Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 751 to 775 of 975 results

751. “In Peace I Will Lie Down and Sleep”

Psalm 4:1-8

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... /Structure The placement of selah (at the end of 4:2 and 4; see NIV footnote) probably reflects the musical performance of the psalm,[1] rather than a logical outline (see the sidebar “Selah” in the unit on Ps. 3). The content of the psalm yields a different configuration: 1. The Lord who answers in distress (4:1–3) 2. The psalmist’s trust in the Lord and advice to the rebels (4:4–5) 3. Words and prayer of reconciliation (4:6–8) Historical and Cultural Background David’s opposition includes ...

752. “Their Violence Comes Down on Their Own Heads”

Psalm 7:1-17

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... the identification that rises to the patriarchal summit of confession, that Yahweh is sovereign over all local deities. David confesses “the Lord Most High” (7:17), a claim from which the generic “god” (’el) is removed (see below). All hypothetical deities have yielded their claims and identity to the sovereignty of the one and only God, Yahweh (see the sidebar “Yahweh and Other Gods in the Psalter”). The use of the divine names in this psalm is quite interesting and may hold an interpretive ...

753. “Ascribe to the Lord the Glory Due His Name”

Psalm 29:1-11

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... see the comments on 29:1) to recognize the Lord’s “glory and strength” and to worship him in the sacred regalia of the heavenly temple (“the splendor of his holiness,” 29:2). It may very well be that the call is not only for recognition but to yield all “glory and strength” to God, who is their rightful Possessor.[18] Of the three voices in the psalm, we do not hear the voice of God, except in the powerful work of nature (29:3–9a). Even the voice of the heavenly beings, unlike Isaiah’s ...

754. “Taste and See That the Lord Is Good”

Psalm 34:1-22

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... audience. The heart of the poem is evident in the ethical imperative that comes to full expression in verse 8: “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” While this may seem a little abstract for Old Testament thought (also 34:21), typically the abstract yields to the practical as the psalmist breaks down the “fear of the Lord” into ethical terms of obedience (“listen to [obey] me,” 34:11a) and then translates the fear of the Lord into guarding against deceitful speech (34:13). The fear of the Lord ...

755. “May the Net They Hid Entangle Them”

Psalm 35:1-28

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... other imprecatory psalms, is included in the standard Psalters for worship, just how often they are used in public worship is anyone’s guess. My personal practice is to use these psalms as teaching instruments, but not for preaching, except as they may yield their messianic dividends (but see “Teaching the Text” in the unit on Ps. 109). The issues require a complex discussion and theological nuancing that do not fit the time frame and the audience-speaker dynamic of the sermon, but they can be useful ...

756. “Blessed Are Those Who Have Regard for the Weak; the Lord Delivers Them”

Psalm 41:1-13

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... to happen when they have been bad, and good things to happen when they have been good. But as we see with David, that is simply not the case. We need to broaden our understanding of biblical faith to recognize that our circumstances do not always yield to a “cause and effect” explanation, but the psalmist reminds us that the Lord delivers us in times of trouble (41:1). God is ever present. Personal Stories: Abba’s Child, by Brennan Manning. In his book, Manning shares a story about the daily care of ...

757. “God Is Our Refuge and Strength, an Ever-Present Help in Trouble”

Psalm 46:1-11

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... The simple picture of creation is perhaps in the writer’s mind (and should be in the reader’s) as he describes the reverse action of the mountains receding into the “sea,” bringing to mind the emergence of the dry land from the waters, which yielded their generic titles, “earth” and “seas” (Ps. 46:2; Gen. 1:9–10). The extension of the creation picture is reflected in the “river whose streams make glad the city of God” (46:4), reminiscent of the river that flows through Eden to water it ...

758. “The Lord Most High Is Awesome, the Great King over All the Earth”

Psalm 47:1-9

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... than God for man is cherished or lost. We need to discover all over again that worship is natural to the Christian heart, as it was to the godly Israelites who wrote the psalms, and that the habit of celebrating the greatness and graciousness of God yields an endless flow of thankfulness, joy, and zeal.11 Authentic worship of an authentic God Quote: Psalm 47 pulses with a genuine spirit of worship because “the Lord Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth” (v. 2). That means that the most ...

