Sermon and Worship Resources

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1 Samuel 26:1-25

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... soil. He is no more harmful to Saul than a flea, so why should the king of Israel come after David as if on a game-bird hunting expedition? 26:21–25 Saul, as he did on the earlier occasion (24:17), responds to the fact that David could have killed him and did not. He admits the wrongness of his behavior. He again calls David his son and this time explicitly calls on David to come back. David studiously ignores this request and makes no attempt to acknowledge Saul as his father, referring to him simply as ...

2. Someone At the Door

Revelation 3:14-22

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... makes clear that a deliberate act on our part is required. That door will not swing will Christ open it. In the famous Holman Hunt referred, the door handle is on the inside. Only we can open the door. The invitation is open to each individual. “If anyone hears ... of inferior quality. But when the masterful vision and skill of Michelangelo came to bear on it, that block of marble became David. Could it be that you and I are like that block of marble? Perhaps we have tried to make something of ourselves, ...

3. “Be Exalted, O God, above the Heavens; Let Your Glory Be over All the Earth”

Psalm 57:1-11

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... and fauna of the ancient world, and that is the case with Psalm 57. The presence of lions in David’s world is well attested (1 Sam. 17:34–36), although eventually hunting and deforestation eliminated lions from the dense forests of the Jordan River. Quite appropriately, the imagery of hunting appears in 57:6, where the hunters spread a net over a pit to trap the animal (in this case, David), but David’s enemies, who are in hot pursuit of him (57:3), fall into it themselves. Interpretive Insights Title ...

4. The Housing Problem

Luke 11:14-28

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... was where you threw things you didn't want people to see. It was a happy day for both of us when we could change. House-hunting is important. Come spring you'll witness students camping out at the AC's office to sign up for a place to live. And no housing ... labors under the illusion that all its problems will be solved if it just has kings like other nations. It winds up under David and Solomon burdened by taxation and split into two nations after a horrible civil war. Living under an illusion can be a ...

5. The Holy Spirit and You

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... little bit of time and with a big flashlight. Then, looking Brother Smith over said to him, “Sir, you're under arrest for hunting after dark. It's against the law in this county." Brother Smith said, “You can't do that. I'm a Methodist preacher." ... feel my hand, know that I will not leave you. If you need anything, just squeeze my hand. I'm going to be holding it." David said, “She did and it was tremendous comfort to me." The Holy Spirit is that kind of comforter. The Holy Spirit of God is present ...

6. Christmas Eve

Lk 2:1-20 · Tit 2:11-14 · Isa 9:2-7 · Ps 96

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... 2. Gospel: Luke 2:1-20 1. A personal Christmas greeting (2:11) -- "For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Need: At Christmas millions of greeting cards are sent with lovely messages of good wishes. Did you ... the Christ-child is experienced -- vv. 15, 16. c. The joy of Christmas is the joy of salvation -- v. 10. 3. A Christmas treasure hunt (2:16) -- "And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger." Need: Christmas is more than ...

7. The Nativity of Our Lord

Luke 2:1-20 · Isa 9:2-7 · Tit 2:11-14

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... Lesson 2. Gospel: Luke 2: 1-20 1. A Personal Christmas Greeting. 2:11 - "For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Need: At Christmas millions of greeting cards are sent with lovely messages of good wishes. Did you ... the Christ-child is experienced - vv. 15, 16. C. The joy of Christmas is the joy of salvation - v. 10. 3. A Christmas Treasure Hunt. 2:16 - "And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger." Need: Christmas is more than ...

8. Signs, Sayings, and Oracles of Judgment

Ezekiel 12:1-28, Ezekiel 13:1-23, Ezekiel 14:1-11, Ezekiel 14:12-23

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... on a plastered wall deemed a sign of leprosy by the priests, and 1 Chr. 29:4, with reference to the gold and silver David provided to cover the walls of the temple). Indeed, Ezekiel doubtless intended the connections with Lev. 14: the vain attempts of the false prophets ... Saggs argues that this word should rather be rendered “net,” in light of the use of the expression tsud (“hunt, ensnare”), particularly in the simile in v. 20, “you ensnare people like birds” (H. W. F. Saggs, “‘External Souls ...

