Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 101 to 125 of 972 results

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... were incapable of carrying out this mandate. They were the castout ones, the community's scapegoats, and the violence of Jesus' crucifixion had effectively served to rally their persecutors more closely around them. At Pentecost the inclusive, rather than exclusive nature of Christian community was demonstrated. Reversing the Tower of Babel narrative, the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost makes communication between people of all languages once again possible. And judging from Peter's new posture of ...

102. Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... approaching kingdom of God. Only those with childlike faith, not those who boast great wisdom, are able to recognize these signs as true portents of the kingdom. The exclusive-sounding language of verse 27 is not to restrict access to God. Rather, this verse describes the basis for Jesus' authority. As God's chosen one, Jesus has exclusive knowledge of God's will for the coming kingdom. Likewise, only God fully realizes Jesus' future eschatological role. Because Matthew's discussion here is on Jesus' role ...

103. The God of War and Peace

1 Samuel 17:(1a, 4-11, 19-23) 32-49

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... does not prevent God from hearing us when we call to him. According to the Bible, one form of leadership God gives is of a military kind. The application for those of us not serving in the military is not to assume God is on our side to the exclusion of others, but that God commands whatever forces he chooses against the powers of evil and unrighteousness. That means that while we should work and pray as hard as we can for world peace, we can also have confidence that in the end, God will be victorious, and ...

104. The Bible: Head and Heart

Luke 4:21-30

Sermon

Gary L. Carver

... would have them live because they were God's people. They had taken a stand and were persecuted for it. It is true that when you are a persecuted people you have to develop a sense of pride merely to survive. But the real danger is when that pride becomes exclusive. It's hard for persecuted people to hear that others will be included in the same grace that they will know and feel they have deserved. It's hard for us, also. It's okay as long as food is delivered to our door, but what about when grace is ...

105. Why Am I a Christian?

Mark 1:4-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... interpretation to that statement. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). The early Church formula still has merit, but not exclusive merit. There is also an inclusive interpretation of that statement. Christ is the way for those who have never heard. Romans 2:14: “Gentiles, who have no law, follow the law written on their hearts which will defend them on the Day of Judgment." Christ is the ...

106. The Way and The Truth and The Life

John 14:1-14

Sermon

Lee Griess

... life. That's why these words are so sweet to our ears because Jesus also says, "I am the life. No one comes to the Father except by me." These words remind us that Jesus is our life. Rather than get bogged down in a discussion on the exclusivity of Christianity and the exclusive nature of these words; rather than engage in a the old argument about who is and who is not saved, these words of Jesus are meant as gospel to us. They are Jesus' invitation to us to come to him, to receive in him the gift of life ...

107. No Litmus Test for Jesus

2 Kings 5:1-14

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... grew wary of outsiders. The nation, which was built on the sweat and blood of immigrants, now turned its back on these very same people. Beginning as early as 1882, ideas of immigrant restriction had been circulating with the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act. A decade later, the Immigration Restriction League, founded in Boston in 1894, argued that the best way to keep out "undesirables" was a literacy test. The campaign bore no real fruit at the outset as initiatives passed by Congress in 1896, 1909 ...

108. Walls, Walls, Everywhere Walls

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... Wall. And it was a day of incredible rejoicing on November 9, 1989 when that wall came tumbling down. (2) But it is the story of humanity: walls, walls, everywhere walls. We live in the time of the gated community. It’s the sign of an exclusive neighborhood. High walls, a gate across the entrance; sometimes a guard. Most of the time it’s for security. We understand that. Everyone wants to be secure. However, a pastor in Auburn, California asked one of his members who lived in a gated community what he ...

109. Thanksgiving Means Giving

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... they bring in our lives. Opportunities similarly are chosen if they will advance our personal or professional lives or serve us in an advantageous way. The thanksgiving effort of mutual love that Paul preaches to the Thessalonians is completely antithetical to such an exclusive way of thinking or acting. Paul’s third aspect of thanksgiving is proper conduct. He writes, “May he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ ...

