Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1676 to 1700 of 3099 results

Mt 4:1-11, Rom 5:12-21

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... . Hence the person who has stolen something ought to feel ashamed. Although this is part of the meaning of shame in the Old Testament, it is not its primary meaning. Shame is not first and foremost about our sinful actions or even about our subjective feelings concerning wrongful actions. Rather, shame describes an objective situation or a state-of-being where things are out of sync, because the opposite of what was intended in fact happens. The story of the battle between David and his son Absalom in II ...

1677. Lent 4

Jn 9:1-41 · Eph 5:8-14 · Ps 23 · 1 Sam 16:1-13

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... indiscriminate? This issue may certainly be appropriate for discussion by pastors who discuss the lectionary together in weekly sessions, even if it may not be appropriate for preaching. The anointing in the Gospel leads to sight, to the light that is the subject of the epistle. Thus the three lessons are tied together and we are reminded that in the ancient tradition of the Church, baptism was frequently referred to as "illumination." The Psalm 23 is chosen for the response because of its reference to ...

1678. Proper 7

Psalm 86:1-17, Romans 6:1-14, Matthew 10:1-42, Genesis 21:8-21

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... steadily refusing to live in compromise to this world's demands, are assured that the investment of life in discipleship to Christ imbues life itself with divinely intended meaning. PROPER 7: THE CELEBRATION The Old Testament lesson and the Gospel deal with the subject of persecution. In the first case, we are told about persecution carried on by those blessed by God (Abraham and Sarah drive out Hagar and Ishmael); in the second case we are told that our faithfulness as disciples will result in persecution ...

1679. Proper 9

Psalm 45:1-17, Romans 7:7-25, Matthew 11:25-30, Matthew 11:1-19, Genesis 24:1-67

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... of humanity in the work of God through Jesus Christ. Encountering the hope allows the Christian to assess life frankly, and v. 25 completes this reflection with such a candid appraisal. Significance. No part of Romans is more difficult, profound, or subject to misinterpretation than the section from which this lesson is drawn. In our current psychologically oriented era, we are almost certain to see Paul speaking personally and confessionally in this text. Read, however, in the context of Paul's letters in ...

1680. Proper 14

Genesis 37:1-11, Matthew 14:22-36, Romans 9:30--10:21, Psalm 105:1-45

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... . And with the wind calmed, the disciples in their rightful awe see clearly who the one they call "Lord" is: He is the Son of God. PROPER 14: THE CELEBRATION Many pastors are away on vacation at this time of year. We are now subject to the guest preacher. Frequently congregations drink deeply of the vintage years of sermonic production without regard for the current lectionary readings. Or lay members of, now invited to speak, take advantage of the opportunity to straighten out all the affairs of the church ...

1681. Proper 17

Exodus 3:1-22, Matthew 16:21-28, Romans 12:9-21, Psalm 105:1-45

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... benediction of praise for God's statutes in 45b . Significance. Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45b takes up the narrative account of Israel in Egypt and turns it into the language of praise. Note how all the events in Egypt are redefined with God as their subject: the Lord made his people fruitful and strong, the Lord turns the Egyptians against Israel, and then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron. This text is not a theodicy, but it is a confessional response to suffering in the context of worship. The point is the same ...

1682. Proper 19

Exodus 13:17--14:31, Matthew 18:21-35, Romans 14:1--15:13, Exodus 15:1-21

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... and the reason for praise. Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The verses sung by Moses and the men begin with the same two couplets, and then proceed antiphonally with Yahweh and Pharaoh as alternate subjects in the pattern. I. Yahweh's Strength as Divine Warrior (vv. 2-3) II. Pharoah's Drowning (vv. 4-5) III. Yahweh's Power Over the Sea (vv. 6-8) IV. The Enemy's Aggression (v. 9) V. Yahweh Sinks Them Like Lead (v. 10) Verses 11 and 12 ...

1683. Proper 20

Exodus 16:1-36, Matthew 20:1-16, Philippians 1:12-30, Psalm 105:1-45

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... certainly the central message if the story is stopped at v. 15, as it presently is in the lectionary. Yet this simplistic reading of the text will force closure or resolution too quickly, for these biblical writers have qualifications to add on the subject of grace, especially when trying to avoid a self-centered understanding of personal favors granted by God. In particular the text shows how grace must shape the lives of the people of God. This point is made through the addition of specific instructions ...

