Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 54 results

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... it is a great glob of mud called racism. We fought a terrible war a century and a half ago because of it, the only time Americans ever took up arms against other Americans. That should have taught us something, but it did not really. The Jonahs among us went up on a hill and sulked, waiting for God to pour out divine wrath. But God did not...and God will not...not because of that, at least; not because we would dare break down the barriers that separate one group of God's children from another. We have made ...

2. Dynamic Preaching January 2024 Sermons

Sermon

King Duncan

... were expected to repair the roads so they would be smoother for the king. Often the roads had to be straightened and the hills cut down. Doubtless, this was what Isaiah had in mind when he wrote these words of comfort and hope for his people. ... than 120,000 persons who cannot discern their right hand from their left." God's universal love. That is the primary lesson of the book of Jonah. But there is another. It is about a God who is not afraid to change his mind. That is an interesting thing about the God of ...

3. The Lord’s Anger Against Nineveh

Nahum 1:1-15

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... historical contexts of the two books reopen that question, given that Jonah is usually dated after Nahum. Even if is too late for Nineveh, other superpowers always have the choice of Jonah or Nahum before them. Solemnly, the fact that both sides of ... of the arrival of a fearsome storm (v. 3b) whose effect can be to shake the ground and cause catastrophic landslides in the hills (v. 5). His listeners would be familiar with this from regular experience in winter, from the texts they heard in worship (especially ...

4. Love without Limits

John 13:31-38

Sermon

John K. Bergland

... sharing this incredible story, I suspect Peter was prepared to run for the hills to avoid being stoned to death. But he did not have to run for the hills. After Peter's compelling testimony, the critics were speechless and had a change ... It was obvious that Walter wanted to talk, but, truthfully, I had such disdain for him that I did not want to listen. However, like Jonah and Peter, God had something different in mind for me. So for the next thirty minutes Walter talked about the joy of his life before ...

5. Love without Limits

Acts 11:1-18

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... sharing this incredible story, I suspect Peter was prepared to run for the hills to avoid being stoned to death. But he did not have to run for the hills. After Peter’s compelling testimony, the critics were speechless and had a change ... It was obvious that Walter wanted to talk, but, truthfully, I had such disdain for him that I did not want to listen. However, like Jonah and Peter, God had something different in mind for me. So for the next thirty minutes Walter talked about the joy of his life before ...

6. The Most Stubborn Man in the Bible

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... . I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity . . .” Can you believe that? Jonah was upset that God had changed his mind about destroying Nineveh he was so angry that he asked God to take his life so angry that he literally wanted to die. Then Jonah went out on a hill overlooking the city to see what would happen to Nineveh to see if God would acknowledge his displeasure. And God had a little fun with His cantankerous ...

7. Sermons

Sermon

John R. Bodo

... with God, while unfolding within a fanciful and politically loaded story, resembles our ongoing quarrel with God who steadfastly refuses to act as we feel God should or wish God would. I have tried to treat Jonah without condescension, with sympathy and humor, including such humorous anachronisms as placing him on a hill outside Nineveh, with his Geiger counter handy, waiting for God to "nuke" the hated city. My main goal, however, has been to relate the story to our "faith journey" in order to show how, at ...

8. A Cantankerous Prophet

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... angry that he asked God to take his life. He was so angry that he literally wanted to die. Then Jonah went out on a hill overlooking the city to see what would happen to Nineveh to see if God would acknowledge Jonah’s displeasure. And, at this point, God decides to have a little fun with His cantankerous prophet. God makes a plant grow up near Jonah to shade him while he sits and pouts. And the plant pleases Jonah immensely. It’s one thing to have a temper tantrum. It’s another thing to sit all day in ...

9. Wave Riders and Deep-Sea Divers

Jonah 1:1-17, Jonah 2:1-10, Jonah 3:1-10, Jonah 4:1-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , milk-toast sermon these guys have EVER heard, and they’re NEVER gonna repent! And then, I’ll take my place on the hill, and I can’t WAIT to watch God destroy them!!! Woohoo! Yes! But what happens? They repent! Are you laughing yet? Oh yeah ... on the covenant, learning the meaning of love and mercy. He remains in a state of protest. As a people of protest, we can jive with Jonah a bit, can’t we? We get it. We all know those situations and those people in our own lives who we really love to protest, ...

