Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: contest, tournament, match, game, round, heat, fixture, event, meet, encounter, rivalry, competitiveness, vying, contesting, opposition, contention, conflict, feuding, battling, fighting, struggling, strife, war, opposing side, other side, other team, field, enemy, foe

Showing 1 to 25 of 544 results

1. "No Contest"

1 Kings 18:16-46

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... other gods sound about us, our trust is in the Lord 35 who changes not and who ever abideth faithful. God wants to be your only God, but once you have chosen him, you see how powerless, puny, and helpless all other gods can be. It is truly a "no-contest" contest. God Wants To Answer Your Prayers Elijah then proposes a test to see which god they will worship. Two altars will be built, two sacrifices will be made, and the God who consumes the sacrifices with fire will be declared the winner of the ...

2. The Contestant

Matthew 14:22-33

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... every other stiff-necked character in scripture, is our witness –that only when we trust will we find the peace we truly are looking for. Only Jesus can take away our fear and restore our sense of equilibrium. From the beginning of time, we have set ourselves up as “contestants” with God. We are slow learners. When we allow Jesus on our side, in our corner, in our lives, in our boat, when we trust in who he is and his ability to care for us even in times of trouble, that is when we both win. Bravado ...

3. Worst Boss Contest

Humor Illustration

... to see who are the worst bosses around. Members were asked to send in descriptions of their bosses'' worst behavior for judging in the contest. Some of the more horrible ones include: The owner of a repair shop in Philadelphia who had his secretary go to bars and look for attractive women, then page him on his beeper when she found one. The supervisor in New York who stood outside the women's bathroom and ...

4. Ugly Man Contest

Illustration

... by Lisa Birnback alleged that IUP had the ugliest male student body of all colleges. Now to some news like that signals a crisis, but not to IUP. They had found their identity, and they liked it. They reveled in it. The college held an "ugly man" contest. Students created and wore T-shirts with ugly slogans on them, like "IUP Men*The Few, the proud, and the Ugly." Soon, their story spread to newspapers all over the nation. Even The New York Times and the Washington Post carried stories about IUP and student ...

5. Man-Making Contest

Humor Illustration

... tell God that they were through with Him. The scientist said, "We've advanced to where we can clone people and do many miraculous things, so we've decided that we no longer need you." God listened patiently, then replied: "Very well. Then let's have a man-making contest." "Good idea," the scientist said. "But," God said, "we'll do it just like I did back in the good old days with Adam." "No problem," the scientist said, bending down and grabbing a handful of dirt. "No, you go get your own dirt!" God said.

6. Prophetic Contests: Elijah Appears

1 Kings 17:1-6

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... in the word of a king or a foreign deity, or in God’s word? Thus the conflict between Ahab and Elijah is brought to the forefront in this struggle: who controls the rain, the Lord or Baal? This is the essence of the theological contest between king (whose name means “my father’s brother”) and prophet (whose name means “my God is the Lord”). That God immediately directs Elijah (17:2–6) to the Kerith Ravine (“Cutoff Creek”) has threefold significance: rain will be cut off until God speaks to ...

7. More Than a Popularity Contest

Luke 12:49-53, Luke 12:54-59

Sermon

King Duncan

... crowd of many thousands would be lining the streets of Jerusalem and loudly demanding Jesus’ death at the hands of the Roman government. So Luke 12 is basically one long teaching on how to disengage from the world’s attractions, from its values, from its popularity contests. Jesus is trying to warn his disciples that they can’t count on the crowd’s approval for long. He knows he will be leaving them soon, and they will suffer greatly as they try to carry on his mission without him. They will pay a ...

8. Who's The Neighbor

Luke 10:25-37

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... side. LEVITE: Wait a minute. Which is the other side? ANNOUNCER: I don't know. LEVITE: Well, you said the other side. I just wondered. Is it this side or that one? MILTON: (RUNNING ON) What's the trouble? What's going on? ANNOUNCER: I'm sorry, Milt, but contestant number two wants to know which way to exit. MILTON: Well, it doesn't matter. LEVITE: I just wanted to make sure. He said the other side and I didn't know ... MILTON: The priest went over that way. LEVITE: Over here? This way? MILTON: Yes, that's ...

