Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic

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2251. Taking the Long Way Home

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

Will Willimon

“Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the region of the Decapolis.” Mark 7:31 Durham is one of the toughest places on earth to find your way around in. Bisected by a freeway and this campus, a downtown full of one way streets (all one way in the wrong direction) -- am I now on Chapel Hill Street, Chapel Hill Road, or simply the main road to Chapel Hill? The things that Cornwallis Road does are positively criminal. Where are we? Where are we in ...

2252. “I Will Sing the Lord’s Praise, for He Has Been Good to Me”

Psalm 13:1-6

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: Faith has its personae, from skepticism to personal conflict, but trust, its true persona, sings its way into the joy of God’s goodness. Understanding the Text Psalm 13 is an individual lament that leaves the cause of lament uncertain (see below) but calls attention to the joy of buoyant faith (13:5). The biblical laments always hover near words of trust and assurance, and such a question as we have in verses 1 and 2 should send us on a search for words of faith in the lament psalms. Also, it ...

2253. Table and Lampstand

Exodus 25:31-40

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The table for the bread of the Presence (25:23–30) is placed on the north side in the Holy Place of the tabernacle (26:35). Twelve loaves of bread are regularly set out before the Lord on behalf of the Israelites (Lev. 24:5–9), a reminder of God’s faithful provision, most notably of manna in the wilderness. Accompanying the table are plates, ladles, pitchers, and bowls for pouring out offerings. On the south side (Exod. 26:35) is an elaborate lampstand with six branches extending out from a central shaft, ...

2254. Daniel Interprets the Dream

Daniel 2:24-49

Understanding Series

William Nelson

Daniel Interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream: The stories in Daniel 2–7 probably did not all circulate together originally. As mentioned earlier, evidence for this can be seen especially in chapters 3 and 6. The original author of chapter 3 focuses on Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, seemingly unaware of Daniel, while the original author of chapter 6 highlights Daniel, seemingly oblivious to his three friends. These independent traditions have been brought together and shaped into a literary whole. (For a more ...

2255. The Dream is Fulfilled

Daniel 4:28-37

Understanding Series

William Nelson

The King Becomes a Beast-Man and Then Recovers: In terms of form, chapter 4 starts out as a letter from King Nebuchadnezzar addressed to all people everywhere. It begins in the first person with praise to God (4:1–3). Next, the king relates in his own voice the story of his dream (4:4–18). Then the account shifts to the third person for Daniel’s interpretation (4:19–27) and for the narrative of how the dream was fulfilled (4:28–33). Finally, the text reverts back to the first person as Nebuchadnezzar ...

2256. The Lord Will Appear

Zechariah 9:14-17

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

Freedom for Prisoners: The theme of the Lord’s universal reign from Jerusalem returns in Zechariah 14, but this passage and the other chapters in between reveal a period of danger from corrupt leadership and external attack. It is not possible to ascertain a specific chronology, and even the relative chronology is not precise. The context and arrangement of Zechariah 7–8 had opened up an indeterminate length of time between God’s restoration of the Jewish community in the sixth century B.C. and the end ...

2257. The King’s Overseers

1 Chronicles 27:25-34

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

First Chronicles 27:1–15 enumerates David’s military, including the various levels in the army’s chain of command. Verse 1 makes it clear that David’s army was not an ad hoc force but rather a standing army on defined rotation, able to defend Israel constantly. First Chronicles 27:16–22 lists the leaders of the tribes of Israel, leaving out the two tribes of Gad and Asher, separating Aaron from the rest of Levi, and dividing the Joseph tribes into three groups (Ephraim, half Manasseh, half Manasseh), to ...

2258. Officers of the Tribes

1 Chronicles 27:16-24

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

2259. Building Trust

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

David Coffin

Imagine a family member receiving a late night phone call, in which the caller ID reads, “County Corrections.” A close loved one is being held in custody due to an arrest of being intoxicated either on an alcoholic or opioid drug influence while driving their motor vehicle. The loved one needs the family member to immediately call them a lawyer and drive down to the county corrections facility. This is like being unexpectedly ambushed at night from a person whom we least expect to be acting like this. This ...

2260. Prophet Without Honor

Mark 6:1-13

Sermon

David Coffin

Imagine a high school student who was struggling with his math homework. His father was in a high-tech machine occupation in which he worked with much complicated math. He sat down at the table to help the student with the math homework. Unfortunately, the father was not a good instructor because he lacked patience in trying to help the student out who was not too savvy with numbers and figures. The child could not relate to his father as an instructor or teacher. He was the dad who worked around the house ...

2261. Gathered Around Jesus

Mark 6:30-34; 53-56

Sermon

David Coffin

There are both perks and problems for a congregation that is located near a military base. As the families of military personnel are constantly in a state of flux due to assignments and deployments, there are constant rotations of the local population. One particular congregation that worships with less than one hundred people per Sunday was fortunate enough to have three families move into their worship community. This enhanced the ministry of the congregation both in terms of financial giving, volunteers ...