9. Does God Give A Damn?

Exodus 5:22--6:12

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... disconnect our odometer to keep our new car in warranty, we are not only sinning against GM or Ford but against God. King David had to learn this lesson. He thought he had committed the perfect crime when he committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her ... jail - one month per dollar! Do you call that "justice"? Is it justice when one of America’s richest men, Nelson Bunker Hunt, paid only $9.65 income tax on a taxable income of more than seven million? Yes, God cares when we experience injustice ...

10. Fast Forward Faith

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... will not run red lights' 500 times!" (1) This past week, the kids of the SOS Club put me on a week-long treasure hunt. They drew elaborate treasure maps with cryptic clues which lead me each day to some new treasure. One of the treasures I found was ... " and is probably best translated as "son of honor." Then there's the title Bartimaeus keeps using when he addresses Jesus, "Son of David." That was one of traditional titles used for the Messiah. It means "son of the beloved" or "beloved son of God." How cool ...

11. The Only Place of Worship

Deuteronomy 12:1-32

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... Christ as the focus of worship in the messianic age (cf. John 4:19–26; Acts 7:44–50; and Davies, Land). From the time of David onward, with the transfer of the ark and the building of the temple by Solomon, the place could be thought of only as Jerusalem. This identification ... would consign the majority of the population to a vegetarian diet supplemented by game birds or animals caught by hunting. Thus, the rules laid down here allow animals from the herds and flocks (v. 21—i.e., animals eligible ...

12. New Creations in Christ

Revelation 21:1-6

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... to think about what the fruit seller had been saying to him. What did he mean by new eyes, child eyes, kingdom eyes, and treasure-hunting eyes? The next time he went to the stand, he pressed the fruit seller to to explain. "Well, you see," the fruit seller began, "one ... for Egypt to be destroyed. The people traveled to the promised land and made themselves into a great nation under David. However, the people often wandered away from God and, thus, the Lord sent prophets who proclaimed God's message. When ...

13. Putting Mom in Heartbreak Hotel

1 Kings 2:5-6

Sermon

James Merritt

... . He would fight for the king at the drop of a hat. He defeated the Jebusites, the Ammonites, and the Edomites. He was David's right hand man. Well, then how in the world could it come to this, where David's last decree, on his deathbed, was to see to it that Joab was slain? David as much as said, "Hunt him down like the dog he is." Now to understand how this came to be, think of two parts of Joab's life. I. Joab's Pretended Loyalty To put it bluntly, Joab was not on the inside what he pretended to be ...

14. David Spares Saul’s Life—Again

1 Samuel 26:1-25

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... (1 Sam. 24:16–21), but now again the king is ready to hunt David down and kill him. David decides once more to demonstrate his loyalty to Saul. Though the Lord again seemingly delivers Saul into his hands, David refuses to strike the Lord’s anointed. When Saul realizes that David has again spared his life, he confesses his sin and promises not to harm David in the future. David appeals to the Lord for vindication, and Saul blesses him and assures him of future success. The similarity of this episode ...

15. David Spares Saul's Life

1 Samuel 24:1-22

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... own ends, perhaps much more effectively than a direct attack on Saul. There may be a little of both. Possibly David wants to reinterpret the robe-cutting episode before Saul discovers what he has done and interprets it as evidence that David is seeking to depose him. However, although he may have manipulated Saul, there is no question that David was not guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. He did not deserve to be hunt[ed] down in this way by Saul. He was willing to allow the LORD to be the judge between the ...

16. “In the Lord I Take Refuge”

Psalm 11:1-7

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... at the upright in heart” (RSV, ESV). This is a metaphor of hunting or war when the enemies hide in the dark or conceal themselves in the shadows (NIV) and ambush their victims. Whether their victims were animals or humans, stealth was their strategy. While I prefer the literal interpretation of the psalm, this is most likely a metaphor (a literal interpretation does not disqualify metaphors), taken from the reality of David’s world, and here applied to political and spiritual assaults by his adversaries ...

