Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1326 to 1350 of 1354 results

1326. Division of the House

Matthew 10:24-39

Sermon

William G. Carter

... me from every unwelcome intrusion. Truth be told, I don’t allow God to get that close ... even though the one thing I want more than anything else is for God to get that close. “I have come to bring a sword,” he said. Try as I might, I cannot defend myself against those words. I can only respond to them, and it is clear what that would mean. With a word of truth, the Lord cuts away all in our lives that is false. With a word of health, the Savior separates us from all in our lives that is ...

1327. The Contestant

Matthew 14:22-33

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... loves a good duel! At least in the movies we do. Our hero goes up against a worthy foe, and we hold our breath while the opponents or contestants raise their swords, commence, and fight to the bitter end. The “dual” usually comes about in order to defend someone’s honor –whether one’s own, a friend’s, or a maiden’s. In the end, we hope that our hero will win, and honor will be restored. When we think about contestants today, however, we rarely think about duels. We think primarily of game ...

1328. Dynamic Preaching January 2024 Sermons

Sermon

King Duncan

... a disobedient angel who plead for God’s mercy. God said, "I shall not punish you. However, in atonement, you must bring back from earth the most precious thing in the world." The angel began the search. He found a soldier dying of wounds that he received defending his country. The angel caught the last drop of blood and brought it back. God said, "The courage of one who gives his life is precious, but not the most precious thing in the world." The angel resumed his quest. Wearily he roamed the earth until ...

1329. Casters and Menders

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... and societal problems. They will be ones who respond well to Jesus’ need to “repair” and “adjust” their theology to what God now intends to do. Whereas Simon may be the extrovert, James may be the introvert. Whereas Simon may be the challenger and fierce defender of Jesus, James will be the one to “mend fences” between the disciples and help them all knit together as a team who can fish together effectively. Jesus knows that he needs both! And these are just the first two groups of many whom ...

1330. The View From The Mountaintop

Mark 9:2-9

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... these guiltiest and most remorseless traitors... shall be whirled aloft and plunged downward forever and ever in an endless retribution.”[4] Lordy! In the south, Robert Lewis Dabney was almost as prominent as Beecher in the North. A Presbyterian defender of scripture and of traditional confessions, he was even more orthodox than Beecher. During the war Dabney served on the staff of General Stonewall Jackson; afterward he presided over seminaries in South Carolina and in Texas. Yet from wherever Dabney ...

1331. Praying the Lectionary: Lent 3

John 2:13-22 · 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 · Exodus 20:1-17 · Psalm 19

Bulletin Aid

Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson

... all among us who are ill in body, mind or spirit, especially those whom we name either out loud or in the silence of our hearts be- fore you now: (PAUSE.) God of grace: C: Have mercy on us. P: Bless the whole body of Christ on earth; inspire, correct, defend and nurture all Christians. Enable all Christians to worship you in spirit and in truth. We commend all of these our prayers and whatever else may be in accord with your will and purposes, in the name of Christ our cross-bearing Savior. ALL: Amen.

1332. Praying the Lectionary: Lent 5

John 12:20-33 · Hebrews 5:5-10 · Jeremiah 31:31-34 · Psalm 51:1-12

Bulletin Aid

Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson

... . God of mercy: C: Hear our prayer. P: Covenant-making God: We pray for the whole Christian church around the globe; break the tyranny of spiritual, self-righteous pride and sin, remove the barriers which divide Christians from one another, protect and defend our sisters and brothers who live under persecution, poverty and injustice. Bestow the means of grace on us all to faithfully do your will. God of mercy: C: Hear our prayer. (Other intercessions and thanksgivings may be added here, ending with: God ...

1333. Praying the Lectionary: Maundy Thursday

John 13:1-17, 31b-35 · 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 · Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14 · Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19

Bulletin Aid

Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson

... C: Hear our prayer.) P: God our deliverer: Send us your Spirit, heal our brokenness, unite your fragmented body, guide those who are lost, correct those who err, befriend those who are lonely, comfort those who are sick, suffering, or dying, provide for and defend the poor and powerless especially those who we lift before you, silently and aloud (Pause). Make us more willing servants that we might minister more effectively to the needs of others. God of mercy: C: Hear our prayer. P: O Lamb of God, suffering ...

