Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1151 to 1175 of 4681 results

1151. The Knot: Frayed (Part 2)

1 Peter 3:1-7

Sermon

James Merritt

... and women in many ways. Intellectually, men and women are equal. Frankly, spiritually speaking oftentimes it is the woman that is more mature than the man. I don’t even understand why we call women the weaker sex. Women outlive men by seven years and they are the ones that bear the babies and do most of the housework. I can assure you there are a lot of areas where my wife is a lot stronger than I am. Peter is looking at how much bigger and stronger the man is than the woman on average. He simply says in ...

1152. An Announcement from a Stable

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... arms were decorated with tattoos. And there they were kneeling at the altar of this sophisticated Episcopal Church. As he came up to them to serve them the Lord’s Supper he couldn’t help thinking that these two men resembled grizzly bears, if only grizzly bears smelled like tequila. He served them the communion bread; behind him, the chalice bearer served them the wine. However, the two huge men continued kneeling at the rail long after the other communicants had gone back to their seats. The other ...

1153. The Three Shower Gifts

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... His precious blood, The sinner’s perfect plea. 3. It tells me what my Father hath, In store for every day, And though I tread a darksome path, Yields sunshine all the way. 4. It tells of One whose loving heart Can feel my deepest woe, Who in each sorrow bears a part That none can ...

1154. The God of Second Chances

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

King Duncan

... about all the things being brought up about her past. As she began to cry, the pastor’s son stood to speak. He could not bear the pain all this was causing his wife-to-be. He began to speak and his statement was this: “My fiancé’s past is not ... soon as we welcome Christ into our lives. It is why we speak of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the part of the Godhead that bears witness to God’s word. It is the Spirit that puts God’s law in our minds and writes it on our hearts.” And it happens to ...

1155. A Watery Grave

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... merely the minutes and hours marked on the face of a clock. No, this “time” is an appointment on a calendar — indeed, on God’s own calendar. The word “fulfilled” is a frequent and important one in the New Testament. Matthew uses it often to bear witness to the way that the Old Testament dots were connected by the person and work of Christ. Jesus used it himself to express his own purpose in relation to the law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17). He also recognized certain scriptures being fulfilled ...

1156. An Annual Reminder

John 20:1-9

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... preach to the people and to testify....” Peter and his companions are not mere volunteers; they have been called to the witness stand by God himself. And that, in turn, reminds us that bearing witness is actually a secondary act. A person cannot witness until he has witnessed. I must experience something before I can bear witness to that something. There is no purpose in my climbing onto the witness stand unless I have first experienced something that is relevant to the case. 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Twice ...

1157. The Good Life

John 10:11-18

Sermon

James Merritt

... ’s bad weather, there’s ticks, fleas, insects that want to sicken the sheep and weaken the sheep. The shepherd does not guard the sheep from difficulty, he guards the sheep in difficulty. The shepherd cannot prevent sheep from coming into contact with bears or wolves, but the shepherd can protect the sheep when they do. Why do you think Jesus calls himself “The Good Shepherd”? That word “Good” doesn't just mean “nice” or “effective”. It literally means “One of a kind, in a class all ...

1158. Jesus Prays for Us

John 17:6-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... that. So rather than pray that they will avoid pain, he prays for their UNITY. Now, why would he pray that? There is strength in unity. When you have friends and family and fellow church members to whom you can turn in times of trouble you can bear almost any pain, any turmoil in your life. The church at its best provides that kind of support, that kind of one-ness. That wonderful preacher Barbara Brown Taylor gives us a picture of a church where unity provides comfort and security. She writes, “Like the ...

1159. Poem: Adonais

Eulogy

Percy Bysshe Shelley

... Spreading itself where’er that Power may move Which has withdrawn his being to its own; Which wields the world with never-wearied love, Sustains it from beneath, and kindles it above. XLIII. He is a portion of the loveliness Which once he made more lovely: he doth bear His part, while the one Spirit’s plastic stress Sweeps through the dull dense world, compelling there All new successions to the forms they wear; Torturing th’ unwilling dross that checks its flight To its own likeness, as each mass may ...