10. The Authority of Jesus over Nature and the Cosmic Powers

Mark 5:1-20, Mark 4:35-41

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... popularity. As in 1:35–37; 3:7, Jesus cannot get away; the crowds follow him everywhere. 4:37 it was nearly swamped. High hills encompass the lake, and they often funnel high winds onto the water, creating waves of eight to ten feet (being seven hundred feet below ... ,” in Luke “master”), and then they accuse him of failing to care about their imminent demise. In Jonah 1:6 the captain awakens Jonah to ask the prophet to pray for their situation, and this is what the disciples should have done. ...

11. The Sign of the Dove

John 1:29-34, John 1:19-28, John 1:1-18, Luke 3:21-38, Luke 3:1-20, Mark 1:1-8, Matthew 3:13-17, Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the ... the Aaronic priesthood and prophets, John would pave the way for the arrival of the messiah by calling for repentance (a la Jonah and other prophets before him) and a return to God and the basics of the Torah. But the final blessing, mercy, and salvation ...

12. Easter Sunrise

Sermon

William Luoma

... other than the church grounds is preferred, consider such locations as a nearby park, a dock, or lakeshore, a cemetery, a hill, outdoor amphitheater, or someone's farm. If it is preferred to hold the service in the church, the congregation may assemble ... , he said no sign would be given except the sign of the Prophet Jonah. He compared Jonah's experience in the fish to his own death. This is Jonah's prayer from within the fish.Jonah 2:1-10 Second Lesson:Reader:St. Paul compares our limited and troublesome ...

13. A Sign for a Sign

Mark 8:11-13

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... will be given but the sign of Jonah.” (Matthew 12:38 Cf. Matthew 16:4) And what was the sign of Jonah? A little boy in Sunday School was asked what we learn from the story of Jonah. His answer was, “We learn that people ... the door of a stable, took upon Himself the form of a servant, became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, and from that high hill draws people to Him still by the simple lure of His grace and goodness. To some of us the most incredible verse in the Bible is: “Behold, ...

14. Mordecai Persuades Esther to Help

Esther 4:1-17

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

... 14). The phrase “who knows?” recalls the hopes of those who are in distress elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible (2 Sam. 12:22; Joel 2:14; Jonah 3:9). In this case, it is a way of suggesting a destiny for Esther. Haven’t all of the serendipitous events in the last four ... of these rituals of mourning and humiliation in their ancient Near Eastern context, see DeVaux, Ancient Israel (vol. 1; New York: McGraw Hill, 1965), p. 59; G. A. Anderson, A Time to Mourn, A Time to Dance: The Expression of Grief and Joy in ...

15. The Sign of Jonah

Matthew 12:38-45

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... intensive compound epizēteō) on a miraculous sign as a prerequisite for believing. The only one you will get is the sign of the prophet Jonah. Just as he spent three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster (following the LXX; Hebrew has “large fish”), so ... of the earth is not a specific reference to the tomb; cf. Eph. 4:9). Commentators differ on what the sign actually is. Hill says the death of the Son of Man is the only sign given (p. 220). Most believe that the sign refers to the ...

16. Good Morning, Jerusalem!

Drama

... if it had just been handed to the announcer. Look over the paper quickly, and then say:) I have just received a bulletin that the grave of one of the criminals executed last Friday at Skull Hill has been found empty early this morning.... For a report on this, let’s go to our roving reporter, Ezra ben Jonah. (Samuel is seated. Ezra comes to the lectern, or to wherever Samuel was standing. Mary takes her place at the pulpit or at another microphone.) Ezra: Thank you, Samuel ... I have with me this morning ...

17. Mark 4:35-41

Mark 4:35-41

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , perhaps even sitting a little low in the water. The Sea of Galilee sits at the bottom of a basin, with hills and mountains surrounding it. The exchange between the cold mountain air and the much warmer, below sea level marine air, provides ideal ... become still, and remain so, creating a “great calm.” The power Jesus exercises over the wind and water echo the divine power flexed in both Jonah 1:4-15 and Psalm 107:23-32. In both those texts it is God who first stirs up the stormy seas and then calms them ...

