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Showing 76 to 100 of 438 results

76. Playing One Hand

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sermon

Tom Garrison

In the beginning of any really significant human endeavor, be it a marriage or parenthood or a business venture, there is usually a high level of idealism and hope. We expect to do the thing we are beginning with great success. This was certainly true of Jesus' ministry. Who can read how he emerged out of Galilee saying, "The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, repent and believe the good news," and not sense the excitement and anticipation that was present in that act of beginning? And ...

77. Proper 19

Psalm 14:1-7, 1 Timothy 1:12-20, Jeremiah 4:5-31, Luke 15:8-10, Luke 15:1-7

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

Recovering The Lost Most of us have experienced loss. It may be money or something else of value. It may be a pet or an animal we were raising. It may be a person who rebelled against the family or cut all ties with church and community. Loss always results in sadness. If the loss is due to our carelessness or our actions, we probably have a sinking feeling in the pit of our stomach. It is a combination of guilt and sadness at the same time. Even if the loss may not be of great value, we may spend hours ...

78. Job's First Test

Job 1:6-22

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

In the Presence of Yahweh: 1:6 Having established the character of Job on the basis of social reputation (1:1), evidence of divine blessing (1:2–3), and demonstrable piety (1:4–5), the narrative takes a darker turn to reveal hidden circumstances affecting Job. One day is not just any day or a day selected at random, but actually the day in Hebrew. It probably indicates a particular day set in advance for a formal gathering when, unknown to Job or any other human, a meeting takes place in which the children ...

79. Love

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

These verses are often referred to as an excursus on love, and there are good reasons for this description. Remarkably, in this extended meditation on love Paul does not write about loving: there is no statement here that X loves Y. Love itself is the actor or the object of reflection. This beautiful passage never attempts to offer an abstract definition of love; rather, Paul rehearses critical characteristics of love and states in practical terms what love is and isn’t or does and doesn’t do. The verses ...

80. Be Reconciled with the Lord

2 Corinthians 5:20b--6:10

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Two brothers who lived on adjoining farms developed a bitter dispute. It was their first serious rift in forty years of farming side-by-side, sharing machinery, and trading labor and goods as necessary. They had never had a quarrel until now. It began with a small misunderstanding but eventually mushroomed into a major difference, and finally exploded into a war of words, followed by separation and silence. One morning there was a knock at the back door of the elder brother’s door. He opened the door and ...

81. Marriage, Sexual Intimacy, and Spiritual Devotion

1 Corinthians 7:1-40

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

Big Idea: Husbands and wives must protect each other from sexual temptation and recognize their obligation to take care of each other’s sexual needs. They are co-owners of each other’s bodies. Understanding the Text Although Paul’s discussion on sexual immorality in chapter 6 makes the transition to his discussion on sexual obligations in marriage smooth, chapter 7 introduces a new section that continues through 11:1. After his extended discussion of the Corinthian Christ followers’ troublesome allegiance ...

82. What Making a Difference Looks Like

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

I am told there are at least eight million cats and eleven million dogs in the Big Apple. Since New York is mainly concrete and steel, when you have a pet that dies, you can't just go out in the back yard and bury it. In response, city officials decided that for fifty dollars they would dispose of your pet for you. Now in that grand city was a certain enterprising lady. She thought to herself, “I can render a service.” So she placed an ad in the paper: "When your pet dies, I will take care of the carcass ...

83. When The Fish Won't Bite

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Frank Lyman

You may have read about a man in California who has to be the worst bank robber in history. He went into a Bank of America in San Francisco and wrote out a stick up note on the back of a deposit slip. He got in line to present his note to the teller, but while he was in line he started thinking that maybe somebody saw him writing the stick up note. Maybe they were calling the police right now. So he decided to get out of line and go across the street to the Wells-Fargo bank. He had to wait in line there, ...

