Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 176 to 200 of 1795 results

John 1:29-42

Sermon

John Jamison

The scripture today is another one of those interesting passages from John, this time giving us John’s version of the story about Jesus being baptized. The other gospel writers tell the story in fairly clear ways, describing what Jesus and John said and did. After reading their stories, we can close our eyes and see what it must have been like. And then John writes his version and instead of telling us about the river, he says things like, “This is the man I told you about who comes after me and would end ...

177. The Serpent's Tongue

John 3:14-21

Sermon

Lori Wagner

God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. John 3:17 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— ...

178. For Someone Who Will Be Terribly Missed

Isaiah 43:1-5 · Job 19:23-27

Eulogy

Richard E. Zajac

Name on a Tombstone [Tell of what comes to mind when you hear or see their name and then describe the indelible mark they left upon the souls of those who benefited by their presence.] Some years ago, I had the opportunity to make a trip to Washington and I had a chance to visit the Vietnam Memorial Wall. As many of you know, it’s a long black granite wall with thousands of names of those who lost their lives in that tragic conflict. As I walked the grounds of the Wall, I couldn’t help but notice the ...

179. For Someone Remembered by Many

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 · Matthew 16:13-20 · Mark 14:7-9, 10-12

Eulogy

Richard E. Zajac

This Is Your Life [Tell of whose voices might have been heard and the stories that might have been told, had the deceased been the chosen celebrity.] Those of you sporting a bit more gray than I may well recall the television show This is Your Life. It aired from 1952 to 1961. Its host and producer was a fellow by the name of Ralph Edwards who upon a stage would greet an unsuspecting celebrity who had no idea as to what was about to transpire. Edwards would introduce him or her to the audience and then ...

180. For Someone Who Played a Background Role In a Successful Life

Mark 1:1-8 · John 1:6-9

Eulogy

Richard E. Zajac

Backdrop to Our Spotlights [Provide examples of their “behind the scenes” role, how they happened to provide the backdrop for the spotlights which many a life had occupied.] Frank Boreham is an Australian preacher who wrote in the early part of the previous century. I found his books to be literary jewels. They are collections of sermons he preached while in the active ministry that spanned many decades. In one of those books, there’s a sermon where Boreham talks about famous writers and artists and the ...

181. An Everyday Theology

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... renowned theologian, no stranger to using all his mind as he deals with the meaning of the gospel, wrapped it all up in a little Sunday school tune. Alongside his wide-ranging academic theology, he had an everyday theology. Jesus was a master of this theological style. This can be seen in the passage on prayer in Luke 11. The disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray and the result is what we call the Lord’s Prayer, along with some additional encouragements to pray. Notice the everyday images in this text ...

182. The Bronze Snake

Numbers 21:4-9

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

Of Snakes and Victories: Chapter 21 begins a new movement in the book of Numbers. The deaths of Miriam and Aaron and the sin of Moses in chapter 20 mark milestones, and the camp is again on the move. In the final chapters of the book, the action moves to the Transjordan plateau and the journey to the land of Canaan. Chapters 11–20 have been dominated by rebellion, death, and defeat. In chapter 21 are the first signs of military success. Although another rebellion story follows the first victory (vv. 1–3), ...

183. The Siege Lifted

2 Kings 7:3-20

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

The Siege of Samaria: The Aramean threat has been hanging over Israel for some time. The uneasy peace of 2 Kings 5 gave way in chapter 6 to sporadic Aramean raids into Israelite territory—themselves curtailed because of the events of 6:18ff. There has been an accumulating tension; it is no surprise to read of full-blown invasion, as the king of Aram, long anxious for a fight (5:7), encamps his army at the very gates of Samaria. Our only question is how long Elisha will continue to help doomed Jehoram. It ...

184. The Turning Point

John 13:31-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

In 1977, a movie came out starring Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft called “The Turning Point.” In the movie, Deedee, a former ballerina, decides to leave the ballet to get married and raise children. Now fast forward –her best friend Emma, who stayed in her ballet career, invites Deedee’s daughter Emilia to join her ballet company. This sparks both pride for her daughter but envy, regret, jealousy, and nostalgia for Deedee. The movie follows Deedee’s painful coming to terms with her past decisions and ...