18. Disaster from the North

Jeremiah 4:5-31

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... comes from Dan (Tell el-Qadi), a site in the northernmost reaches of Israel. In the second colon the voice is from the hills of Ephraim, north of Jerusalem, but closer to it. The army is closing in on Jerusalem. The reason for this attack is clear ... Ninevites repent in the book of Jonah, God relents and allows them to live. Jonah sourly accuses God “I knew you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” (Jonah 4:3). However, here the ...

19. Abram Rescues Lot

Genesis 14:1-24

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... to Mamre by a route that bypassed the cities of the plain; thus the king of Sodom had to ascend the steep Judean hills to meet Abram. That king’s coming so far with empty hands is evidence that he was displeased with Abram. He thought that Abram ... , 17; 41:12; Exod. 1:16; 2:6), or an Israelite uses it to identify himself to a foreigner (40:15; Exod. 2:11, 13; Jonah 1:9). The name was probably known throughout the Near East and identified the Israelites as part of a larger group of peoples; thus this broader ...

20. The Mustard and the Cedar

Ezekiel 17:1-24, Matthew 13:31-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... the primary metaphor of God’s inscription upon the heart –the seed of the Torah planted within the human heart. Not on a hill, but in a field, and all spreading wildly from one very, tiny, miniscule seed. For it only takes a “spark” to kindle the ... of the Flowing Water (Ezekiel 47) Zechariah’s Parable of the Shepherd (Zechariah 11) The Book of Hosea (The Adulteress) The Book of Jonah (The Parable of the Sea Monster) The Book of Ruth (A Parable of Loyalty) The Book of Esther (A Parable of Bravery) ...

21. The Table of Nations

Genesis 10:1-32

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... to take this term as a noun meaning “borderland”; the line then reads “from Mesha, as far as the border, namely, the hill country of the east.” Verse 31 is a summary statement regarding the sons of Shem. 10:32 See comments on 10:1. ... . 507) takes the two names for different parts of Cyprus. Tarshish is usually located in the western Mediterranean (1 Kgs. 10:22 margin; Jonah 1:3). One suggestion is Tartessus in southwestern Spain, but most scholars think that this city is too far west. If Kittim is ...

22. Getting In Tune Again

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

William L. Self

... be set any less than the whole world. The Bible wants the providence of God to be for the whole world. Don't forget the book of Jonah. Jonah, the man who was running from God, thought that if he could get out of Israel, he would be free of God. So he was going ... went into Europe. When you go to Israel, you cannot find the site of the church in Jerusalem. In Antioch, on the side of a hill, the site of that great church with its altar still stands as a tribute to their vision. They were in tune. It is a matter ...

23. Proving Your Love

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

... many expect to receive benefits for free. It reminds me of a colorful Old Testament figure. Jonah decided to get away from it all. Let me read what the Bible says about Jonah: "He paid his fare and got on the ship." Many Christians end up being stowaways ... to reach out until he or she gives in sacrifice. That is to remember that one dark day, when it thundered over the Palestine hills, a young man full of life allowed himself to be nailed down and his blood poured out on the ground in sacrifice so that ...

24. Signs and Oracles of Judgment

Ezekiel 4:1-5:17, Ezekiel 6:1-14, Ezekiel 7:1-27

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... 16, 21 (the NIV understands this singular Hebrew word for mountain to mean the plural in Josh. 11:16 and to mean “the hill country” in 11:21, but the Hebrew text is clearly singular in both instances.) The phrase refers both to the land itself ... Isaiah exclaims, “I am a man of unclean lips” (Isa. 6:5). Jonah, called to bear God’s message to the despised Assyrians, votes with his feet by heading in the opposite direction, toward Tarshish (Jonah 1:3; 4:1–3). Yet we have to this point encountered ...

25. An Encounter across the Lake

Luke 8:26-39, Luke 8:22-25

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... sea and had to be awakened (Jon. 1:4–6), but if so, the relation is one of contrast rather than similarity: Jonah is the guilty fugitive and helpless victim, Jesus the one who controls the elements. they were in great danger. The Lake of Galilee is large and deep enough to present real danger in a storm. Strong winds funneling through the valleys between the surrounding hills can produce waves that would easily overwhelm a shallow-drafted fishing boat. 8:24 rebuked the wind and the raging waters. The ...

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