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Showing 851 to 875 of 4936 results

851. God Subjugates Judah under Babylon

Daniel 1:1-21

Teach the Text

Ronald W. Pierce

Big Idea: The incomparable Lord is sovereign over all earthly kingdoms, holding rulers and subjects alike accountable for sin and challenging believers to spiritual fidelity. Understanding the Text Daniel 1:1–21 introduces the narratives of chapters 1–6, which reflect the writer’s perspective on the approximately seventy years of Judean exile (605–538 BC) alluded to in verses 1 and 21 and throughout the book. It also serves as the Hebrew prologue to the book’s concentric Aramaic and Hebrew sections (chaps ...

852. Greed - Putting Things In Their Proper Perspective

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

R. Curtis Fussell

Mr. Jones had a job that gave him a comfortable income. He enjoyed fishing and motorhome camping. Every year or so he would buy a new combination fish and ski boat, not some little dinghy, but a really nice, fancy boat. Every couple of years Mr. Jones would buy a new motorhome camper. It was obvious that several other men in the neighborhood envied Mr. Jones and tried to keep up with his new toys. They too would buy and sell boats and campers. It was obvious that keeping up with Mr. Jones was a priority in ...

853. A Road Map to the Kingdom

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

I hope for each of you that your journey on planet earth has been a good one and will continue to be so. One of the conditions that determines the worth of a journey is its destination. I keep on my shelf an old axiom: No wind blows good to a ship which has no destined harbor. It is true of our lives; if we don’t know where we’re going the starts and stops do not make a difference. Good or bad breaks mean little, for they do not move us along to a destined goal. Life is just one big distraction. We can ...

854. At Cross Purposes

Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

This morning we're inundated with all kinds of crosses. Big crosses, little crosses, old crosses, new crosses. Obviously, the message for today has something to do with the cross. But then doesn't every message we hear? And isn't the cross central to our everyday life? Look at the cross. The Cross it is such a contradiction. It is both a thing of beauty and at the same time, the ugliest instrument of horror and pain ever created. The root words "crucis" and "crucio" from which we get the words cross and ...

855. The Sin and Doom of Godless Men

Jude 1:1-16

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

Writer and Readers 1 By custom, Hellenistic letters began with a threefold formula: (a) the name of the sender; (b) the name of the recipient; and (c) an opening salutation. Greek writers followed the pattern “(a) to (b): greetings.” A NT example is the letter of Claudius Lysias to Felix (Acts 23:26). Jewish letters were introduced slightly differently. The opening sentence gave the names of writer and recipient. A second sentence invoked a blessing upon the reader. The three elements of (a) author, (b) ...

856. Suffering for Doing Good

1 Peter 3:8-22

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

To All of You 3:8 Finally (not to end the letter but to complete this passage) there comes a general exhortation to the whole Christian community, married and unmarried alike. Peter commends a set of attitudes which together depict what relationships within the Christian fellowship should be. Christian believers must live in harmony with one another, literally, “being of one mind” (a single word in the Greek). The term is intended to convey a unity of aim and purpose, a oneness in attitude. Idealistic? But ...

857. A GPS for Your Life

Luke 6:27-38

Sermon

King Duncan

If I were to ask you your philosophy of life, could you tell it to me? Most of us don’t think about our life philosophy, the operating set of beliefs that drives our worldview. Our philosophy of life comes out of us in subtle ways: the attitude we wake up with in the morning, how we treat other people, how we approach a new situation, the things we spend our time, energy and money on. It’s worth taking a moment to examine our life philosophy because, in many ways, it creates our legacy. It’s like a GPS for ...

858. Don’t Be a Hypocrite

Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

James Merritt

There are very few people who never, ever get angry about anything. Even if you are the most mild mannered of mild mannered people, you have a hot-button that if someone just knows where it is and knows how to push it, they can really make your blood boil. What one thing makes you the angriest? Maybe, it is when somebody cuts you off on the freeway. Maybe, it is when your brother or sister borrows some of your clothes and doesn't tell you about it. Maybe, it is when your favorite college football team ...

