Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 201 to 225 of 1354 results

201. Oh, That I Knew Where I Might Find Him

Job 23:1-9, 16-17

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

... , who, "though it makes him sad to see the way we live, he always says, ‘I forgive.' " Our text makes it clear, however, that things are not that simple. God is not at our beck and call. God does not show up in court just because Job wants to defend himself. In his wishful thinking, Job imagines that all would be made right if God would just explain himself. "I would learn what he would answer me, and understand what he would say to me" (v. 5). (Job assumes that God would be a font of wisdom which would ...

202. Destined for Greatness

Luke 21:5-38

Illustration

John Berstecher

... exposition in the last century, the structure was called monstrous by the citizens of the city, who demanded it be torn down as soon as the exposition was over. Yet from the moment its architect first conceived it, he took pride in it and loyally defended it from those who wished to destroy it. He knew it was destined for greatness. Today it is one of the architectural wonders of the modern world and stands as the primary landmark of Paris, France. The architect, of course, was Alexandre Gustave Eiffel. His ...

203. Finish the Lord's Work

Illustration

... quarrel; let editors publish; let the devil do his worst. But see to it that nothing hinders you from fulfilling the work God has given you. He had not sent you to make money; He has not commanded you to get rich. He has never bidden you to defend your character nor has He bidden you to contradict falsehoods about yourself which Satan and his servants may start to peddle. If you do these things you will do nothing else; you will be at work for yourself and not for the Lord. Keep about your work. Let ...

204. You Can't Both Be Right

truth

Illustration

Staff

... . The plaintiff made his case. He was very eloquent and persuasive in his reasoning. When he finished, the judge nodded in approval and said, "That's right, that's right." On hearing this, the defendant jumped up and said, "Wait a second, judge, you haven't even heard my side of the case yet." So the judge told the defendant to state his case. And he, too, was very persuasive and eloquent. When he finished, the judge said, "That's right, that's right." When the clerk of court heard this, he jumped up ...

205. Seeking Christ

Mark 1:29-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... by the Germans. If that counter offensive had succeeded, the end of the war might have been indefinitely delayed. As it was, the German drive almost did succeed, and a part of that was due to some brilliant strategy devised by the defenders of the Third Reich. A few days before the Allied operation, German soldiers dressed in American uniforms, together with American jeeps, were parachuted behind American lines. These “soldiers from the sky” carried no weapons. Their single mission was to discover the ...

206. Serving the King of Kings

John 18:28-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... force is necessary to stop the advance of evil in the world. However, we can disagree with them and still admire their commitment to their principles. One woman confronted a Jehovah’s Witness spokesman who was defending his refusal to bear arms. With passion she said, “My son was shot and killed defending your freedom.” The spokesman said calmly, “I’m sorry about your son’s death. I can guarantee you, though, that it was not a Jehovah’s Witness who shot him.” Again, we may disagree with this ...

207. Don’t Compromise Your Beliefs

Galatians 1:1-10

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... law. It seems the Judaizers had accused Paul of preaching a false message, one not from Christ, because he suggested circumcision was not essential. Paul's opponents believe he has "watered down" the message to make it more palatable to Gentile converts. But Paul defends his position, going so far as to call his enemies, those preaching another gospel, "accursed." He says he is not trying to please people; if he sought simply to make the message amenable to people, he would not be a servant of Christ. Thus ...

208. Transformed to Christ

2 Corinthians 3:7-18

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... the Israelites would not behold the radiance of God that was imprinted on his face. He suggests that the "super apostles" have veiled themselves like Moses. They do not see the truth; they hide behind a facade of their own ignorance and arrogance. Paul defends himself against such an attitude by saying if one truly turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Paul continues by saying that when the Corinthians see the Lord with unveiled faces, in other words, without the encumbrances of the "super apostles," they ...

209. No Work, No Food!

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

... found in the kingdom of God. But in 2 Thessalonians, Paul is talking about how we ought to live. In theological jargon, Jesus spoke about justification and Paul spoke about sanctification. Just like we cannot read Paul to defend works righteousness, we cannot read Jesus to defend laziness. However, underlining both of their teachings is the same point — entitlement. Once we cross over that line from humility and gratitude to entitlement and demands, we miss seeing the surprise of the gospel at work in our ...

