Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 101 to 125 of 1533 results

Matthew 5:43-48

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

Paul Stanley is Vice-President of the Navigators, a worldwide para-church ministry to students and the military. In 1967 he was a company commander in Vietnam; it was there that he took a risk and learned the meaning of Jesus’ words: “On one occasion after the enemy had withdrawn, Stanley came upon several soldiers surrounding a wounded Viet Cong. Shot through the lower leg, he was hostile, frightened, helpless. He threw mud and kicked with his one good leg when anyone came near. When Paul joined the ...

102. Tyre, Sidon—and Israel

Ezekiel 26:1-21, Ezekiel 27:1-36, Ezekiel 28:1-19, Ezekiel 28:20-26

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

In the final form of Ezekiel, a collection of oracles against the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (26:1–28:19) interrupts a series of short oracles against the minor kingdoms surrounding Israel (beginning in 25:1). The pattern of short oracles resumes with a brief oracle against the second major Phoenician port city, Sidon (28:20–23), followed by a summary and conclusion to all the oracles against the nations (28:24) and a promise of salvation for Israel (28:25–26). It seems likely, then, that this series of ...

103. Boasting

2 Corinthians 11:1-15, 2 Corinthians 11:16-33, 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

In the last section of the letter (2 Cor. 10–13) Paul makes a frontal attack on his opponents to prepare the Corinthians for his third visit to Corinth. In chapter 10 he has already dealt with two of the opponents’ accusations against him. Now, in 11:1–12:13, the apostle condescends to boasting about himself at the provocation of the opponents and in the face of a lack of concrete support from the Corinthians. These opponents, who evidently bill themselves as “apostles,” had made a strong impression on the ...

104. Boasting

2 Corinthians 11:16-33, 2 Corinthians 1:1-11, 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

105. The Living Stone and a Chosen People

1 Peter 2:4-12

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

The Stone—Living and Deadly Peter now turns from exhorting his readers to conduct that befits their life within the believing community to inviting them to consider the nature of that community which Christ has brought into existence. 2:4 The shift to stone from the figure of “milk” (v. 2) is unexpected and seemingly without reason. But for a Jewish reader there is a natural succession of ideas in this passage—not milk: stone, but the Hebraic one of babes: house. A helpful illustration is in Genesis 16:2. ...

106. Be Patient

James 5:7-12

Sermon

King Duncan

One Christmas season when Shirley Duncanson’s daughter was nearing her third birthday, Duncanson decided to take her along with her brothers ages 1, 4, 6, 8 out shopping. The little girl saw a doll that she wanted. Nothing Duncanson could say or do would alter her desire. She wanted that doll and she wanted it then. No reminder that Christmas was coming that she needed to be good because Santa Claus might be watching had any impact on her. With a one-year-old in the cart, and three other children to keep ...

107. Paul's Vision and His Thorn

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

12:1–10 Up to this point in the “Fool’s Speech” Paul boasts that, as a servant of Christ, he is superior to his opponents (the so-called super-apostles) mostly in terms of his far greater sufferings (11:21b–33). In 12:1–10 the apostle goes on to boast of his surpassing revelatory experience. In contrast to the disgraceful descent from the wall in Damascus (11:33), Paul here recounts a glorious ascent into heaven (cf. T. Jos. 1:4 for a similar contrast between descent as humiliation and ascent as exaltation ...

108. Suffering for Doing Good

1 Peter 3:8-22

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

To All of You 3:8 Finally (not to end the letter but to complete this passage) there comes a general exhortation to the whole Christian community, married and unmarried alike. Peter commends a set of attitudes which together depict what relationships within the Christian fellowship should be. Christian believers must live in harmony with one another, literally, “being of one mind” (a single word in the Greek). The term is intended to convey a unity of aim and purpose, a oneness in attitude. Idealistic? But ...

