Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1 to 25 of 391 results

1. Sabbath Controversies with the Pharisees

Matthew 12:1-14

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... 40). Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath. Matthew follows Mark in clustering the Sabbath controversies here (see Mark 2:23–3:6). In this first account (12:1–8) it is Jesus’ disciples who are accused of breaking the Sabbath. Adherence to the Sabbath was a pillar of Judaism. It was one of the commandments given to Israel as God established the covenant with them (Exod. 20:8–11), and it defined Judaism within its first-century Roman context. The Roman writer Juvenal describes the ...

2. The Ark Brought to the Temple

2 Chronicles 5:2-6:11

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... wanted the reader of his history to experience the glory of the temple again and to reenact the worship performed there. This would, of course, have a clear message to the Second Temple cultic community of the Chronicler’s own day. In this section the Chronicler adhered to the source text in 1 Kings 8:1–9:1 very closely, with only minor insertions. It is clear from one small section of the episode (1 Chron. 6:41–42) that the Chronicler also had access to another biblical text, namely, Psalm 132:8 ...

3. Clean and Unclean

Matthew 15:1-20

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... by devoting to God resources that could and should provide for parents (15:3–6; cf. 23:3 for a similar indictment of law disobedience). Then Jesus cites Isaiah 29:13 (15:7–9), tying the hypocrisy of torah disobedience in the name of adherence to traditions to this same kind of hypocrisy that Isaiah saw in his day. Isaiah’s complaint—empty worship drawn from human rules—fits Jesus’s complaint against these Jewish teachers as well. Jesus uses a parable of sorts to indicate that ritual cleansing ...

4. Whom Shall We Obey?

Acts 5:17-42

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

... Finally, the father discovered that his son was selling drugs out of the home. And that was the last straw. Long before they had ever heard the phrase "tough love," this minister kicked his son out of the house. He could not come back until he was willing to adhere to the "house rules." It was six months before Scott was to graduate from high school. And now he was literally on his own. The father also went to his church and in tears he offered his resignation as pastor. He said, "I cannot handle my own son ...

5. Easter 5

John 15:1-17, Acts 8:26-40, Acts 9:19b-31, 1 John 4:7-21

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... here that he is the true or authentic vine, not Israel. The Jews believed that the way to stay alive spiritually was to keep in close contact with their ethnic and spiritual identity. "Not so," says Jesus, "I am the true vine." To stay alive spiritually you must adhere to Christ, you must be grafted into the true vine. To be a child of Abraham will not, by itself, save a person. To merely partake of the rituals will not give you life. Only in Christ will our lives prove fruitful. Hang close. Jesus tells us ...

6. With Unwavering Trust

Romans 4:1-25

Sermon Aid

Clement E. Lewis

... heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to adherents of the law but also those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations") -- in the presence of God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and ...

7. The Seven Last Words of the Church

Luke 20:27-40

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... groups in the religious hierarchy of the synagogue. There was the priestly class, the Sadducees. Many of them were wealthy, and so they considered themselves the aristocracy of the church. They were the old line, hard shell believers, the ones who adhered strictly to ancient tradition and dogma. They didn’t believe in resurrection because they could find no teaching concerning resurrection in THEIR Bible, which was the Pentateuch, or the first five books of the Old Testament. Everything God had to say ...

8. The First Council

Acts 15:1-21

Sermon Aid

CSS

... of the great turning points in the life of the early church. The Council took place about A.D. 48 or 49. Its decision was never challenged. There were still differences within the church, particularly among a group of hardshell Jews who continued to adhere to the Mosaic laws and who therefore considered themselves more righteous than the others, but even this group did not question the validity of the council’s decision as it applied to non-Jews. The statement in 15:28 attributing the council’s decree ...

9. Faith, Love, and Fakers at Ephesus

Acts 18:18-28

Sermon Aid

CSS

... In Israel and elsewhere today, Orthodox Jews refuse to recognize the rights of Conservative or Reform groups within their own faith. Beside the Jew-Gentile rift, the early Christians even formed factions around the missionary work of various disciples. People became adherents of the particular pastor or missionary who had led them to Christ and rejected the authority of others. Paul’s letters warn the young churches again and again against this kind of division or personality cult. He tried to overcome it ...

