2:19-23

Sermon Aid

... Israel." The Lord "claims" those he has made in his image as his people, affirming that he (the Messiah) "became their Savior." Jesus entered into all levels of human experience, suffering as all humans suffer, yet redeeming humanity through his affliction, rather than withdrawing from the pain and anguish that had to be his in his efforts to loose people from sin, death, and the strangle-hold that Satan has had on humans and their destiny. Isaiah puts it so beautifully: The angel of his presence saved them ...

63. All Is Calm, All Is Bright

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

William G. Carter

... are prompted by the Christ Child to join the song of the angels. And we can receive a gift from God that the world cannot give. Archbishop William Temple once put it this way: Let us at all costs avoid the temptation to make our Christmas worship a withdrawal from the stress and sorrow of life into a realm of unreal beauty. It was into the real world that Christ came, into the city where there was no room for him, and into a country where Herod, the murderer of innocents was king. [Christ] comes to us, not ...

64. My Stress Is Killing Me! -- Is It?

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... under stress and not be overcome by that stress at all! You see, the prophet Isaiah did not say, "They shall lie down and take it easy and do absolutely nothing at all, and in that way renew their strength." He did not say, "They shall withdraw from life and remove themselves from stressful situations and become something like a hermit, and in that way regain their inner power." No, instead he said, "They shall mount up with wings like eagles! They shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not ...

65. How the Gold Has Lost Its Luster

Lamentations 4:1-22

One Volume

Tremper Longman III

... of a poll, and in actuality it is doubtful that Nebuchadnezzar has significant doubt concerning the ultimate outcome of the siege. However, Jerusalem had resisted sieges in the past, thanks to Yahweh’s intervention. Most notable was the time that Sennacherib of Assyria had to withdraw from the walls of Jerusalem in 701 B.C. during the reign of King Hezekiah (2 Kgs. 18:17–19:37; 2 Chr. 32:1–23; Isa. 36–37). While the psalms do express the inviolability of Jerusalem, that belief was connected to the ...

66. When What You Signed Up For...

Acts 16:9-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... them in God’s hands and trust God’s goodness. God’s ways are higher than our ways, and God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts. If you are waiting around for God to answer that question, “Why?” you can end up bitter and find yourself withdrawing from God. But if you change the question to “What are you trying to teach me through this, Lord?” you remain open to God’s will and to God working in and through you. So, this is the question Anne Graham Lotz has learned to ask, “What are ...

67. Living Lightly

Genesis 45:1-28

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... such a waste, and they were chagrinned because Jesus would allow it to happen, because he preached against the evils of lavish irresponsible materialism. Some times Jesus grew tired and weary of the weary and tired who pressed upon him. And he would withdraw from them, not see them. At other times though, very weary and tired almost to the point of complete exhaustion, he would still pour himself out for the sake of others. There was something unpredictable about Jesus because he was always responding to ...

68. Holiness of Heart and Life

Romans 2:21-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... rather than worldly violence propping up falsehood. Our aim is not “effectiveness,” but a prophetic demonstration that Jesus makes possible a new social order based not upon what works or competing self-interest, but upon his Lordship. “This is not a withdrawal from the world. It is a plea to confront the world on our own terms. The imperatives “come unto me,” and “do this in remembrance of me,” theologically precede, “go into all the world.” “In its very existence, the church serves the ...

69. Come and Find Rest

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

... years ago, when I worked in a certain factory, we would get two breaks before lunch and two after. It seems like many breaks to some, but if you have a monotonous job, like I had, you need breaks. We also need breaks from our lives. Jesus would withdraw from his teaching and healing every few days and would go off to be alone. He would spend entire nights in prayer, but I imagine that sometimes he simply rested. It could be that he stopped and enjoyed the beauty of the flowers or gazed off from a hilltop ...

70. Free and Faithful

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Robert Bachelder

... not seen and yet believe," the resurrected Jesus tells his disciples. "Faith," writes the author of Hebrews, "is the conviction of things unseen, the assurance of things hoped for." This is why in the second chapter of John’s Gospel, we see Jesus withdrawing from the crowd which believes only because of the signs he works. Faith which demands a sign is not faith at all. This insight is beautifully captured by the Catholic writer Graham Greene in his most recent novel: Monsignor Quixote. Father Quixote is ...

71. The Church: An Enclave of Resistance v1

Romans 12:1-8, Romans 12:9-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... the world in which the Kingdom is set. This expresses itself in different ways. Off and on throughout our history, strong movements have arisen that have emphasized denying the world -- something that hints at a monastic response to life -- that is, withdrawing from the world as much as possible. A second perspective has often prevailed -- the notion that we must wage war with the world. In recent times this has been expressed most dramatically in what we call “the religious right” -- especially the ...

72. The Spin Zone

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Sermon

James Merritt

... with his lord's servants, but he did not go down to his house. Now in the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. He had written in the letter, saying, "Place Uriah in the front line of the fiercest battle and withdraw from him, so that he may be struck down and die." (II Samuel 11:7-15, NASB) Is that not just a stunning picture of how one drop of sin can turn into a tidal wave of misery? For twenty years, David had been driving in the fast lane on the ...

73. Joy Comes in the Morning

Psalm 30:1-12

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... t trust in God. He confessed his trust: “By thy favor, Lord, thou hast established me as a strong mountain.” His problem was that he became presumptuous. He took God for granted He didn’t reckon with “the fact that the Lord might withdraw from him because of his sins, known or unknown, or because of reasons known only to God himself.” (The lnterpreters’ Bible, Vol. ‘4., p. 161). So, when he felt the Lord had withdrawn his face, the Psalmist was dismayed. In English, that’s an understatement ...

74. The Lord Decides to Build David a House

2 Samuel 7:18-29, 2 Samuel 7:1-17

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... . But the term does not necessarily carry an inherent meaning of unconditional, enduring loyalty. The Lord committed himself to Saul, but Saul forfeited his relationship with the Lord by his rebellion. But here the Lord announces that he will never withdraw from his relationship with the Davidic dynasty, as he did with Saul. (For further discussion, see “Additional Insights: The Davidic Covenant” below.) Psalm 89 highlights the Lord’s loyal love in relationship with the Lord’s promise to the Davidic ...

75. A Song of Promise

Zephaniah 3:1-20

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... be faithful to the covenant God had made with his people. The very nature of God is love. That love which God manifests in so many ways is also an assurance of God’s faithfulness. God could never deny God’s own self. That meant God could not withdraw from people the right to say, “No,” to God. However, it also meant that God would never renege on the promises which God had made. God had revealed that God’s word would never return void. There always would be some people who would respond in the ...

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