Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 951 to 975 of 1230 results

Revelation 2:1-7

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... is hard work. Science: When building a bridge, engineers must make sure that they use materials that will endure the most severe conditions. Each beam and bolt must be tested and proven true. The genuine strength of these materials will be revealed not when conditions are ideal but when they are most difficult. As Christians, we need to be sure our faith is founded on true truth! (For an example, see “Bay Bridge Bolts Need to Be Tested,”8or search for a similar story.) Memory can play a critical role in ...

952. Message to Laodicea

Revelation 3:14-22

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J. Scott Duvall

... obedient believers throughout the Bible. What happened in Laodicea can easily happen in the churches today, leading us to trust more in the gifts and to ignore the Giver. Teaching the Text 1. Jesus is the only reliable source of life. This text offers an ideal place to help people understand how they can actually grow and change. In their book How People Grow, Henry Cloud and John Townsend elaborate on what the Bible says about this process. At its core is the recognition that we change not simply because ...

953. The Vision of the Great Prostitute

Revelation 17:1-18

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J. Scott Duvall

... if we interrogate Jefferson posthumously about slavery. It is not judging him by today’s standards to do so. Many people of his own time, taking Jefferson at his word and seeing him as the embodiment of the country’s highest ideals, appealed to him. When he evaded and rationalized, his admirers were frustrated and mystified; it felt like praying to a stone. The Virginia abolitionist Moncure Conway, noting Jefferson’s enduring reputation as a would-be emancipator, remarked scornfully, “Never did a ...

954. The Conclusion

Revelation 22:7-21

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J. Scott Duvall

... David, and the bright Morning Star.In the last of the “I am” sayings in Revelation related to Jesus (1:8, 17; 2:23; 22:13, 16), we are told more about how he fulfills the Old Testament messianic prophecies. Jesus is the Messiah from the line of David, the ideal ruler and protector of his people (cf. 5:5; 2 Sam. 7:12–16; Isa. 9:6–7; 11:1; Jer. 23:5–6; Matt. 1:1; Luke 1:32, 69). He is also the “bright Morning Star,” another messianic fulfillment of Numbers 24:17: “A star will come out ...

955. Sexual Discharges

Leviticus 15:1-33

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Joe M. Sprinkle

... has contracted impurity by sexual contact (vv. 32–33). Theological Insights Sexuality is regarded by the Bible as a blessing from God to be enjoyed (see the Song of Songs). Yet the Bible also teaches that sexuality has been marred by human sin and impurity. The ideal sexuality of the garden of Eden changes with the fall of Adam and Eve. In place of openness comes shame (Gen. 3:7). Joy and love are replaced by pain, lust, and domination (Gen. 3:16). Sex can be wonderful, beautiful, and wholesome, but it ...

956. Sabbath Year and Year of Jubilee

Leviticus 25:8-55, Leviticus 25:1-7

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Joe M. Sprinkle

... of King David was the promised land entirely controlled by Israel, but by then records of the original owners would have been fragmentary, and current owners would have vigorously resisted changing the rules. Though probably never enacted, Jubilee teaches the ideal that poverty should not become permanent in Israel. Could Jubilee laws apply today? Not directly. Jubilee was to be based on a one-time event, the conquest. After the conquest Israel was to divide lands equally, with the land formally belonging ...

957. Joshua Appointed as Moses’s Successor

Numbers 27:12-23

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Joe M. Sprinkle

... that leaders who fail to play by the rules might end up disqualified (2 Tim. 2:5). Even the great man of God Moses forfeits ministry opportunities by disobedience (see Num. 20:2–13). So can we. Mediocre leaders say, “Do what I say, not what I do.” Ideal spiritual leaders lead by positive example, putting into practice what they preach. They can say with Paul, “Imitate me. Do what I do” (see 1 Cor. 4:16; 2 Thess. 3:9). Can we say that? 2. God endows leaders spiritually for their task. It is not by ...

958. The Road to the Throne Is Covered with Blood

2 Sam 1:1–5:5

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Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... fulfill his promise to place him on the throne of Israel. Despite apparent delays and opposition, God’s promise is fulfilled. God’s people today wait and pray for his promise of a kingdom of peace to be realized in conjunction with the second coming of the new, ideal Davidic king, Jesus the Messiah (Matt. 6:10). Though it may seem to be delayed, causing some to scoff and doubt, it will arrive in God’s own good time (Matt. 24:36; 2 Pet. 3:3–11). 2. The Lord’s chosen servants trust in his timing ...