84. Second Nature through Spirit Nurture

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

It is every parent’s dream. It goes like this . . . Your child is a guest at someone’s home. Maybe a friend or a relative. When the meal is over, your child is the one who, without being told, spontaneously rises from the table, gathers their plate and even grabs another place setting, and takes them into the kitchen and put them either in the sink or in the dishwasher. What parent doesn’t live with the eternal hope that our ten thousand nudges to our kids “pick that up” and “put that in the trash” and “ ...

85. The Great Dinner

Luke 14:1-14, Luke 14:15-24

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Animation: sweet rolls or some other food to feast on / juice It’s dinnertime! So everyone scrambles to the table to get the best seat, claim the biggest pork chop, peek at the choicest rolls… It’s the story of almost every large family, buffet, or large gathering. Who gets the last piece of cake? How does it work out in your family? Is it first-come, first serve. Or does it go to the eldest? Or the littlest? The saddest—the one who can beg the best? The quickest? The one with the best or most convincing ...

86. Chapter III

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

"You will not handle the name of the Lord your God as though it is nothing, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who handles his name as though it is nothing." Exodus 20:7 One of the best plays that I have seen in a long time was the prizewinner of a few years ago titled "The Miracle Worker." The story of Ann Sullivan’s battle to educate the blind, young Helen Keller, the story is a masterpiece on human perseverance and love. Called by Helen’s wealthy southern parents to train their child, "Miss Annie ...

87. Favoritism Forbidden

James 2:1-13, James 2:14-26

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

Prejudice and the Poor In chapter 2 James expands upon the theme of worldliness and the care of widows. Worldliness shows up not only as personal ambition but also in a church’s paying regard to someone’s worldly power and position rather than dealing only on the basis of that person’s spiritual position in Christ. This issue, in turn, leads to the statement of the need for generosity and to a warning against a complacent orthodoxy that stops short of gospel obedience (2:14–26). 2:1 My brothers recognizes ...

88. Faith and Deeds

James 2:14-26, James 2:1-13

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

89. Fasting In A Fast-food World

Joel 2:1-11

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

If I told you that I have a sure-fire, effortless plan whereby you can lose 25 pounds, with no exercise, and no money, would I have your attention? I thought so. You can't pick up a Woman's Day magazine, Good Housekeeping, McCalls, Red-book, Ladies' Home Journal, Cosmopolitan, Reader's Digest, or even the National Enquirer without finding at least one article on how to lose weight. It's a multi-million dollar business in America. And, if you are overweight, you probably need to lose some fat to be more ...

90. Comfortable Christianity Is a Big, Fat Lie

Matthew 7:15-23

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

“Thus you will know them by their fruits.” Matthew 7:20 In his novel A Painted House, John Grisham describes a pious Sunday school teacher eulogizing a character named Jerry Sisco. He was a mean guy who’d been killed just the night before in a back alley fight after picking on one person too many. In the words of the little boy who’d seen the fight with his friend Dewayne: "She made Jerry sound like a Christian, an innocent victim. I glanced at Dewayne, who had an eye on me. There was something odd about ...

91. Loving

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Larry Powell

If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. (verse 1) A gong has always impressed me as an almost unnecessary instrument. Each time a musician slams into one with a mallet to achieve the dull, disconcerting clash, I fully expect a secret passage to appear, or an oriental servant to fawn onto the stage. Cymbals provide slightly more flexible, functional accents of emphasis. However, both the gong and the cymbal produce but a single monotonous tone ...

92. Daniel Interprets the Dream

Daniel 2:24-49

Understanding Series

William Nelson

Daniel Interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream: The stories in Daniel 2–7 probably did not all circulate together originally. As mentioned earlier, evidence for this can be seen especially in chapters 3 and 6. The original author of chapter 3 focuses on Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, seemingly unaware of Daniel, while the original author of chapter 6 highlights Daniel, seemingly oblivious to his three friends. These independent traditions have been brought together and shaped into a literary whole. (For a more ...