1160. A Cry in the Dark

Luke 21:25-36

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... intervention in human affairs. But it all begins with the faithfulness of God upon which our own faith and faithfulness can be pinned. Advent is, for the church, a solid hook in the vast, uncharted chaotic voids of space, allowing us to tether and take our bearings from at least one point which is neither shifting with the currents nor dependent on our own powers to establish it. Advent is the place where Archimedes can set the fulcrum of his lever and move earth and the planets in a meaningful way because ...

1161. How to Get the Job Done

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... to the tent of meeting, where God manifested his presence. God said, "I will come down and talk with you there; and I will take some of the spirit which is upon you and put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone" (Numbers 11:17). So God's Spirit did come upon the seventy and Moses had people to whom he could delegate responsibility and leadership. Thirteen centuries later, Jesus uses the same number — seventy — to recruit men to help ...

1162. Care of Vines

John 15:1-8

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... shoots to ensure plentiful fruit. Since the shoots grow right where the branch joins the stem, creating a tight cluster where dirt, leaves, and other debris collect, the pruning is basically a cleansing process. The Father’s work in our lives is to find a branch that is beginning to bear fruit, beginning to produce the likeness of Christ, and then to cut it back. He trims off the troublesome shoots, so that we may ...

1163. Ahaz King of Judah

2 Chronicles 28:1-27

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... , a remark that is absent from Kings. Imagine: a Davidic king barring entrance to the very temple that David desired and Solomon built! The great irony of the king himself now also providing high places to bring sacrifices to other deities in every town in Judah bears repeating. It comes as no surprise that Ahaz’s policy provoked the LORD, the God of his fathers, to anger. 28:26–27 The death-and-burial notice is copied from the source text in 2 Kings 16:19–20, although the customary small changes are ...

1164. Jesus Taken Up into Heaven

Acts 1:1-11

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... general. Others have seen it as a pseudonym for someone who could not be named. But the name was not an uncommon one, and there is no good reason to think that Theophilus was not a real person of that name. The use of the title “Most Excellent” bears this out (Luke 1:3) and suggests, moreover, that he was a man of some importance. The title was appropriate to a man of the Roman equestrian order (an upper middle class social group) and is applied elsewhere in Acts to the procurators of Judea, since most ...

1165. Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas

Acts 1:12-26

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... witness would be both to the historical facts of Jesus’ life and to the transforming effect of his grace in life of the believer. (For the title the Lord Jesus see notes on 11:20.) 1:23 There were probably many who could have filled the vacancy on these terms, bearing in mind that the Twelve had been chosen from a much wider group, which itself, hardly less than the Twelve, had remained close to Jesus (cf. Mark 3:13f.; Luke 10:1; 1 Cor. 15:6). But most of them may have been in Galilee (see disc. on 9:31 ...

1166. Peter Speaks to the Onlookers

Acts 3:11-26

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... to be killed (lit., “Jesus, whom you handed over”; see note on 4:10), and even when the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, had decided to set him free (the Greek suggests that he had given judgment to that effect), they had still disowned him and brought such pressure to bear on the governor that in the end he had acceded to their demand (cf. John 19:15; also Acts 28:18f.). 3:14 Thus they had sent to his death an innocent man, one indeed who was holy and righteous. Taking holy to mean “one devoted to the ...

1167. Stephen’s Speech to the Sanhedrin

Acts 7:1-53

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... likely that the speech came to Luke from a source and not out of his own head, since the LXX, Luke’s own preferred version, bears no trace of this tradition (see note on v. 46). From Haran, God sent him (i.e., Abraham) to this land where you are ... to God in the Old Testament, but Stephen saw Moses both as the type of Christ and as acting for God and therefore able to bear such a name. That this was indeed an act of divine redemption is expressed in the words he was sent through (lit. “with the hand”; ...