110. Look Who's Talking

Acts 11:1-18

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... the at-all-costs followers of the one who had commanded them to love their enemies and who had instructed them to be his witnesses to the very end of the earth. For them to respond to the news of someone's conversion, therefore, with such parochial exclusiveness — to be so blinded by prejudice that you cannot see the work of God — is a frightening error. We must be cautious in our critique of the critics. Such evaluation of others should always come with a mirror close at hand. Let us not be too ...

111. Re-thinking Our Mission

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... light to invade another circle. Each camping group is content in its own circle of light, safe from the darkness and secluded from outsiders in its own exclusive fellowship.” (3) What a wonderful metaphor for the average church, “content in its own circle of light, safe from the darkness and secluded from outsiders in its own exclusive fellowship.” “When you give a luncheon or dinner,” says the Master, “do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors ...

112. Who's the Real Leader?

Joshua 3:1-4:24

Sermon

Argile Smith

... came from God. Such a distinct vision helped Joshua to look into the future to see with confidence what he would lead God’s people to accomplish as they worked together. One important fact should be kept in mind. The Lord didn’t give the vision exclusively to Joshua. He also placed God’s dream in the minds and hearts of the people of Israel too. Consequently, Joshua didn’t have to impose his vision on the resistant people and force them to make it a reality. Quite the contrary, the leader and ...

113. Choosing

Joshua 24:1-27

Sermon

Argile Smith

... of God’s people at Shechem, Joshua could see what kind of people they had become, spiritually speaking, and he wanted to drive home an important point in their minds and hearts. He wanted them to understand clearly that they needed to devote themselves exclusively to God. However, the generation of God’s people who joined him at Shechem didn’t have all of Joshua’s life experiences to help them. Although they knew the story of the desert, they owned for themselves the dream of taking the land ...

114. One-Way Street

John 14:5-14

Sermon

James Merritt

... much less. So, who is this minority to be telling the majority that they are lost and they are wrong? Here is the good news. It is not us. It is not me. It is not you. It is not we. The One that is making that bold, audacious, dogmatic, exclusive, in your face, uncompromising, unbending, and unapologetic statement is Jesus Christ. If He ever made a statement that He had better be ready to back up it was this one. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me ...

115. Wanna Fight?

Mark 9:38-41

Sermon

King Duncan

... day and time, disciples were often named after their rabbi. They were responsible for carrying on his legacy. They were identified not as themselves but by the name of their rabbi. That was the nature of the relationship between disciples and rabbis. And it was an exclusive one. It would be an invasion for anyone else to use the name and even the teachings of a particular rabbi if not authorized by him to do so. The disciples of Jesus encountered a man using the name of Jesus to preach and drive out demons ...

116. Israel Rebels Against Rehoboam

2 Chronicles 10:1--11:4

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... that stands in continuity, but also in discontinuity, with the older historiographical tradition. The concept of All-Israel figures prominently in the genealogical introduction to the book (1 Chron. 1–9) as well as in the David-Solomon narratives. Does the exclusion of the northern kingdom’s history alter the understanding of All-Israel in the next section of Chronicles? No! In the next part it becomes remarkably clear that the Chronicler’s understanding of All-Israel is not related to a united ...

117. Peter and John Before the Sanhedrin

Acts 4:1-22

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... most part they comprised the high priestly families (see disc. on v. 6) and the “elders,” heads of ancient families whose tradition of leadership went back a long way in Israelite history. The Sadducees represented an aristocracy that seems to have been haughty and exclusive. Their power was declining, but as long as the office of high priest was in their hands (as it was throughout this period) and with it the administration of the temple, they were still a force to be reckoned with. The party died out ...

