Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 158 results

Mark 16:1-20

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

16:1–8 The resurrection of Jesus was the single most important event in the formation of faith in Jesus in the early church. The resurrection not only overturned the effects of the crucifixion, giving life where there was death, but more importantly, signified that Jesus had been vindicated by God and made the prince and pioneer of salvation for anyone believing in him. In 1 Corinthians 15:12–28, Paul gives a concise description of the meaning of Jesus’ resurrection, portraying the risen Jesus as the basis ...

2. The Rider on the White Horse

Revelation 19:11-21

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

Viewed in a macroscopic way, the main body of John’s book of visions narrates the three decisive moments of salvation’s history. Sharply put, John’s message to the seven churches is this: what has already transpired (5:1–11:19) together with what has not yet taken place (14:1–19:10; 19:11–22:6a) must inform the believing community’s response both to God and to its present tribulation (12:1–13:18). This section of Revelation, then, clarifies the community’s eschatological point of reference toward the ...

3. The Transfiguration

Mark 9:2-13

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

9:2–13 The open and forthright nature of Jesus’ teaching about his coming death in 8:31–32 is matched here by a powerful disclosure of his true significance as the Son of God. The description of the event is studded with allusions to OT passages and themes, and it is necessary to see these to appreciate what Mark wanted this story to convey to his readers. The placement of this account right after Jesus’ promise of his future, glorious vindication (8:38–9:1) shows the reader a glimpse of that glory. The ...

4. The Trial Before Felix

Acts 24:1-27

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

Paul’s removal to Caesarea began a two-year imprisonment in that city. During these years he stated his case (and therefore the case for the gospel) before two governors and a king, thus further fulfilling the ministry to which he had been called (9:15). These were days of high drama as well as of tedious confinement, but through it all Paul maintained his unswerving purpose to serve Christ and the gospel. 24:1 The first of the two governors to hear Paul’s case was Antonius Felix, the brother of Pallas, ...

5. Sheep

Matthew 18:10-14, Matthew 18:15-20, Luke 15:1-7

Drama

Dave Marsh

Director's Notes: God pursues lost people with a vengeance. He cares about us so much that He will passionately seek us out to bring us home. This drama shows the difference between how God might pursue us (Donna) and how we humans normally view the lost (Jim). Cast: Donna: a good shepherd Jim: a not-so-good shepherd Props: 2 staffs (staves?) A laptop computer a bag (to hold the laptop) A picture of a field (projected behind them if possible) Ambient field noises (if possible) Setting: A field (LIGHTS UP ...

6. The One Who Radiates God

Matthew 17:1-13

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Notes The idea of God's presence being signified by a cloud (albeit a bright one!) has much Old Testament precedent (e.g., Exodus 24:15-18), and here provides a marvelous contrast with the sun-like radiance of Jesus. It is noteworthy that the disciples here cannot bear either the sight or the sound of the awesome "enclouded" God (v. 6) but the God whom Jesus radiates (versus reflects) they may behold directly (v. 8). Liturgical Color White Suggested Hymns All Hail The Power Of Jesus' Name! How Good ...

7. The Four Horsemen

Revelation 6:1-17

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... Cosmic disturbances (6:12–14) (2) The reaction of unbelievers (6:15–16) (3) Who can withstand the wrath of God and the Lamb? (6:17) b. The seventh seal: Silence in heaven (8:1) [see 8:1–12 for comments] Interpretive Insights 6:9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw ... against God and persecute his people (e.g., Rev. 3:10; 11:10; 17:8). Second, they ask when God plans to “avenge” their blood (cf. Rev. 16:5–7; 19:2). 6:11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait ...

8. The Warrior Messiah Conquers the Two Beasts and Their Followers

Revelation 19:1-21

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... birds of prey, a gruesome image that stands in contrast to the messianic wedding banquet of the Lamb. Outline b. The Warrior Messiah conquers the two beasts and their followers (19:11–21) i. Attributes of the Warrior Messiah (19 ... The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. The armies consist of both angels and believers. Angels are said to accompany Christ at his return elsewhere in the New Testament (e.g., Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26; Matt. 13:40 ...

