Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1026 to 1050 of 1185 results

1026. Samaria Resettled

2 Kings 17:24-41

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... the beginning demanded Do not worship any other gods (vv. 35, 37–38). What is clear by the end of the chapter, then, is that the exile of Israel has not led to any improvement in the religion of the people who dwell in the land. They pursue their path of “worshiping” the LORD while serving their idols. Nothing has changed. Additional Notes 17:4 So king of Egypt: It is much more likely, given the form of the Hb. and the normal practice of the authors elsewhere in Kings of referring to foreign kings ...

1027. Woes and Judgments

Isaiah 5:8-30

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... . The second sequence of woes works differently. They simply describe the wrongdoers—implicitly the people’s leadership. In the third woe, the people pull punishment along as they scornfully invite God to hurry along the plan that the holy one is allegedly pursuing. Their comment on God’s work takes up and justifies Isaiah’s earlier observation about their disregard for it (v. 12), and their chilling taunt about the Holy One of Israel resonates with Isaiah’s subsequent comment on who this God is ...

1028. The Branch from Jesse

Isaiah 11:1-16

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... to a remnant (8:19; 9:13). They will be drawn to the branch as they will be drawn to Zion (2:2–4), and he will have glory for the nations to recognize (cf. 4:2). After this transition, the theme of the restoration of the remnant is pursued without continuing reference to the Davidic shoot. The passage presupposes a scattering of Israel to the north and east in Mesopotamia and to the south in Egypt and beyond, such as came to Ephraim in 721 B.C. and to Judah later. So widely spread is this remnant that ...

1029. God's Mercy and Israel's Unfaithfulness

Isaiah 43:14-28

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... There are many passages in Isaiah 40–55 that might refer back to the exodus, but here the language is more explicit than usual. There is no doubt of the occasion when Yahweh made a way through impassable waters for one people and then directed the pursuing army (behaving as its own general) into what turned out to be a trap. In the very story of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, Yahweh had bidden Israel to structure its life around the remembrance of that deliverance (Exod. 12). Now Yahweh says (no doubt ...

1030. Sin, Confession and Redemption

Isaiah 59:1-21

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... looks as much like a response to the self-exhortation in 51:9 as a fulfillment of the vision in 52:13–53:12. The commitment to deliverance has as its other side the commitment to punishment (vengeance: see comment on 1:24–25a), pursued with passion. We might have thought that the turn in chapters 52–53 from divine power manifest in violence to divine power manifest in martyrdom was a once-for-all turn, but here the former reappears. The relationship between these two manifestations is more dialectical ...

1031. Jeremiah Freed

Jeremiah 40:1-6

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... guard and released him into the care of Gedaliah. Here Nebuzaredan finds Jeremiah in chains, about to be deported in the city of Ramah. He then gives Jeremiah a choice, come to Babylon (presumably not in chains) or stay in Judah. Before pursuing an analysis of this second story, we will address the relationship between the two. It is possible to harmonize the two stories in the following way. Nebuzaradan, on commission from Nebuchadnezzar, finds Jeremiah in the courtyard of the guard. He releases him into ...

1032. Thank God We're Free at Last

Romans 6:12-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... individuals who had an amazing vision of a better way of structuring government--of the people, for the people, by the people. Freedom. What a powerful word. What an amazing idea. Freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of worship, freedom to pursue one’s dreams--we dare not take these things for granted. And so in two days, on July 4th, we will enjoy picnics and parades and fireworks to celebrate, as generations have before us, the gift of freedom. For Christians, however, every worship service ...

1033. The Baby or the Window?

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

King Duncan

... When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” What Jesus is saying to us is that a fulfilling life only comes to those who have determined what really matters in this world and then give everything they have to pursuing that one thing. That makes sense, doesn’t it? If there is one thing in life that matters more than anything else, it would make sense to lock in on that one thing and make it the single most important priority in your life. That’s the way to ...