759. “Create in Me a Pure Heart, O God, and Renew a Steadfast Spirit within Me”

Psalm 51:1-19

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... does not come naturally but is inspired by God.10 51:7 Cleanse me with hyssop. This is a figure of speech that is drawn from certain rituals prescribed in the Torah. Generally the hyssop plant was used as an applicator, while at the same time yielding its medicinal qualities in the process (Exod. 12:22; Lev. 14:4, 6, 49, etc.). See “Historical and Cultural Insights.” 51:9 Hide your face from my sins.God’s hiding his face from the worshiper’s sins implies that God will not take them into ...

760. “Cast Your Cares on the Lord and He Will Sustain You”

Psalm 55:1-23

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... Lord will sustain him. While Psalm 55 is not an imprecatory psalm as such,1it does show a tendency to move into that mode of passion (55:15, 23). In light, however, of the strong faith imperative and declaration of trust (55:23), the psalmist does not yield to the temptation. In his letter to the “exiles” of the faith, Peter quotes verse 22 as an imperative of faith and encouragement: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7). Peter’s counsel to the young is that they ...

761. “Endow the King with Your Justice, O God”

Psalm 72:1-20

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... ”). If these are the mountains around Jerusalem, then they form part of the defensive system and in that respect contribute to peace. Compare Psalm 1:3, where the person who meditates on the Torah is like a “tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season.” 72:4 the afflicted among the people . . . the children of the needy.The “afflicted” and the “needy” are parallel terms that have already been introduced in Psalms 69:29, 33; 70:5 (see table 3 in the unit on Ps ...

762. Daniel’s Final Revelation

Daniel 10:1--11:1

Teach the Text

Ronald W. Pierce

... disciplines that help them to know more deeply the person and work of God. Assure them that this will also result in them knowing themselves better in the process. Encourage them to recognize and accept their humanity in contrast to God’s sovereignty and to yield to his wisdom and will in this context. 3. Spiritual warfare. The struggles we face as God’s people today exist in a larger context of spiritual warfare. This can give us hope and focus. In Daniel’s narratives and visions, evil human beings ...

763. How to Deal with Demons

Matthew 12:38-50

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... A demon is expelled from a man’s life. Therefore he wanders, a grisly presence, through “waterless places,” seeking rest but finding none. He resolves to return to the life from which he was banished. He still calls it “my house” (for evil yields stubbornly) and is overjoyed to find it “empty, swept, garnished.” No better tenant had replaced him in that cleaned up house. Thus he takes new possession of the house; and lest his tenancy should be again disputed, he brings seven other demons to ...

764. Serendipity

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... ’s what his beatitudes are all about. “Blessed are those—happy are those—the peacemakers, the poor in spirit, the merciful.” Their happiness is a by-product of what they’re doing, how they’re living, the attitudes of their life. What is it that yields you real joy and happiness? The spontaneous hug and kiss from your three-year-old? You can’t buy that. The son or daughter at graduation from high school or college moving proudly into another phase of this wonderful saga of life, and the deep ...

765. The God of Peace

Philippians 4:4-9

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... Sea, who collided. Many lives were lost. They searched through the rubble to see if they could discover why those two ships crashed. The results were very disturbing. They discovered that the captains of both ships knew that the other was approaching. Both refused to yield. So they collided. They played "Chicken" with their ships and people died. That's a terrible thing to happen. Maybe you've seen it happen on the playground. Somebody draws a line. Suppose I took this piece of chalk and drew a line down ...

766. God Has No Grandchildren

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... dared to come to Him through the night? He did not say to him, “Nicodemus, I know what the trouble is with you; you are not honest. Nicodemus, you must quit swearing. Nicodemus, you must quit Sabbath-breaking. You must quit breaking your marriage vows. You must stop yielding to the lusts of the flesh.” No, He did not say that to this master in Israel. Had he done so Nicodemus would have blazed upon Him, for he was guilty of none of these things. He was a clean man, a moral man, a religious man. “But ...