9. The New Heaven and New Earth

Revelation 21:1-27

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... through a dirty window (1 Cor. 13:12). It’s like seeing a fuzzy, black-and-white photo of a friend compared to seeing that friend in person, face-to-face, in living ... of God’s intimate presence. John draws on Ezekiel 40–48 throughout 21:9–22:5. Outline b. A vision of the new Jerusalem (21:9–22:5) i. An angel gives John a tour ... Revelation, the nations receive God’s offer of salvation. While many reject his offer and face judgment (e.g., 11:2, 9, 18; 13:7; 14:8; 16:19; 17:15; 18:3, 23; 20:3, 8), ...

10. Wrapped in a Cloud

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Lori Wagner

The approaching wintry days and nights means cuddling up in your warmest, cozy fleece, as unexpected snow wraps the earth in a thick, opaque, and silent blanket of white. Ever go outside after foot upon foot of snow has obliterated everything familiar from sight? All you see is white. Everywhere white and a kind of strange glowing haze in the frosty, still air. When the sun peers through the haze, it casts an eerie kind of glow. The crystalline particles of snow glisten, almost blinding you with their ...

11. The Final Judgment

Revelation 20:11-15

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

Big Idea: The unrepentant will face God’s just judgment and will suffer eternal death as a result. Understanding the Text The wicked are judged at the return of Christ (19:21: “the rest were killed”) and are denied resurrection at the beginning of the millennium (20:4–6; a second “resurrection” is deliberately never mentioned). Following the millennium, the wicked are pulled back from the realm of the dead when Satan is also released from his prison (20:8–9). They are duped once again into following the ...

12. The Celebration of the Great Multitude in Heaven

Revelation 7:9-17

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... of the seventh seal. The drama intensifies all right, but in an unexpected way. Outline b. Celebrating the salvation of God’s people (7:9–17) i. The great multitude ... could count, from every nation . . . , standing before the throne and before the Lamb . . . wearing white robes . . . holding palm branches. As in Revelation 5:5–6, where John hears about a ... their wilderness journey by covering them with the presence of his Shekinah glory (e.g., Exod. 13:21–22; 33:7–11; 40:34–38). 7:16–17 Never ...

13. Identification and a Wish for Grace and Peace

Galatians 1:1-10

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

1:1 As in all of his letters Paul begins by identifying himself as the sender. In ancient times a letter typically began with the writer’s self-identification, and the opening commonly continued by naming the addressees and wishing them good health. In Paul’s letters, this typical wish is replaced by a wish for grace and peace. In the opening of Paul’s letter to the Galatian churches, as in most of his other letters, Paul identifies himself as an apostle (cf. Rom. 1:1; 1 Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:1; and, if ...

14. Message to Sardis

Revelation 3:1-6

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

Big Idea: Jesus rebukes his church for its compromise that is leading to spiritual death and reassures the faithful few with promises of heavenly citizenship. Understanding the Text The message to the church in Sardis is the fifth (and most negative) in the series of messages to the seven churches in Revelation 2–3. Jesus confronts a church relying on its past reputation to make up for its present spiritual slumber. Only a few people are commended by the Lord as he attempts to rescue this church from ...

15. Jesus Eats with Sinners and Heals the Sick

Matthew 9:9-13, Matthew 9:14-17, Matthew 9:18-26, Matthew 9:27-34

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Matthew encourages his readers to trust and follow Jesus, whose healing power and mercy toward sinners signal the arrival of God’s kingdom. Understanding the Text The final section of chapters 8–9 continues to accent themes of Jesus’ authority to heal—with three healing accounts in this section—and faith as the appropriate response (9:22, 29). The call narrative of the tax collector Matthew includes a paradigmatic meal scene in which Jesus eats with “tax collectors and sinners” (9:9–13; see also ...

16. Message to Laodicea

Revelation 3:14-22

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

Big Idea: Jesus rebukes his church for its pathetic self-sufficiency and exhorts them to repent and open their hearts to him for restored fellowship and a share in his victory and authority. Understanding the Text The message to the church in Laodicea is the seventh (and final) in a series of messages to the seven churches in Revelation 2–3. Influenced by the local culture, the church considers itself wealthy and self-sufficient, but Jesus’s assessment differs markedly. He repeatedly utilizes images from ...

