Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1476 to 1500 of 1858 results

1476. The Fall of Man

Genesis 3:1-24

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... provides dramatic movement, and captures how motivation to disobey God rises from an inversion of the order of responsibility that God had established. 3:1–5 Act 2 of the drama begins with the introduction of a new actor, the serpent, one of the wild animals the LORD God had made (2:19). The serpent is described as more crafty (’arum) than the other animals. ’Arum makes a wordplay on “naked” (’arummim), which occurs in 2:25, and thus establishes a tie between the two acts. “Crafty” can ...

1477. Jacob Wrestles with God

Genesis 32:1-32

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... demand. 32:6–8 These messengers returned much sooner than Jacob anticipated. They reported that Esau was approaching with four hundred men. This report caught Jacob by surprise and raised his fears. Having no clue as to Esau’s intent, Jacob was troubled by wild thoughts of what his brother intended to do. Therefore, he divided his company—people . . . , and the flocks and herds and camels—into two groups. His action was in accord with what he saw at Mahanaim (v. 2). Jacob sought to make it possible ...

1478. Social Responsibility

Exodus 22:16-31

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... 31:13b, “I am the LORD, who makes you holy,” is the best way to understand holiness (see also additional note on 19:6). One of the external signs of that distinction that the Lord gave was avoiding the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts. “Torn” (terepah) is the general term for “not kosher” (not properly bled in slaughter), meaning that the blood had not been acknowledged as God’s in the animal’s death. Leviticus 17:15 states that anyone who eats an animal killed by another animal must ...

1479. Sabbath Law

Exodus 23:10-13

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... the focus is on providing for the poor and for beasts of burden. The seventh-year rest for fallow fields, “let the land lie unplowed and unused,” applies also to the vineyard and olive grove. In this way “the poor . . . may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what they leave.” A parallel text in Leviticus 25:1–7, 20–22 emphasizes the Lord’s provision. The seventh-day rest also points to those who bear the heaviest labor. Rest “so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave ...

1480. The Song of Moses

Deuteronomy 31:30--32:47

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... purview of our text: the fire of God’s judgment will burn. That is the sentence, and it is spelled out in graphic detail derived from the stereotypical language of the covenant curses (vv. 20, 22–25)—an absent God, fire, arrows, famine, plague, wild beasts, snakes, slaughter (cf. 28:15–68). “The anger of God is an awesome and terrible thing because it follows from a rejection of the equally pervasive love of God” (Craigie, Deuteronomy, p. 384). 32:26–34 Suddenly, there is a turning point in ...

1481. A Prophecy About Tyre

Isaiah 23:1-18

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... ed., 1915 and 1917], 1:190). NIV takes it as a warning to Tyre to learn from the fate of Babylon when it resisted Assyria. NRSV is more literal, “Look at the land of the Chaldeans! This is the people; it was not Assyria. They destined Tyre for wild animals. . . .” The verse then identifies Babylon, not Assyria, as the power that reduces Tyre. It did get nearer to this than Assyria did, but it did not actually take the city (see Ezek. 29:17–18). 23:17 Seventy years (see Jer. 25:11–12) suggests a ...

1482. Sennacherib's Fall

Isaiah 37:21-38

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... the relaxed confidence that was Judah’s own destiny, but only because it had Yahweh on its side (32:9, 11, 18; 33:20). Yahweh has the power to disturb the comfortable as well as to comfort the disturbed and to treat Sennacherib 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 ...

1483. Jeremiah's Complaint

Jeremiah 12:1-4, Jeremiah 12:5-17, Jeremiah 11:18-23

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... a way of noting that they stand out. But although they are a bird of prey, they will be attacked by other birds of prey, representing nations, most notably Babylon, that will successfully hunt them. To heighten the image of violence toward Judah, the oracle invites the wild beasts to join in on the feast on the body of Judah. Verse 10 uses the image of shepherd to denote the leaders of the enemy army. These shepherds will swarm the land and destroy God’s vineyard, a metaphor for the promised land (Isa. 5 ...