859. Defended By the Divine

Mark 14:1-11

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

Women have sometimes had the reputation for doing some pretty dumb things. My preacher-husband, John, and I drove to a preaching mission in Mississippi recently. Three different times, the same day, we found ourselves behind a woman (a different one each time) who signaled to make a turn, then turned the opposite direction from her signal. It reminded me of the person who said "When a woman sticks out her arm, and indicates a left turn, the only thing you can be absolutely sure of is that the window is ...

860. God's Gifts Are Free: Enjoy

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

Thanksgiving: How do we say thanks authentically and not lapse into the platitudes so often associated with this holiday? There are several dangers associated with the holiday. Ever since it was instituted as a national holiday by Abraham Lincoln, and even before when various state governors instituted it in their states, Thanksgiving has not been a strictly Christian holiday. There has been a lot of nationalism and self-congratulations associated with this day. What is the distinctively Christian way to ...

861. Like Parent, Like Child

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

King Duncan

A little boy was in church one Sunday morning with his grandmother. Everything went well until it was time for the offering. The grandmother began to frantically search through her purse, but she couldn’t find her offering envelope. Apparently she had left it at home. It was a most embarrassing moment for her as she kept looking through her purse for something to put in the collection plate. Her grandson sensed her dilemma. The little boy had a solution to her problem. “Here, Gramma,” he told her, “you ...

862. A Pair of Ducks and Abundant Life

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

King Duncan

[While King Duncan is enjoying a well deserved retirement we are going back to his earliest sermons and renewing them. The newly modernized sermon is shown first and below, for reference sake, is the old sermon. We will continue this updating throughout the year bringing fresh takes on King's best sermons.] Original Title: A Pair of Ducks and Abundant Life New Title: Paradox Blocks It’s always interesting to discover a child’s take on things. The Internet recently carried a series of letters from children ...

863. First World Problems

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever stopped to notice the things that you worry about? If you were to make a list of the last three things you worried about, what would be on it? I ask this question because most of us live fairly insulated lives. We have a place to live. We have enough food to eat. We are not in danger of starvation or homelessness or dying from a simple infection because we can’t afford antibiotics. We are insulated from the dangers of extreme poverty that afflict about 689 million people worldwide. That’s ...

864. On the Ropes: Round 3 - Defending God

Habakkuk 3:1-19

Sermon

James Merritt

It is a man that I have never heard of before until I came across his name preparing this final message in Habakkuk. You would know him very well if you were a devote Anglican or if you knew very much about South Africa. He was the founder of the South African Mission Society. An Englishman, he felt the call of God to go to an unreached tribe in one of the most remote parts of the world to preach the Gospel in the middle of the 19th Century. Alan Gardiner set sail in 1851 with five other missionaries. ...

865. God’s Love and Ours

1 John 4:7-21, 1 John 5:1-12

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

God’s Love and Our Love There is little agreement among those who have made a serious study of 1 John as to how to divide 1 John 4:7–5:4, but most have understood 4:7–12 to center around God’s love for us and, in response, our love for one another. It is likely that the opponents of the Elder had stressed their love for God (cf. 4:10, 20), their devotion, piety, and mystical spirituality (cf. 1:6, 8, 10; 2:4, 6, 9; 3:18; 4:1). But the Elder thinks that it is God’s love for human beings which is ...

866. Faith in the Son of God

1 John 5:1-12, 1 John 4:7-21

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

867. A Daughter of Jacob

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Richard Hoefler

This miracle is not simply the story of a mother and her demon-possessed child; it is really an international incident which was to affect the future shape of Christendom. What happened to the Canaanite woman that day affects us today in a most direct and vital way. Like most international incidents it happened at the border between two adversaries. Jesus had traveled to the extreme north end of the Jordan Valley. He was standing at the border line between Syria and Galilee. The inhabitants of Syria were ...