1034. Zeal!

John 2:13-22

Sermon

John Jamison

... swinging a rope. No one can take this story of Jesus in the temple and use it to justify an act of abuse or terror of any kind — no one. We don’t see the world as the Son of God sees the world, so any zealous act we might pursue is going to be corrupted through our limited understanding. What might we take from this story, other than understanding a bit more about why Jesus did what he did that day in the temple? The story’s message seems clear. Our task is to zealously make sure that our church ...

1035. Big Bubba Has Your Back

Revelation 21:1-6a

Sermon

King Duncan

... theme of this chronicle is the permanence and faithfulness of God. You may remember in Greek mythology the epic poem, The Odyssey. The Odyssey is concerned with a man named Odysseus who was traveling around the world. In his absence his wife Penelope was pursued by many suitors. She had an interesting way of dealing with these men who vied for her attention. She announced that when she had finished weaving a particular garment, she would decide which of the suitors she would choose. But here’s something ...

1036. What To Say When You Roll Out Of Bed

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

William G. Carter

... You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart," with the center of passion and trust. "You shall love the Lord your God with your soul," with the breath of life that God gives. "You shall love the Lord your God with your mind," with the brain that pursues truth. Finally, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your strength." We misunderstand love if we reduce it to a sentiment of the heart, a word from the breath, or a thought from the mind. Love is also something we do. Love is a word that taps ...

1037. How Angry Are You?

Luke 4:21-30

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... can turn our anger into a catalyst for change and growth and new life in all areas of our lives. It is only this intentional discipline — this reason — that can transform our destructive anger into righteous anger and into a worthy partner with love for pursuing the way and the word of God. Friends, today Jesus prompts us to recognize both the promise and the peril of anger. All of us are called, as disciples of Jesus Christ, to acknowledge and befriend our own anger so that embracing a discipline of ...

1038. What to Give Up for Lent

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... bread would satisfy his most immediate physical need — his hunger. Jesus resisted by telling the tempter that we cannot live by bread alone. Turning stone to bread doesn’t seem much of a temptation. In fact, it can be argued that this is a possibility to pursue; not a temptation to avoid. Bread is a generic term for food and a euphemism for money and all it will buy. If we could turn stones to bread, we could vanquish famine and lift the desperately poor out of poverty. In that sense, turning stones ...

1039. Sacrificial Love and Hedonism

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... find even harder to accept, is His insistence that to find life we must first lose it. Hugh Hefner writes: "We reject any philosophy which holds that a man must deny himself for others."The playboy cult holds that every man ought to love himself preeminently and pursue his own pleasure constantly. Nowhere is the clash between popular playboyism and the ethical realism of Jesus any sharper than over how the good life is to be achieved. Hugh Hefner tells us to get all we can. Jesus tells us to give all we can ...

1040. More Than Love

Colossians 2:13-14

Illustration

Dave Johnson

... God could quite justly have abandoned us to our fate. He could have left us alone to reap the fruit of our wrongdoing and to perish in our sins. It is what we deserved. But he did not. Because he loved us, he came after us in Christ. He pursued us even to the desolate anguish of the cross, where he bore our sin, guilt, judgment, and death… It is more than love. Its proper name is ‘grace,’ which is love to the undeserving. (God) himself in his Son has borne the penalty for (our) law-breaking” (pp. 83 ...

1041. Enlightened Affliction

Illustration

Malcolm Muggeridge

... them with particular satisfaction. Indeed, I can say with complete truthfulness that everything I have learned in my seventy-five years in this world, everything that has truly enhanced and enlightened my existence has been through affliction and not through happiness whether pursued or attained. In other words, I say this, if it were possible to eliminate affliction from our earthly existence by means of some drug or other medical mumbo-jumbo, the result would not be to make life delectable, but to make it ...