17. Friends

1 Samuel 18:1-4

Sermon

James Merritt

... forever.'" Then he rose and departed, while Jonathan went into the city." (I Samuel 20:41-42, NASB) As God would have it, they did see each other again, only the next time they saw each other, David was on the run from King Saul. He was out in the wilderness being hunted like a wild animal. We read these incredible words, "David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph and Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand. Now ...

18. Guilt: How to Keep Your Conscience Clear

Psalm 32:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... your heart, there will be drought in your soul. The heavens had turned to brass; God had shut off the showers of blessing and David’s life had become a literal desert. That is exactly what guilt does to a person. You see, there are two kinds of wounds ... is a dirty wound; it will never heal until it is treated and cleansed. The burden of unconfessed sin is guilt; guilt that will hunt you, hound you, and haunt you because you cannot hide your sin from God, and you cannot hide your sin from yourself. That is ...

19. “Their Violence Comes Down on Their Own Heads”

Psalm 7:1-17

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... the small shield that protected certain parts of the warrior’s body, while the larger shield (5:12) provided full-body protection. (4) David says that the Lord “makes ready his flaming arrows” (7:13), suggesting arrows dipped in pitch or oil and then lit before shooting.3 The final two metaphors in Psalm 7 draw from other areas of life. (5) The metaphors of 7:15 are those of hunting, with the subject now changed from the Lord to the evil person. The hunter would dig a pit and camouflage it with brush ...

20. “You Laugh at Them, Lord; You Scoff at All Those Nations”

Psalm 59:1-17

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... other side of the metaphor, not used here, is affirmed in the art of the ancient Near East, depicting dogs on hunting expeditions and as sheep herders (Job 30:1), attesting their domestication, probably in prehistoric times (see also Tob. 5:16; 11:4 ... ’ defeat carries a double meaning: it means that Israel will not forget (59:11), and the world will know that God is sovereign. David’s words to Goliath parallel the sense of the last clause: “and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel ...

21. Friendship? Yes, Please!

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... this value? In the nave we learn to be friends with God in Christ as we worship. And then in the fellowship hall we learn to be friends with each other as we eat and talk, laugh and share and encourage. In chapter 1 of Second Samuel, David learns of his good friend Jonathan's death. As youths they'd covenanted together trading cloaks and swords. They'd hunted and camped together, worshiped, traded stories, and suffered together the corrupt intrigues of King Saul's court. Now Jonathan is slain in battle. And ...

22. Dealing With Your Enemies

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... his life. On one occasion, in the Desert of Ziph, Saul took three thousand soldiers with him for the express purpose of hunting David down and killing him. It was on this mission that, one night while Saul was sleeping, David slipped into his tent under the cover of dark. There lay David’s enemy asleep with his spear stuck in the ground near his head. A soldier who had accompanied David on this clandestine mission said to him, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him to ...

23. The Seeing Eye

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Sermon

Bill Mosley

... of Mephibosheth. What do we know about Saul? We know he lied about David and ordered the army to hunt him down, saying that David wanted to kill Saul and the whole royal family. But David believed God when he said that God's anointed was his chosen, and David would not harm Saul because he was, after all, God's anointed. Once the army had David cornered in a cave. David hid while Saul and his soldiers searched the cave. When they gave up, David let the search party get far enough away and called after them ...

24. Battle Stations

Ephesians 6:10-18

Sermon

James Merritt

... where it belongs; into the hands of God. David understood that. That's why a little shepherd boy with a slingshot could defeat the largest strongest man in the world with a little rock. The reason why David was willing to fight that giant, and ... devil. Dr. Paige Patterson is a big game hunter. He's going to Africa this year to hunt what everyone says is, by far and away, the most dangerous animal in the world to hunt, and that is the Cape buffalo. Dr. Patterson told me this week of the most frightening ...

25. The World's Largest Covered Dish Lunch

John 6:1-15

Sermon

... are found where the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, reigns. A healed femur shows that someone cared. Someone had to hunt and gather for that injured person until his leg healed. The evidence of compassion, according to Margaret Mead, is the first sign of ... another less heroic story that took place only days earlier on the same mountain. Thirty four year old David Sharp died after forty climbers passed him and refused to help. Think of that. One climber is left for dead, but is rescued and lives ...

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