959. David the Conqueror

2 Sam 5:6-25

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Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... supplies the materials and expertise for the building of David’s royal palace. To David, this recognition by a foreign neighbor confirms the fact that the Lord has established him as king. for the sake of his people Israel. In accord with the Lord’s royal ideal (Deut. 17:14–20) and the Lord’s oracles to David (2 Sam. 3:18; 5:2), David realizes that the Lord has raised him up for the sake of his people, Israel. 5:21 The Philistines abandoned their idols. Following Saul’s death, the Philistines ...

960. Blood Vengeance in Gibeah

2 Samuel 21:1-14

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Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... bring horrific suffering to those who are innocent. One of the great tragedies that attended Saul’s failure and demise was the death of his son Jonathan, who exhibited so many admirable qualities and swore his allegiance to David. Jonathan would have made an ideal king or a superb second-in-command for David. But this was not to be: he ended up dying with his father at Mount Gilboa. Yet the consequences of Saul’s sins follow him even beyond the grave. His crimes against the Gibeonites demand vengeance ...

961. Barren No More

1 Sam 1:1-20–2:11

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Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... can find hope in the realization that the Lord is just and eventually vindicates those who are loyal to him. They can confidently look to the future, anticipating God’s intervention in the life of the covenant community and the arrival of an ideal Davidic king, through whom God will bring about the fulfillment of his ancient covenant promises. Teaching the Text This story has two main themes, the second of which has various dimensions: 1. Even when the Lord’s covenant community is spiritually deficient ...

962. The Lord Chooses a Prophet

1 Sam 3:1--4:1

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Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... context of the Former Prophets, the story challenges the exiles to honor the Lord so that they, as God’s covenant community, may experience a renewed relationship with their King, culminating in the restoration of the nation under the authority of an ideal human king. Teaching the Text 1. The Lord is willing to renew his relationship with his covenant community through those who honor him. In Samuel’s time the Lord renews this relationship by once again providing prophetic revelation and eventually by ...

963. Israel Demands a King

1 Samuel 8:1-22

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Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... The narrator of Judges suggests that the moral anarchy of the period could have been avoided if Israel had only possessed a king (Judg. 17:6; 21:25). However, this does not mean that any king will do. The statement in Judges reflects the Deuteronomic ideal of a king who promotes the law by his teaching and example (Deut. 17:18–20).10 This will entail regulating the cult, ensuring social justice, and unifying the nation.11 As noted above, the Deuteronomic model of kingship differs in several respects from ...

964. Be Careful What You Ask For

1 Samuel 10:9-27

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Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... qualities (16:7). It also suggests that the choice of Saul reflects the people’s, not the Lord’s, standard, for human beings tend to judge on such a superficial basis (see 16:6–7 and “Theological Insights” below). In the ancient Near Eastern ideal of kingship, a premium was placed on physical attributes (cf. ZIBBCOT, 311). One of the most vivid examples of this is the description of Ramesses, depicted as “a beautiful youth who was well developed” and was “strong of arms.”2 He was said to ...

965. The Lord Chooses a New King

1 Samuel 16:14-23, 1 Samuel 16:1-13

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Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... see the comments on 26:19 below). For the exiles reading the history, this account serves as a reminder of what genuine leadership entails and a challenge to them to choose and evaluate leaders from God’s perspective. As they anticipate the arrival of the ideal Davidic king, they need to realize that he will not necessarily be outwardly impressive (cf. Isa. 53:1–3). Instead, he will be one who reflects and models God’s character by promoting justice (Isa. 11:1–5) and reaching out to the downtrodden ...

966. The Lord Is with David

1 Samuel 18:1-30

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Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... to inherit his father’s throne, rejects personal ambition and is loyal to David.9 For exilic readers anticipating a time when the Lord will restore their nation, this account supports the prophets’ message that the Lord will reestablish the nation through an ideal Davidic king. It also provides a model of what this king will look like. He will, like David, experience the empowering presence of the Lord in a special way. The Lord’s presence is vital to success. Furthermore, the tragic example of Saul ...

967. Saul on the Rampage

1 Samuel 22:6-23

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Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... them that such a king would appoint their sons as military officers (8:12), as well as take their “fields and vineyards” and give them to his officials (8:14). It is obvious that Saul, though still officially the king of Israel, has departed from the kingship ideal of the Deuteronomic law (cf. Deut. 17:20) and is no different from the kings of the nations. 22:9 the son of Jesse. Doeg mimics Saul’s derogatory description of David (see the comment on 20:27) and thus makes it clear that he has allied ...

