Sermon and Worship Resources

Dictionary: Mountain

Mountains, both literally and metaphorically, play a highly significant role in biblical history, religion, and theology. People are shaped by the geography of the location in which they live, and this was no less the case with the Israelites. Mountains, as permanent and immovable, form natural barriers and borders (Josh. 15), afford protection from invaders (Judg. 6:2; Ps. 125:2), serve as places of refuge (Gen. 14:10; 19:17; 1 Sam. 14:22), and provide bases from which to launch attacks (Judg. 4:14; 9:36). Often in the Bible, mountain imagery is used to describe God as eternal and a strong refuge (Pss. 36:6; 90:2; 121:1–2; 125:2).

But mountains are also places of mystery. In the religious world of the ancient Near East, gods were thought to either live or make their presence known on mountains—portals, as it were, between heaven and earth. The garden of Eden is regarded by Ezekiel as having been located on “the holy mount of God” (Ezek. 28:13–14). God mysteriously reveals himself in a flame of fire to Moses at Mount Horeb (Exod. 3), and then later from that same mountain God gives the law amid thunder, fire, and smoke; the people are not allowed to approach the mountain lest they die (Exod. 19). Moses has another theophany on the same mountain (Exod. 33:17–34:8), and Elijah has a very Moses-like encounter there with God as well (1 Kings 19).

Because of this association between gods and mountains, it was the norm to build temples for deities on mountaintops. Thus, the temple in Jerusalem is built on Mount Zion, which is also the place where Abraham had been ready to sacrifice Isaac (Gen. 22:2; 2 Chron. 3:1). Thus, this mountain is the “mountain of the Lord” (Gen. 22:14), the mountain of God’s “inheritance” (Exod. 15:17), his “holy mountain” (Ps. 48:1). Even the plans for the tabernacle and temples are given on mountaintops (Exod. 25:40; 26:30; 27:8; 2 Sam. 24:18–25; 1 Chron. 21:18–22:1; 28:11–12; Ezek. 40:1–2; Rev. 21:10). It should not escape notice that Israel’s legal tradition and liturgical tradition are both associated with mountains, Sinai and Zion (Jerusalem).

It is no wonder, then, that mountains play such a significant role in the NT and the life of Christ. On top of a high mountain, the devil tempts Jesus to worship him (Matt. 4:8–10). Jesus proclaims the law of the kingdom from a mountain (5:1). On a mountain, Jesus chooses to reveal to his disciples his true glory in the transfiguration (17:1). After his resurrection, Jesus has his disciples meet him at a mountain, from which he makes his declaration of authority and gives the Great Commission (28:16–20). But Jesus and the NT authors also “relocate” the place where people meet with God from any particular location, mountain or otherwise, to the human spirit and to the church (John 4:21–24; Heb. 12:22–23).

Synonyms: peak, height, elevation, eminence, prominence, summit, pinnacle, mountaintop, alp, horn, a great deal, a lot, heap, pile, mound, stack, surplus, surfeit, glut, excess, overabundance, oversupply

Antonyms: molehill

Showing 1 to 25 of 3885 results

1. Oracles of Restoration

Ezekiel 34:1-31, Ezekiel 35:1-15, Ezekiel 36:1-38, Ezekiel 37:1-14, Ezekiel 37:15-28

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... . The NIV, like the NRSV and the NJPS, follows the MT, which reads ʾashmid (“I will destroy”). The LXX, Syr., and Vulg. all read instead “watch over,” assuming an original Heb. ʾeshmor. The two words are nearly identical in Heb. (d and r look a great deal alike), so it is easy to understand a scribe mistaking one for the other. The reading the LXX follows certainly seems a better fit with the context of vv. 11–16, which stresses God’s care for the flock, in striking contrast to the shepherds ...

2. Embalmed With Cardiac Arrest

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... you believe. But happy are those who won’t have your opportunity and will yet believe." Certainly, science is not the only way of finding truth. Our daughter was once a volunteer in a summer day camp for the blind. And through her, we found out a great deal about the lives, the habits, and a greater understanding about the blind. For instance, they know that the sky is blue and that trees are green, but they still don’t know what the sky or the trees really look like, because they haven’t experienced ...

3. Illusion Or Reality?

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... . You see, we can take our sins of blind comfort to a psychiatrist and the psychiatrist can help us become an adjusted sinner. We can take our sins of blind comfort to a physician and the physician can help us become a healthier sinner. We can make a great deal of money and become a wealthier sinner. But the church is supposed to trouble us, to make us uncomfortable with our ease, our lifestyles, and our blindness. If it does not do this and we become insensitive to the Lazarus figures in our world, then it ...

4. Brainstorms

Sermon

John R. Bodo

... is simply exposing people to Jesus. Is there a better one? One Of The Twelve. The disciples/apostles are often identified, individually, as "one of the Twelve." We know little about most of them except for their belonging to Jesus' inner circle. But you can tell a great deal about a man by the company he keeps, the organizations to which he belongs, the causes he supports. Much of who we are can be deduced from the cards we carry in our wallets. Andrew seemed content to be just "one of the Twelve." He did ...

