Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1626 to 1650 of 4944 results

1626. Introduction and “Hello”

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

Big Idea: Paul introduces himself as a fellow Christ follower and reminds his Corinthian friends that calling Christ Lord should generate life patterns that reflect such a relationship to Christ. Understanding the Text If anything strikes someone who begins reading 1 Corinthians, it is how Paul packs content into every word from the outset. When we realize how well he knows the Corinthian congregation even on a personal level and recognize that this is at least his second letter to the church (5:9), it is ...

1627. The Choice: Obedience or Punishment

Lev 26:1-46

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

Big Idea: Obedience and disobedience have profound consequences. Understanding the Text Leviticus 26 is a continuation of Leviticus 25. The two chapters have a common introduction (25:1–2a) and conclusion (26:46), both emphasizing Mount Sinai. Leviticus 26 refers back to Leviticus 25’s instructions to give the land its Sabbath rests (26:34–35, 43). Its command to keep the Sabbath (26:2) naturally follows Leviticus 25’s Sabbath Year theme. But in a broader sense this chapter sums up the entire holiness code ...

1628. Job's Second Reply to Eliphaz

Job 16:1-17:16

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

Miserable Comforters Job returns to the discussion even more hopeless than before. Whereas he had expressed a determination to carry his case before God when he last responded to Zophar (chs. 12–14), he now seems almost resigned to defeat and rejection by human beings and by God. By the end of this response to Eliphaz, Job declares his hopelessness and prepares to go down to Sheol unrequited (17:16). 16:1–3 As often before, Job’s response begins with a critique of his friends’ lack of compassion and ...

1629. Job's Second Reply to Zophar

Job 21:1-34

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

The Inexplicable Prosperity of the Wicked In chapter 21, Job responds to Zophar’s accusations by thoroughly deconstructing the foundation on which they rest. Zophar has claimed that the wicked perish both in an ultimate sense and in their relentless quest for that which does not satisfy—the gnawing greed that consumes the wicked from the inside out. Job assesses Zophar’s claims as so much “nonsense” and “falsehood” (v. 34) when held up to the mirror of real life as Job both knows and describes it. Far from ...

1630. Two Kinds of Wisdom

James 3:13-18, James 3:1-12

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

Wisdom for the Tongue Like the Pauline churches, James’ church was a church of the Spirit. Though there were formal offices, such as elder (5:14), there was no ordination process or schooling needed to teach and preach. As a result it was relatively easy for people with some ability, but worldly motivation, to put themselves forward as teachers. (Our modern seminary-ordination process makes this take longer, but it is not successful in preventing it; rather, it makes such a person a more permanent fixture ...

1631. Sparkle

Luke 4:31-37

Sermon

Lori Wagner

But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.…Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. (James 14-15; 21) “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, Destroy.” (Deuteronomy ...

1632. Briny Faith

Mark 9:38-50

Sermon

Lori Wagner

When the heart malfunctions it sometimes needs a regulator. It’s called a “pacemaker,” a cardiac pacing device that keeps the rhythm of the heart steady and sure. For those who have heart failure or heartbeat issues, the pacemaker resynchronizes the heart and makes the heartbeat more efficiently. The heart’s electrical system controls the heartbeat. But aging, muscle damage from a heart attack, or some kinds of genetic conditions can cause the heart to beat abnormally. It can get sludgy, therefore not ...

1633. Take Heart

Matthew 14:22-33

Sermon

Will Willimon

Jesus needs a vacation. Crowds pressing in, so many hungry, hurting people seeking something from him. He tries to get away from it all, to be by himself to ponder his future, to pray. He got in a boat in order to get away from it all. But he can't get away. When he finally arrives at some ''lonely place'' it is anything but lonely. Great, hungry crowds press in upon him. He heals them. It grows late and they have had nothing to eat. And so Jesus commands his disciples to help bi1n feed the hungry ...