968. Job’s Reply to Eliphaz

Job 6:1–7:21

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Daniel J. Estes

... bone. As the disease progressed to his foot, physicians determined that to save his life they must amputate directly below the knee, an event that occurred when he was twenty-five. Victorian textbooks espousing stoicism were popular at the time and inspired Henley’s stoic ideal of indifference in the face of suffering. The poem reads as follows: Out of the night that covers me Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I ...

969. “Lord, Our Lord, How Majestic Is Your Name in All the Earth!”

Psalm 9:1-20

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C. Hassell Bullock

... them somewhere in the history of interpretation.3While that is certainly a valid way to view the messianism of the Psalms, it seems to me that the strong prophetic hope, also reflected in the Psalter, took shape in those years when the people began to idealize David, perhaps as early as the eighth century prophetic movement (see Isa. 9:6–7; Amos 9:11–12) and long before the exile. Thus some of the psalms may have been written with a messianic baseline. So I believe the position lies somewhere between ...

970. “Within Your Temple, O God, We Meditate on Your Unfailing Love”

Psalm 48:1-14

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C. Hassell Bullock

... to the subcategory of Zion songs (Pss. 46; 47; 48; 76; 84; 87; 122). It is an appropriate companion to Psalm 47 in that Psalm 47 is addressed to the nations, acclaiming Yahweh as King of the nations and announcing God’s kingly acclamation. Psalm 48 idealizes Mount Zion (Jerusalem), but it capitalizes on the fact that Mount Zion is the “city of our God” (48:1) and that God is there (“in her citadels,” 48:3). Further, Psalm 48 parades the kings of the nations past Jerusalem, perhaps looking at the ...

971. The Image of Gold and the Fiery Furnace

Daniel 3:1-30

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Ronald W. Pierce

... our fears. Serving God is worth even the ultimate sacrifice. History: The cost of discipleship is something we all experience, though the physical price may not be the same for everyone. Sacrifice may mean smaller things, such as living in less than ideal conditions while serving God, or it may mean paying the ultimate price of laying down one’s life for faith in Christ. Consider the faithfulness of the early Christian martyrs, such as Stephen, Peter, or Polycarp, even in the face of torture, mutilation ...

972. Daniel Interprets the Dream and Confronts Nebuchadnezzar

Daniel 4:19-27

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Ronald W. Pierce

... as “being kind to the oppressed” (literally, the “poor and miserable”). Though “being kind” is not stated in the imperative form, it carries the same force as its imperative parallel, “break off.”9This twofold description of a righteous king also characterizes the ideals of Solomon and Josiah (Ps. 72:2; Jer. 22:15–16), as well as the messianic descendant of David (Isa. 11:4). The clause “it may be that then” might be translated more literally, “if there is to be,” thus clarifying ...

973. Daniel in the Den of Lions

Daniel 6:1-28

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Ronald W. Pierce

... reward or rescue. Illustrating the Text There is no greater reason to face adversity than the cause of Christ. History: In the case of war, when the stakes may include losing one’s life, the exhortation to support “the cause” often focuses on an ideal esteemed so highly that it is worth facing the adversity of battle. In the case of the American Revolutionary War, the call to war focused largely on freedom and the rights of all to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” as the Declaration ...

974. What Can I Get By With?

Luke 17:5-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... . But the bazaar limits to which labor unions have gone is a great threat to society which should be committed to the common good. The blunt truth is that we are the creators of a society where patters of behavior, moral standards, and spiritual ideals have been undermined by negligence, cheating, corruption, lying, stealing, and immoral acts on the ground that everybody is doing it and on the basis that any kind of worthwhile end justifies the means. Jesus is telling us in this harsh word that there is ...

975. Ready for the Game Warden

Matthew 25:1-13

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... morning, boys and girls: This morning we want to talk about preparation--being prepared for whatever may happen in life. Fritz Kreisler, a wonderful violinist, once said he did not have the slightest consciousness of what his fingers are doing when he plays. He concentrates on the ideal of the music that he hears in his head, and tries to come as near to that as he can. He says that a musician who does have to think of what his fingers are doing is not ready for public performance. Well, how do you become ...

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