Sermon and Worship Resources

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Isaiah 1:1-31

Sermon

James McLemore

In this first chapter of the book, Isaiah examines the nation of Judah as it looked during the reign of four kings: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. As he examines them, he reflects on what Judah looks like when God looks at the nation. He tells Judah that when God looks at you, you don't look like yourself. Your name is Judah, and you are the people of Jerusalem. Judah means the "praise of God...

2. What God Expects From Worship

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

Sermon

Chrysanne Timm

I heard it again at a meeting last week ... a comment about the length of the worship service. Somewhere along the way, people in our Christian tradition came up with the idea that worship should last about no more than sixty minutes. The comment was innocent enough and was being made in reference to recommendations our ministry team would be making regarding the Sunday morning schedule of w...

3. Judgment and Comfort: Part One

Isaiah 1:1-31

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

1:1–12:6 Review · Prophecies against Judah: The first twelve chapters of Isaiah may be compared to a painting with three panels (a triptych). Isaiah’s call to be a prophet (chap. 6) is at the center, while the other two parts of the triptych concern judgment and hope. The first section (chaps. 1–5) is in the form of a covenantal lawsuit, and the third section (chaps. 7–12) presents God’s word of j...

4. A Rebellious Nation

Isaiah 1:1-31

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

Introduction--Jerusalem Judged and Restored: Chapter 1 introduces both the message of Isaiah ben Amoz over three decades and the book as a whole. The people have paid the penalty for abandoning their relationship with Yahweh (vv. 2–9) and need to own the fact that they have perverted their life with Yahweh by practicing religion but not justice (vv. 10–20); judgment can then be a creative purging ...

5. How Paul Became An Apostle

Isaiah 1:1-31

Bulletin Aid

H. Burnham Kirkland

Call To Worship The Almighty God, the Lord, speaks: "Giving thanks is the sacrifice that honors me, and I will surely save all who obey me." Come, let us worship the righteous God who alone is our judge. Collect O Lord, we would honor you with our prayers of thanksgiving and our songs of praise. Beyond that, our Father, we know that we must truly honor you with our deeds. Bless us in this time of...

6. Compassion not Sacrifice

Isaiah 1:1-31

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

Call to Worship Leader: Let us gather together this day and bring worship and praise to the Lord. People: What may we bring, or what sacrifice can we make before Almighty God? Leader: Let us bring the love in our hearts and our caring for our neighbors. People: And let us seek justice in the world for all who are not powerful or rich. Leader: God loves a cheerful heart, so let us celebrate in song...

7. Proper 14

Psalm 33:12-22, Isaiah 1:1, 10-20, Luke 12:32-40, Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

Call To Worship Leader: We’ve come here from a variety of places; each of us for our own reasons. Each of us has a perception of the Holy and we anticipate having that perception satisfied. People: We experience God as judge or as storm or as fire or as gentle voice or as creative friend. Leader: One thing we know is that God is Creator of the world and invites us to be responsible caretakers for ...

8. Proper 26

Psalm 65:1-13, Psalm 145:1-21, Psalm 32:1-11, 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12, Haggai 2:1-9, Exodus 34:1-28, Isaiah 1:1-31, Luke 19:1-10

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The "count" of the Sundays in this period of the year tells those initiated in the mysteries of the church year that it is approaching its conclusion. This, the Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost, is the last of the Sundays of Pentecost to be used with any frequency over the years; Easter has to occur in March in order for the number of Sundays in Pentecost to surpass 25, inclu...

9. Proper 14

Luke 12:35-48, Isaiah 1:1-31, Hebrews 11:1-40

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Isaiah 1:1, 10-20 Through Isaiah God condemns the religious practices of his day and promises forgiveness if the people will repent. The prophet Isaiah served under four kings of Judah from 792 to 686 B.C. He finds the country in a horrible moral condition equal to Sodom and Gomorrah, sin cities that God destroyed by fire and brimstone. The people are religious but immor...

10. Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

The long, complex scroll of Isaiah begins with the deceptively simple introduction read in today's lection. The very fact that this first verse is exhaustive and conclusive suggests that it is a later redactor's attempt to encapsulate the scope of Isaiah's prophetic task into one brief statement. The scene of this pronouncement is obviously cultic. The time is about 701 B.C. The all-encompassing ...

11. Star-spangled Justice

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

Sermon

Lee Ann Dunlap

In just a few more weeks we will be winding down the official summer season. The children start back to school and we all have one final summer fling during the Labor Day holiday weekend. Patriotic holidays like Flag Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day are best celebrated in the hot summer sun or watching "the rocket's red glare" under the stars. Summer holidays have a tradition all their own: h...

12. Religion and Politics

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Religion and politics - in years past we were told those were two subjects that were not good for pleasant conversation. In the church, many of us grew up hearing that religion and politics should be kept strictly apart - "separation of church and state," after all. But in recent years, we have been treated to regular helpings of both from every point on the partisan spectrum. There are regular re...