109. Favoritism Forbidden

James 2:1-13, James 2:14-26

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

Prejudice and the Poor In chapter 2 James expands upon the theme of worldliness and the care of widows. Worldliness shows up not only as personal ambition but also in a church’s paying regard to someone’s worldly power and position rather than dealing only on the basis of that person’s spiritual position in Christ. This issue, in turn, leads to the statement of the need for generosity and to a warning against a complacent orthodoxy that stops short of gospel obedience (2:14–26). 2:1 My brothers recognizes ...

110. Faith and Deeds

James 2:14-26, James 2:1-13

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

111. Week Three Of Lent

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Monday Week Three2 Kings 5:1-15Luke 4:24-30 Expectations -- What Should They Be? Expectations are one of the unavoidable realities of life. Although expectations will differ from person to person and from situation to situation, everyone has certain expectations. This is true in how we view events, material things, specific situations, and especially people. If we are honest, most of the time our expectations are high, especially when it comes to results desired and the usefulness and/or effectiveness of ...

112. More Than Just Image

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

Would you agree that we are an image-conscious society? Appearances are important to us. And not just our personal appearances. We want the things in our environment—our homes and cars and sneakers and even our lunches—to look Instagram-ready. The problem with living in an image-conscious society is that we are easy to deceive. Too often, appearance wins out over substance. If something looks good on the outside, we don’t question its authenticity or integrity. Author Mark D. Roberts tells of meeting a man ...

113. Christ's Sacrifice Once for All

Hebrews 10:1-18

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

The Ineffectiveness of the Law The argument of the preceding two chapters is restated in this section (10:1–18), bringing the central argument of the epistle, namely, the imperfection of the old order and the perfection of the new, to a conclusion. The only new material in this section is found in verses 5–10, where the author’s thesis finds further support in his exegesis of Psalm 40:6–8. All the other material is a restatement of earlier points. The entire central section is then effectively rounded out ...

114. Jesus' Countercultural Sermon

Matthew 5:38-42, Matthew 5:43-48

Sermon

Mark Radecke

Sometimes age and experience force us to reevaluate long held beliefs about the world and the way life works. As idealistic youths in Sunday school and Luther League, for instance, my friends and I vexed and perplexed our ultra-orthodox pastor by arguing against the doctrine of original sin. We were convinced that people were innately and instinctively good. And then we grew up and were "mugged by reality": stung by the selfishness that lies hard by the heart of each and every mortal being, including ...

115. Loving

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Larry Powell

If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. (verse 1) A gong has always impressed me as an almost unnecessary instrument. Each time a musician slams into one with a mallet to achieve the dull, disconcerting clash, I fully expect a secret passage to appear, or an oriental servant to fawn onto the stage. Cymbals provide slightly more flexible, functional accents of emphasis. However, both the gong and the cymbal produce but a single monotonous tone ...

116. Motorcycles, Marriage And A Word From God

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

Rev. Neil Parker of Burnaby, British Columbia says he insists on only two things when he performs a wedding: He must meet with the bride and groom before the ceremony, and he doesn't do weddings in unusual places, like parachuting or underwater, for example. But he broke both rules once. He'd agreed to do this wedding on two days' notice when the minister who was to officiate was unavailable due to a family emergency. He had the details of the location (well out of town, on a farm); he knew the names of ...

117. The Law and the Promise

Galatians 3:15-25, Galatians 3:1-14

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

3:1–2 The apostle begins this section of his letter by addressing his readers as foolish Galatians! This designation appears to have been a common one for the Galatian tribes who were often considered barbarians and “foolish.” The ancient Greek writer Callimachus (c. 305–c. 240 B.C.), for instance, uses the word as if it were a standard epithet, writing: “the foolish tribe of the Galatians” (Hymn 4, To Delos [Mair, LCL]). Paul uses this epithet to remind the Galatians that they need not be as they once ...