5. WHAT IS MAN?

Sermon

Larry Powell

... repeat themselves. To make matters worse, he was constantly fidgeting with it or habitually pressing it to his ear in the same way that one unconsciously pushes eyeglasses higher on the nose. He did that too. Emphysema caused him to cough and wheeze a great deal and, at times, he breathed irregularly in the middle of a sentence. His daily routine included a stop at the neighborhood pub to visit with the regulars. Feet were propped on the bar rail, mugs were lifted, and stories were exchanged about affairs ...

6. A Daughter of Jacob

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Richard Hoefler

... to us. Let It All Out When we look at the miracle story from the point of view of the woman, we see our Lord’s penetrating insight into human personality. He is always concerned not just with the problem but with the person. Despite the fact that not a great deal of information is given to us about this woman, other than the fact that she was a Gentile, there are several things we can assume if we are sensitive to her actions in the account. It seems obvious that she was not a quiet demure type of lady ...

7. Elihu Makes His Appearance

Job 32:1--37:24

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

... I have heard a patient tell me that he has been disappointed in his doctor, who yet had taken good care of him, ‘because he didn’t take me seriously.’ The patient means that the doctor wasn’t interested in detail, in particular problems that meant a great deal to his patient.” Then he quotes a Dr. Dubois who said, “The patient must be much more than just an interesting case; he must become your friend.”1 To hear details is to begin to know the person one is listening to. This is what Elihu ...

8. Proper 20

Proverbs 31:10-31, Mark 9:30-37, James 3:13-18; 4:1-12

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... of us submit alibis for not engaging in sex. "I'm really too busy; yes, I know it's important but...Work is sex." What O'Malley says is true of the Catholic Church is also true of most congregations. He believes that his church spends a great deal of time educating their youth ABOUT God, discussing the signs that point to God -- sacraments, Bible, history, tradition -- but it doesn't give much effort to helping its children get to know God himself. We need to spend more time teaching our people how to pray ...

9. Let's Make A Deal

Luke 16:1-13

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... village in Ireland when two trustees of the local hospital found out he was there, and they managed to get in to see him. They talked him into giving the hospital $5,000 dollars (this was the 30's, so $5,000 dollars was a great deal of money). The next morning, at breakfast, he opened his newspaper to read the banner headline: "American Millionaire Gives Fifty Thousand to LocalHospital." Ford wasted no time in summoning the two hospital trustees. He waved the newspaper in their faces. "What does this mean ...

10. The Real Tragedy Of The Tv Evangelists

Mark 6:7-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Still I'm sure that it has taken a toll. For many years, the clergy ranked first as the institution in which we placed the most confidence. But those days are gone, according to a recent Gallup poll. Only 57 percent of respondents had "a great deal" of confidence in churches, down from 66 percent in 1985. Even sadder than the image problem for persons in my profession, however, is the toll these abuses are taking on the grand old term "evangelist," for it is clear from the New Testament that evangelism ...

11. The Art of Living Until

Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon

Leonard Mann

There are many things about your life which I do not know. But one thing I do know: you are living in an interim. And so am I. We are in time-in-between; we are between what has happened and what will happen. We know a great deal about the former and very little about the latter. What has been is past, and we are moving away from it, going on to what is to be. How we make this journey is very important, the attitudes with which we travel, the guiding stars we follow. So I want ...

12. Don't Forget to Forgive

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

James Merritt

... and turned it into gold, there would not be enough gold to make a down payment on the sin debt of one person. That's why I say that forgiveness is free, but it is not cheap because as you are going to see, it cost this king a great deal to forgive this debt. Forgiveness is full not partial. "The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt." (vv.26 ...

13. I Wonder about Life after Death

John 14:1-3

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... What’s On The Other Side? Let us dive deeper into the great mystery of death and try to catch a glimpse of the other side. After all, the wonder of this sermon begs the question, “What happens to us when we die?” Well, our faith tells us a great deal about death. This is when I hear atheists chime in and say that religion is a crutch for people who are scared of the mystery of death. I believe this is totally false. I don’t believe that faith is a crutch; it is the truth. More importantly, atheists ...

14. Laughing in Church

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

Carl Jech

... 's eye. Then there is humorous exaggeration (hyperbole) in the image of his detractors as moralists who "strain out gnats yet swallow camels!" Crew concludes that the one who wittily dubbed his followers "fishers of men" clearly must have laughed, celebrated and rejoiced a great deal. Some years ago in a newspaper column, the then Episcopal Bishop of Michigan, Richard Emrich, wrote in praise of "those who cheer us up" with humor. "But," he went on to say, "we do not laugh if a matter is too serious," if ...

15. Jesus and Andrew

John 1:35-42

Sermon

James W. Moore

... mattered was to be with the Lord, to serve him as well as he could… and to bring other to Him. William Barclay, the prolific Bible scholar, wrote some remarkable words about Andrew some years ago. He said this: “We do not possess a great deal of information about Andrew, but even the little that we do know of him perfectly paints his character. Andrew is one of the most attractive characters in the apostolic band because… Andrew is characteristically the man who was always introducing others to Jesus ...