118. Hearts

2 Corinthians 6:14--7:1

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... Hellenistic Wisdom tradition (cf. Sir. 13:2, 17–18), these questions set up a contrast between two mutually exclusive spheres. Thus, believers are not to be allied with unbelievers because they belong to the sphere of ... 14, 16, 18; 5:1; Sib. Or. 3:63, 73; T. Levi 3:3; 18:12; T. Dan. 5:1, 10–11. The dualistic contrast between the mutually exclusive spheres of Christ and Belial is well illustrated by Levi’s exhortation to his children: “Choose for yourselves light or darkness, the Law of the Lord or the ...

119. Timothy’s Encouraging Report

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... holy ones” (NIV “his holy people”) and “those who have believed” are synonymous. In the light of this and 4:14 (see also Rom. 8:19; 1 Cor. 6:2), we should understand Paul to be at least including believers who have died, even he is not exclusively referring to them (note that Paul speaks of all his holy ones). Additional Notes 3:13 When our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones: One scenario of the end time embraced by many Christians today sees a twofold return of Jesus: the first in secret ...

120. Aaron to Speak for Moses

Exodus 6:28--7:7

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... others and with the Lord (6:6; 7:4). This meant judgment on whatever powers or gods controlled the shackles. The phrase is most fully explained in Exodus 12, “I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD” (12:12). The exclusivity of the expression “my people the Israelites” is necessary in the context of the biblical canon. The children of Israel are God’s people. The Lord makes a distinction between Egyptians and the people of Israel. All people are God’s, but the reference to ...

121. Disobedience and Defeat

Judges 2:6-3:6

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... it were, and so worshiped Baal along with the Lord. The Lord viewed this not as an expedient business move on their part but as the gravest offense they could commit against him, on a par with the sin of worshiping the golden calf (Exod. 32). He demanded exclusive worship (Deut. 6:13–15) or none at all. The result of this turning away from the Lord was that he, in anger, turned away from them. He no longer protected them from their enemies (vv. 14–15a) but worked against them rather than in their behalf ...

122. Saul Takes His Life

1 Chronicles 10:1-14

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... (in Mizpah) or their cultic influence (particularly in Gibeon, where the tabernacle was kept before David brought it to Jerusalem and where Solomon still worshiped). This the Chronicler wanted to prevent at all costs, since he wanted to claim those powers exclusively for Jerusalem. Downplaying the role of Saul fits well into this context. The only statements that the Chronicler wanted to make about this Benjaminite were that he failed because he did not seek Yahweh and that Yahweh himself removed him and ...

123. David Numbers the Fighting Men

1 Chronicles 21:1-22:1

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... s omission of both from the census. She argues that the guilt upon Israel caused by the census justified God’s punishment, but the omission of Levi (with its cultic relationship to Jerusalem) and Benjamin (with its geographical relationship) also warranted the exclusion of Jerusalem from this guilt (I and II Chronicles [Londom: SCM, 1993], p. 378). 21:15 Although the NIV refers to Araunah the Jebusite, the Hebrew text has “Ornan the Jebusite.” The name Araunah, which is spelled similarly to Ornan in ...

124. Opposition to the Rebuilding

Ezra 4:1-5

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... in the early exile in Jeremiah 41:5. The narrator, by identifying the newcomers as the exiles and Judah and Benjamin (v. 1) and Israel (v. 3), reaffirmed the dominant message of the earlier chapters—that the people of God had to be defined in exclusive terms and differentiated from self-professed aliens. It is sometimes necessary for a group of believers to stand uncomfortably alone as the trustees of divinely revealed truth. To decide who is “for us” (Mark 9:40) or who “belong to us” (1 John 2:19 ...

125. Israel Forsakes God

Jeremiah 2:1-3:5

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... God using sexual terms (Ezek. 16; 23). The prophets exploit the marriage relationship most dramatically, but its contours can be discerned elsewhere in the Old Testament as well. In the Pentateuch, we hear of Yahweh’s jealousy, an emotion that is only proper to an exclusive relationship like marriage (Exod. 19:3–6; 20:2–6; 34:14). Also, Israel’s rebellion is described as adultery (Exod. 34:15–16; Lev. 17:7). The Song of Songs celebrates intimacy between a man and a woman. Within the context of the ...

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