9. The Imperishable Dream

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... is your greatest desire and dream? Is it for the advancement of your own personal kingdom? Or is it for the kingdom of God? What's your dream life? Every one of us has one? But does your dream life revolve around yourself, as in those American Idol contestants? Or does your dream life revolve around God's dream for this world? Ernest Hemingway tells the story of a Spanish man who has a bitter argument one morning with his young son, Paco. When he arrived home later that day, the man discovered that Paco's ...

10. Being a Christian “Survivor”

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... Lone Rangers on this island. We are members of a tribe — not the Tagi or the Pagong, but that vast company of saints through the ages known as the church of Jesus Christ. We are not alone. Being a Christian "survivor" — yes, there is a contest going on, not against Rich and Kelly and Rudy and Sue, but, as Paul says, "Against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil ..." against everything that would make life less than the Lord ...

11. Paul's Charge to Timothy

1 Timothy 6:11-21

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... whether Paul means for him to contend for the gospel itself (thus referring back to vv. 3–10) or whether it includes that but now, also, in light of verse 11, refers in a broader way to the whole of his Christian life as a great contest requiring discipline and purpose. Probably Paul’s concern is to address Timothy both regarding his own personal life and his faithfulness in ministry, but that depends in part on how one interprets the rest of the paragraph. In any case, the present tense of the verb ...

12. Esther Made Queen

Esther 2:1-18

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

... ’s successor and wears her crown. The verse literally reads, “And the king loved Esther more than all the women and she took favor and kindness before him more than all the virgins.” Esther stands out among all women, not just among the virgin contestants. She won his favor (khen) and kindness (khesed)—both of which signal betterment for her as a subordinate. The king crowns Esther in a ceremony that marks the end of a bad memory for the king. To celebrate, Xerxes holds a great banquet, Esther’s ...

13. Saints in Shorts

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... particular time. The date comes for the prize to be awarded, and so you and hundreds of other folks head out to the spot where the winners will be selected. The setting is a strange one -- a gimmick, you think, to make the trip seem all the more desirable. The contestants are asked to gather in the middle of the night in an open field outside of town. You arrive at the field and discover that the snow is up to your knees, except in the spots where it has drifted even higher. The night air is frigid. And the ...

14. No Apology

Acts 4:1-22

Sermon

Paul W. Kummer

... something! No, you must be saved. Saved from yourself. Saved from the devil! And rescued from the world! How? No other name: Between moments of dispensing wisdom, it seems that historical religious leaders had also learned software programming. One day, a great contest was held to test their skills. After days and days of fierce competition, only two leaders remained for the last day's event: Jesus and Mohammed. The judge described the software application required for the final test, and gave the signal to ...

15. Share Your Unique Story

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... . The minister asked George and his PeeWee Quartet to sing for them. That Sunday the four Jewish boys represented the Presbyterian church, and their opening song was "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling." They followed with "Mother Machree" and won first prize in the contest. The church received a purple communion cloth, and each boy got an Ingersol watch worth about 85 cents. George was so excited that he ran all the way home to tell his mother. When he arrived home his mother was hanging out the wash on the ...

16. Resurrection: From Burn-Out to New Vision

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

... totally burned-out himself. Elijah burned-out when he quit running on faith and began running on fear. Whether you think of yourself as a person of faith or not, there have been times in your life when you have run on faith, just as Elijah did in his contest with the prophets of Baal. Like Elijah, you have had days when you have run on a strength that surprised you. Sometimes it is the strength to care for a sick loved one for days or weeks or months. Sometimes it is the strength to get through a funeral ...

17. Are You Running?

John 12:12-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... 2); 7. Gideon stood in the minority in Judges 6 against his whole town 8. Electing Saul as a King (even though Samuel and God thought it a bad idea) 9. Absalom "stole the hearts of the people." 10. Elijah versus the prophets of Baal in the contest on Carmel 11. All the disciples fled and left the one man, Jesus And possibly the most inexplicable and worst crowd decision ever made . . .the crowd's response to the choice Pilate offered them: "We want Barabbas!" Jesus was crucified by majority vote, by a crowd ...