1484. The Baby or the Window?

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

King Duncan

... as we can. They are one of His most wonderful gifts to us. Nevertheless, life sometimes plays cruel tricks on us. Some of you are old enough to remember the name Euell Gibbons. Gibbons became quite a celebrity during the 1960s for advocating natural diets featuring wild berries and nuts. Some of you will remember him as a spokesman for Grape Nuts cereal. He even made it into a popular folk song of the time called “Junk Food Junkie.” Do any of you remember that little tune? It was about a hippie-type ...

1485. Are You a Victim of Identity Theft?

1 John 3:1-3

Sermon

King Duncan

... A used automobile valued between $18,000 and $22,000 was sold for $79,500. A set of green tumblers valued at $500 sold for $38,000. A necklace valued at $500 to $700 went for $211,500. For four days articles of common, ordinary value were sold for wildly inflated prices. Why? The items auctioned were from the estate of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The value of the items auctioned sold on the basis of the one to whom they had belonged. (4) Why are you and I valuable? It is because of the One to whom we belong ...

1486. Gratitude: A Matter of Perspective

Deuteronomy 8:7-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... , but he was still alive--not drowned like all his crewmates. He had no clothes, but he was in a hot climate where he did not need them. He was apart from human society, but he was not starving. He was without any means of defense, but he saw no wild beasts. He had no one to whom he could speak, but God had sent the ship so near the shore that he could get out of it all the things necessary for his basic wants.” (3) Robinson Crusoe could be grateful eve though he assumed he was on a deserted ...

1487. Spiritually Prepared

Mark 1:4-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... . John the Baptist, of course, was interesting for many reasons, not the least of which was his appearance and his lifestyle. Mark tells us he wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. His was a Spartan existence out in the wilderness, but there is no questioning his appeal to those who were searching for some spiritual assurance. John’s ministry was also interesting because of his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than ...

1488. Before You Start Ripping Your Clothing

Joel 2:12-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... but animals suffered and died, and in the worse-case scenarios people starved to death. It was a time of darkness and doom. People lived in fear, much as you and I would in a time of natural disaster. Think hurricanes like Katrina. Think devastating wild fires in the Midwest. Now imagine these disasters continuing for years with no end in sight. The locust plagues we read about in Joel were something that had never happened on such a scale in Israel before. The people were distraught. They ripped their ...

1489. Zeal!

John 2:13-22

Sermon

John Jamison

... not treating another person as an equal, as another child of God. Second, the story is not a call for all of us to become zealous about some issue and to go out and turn over tables and drive away the evildoers. We live in a time that is running wild with zealots, each proclaiming their view of right and doing horrendous things to other human beings, far beyond turning over tables and swinging a rope. No one can take this story of Jesus in the temple and use it to justify an act of abuse or terror of any ...

1490. Uncertain Certainties

John 20:19-31

Sermon

John Jamison

... up being known from then on as Doubting Thomas. I doubt he was any more doubtful than most of us are at times. To fault him for his doubts just doesn’t seem fair at all. I probably would have said the same thing if it was me hearing that wild story. And being really honest, I sometimes wonder why old Thomas was able to get the proof he asked for, while some of us keep asking and asking for any kind of proof, and we still haven’t seen anything yet. That’s the key issue in this story, isn ...

1491. Such a Little Thing

Mark 4:26-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... whole multitude was sharing the small amounts of food they had brought with them, and like a church fellowship supper, the food simply multiplied. (John 6:1-14) A little offered to Jesus goes a long way. The story is told that a sparrow once asked a wild dove, “Tell me the weight of a snowflake.” “Nothing more than nothing,” the dove answered. “In that case, I must tell you a marvelous story,” the sparrow said. “I sat on the branch of a fir tree, close to its trunk, when it began to snow--not ...

