Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1101 to 1125 of 4963 results

1101. The Throne in Heaven

Revelation 4:1-11

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... found in a place where both God and the Evil One once coexisted (cf. Job 1–2) explains in part the ambiguity of Christian existence on planet Earth, where we experience the goodness of God and the treachery of social and personal evils. An element of Christian hope is that heaven will be replaced at the end of time by something “new,” where God’s people will experience only the shalom of God (cf. 21:1). 4:2b–6a The invocation of heavenly praise is dominated by the image of a throne, the symbol of ...

1102. The Last Words of David

2 Samuel 23:1-7

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... , those who ignore God’s pattern, bring no more benefit than a thorn bush and will be cast aside for burning in much the same way (vv. 6–7). Verse 5, although it is phrased in questions that appear to expect a positive answer, is an expression of hope rather than of certainty. David longs that his desire for a posterity that lives in the service of God will be granted. But verse 6 makes it clear that he knows such a desire could be thwarted by his descendants; hence the sense of urgency within the whole ...

1103. Turn Your Gaze from Me before I Am No More

Psalm 39:1-13

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... , not knowing who will get it. One’s life is too short of time and of guarantees to busy oneself with piling up things. 39:7–11 But now signals a turning point. In view of this futility, what do I look for? There is only one prospect: My hope is in you. The prayer that follows this affirmation of loyalty to God is, save me (lit. “deliver me”) from all my transgressions. Should God not do so, he would become the scorn of fools, that is, those wicked before whom he was silent and had muzzled his mouth ...

1104. Daniel in the Den of Lions

Daniel 6:1-28

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... be thrown into the furnace; he becomes friendly when he sees they are saved. By way of contrast, in chapter 6 the king laments having to send Daniel to the lions and even tries unsuccessfully to save him. In chapter 3, the three express hope that God will save them; in chapter 6, the king hopes God will save Daniel, while Daniel himself is rather quiet. Also, the king in chapter 3 says, “Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” (3:15); but the king in chapter 6 says, “May your God, whom ...

1105. The Thousand Years

Revelation 20:1-7

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... or in any Jewish writing of John’s day. What one does find, however, in both the OT and intertestamental writings, is a firm hope in the eternal reign of God on earth that begins with the triumph and reign of God’s messiah. Revelation’s idea of a ... s return is interpreted by God’s patience, and God’s patience discloses God’s own faithfulness to commitments made. Christianity’s firm hope, tried in the face of scoffers, rests in a God who is a promise-giver and a promise-keeper. As an expression of ...

1106. The Year of Jubilee

Leviticus 25:8-55

Understanding Series

W. H. Bellinger, Jr.

... e.g., Isa. 5:8–10; Amos 2:6–8; Mic. 2:1–11). Part of the goal of holiness as Yahweh’s distinct people included human relationships. Treatment of others is important in the Priestly theological and ethical perspective. Isaiah 61:1–4 develops the Jubilee theme of hope, as does Luke 4:18–19. Passages in 1 John 3:17 and 4:11 also pursue themes of care for others. Additional Notes 25:30 The walled city is in contrast to villages. If a house is not redeemed before the fulfillment or completion of the ...

1107. Visit

2 Corinthians 13:1-10, 2 Corinthians 13:11-14

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... are withholding their affection from him (6:12). Even in the matter of refusing support, Paul affirms his strong love for them (cf. 11:11). He desperately wants his love to be be requited, so much so that he brags about their love for him in the hope of actually receiving it (cf. 8:7). 12:16–18 Here Paul handles a concrete accusation brought against him by the Corinthians. Whereas in verses 14–15 Paul has tried to reassure the Corinthians of his love despite the fact that he refuses to accept support ...

1108. Prosperity after Turning to the Lord

Deuteronomy 30:1-10

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... curses of chapter 28 and the compressed warning of 29:22–28, this section comes like an oxygen mask to revive hope. History is ultimately openended. God will not be defeated by Israel’s response or bound and imprisoned by the past. For beyond ... grace in the human heart. As with much of the content of these two chapters, the echoes of chapter 4 are very clear. The hope of Israel lies not in its unaided capacity to respond but in God’s unending commitment to remember mercy (4:28–31). This simultaneous ...