1334. You're In the Army Now

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

Will Willimon

... them than their psalms, their baptism, their vision of truth, these words? How utterly hopeless is their future when set against Caesar’s armies and the beautiful seduction of Classical culture! See these little of twentieth century believers, huddled with nothing more to defend them than these hymns, this chapel, these words called scripture? Hopeless? Yes, were it not for the word that this cause is also God's -- that God has made the peace, justice, and salvation of the world his own. That word is ...

1335. Jews and Christians: All in the Family

Romans 15:4-13

Sermon

Will Willimon

... . But more than that, the presence of the Jew poses a stark and threatening question to us Christians: We look back upon the centuries of Christian cruelty to the Jews and wonder why our Gospel failed to give more of us the resources rightly to live with, defend, and even to die for the brothers and sisters whom our Lord died to save. Why weren't there more Christian families, like that Polish family we have been hearing about in the news, that welcomed their Jewish kinfolk in their time of trial? How many ...

1336.

Psalm 76:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... and “heaven”; if so, the NIV’s rendering in v. 4a may be correct, cf. 104:1–2). Yahweh’s rebuke in battle is elsewhere connected with the God of the thunderstorm (18:15; 104:7; cf. 68:30, 33). Second, God’s reason for judging was not to defend his mountain but to save all the afflicted of the land. He acts on behalf of the oppressed, not on behalf of sacred space. Emotions play a central role in this narrative. Yahweh’s emotion is anger (vv. 6–7, 10) and the human emotion in response is fear ...

1337.

Psalm 82:1-8

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... verses 2–7, we hear God’s speech to the gods (note esp. v. 6). Verses 2–4 imply the task of administering justice had been committed to these ʾelohîm. Judgment is a leitmotif (recurring motif) throughout: the phrases he gives judgment (v. 1), defend (vv. 2, 3), and judge (v. 8) all translate the same Hebrew verb (špṭ, “to judge”). We now detect the irony that the judges have now become the judged: the ʾelohîm, who have been judges, are now on trial. More specifically, the administration of ...

1338. Daniel Interprets the Dream of a Tree

Daniel 4:19-27

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... wicked and the evil, that the strong might not oppress the weak” (ANET, p. 164). A number of passages in the OT communicate this expectation of kings as well. In one case, the gods who are the members of the heavenly council (Ps. 82:1) are commanded: “Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked” (Ps. 82:3–4). Because they fail to do this, they fall under the judgment of ʾelohim (God ...

1339. The Seventy “Sevens”

Daniel 9:20-27

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... of the similar expression “and no one will help him” (11:45; Collins, Daniel, pp. 356–57). Just as the wicked tyrant, Antiochus Epiphanes, will die with no one to help him (11:45), so the high priest, Onias, will be murdered without anyone to assist, defend, or deliver him (9:26). 9:27 The term abomination that causes desolation is shiqquts meshomem (cf. 11:31; 12:11), which is a wordplay on Baʿal Shamem, “Lord of Heaven,” a Semitic designation of Zeus Olympios. (See the Additional Note on 8:13 ...

1340. A Basket of Ripe Fruit

Amos 8:1-14

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... prophets both before and after him, he has vigorously exercised the prophetic function of interceding for the good of his nation. We do not often realize that the prophets of the OT not only proclaimed God’s judgment on their sinful folk but also defended that folk in tearful intercession before the throne of God (cf. Jer. 9:1). Moses, the first and greatest of the prophets, undertook strenuous asceticism to turn aside God’s judgment (Deut. 9:17–20, 25–29). Jeremiah pleaded so frequently with God ...

