... share some struggles together. Do you remember the beautiful story of Helen Keller and her teacher, Anne Sullivan? Helen was born blind and deaf. It was an almost insurmountable challenge to establish communication with her, teach her, and help her to develop the distinctive gifts which were hers. A lesser person than Anne Sullivan could not have done it. It was a struggle from the very beginning. The two of them literally wrestled with each other from time to time as the tedium and the frustration grew. It ...
... is happening in your family. Someone is setting some standards, and others are trying to live up to them, or down to them. One of the best gifts you can give to your family is a set of solid, Christian values. It is a great thing when a person knows who he is, what ... me give a special word to parents. Make time for your families. I don’t know of many things that feel more like love than the gift of time. I grew up in a busy family. My father was a pastor and seemed always to be at a church meeting, or out ...
... can do with our lives whatever we please. And no one has any power to stop us. We are free! Do you know what a gift that is? And what a responsibility? God has created you to be a special, unique individual. In the entire world, there is no one else ... no respecter of persons. What we sow, we reap. I remember the young doctor in one of Lloyd Douglas’ novels. He was bright, gifted, at the outset, idealistic. But, over time, he cut a corner here, made a compromise with his values there, until the night came ...
Psalm 147:1-20, Jeremiah 30:1--31:40, Ephesians 1:1-14, John 1:1-18
Sermon Aid
Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe
... between God and the believers. In relation to God, the life of believers is characterized by the joy of hope and an awareness of the richness of God's grace. Believers have a new attitude, but it is not the result of positive thinking. It comes purely as a gift from God, and it activates a new way of living. John 1:(1-9) 10-18 - "The Word in the World" Setting. These opening verses of the Gospel according to John are often called the prologue to the Gospel, for they function as a kind of frontispiece to the ...
John 20:19-23, Acts 2:14-41, Acts 2:1-13, Psalm 104:1-35, Numbers 11:4-35
Sermon Aid
Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe
... ambiguity of this story. Structure. Numbers 11:4-35 is a murmuring story, in which Israel (or perhaps better, "a rabble" within the group) complains about not having meat to eat in the wilderness. Never mind that they are presently being kept alive by the miraculous gift of manna. This is not the first murmuring story, so the reader is not overly surprised by the thematic development of murmuring. What is new to the story is that Moses becomes angry in vv. 10-15 to the point that he contemplates death as a ...
Mt 13:24-30, 36-43 · Rom 8:12-25 · Ps 139 · Gen 28:10-19a
Sermon Aid
Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe
... . The trickster Jacob has been living out the meaning of his name for some time now. He has not only tricked his brother, Esau, out of his birthright, but he has also stolen Isaac's blessing that rightfully belonged to Esau. (The blessing is an almost magical gift of prosperity which can only be given once.) In the present story Jacob is on the lam, fleeing from his brother Esau, who, as you might imagine, is rather upset with him, for what Jacob tried to do during Rebekah's labor—namely, grab his brother ...
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
... the Joseph story and provides an option on whether to include the account of the ancestors. The following outline will include all of vv. 1-22. I. Introductory Call to Give Thanks (vv. 1-6) II. Hymnic Recounting of Salvation History (vv. 7-22) A. God's gift of covenant (vv. 7-11) B. The ancestors (vv. 12-15) C. Joseph (vv. 16-22) III. Praise Benediction (v. 45b) Significance. The psalm is significant in its praise to God. This is established forcibly in vv. 1-6 with the frequent commands for the worshiper ...
Psalm 100:1-5, Ezekiel 34:1-31, Ephesians 1:15-23, Matthew 25:31-46
Sermon Aid
Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe
... unseen things. In relation to God, the life of believers is characterized by the joy of hope and an awareness of the richness of God's grace. Believers have a new attitude, but it is not the result of positive thinking; it comes purely as a gift from God, and it activates a new way of living. Verse 19 makes this clear by speaking of "the immeasurable greatness of his power for us" and of "the working of his great power." With this mention of God's magnificent power, the thanksgiving takes a christological ...
... of grace to this Samaritan woman. It is clear that Jesus targeted his ministry at Jews, and Jews alone. In Matthew 15:24, he says specifically, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” Yet here he was offering the gift of “living water” to a Samaritan woman. He explains to her that if you drink this living water, you will never be thirsty again. But then the situation gets even more remarkable. She responds to his offer: “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and ...
... ? And the second: How do you see God? Here’s the third: How do you see the good things that happen in your life? Do you see them as accidental? Do you see them as something you deserve because of your hard work? Or do you see them as a gift from God? Rev. Dr. Lewis Smedes tells about a health crisis he experienced sometime back. He had not slept well that night and was not feeling quite right in the morning. His wife came in and found him lying on the kitchen floor, belly up, his face a battleship gray ...
1836. The End of the World
John 20:1-18
Illustration
Donald Dotterer
... pass quickly and then comes the end of the road. We stand at the sheer rock wall we call death. It is the end of our world, for it is the end of life." Because Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead and we have through him received the gift of eternal life, we find a way up and over that wall of rock. Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die (John 11:25)." My friends ...