118. Faith or Observance of the Law

Galatians 3:1-14, Galatians 3:15-25

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

Paul’s Appeal to the Gospel the Galatians Have Known and Experienced 3:1–2 The apostle begins this section of his letter by addressing his readers as foolish Galatians! This designation appears to have been a common one for the Galatian tribes who were often considered barbarians and “foolish.” The ancient Greek writer Callimachus (c. 305–c. 240 B.C.), for instance, uses the word as if it were a standard epithet, writing: “the foolish tribe of the Galatians” (Hymn 4, To Delos [Mair, LCL]). Paul uses this ...

119. Living Sacrifices

Romans 12:1-8

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

The person who is justified by faith shall live (1:17). That is the theme of the epistle. In chapters 5–8 Paul began to discuss the characteristics of the “new life” (6:4), but not until chapter 12 does he devote himself to the ethical and ecclesiastical shape of it. Justification by faith produces neither moral passivity nor permissiveness. Rather, the indicative of chapters 1–11 leads to the imperative of chapters 12–16. The faith which saves is a faith which can and must be lived, and only the faith ...

120. When You're Dreaming One Thing And Living Another

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

King Duncan

Imagine a computer programming class. A young man and a young woman are facing each other working at computers. The computers, of course, sit back to back. A few minutes into the class, the young woman leaves the room; whereupon the young man reaches between their computers and switches the inputs for the keyboards. The young woman comes back and starts typing. Immediately gets a distressed look on her face. She calls the teacher over and explains that no matter what she types, nothing happens. The teacher ...

121. Job Hears the Whispers of God’s Works

Job 26:1--31:40

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

Big Idea: When Job considers God’s greatness, he realizes how little he himself knows. Understanding the Text When Bildad says in Job 25:6 that humans are mere maggots and worms before the transcendent God, Job apparently interrupts him. Although Job agrees with much of Bildad’s lofty view of God, he draws different implications from their shared theology. Bildad claims that God’s greatness means nothing can thwart his justice, so life in God’s world is thoroughly predictable, but Job declares that God’s ...

122. Yahweh Speaks as the Master Teacher

Job 38:1--41:34

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

Big Idea: Yahweh poses questions about the physical world to demonstrate that Job’s knowledge is too limited to explain how God works in his world. Understanding the Text Throughout the speeches in chapters 3–37, the various human speakers claim to know what Yahweh thinks about Job’s situation, but in chapter 38 Yahweh finally breaks his silence and speaks for himself. Yahweh addresses Job in 38:1–40:2, focusing on his design for the world (38:2), and then Job replies briefly in 40:3–5. Yahweh resumes ...

123. Don't Fit In, Fit Together

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

In every culture there are radically different standards that define beauty. For some its a neck elongated by brass rings feet bound up into crippling smallness pumped up biceps and six-pack abs cinched up, hour-glass waists Yet across the world researchers have found there's one standard, one constant that universally defines beauty: symmetry. When individuals from dozens of different countries and cultures were asked to identify the most beautiful faces, it was the most symmetrical faces that were ...

124. When Desire Goes Bad

1 Kings 21:1-21a

Sermon

Stan Purdum

Nathan, a boy I read about recently, is seven years old. His second grade teacher gave his class an assignment. They were to draw a picture and write an essay about what they would need to have a perfect life. Nathan drew a house and wrote beneath it, "My Home." Also, he drew himself and his dog. Next he drew a checkerboard with faces inside each square and wrote "My Friends" beside that. His essay was titled, "The Perfect Life for Me," and here's what it said: A perfect life for me is the life that I'm in ...

125. Structure And Clarity

Sermon

Michael Rogness

I understand the stories the pastor told and thought they were interesting, but I couldn't see how the sermon fit together. -- A 15-year-old's comment during the writing of this book Many sermons with good material fall flat simply because the audience doesn't follow the flow of the message. With today's audience listening superficially with a short attention span, there are some basic principles one can use so that the sermon will be (a) heard, (b) understood and (c) remembered. Our View And Their View ...

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