1634. We Have Waited

Isaiah 25:1-12

Sermon

Will Willimon

It will be said on that day, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” (Isa. 25:9). About the best that can be said of the church in the past days of Lent is that we have waited. Lent is the church waiting. Questions were raised that had no ready answers—questions of sin, injustice, evil, suffering, the demonic power of Pilate's state, the limitations of the howling, democratic mob, the ...

1635. When the Music Stops

Matthew 24:36-44

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Ever notice that right before a storm is about to hit the birds go silent? All of a sudden, an eerie blanket of quiet descends all around you, and you know something ominous is going to occur. For us it could mean a storm, a hurricane, or some other natural disaster. For all of our gifts as human beings, we are the last creatures on earth it seems to sense when something momentous is coming to pass. Scientists believe that this is because animals have a better sense of sound and vibration than we do. They ...

1636. Never Really Alone

Mark 14:1-15:47

Sermon

Mary Austin

Kate Bowler is a professor who studies the Prosperity Gospel — the idea that God rewards us with cars and money and big houses, if we love God enough. Anything good in your life is a reward from God, so the idea goes, because you are especially worthy. The idea falls apart when you look at the reverse — all the faithful, hard-working, committed people who love God deeply… and don’t live in big houses or; have millions in the bank. If God actually worked that way, preschool teachers would drive Maseratis, ...

1637. We Need Another Miracle

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Do you believe in miracles? Psychology Today reports of a study that surveyed almost 36,000 Americans, aged eighteen to seventy-plus- years-old, and found that 78% of people under the age of thirty believed in miracles versus 79% among those older than thirty (Pew Research Center, 2010). With respect to religious affiliation, 83% of those who were affiliated believed in miracles in contrast to 55% of respondents who were unaffiliated. Although people from all religions believe in miracles, over 80% of ...

1638. The Art Of Transition

Luke 9:51-62

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:61-62) Someone once said that people do not voluntarily change until their level of discomfort is greater than their level of fear. I have a good friend, a fellow baby-boomer, who was required by the company he worked for to move to a different part of the state. The move meant a promotion and a sizable ...

1639. Gratitude Takes Practice

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

If any life was lifeless, it was the life of the lepers. Lepers were, in Jesus day, "the walking dead." They were considered outcasts. Their skin diseases were mistakenly considered contagious and, therefore, they were segregated in order to protect the healthy parts of society from their diseases. But something deeper than disease was also at work. Lepers generally were presumed to be people who were being punished for their sins. Their illness was evidence that God was punishing them. Can you feel just a ...

1640. Don't Forget to Remember

Jude 1:5-7

Sermon

James Merritt

There was a young preacher who was going to preach his very first sermon, and he wanted to have a smashing introduction. So he went to an older pastor he knew, and said, "Do you know of any surefire introduction that is guaranteed to get everybody's attention?" The old preacher said, "As a matter of fact I have an illustration that works every single time." He said, "When you walk to the pulpit, make this statement: ‘Some of the greatest days of my life I spent in the arms of another man's wife.'" He said ...

1641. Out of the Miry Bog (Dealing with Depression)

Psalm 22:1-31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I’ve told you this story before, but it’s such a good one, it deserves repeating. And it’s the best story I know to introduce the sermon this morning. A business man’s wife was experiencing depression. She began to mope around and be sad, lifeless - no light in her eyes - no spring in her step - joyless. It became so bad that this “man of the world” did what any sophisticated person would do. He made an appointment with the psychiatrist. On the appointed day, they went to the psychiatrist’s office, sat ...

1642. Duuuh!

John 14:15-31

Sermon

David O. Bales

If you’ve been around the Christian faith for a while, you’ve noticed how people pick what they like from the Bible. Like a giant magnet at a wrecking yard we each reach down into the material of the Bible and pick up only what we want — get the iron, leave the wood, paper, and plastics. We’re not convincing if we say, “I don’t do it but everyone else does.” We all do. It’s just that some are so obvious about it. I’ve dealt with two main types of Bible-selectors. One brand of Christian Bible-selector is ...