10. The Ten Commandments #9: No False Witness

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... was "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord."(4) And every time I would be tempted to skirt the truth, I would see a wagging finger and hear "Lying lips..." You all heard essentially the same thing - the standard for proper conduct is a strict adherence to the truth. George Washington and the cherry tree, and all that. If you want a really good idea of the way folks actually handle truth, though, that cherry tree story is wonderful. It first appeared in Parson Weems' biography, Life of Washington, in the ...

11. Been There, Done That, No Thanks!

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... Christ. What was it that Paul found in his new faith that he did not find in the faith of his fathers? WAS IT FREEDOM? Certainly that was part of it. St. Paul had spent much of his life trying to save himself through strict adherence to the Law. But somehow, this was not enough. It never is. Robert Ingersoll was a famous agnostic. He enjoyed arguing, particularly with Christian clergymen. One day Ingersoll was conversing with Charles Horace Talmage, one of the great preachers of the day, about Connecticut's ...

12. Wedding, Wine, And Wonderment

Mark 2:18-22

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... God as the central focus of worship. An older bishop used to say to young pastors, "I don't care how many skills you master in this life--but I do care who is the Master of your soul." Our relationship with Christ is more important than our adherence to a set of religious practices. And thus Jesus and the Pharisees are in conflict over the fast. But there is another conflict reflected in the rest of our lesson. It is a conflict over "the past." Jesus uses two helpful images here. I like the way Biblical ...

13. One Commandment, Slightly Used

John 13:31-38

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... when he saw so little of it around him. He isn’t the only one. Yes, perhaps Jesus’ command is new because it has been so rarely used. And yet...that isn’t the whole story. At its best, Christianity has been a religion of love, even when its adherents haven’t always lived up to its teachings. The great Christians of the ages, the men and women who have truly brought the redeeming power of the living Christ to bear on the life of the world have been the men and women whose hearts have overflowed with ...

14. Epiphany 6

Mt 5:21-37 · 1 Cor 3:1-9 · Ps 119 · Dt 30:15-20

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... eschatological images. The nature of the judgment often preoccupies preachers, but the force of Jesus' words relates to the divine character of the judgment. His point: God is concerned with human life in all its dimensions, not merely the externals or adherence to the Law. EPIPHANY 6: THE CELEBRATION Today's gospel provides a kind of scriptural warrant for placing the passing of the Peace at the conclusion of the service of the word, immediately before the presentation of the offering. Worship planners ...

15. What's Holding You Together?

Matthew 7:21-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... form in the body. Among those proteins we do “know,” whose identity we have isolated and whose importance we recognize, is a protein called “laminin.” Laminin is a protein which has a distinctive shape, giving it the ability to adhere easily to other laminin molecules and thus producing “sheets” of protein. These long, strong sheets of laminin molecules are essentially the “glue,” the “stuff” that holds us together. Laminin keeps our separate organ systems bound together, yet kept apart ...

16. Romans 14:1-12

Romans 14:1-12

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... fit to welcome both types of believers into divine service, they must accept one another's presence without passing judgment. Verse 4 even seems to suggest that God will judge each group according to its own set of standards. Paul's second example adherence to or freedom from all the restrictions of traditional Sabbath observances further emphasizes his point. The behavior of these two different groups must be genuinely dedicated toward honoring the Lord. The main point is, Paul declares, "We do not live to ...

17. Luke 18:9-14

Luke 18:9-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... its pagan surroundings was applauded and honored. The reason Jesus and the Pharisees seemed to butt heads on so many issues may rest in their different notions about how best to preserve the integrity of their Torah community. While the Pharisees strictly adhered to the separatism proclaimed in Psalm 1, Jesus was convinced that new, innovative tactics were now called for. Jesus approached the sinners, the outcast, those outside the walls of the Torah, instead of separating himself from them. Jesus sought to ...

