Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1026 to 1050 of 1858 results

1026. John 20:19-31 [Genesis 2:5-24]

John 20:19-31 [Genesis 2:5-24]

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Adam to be alone. I will provide a partner for him."(18b) So what did God create next? Don't look at your Bibles. Look up and remember. What did God now create as the first candidates for companionship?..."So God formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of heaven."(19a) The animals were God's first candidates for communion with Adam. You cannot find a higher doctrine of creation than this. Far from our being able to do anything with animals that we wish, animals are here made out of ...

1027. Luke 16:19-31

Luke 16:19-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the gate, covered with open sores, starving for some meager scrap of food. That the rich man was "feasting" also suggests he was in the midst of the companionship of friends and family. Lazarus, however, was cut off from human contact with only wild curs hungrily slavering at his wounds. The curtain is drawn on these two disparate ideal types by that great equalizer among the human family, death. Immediately the tables turn, for while the rich man is simply "buried," Lazarus is "carried away by the angels ...

1028. Matthew 14:22-33

Matthew 14:22-33

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Jesus himself ordering the seas to calm. And while this text admits the disciples' boat is making little headway in its journey, it does not claim their lives are endangered by the stormy conditions. The purpose Matthew seems to suggest for Jesus' walk on the wild side has more to do with building up the disciples' life of faith than bailing out their swamped boat. Of the three gospels where this story is told (Matthew, Mark and John), only Matthew singles out Peter and describes that disciple's own attempt ...

1029. Mark 1:1-8

Mark 1:1-8

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... eschatological prophet Elijah. Mark reinforces this theological identification when he takes the time and trouble to describe John the Baptist's appearance. The picture he draws strongly resembles the image given of Elijah in 2 Kings 1:7-8. But John's "wild" appearance also serves to point up his important location in the "wilderness." The Isaiah text Mark cites introduces this "wilderness" placing (Mark 1:3) and then echoes it as the location of John the Baptist's ministry of proclamation and baptism. This ...

1030. Psalm 23

Psalm 23

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... leading them through the deep, treacherous ravines that crisscrossed the Judean wilderness. In many places, passage through these narrow chasms was reduced to a single file stretch, winding its way along cliffs and rocks rife with hiding places for all manner of creatures (wild hyenas, wolves, robbers), not to mention the danger of rock slides. Such a treacherous path was dubbed a "glen of gloom" or a "valley of the death-shadow." Some scholars who argue that Psalm 23 is directly linked to David's life and ...

1031. Mark 10:46-52

Mark 10:46-52

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... voice brought before him (vs. 49). The crowd's urging that Bartimaeus "take heart" seems fairly redundant. Bartimaeus' heart has obviously already gone out to meet the one whom he believes will heal him. Little wonder, then, that verse 50 records the wild eagerness Bartimaeus' body displayed as it sought to catch up to his voice and his heart. Piteously portrayed in verse 46 as a desolate blind beggar "sitting by the roadside," the man is now invigorated and animated as he responds to Jesus' call ...

1032. John 20:19-31 [Genesis 2:5-24]

John 20:19-31 [Genesis 2:5-24]

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

1033. Revelation 21:10, 22-27

Revelation 21:10, 22-27

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

With all its wild beasts and exotic imagery, the book of Revelation is often perceived as either unfathomable - and so politely ignored - or hypnotic - and thus offering a enticing escape from maudlin reality. This week's text from Revelation is no exception. Some will read it and hear only a "pie-in-the-sky- ...

1034. Luke 16:19-31

Luke 16:19-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

1035. Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... a lie that benefited was better than a truth that was costly. Anger (v.26) and emotional turmoil were staple commodities in the tales of the pagan gods. Anger was what started and sustained wars of extreme duration. Anger made men into wild warriors a valuable commodity on the pagan market. Theft (v.28) was clearly a matter of perspective. In the marketplace, the scales were loaded and the watchword was "buyer beware." The established relationship between master and slave practically mandated thievery as ...

1036. Ephesians 5:15-20

Ephesians 5:15-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... God's will. Only God can reveal "wisdom" to the believer. It seems quite likely that verse 18 is referring to the drunken festivals frequented by those involved in the worship of Dionysus, where people would lose all sense of themselves and become wild and frenzied. Only in this totally uninhibited state, Dionysians maintained, could they become fully open to divine messages. Recalling Romans 14:17, the Ephesians are enjoined to be filled with the Spirit. This Spirit is that which fills up both the believer ...

1037. 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to repress individual expression and personal freedoms for the sake of a communal good, Paul celebrates the diverse gifts present in the body of Christ in general and in this Corinthian church in particular. Paul is not interested in transforming the wildly, richly diverse Corinthians into some bland homogeneous conglomerate. Today's text begins by establishing the common root out of which all these gifts and graces grow. In 12:12-13, Paul locates all Christians whatever their particularities in a common ...

1038. Matthew 15:(10-20) 21-28

Matthew 15:(10-20) 21-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... are to be fed first. Still, Jesus' characterization of the Gentile others as "dogs" hits us as an unnecessary racial slur. Some scholars have tried to soften this characterization by noting that the term Jesus uses here is for pet or domesticated dogs - not the wild untamed dogs of the desert. Yet, it is in the face of this cutting remark that the woman becomes her most articulate. By no longer simply ignoring her or denying her legitimacy, Jesus has now resorted to finding excuses for not dealing with this ...