1109. Everlasting Salvation for Zion

Isaiah 51:1-16

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... arm that will bring down Babylon for Judah’s sake will also thereby bring to the rest of Babylon’s empire the beneficent results of Yahweh’s ruling in world affairs. For them, too, the darkness of oppression will give way to the light of freedom. For them, too, hopes that have long seemed vain will be fulfilled. In other words, the vision of 42:1–4 (and behind that, the vision of 2:2–4) will be fulfilled. Many of the words are the same as the ones that appeared there. The law is torah, teaching or ...

1110. The Lazarus Experience

John 11:17-44

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... it is about prayer and waiting for God to answer; it is about suffering and grief, about faith and deep emotion, about doubt and hope, and about death and dying. But most of all, the story of Lazarus is about the life-giving, resurrection power of God revealed in ... God of power and glory, we look to you for the resurrection and the life -- both here and now, and for the days to come. When hope is dim, enable us to hold on to your promise. When life is full of joy, remind us that there are even greater joys in ...

1111. A GPS for Your Life

Luke 6:27-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... of anger and hate and vengeance. How do we find our way out? I know it sounds simplistic, but it is also true. Our only hope is the love of Jesus Christ. I John 3: 14 reads, “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each ... s the most powerful way possible for us to show the world that we belong to Christ. To love them until they ask us why. So, I hope you will leave this room today with your GPS programmed. Not the GPS in your car or your phone, but the GPS in your head and heart ...

1112. Surprise--One Got Out!

Luke 24:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... apostles . . .” Somebody saw a cartoon of the women after they had visited the tomb on Easter morning. One woman is kneeling and weeping in joy, the other one is looking at her basket and commenting with a scowl on her face, “Well, I certainly hope you kept the receipt for all these burial spices.” I doubt any of the women worried about the cost of the spices that morning. I doubt they were worrying about anything. They had just witnessed the most important moment in history, and they were determined ...

1113. A Child of the Resurrection

Luke 20:27-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection . . .’” I hope that’s how you feel about yourself—that you are a child of the resurrection. You are going to live forever because of your faith in Jesus Christ. I suspect that most of us know that deep in our bones—that we are going to live forever. Why do ...

1114. Less Fear; More Fruit

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... We fold in on ourselves, seek only our own well-being and refuse to hear any pleas beyond our own. We abandon hope, eschew courage and succumb to that terrible melancholy that Søren Kierkegaard called, “the sickness unto death.” Or there is the ... the King, the Lord of hosts!” (6:1-5) This is the fear, the awe, the wonder, the reverence that leads not to despair, but to hope, not to paralysis but to action, not to death, but to life. It is the fear that brings forth fruit in the lives of those who ...

1115. Sitting Shiva Behind Closed Doors

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... is said to come from Genesis, as God grants a period of 7 days for the mourning of Methuselah, the oldest human to live, before commencing with the flood. When Noah sends out the Raven and Dove to seek dry land, he does so also for 7 days until hope is again renewed and the covenant sign given. We also see the 7 day period of mourning when Joseph mourns Jacob. Jewish rituals were very important and observed meticulously. A group of at least 10 would gather and stay in the same house for the entire 7 day ...

1116. The Gathering at Cana

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... receive God’s best. In fact, the last shall be first! We all get God’s best. The most important thing of all perhaps to remember is that signs are clues, hints, gifts that point to Jesus. They give us clues to the identity of the Savior. They give us hope for our lives and for the world. God’s signs are not here to solve all of our problems, are not here to alieve every aspect of our lives. But they point to the promise of the gospel…to the livingness and power and presence of Jesus….the victory ...

1117. Your Faith Has Made You Well

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... thinks perhaps, he won’t notice. She will simply, lowly as she is, touch only that little bit of his robe, and surely it will be enough to heal her. But Jesus notices! And not only notices, but –stops. And asks who touched him. She waits, hoping he will move on, hoping the others won’t know it was her, since she dared to touch the great rabbi, she –an unclean woman. But he won’t let it go. Finally, she reveals herself. Reveals that she is healed! She falls down before him in humility, and declares ...