... what Christ has done for him. Abundant living is more than simply being a do-gooder. Abundant living is life lived out of gratitude for what Christ has done for us. Abundant living is not something we are able to do on our own. Abundant living is a gift, a gift of grace. Listen again to the words of Peter: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” Then the writer of the epistle adds these words, “For ...
... God. And, as such, we are loved unconditionally. Our worth is not something we achieve by our performance. Rather, our worth is a gift. It is a gift conferred upon us for the simple and sufficient reason that we are God’s children. And God wants us to live in the ... Thine be done.” And then, obediently, to do it. What Christ asks us to do is to pass on to others those life-giving gifts that we have received from him. We have been loved, so we are to love. We have been forgiven, so we are to forgive. We ...
... River have eye sockets but no eyes. The reason is, that living in continual darkness has caused their eyes to disappear because they were not able to function. What is true of their eyes is also true of the gifts and abilities God has given you; if you do not use gifts here on earth, you will not have the opportunity to use your gifts up in heaven. I don't know about you, but the only thing I really care about is to come to the end of my life and have the Lord Jesus say to me, "Well done, good and ...
... not born, the Son was given. What does that remind you of? The greatest verse in the Bible, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (Jn. 3:16) God's Christmas gift to the world was a person of deity wrapped up in the package of humanity. Now understand that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but he did not have his beginning in Bethlehem. Dr. R. G. Lee said that Jesus Christ is the only person ever born, who at the ...
... eternal life. (v.28) Now the next statement is crucially important to understanding this entire truth of eternal security. Eternal security does not depend on what you do for God, it depends on what God has done for you. Eternal life is not a prize you achieve, it is a gift you receive. Think about it this way: If eternal life is not earned by being good, then it cannot be lost by being bad. I mean the same way that you are saved is the same way you are safe. How were you saved? You were saved by grace. How ...
... I want to give you three practical principles on how to maximize today, and enjoy God's favorite day. I. Receive Each Day as a Gift from God Now the psalmist is obviously talking about today because he says: "This is the day." Then he says that today is the ... is, every moment of every second, every second of every minute, every minute of every hour, and every hour of every day, is a gift from God. God gives to everyone of us the same amount of time. Did you know that the millionaire doesn't have any more ...
... the heart and it causes you to murder the other person with a sharp knife-like insult. II. Spiritually Put Anger Behind You "Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift." (vv.23-24) Jesus now deals with a situation that occurs far too often, both in the church and outside the church. I would be shocked if there ...
... been eleven years since Paul was in Philippi. Now he is in Rome under house arrest. The Philippians have sent Epaphroditus, one of their members, to Rome which was a 700 mile trip that took several months, with some encouraging notes and a financial gift for this sainted apostle. Paul is excited. Paul is humbled. Paul is grateful for their tremendous prayer and love and support, and out of that excited gratitude he writes this letter to them. In essence, Philippians is a thank you note for their involvement ...
... the men shouted, “O God, you know that I haven’t bothered you for the past fifteen years, and if you’ll just get us out of this mess, I promise that I won’t bother you again for another fifteen years.” (1) Prayer is one of God’s greatest gifts to us. It is a God-extender. We have been given the high and holy privilege of channeling some of God’s power to needed places, giving God an added chance to do what he wants to do even before we pray, but has an added opportunity to do because ...
... add to the beauty of God's house · Singers and story-tellers and teachers and parents and partners · Tithers and givers and good stewards of God's blessings And our task is the faithful participation in the work of the church through our prayers, presence, gifts and service—to carry out the work of the saints, the ministry of Christ. I make no apology about lifting up the call of God to faithful stewardship and the biblical pattern of tithing: 10% returned to God as an act of faithfulness, the remaining ...
... humanity, the authority to forgive sin, the might of the church aligned with the state, the weight of God's work in the world…it all belonged to a set-apart priesthood. But when Martin Luther shook the foundations of the church with his rediscovery of the gift of grace available to all, it led to a whole new understanding of the work of faith—the ministry of all Christians. It was a rediscovery of the simple fact that the work of Christ belongs not just to the ordained, it belongs to the whole church ...
... the best-known miracles of Jesus' ministry is the feeding of the 5,000. Actually, the Gospel says there were 5,000 men, so it is safe to assume there were also women and children. It could have been twice that many people. The Gospel says Jesus took the gifts of one child—five loaves and three fishes—and fed the multitude. Clearly one way to read the story is to believe that Jesus actually multiplied one kid's Happy Meal into 5,000 box lunches. But another way to read it is to imagine that thousands of ...
... But this kind of a day can also be a time when we reassess the priorities of our lives, determine the things that matter most, learn the true value of things. Barnabas found the way—the way to value all he had received as a gift from God. 2. Barnabas found the way to generosity. You see, the problem is that troubling times, difficult economic realities, or upheavals in our industries can sometimes push us in exactly the opposite direction. Instead of teaching us new appreciation for material things, they ...
... considerations can be seriously overrated. At the same time we are called to be cognizant of everything that will aid us in our mission to share. Thanksgiving and thanksliving. Holding back or limiting the story and power of the faith can be tragic. We have this timeless gift in the person of Jesus the Christ to share with others. Our beginning point can be his birth to a Jewish maiden and all that surrounds this one of a kind breaking into history. After all, who wants to shun a lovely and holy young woman ...