210. The Cross Burden or Blessing?

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... easy” all the more revealing. Have you ever noticed that a small cross looks like a sword? The cross can also function as a sword — a sword of the Spirit that protects and defends when we are confronted with evil, with despair, with depression, or with unabashed anger. The cross as a sword is never an offensive weapon, but it can defend the heart and soul when the “enemies of the cross” go on the attack. If we envision carrying the cross of Christ not as a burden, but as a blessing and an instrument ...

211. Powerless People

Judges 4:1-24

Sermon

Argile Smith

... think and write theologically, and they instilled in him a love for books and articles that stretched him academically. He always looked on his days at seminary with fondness and gratitude. The day he defended his dissertation was a crowning moment in his academic life, but it proved to be a painful experience too. After he defended his dissertation for a couple of hours before a panel of professors, they invited him to step into the hallway so they could deliberate and come to a decision about what he had ...

212. Jesus’ Prayer: The Pause in the Battle

John 17:1-11

Sermon

David O. Bales

... , and he seemed surrounded by God’s fire of love. He experienced the highest and grandest of ecstasy in God’s presence for two hours. His life was totally changed there within God’s presence and Jesus’ prayer for him. He redirected his genius toward defending the Christian faith and commending to others Jesus as the very character of God on earth. As with Blaise Pascal, Jesus’ prayer and God’s presence don’t meet on the page of the Bible. They join in our lives now. When our youngest daughter ...

213. Let It Go

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... claiming Jesus’ body, providing the Messiah with a respectable burial. Nicodemus might not have given up being a Pharisee. He embraced the message and mission of Jesus and dared to be registered on the radar of both Jewish and Roman ire both by defending Jesus and by helping to claim the body of an executed criminal of the Empire. Nicodemus had finally “let go” of his former worldview with its boundaries and barriers. “Letting go” is not just a mantra for college kids on Spring Break. “Letting ...

214. Breaking News: God and Government

Romans 13:1-7

Sermon

James Merritt

... , and a Navy, and an Air Force and Marines. When an official of the state uses the sword to protect human life he is inflicting God’s wrath and punishment on the evil doer. That is true whether it is a policeman defending us against a criminal or a solider defending us against an enemy. I don’t have time to go into specifics, but if every Congressman and every Senator, if every Supreme Court Justice and if the President himself would remember they are God’s ordained ministers to promote what is right ...

215. Peter Explains His Actions

Acts 11:1-18

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... went up to Jerusalem: It is not said that he was summoned to Jerusalem to give account of his actions. However, the fact that he had his six companions with him, who could have supported his story (v. 12), may suggest that he went expecting to have to defend himself. Perhaps to avoid the impression that he was summoned by the others, the Western text has “so Peter after some time wished to go to Jerusalem.” 11:17 Us, who believed: The construction of the Greek is such that it seems best to take the ...

216. The God of All Comfort

2 Corinthians 1:1-11

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... himself has appointed Paul. This shows that the apostle does not speak or act in his own authority, but in the commission and authority of the one who sent him. We may compare Korah’s rebellion, in which the sending of Moses was called into question, and Moses had to defend it (cf. Num. 16:28; see further on 2 Cor. 1:24; 2:6–7, 15). In Galatians 1:15–16, Paul describes his call to apostleship as a sovereign act of God’s grace (cf. 1 Cor. 15:9–10; Rom. 12:3; 15:15–16), predestined even before ...

217. The Credibility of the Gospel Paul Proclaims

Galatians 1:11-24

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... initial relations with them were limited but cordial. 1:20 The following exclamation demonstrates that Paul suspects his readers will doubt his word on this—I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. It is not unusual for Paul to have to defend his integrity (see 1 Thess. 2:5; 2 Cor. 1:23; 11:31). The issue of Paul’s association with the Jerusalem church and how it affected the gospel he preached to the Galatians is at the forefront of his strained relationship with his converts. 1:21 ...

218. Paul Opposes Peter

Galatians 2:11-21

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... had advocated the law at one point but has now changed his mind. Note that the words what I destroyed may be read in parallelism to those in verse 19, “for through the law I died to the law.” At other places in the letter Paul seems to be defending himself against such an allegation (e.g., 1:10; 5:11). In each place Paul denies this charge. In the context of verse 18, in which Paul appears to be responding to the accusation that he is rebuilding the Judaism that he once tore down, the law refers to the ...