1118. The Prophet of Locusts and Honey

Luke 3:1-20, Luke 3:21-38

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... of Adam, the son of God. Image Exegesis: The Prophet of Locusts and Honey “Eat honey, my son, for it is good; honey from the comb is sweet to your taste. Know also that wisdom is like honey for you: If you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.” (Proverbs 24:13-14) John, like Jeremiah, was called while still in the womb to be a prophet to the nations. Like Ezekiel, he “ate” the twin metaphors of which he would speak –locusts and honey. Like Joel, he delivered a ...

1119. Secret Savior

Matthew 6:5-15, Matthew 6:16-18

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , so that our only request to God, in that “secret” time, must be the strength, and the nourishment, and the daily hope in order to stay rooted in our relationship with God, even when threatened by temptations and other kinds of “food.” In ... . Let us pray now, each of you in your inward self, with your secret faults, and your secret needs, your secret weaknesses, and your secret hopes, to your Secret Savior. And as you pray, may your life be surprised by the beauty of His love. For prayer is not a time ...

1120. The Order of the Magi

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... . They may transplant hearts and restore limbs. But no one has ever been able to change the world the way Jesus the Messiah has done and continues to do every single day –through his miracles, through his teaching, through his love, through his gift of hope and grace. The greatest discovery of 2016? It’s still Jesus. Pass the word. *The photo for this sermon is from the “Irish Catholic.” Based on the Story Lectionary Major Text The Visit of the Magi to Bethlehem (Matthew 2) Minor Text The Priest of ...

1121. The Funeral Crasher

John 14:1-4, John 14:5-14, John 14:15-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... clean and unclean, including Noah’s family and relatives. The ark transported its residents through chaos to a new earth, a new reality, into a new and firm covenant. Jesus too is an ark builder. He’s not just a “carpenter,” but an architect of hope, a constructor of an ethereal palace in which he is the cornerstone and will occupy the place beside the Father. Jesus tells his disciples, he’s going to prepare a place for them. He’s constructing his palace with rooms of an uncountable number, for ...

1122. The Thorn of Discontent

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... relief, And it is not touched with blight. It has had of pleasure full many a measure; It has thrilled with love's red wine; It has hope and health, and youth's rare wealth-- Oh rich is this heart of mine. Yet it is not glad--it is wild and mad Like a billow ... is often the means for change, for repentance, for conversion when one realizes the power of Jesus to change lives, restore hope, turn mourning into dancing, and death into life. We are most weak in our difficulties. We are also most vulnerable, and ...

1123. Dry Bones

Ezekiel 37:1-14, Ezekiel 37:15-28

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... the people we desire. And yet, it is so simple. It comes down to faith. It comes down to surrendering our own plans, and strategies, and hopes, and putting them in Jesus. “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of ... new remaking, an entirely new kind of life! “The hand of the Lord was laid upon me….” What powerful words are these! “My hope is in the Lord.” “For I was dead, lost, and now am found.” In Ezekiel’s time, Israel lay in exile to ...

1124. Crossing Over

Luke 10:25-37, Genesis 48:1-22

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... kinds of roads. Most of the time, it’s because we know we need to be on that other side. We need to be in that new and better place. We need to stop clinging to what is weighing us down, and cross over to a place of life, breath, hope, love. Once we put our fears to rest by taking that first step, each next step is a confirmation that we are moving in the “right” direction, the right way. Today I want to suggest to you that Jesus’ parable of the traveling Samaritan is a “crossing over” story ...

1125. Fake News vs. Fantastic Good News

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... alone. God is with us and, if we will let Him, God will use those times of struggle to grow into persons who are fit to share eternity with Him. But here’s the final thing to be said: when you meet Jesus in your struggles and understand the hope he offers, you find the motivation to share the good news with others. No one knows for sure where Emmaus was. It appears that the town itself doesn’t exist anymore. But Emmaus doesn’t need a physical location. Where is your Emmaus? Where is the place in your ...

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