Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic

Showing 926 to 950 of 2273 results

926. The Greatest Ability Is Dependability (Fruit of the Spirit: Faithfulness)

Galatians 5:22

Sermon

James Merritt

There are over two hundred geysers in Yellow Stone National Park. But there is one geyser that stands out from all the others. It is not the largest geyser, nor does it reach the greatest height. Yet it is by far the most popular geyser. Its popularity is due to one thing—its dependability. Because once every sixty-five minutes it shoots a stream of boiling water over 170 ft. into the air. You can practically set your clock by it. They call it "Old Faithful." There are many things in life that you could ...

927. Bitterness: How to Overcome What You Undergo

Hebrews 12:14-15

Sermon

James Merritt

It is the mother of all family feuds. It is known as "The Hatfields and the McCoys." It started in 1878; it ended in 1890. It was a twelve- year war between two neighbors that killed three Hatfields, seven McCoys, and two outsiders. What was the feud over—a hog! Bitterness over one hog stole twelve years and twelve lives. I'm going to talk to you today about a subject that I believe probably afflicts everyone at some time in their life, and it is the subject of bitterness. Many people who are hearing this ...

928. The Weakest Link

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

James Merritt

I'm beginning a series of messages that I've always wanted to do on probably my favorite portions of Scripture in the Bible—the parables of Jesus. I'm entitling this series "Virtual Reality—God's Favorite Stories." Did you know that 1/3 of all of the things that Jesus taught, He taught with parables? Someone has defined a parable as an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. That is why I refer to the parables as virtual reality. Because in the parables we learn there is a connection between the visible ...

929. Repentance Is Relationship!

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Gary L. Carver

Repentance is relationship. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a short story titled, The Birthmark. It is a story about a man who married a very beautiful woman who had a birthmark on her left cheek. She had always thought of it as a beauty spot, but her husband saw the birthmark to be a sign of imperfection, a flaw. It began wearing on him so much that all he could see was that birthmark. He could not see her beauty, her graciousness, or her great personality. He could only focus on what he perceived to be a flaw ...

930. Just When We Think We're Safest, There's a Sunset Touch

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Today we’re beginning a series of sermons on coping - coping as a Christian. To cope is to “contend or struggle successfully.” Now I had some hesitancy about the use of the word cope in the title of this series. A lot of people are talking about coping. Being who I am, a Christian minister seeking to proclaim the word of God, I was not interested just in a series of self-help, psychological messages. So I thought for awhile that I would talk about conquering as Christians. Paul said we Christians are to be ...

931. Can You Be Popular and Serve Jesus?

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

King Duncan

Chuck Swindoll tells of reading a newspaper article years ago about a guy who earned his living being shot out of a cannon at carnivals. The man’s nickname quite naturally was “Cannonball.” In his younger days Cannonball was blasted out of a cannon 1200 times. He said he did it for the thrill of the crowd’s applause. “Do you know,” he asked, “what it’s like to feel the applause of 60,000 people?” Twelve hundred times shot out of a cannon! (1) We all like to be applauded, don’t we? We all like to hear ...

932. A Community of Practice, Not a Community of Perfection

Romans 7:7-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

When your child is playing a musical instrument that is “rented” from the school, instead “owned” by you, there is a big decision to make at the end of the school year. Do you pay rental fees for the summer break? Or do you turn the instrument in? Paying rental fees for the summer means that the instrument will be practiced on hot summer days and during beautiful sunsets. Turning the instrument in means that summer is for swimming, sleep-away camps, family vacations, flexible schedules and peace and quiet ...

933. Be An Apostle! Proclaim Life!

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

Sermon

Ken Lentz

Three young lads once rescued a famous politician from drowning. "I will give you anything you like," happily promised the grateful politician. "Thank you for saving my life!" The first lad said, "I'll take a bicycle." The second hero said, "I'll take a motor bike." The third perplexed rescuer said, "Sir, if it's all the same to you, I'd like a military funeral." "A military funeral! Why?" asked the politician. "Because," the boy said, "when my dad finds out whose life I saved, he'll kill me!" Life is ...