2262. The Loaves

John 6:1-21

Sermon

David Coffin

One of the hardest lessons in life I had to learn was never to get a job at the restaurant I enjoyed eating in since childhood. There was a particular fast food restaurant that had plenty of vegetables and condiments on their sandwiches that I had always looked forward to eating since I was twelve years old. When I got out of college in the 1970s, the job market in my area had a glut of four-year college degree graduates. I applied for a manager trainee position at the restaurant I have cherished since ...

2263. More Than Gimmicks

John 6:24-35

Sermon

David Coffin

A medium-sized congregation with deep northern European roots was located in a college town. The members wanted to attract more college students to their church for weekly worship attendance and other activities. They received a few boxes of donated modern English New Testament books. The intention was to pass them out to the college students on the campus nearby. Besides placing a slip of paper in each New Testament with the church name and address on it, they also placed a coupon for a dollar or even ...

2264. Bread and Call

John 6:35, 41-51

Sermon

David Coffin

Whenever my wife sends me to the store to buy a loaf of bread, I have to make a difficult decision as to what kind of bread. It depends where we are on our life journey at any given time. For example, while we lived in more urban areas with many bakery shops and stores, I would often purchase fresh bakery bread. It is softer, tastes fresher, and often has many varieties like sourdough, muffin, or cracked wheat bread. The down side of such fresh breads is they have a shorter shelf life and must be consumed ...

2265. Life in the Future

Philippians 1:3-11

Sermon

Scott Bryte & Kimberly Miller van Driel

I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the ...

2266. Redefining “Blessed”

Luke 1:39-45 (46-55)

Sermon

John B. Jamison

It is one of those great moments that ends up being a song, or a painting. Over the years it becomes a symbol of peace and hope, and everything good. Mary is a young girl whose life has been turned upside down. It might have been for a very good cause, but it still meant that everything in her world had changed, and she was trying to figure out what it all meant. We aren’t told why she made the trip, but at some point, Mary went to the town of Hebron to visit with her aunt Elizabeth, the wife of a priest ...

2267. Seating Arrangements

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

John B. Jamison

Jesus and his disciples had spent the day at the temple again. As had happened every time they went to the temple, they were confronted by the temple priests, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and a lot of others, all wanting to argue and try to make Jesus and all of them look like a bunch of radical losers. On most days, Jesus just dealt with them and then left. But today, as they had left the temple, Jesus had said that God was going to come back and destroy the temple, as well as all of those people who had ...

2268. Into the Wilderness

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

Jesus was tempted. We know the story is there, but it isn’t our favorite, is it? Somehow it tarnishes our ideas about Jesus. Was he as wimpy as we are, almost ready to step over the edge of whatever morality we might have left, at the first offer? Ray Stedman, great twentieth-century preacher, remembered a morning at a restaurant. He was the featured speaker at a large church conference out east and was finishing his presentation notes as he ate breakfast. The eatery had unique décor, including good ...

2269. In the Mirror

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

The first birth is extraordinarily exciting, isn’t it? My wife and I were married less than a year when our firstborn came along. We knew right away that she was the most beautiful, most intelligent, most promising human being that had ever come into this world! Parenting the firstborn is an experiment in everything new. First smile, first coo, first steps, first words… One first we did not anticipate, however, was the first time our little Kristyn recognized herself in the mirror. We had often held her up ...

2270. You Can Talk the Game, but Can You Play the Game?

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Sermon

Will Willimon

That's the rather impudent query that sprouted on tee-shirts after Duke's back-to back basketball national championships. Talk is cheap, but can you do what it takes to get in the game? Richard Hays, in his commentary on Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians, says that sums up today's epistle, First Corinthians 9:24-27. One of you once congratulated me, during one of Duke's winning seasons for “never once mentioning basketball in a sermon. “I can see your point. At this time of year, around here, the ...

2271. For Someone Who Heroically Suffered, Yet Spread Good Cheer

John 19:25-27 · 2 Corinthians 6:1-10

Eulogy

Richard E. Zajac

The Window [Tell of how, in bearing the heavy cross of their particular illness or debilitation, their focus was on us and not themselves, how they somehow managed to remain positive and endearing.] A most moving story was penned by G.W. Target, entitled The Window. Its setting was a hospital room which had two beds at opposite ends of each other and one window. The window was placed in such a way that only one patient in one of the beds could look and see out the window. Two patients in that particular ...

2272. Good News / Bad News

Luke 12:49-56

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. Luke 12:51 Sports writers still talk about the joy they used to take in interviewing the great New York Yankees catcher, Yogi Berra. Yogi was something of a rough-hewn philosopher given to malaprops and seemingly contradictory statements that managed to, somehow, still make a weird kind of sense. It was Yogi who said: “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” And, “It’s like déjà vu all over again.” When giving his opinion of a New York ...

2273. God Is Like...a Comforter

2 Corinthians 1:3-7

Sermon

Kenneth L. Gibble

If you were asked to name the invention that has had the greatest impact on daily life in the past century, what would you say? The electric light bulb, the automobile? You could make a strong case for either of them. I’d add another to the list: central heating. Some of you, like me, grew up in homes that had no central heating. You may remember gathering around the kitchen stove to change clothes in the morning and going up the stairs at night to a frigid bedroom. You’d crawl between icy sheets and then ...

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