Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1176 to 1200 of 1285 results

Isaiah 21:11-12

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

21:11–12 After hearing the prophet’s vision in verses 1–10, the prophet’s hearers might immediately be struck by verse 11a as having a double reference. Dumah is an oasis near Babylon which, like Babylon, was subject to Assyrian attack in the eighth century and would itself be concerned about Babylon’s fate. The region also experienced Babylonian invasion and withdrawal in the sixth century, not long before Babylon fell. But oracles can be allusive ...

1177. A Song of Praise

Isaiah 26:1-21

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... A nation that is thus of steadfast mind in its commitment to Yahweh’s ways and that trusts in Yahweh rather than in its own prestige and security will find perfect peace. The last phrase is another of the prophet’s repetitions, literally “peace peace,” double “well-being.” This will include freedom from war but will also extend beyond that. The promise thus takes up that of 9:6 and applies it to any nation that turns to Yahweh. Verses 4–6 underline the point and again remind of the alternative ...

1178. Sennacherib's Fall

Isaiah 37:21-38

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... the way a hunter treats a wild ox on the way to putting it in the royal zoo (v. 29). It is a scenario to encourage Hezekiah at a moment when the pride and scorn are on Sennacherib’s side. In between verses 22 and 29 comes the familiar double critique of Sennacherib which makes the scenario not merely possible but inevitable. Sennacherib has forgotten who is God. His achievements have made him talk and think as if he is (vv. 23–25). He has behaved as if he could stand tall and look God in the eye. It ...

1179. In Search of Heroes

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... the mountain. This story of heroism and self‑sacrifice is contrasted with another story that took place only days earlier on the same mountain. Thirty‑four‑year‑old David Sharp died after forty climbers passed him and refused to help. Mark Inglis, a double amputee, the first to climb Everest, passed Sharp and radioed for help, but a fellow mountaineer told him: “Look, mate, you can’t do anything. You know, he’s been there too long without oxygen--you know, he’s effectively dead.” Now think ...

1180. Getting It Right in the Coming Year

Galatians 4:4-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... , I am,” Miller responded. “Don’t you remember me?” asked the man. Hesitantly, Miller replied, “Well, your face seems familiar.” The man declared, “Why, Art, I’m your old buddy Sam! We went to high school together! We went out on double-dates!” Miller still couldn’t place him. Sam continued, “I guess you can see I’ve done alright--department stores. What do you do, Art?” The author replied, “Well, I write.” “Whaddya write?” the man asked. “Plays, mostly,” came the reply ...

1181. Noah and the Robots

Genesis 9:8-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... had a brain like ours--that is artificial intelligence. To put AI into perspective, you have to understand what’s happening in the world of computers. Computers are getting faster and more powerful at an astounding pace. In fact, according to Moore’s Law, they are doubling in speed and power every couple of years. To put it plainly, this means that, in the very near future we will have computers that are smarter than we are. The fear is that these super-smart computers may one day decide that they don ...

1182. Why Am I Afraid?

Romans 8:14-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... location during the daylight hours could become very lonely and isolated once the sun went down. When her Dad was gone, it was very easy for nighttime loneliness to turn itself into fear. One night her “what ifs” got the best of her. Terrified, she double bolted the door and placed all the furniture she could move in front of it. She figured if anyone tried to break in, they would at least have a little difficulty getting through. She also placed metal objects against the windows so they would clatter ...

1183. When a Storm Is Raging

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

King Duncan

... to Him with gratitude and praise, you will be--or so it feels--welcomed with open arms. But to go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence. You may as well turn away. The longer you wait, the more emphatic the silence will become . . . What can this mean? Why is God so present a commander in our time of prosperity and so very absent a help in times of ...

1184. Free Indeed!

John 8:31-36

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... , they thought they were free. While they remained ignorant of what was really going on in the world around them, they thought they were strong. Does this sound odd, or perhaps oddly familiar? Today's scripture seems to bear witness to a similar kind of double talk. As Jesus spoke with some of the Jews who had believed in him, they said with confidence, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves of anyone." Yet at one point in their history, their people had been slaves doing hard labor ...

1185. A Word to the Wealthy

Mark 10:17-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... feel guilty about the hard choices you make concerning your responsibilities to your employer and your responsibilities to the people you love. It is simply to say that some families have a real problem finding a work/life balance. It caused some people to do a double-take a few years ago when it was reported that a different kind of rental agency had opened up in Japan. This agency didn’t rent automobiles or tools or homes or any of the other items that are usually offered for rent. Instead this agency ...

1186. What Will It Take to Make You Happy?

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... a hand basket.” But, if you study society as a whole over the last fifty years, they are wrong. By every measurable standard, life is better than it has ever been before. In the United States, for example, living standards have more than doubled. Among some populations there have been massive increases in real income . . . and yet . . . and yet . . . according to extensive studies by the Gallup organization people are not one bit happier than 50 years ago. (3) The adage that money cannot buy happiness has ...

1187. Full Life

Illustration

W. Beran Wolfe

If you observe a really happy man you will find him building a boat, writing a symphony, educating his son, growing double dahlias in his garden, or looking for dinosaur eggs in the Gobi desert. He will not be searching for happiness as if it were a collar button that has rolled under the radiator. He will not be striving for it as a goal in itself. He will have become aware that he is happy in the course of living life twenty-four crowded hours of the day.