185. Choosing Your Spirituality

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

... the churches that have done a masterful job of nurturing faith in the listeners during their active years, pronouncing doomsday, and effecting feelings of helplessness and hopelessness because they say humanity is no good. An experience several years ago provoked me to evaluate my style of presenting Christ’s Gospel. A young man called on the phone. His call combined good humor with seriousness. He said, “I wanted to prepare you for a possible call. I just talked with a good friend. I told him if he was ...

186. Joshua to Succeed Moses

Numbers 27:12-23

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

The New Generation: Inheritance and Leadership 27:1–7: The census in chapter 26 prepares for the distribution of the land. The custom in ancient Israel was that land stayed with the tribe and was passed from father to son. The question now arises as to what happens when there are no sons but only daughters. The daughters of Zelophehad . . . belonged to the clans of Manasseh. The five of them—Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah—approach the community’s judicial body in an effort to inherit their father’ ...

187. A Rebellious Son

Deuteronomy 21:18-21

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Rectifying Public and Private Wrongs: Each of the five sections of this chapter deals with a situation of human distress or misconduct and seeks either to rectify the wrong or to mitigate its worst effects. We have seen already that this is a characteristic feature of Deuteronomy—part of its “pastoral strategy.” Another feature is that the first and fifth of the laws both require actions that involve removing pollution from the sight of God and from the land. 21:18–21 The fate of the rebellious son. If a ...

188. Curses from Mount Ebal

Deuteronomy 27:9-26

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Covenant Renewal and Covenant Curse: Structurally, we are moving into the second half of the “inner frame.” Chapter 27 balances chapter 11, thus functioning as a framework for the detailed legislation in chapters 12–25. This is clear not only from the reference in both chapters to the ceremony at Mt. Ebal but also from the emphasis in both on covenant choice and commitment. 27:9–10 These verses reaffirm the basic covenant relationship and its basic obligation and do so in the now familiar order: Israel’s ...

189. House of Jesus

John 14:5-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... ." Companies are trying to become more like houses, with company signatures coming in the form of architect Michael Graves, or lifestyle maven Martha Stewart. Each wants to be your Total Fashion Designer, and to provide you with a Life Style, or what Bruce Mau calls "Styling Life." (Life Style [London: Phaidon, 2000], edited by Kyo Maclear with Bart Testa). The House of Dior or Martha's World have defining characteristics that are keys to their longevity. Each house, like that of the House of Lauren, is a ...

190. Living Through Hard Times

2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10

Sermon

Bonnie Bates

Sometimes it is hard for us to accept the hardships of this life. Certainly, in the current situation, with so many people in so many communities and countries still affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is much worry and anxiety. Yet, worry and struggle have been a part of the human condition almost as long as human beings have been on the earth. As Paul wrote this second letter to the church in Corinth, he was reminding the people that he, too had struggled: “in beatings, imprisonments, and riots; in ...

191. For a Special Woman

Proverbs 31:10-31, Luke 10:38-42

Eulogy

Richard E. Zajac

Dial 0 [Tell of how it was that they exuded the tenderness, the love, the compassion, the warmth which that operator exhibited.] A prominent speaker in the United Kingdom once told of how, when he was six years old, his mother explained that if he ever needed help, he should dial zero for Operator and ask for information. One day, when the boy’s mother was away, his pet canary, which always sang for him, seemed to be sick and unable to sing. He remembered what his mother had told him, so he dialed zero for ...

192. Creative Preaching

Sermon

Michael Rogness

... the text can be conveyed more effectively with a different kind of sermon, try it. A nontraditional sermon even once or twice a year will make a huge difference in how your congregation looks forward to preaching.52 Telling The Story One source for a new style of preaching is the Bible itself. Recruiting Sunday school teachers, every pastor has heard the excuse, "I don't know enough about the Bible to teach Sunday school." For some this might be false modesty, but the fact is that more and more people don't ...