1643. Titus' Task on Crete

Titus 1:1-16

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

Salutation What is striking about the salutation to Titus is its considerable differences from those in 1 and 2 Timothy, especially its lengthy elaboration of Paul’s apostleship (vv. 1–3), a phenomenon found elsewhere only in Romans. These verses, which form a single, extremely complex sentence in Greek, conclude with a note about his apostleship as a trust. The main thrust, however, emphasizes the purpose of that apostleship: to bring God’s people to faith and truth, and thus to life. That life, he ...

1644. Finish the Drill

Nehemiah 4:1-23

Sermon

James Merritt

I want you to complete this sentence: ". It's not how you start, it's how you finish that counts." I am convinced that is true because of an article someone sent to me that said the best way to achieve inner peace is to always finish things that you start.ed. This person that sent me the article said "it is definitely working for me. I now make a point of always finishing what I start and I am well on my way toward finding inner peace. Here are the things I have finished today:" Two bags of potato chips A ...

1645. Sleep With the Lions Without Being Eaten

Daniel 6:1-28

Sermon

James Merritt

I read something recently that blessed me and inspired me, and I hope it will you too. It is entitled: THE WORLD NEEDS MEN...[AND I MIGHT ADD WOMEN] Who cannot be bought; whose word is their bond; who put character above wealth; who possess opinions and a will; who are larger than their vocation; who do not hesitate to take chances; who will not lose their individuality in a crowd; who will be as honest in small things as in great things; who will make no compromise with wrong; whose ambitions are not ...

1646. Sitting at the Big People Table

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, 1 Timothy 2:1-7

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Psalms 100 [1] Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth. [2] Worship the LORD with gladness; come into his presence with singing. [3] Know that the LORD is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. [4] Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name. [5] For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. 1 Tim. 2:1-7 [1] First of all, then, I urge that ...

1647. All In: The Winning Hand

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

James Merritt

Of all the jewelry that people can buy and people can wear the coolest piece of jewelry to me is the ring that professional athletes get to wear when they win their world champion. Yes, they are gaudy, big, showy, bold and audacious, but I have seen them up close and they are just plain cool. After winning the Super Bowl a few years ago, the New York Giants got their rings. It looked like this [Show 1st picture of ring from the top] There are four diamond-studded trophies representing the four ...

1648. A Fig Tree Sprouts Leaves

Luke 21:25-36

Sermon

King Duncan

In one of his books, motivational speaker Zig Ziglar tells the story of NFL quarterback Jeff Hostetler, formerly with the New York Giants. At the beginning of his career, Jeff was a back-up quarterback. By the end of his seventh season, he had thrown less than two hundred passes, and none of them had any bearing on the outcome of a game. Then Phil Simms, the starting quarterback of the Giants, went down with an injury, and coach Bill Parcels looked to his back-up quarterback on the bench and said, “Okay, ...

1649. Comfortable Christianity Is a Big, Fat Lie

Matthew 7:15-23

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

“Thus you will know them by their fruits.” Matthew 7:20 In his novel A Painted House, John Grisham describes a pious Sunday school teacher eulogizing a character named Jerry Sisco. He was a mean guy who’d been killed just the night before in a back alley fight after picking on one person too many. In the words of the little boy who’d seen the fight with his friend Dewayne: "She made Jerry sound like a Christian, an innocent victim. I glanced at Dewayne, who had an eye on me. There was something odd about ...

1650. The End Times

Daniel 12:1-13

Understanding Series

William Nelson

The Final Revelation--The Body: We enter now into the body of the last main revelation of the book of Daniel. There has been some progression in the visions of the book from a more general scope, encompassing larger blocks of history, to a more narrow focus on shorter periods of time. So, for example, Daniel 2 spans four and a half centuries by outlining the four human empires of Babylonia, Media, Persia, and Greece, which are swept away by the fifth—the eternal kingdom of God. Aside from the fact that the ...

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