1341. The Lord Will Appear

Zechariah 9:14-17

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... it goes with overcome in verse 15a, and as feasting it belongs with the drinking in verse 15b. They will also overcome with slingstones. The NIV interprets “slingstones” as instrumental, “with” (see additional note, below). This is how the sons of Zion will defend the city. Wherever the fighting will take place, God’s people will celebrate a victory. They will drink enough to become boisterous and roar as with wine. The blessing of wine to make the heart glad will reverse the poverty of Haggai 1 ...

1342. The King’s Overseers

1 Chronicles 27:25-34

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... Chronicles 27:1–15 enumerates David’s military, including the various levels in the army’s chain of command. Verse 1 makes it clear that David’s army was not an ad hoc force but rather a standing army on defined rotation, able to defend Israel constantly. First Chronicles 27:16–22 lists the leaders of the tribes of Israel, leaving out the two tribes of Gad and Asher, separating Aaron from the rest of Levi, and dividing the Joseph tribes into three groups (Ephraim, half Manasseh, half Manasseh ...

1343. Officers of the Tribes

1 Chronicles 27:16-24

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

1344. Loving Against the Grain

Mark 3:20-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... Dodgson, otherwise known as Lewis Carroll, we see “hatters” everywhere. No matter which perspective you take as your view, the “hatters” of our world seem to be for us the ones who threaten the status quo, build power structures, and defend restrictive systems. Yet, this very “status quo” (along with its structures and systems) will change or be redefined, depending on whom you speak with. Through the looking glass indeed! This is not the first time our world has been divided. Throughout ...

1345. The Legacy

Mark 9:30-37

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... us that we make those statements at our peril. For we learn most about Jesus and God from those whom we have deemed unworthy or unprepared, too young or too exuberant for our tastes. This would not be the first or last time that Jesus would defend and honor the children. For his disciples this would be confusing to say that least. But the future of the church would lie in these disciples’ hands. And Jesus needed them to understand what leadership meant before they had to take the reins. Leadership –a ...

1346. Badger or Bonobo?

Mark 9:38-50

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... leader, working together, even with those who may not be part of your inner circle, to share skills and build a kingdom of love, peace, and value for all. Territorialism claims a deep-seated place in our psyches. Our instinct for defending and protecting our “territories,” no matter how we define them, comes from our human desire for safety, security, status, and identity. Our ancestors developed tribes to protect valuable and needed resources from raiders and to ensure survival of the group. That ...

1347. Good News

Luke 3:7-18

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... the good news” to them! The coming of the Messiah, the judgment of God, would be the best thing ever to happen! The only ones not celebrating would be those who were wed to power –the officials (vipers) wielding poison at those unable to defend themselves. But for the majority of the people, for all those who may have made mistakes but who would now repent, they would be granted pardon, given abundant blessings, lifted up to God, rewarded for eternity! For them, the threshing floor represented salvation ...

1348. Scandal

Luke 22:14-23:56

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... attack him, cause him pain, and kill him cruelly. But when all of those things had happened, there came a new peace between God and humanity, and the former times of alienation were gone. Anselm interpreted this as Jesus’ mission into our world to defend the honor of the Father. Because of the arrogance of spreading sin, and the hubris of human communities that took the image of God which they possessed for rebellious license, the Creator had been shuttered away from the creation, and Yahweh was forgotten ...

1349. Creation Reborn

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... did with so many others throughout Palestine. But Jesus had dithered and dallied, and Martha was angry. “If you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have had to die!” she shouted at Jesus. He knew she was right and did not try to defend himself. In great grief, they lumbered slowly to the family home. Professional wailers at the door assaulted their ears, accusing Jesus with fiery eyes. Stooping to enter, Jesus found the other sibling, Mary, covered with torn rags and ashes. “If you had been here, my ...

1350. God Soaked

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... ’ve done and stand humbly before God. Lent is a time in which we “soak” ourselves in God’s Word, God’s grace, and the knowledge of Jesus’ compassion and love for us –a love that would drive him to the cross, still defending our ignorance and declaring our forgiveness. To be “God Soaked” for us does not just mean reading the scriptures, attending worship, steeping ourselves in praise, although it certainly includes that. But it also means throwing our rulers away and allowing ourselves to ...

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