17. Jesus Proclaims Judgment on the Temple and the Nation

Mark 13:1-31

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: God’s judgment will soon fall on the temple and the land and bring devastation. However, God’s people must not be carried away by false teaching and false rumors but rather should endure patiently in the midst of the persecution. Understanding the Text The extensive discourse of chapter 13, known as the Olivet Discourse, develops the basic theme in passion week thus far: the fruitlessness (fig tree) and guilt (clearing of the temple) of the Jewish leadership, leading to the curse upon the nation ...

18. Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi

Acts 16:11-15

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... the last of the Macedonian kings fell to the Romans at Pydna in 168 B.C., the country was annexed by Rome, but in the settlement made the following ... praying or the place in which it is done, in the latter sense sometimes denoting a building (e.g., a synagogue). But Luke’s use of the word here probably means that there was no building, ... picture of this procedure and one, moreover, that belongs precisely to this time (see Sherwin-White, p. 76). 16:13 We expected: There are a number of textual variants here. ...

19. Message to Pergamum

Revelation 2:12-17

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

Big Idea: Jesus commends his church for persevering in faithfulness in spite of persecution but warns them not to compromise with an idolatrous and immoral culture. Understanding the Text The message to the church in Pergamum is the third in the series of messages to the seven churches in Revelation 2–3. Jesus commends the church at Pergamum for enduring persecution in a very idolatrous and immoral environment but faults it for compromising with false teaching that promotes the ungodly lifestyle of the ...

20. In Corinth

Acts 18:1-17

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... Corinth had been a long one. Its greatest fame had been under Periander (ca. 625–583 B.C.), but having survived many earlier wars, it fell victim at last to the Romans. ... (see disc. on 23:11). The message was couched in the language of the Old Testament (cf., e.g., Exod. 3:12; Deut. 31:6; Josh. 1:5, 9; Isa. 43:5; Jer. 1:8) and contains ... their law upon their own adherents. Perhaps, then, the charge related to Roman law. Sherwin-White points out that the best charge for the Jews to bring “was that Paul was ...

21. Marketplace Christianity

John 2:13-22

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Do you employ a “market mentality” or a “relational mentality”? What does this mean? Put simply, a market mentality sees things in terms of transactions and commodities, resources, and dispensability. A relational mentality however sees things in terms of developing partnerships, relationships, long-term collaborations that benefit both parties and share a vision. The former can easily fluctuate. The latter, however, requires time and effort to develop and cultivates trust, loyalty, and commitment over ...

22. Walking in the Light

1 John 1:5--2:14, 1 John 2:15-17

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... we “cut ourselves off from what he has to say to us” (J. B. Phillips, The New Testament in Modern English, p. 500). Literally, the text says, “ ... tribe and nation. In 7:14 the tribulation martyrs have “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Finally, in 12:11 the saints have overcome Satan by ... en) is one of the writer’s favorite expressions. It occurs eighteen times in these letters. See, e.g., 1:5 (“in him there is no darkness”), 1:7 (“as he is in the light”), ...

23. Walking in the Light and the Problem of Sin

1 John 2:15-17, 1 John 1:5--2:14

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

24. Ruth Meets Boaz

Ruth 2:1-23

Understanding Series

Michael S. Moore

... illustrate this in contemporary language, it is much easier for a white male judge, John B. Scott, to fine a poor black woman, Rosa Parks, for disorderly conduct (refusing to give up her seat to a white man) than it is to challenge the evils of a racist ... , “Yahweh, the Kind and Sensitive God,” in God Who Is Rich in Mercy: Essays Presented to Dr. D. B. Knox (ed. P. T. O’Brien and D. G. Peterson; Homebush West, Australia: Lancer, 1986), p. 82, sees Yahweh as much more than a “rewarder of good deeds ...

25. The Garden City as Paradise Transformed

Revelation 22:1-5

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

Big Idea: In the transformed paradise of the new Jerusalem, God’s people will experience his perfect presence, worship him, and reign with him forever. Understanding the Text This is the final part of John’s vision of the new Jerusalem in 21:9–22:5. In 22:1–5 John describes the eternal city as a garden, much like the original Garden of Eden. But now we learn that paradise has been not only restored but also transformed into the perfect eternal paradise. John draws imagery and language from Ezekiel 47:1–12 ...

Showing results