Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 176 to 200 of 609 results

176. Warnings from Israel’s History

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... from evil or from God’s judgment when they failed to take their actions seriously. This should now serve as an example to dissuade Christians from stubbornly refusing to acknowledge and give up what is evil. The temptation (as one eats, drinks, and indulges in the “revelry” of any pagan occasion) to stubbornly ignore evil and acquiesce in an act of idolatry should be rejected (1 Cor. 8:10–12; 10:14–22) if the Christians at Corinth are not simply to repeat in their own experience the experience ...

177. Rethinking Our Riches (Series: Questioning Our Values)

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... . One refers to the poor who find it a constant struggle to make ends meet, to pay the bills, to provide for family. I grew up like that. We were poor but proud. I was taught this beatitude as a child and told to be proud that we did not indulge in drink and dances and delights like our neighbors who cavorted with friends in high places. The word for poor here in Luke 6:20 is a different word. It is destitute poverty. It is Lazarus begging at the rich man’s gate. It is the prodigal eating with the pigs ...

178. Pleasures Accomplish Little

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... happiness” in 2:26; “gladness” in 5:20; 9:7; and “enjoyment” in 8:15. He ultimately will see the “enjoyment” of life as something good. Here he simply notes that pleasure soon fades and thus accomplishes little (2:1b, 2b), while indulging in laughter (or NJPS “revelry”) is madness (2:2a). As one form of pleasure, he tries stimulating his senses with wine (2:3a). The parallel expression, literally “to grasp folly,” is puzzling, since nowhere else in the book does Qoheleth admit engaging ...

179. The Temple Tax

Matthew 17:24-27

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... is no necessity for Jesus and his disciples to pay the temple tax (they belong to another kingdom), it is important that they do not set a bad example for others. To insist upon one’s rights in a case like this would be to indulge in what Schweizer calls a “negative legalism,” which holds that fundamental freedom must be demonstrated at all costs and is therefore no better than “positive legalism” (p. 357). It has often been noted that this is the only miracle story in which the reader is left ...

180. The Christian Life Children of Light

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Bulletin Aid

Call to Worship Leader: You must no longer live as the Gentiles do in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God. Having lost all sensitivity they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. Congregation: We did not come to know Christ that way. We heard of him and were taught in accordance with the truth that is in him. Leader: You were taught to put off your former way ...

181. PHILOSOPHERS

Acts 17:18

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... , so that by the time of the Acts, there were many branches of philosophy, such as Cyncism, Stoicism, Epicureanism, Platonism, Neo-Platonism, Gnosticism, and many more. And, too, many philosophers led highly moral and ethical lives, while others indulged in gluttony and immorality. The Church Fathers opposed the philosophers because they felt that they regarded the chief purpose of life as pleasure and denied the providence of God. Modern philosophy began with Descartes, who threw out all preconceived ...

182. What Kind of Cross?

Mark 8:31--9:1

Illustration

Larry Powell

Not long ago, a hard-rock singer reknowned for his notorious over indulgence in mind-altering drugs appeared on television to scream, lunge, and gyrate through one of his bestselling songs. Inasmuch as the rather badly garbled words were totally incomprehensible to me, I turned my attention to the bizarre, uninhibited attire of this widely heralded "artist." Not to dwell on the flamboyance of ...

183. The First Two Feasts – Vashti Is Deposed

Esther 1:1-22

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... last 180 days and at which event he will display before the male nobility of his kingdom his affluence and his distinguished fame as the ruler of the vast Persian Empire. Ahasuerus’s banquet, the longest feast mentioned in the Bible, is marked by indulgence in wine and strong drink, gastronomic extravagance, and excessive reveling (1:4–8), as was common in royal feasts of this period (Herodotus, Histories 1.133–35). The event corresponds well with the war council of 483 BC, when the king assembled his ...

184. Reduced In Value

Illustration

Staff

... suit of clothes hanging on a rack by a window. A sign on it read: SLIGHTLY SOILED GREATLY REDUCED IN PRICE. "That's it exactly," he continued. "We get soiled by gazing at a vulgar picture, reading a course book, or allowing ourselves a little indulgence in dishonest or lustful thoughts; and so when the time comes for our character to be appraised, we are greatly reduced in value. Our purity, our strength is gone. We are just part and parcel of the general, shopworn stock of the world." Yes, continual slight ...

185. The Conclusion of the Appeal

2 Corinthians 12:11-21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... rivals, there may already be sufficient “quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder” at Corinth to humble the apostolic pride that he previously took in the origins and growth of the church. As a result, he is afraid that he will grieve over many who have “indulged” in the kinds of sin about which he previously warned them and who have, as a sign of disbelief in Paul’s authority, made no attempt at repentance (12:21).

A man who lies to himself, and believes his own lies, becomes unable to recognize truth, either in himself or in anyone else, and he ends up losing respect for himself and for others. When he has no respect for anyone, he can no longer love, and in him, he yields to his impulses, indulges in the lowest form of pleasure, and behaves in the end like an animal in satisfying his vices. And it all comes from lying to others and to yourself.

Fyodor Dostoevsky

187. Peace of Mind

Acts 2:1-13, Acts 2:14-41

Illustration

... energy fighting conditions you cannot change. Cooperate with life, instead of trying to run away from it. Force yourself to stay involved with the living world. Resist the temptation to withdraw and become reclusive during periods of emotional stress. Refuse to indulge in self-pity when life hands you a raw deal. Accept the fact that nobody gets through life without some sorrow and misfortune. Cultivate the old-fashioned virtues--love, humor, compassion and loyalty. Do not expect too much of yourself. When ...