18. 2 Timothy 1:1-14

2 Timothy 1:1-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... For the Savior has already "abolished death and brought life and immortality ... through the gospel" (v. 10). In the final verses of today's text, Paul first re-establishes his own position as "herald," "apostle" and "teacher" (v. 11), and then cautions Timothy to adhere strictly to "the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me" (v. 13). Paul's self-declaration in verses 11-12 includes a somewhat obscured reference to "what I have entrusted to him" (v. 12) or literally "my deposit." Note that ...

19. Sons of God

Galatians 3:26--4:7

Sermon

King Duncan

... wouldn’t have come to me.” Paul is saying the same thing about the Law of Moses. The Law was imperfect. But it was the Law that prepared people’s hearts for Christ. Paul had been one of the Law’s most ardent adherents. When he met Christ, though, and substituted faith in Christ for strict adherence to the Law, a terrible weight was lifted off of his shoulders. Even though he knew the Law had its place, he would never go back to what he had been. He was free. He had crossed the river. Once he was a ...

20. Philippians 3:4b-14

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and expounded in both Romans and Galatians. By “knowing” Christ Paul now finds he is “in him.” It is that relationship which gives the apostle a new claim to “righteousness.” This “righteousness” is not made possible by adhering to the Law. It is made possible by adhering to the person of Jesus Christ. There is some debate over whether Paul speaks here of “faith in Christ” (Paul’s faith) or of the “faith of Christ” (Christ’s faith) making this new right relationship possible ...

21. Humvee Holiness and Humble Holiness

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... establishment groups of the religiously “large and in charge” the Herodians, the Scribes, the Pharisees with an especially pointed accusation aimed at the Pharisees. The Pharisees were learned religious leaders who particularly focused on scrupulous adherence to Torah laws and to making that adherence an integral part of every observant Jew’s everyday life. After the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE it was this “home-based” devotion to the Torah that enabled Judaism to survive. Even though ...

22. In Pisidian Antioch

Acts 13:13-52

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... the missionaries. A more likely meaning, however, is that they were jealous of their own privileged position (cf. v. 17). All the old ingrained animosities were aroused. They simply could not accept a teaching that opened such floodgates. For themselves and their adherents they could accept a message as God-sent and tolerate some change in their teaching and practice, but they could not endure that the Gentiles should be made equal with God’s ancient people. Thus “they spoke against what Paul was saying ...

23. The Jewish Leaders as Negative Foil for Jesus’ Followers

Matthew 23:1-39

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... is light” (11:30). Jesus’ followers are to avoid the hypocrisy of seeking to gain prestige and positions of honor through religious adherence (23:5–12), a refrain already resounding in earlier parts of Matthew (6:1–18; 20:1–16, 20–28). Interpretive ... (krisis), mercy (eleos), and faithfulness (pistis). Mercy (eleos) has already been used to describe the lens through which Torah adherence is judged (9:13; 12:7). These three terms are reminiscent of Micah’s rehearsal of Yahweh’s requirements for ...

24. Eschatological Discourse: Being Faithful and Merciful

Matthew 25:14-30, Matthew 25:31-46

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... conjunction with the fall of the temple (see 24:3), they would need to hear that his return might be longer in coming than expected (25:5). 25:21, 23 Well done, good and faithful servant! The man returns and commends his two faithful servants. Their faithfulness adheres in “putting to work” what they had been given. This will prove to be the thrust of the parable in its metaphor—a call to faithfulness to use what has been given for the work of the kingdom while awaiting the final day. You have been ...

25. “Weak and Strong” Should Get Along

Romans 14:1--15:13

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... righteousness, peace, and joy of the kingdom of God. These persons enjoy the blessings of the new covenant (14:22). Second, the believers weak in faith are in the new covenant (Paul calls them “brothers and sisters” in 14:13, 15, 21), but their adherence to the dietary laws indicates that they are living like they are in the old covenant. Third, Paul nevertheless challenges the strong in faith to demonstrate the ethic of the new covenant—love—toward their weaker siblings. Verse 13 has a play on the ...

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