Sermon and Worship Resources

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Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... dog appeared again, and that evening some of the food was gone. For several days this pattern was repeated as a distant bond of trust began forming. "Then the impossible happened. One morning as Keller sat on a large rock overlooking his grazing sheep, he ... you to know that I'll be with you for the long haul, no matter what. You're still you, and I love you." Those words gave Christopher Reeves the strength to go on. (7) There are times in life when all of us wonder where we will find the strength to go on. ...

2. Heroes

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... from the Jews. The world was shocked when, in 1997, this young bank guard from the Union Bank of Switzerland, Christoph Meili, reported that bank officials were shredding any evidence of that bank's collusion with the Nazis in order to ... people dressed in white robes? They are men and women, young and old from every nation and race on earth. They are bound by one bond--they sought to walk in the footsteps of the Master. And now they reside with God where they will never suffer again. Who are these people ...

3. Proper 22

Luke 17:1-10, 2 Timothy 1:1-2:13, Lamentations 1:1-22, Psalm 137:1-9

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... ask big questions than to give little answers. 2. Thankful for Criticism. Mother Teresa has received some severe criticism in recent years. It came both in a Vanity Fair article by Christopher Hitchens and in The Door, a magazine of a Texas-based religious order. She had received major gifts from Charles Keating, who was convicted for junk bond dealings in a savings and loan scandal. He had contributed over a million dollars to her organization. She also had use of his private jet. Critics also question the ...

4. Selling One’s Soul

1 Kings 21:1-29

Sermon

Robert Allen

... in the minds of students as they watch it performed on the stage. Perhaps, one of the greatest of the Elizabethan dramas is Christopher Marlowe’s, The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus. Doctor Faustus is a drama about a man who is dissatisfied with the limits of ... lust and he is chafing at the boundaries which are set before him. Rebelling against the boundaries, Doctor Faustus signs a blood-bond with Satan. He agrees to sell his soul for 24 years of enough power and knowledge to rule the world. In the ...

5. Why Did God Allow That To Happen?

John 9:1-41

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... what we sow. The problem comes when we reap what we have not sown. Why did Cantor Fitzgerald, a leading treasury bond brokerage, loose a majority of its employees in the Terrorist attacks and other businesses lose so little? Why did that treasured, creative ... you want to, but none of them will cause you to lead a charmed life or render you immune to heartbreak or tragedy. St. Christopher medals don't prevent auto accidents. If God won't promise us safety, what does He promise? He promises that He will not ...

6. The Time of Our Visitation

Sermon

Leonard Mann

... trouble knowing what time it is, identifying the hour. So frequently we do not grasp the magnitude of a moment until sometime after. Christopher Morley has this interesting line: "Never write up your diary on the day itself; it takes longer than that to know what ... things happened because he did. I do not understand his coming forth from Joseph’s tomb, breaking the seal of Rome and the bonds of death; but he did, and things happened because he did. I do not understand his coming to a human person trapped ...

7. THE JOURNEY

Drama

Jerome W. Nilssen

... makes ... sense. CAIN Like ideas. The big money - economically speaking - is in big ideas. For example, take the First American. GRACE Christopher Columbus? CAIN The Noble Redskin. Patiently waiting in his humble teepee for the restoration of his rights. He’s got time ... things on my mind. It’s a free country. (Pause; no response; he draws closer) Still, the way I see it, there is a kind of bond between us. You know Seth. And I just saw him a few days ago. You could say it was fate brought the two of us ...

8. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

Luke 13:22-30

Sermon

David E. Leininger

A little girl came home from school and asked her mother if she knew Christopher Columbus was Italian. "Yes," said Mom. And the girl continued, "Did you know that Queen Isabella furnished the money ... who struck out as spiritual pioneers, people who have run interference for God. There was Paul, that devout Pharisee of the Pharisees, who broke the bonds of Jewish legalism that threatened to strangle early Christianity. There was Luther who led the battle to reform and cleanse the church he loved. There was ...

9. Yahweh Speaks as the Master Teacher

Job 38:1--41:34

Teach the Text

Daniel J. Estes

... Silmarillion, by J. R. R. Tolkien. This book, which was published posthumously in 1977 by Tolkien’s son Christopher, presents a poetic depiction of the creation of the world. This description is imaginative and also speculative, because ... . This powerful creature would scarcely entreat Job to be gentle with it (41:3). There is no chance that it would submit itself willingly to becoming a bond slave (41:4; cf. Exod. 21:6). Would Job be so silly as to think that he could train it as a pet for a little girl ...

10. Preparing for the King

Luke 3:1-6

Sermon

King Duncan

... Anger” by Susan Campbell, Special to the Courant September 25, 2014, https://www.courant.com/courant-250/hc-250-minister-walter-everett-forgave-sons-killer-20140928-story.html. 6. “After his son was murdered, Walt Everett did what few would. He reached out to the man who killed him.” by Christopher Hann. Photos by Bill Cardoni, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pa. September 2011, http://www.drew.edu/news/2016/04/21/uncommon ...