767. Can It Be Sin to Be Shy?

2 Timothy 1:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... ve been in that situation, perhaps. Finally, this reluctant driver moved into the line of traffic. Evidently she was spurred into action by an exasperated motorist at the end of the line. He yelled at her in an eruption of fury. “The sign says yield,” he shouted, “not surrender!” Maybe you would have shouted something worse in the same situation. I like that story because it reminds me that some people surrender their dreams without even making an honest effort to achieve them, not because they’re ...

768. Various Laws

Leviticus 19:1-37

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... fruit trees (19:23–25) shows grateful acknowledgment of the Lord’s sovereignty over the land that he has provided. The horticultural practice of removing the buds of an immature tree rather than letting it prematurely produce edible fruit would also increase the yield (19:23). A cluster of three laws prohibit doing certain things to one’s body: cutting side-growth of hair and beard, gashing oneself for the dead, and tattooing (19:27–28). Mention of “the dead” here reveals that these were pagan ...

769. Organization of Sanctuary Personnel

Num 3:1–4:49

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... one place to another. The Levites belonging to the three subdivisions of their tribe are counted in two censuses. The first reports 22,000 Levite males at least a month old (3:39). A census of the firstborn males, a month old and upward, from other tribes yields a total of 22,273 (3:40–43). These reports are placed together because the Levites have been chosen to serve God’s sanctuary, and as such they redeem and replace the firstborn males of the other tribes (3:44). The second census of the Levites ...

770. Law of Purification from Corpse Impurity

Numbers 19:1-22

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... impurity, the whole cow becomes impure at the time of its burning. Therefore, those who participate in the burning become secondarily contaminated. The reddish-cow purification offering uniquely shows how a sacrifice can expiate future evils. The offering of the cow yields a store of ashes that will serve the community for an extended period of time, therefore covering ritual impurity that has not yet occurred at the time the cow is burned. Sprinkling water that contains these ashes then conveys on the ...

771. The Covenant Renewed at Shechem

Joshua 24:1-27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... hold them accountable and bring disaster on them until they are destroyed. But the people reaffirm their determination to serve the Lord. So, challenging them to serve as witnesses against themselves regarding their commitment, Joshua tells them to get rid of the foreign gods among them and yield their hearts to the Lord. As the people agree to do so, Joshua makes a covenant for them and records it in the book of the law of God, which is kept beside the ark of the covenant (cf. Deut. 31:24–26). He sets up ...

772. Northern Exposure

1 Kings 13:1-34

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... on the grounds of divine commandment should be noted, since (not) eating and drinking is a common element in the next section of the chapter. The enigmatic dialogue between the man of God from Judah and the old prophet from Bethel (13:11–32) yields at least two main points. First, one purpose of the conversation is to raise the issues of false prophecy and the motives of the northern prophet for lying. The motives are complicated by the seemingly legitimate word of the Lord announcing condemnation in ...

773. Kings of Israel

1 Kings 15:33–16:28

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... , and when Omri (the commander of the military) is crowned, it appears for a moment that there are two kings in the north. Third, Zimri’s incendiary end is recorded from his own point of view (“when Zimri saw that the city was taken”), yielding a suicidal finish to the shortest reign in Israelite history. For more information on the conspiracy he wrought, we are referred to the northern annals, and primary attention turns to Omri. Although his reign is recorded in only a handful of verses, Omri (16:21 ...

774. Ascending the Throne

2 Chronicles 1:1-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... encouraged in the life of Solomon (1 Chron. 22:19; 28:8–9). There in Gibeon, Yahweh appears to Solomon, inviting him to ask for anything as he begins his reign. Solomon chooses wisdom (1:8–10), which Yahweh promptly gives him, noting that such a choice will yield also wealth and fame (1:11–12). This interchange between Yahweh and the new king is followed by a summary statement in 1:13 that, together with 1:1, isolates verses 2–12 as foundational to the account of Solomon in chapters 1–9. In 1:14 ...

775. Psalm 2

Psalm 2:1-12

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... folly, countering with his own fury that shakes them to their core (2:3–5). The psalmist reveals the relationship between God and his appointed king (Father and Son—2:6–7). This king will reign over the earth with absolute power (2:8–9). All people are urged to yield themselves joyfully to the Lord and to his Son (2:10–12). Verse 12 echoes Psalm 1—rejecting God’s Son brings ultimate destruction (1:6); embracing him brings blessing (1:1–2).

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