1168. On Cyprus

Acts 13:4-12

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... center on three inscriptions: a Greek inscription found at Soli refers to the proconsul Paulus; a Latin inscription names Lucius Sergius Paullus as one of the curators of the Tiber under Claudius, and another Greek inscription found at Kytheria may also bear the name Sergius Paulus. In addition, W. Ramsay and J. G. C. Anderson discovered in 1912 an inscription near Pisidian Antioch that mentions a “Lucius Sergius Paullus, the younger son of Lucius.” In 1913 Ramsay discovered the woman’s name Sergia ...

1169. In Pisidian Antioch

Acts 13:13-52

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... past (13:17–23)” (Krodel, p. 54; see also the disc. on 19:21–41). It has often been remarked that this sermon bears a striking resemblance to the speeches of Peter in both outline and content and to a lesser extent to the speech of Stephen (both ... authenticity of one or the other or of them all has been questioned and their similarity attributed entirely to Luke. Certainly they all bear the stamp of his language and literary style, but it must be doubted that he freely composed them. It is now widely ...

1170. On to Jerusalem

Acts 21:1-16

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... . 2 Cor. 11:25), but having made a successful crossing to Tyre, he may have found that he now had time to spare. Paul would have visited this church before (cf. 11:30; 12:25; 15:3), and the use of the definite article in the Greek, “the disciples,” bears this out—these were the Christians whom Paul knew to be there. Their presence went back to the events of 11:19. While he was with them, a warning came (perhaps through a Christian prophet) that he should not go to Jerusalem. But Paul was sure that he ...

1171. The Trial Before Felix

Acts 24:1-27

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus: Josephus tells us that Felix was recalled by Nero and that he was only saved from further proceedings against him by the Jews through the influence of his brother, Pallas (Antiquities 20.182–184). This note has an important bearing on the dates of Felix’s term, for Pallas was dismissed from office within a very short time after Nero’s succession (A.D. 54), and it is argued that he could hardly have exercised this influence on behalf of his brother later than his ...

1172. Paul Before Agrippa

Acts 25:23--26:32

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... . 5:5), that is, from the power of Satan to God, that their sins might be forgiven and they might have a place among the people of God (lit., “an inheritance in those who have been sanctified,” v. 18; see disc. on 9:13; 20:32). This statement bears a remarkable likeness to Colossians 1:12–14 and assures us that this résumé of Paul’s speech is based on reliable information. (Note: Luke does not appear to have had access to Paul’s letters.) But not any preaching will lead to conversion. Effective ...

1173. The God of All Comfort

2 Corinthians 1:1-11

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... , who raises the dead” (v. 9b), and the phrase “who comforts us in all our troubles” (v. 4a) relates to “who has delivered us from such a deadly peril and will deliver us” (v. 10a). The language from Israel’s hymnal, the Psalms, bears a close resemblance to Paul’s description here (see Additional Notes below). The purpose for which Paul is comforted in all his troubles is given in verse 4b. The divine comfort (= deliverance) that Paul receives as an apostle is thus mediated to others through ...

1174. Body / Ambassador

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... , the single sacrifice of Jesus provides universal atonement in a way that repeated cultic rites could not. As the Son of Man, Jesus came to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). Likewise, Paul understands Jesus as the Suffering Servant of the Lord, who bears the iniquities of the many (cf. esp. Isa. 53:4–5, 11–12; 1 Cor. 15:1–5; Rom. 4:25). 5:16 The relation of v. 16 to the previous context is crucial for Paul’s whole apology. If, however, most interpreters fail to recognize the point ...

1175. The Credibility of the Gospel Paul Proclaims

Galatians 1:11-24

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... an experience untainted by human intervention, that his commission came to him at that moment, and that subsequent to this remarkable experience he was not in contact with the Jerusalem church. The gospel he preached to the Galatians is the unadulterated gospel, bearing no signs of influence from any human source, not even that of Jerusalem Christianity. Additional Notes 1:13 Where did Paul persecute the church? As he refers to persecuting the church in parallelism to advancing in Judaism (1:14) it is most ...

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