93. Eliphaz's Third Speech to Job

Job 22:1-30

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

No Gain for God The “third dialogue cycle” begins again with Eliphaz and his response to Job. He begins with a series of rhetorical questions that recall the tactics of his earlier two speeches (4:1–5:27; 15:1–35). In those utterances Eliphaz sought to undermine Job’s claims of innocence by arguing that no human can be declared innocent before God (4:7–9, 17–19; 15:14–16). Since even the angels—who stand above humans in Eliphaz’s understanding of creation order—are charged “with error” by God (4:18–19; 15: ...

94. THE MARRIAGE GAP

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

William McKee Aber

It’s interesting to me that the Christian Church, which makes a great use of symbols - both pictorial and verbal - has chosen to retain the symbol of sacrifice when describing the faith, and has rejected another symbol that is widely used throughout Scripture. I refer to marriage. Christ calls himself a "bridegroom"; the church (and also Israel) is referred to as the bride; the covenant relationship of God and Israel is allegorized in the story of Hosea and an unfaithful wife; and the very word "covenant ...

95. The Ministry Of Do WOP

James 1:17-27

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A radio announcer on KLOS in Los Angeles, about thirty minutes after a major earthquake, made these two statements: "The telephone company is urging people to please not use the telephone unless it is absolutely necessary in order to keep the lines open for emergency personnel. We'll be right back after this break to give away a pair of Phil Collins concert tickets to caller number 95." (1) A Major was assigned to a new office on a military base. While working to set up his office a Private knocked on his ...

96. Table Talk

Luke 14:1-14

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: The kingdom of God reverses our conventional ideas of who really matters. Understanding the Text This is the third time Luke has depicted Jesus as an invited guest at a Pharisee’s table (see also 7:36–50; 11:37–54), and on each occasion Jesus makes things uncomfortable, challenging the social conventions and the moral values of his hosts and fellow guests. In this case, the meal setting continues into 14:15–24, in which Jesus will use the motif of a special meal as the basis for a parable about ...

97. The Devil's I

Acts 5:27-32

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

In a world of Good Friday nightmares, it is time for Easter Dreams. Martin Luther claimed that whenever and wherever God builds a church, the devil builds a chapel. As we've worked to build a world where human rights and dignity are respected, the devil has been working overtime constructing his perpendicular chapel. It's a chapel that has grown so large and tall that it has been able to take its choir on the road, a choir that happily sings the devil's siren song. This is the tune the devil loves to hear ...

98. Judgment Against Israel

Hosea 5:1-15

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

God’s Absence (5:1-7): In this oracle, Hosea describes the deeds of his three addressees in the exact reverse of their order in verse 1a–c. First, he tells of the murderous ways of the royal house, verses 1e–2a. Then he discusses the captivity of the Israelites to a spirit of harlotry, verses 3c–5. Finally, he turns to the cult where the priests officiate, verses 6–7b. And after each description, the punishment for such ways is stated, verses 2b, 5b–c, and 7c–d. The oracle holds together in a unified form ...

99. A Lifestyle of Holiness and Love

Leviticus 19:1-37

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

Big Idea: The basis of biblical ethics is God’s holiness and love. Understanding the Text Leviticus 19:2 emphasizes the theme that gives the laws of holiness (Lev. 17–27) their name: “Be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy” (v. 2). Leviticus 19 marks a conceptual center of Leviticus. It is surrounded by chapters with similar themes (Lev. 18; 20) to highlight the centrality of this passage.1 It is hard to see an organizing principle in the disparate laws of this chapter, save that each encourages ...

100. The Peace Of Christ In A Chaotic World

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Brett Blair

One of the best newspaper cartoons of all time is Calvin and Hobbes. One day Calvin and Hobbes come marching into the living room early one morning. His mother is seated there in her favorite chair. She is sipping her morning coffee. She looks up at young Calvin. She is amused and amazed at how he is dressed. Calvin’s head is encased in a large space helmet. A cape is draped around his neck, across his shoulders, down his back and is dragging on the floor. One hand is holding a flashlight and the other a ...

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