13. True Disciples

Isaiah 1:1-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Dead Heads. That name probably makes you either cringe, chuckle, or shake your head. Boomers – now with graying hair and growing girths – are the most likely to chuckle. What Boomer doesn't recall the hype and hypnotism of that apparently indefatigable '60s, '70s, '80s, and '90s rock band, the Grateful Dead? No band came to stand for a whole generation's growing pains like the Grateful Dead. Bo...

14. O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Isaiah 1:1-31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Back in the early 1980's, there was a best- selling book entitled Blue Highways. The novel chronicles one man's adventures along the back roads and secondary highways of America. His journeys took him into crossroad villages and almost forgotten towns where he met all kinds of interesting people, including a few hitchhikers whom he befriended. Among the hitchhikers was a Bible-toting self styled e...

15. Let's Live

Isaiah 1:1-31

Sermon

Richard L. Sheffield

Then let's get with it! Thus says the Lord our God, speaking through the mouth of his prophet Isaiah, to his people: people who didn't get it then and people who "still don't get it now." Actually I think we do get it; we just don't get around to getting it done, do we? Living as God says to live? God says: "... Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the or...

16. True or False?

Isaiah 1:1-31

Sermon

John W. Wurster

“Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom. Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah” (1:10; cf. Genesis 19). Sodom. Gomorrah. Remember? Places of wickedness, of violence, of perversity. Do you know any place like that? Places where sexuality is twisted and relationships are corrupted and social order is breaking down? Places where people seek to gratify personal desires at ...

17. Religion and Politics

Isaiah 1:1-31

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Religion and politics. In years past, we were told those were two subjects that were not good for pleasant conversation. In the church, many of us grew up hearing that religion and politics should be kept strictly apart - "separation of church and state," after all. But in 2004, we are being treated to regular helpings of both from every point on the partisan spectrum. There are regular references...

18. Proper 14

Psalm 50:1-23, Isaiah 1:1-31, Luke 12:32-40, Hebrews 11:1-40

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

READINGS Psalter—Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23 First Lesson—The prophet decries the hypocrisy of ritual worship without moral reform and responsibility for the poor. Isaiah 1:1, 10-20 Second Lesson—A definition of faith precedes an honor roll of the faithful. Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 Gospel—Jesus admonishes the faithful to be ready for the unexpected return of their Lord. Luke 12:32-40 CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: ...

19. Proper 26

Psalm 119:137-144, Isaiah 1:10-18, Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4, Luke 19:1-10, 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

Call To Worship Welcome to this sanctuary! Take a deep breath and bring your whole self — body, mind, and psyche — to this place. Set aside the pain and troubles that you brought with you. Be aware of what gives you pleasure and be grateful. Be aware of how and when you feel God’s presence. Listen to the psalmist: Happy are those whose wrongs are erased; Happy are they who feel at home with God. ...

20. Let Us Reason Together

Isaiah 1:18

Illustration

Woodrow Wilson

The way we generally strive for rights is by getting our fighting blood up; and I venture to say that is the long way and not the short way. If you come at me with your fists doubled, I think I can promise you that mine will double as fast as yours; but if you come to me and say, "Let us sit down and take counsel together, and, if we differ from one another, understand why it is that we differ fro...

21. Step Six - Willingness

Jn 5:2-9a · Heb 4:14-16 · Is 1:12-20

Sermon

John A. Terry

Step six: Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. Here is Isaiah, whom we saw in last week's text being so awed by God's presence, so totally aware of his uncleanness before God. His was a majestic experience of worship. In this morning's text God speaks through Isaiah, questioning the validity of the people's worship. The local Chamber of Commerce recently came ou...

22. Reversing The Flow

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

One of the greatest challenges of life is to stay in touch with reality and hold on to hope at the same time. And let it be said, clearly and unequivocally, that precisely just such a stance describes the committed Christian. Some would boast of a strong faith, but would build it by ignoring the realities of the world around them. Others see clearly the reality of the world around them and theref...

23. "Something's Coming"

Sermon

Robert Beringer

Could it be? Who knows? There's something to anything, I will know right away, soon as it shows. It may come cannonballing down from the sky - Who knows? It's just out of reach ... down the block ... on a beach . . . under a tree,I got a feeling there's a miracle goin' to come true, coming to me! Could it be? Yes, it could ... Something's comin', something good if I can wait. Something's comin', I...

24. Traveling to the Mountain

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

We sometimes wonder what the world is coming to these days, and when we look at present conditions, we do not find very much that reassures us. Our nation is suffering a thorough-going breakdown of morality, with violence and wrong, selfishness and cynicism surrounding us on every side. Our world is full of poverty and hunger, wars and rumors of war, and whole populations subjected to tyranny and ...

25. The Mountain of the Lord

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

In four verses (2:1–4) Isaiah describes the nature of God’s kingdom: its glory, its extent, and its effect. The glory of God’s kingdom is so great that it will be recognized by the nations. God’s kingdom will not be limited to the Jews in Jerusalem or Judea but will extend to the nations, who will desire to be instructed by the people of God. The language is centripetal; the people are coming to o...

Showing 1 to 25 of 1183 results