Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1 to 25 of 538 results

1. Marriage

1 Corinthians 7:1-40

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... them from fully attending to God’s work. Third, Paul’s ultimate concern is that God’s mission be carried out faithfully and decently through the lives of men and women in the church. For Paul mission is more important than marriage, and marrying or refraining from marriage should facilitate God’s purposes, not hinder the doing of God’s will. 7:39 With this verse Paul seems to shift back to the subject he originally addressed in 7:1–24, the situation of the married women and the nature of the ...

2. Sexual Discharges

Leviticus 15:1-33

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... Every woman must go once in her life to the temple and have sex with a stranger, whoever pays her first” (Hist. 1.199). In sharp contrast, the laws of Leviticus 15 associate sexual expressions with ceremonial uncleanness. An Israelite had to refrain from sex before entering the presence of God (Exod. 19:15; 20:26; 28:42–43). Even ordinary sexual intercourse between a husband and wife produced uncleanness (Lev. 15:18). Any notion of sacred prostitution would have been inconceivable for a devout Israelite ...

3. Our Souls Will Never Be Hungry Again

John 6:25-59

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

... the Gospel Feast Deck Thyself, My Soul, with Gladness Fill My Cup, Lord Here, O My Lord, I See Thee I Am the Bread of Life Let Us Break Bread Together O Food to Pilgrims Given When Jesus Died to Save Us Reading the Scripture Use the refrain from the hymn "You Satisfy the Hungry Heart" as a response to the gospel lesson. Have someone read verses 24-27. Then have the worshipers sing the refrain. The reader continues with verses 28-32, and the worshipers sing the refrain again. The reader concludes with verses ...

4. The Believer's Freedom

1 Corinthians 10:23--11:1

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... sees, Paul ultimately interprets freedom as an opportunity for putting others before one’s self. Should someone, for whatever reason, inform the Christians that the food being served is from idol sacrifices, then the Christians should refrain from eating. Paul is adamant, however, that the Christians do not refrain from eating such foods for their own sakes. Implicitly he agrees with those in Corinth who say that the food has not been tainted through association with idols and that they are free to eat it ...

5. The Weak and the Strong

Romans 14:1--15:13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 16; 10:3). Paul argues that those who observe these practices must not condemn those who do not, and that those who eat and drink anything must not despise those who have religious scruples regarding matters related to diet. Paul does not refrain from giving his opinion: those who have scruples concerning food or the observance of certain festival days are weak in their faith. Paul emphasizes five concerns. (1) Believers must not judge each other, because only God judges people (14:10–12). (2) Believers ...

6. Jesus Is Contagious!

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , to be uninfected by ugliness and sin. To be separate from the sinner. To partition yourself off, as the temple was partitioned off, from all that was dirty and soiled. Jesus stood that whole understanding of holiness on its head. Jesus could not refrain from touching anything that was impure, unclean, or dead. Jesus touched lepers and others who were “unclean,” and in touching them infected them with the love of God. Jesus touched the dead daughter of Jairus, and infected her with life. Jesus touched ...

7. Ascension Day

Luke 24:44-53

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

... .") Finally, the preacher can move to verse 49, and talk about how God clothes people with power. The worshipers can respond by singing either "We Shall Overcome" or "There Is A Balm in Gilead." Let the last response flow into the singing of the refrain from "Blessed Assurance." Use this refrain like a chorus, and repeat it a few times before moving to the sending forth or next act of worship. Drama and Movement Ask a Sunday school class to research Old Testament prophecies relating to Jesus Christ. Let the ...

8. Elihu

Job 32:1--37:24

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... a sense of compulsion. His claim concerning the divine origin of his words is an attempt to legitimate his insights before he even expresses them. There is a certain similarity between Elihu’s depiction of words bottled up and threatening to explode and Jeremiah’s inability to refrain from speaking once the prophetic urgency is upon him: “his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones; I am weary of holding it in, indeed, I cannot” (Jer. 20:9). 32:17 I too will have my say. The time ...

9. Boasting

2 Corinthians 11:1-15, 2 Corinthians 11:16-33, 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... such; they are a reason for boasting (cf. vv. 5a, 6a) and elation (v. 7b, e). Nevertheless, he deftly chooses instead to stress the formal cause of his weaknesses as a means of indirectly reveling in his visions and heavenly journeys. He refrains from boasting about ineffable revelatory experiences that the Corinthians could not see or hear for themselves. He relies instead on the outward manifestation of those experiences in what I do or say. In his first canonical letter to the Corinthians Paul reminded ...

10. Boasting

2 Corinthians 11:16-33, 2 Corinthians 1:1-11, 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

11. The Weak and the Strong

Romans 14:1--15:13

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... they violate love. Or again, they may reckon that the constraint of weaker believers means that God is less active in their lives, in which case the strong violate the faith of the weak. In certain circumstances, therefore, a Christian will be willing to refrain from doing something that is permissible in faith because it is not responsible in love (also 1 Cor. 10:31–33). Paul himself practiced such behavior on several occasions, often to the surprise of his contemporaries (Acts 16:3; 21:20–26; 1 Cor. 9 ...

12. The Image of Gold and the Fiery Furnace

Daniel 3:1-30

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... not always rescue from death, as the martyrs of the second century B.C. learned (1 Macc. 1:57, 60–63; 2 Macc. 6:8–11, 18–31; 7:1–42). The book of Daniel encourages its Jewish audience to trust in the Lord, defy the Seleucid authorities, refrain from worshiping pagan gods, and be willing to sacrifice their lives. The same message is relevant for us today. We should put our trust in God and defy the world. We may not be tempted to bow down before graven images, but the things of the world attract us ...

