Sermon and Worship Resources

Dictionary: Seal

In the biblical world, documents were sealed with clay or wax (1 Kings 21:8; Job 38:14; Neh. 9:38; Jer. 32:10; Rev. 5:1). The integrity of the seal was assured by impressing an image into the soft substance, which would then harden and retain the unique image of the sender’s seal. The archaeological record attests this practice in the form of bullae (the impressions themselves, which survive long after the documents have disintegrated) as well as a large number of seals, which often were carved (Exod. 28:11; 39:6; Sir. 38:27; 45:11) into semiprecious stones or stone cylinders.

A person’s unique seal was closely identified with the owner and could be worn as a ring or pendant (see Gen. 38:18; Esther 8:8; Song 8:6). Besides documents, we have records of the sealing of caves (Matt. 27:66; cf. Dan. 6:17; 2 Macc. 2:5) and bags (Job 14:17; Tob. 9:5). In apocalyptic literature, seals are used to conceal prophecies of the future (Dan. 12:4) and to mark humans as belonging to God (Rev. 7:3–8).

Synonyms: sealant, sealer, adhesive, emblem, symbol, insignia, device, badge, crest, coat of arms, token, mark, monogram, stamp, ratification, assurance, attestation, confirmation, guarantee, authentication, warrant, warranty, fasten, secure, shut, close up, lock, bolt, board up, stop up, seal up, make airtight, make watertight, close, cork, stopper, stop, plug, block, block up, bung up, clog, clog up, choke, occlude, fill, close off, shut off, cordon off, fence off, form a ring around, put a cordon sanitaire round, isolate, quarantine, segregate, clinch, settle, conclude, complete, establish

Showing 1 to 25 of 972 results

1. The Protective Sealing of God’s People on Earth

Revelation 7:1-8

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... case chiefly because numbers in Revelation normally represent reality figuratively (cf. 21:16–17). In addition, the expression “servants of God” from verse 3 signifies all believers throughout Revelation (e.g., 1:1; 2:20; 6:11; 10:7; 11:18; 19:2, 5, 10; 22:3, 6, 9). The seal of God is also connected with all believers throughout Revelation (7:3–5; 9:4; 14:1; cf. also 3:12; 22:4), just as unbelievers bear the mark of the beast (13:16–17; 14:9, 11; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4). Taking other details about the ...

2. Sealed and Sanctified

Matthew 2:1-12, Genesis 14:1-24

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... God. We “face” our selves without trying to “save face,” and we “face up” to who and what we really are. When we do that, we can approach God face to face! Then, as we stare into the face of the Holy God of love, we are “anointed” and “sealed” by the image of Christ, held fixed by the Holy Spirit’s power, so that we cannot fall away. “He transforms us into the image of the Lord as we behold as in a mirror the glory of Christ” (2 Corinthians 3:18). The idea of “facing” God was ...

3. We Are Blessed, Adopted and Sealed

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... the Kingdom. We've been adopted by God and are children of God. The last time I used this particular graphic, I noticed that some of you got distracted by it. I didn't realize the both feet had six toes. All I saw was the birth certificate and the seal from Mercy Hospital, which I thought was pretty cool and fit the point I was making. But today I'm using it because each foot does have six toes. You see, it doesn't make any difference how different we might be, when we accept Christ, when he becomes Lord ...

4. 144,000 Sealed

Revelation 7:1-8

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... tribe to the Anti-christ (cf. Against Heresies 5.30.2). By editing the list in this way, John envisions not only the climactic conflict of salvation’s history, which pits Christ against Anti-christ, but also its outcome: the tribe of Anti-christ is not sealed and is unprotected from the destruction of God’s wrath. Indeed, not only will the martyrs be vindicated, but those who took their blood will be destroyed. Additional Note 7:1 Those who contend that the four horses of chapter 6 and the four winds of ...

5. Sealed by God

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

... and given us His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee." That means that God has taken responsibility for your life if you let Him. By His Holy Spirit in our hearts, he marks us with His seal. If a seal is on a warranty hold up the warranty, can the company break its promise? (Response) No. How much more, then, will God keep His promise after He has sealed it in our hearts? God has already given His Son, Jesus Christ, to fix us. And God continues to keep His promise to be responsible for our lives. And He has ...

6. A Sealed Promise

Ephesians 1:13

Children's Sermon

Tim Carpenter

... you suppose that the king kept the paper closed so that only the queen could read it? (response) Here is what he would do. He would take the candle and pour wax on the outside of the paper. Pour or drip wax on the paper so that it makes a seal. Before it completely dried, he would take his ring and make a mark in the wax. Make the impression in the wax with the item you have chosen. Everyone knew that the mark was the mark of the king. When anyone saw that mark, they knew that the king had ...

7. The Seals

Revelation 6:1-17

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... Rather the voice is declaring that nothing can now happen, not even the most fearsome evidence of man’s disobedience and its nemesis, which cannot be woven into the pattern of God’s gracious purpose” (Revelation, p. 83). 6:9–11 The breaking of the fifth seal narrows the field of John’s vision to the community of martyred believers, who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained (cf. 1:2). He finds their souls (or bodies) under the altar of the heavenly temple ...