934. God’s Two Hands

John 16:5-16

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

There is a reason the disciples are best known as the “duh!-ciples.” Jesus hand-picked his own team, these twelve companions in ministry and mission. How could his chosen dozen have been so duh! and dumb? Come on, now. Don’t deny that this very thought has not crossed your mind at some point or another when reading any of the four gospels! From the safe distance of twenty centuries it is easy to look back self-importantly at Galilee and assert that, “If I’d been there I’d have ‘gotten it!’” Really? You ...

935. Mark 5:21-43

Mark 5:21-43

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

As Mark’s “miracles” section continues, he intensifies the drama and power of these events by once again “intercalating” or “sandwiching” two seemingly separate stories together. The raising from death of synagogue leader Jairus’ young daughter and the healing of the un-named, wholly miserable hemorrhaging woman would seem at first glance to have virtually nothing in common — except, of course, their miraculous outcomes. Yet Mark masterfully molds these two events into a single narrative that exemplifies ...

936. Be Healed, Be Held

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Every morning all humans do the same thing. We get up, take a shower, brush our teeth, and then decide what we are going to wear. Generally in western culture it remains true that “Clothes make the man,” or in the name of a popular website, “Clothes make the girl.” Got a teenager? Then you know what I’m talking about. Then you know oh-so-purse-painfully how important it is to have the “right look.” To wear the “right duds” so you can be the “right dudes.” Even if you are not a “fashionista,” it is almost ...

937. Born at Bethlehem — Hope

Micah 5:1-4

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

Ellyn Sanna was twelve years old when she went on a camping trip to New England with her family. Four children and two parents were packed inside the family car. The tent was stowed away on top of the vehicle traveling from site to site. Each night they set up camp as the light faded. She tells that there were many happy memories from that vacation, but there was also the deep feeling of loneliness and being misunderstood. She was the youngest of the four children and too young to go on the long hiking ...

938. Prayer-Conditioning Your Life

Luke 2:29-32

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Today is a national day of prayer. Okay, not “officially.” Not sanctioned by any denomination or government decree. But there will still be more prayers hurtled heavenward today than on any other given Sunday. Yes, it is Superbowl Sunday — and there are prayers going up for that favorite team by player, family members, coaches, investment brokers, and, of course, fans, all over this country. And, like the pizza-hawker “Papa John’s,” who promised a free pizza to anyone who correctly calls the “head or tails ...

939. God Will Provide the Resources

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

There is a time-honored story about a pastor and his wife who decided to invite the church council and their spouses over for dinner. It was quite an undertaking, but this devoted couple wanted to be a good example for the leaders of their church. When it came time for dinner, everyone was seated and the pastor’s wife asked their little four-year-old girl if she would say grace. The girl said, “I don’t know what to say.” Her mother said, “Honey, just say what I say.” Everyone bowed their heads and the ...

940. Is the Doctor in Today?

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

King Duncan

Our lesson for today is about two people who came to Jesus for help with a medical problem. Nothing surprising about that. Even today, we are dependent on doctors for help with our medical problems. Maybe that’s why it’s so much fun to tell jokes at the expense of the medical profession. Says one comedian: “My doctor told me he’d have me on my feet within two weeks. He was right. I had to sell my car to pay his bill.” “My left arm hurt me,” said a senior citizen, “and so did my right foot, my neck and my ...

941. The List of Exiles Who Returned

Ezra 2:1-70

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

The Return of the True People of God: The text now informs us of the composition of the returnees, who duly set out and arrived in Judah and prepared to rebuild the temple. The narrator, writing considerably later than the events of the first mission, drew on this list, which appears again in Nehemiah 7:6–73a. First, Nehemiah found this list in the Jerusalem archives and incorporated it into his memoirs, but the narrator in Ezra did not find it in the archives or the memoirs, since he cited it along with ...

942. Nehemiah Helps the Poor

Nehemiah 5:1-19

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

Trouble on the Farm: We seem to move into a different world in this chapter. Gone is the battle zone of chapter 4. In its place is a seemingly unrelated area of social tension, where one would scarcely think that rebuilding the wall was a top priority. The recurring pattern, from chapter 2 onward, of progress on the wall, the response of enemy opposition, and Nehemiah’s counterresponse, is put on hold. The enemy response of 6:1 appears to target the progress of chapter 4, as if chapter 5 did not exist. The ...