13. Apostles of Christ

1 Corinthians 4:1-21

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... Christ crucified. Paul now applies the logic of the preceding lines to the Corinthians. Paul exhorts them, saying, Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time. An overreading of the decree takes the statement to mean that they are to refrain from all evaluation, but Paul’s ensuing discussions in chapters 5–6 make that interpretation impossible. Moreover, in context Paul is discussing the Corinthians’ tendency to criticize and compare various stewards of God for the purposes of their own boasting ...

14. Struggling with Sin

Romans 7:7-25

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... forbidden, of course, for the Bible knows many good desires. The desire prohibited by the tenth commandment is that of the “flesh,” the yēṣer hāra’, or “evil impulse,” as the rabbis called it. It is possible, of course, for a person to refrain from doing any number of forbidden actions. But this is not to say that one did not desire to do them. The tenth commandment penetrates behind evil deeds to the evil intentions which motivate them as the wellsprings of behavior and the command center of ...

15. The Infinite Becomes An Infant

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... King Ahaz that a woman would bear a child named Emmanuel and by the time the child was old enough to know the difference between good and evil, his enemies would be gone. So, Joseph obeyed the angel's instructions by marrying Mary, but he refrained from sexual intercourse until Jesus' birth. The Setting 1. The setting in Matthew. Matthew places the birth story in the context of the Hebrew people. It follows a genealogy which begins with Abraham and ends with Joseph and Jesus. The emphasis is upon Jesus as ...

16. “Weak and Strong” Should Get Along

Romans 14:1--15:13

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... , and without caring twopence what other people say about it, is by that very fact fore-armed against some of our subtlest modes of attack.4 This section could be done as a dramatic dialogue before the message. Although Christians are called to sacrificially refrain from enjoying some things for the sake of our weaker brothers and sisters, this should not obscure the deeper truth that God has created these (and many other pleasurable things) as good (see Rom. 14:16). The Unity of the Strong and the Weak and ...

17. Thistles Among The Wheat

Genesis 28:10-22, Psalm 139:1-24, Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, Romans 8:12-25

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... Can we ever use evil means to cast out evil? When do we become guilty of playing God if we try to eradicate evil by destroying the evildoer? Do we leave the outcome of evil in history in God's hands, or do we take some actions against evil, but refrain from seeking final solutions to evil in history? When do we set bounds on our actions and leave the harvest to God's wisdom and power? 3. Are the Weeds Only in the World? Does the parable only have reference to how we deal with sin inside the church, or does ...

18. Naomi and Ruth

Ruth 1:1-22

Understanding Series

Michael S. Moore

... and Yahweh alone decides whether they are to be peaceful or hostile, beneficent or malevolent. 1:7 She left the place where she had been living and set out on the road. Unlike the Danites (Judg. 18:5) and the Mizpah council (20:18), Naomi conspicuously refrains from going to diviners to find out whether her newly chosen “road” (derek) is correct or not. Naomi is not one to spend time on psychics. Her decisions do not depend on the whims of ’elohim-diviners. 1:8 Naomi’s concern for her daughters-in ...

19. Paul's Vision and His Thorn

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

20. Loving

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Larry Powell

... ) At numerous times during recovery operations, authorities in a flood-stricken city were forced to request that curious onlookers refrain from coming into the area devastated by the damaging waters. Tragedy attracts a crowd. We witnessed it not long ago ... to mourn, and a time to dance;a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;a time to seek, and a time to lose;a time to keep, and a time to cast away;a time to rend, and a time to ...

21. “Trust in the Lord and Do Good”

Psalm 37:1-40

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... on the Lord.” This is another way to commend trust in the Lord. 37:7 Be still before the Lord . . . when they carry out their wicked schemes. The verb “be still” (dmm) implies resignation. “Schemes” are plans designed to cause other people trouble.4 37:8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath. The avoidance of anger is a common theme in wisdom literature (e.g., Prov. 22:24–25; 29:22).5 37:10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more. This reiterates the idea of 37:2 that the wicked ...

22. Epiphany 8

Mt 6:24-34 · 1 Cor 4:1-13 · Is 49:8-18 · Ps 131

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... to the gospel. It was of little concern that he should be judged by humans, only the verdict of God mattered. In fact, human beings should leave the judgments to the Lord, who will bring to light the hidden purposes of the heart. One should also refrain from boasting because everything good is a gift of God. Gospel: Matthew 6:24-34 In this section of the Sermon On The Mount Jesus lifts up the necessity of single minded service of God: one cannot serve two masters. The Lord urges his listeners to trust ...

23. Walking the Valley of the Lost

2 Samuel 1:17-27

Sermon

Donald Zelle

... , the fact is unaltered: Saul and Jonathan are dead, killed in the throes of war! David expresses his lostness in the demonstrative practice of Eastern grief. He and his 600 soldiers sit, with clothes torn, filling the air with the loud, Oriental, wail. They refrain from food till sunset. In the time that follows, David puts his feelings into a writing, a lament. We have it in the lesson before us. This death dirge is of the earliest Hebrew poetry, in this case original with David. Some brief parts of ...

24. Sisters

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

King Duncan

... the summer before he began at the firm. When he later reported to work, his employer told the new lawyer that he should have consulted the firm before getting married. However, they said, “Since he was married, it would be advisable for him and his wife to refrain from having any children for at least two or three years. Furthermore, for the sake of his advancement in the firm, he should and would want to devote all of his time both in the office and in his personal life to the service of the firm, and ...

25. The Christian’s Style - 1960

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

Kent Moorehead

... hour he became more desperate. He had to know. Calling two of his disciples, he bade them go to Jesus and ask him point blank, "Art Thou He that should come, or look we for another?" (Luke 7:20). And how did the Master answer? He deliberately refrained from giving any categorical affirmative. Rather, he said to them, "Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and (note what a climax!) to ...

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