11. Miscellaneous Laws

Deut 23:15–25:19

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Community Laws: Defining and Protecting the Community · These last chapters (23-25) of the central law code have a “flavor” of concern for a compassionate and caring community that takes seriously the claims of kinship and the needs of the weak and vulnerable. That community itself, however, needs clear definition and measures to protect its religious distinctiveness and purity. This need explains the presence, alongside laws that immediately appeal to us by their charitable nature, of other laws that ...

12. Driving Out the Nations

Deuteronomy 7:1-26

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Israel’s Election and Its Implications: Like several of these opening chapters of Deuteronomy, chapter seven displays a careful stylistic structure, a concentric arrangement of several layers. It begins and ends with the destruction of the Canaanites and their idols (vv. 1–6, 20–26). The reason for that destruction lies in Israel’s distinctive identity and relationship to God, succinctly expressed in verse 6 and spelled out in more colorful detail in verses 13–15 and 17–24, with verse 16 summarizing the “ ...

13. Do Not Forget the Lord

Deuteronomy 8:1-20

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Not by Bread Alone: Like chapter 7, this chapter is also very skillfully organized in a loose chiastic fashion, with the same “in and out” pattern as in chapter 7. A The land sworn to the forefathers; command given today (v. 1) B Wilderness as place of humbling, testing, and provision (vv. 2–6) C A good land (vv. 7–9) D You will eat and be satisfied (v. 10) E Bless the LORD; Do not forget (v. 11) D′ You will eat and be satisfied (v. 12a) C′ A good land (vv. 12b–14) B′ Wilderness as place of humbling, ...

14. Fear the Lord

Deuteronomy 10:12-22

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Walk in All God’s Ways: These verses begin the buildup toward the climax of the opening exhortation of the book in chapter 11. Deuteronomy 10:12–22 is unquestionably one of the richest texts in the Hebrew Bible, exalted and poetic in its language, comprehensive and challenging in its message. It purposely tries to “boil down” the whole theological and ethical content of the book into memorable phraseology, packed and pregnant, rich and resonant of all the surrounding preaching. Indeed, there are not many ...

15. Worshipping Other Gods

Deuteronomy 13:1-18

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Sources of the Temptation to Go after Other Gods: Continuing the concern for the purity of Israel’s worship, in line with the first commandment, Deuteronomy warns the people of the kinds of situation in which they might be tempted or pressured into deserting Yahweh for other gods. First, the danger of false religious leaders (vv. 1–5); second, the possible conflict of loyalties when close family members are involved (vv. 6–11); third, the pressure of an influential group of leaders in a community (vv. 12– ...

16. Atonement for an Unsolved Murder

Deuteronomy 21:1-9

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Rectifying Public and Private Wrongs: Each of the five sections of this chapter deals with a situation of human distress or misconduct and seeks either to rectify the wrong or to mitigate its worst effects. We have seen already that this is a characteristic feature of Deuteronomy—part of its “pastoral strategy.” Another feature is that the first and fifth of the laws both require actions that involve removing pollution from the sight of God and from the land. 21:1–9 Atonement for an unsolved murder. ...

17. Exclusion From the Assembly

Deuteronomy 23:1-8

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Community Laws: Defining and Protecting the Community · These last chapters of the central law code have a “flavor” of concern for a compassionate and caring community that takes seriously the claims of kinship and the needs of the weak and vulnerable. That community itself, however, needs clear definition and measures to protect its religious distinctiveness and purity. This need explains the presence, alongside laws that immediately appeal to us by their charitable nature, of other laws that appear much ...

18. The Ten Commandments

Deuteronomy 5:1-33

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Introduction to Israel’s Covenantal Constitution: The Decalogue · Here opens Moses’ second discourse (chs. 5–26), the central section of the whole book. It is subdivided into two main parts. Chapters 5–11 are a broad exhortation to covenant loyalty and obedience, following up and amplifying the theocratic and covenantal challenge set forth in chapter 4. Chapters 12–26, with their subheading in 12:1, are more detailed legislation, much of which renews, expands, and sometimes modifies laws already given in ...

19. Freeing Servants

Deuteronomy 15:12-18

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

The Release of Hebrew Slaves: 15:12–18 This law, sometimes called the law of “manumission” (i.e., release from slavery), is also based on the first law in the Book of the Covenant (Exod. 21:2–11). As with the above š e miṭṭâ law, which comes straight after the account of the exodus, it preserves the basic intention of the original law (Hebrew slaves should be granted freedom after six years of service) but adds some typically Deuteronomic extras. If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman . . . It is very ...

20. Marrying a Captive Woman

Deuteronomy 21:10-14

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

21. The Right of the Firstborn

Deuteronomy 21:15-17

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

22. A Rebellious Son

Deuteronomy 21:18-21

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

23. Moses Blesses the Tribe

Deuteronomy 33:1-29

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

The Last Mountain: The Blessing and Death of Moses · The speeches have been made, the sermon has been preached, the song has been sung. All that remains is for Moses to bid farewell and leave the stage, which he does in typical fashion (typical of him, and typical in another sense of his great successor), by climbing a mountain. Just before the final ascent, however, comes his parting blessing on the tribes of Israel. There is something beautiful in the fact that after all the dark chapters of curses, ...

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