16. Prepared Or Not?

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... C. The Burden of Past Guilt 4. Knowing the Day and Hour. (v. 13) Some people are always trying to develop a timetable for the future. They make elaborate schemes purporting to know exactly how and when God will deal with history and its outcome. They do a great deal of mischief by raising false hopes which leads at times to bizarre behavior. We should not fall prey to such false expectations. We do so by being aware of steps to take in response to such schemes. A. Do not Second Guess God B. Do not Put ...

17. Looking for Rainbows

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... has tricked him out of it. I guess we better not include finding a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow in our retirement planning—though it does make as much sense as betting on the lottery. Nevertheless, in our planning for life, looking for rainbows makes a great deal of sense. God has made a covenant with us. If you could remind yourself of that truth every time you see a rainbow, it will help you deal with every aspect of your life. God has made a covenant with us. The rainbow is but one symbol of ...

18. Being Alone

Genesis 2:18

Sermon

King Duncan

... experience. And the first person we are likely to blame at a time like that is ourselves. We think, "I must have done something wrong. I must be inadequate. Where have I failed?" Single people often have guilt from other sources as well. After all, there is a great deal of subtle pressure, most of it well intentioned, from both family and friends against aloneness. There is that sense, not only of failing one's self, but also of failing others when you are a single adult. Those of you who have lost a life's ...

19. Which Jesus? This Jesus!

Acts 17:1-9

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... all teachers and speakers are so wise. Economist John Kenneth Galbraith relayed, with keen good humor, his wife’s comment on the lengthiness of his speeches. "She says," he reported to an audience, "that people may not be a great deal wiser after my talks, but they are always a great deal older!" Great minds have always fascinated us and put us in their debt. Civilization will forever be indebted to the great minds of Greece, Palestine, and Rome. Rome taught men to rule. The Phoenician was the greatest of ...

20. Sermons

Sermon

John R. Bodo

... activist, workhorse segment of any American congregation, because activism is the hallmark of American church life, regardless of doctrine or ritual. I believe that wrapping the message around the character of Martha makes it more interesting and memorable as well as a great deal less preachy while validating the sermon as a sermon -- over against the self-help magazine article it might have been. Scripture: Luke 10:38-42; John 11:17-22 In a village between Jerusalem and Jericho, named Bethany, lived two ...

21. When The Going Gets Tough

Romans 8:18-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... Day's father in his book, God And My Father. Day says of his father: "In moments of prayer, when he and God tried to commune with each other, it wasn't his own shortcomings that were brought on the carpet, but God's . . . He expected a great deal of God . . . It seemed that God spoiled his plans . . . This aroused his wrath. He would call God's attention to such things . . . He didn't actually accuse God of gross inefficiency, but when he prayed his tone was loud and angry, like that of a dissatisfied ...

22. Selling One’s Soul

1 Kings 21:1-29

Sermon

Robert Allen

... get what he wanted in life and this is exactly what Ahab, the king of Israel, did. Immediately next door to the palace was a beautiful vineyard belonging to a man named Naboth. Even though Ahab was the king, even though he owned a great deal of land, even when he possessed a great deal of wealth, Ahab wasn’t satisfied. He wanted Naboth’s property and he went to him and offered a perfectly legitimate deal. He said to Naboth: I must have your land. Let’s trade properties. I’ll give you a piece of my ...

23. Make Room for Mystery

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

James McCormick

... of human love? Can we really put those into words, or explain them in any satisfactory way? Robert Burns once wrote, “O my love’s like a red, red rose, that’s newly sprung in June”. Now, as a factual statement, that’s ridiculous. There is a great deal of difference between a rose and a human being. But Burns was not trying to make a statement of objective fact. He was trying to share an experience. By means of a poetic picture, he was attempting to get at a mystery…the mystery of love. I ...

24. Jailhouse Rock

Acts 16:16-34

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... something worth seeing. Being high up can be a good thing, because we get a great perspective. Perspective is something you can learn from looking over a great distance, but perspective is also something you learn from looking out over a great deal of time, or a great deal of experience. For instance, as the years go by we hopefully learn perspective! Things never stand still. They go uphill and downhill. Triumph is followed by disaster, but fortunately, the opposite is true as well. As Rudyard Kipling said ...

25. Prologue to the Law of the Temple: The Lord Comes Home

Ezekiel 40:1--43:12

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... year, in the twelfth month on the first day” (32:1), the date of the sixth oracle against Egypt (twelve years before this vision). Of course, the undated oracles of restoration in chapters 34–37 fall into this span, but still, Ezekiel was plainly a great deal busier in the period leading up to Jerusalem’s fall than in the years afterward. More significantly, “the twenty-fifth year of our exile” (v. 1) would be twenty years after Ezekiel’s call, in the fifth year (see 1:1–3). Ezekiel’s ...

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