18. Just the Right Touch

Mark 5:25-34

Sermon

James Merritt

... . This woman had her sails set toward faith in Jesus Christ. Think about it. This entire crowd was close enough to reach out and touch, but because they did not reach out, they were left out. They were so close and yet so far away. I heard about three contestants on a television quiz show. They were down to the last round. The Master of Ceremonies explained the final question: He said, "I'm going to give you a phrase with a word missing at the end. If you come up with the missing word and spell it correctly ...

19. A.Y.O.R. (At Your Own Risk)

Hebrews 12:1-2, 12-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... this game so popular was that despite its name there really were no bad "consequences." True, you might lose the game. But you couldn't end up in any worse shape than when you started. Even the losers received some sort of consolation prize. Basically, contestants simply got the chance to win big prizes - neither truth nor consequences entered into the game at all. The days of consequence-free behavior are long gone. We are now facing an age where the choices we make are likely to have major implications ...

20. Mugwumpers

1 Kings 18:20-21 (22-29) 30-39

Sermon

Stephen P. McCutchan

... some of the more base elements of the flesh and choose to not be guided by our fears or our desires. Rather, we are guided by God's purposes that often cause us to resist self-centered desires and not be driven by our fears. The story of Elijah's contest with the prophets of Baal provides us with an outline of the choice that is before us. Elijah was a prophet. A prophet is one who speaks the word of God, a word that comes from beyond our physical universe. A prophet is able to clear away the smoke ...

21. Encouragement to Be Faithful

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... ” (cf. 1 Tim. 6:12), like the “noble war” (cf. 1 Tim. 1:18), requires wholehearted devotion to the task, as well as full compliance with the rules of the contest, which in this case includes suffering. However, although the accent falls upon according to the rules, the metaphor also reflects the eschatological emphasis recurrent in this letter (see esp. vv. 11–13; 4:6–8; cf. 1:1, 12). The athlete who competes according to the rules, that is, “takes ...

22. Daniel Interprets the Dream

Daniel 2:24-49

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... Daniel 7: Vision of four kingdoms (beasts) followed by the kingdom of God According to the above analysis, which describes the main structure, Daniel 2 is paired with Daniel 7. However, chapter 2 is also similar to chapters 4 and 5 because all three contain contests between Daniel on the one hand and the Babylonian wise men and diviners on the other. In Daniel 2, the king’s pagan sages cannot tell the dream or its meaning, but Daniel, the Jew, can. In chapter 4, likewise, the Babylonians fail to interpret ...

23. When The Fat Lady Sings

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... final buzzer sounds, it's over. "The fat lady sings." There is no changing what has happened. The game gets chalked up as a win or loss. There is a sense of finality to an athletic contest. There are clear winners and losers. When it's over, it's over. I suppose that is one of the things that makes athletic contests so appealing. There is a sense of finality, a sense of clarity about them. When the NCAA champ is crowned, when the Super Bowl is over, when the World Series is finished, there is no question ...

24. Let's Live

Isaiah 1:1-31

Sermon

Richard L. Sheffield

... what we need to have done to meet our needs, as well as the needs of others. And "what we ought not to have done" -- but did -- is anything we did which caused us or someone else unnecessary pain. I recently had the opportunity to judge a speech contest for high school students at the Rotary Club. The assigned topic for these young people was how do you do what Rotarians say they believe? Rotarians say they believe that life should be lived by "the four-way test of the things we think, say or do." It asks ...

25. ATHLETE

1 Corinthians 9:25; 2 Timothy 2:5

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... but for their cities. Crowns of the wild olive were the only prizes awarded at the national games, but the cities rewarded their athletes generously. Athletic games were introduced into Rome from Greece, and in the sixth century A.D. they supplanted the contests of the gladiators, professional performers who fought to the death. But most of the champions were Greeks. However, professional athletes do not seem to have been known in early times, although 2 Samuel 2:14, "Let the young men arise and play before ...

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