1684. Proper 23

Psalm 106:1-48, Philippians 4:2-9, Matthew 22:1-14, Exodus 32:1-33:6

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... Therefore," v. 1) from Paul's admonition in the previous verses (3:14, 21) to press on toward the goal of "the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus" with full confidence in Jesus Christ, who has "the power . . . to make all things subject to himself." Then, in vv. 2-3 Paul gives directions concerning a dispute between two women, Euodia and Syntyche, who were former fellow workers of Paul. Paul follows these specific instructions with a twice stated command to "Rejoice" (v. 4) and continues with additional ...

1685. Thanksgiving Day, North America

Luke 17:11-19, Deuteronomy 8:1-20, Psalm 65:1-13, 1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... Psalm 65 provides the proper language for thanksgiving. The logic of the psalm anchors the worshiping community firmly in the sanctuary as the place where God's bounty is to be discerned (vv. 1-4). Once the setting of worship has been established, the subject matter of praise ranges from God's cosmological power as creator of the world (vv. 6-8) to God's more immediate power as of the created order (vv. 9-13). NEW TESTAMENT TEXTS The readings bring together remarkably different texts—an epistolary appeal ...

1686. That First Longing

John 4:5-42

Illustration

Robert Bachelder

... are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise. The longings which arise in us when we first fall in love, or first think of some foreign country, or first take up some subject that excites us, are longings which no marriage, no travel, no learning can really satisfy. I am not now speaking of what would ordinarily be called unsuccessful marriages, or holidays, or learned careers. I am speaking of the best possible ones. There was something we ...

1687. Changed Lives: The Man Born Blind from Birth

John 9:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... served as a university professor for 10 years. Then he formed his own company, Time Management Center, Inc. in St. Louis. He now presents time management seminars internationally, and his company produces more than 60 publications on time management and related subjects. Baker believes everyone has some disability, some lack of ability to do something that they need to do. “The most severe disability I have ever encountered,” he says, “are people who are paralyzed from the neck up--people who are not ...

1688. Mr. Hooper Is Dead

John 11:1-44

Illustration

Brett Blair

... of 1981, Will Lee, the actor who played an adult character named Mr. Hooper on the children's television show SESAME STREET, died. This posed a difficult set of issues for The Children's Television Workshop, producers of the show. Should they deal at all with the subject of death? If so, how would they explain it to their 10 million viewers, most of whom are under the age of six? A staff writer describes it this way: "We asked ourselves: What do we want the kids to know? What can they absorb? What might ...

1689. What Do You Think of The Resurrection?

John 20:1-18

Illustration

Brett Blair

... of thing does not happen often. I hope it will not disappoint you to hear that most of the pastor's days are spent in meetings and with budgets, and staff issues and reports and not discussing theology. Eventually the conversation came around to the subject of Easter. After all, if you take Christianity seriously, it will ultimately always lead you to Easter. "What do you think of the resurrection, he asked. The pastor replied: I believe that it happened in reality and not just in the minds of men. What ...

1690. It's Thanksgiving Time!

Psalm 100:1-5

Sermon

James W. Moore

... and that's recession and then the store owners feel depressed and that's depression." Out in Hollywood, there is an exclusive school attended by children of movie stars, producers and directors. One of the teachers asked the students to write a composition on the subject of poverty. A little girl in the class started her literary piece like this: "Once upon a time, there was a poor little girl. Her father was poor, Her mother was poor, Her governess was poor, Her chauffeur was poor, Her butler was poor ...

1691. Christmas Gifts That Always Fit

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

James W. Moore

... truth of Christmas… and get ourselves prepared and ready for a joyous and meaningful celebration of Christmas. To help us with that this year, I am beginning today a series of sermons (to coincide with our Coordinated Bible Study in Sunday School on the subject: “The Christmas Gifts That Always Fit”)… and today we are looking specifically at “The Best Gifts of All.” And, of course, the best place to find the best gifts of Christmas is at the manger of Bethlehem. So, let’s go with the shepherds ...