868. A New Perspective

Deuteronomy 7:1-26

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

HENRY T. CLOSE is a gifted therapist, teacher, and writer, a Diplomate in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors currently working as a pastoral counselor in Florida after many years on the staff of the Georgia Mental Health Clinic in Atlanta. His special interest in the world of intimacy is reflected in the two sermons in this volume. A New Perspective developed from an allegory he wrote for his wife Nancy. (See VOICES: The Art and Science of Psychotherapy, Summer, 1979, "A Boy and His Kite.") In ...

869. No Fifth Wheels in God’s Economy

1 Corinthians 7:1-40

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

ALAN RODDA, currently president of Ridgewood Holding Company in San Jose, California, is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who at the time of delivering No Fifth Wheels in God’s Economy was Senior Pastor of the First Church of the Nazarene in Portland, Oregon. His particular tradition is quite explicit in affirming the Bible as the revelation of the divine word and affords the pastor great authority and responsibility as the interpreter of that word. Rodda speaks within this context to his normal Sunday ...

870. How to Be a Blessing

I Peter 3:8-12

Sermon

Mark Trotter

I love the story of a man who bought a new Alfa Romeo, the luxury Italian sports car, and wanted to do something to celebrate his purchase. So he went to the Catholic priest, and said, "Father, will you bless my Alfa Romeo?" The priest said, "Yes, but what's an Alfa Romeo?" The young man said, "Never mind, you wouldn't appreciate the significance of this purchase in my life." So he went to an Episcopal priest, and said, "Father, I've just bought an Alfa Romeo. Will you bless it for me?" He said, "Yes, but ...

871. How Rich Is Rich?

1 Timothy 6:3-10

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

We can simply stay away from some of the things that are bad for us. A person who is addicted to drugs or alcohol will be counseled by those with experience to abstain totally from alcohol: no social drinking, no wine every now and then. Just leave it alone. Never touch it. The same principle applies if the addiction is to gambling or pornography and many other kinds of addiction. Overcoming an addiction is hard work. It takes courage, willpower, the support of others, and the grace of God at a minimum. ...

872. Maturity in Stewardship

2 Corinthians 9:6-15, 2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

Truit Gannon, pastor of a church in Georgia, tells of an incident in his boyhood. A man named Hugh, who worked for his father, owned a beautiful Harley Davidson motorcycle. It was a wine-colored machine with the hydro-glide fork on the front wheel. As I understand it, that hydro-glide fork was an engineering miracle in motorcycling in its day. Anyway, Truit says it was his greatest thrill as a teenager to ride that motorcycle. One day he asked, "Hugh, can I ride your motorcycle again today?" Hugh’s words ...

873. How to Connect With God

1 John 5:14-15

Sermon

James Merritt

In a Newsweek cover story entitled, "Talking to God", a Gallup poll reported that 91% of women and 85% of men say they pray regularly. That includes 94% of blacks and 87% of whites; 57% of Americans say they pray at least once every day.1 This survey went on to say that 32% of the people who pray, report that praying gives them a deep sense of peace; 26% said they sense the actual presence of God in their prayers.2 All of that sounded encouraging until I read this final statistic: Only 15% regularly ...

874. There Is a Price for Everything

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Have you ever had something backfire on you, making you feel as though you had spit into the wind? Leo Buscaglia tells about a man who was driving his car on a narrow, winding country road. He came to a hairpin curve and accidentally crossed the center dividing line a bit. A woman driving in the opposite way had to swerve to avoid hitting him. As they passed, she yelled out her window, “Pig!” Why that - that so-and-so the man thought. Instantaneously, he shouted back, “Sow! Then he rounded the curve and ...

875. The Prayer Life of Highly Effective Christians

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

A mother had been teaching her three-year-old daughter the Lord’s Prayer. For several evenings at bedtime, the little girl would repeat the lines from the prayer after her mother. Finally, the little girl decided to go solo. Her Mom listened with pride as the child carefully enunciated each word right up to the end of the prayer: “Lead us not into temptation,” she prayed, “but deliver us some E-mail.” Well, she nearly got it right. It reminds me of another child, a boy, who was also into computers. His ...

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