1492. Advice from a Billionaire

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... India. (2) That is healing that only love can perform. That is unconditional love . . . love from the heart of God. It is really beautiful when we encounter such love. Many years ago Dr. Albert Schweitzer told a beautiful parable. It was about a flock of wild geese that had settled to rest on a pond. A gardener at a nearby estate captured one of the geese and cruelly clipped some of its feathers. When the geese started to resume their flight, this one bird tried frantically, but vainly, to lift itself into ...

1493. Wilderness Work

Luke 3:1-6

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... do so that God will have space and a place to make us into new people — so that God can complete the baptismal blessing of our lives. Somehow when I think of Advent, of repentance, of preparation, I don’t have visions of arid deserts and wild prophets. I think instead of the wide open fields of North Dakota and Minnesota — with acres of sunflowers turning their faces toward the sun. The beauty of these flowers is in their responsive turn. Their health and wholeness comes from their openness to the sun ...

1494. What To Say When You Roll Out Of Bed

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

William G. Carter

... . As they talked, the chaplain noticed the reading material by her bed. There was a tabloid featuring a cover story on reincarnation, and a cheap magazine that told about the past lives of soap opera stars. One paper cited a recent Elvis appearance. Another made wild claims about strange visitors from another planet. Tragically, there wasn't a Bible in sight, nor any book of substance or depth. The sick woman was a prisoner to the silly whims of pop culture. "You shall love the Lord with all your mind." If ...

1495. When God's Dream Captures Your Heart

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... perpetuated in Africa at that time and became determined to crush what he called, “the open sore of the world.” Livingstone was a battler for justice before that became a popular calling. In his later years, Livingstone was racked by disease, attacked by wild animals, and often menaced by hostile tribes. Repeatedly he was robbed and abandoned by his own carriers, yet he marched on with his Bible. Henry Stanley reported that “not one man in a million would have pushed forward as he did.” You may ...

1496. In the Wilderness with the Devil

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... tempter. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am reminded of that place in Exodus where God says to the Israelites concerning their enemies in the Promised Land, “I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land” (Ex. 23:29-30). That is the way God generally works in life--little by little. But He does work ...

1497. What to Do With Human Failing

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... you are the new pastor in town. Probably by accident, you receive an invitation to a rip-roaring Neighborhood Association New Year’s Eve party. At that gathering, if you want to make new friends, don’t open conversations by mentioning your occupation. Wild party attenders tend to be uncomfortable around unfamiliar clergy. Announcing a pastoral vocation at 10:00 p.m. may mean that by 10:30, you are standing alone in a dark corner. There are exceptions, of course. Undertakers are frequently paired with ...

1498. Life's Deeper Meaning

Illustration

Tom Mullen

... , or actions symbolize something else going on on the inside. We try too hard to discover the hidden meaning, when there just might not be anymore to it than what is on the surface. An engineer, a psychologist, and a theologian were hunting in the wilds of northern Canada. They came across an isolated cabin, far removed from any town. Because friendly hospitality is a virtue practiced by those who live in the wilderness, the hunters knocked on the door to ask permission to rest. No one answered their knocks ...

1499. Christmas Bells

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

There are sounds in the sky when the year grows old, And the winds of the winter blow- When night and the moon are clear and cold, And the stars shine on the snow, Or wild is the blast and the bitter sleet That bleats on the window pane; But blest on the frosty hills are the feet Of the Christmas time again! Chiming sweet when the night wind swells, Blest is the sound of the Christmas bells! Dear are the sounds of the Christmas chimes ...

1500. Christmas Spirit

Illustration

E. C. Baird

... alive in the heart of childhood, and brighten sleep with dreams woven of magic. I cause eager feet to climb dark stairways with filled baskets leaving behind hearts amazed at the goodness of the world. I cause the prodigal to pause a moment on his wild, wasteful way and send to anxious love some little token that releases glad tears—tears which wash away the hard lines of sorrow. I enter dark prison cells, reminding scarred manhood of what might have been and pointing forward to good days yet to be ...

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