943. Esther Made Queen

Esther 2:1-18

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

Esther’s Rise to Royalty: The first chapter/scene closes with a sense of comedy, as well as an alarming revelation of fragile emotions at the highest levels of decision making. The Persian court is not a safe place. It is a place of power and intrigue (as is clear also in 2:19–23); a place with unstable relationships and fragile egos; a place with unresolved crisis. Vashti must be replaced by a “better” queen—one who must prove herself as beautiful, but more diplomatic, in this vortex of circumstances and ...

944. The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac

Genesis 35:16-29

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

The Birth of Benjamin and the Deaths of Rachel and Isaac: This section contains small vignettes in the context of Jacob’s moving south from Bethel to Mamre. Jacob loses his beloved wife Rachel as she gives birth to Benjamin (vv. 16–20). Reuben sleeps with Bilhah (vv. 21–22a), and there is a list of Jacob’s children (vv. 22b–26). Isaac dies (vv. 27–29). These vignettes, framed by the burial scenes of Rachel and Isaac, conclude the core Jacob narrative. Jacob, however, continues to live and reemerges in the ...

945. Tyre, Sidon—and Israel

Ezekiel 26:1-21, Ezekiel 27:1-36, Ezekiel 28:1-19, Ezekiel 28:20-26

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

In the final form of Ezekiel, a collection of oracles against the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (26:1–28:19) interrupts a series of short oracles against the minor kingdoms surrounding Israel (beginning in 25:1). The pattern of short oracles resumes with a brief oracle against the second major Phoenician port city, Sidon (28:20–23), followed by a summary and conclusion to all the oracles against the nations (28:24) and a promise of salvation for Israel (28:25–26). It seems likely, then, that this series of ...

946. Prologue to the Law of the Temple: The Lord Comes Home

Ezekiel 40:1--43:12

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

The Law of the Temple – Intro to Ezek. 40–48: The book of Ezekiel ends as it began: with a vision of the Glory of the Lord. Like all four visions in the book, this one begins with Ezekiel’s favorite expression for entry into the visionary state, “the hand of the LORD was upon me” (40:1; see the discussion of 1:3, and compare 3:14, 22; 8:1; 37:1). However, chapters 40–48 are linked particularly with chapters 1–3 and 8–11, the other two visions of the Lord’s Glory. Not only theme, but also structure join ...

947. God’s Miraculous Provision: Caring for the Needy

Mark 6:30-44

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: The message of the feeding miracle is simple: God will provide. This is the primary miracle in which Jesus involved his disciples, and the question is whether they will put their trust in the God who provides for them in every situation. Understanding the Text Many think of this passage as another round of miracles by the lake. It is far more than that. Here Jesus’s authority is seen in its effect on discipleship. The primary group involved is not the crowds or the leaders but the disciples. This ...

948. The Guilt Offering

Leviticus 5:14--6:7

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... constituted symbolically a confession and renouncement of sin. Confession and renouncement are essential features of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings. Psychologically, confession of sin to others and to God helps give the sinner the courage and the resolve actually to change. Among the “Twelve Steps” of the AA program is “Admit to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs” (step 5). One must also be ready to have God remove these defects of character and in fact ...

949. Sexual Discharges

Leviticus 15:1-33

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

Big Idea: God wants to promote life, virtue, and an awareness of his holiness among his people. Understanding the Text Leviticus 15 completes the section in Leviticus on uncleanness (Lev. 11–15). The preceding chapters have treated unclean animals (Lev. 11), uncleanness due to childbirth (Lev. 12), and uncleanness due to “leprosy” (Lev. 13–14). The present chapter (Lev. 15) treats uncleanness due to sexual emissions. All this prepares the way for Leviticus 16 on the Day of Atonement, a chapter that will ...

950. Nebuchadnezzar’s Judgment and Repentance

Daniel 4:28-37

Teach the Text

Ronald W. Pierce

Big Idea: The sovereignty of God over heaven and earth is demonstrated in the judgment of sin and the restoration of those who genuinely repent. Understanding the Text See the unit on 4:1–18 for a discussion of the larger context, structure, and comparisons of this literary unit. Against this backdrop, 4:28–37 concludes this narrative, and brief statements of time (“twelve months” [4:29] and “at the end of that time” [4:34]) identify its two parts: God’s punishment of Nebuchadnezzar (4:28–33; with ...

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