1042. Comfort Zone

Illustration

Paul F. Rack

... responded: “I don’t play ballads because I love playing ballads too much.” In other words, ballads didn’t challenge him. They didn’t force him to grow. He insisted as a matter of artistic integrity that he should pointedly not do what was right in his own mind, not pursue the most comfortable path, but instead find the most difficult.”

1043. The Trajectory of God’s Grace

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Robert C. Cochran

... the field behind our house for the first time was to be sure and take good care of my new glove because it was very expensive. After playing ball for several hours, my friends and I left our gloves on the field as we always did and went off to pursue other recreational ventures. On this day, however, I forgot to get my mitt before going home. Later, when I realized what I’d done, I ran back to the field. But it was too late: the mitt was gone. Crushed and terrified of my parents’ response, I ran up to ...

1044. How To Be Truly Happy

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... happy man or woman. Though that person may have suffered unimaginable ills, he or she will have a peace and a confidence that nothing in this world can defeat. Do you want to be happy—really happy? There is the formula. It’s not found in pursuing pleasure or avoiding pain. It is found in having something great to live for, in loving other people and in putting God first in your life. 1. Cousins, Norman. Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient: Reflections on Healing and Regeneration. Open Road ...

1045. What Might Have Been

Luke 2:1-7

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... great. Linda Ellerbee asked what the other young woman did for a living. The landlady replied, “Right now, I understand she is cutting hair.” Linda Ellerbee thought somewhat condescendingly, “What would I have in common with a hair dresser?” And she never pursued the relationship. Somewhat later in her career she was in a theater seeing the motion picture version of the hit Broadway musical, Hair. At the end of the motion picture the credits rolled by and where the movie says, “Edited by...” was ...

1046. Recognizing Who God Is

Job 42:7-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... it was the most exquisite blessing of my life--the opportunity to see my true self." Today, Jim MacLaren lives on his own and takes care of himself. He often counsels others who are at a desperate crossroads in their lives. Jim has gone back to school to pursue a doctorate. His dissertation is on the wounded male in mythological history. Among the works he has studied for his dissertation is the book of Job. (1) What did Job do when his life fell apart? When the road map for a happy life suddenly took a ...

1047. An Invitation That Went Astray

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... old life behind. When we are baptized we are announcing to the world that whoever we were and whatever our plans used to be, we’re leaving those behind. We now belong to God. Let me give you an example of someone who’s pursuing a new life. His first name quite ironically is Christian—Christian Picciolini. I say ironically because Christian spent eight years as a violent supporter and recruiter for the white supremacist movement. But while participating in a violent attack on an African-American man ...

1048. Scrubbing Our Social Media Accounts

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... much more powerful is the pardon granted by the Almighty God? Have you ever noticed the red doors on the outside of many churches, especially Anglican churches? Have you ever wondered how they happen to be red? In earlier days, it was understood that a soldier could not pursue an enemy who had entered through the red doors of a church. The red doors were a symbol of refuge and sanctuary for all people who entered. The red on the doors signified the blood of Christ that had been shed so that all who came to ...

1049. Blessed

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... or moral arrogance is a thing to be eschewed by Christian folks. It is the exact opposite of the meekness and humility of spirit that are blessed in the beatitudes above. There is, however, a good kind of righteousness that we are called by Jesus to pursue and that is relational righteousness. To be righteous, in this sense, is to be in an appropriate relationship with God. It is to recognize that God is the creator and I am the creature, that God is the one upon whom my worship and devotion are ...

1050. The Surrogate

Matthew 1:1-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... to the Torah and to bring them under the “wings of the shekinah.” He believed that one must not just be the seed of Abraham but a “disciple” of Abraham, that the way one lived his or her life mattered most in being a child of God. Hillel liked to pursue those who didn’t come to be a disciple on their own. Hillel advocated for Jews, gentiles, and even sinners to come close to God, and he did not look for the best and most wealthy students, but chose his students from every walk of life. He had over ...

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