188. An Appeal to the Galatians

Galatians 4:8-20

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... (4:10), Paul asserts that such actions threaten to negate all that he has done among them (4:11). Such actions suggest that they have made no progress since Paul’s visits. In their attempt to mature through legalism, the Galatians have actually indulged in a childish flirtation with danger. 4:12–20 · An appeal to their personal relationship: The apostle turns to offer the Galatians an objective measure by which to judge his arguments and motives. He refers back to their first meeting (4:13; the Greek ...

189. Denominational Unity

John 17:20-26

Illustration

John M. Braaten

... I suppose that is not strange, since we have been brought up on a diet of theological ingredients which are not only palatable for us but have come highly recommended by God; at least that's what our clergy tell us. So we are suspect of those who indulge in denominational dishes of a different sort. It is important to realize, however, that God's doctrinal tastes are not so narrow. According to Jesus, all who love the name of the Lord are welcomed. Notice, that while he wants us all to be one with him and ...

190. Rule for Prudent Religion

Illustration

John Calvin

On the whole subject of religion, one rule of modesty and soberness is to be observed, and it is this: In obscure matters not to speak or think, or even long to know, more than the Word of God has delivered. A second rule is that in reading the Scriptures we should constantly direct our inquiries and meditations to those things which tend to edification, not indulge in curiosity, or in studying things of no use.

Of all modern notions, the worst is this: that domesticity is dull. Inside the home, they say, is dead decorum and routine; outside is adventure and variety. But the truth is that the home is the only place of liberty, the only spot on earth where a man can alter arrangements suddenly, make an experiment or indulge in a whim. The home is not the one tame place in a world of adventure; it is the one wild place in a world of rules and set tasks.

Gilbert K. Chesterton

192. Sex Outside of Marriage

Illustration

Michael P. Green

Sexual intercourse outside of marriage is always wrong. Why? Because those who indulge in it are trying to isolate one aspect of union—the physical—from all the other aspects that were intended to make a total union of two people. There is nothing wrong with sexual pleasure, any more than there is with the pleasure of eating. However, just as attempting to enjoy ...

Many of the most successful men I have known have never grown up. They have retained bubbling-over boyishness. They have relished wit, they have indulged in humor. They have not allowed "dignity" to depress them into moroseness. Youthfulness of spirit is the twin brother of optimism, and optimism is the stuff of which American business success is fashioned. Resist growing up!

B. C. Forbes

However great the work that God may achieve by an individual, he must not indulge in self-satisfaction. He ought rather to be all the more humbled, seeing himself merely as a tool which God has made use of.

Vincent de Paul

195. Called To Freedom

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

One Sunday morning at a Texas prison, a group of inmates were being led to the Catholic and Protestant chapels. One prisoner didn't enter either chapel but kept on walking toward the main gate. A guard caught up with him and asked, "And just where do you think you're going?" The prisoner replied, "I was told I could go to the church of my choice, and it's in Denver!" Aren't we all just like that inmate? We all want our freedom and we don't want anyone to take it away from us. This week we'll be celebrating ...

196. Free From What? For What?

Luke 9:51-62

Sermon

Robert C. Cochran

Today’s readings give us a chance to talk about freedom quietly a week before advertisers and politicians can fill the airwaves with patriotic rhetoric designed to sell us everything from washers to “wisdom” from Washington. We call the Fourth of July “Independence Day” and have good reason to celebrate. We say this is the day we gained our freedom from British rule. But are the words “freedom” and “independence” really synonyms? I would maintain that, though we did gain our independence from England in ...

197. Fasting: Foolish or Fruitful?

Matthew 6:16-18

Sermon

Today, fasting is a lost practice. Since Vatican II, Catholics do not require fasting. Except for Episcopahans and Lutherans, most Protestants do not know what fasting is. And very few Lutherans and Episcopalians take fasting seriously. Yet, fasting has always been a part of religious devotion, both Christian and non-Christian. For instance, the Bible takes fasting for granted. In looking for a text commending fasting, I could not find one. Fasting is assumed. Jesus took for granted that people would fast ...

198. A Faith That Matters Between Sundays

Romans 3:19-28

Sermon

David E. Leininger

On October 31, 1571, an Augustinian monk by the name of Martin Luther marched up to the castle church door in Wittenberg, Germany, where he was on the university faculty, and posted 95 theses or propositions concerning church policy and practice he proposed for debate. Why there and then? Well, the church door was the community bulletin board — notices and advertisements were regularly placed there, just as they are on the bulletin board today at the grocery store. As to October 31, then and now that is ...

199. Freedom Calling

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

April Yamasaki

Free! No obligation, no sales person will call! Free! Don't miss this opportunity! Free! Two sets for the price of one! In the world of advertising, something is free if you don't have to pay for it; if there's no money down, no payments to make; if you get something for nothing — or at least two for the price of one! Galatians 5:1, 13-25 describes a different kind of freedom. It isn't free in the sense of no cost — in fact, this freedom was purchased at the great cost of Jesus' own life. It isn't ...

200. Woes and Judgments

Isaiah 5:8-30

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

Judgment Missed and Demonstrated: In length and theme chapter 5 pairs with chapter 1 and closes a bracket around 2:2–4:6. Chapter 5 comprises a mock love song; a series of woes that will be completed in 10:1–4; and a warning about Yahweh’s outstretched hand that will continue in chapter 9. In contrast to 1:1–2:1 and 2:2–4:6, no positive note is struck at the beginning or the end. Chapters 1–5 come to a close as bleak as their opening. Rebellion and darkness ultimately bracket them.In length and theme ...

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