219. Freedom In Christ

Galatians 5:1-15, Galatians 5:16-26

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... quality (2 Cor. 10:1). Self-control—the mastery of one’s own desires, or, as Plato puts it “a man being his own master” (Republic 430e; trans. Jowett; cf. Republic 390b)—was a major ethical goal in the philosophies of the ancient Mediterranean world. Xenophon defends Socrates as a man of self-control in word and deed and extols self-control as “the foundation of all virtue” (Memorabilia 1.5.4 [Marchant, LCL]). Paul also recognizes it as a worthy goal (cf. 1 Cor. 7:9; 9:25). The fruit of the ...

220. Paul's Ministry in Thessalonica

1 Thessalonians 2:1-16

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... is right; cf. Luke 6:29; Acts 23:3). 2:3 The “strong opposition,” a calling into question Paul’s motives, had been directed chiefly at Paul and had continued even in his absence, after the Jews forced him to leave Thessalonica. Hence his need to defend his motives. The missionaries’ appeal (using the noun, paraklēsis, in the same sense as the verb parakaleō in 2 Cor. 5:20; see disc. on 1 Thess. 3:2) did not spring from error (planē, which can mean either “deceit,” leading others astray, or ...

221. Ruth and Boaz on the Threshing Floor

Ruth 3:1-18

Understanding Series

Michael S. Moore

... sh?qat; not the same root for “rest” in 1:9 and 3:1] until the matter is settled today. Additional Notes 3:1 Mother-in-law: On khamot (“mother-in-law”), see the article on khomah in TDOT 4:267 and BDB 327. On mukhamin (“defender”), see Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic (ed. H. Wehr and M. Cowan; Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1966), p. 209. On khmy, see Wörterbuch der Ägyptischen Sprache (ed. A. Erman and H. Grapow; repr.; Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs, 1963), 3, p. 80. My daughter: O ...

222. A Message About Babylon

Jeremiah 50:1--51:64

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... They are to punish (repay) it for its sinful deeds (as she has done), which are a manifestation of their rebellion against the Lord. The result will be that their young men who constitute their army will fall in the streets of Babylon. They will be unable to defend that city. As with Moab before it (48:29–30) as well as with Edom (49:16), Babylon’s arrogance is highlighted as a reason why it will fall to its enemies. 50:33–34 As Babylon is punished, so Israel will be freed from their oppression. The ...

223. The Lord's Anger Against Israel

Hosea 13:1-16

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... you, Israel, (or, reading perfects, I destroy you), Who is your helper? In addition, in verse 10, in all your towns should be emended to read “with all your princes.” The verse is then read, Where is your king now, to save you, with all your princes, to defend you (following the LXX)? In the past, Yahweh has always been the helper of Israel against its foes—a tradition as old as the tribal league in the time of the judges (cf. Deut. 33:7, 26, 29) and preserved in the Psalms (Ps. 115:9–11; 124:8 ...

224. Paul's Chains Advance the Gospel

Philippians 1:12-30

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... preached out of envy and rivalry (who were mentioned first in v. 15). The former were actuated by love for Paul. They recognized that God had sent him to Rome for this very purpose—the defense of the gospel. As in verse 7, his impending opportunity to defend the gospel before Caesar’s tribunal is probably in his mind: it is for this, he says, that I am posted here in Rome. If Paul, despite his restrictions, was promoting the interests of the gospel, those people of goodwill could do no less: they must ...

225. No Confidence in the Flesh

Philippians 3:1-11

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... to discover that it did him no good. Additional Notes 3:4 The twofold I (I myself have reasons … I have more [reasons] …) is emphatic (Gk. egō). Cf. the repeated “So am I” (Gk. kagō=kai egō) of 2 Corinthians 11:22. W. Schmithals thinks Paul is defending himself against Gnostics who represent him as a mere man of flesh, lacking the Christ spirit, and therefore no apostle of Christ but at best an apostle of men (Paul and the Gnostics, pp. 90, 91). There is nothing in the text to support this. He is ...

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