193. A Church Shaped By The Great Commission

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... going to them? We have more unsaved and unchurched people in our nation than ever before in our history—172 million. Are we going to them? Ninety percent of the population of the United States lives in urban settings. Are we going to them? But not only in style, we must be apostolic in our passion. For the apostles, Jesus Christ was the Good News. This conviction is the only power that will give us the passion to be for our age what the first century Christians were for theirs: who Jesus is and what God ...

194. More Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 28:1-28, Proverbs 29:1-27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

28:1–29:27 Review · Chapters 28–29, on righteousness and a nation’s welfare, together conclude this anonymous proverbial collection. They are similar to chapters 10–15 stylistically in their dominant use of contrasting parallel clauses and thematically in their repeated contrast between the righteous and the wicked (Hebrew rasha occurs five times each in chaps. 28 and 29 but is absent from chap. 27; cf. commentary on 16:1–22:16). Some interpreters consider these chapters to be “rules for rulers,” although ...

195. Delivery

Sermon

Michael Rogness

... to death," he told me later, "and the first sermons were awful. But now I'm getting used to it, and I have to admit I'm a better preacher now." More informative was the comment of a layperson in the congregation, who told me about the new preaching style at the services. "The youth pastor is really good at it," she said. "He used to read his sermons, and I thought he was abstract and boring. But now he talks straight at us, and he's really good." The pastor thinks his sermons aren't very well organized ...

196. The Commitment Question: Will You Lay Down Your Life For Me?

John 13:31-38

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... The Pulpit, April 1957, p.25, John R. Kelly, "Do You Know?") The commitment question is the one that Jesus would ask: "Will you make My will your will? Will you allow me to sit on the throne?" II The second question is this: "Will you make my style your style?" When I originally planned this sermon series, I intended to deal with another question Jesus asked earlier in this chapter 13 of John's Gospel, verse 12: Listen to it: After He had washed their feet, had put on His robe, and had returned to the table ...

197. Asa King of Judah

1 Kings 15:9-24

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

Abijam and Asa: We remain for the moment in Judah, with Rehoboam’s immediate successors. Abijam is the characteristically bad Judean king, indulging in the idolatry of Solomon’s later years and of Rehoboam. Asa is the characteristically good Judean king, behaving relatively faithfully like David and the younger Solomon. These two between them set the pattern for all subsequent Judean kings, who are measured in terms of whether they have been “like David” or not. 15:1–8 Abijam was just as bad as his father ...

198. The Rest of the Levites

1 Chronicles 24:20-31

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

The Division of Priests: 24:1–19 It already became clear in the previous subsections that the two sons of Amram, namely Aaron and Moses, were considered very important. The following description of Aaron was given there (23:13): “Aaron was set apart, he and his descendants forever, to consecrate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices before the LORD, to minister before him and to pronounce blessings in his name forever.” No other member of the Levite families is given such an elaborate description. This ...

199. Where's the One?

Luke 15:1-10

Sermon

Jill J. Duffield

Over the past few weeks, I’ve heard some variation of the following over and over again: “I’m craving some good news.” “I am longing for beauty.” “I’m tired of feeling beaten up and not good enough.” Maybe you’ve heard versions of these sentiments, too. Or maybe you have expressed them. I’m not sure why I’m hearing this from so many sources now, but I can guess it is because there is so much bad news, so much ugliness, so many people willing to be critical, pointing out flaws in themselves, their friends ...

200. The Great Divide

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Jill J. Duffield

Recently, I attended two birthday parties just several days apart. One was simple. There was a cake, two small gifts: a frisbee and a set of sheets, to be exact. It was a party for a boy turning ten. The boy was serenaded by his family and a group of relative strangers, some of whom, including me, had just learned his name. The party took place in the fellowship hall of a church, the boy’s home on this particular week. The next party was perhaps a little over the top. There were eleven small children ...

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