1039. Exodus 32:1-14

Exodus 32:1-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... announcing that you expect everyone to behave like ladies and gentlemen. Was Aaron really surprised when, after all the sacrifices were offered and the people's bellies were filled, that the people "rose up to revel" the NRSV's discreet way of saying a wild, sexual, cultic orgy broke out. Verses 7-10 give us Yahweh's perspective on this situation. At the precise moment when Moses should have been descending Sinai with the words of law that would keep the people always in right relationship with God, Yahweh ...

1040. Mark 1:1-8

Mark 1:1-8

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... have suggested that placing John "in the wilderness" might have been the evangelist's later reaction to the events in order to make John's mission more theologically consistent with the gospel's own themes. However, John's personal "wildness" would seem to discount this concern. His entire lifestyle embodies a wilderness motif. The baptism this wilderness figure offers is also consistent with a redemptive trek into the harsh uninhabited countryside – a baptism of repentance for forgiveness. Metanoia ...

1041. Mark 6:1-13

Mark 6:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Christian discipleship. Chapter six continues Mark's theme of movement along the way of the Lord (1:2,3) but for Jesus this next stop is filled with disappointment. In Mark's gospel Jesus has just accomplished some of his most amazing miracles stilling the wild storm at sea (4:35-41), healing the frightening man at Gerasene (5:1-20), and restoring Jairus' little daughter to life and health (5:21-43). Now, perhaps in search of some rest and comforting closeness, Jesus journeys back to his own hometown. But ...

1042. Ephesians 5:15-20

Ephesians 5:15-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... within and among them. What the Spirit's presence does is to inspire the right spirit and form of congregational worship. Again it might help to contrast this author's concept of a proper Spirit-filled experience of worship with the wild party atmosphere of so many of the pagan cultic worship ceremonies. Verse 19 describes all the facets of a genuine Spirit-filled experience of Christian worship. Singing "songs and hymns and spiritual songs" clearly defines the type of expression the Spirit inspires ...

1043. Two Kinds of People in This World

Mark 1: 21-28

Illustration

The British journalist and Christian apologist G. K. Chesterton once said that there are two kinds of people in the world: When trees are waving wildly in the wind, one group thinks it's the wind that moves the trees. This is the customary and ancient view of things. The invisible is behind the scenes giving energy to the visible. But more and more we hear of a new breed that thinks the wind is nothing ...

1044. God's Workmanship

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... the misery, the construction site’s port‑a‑john reeked with odors that made the crew gag. The company that was charged with keeping it serviced hadn’t been heard from for days. Suddenly a truck rolled down the street toward the site. Its radio was blaring wildly. The attention of everyone on the worksite shifted to the vehicle as it slid to a stop in front of the partially completed house. They noticed that it wasn’t the regular maintenance man for the port-a-john who got out of the truck. Instead ...

1045. The Heart of the Matter

Psalm 51:1-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... record of bestial crime. He had murdered men, women and children. At last he was caught. In prison, he was like a caged tiger. He was visited by two Canadian women who tried to speak to him through the bars; but he simply glowered at them like a wild beast. They left a Bible with him; he began to read and could not stop. He read on and on, coming eventually to the story of the crucifixion. It was the words: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do,” which broke him. “I stopped,” he said ...

1046. Was It Really Necessary?

John 19:17-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... to pay a greater price than he was willing to pay. Think of Stephen as the stones ripped his flesh, and Peter as he died crucified upside down. Many of the disciples were burned as living torches in Nero’s gardens or were torn apart by wild animals in the gladiator’s arena. Only a soft, sentimental unrealistic faith would conjure the supposition that there was any other way for Jesus but the way of the cross. This is a hard world. The affluence and security of our land shelter us from that truth ...

1047. Tested, for God’s Sake

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... Will for him. What does it mean to be Son of God and Son of Man? What does it mean to be both human and divine? I. The first test He’s famished from lack of food. And probably exhausted from not getting much sleep at night due to the wild animals who saw in him a delicious meal. He’s weak. His defenses are down. He’s vulnerable. It is then that the Tempter, the Tester, the Adversary comes. “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.” Will Jesus spend his life feeding physical ...

1048. I'm a Leper, You're a Leper

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and feel you rushing by I know that time brings change and change takes time And when the sunset comes my prayer would be just this one that you might pick me up and notice that I am just a little smoother in your hand Verse 2 Sometimes raging wild sometimes swollen high never have I known this river dry The deepest part of you is where I want to stay and feel the sharpest edges wash away CHORUS: You might even consider passing out a smooth stone to everyone present. Have them watch the video once. The in ...

1049. Humble Servanthood

Mark 1:40-45

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

... to Christ and who are successful in generating enthusiasm for the gospel through books that sell well, congregations that attract many members, and so on. Still, Jesus' desire to keep things quiet until the cross reminds us that whether or not we prove to be wildly popular, it is always a quiet and careful and humble apprehension of the gospel that is key. Jesus' own example of humble servanthood comes as a critique of our own overweening tendency to be enamored with all that is glitzy and eye-popping. We ...

1050. Bound to Earth, Destined for Heaven

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... sung to the tune of “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” or as it is known among musicians, “Ebenezer:” Sing! New creation calls us: God’s Son, firstborn from the dead, makes the drowning which befalls us into cleansing birth instead. Singing water, wild with wonder, washing, more than what it seems, baptizes and drags us under, lifts us as our Christ redeems. Sing anew! Creation flowers as the Spirit draws us near, safe from storming, earthbound powers on this ark, though tossed by fear. Sing as ...

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