1692. Changed Lives - Thomas

John 20:24-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... great saints since have struggled. One of the issues that many people struggle with is the relationship between science and faith. A hot issue in some parts of our land is an effort by some Christian leaders to have schools teach a subject called, “Intelligent Design.” The rational for this is that there are some people who believe that science, as it is being taught in many schools--particularly the teaching of evolution--undermines belief in God. Teachers of Intelligent Design want equal time. They ...

1693. John 10: 1-10

John 10:1-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... I tell you” or as a double “Amen” (I translate it as “I tell you the truth”), Jesus uses this exclamation to call attention to an important theme or thrust he is about to make. Most often Jesus’ “Amen” does not introduce a completely new subject, but rather follows an event or dialogue or parable with a further important conclusion. In the case of John 10:1, Jesus’ “very truly I tell you” points back to his words to the healed blind man and to the harsh behavior and doubting words of ...

1694. To Be a Christian

Acts 11:19-30

Sermon

James McCormick

... ”. No, there will just be the family of God. And I will enjoy going up to those who don’t think I’m going to be there and saying, “Surprise!” Being a Christian does not mean that you have a certain opinion on a given subject. Too many people have their litmus tests which they apply to others, and they usually come out asking, “Do you agree with me?” The fact is, there are a number of very complex, difficult issues we confront. And sincere Christians sometimes disagree. And, being a Christian ...

1695. Wide Enough for All (Mother's Day)

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... up to her car. “I have never been stopped like this before,” she said to the officer. “What do they usually do, ma’am,” he asked, “shoot the tires out?” (1) Judith Viorst once wrote an essay based on interviews she had with children. The subject was “What’s a good mother like?” Viorst reports that the children expected their mother to get angry from time to time. “She has to,” said Ted, “or she’ll faint from holding it in.” “But it’s best to remember,” said Randy, “that ...

1696. EXEGESIS: 1 Peter 4:12-14; 6:6-11

1 Peter 4:12-19

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... one's life. Even within Judaism the hardships endured by the Israelites were overwhelmingly understood as the direct result of their disobedience to God. In the last quarter of the first century, when the text of 1 Peter was being written, Christians were being subjected to terrible atrocities. After the fires that consumed much of Rome in 54 CE, Emperor Nero found the new sect of "Christians" a handy scapegoat for the Empire's problems. Far from being a refuge, a safeguard, a tool to worldly success and ...

1697. What’s a Good Mother Like?

2 Timothy 1:5

Illustration

King Duncan

Judith Viorst once wrote an essay based on interviews she had with children. The subject was "What's a good mother like?" Viorst reports that the children expected their mother to get angry from time to time. "She has to," said Ted, "or she'll faint from holding it in." "But it's best to remember," said Randy, "that when your mother starts to act ...

1698. The Spirit of My Mother's Church

John 7:25-44

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... spent many years in the pulpit in Washington State. He writes about his preaching days and his fear of Mother’s Day in these words: For twenty-five years of my life, the second Sunday of May was trouble . . . I was obliged in some way to address the subject of Mother’s Day. It could not be avoided . . .The congregation was quite open-minded and gave me free reign in the pulpit. But when it came to the second Sunday in May the expectation was summarized in the words of one of the more outspoken women in ...

1699. The Trinity - Sermon Starter

John 16:12-15; Matt 28:16-20

Illustration

Brett Blair

... Pentecost, as we did last week, without mentioning the doctrine of the Trinity? Today is Trinity Sunday. This is a day that has been celebrated in the Christian church since the 10th century. It is on this occasion that ministers around the world address themselves to the subject of the triune God. Let me begin by saying that the doctrine of the Trinity does not attempt to explain God. It only explains to us in a very elemental way what God has revealed to us about himself so far. To describe the tip of the ...

1700. Matthew 6: 25-34

Matthew 6:25-34

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... texts from the third major section of the Sermon on the Mount. The organization of this entire unit (6:19-7:12) has been likened to that of the wisdom books (Proverbs, Sirach) wherein various short units are put together according to like subjects. Thus while this third unit combines forms (such as commands and illustrations) and a coherent summary (7:12), there are general themes that link these diverse styles together. In today’s text that theme is “faith,” specifically faith in an Omni God--an ...

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