1188. Don't Be Too Cheap with the Seed

2 Cor 9:8

Illustration

Jack Exum

... ?" No, sir! was the reply. Why not? the farmer asked. "Well for one thing," one of the visitors said, "there's that big machine sitting over there." "You're right," said the farmer. He then took them to the distributor that was some thirty feet wide. "We take that double tandem truck, fill it with certified seed, back it up to the distributor, open the slots, and pour in the seed." He went on to say, "If you're ever going to be cheap, don't be cheap with the seed." One bushel of seed invested yields thirty ...

1189. A Prayer to a Good, Good Father

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... the stock. So the next day Pastor Tom went to a broker to sell the stock. But in the meantime, says Pastor Tom, God did His work. During the delay from when they were given the stock and when they finally could sell the stock, it had doubled in value, and was worth $10,000. Says Pastor Tom, “God had specifically taken care of the specific need we brought to Him.” (1) Now it’s an interesting question whether God manipulates the stock market. I can see some of you writing down, “Start praying.” Or ...

1190. For the Least of Us

Luke 2:24; 3:2

Illustration

Staff

When John baptizes Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes upon Jesus in the form of a dove. Not only were doves symbols of meekness and peace, but doves were also the minimum sacrifice that a poor person could bring to the temple to be sacrificed for his sins (Luke 2:24). It's a nice double meaning. The dove - a sacrifice for our sins, even for the very poorest and least of us.

1191. The Trajectory of God’s Grace

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Robert C. Cochran

... had no chance to register the irony or unfairness of my hitting the class bully’s father’s car with the only throw I’d made in a town of 40,000 people, of which almost 700 were in my class, before he’d hit me in the stomach. I doubled over instinctively. And this is where my wonderful coat comes in. With four or five inches of fur and an embroidered silk lining, I didn’t feel a thing. I’d never been in a fight before and had no idea what it would be like to be in one ...

1192. To the Person Who Has Everything

Illustration

Rev. Shawn Coons

David Meyers wrote a book entitled The Pursuit of Happiness in which he stated that per capita income had doubled from the 1950s to the 1990s. Yet the number of Americans who report being “very happy” has stayed the same. Christian writer and professor Tony Campolo puts it this way, “Most people spend their lives working to produce things nobody wants so that at Christmas we can search the stores to find a gift nobody needs, in order to give it to the person who has everything.”

1193. Beyond a Friendly, Cuddly Christmas

Matthew 2:13-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... us in every circumstance.” Pastor David Platt tells of a letter he received from a woman in North Carolina. This woman’s son was born with cystic fibrosis. He’d been in and out of hospitals and doctor’s offices his whole life. He got a double lung transplant in 2008, then developed severe pneumonia and ended up in a hospital near Platt’s church in Birmingham, Alabama. This woman and her son attended David Platt’s church while they were in Birmingham, and he just happened to be preaching a sermon ...

1194. Hope for the Future

Illustration

Michio Kaku

... height to which may be carried, in a thousand years, the power of man over matter. We may perhaps learn to deprive large masses of their gravity, and give them absolute levity, for the sake of easy transport. Agriculture may diminish its labor and double its produce; all diseases may by sure means be prevented or cured, not excepting even that of old age, and our lives lengthened at pleasure even beyond the antediluvian standard." He was writing at a time when peasants were scratching a bleak existence from ...

1195. Daddy's Girl

Illustration

Alan Carr

There was a teenage girl who was out on a date one night. In fact, she and her boyfriend were double dating and one of them suggested that they go to a party where there was going to be alcohol and drugs and all kinds of illicit activity. Well, this particular young lady was a radiant Christian who loved the Lord and she said, “No, I’m not going to do ...

1196. Hosanna! Please Save Us!

Matthew 21:1-11, Matthew 26:14-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... ] is a little bit like living like a fugitive. Everything has to be some sort of strategy. To get you into the hotel, to get you out of the hotel, to get you into the restaurant, to get you out of the restaurant.” (1) Fame is a double-edged sword. There are benefits, but also there is often a price to pay that not everyone sees. In our Bible passage today, Jesus is making arrangements to enter the city of Jerusalem for Passover week. He knows he can’t just enter quietly, anonymously. He realizes, too ...

1197. Cloak of Power

Psalm 5:1-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... The water parted to the one side and then the other, until both of them crossed over on dry ground. After they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Now tell me what I might do for you before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit and zeal for the Lord.” Elijah responded, “You have asked a very hard thing. Yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted to you. If not, it will not.” Then, as they continued on walking and talking ...

1198. Your Faith Has Made You Well

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... . The tallit is as a tent or tabernacle and represents the ten of the resurrection body. It becomes in this story the vestures of the redeemed, the symbol of healing and resurrection, the tent of “perfection.” ****While some “fringe” sources claim a double meaning with the words “talitha cumi,” suggesting that the phrase “Little girl, get up!” is also a Hebrew way of saying “rise in the power of the tallit.” However, there is no authoritative nor substantive reason to believe this is the ...

1199. God Gives the Pharisees the Finger!

John 7:25-44, John 7:45--8:11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... and property and relational sin!). The words, related to money counting, are interpreted as “God has numbered your days. You have been weighed and found wanting. The Kingdom is divided [and will be given to the Persians].” Each word holds a double meaning! In this prophecy of the three coins, God’s decision and judgment is weighed and delivered. Could this be the Pharisees’ message too, delivered in the Temple Treasury, in which they are, as David did years before, adultering their relationship ...

1200. Precocious

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... attention of anyone who might harm him. They knew the prophecies about their son. Mary “pondered” much in her heart from the time of his birth, and again now. She knew “who” he was. And they both clearly knew, their son was born of the “double line” of David –and could later change the course of Jewish history. But he was still young. Sort of. At 12 in the first century, according to the Mishnah, Jesus’ could embark on much deeper religious study. We don’t know what happened next, although ...

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