8. A Covenant Sealed By a Sacrifice

Genesis 15:1-18

Sermon

Carl Hoefler

... for us. His life was not taken from him on the cross: his life was released on the cross. His life was released from the limitation of his body that it might flow into our bodies; thereby, this makes us one with him and, at the same time, seals for us God's promise of life - an abundant life of blessings for us as his children. Every time we come to the communion table, we drink the life-giving blood of our Lord. We participate in the greatest and the final blood-sacrifice of all biblical history - the ...

9. The Seven Seals: Where is God When His People Suffer?

Revelation 6:1-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... divine plan that will include even more joining their ranks until a certain number is reached (6:11). He has given them white robes of victory to reward their endurance and affirm their priestly roles (cf. Lev. 16:32). When the Lamb opens the sixth seal (6:12–17), the scene shifts from the perennial problems of human history to the cosmic events that signal the final consummation of God’s kingdom. A great earthquake, the sun turning dark as sackcloth, the moon becoming like blood, the stars falling from ...

10. The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

Revelation 8:1-5

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... a good and powerful God does not act immediately to end human suffering). They demonstrate that the origin of suffering and evil is complex. There are several degrees of separation from God, who once held the scroll (4:1); to the slain Lamb, who takes it and breaks the seals (5:7; 6:1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12; 8:1); to the cherubim, who give the command, “Come” (6:1, 3, 5, 7); to the four summoned riders who unleash each disaster (6:2, 4–5, 8); to the human agents who perpetuate the suffering caused by empire ...

11. The Sealed Secret

Colossians 1:25-26

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: A large envelope with a wax seal. Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you can keep a secret? I want to know if you can keep ... people in the world knew nothing about, but you were chosen to be the one to tell it. Doesn’t that sound like fun? I have the secret in this envelope that has been sealed and kept sealed for hundreds, maybe thousands, of years. [Hold up the envelope.] I know that no one has seen the secret because after it was put in this envelope some candle wax was dripped over it ...

12. Worship Interlude and the Seventh Seal

Revelation 7:1-8

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 7:2). It was believed that Yahweh, like all kings, had a signet ring by which he authenticated decrees and marked what was his (Esther 8:8; Job 9:7; Sirach 17:22). God reins in the chaos for his sealed ones so that their mission can continue. The 144,000 represent all saints from both the Old and the New Testament (see the introduction) and are listed here in a tribal census (7:4–7). Unlike other Old Testament lists of Israel’s twelve tribes (Num. 1:5–15; 1 ...

13. The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

Revelation 8:1-5

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... this heavenly calm, various explanations have been offered: it is a rhetorical device for “dramatic silence,” or the seventh seal symbolizes a sense of finality (Caird), or a pause in the vision itself (Swete), or the aftermath of total ... to aid the interpreter’s understanding of what follows. This parenthesis functions like an “apocalyptic bridge,” linking together the seal and trumpet judgments as parts of a single reality. The new angel functions as liturgist during this particular season of ...

14. Signed, Sealed, and Delivered

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... live out our faith in such a way, others will be drawn to Jesus. Because we are loved by God we reach out with that same love to all those we encounter in our daily lives. We belong to God. Our status as God’s own children is marked or sealed by the promise of the Holy Spirit. The first chapter of Ephesians concludes that Jesus Christ is in charge. When God raised Jesus from the dead, he was placed, “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in ...

15. Looking for the Seal

Humor

A mother and her young son returned from the grocery store and began putting away the groceries. The boy opened the box of animal crackers and spread them all over the table. "What are you doing?" his mother asked. "The box says you can't eat them if the seal is broken," the boy explained. "I'm looking for the seal."

16. Signed, Sealed, and Delivered

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

James Merritt

... was divinely communicated, providentially collected, and spiritually commended. To this very day whenever a British Sovereign is crowned, as the Bible is place in his or her hands these words are uttered, “This book is the most valuable thing the world affords” and it really is, because it was signed, sealed, and delivered by God himself. [1] John Blanchard, Why Believe The Bible?, p5. [2] The following categories are adopted from Craig Blamburg, Can We Still Believe The Bible?, pp. 58ff.

17. Barking Like A Seal

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... : “Look, dear, be sensible. After you feed the kids and get the dishes washed, you’d better hit the sack.” The fifth year: “Why don’t you get yourself a couple of aspirin?” The sixth year: “If you’d just gargle or something, instead of sitting around barking like a seal!” The seventh year: “For Pete’s sake, stop sneezing! Whatcha trying to do, gimme pneumonia?”

18. Signed, Sealed And Delivered

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

Sandra Hefter Herrma

On this night, more than on any other night, we consider the meaning of the sacrament of Holy Communion. Tonight, we gather in the presence of the Lord, and we consider the last meal Jesus shared with his disciples in this life. And at this point in the epistle narratives, we share with Paul a basic link: We are all talking about an event we did not witness with our own eyes, but a tradition that has been handed on to us. Paul, remember, was not one of the original disciples. While those twelve who are ...

19. Sealed with a Prayer: The Seventh Word

Luke 23:44-49

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Tonight, we bring our Lenten journey to a close. We have examined and reflected on the Seven Last Words of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ from the Cross. So far, we have heard our Lord share these words: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." He shares with a repentant thief the promise, "Today you will be with me in Paradise." We saw Jesus commit the care of His mother, Mary, to his closest friend John. Then we heard that powerful cry from the cross, "My God, My God, why hast thou ...

20. The Four Horsemen

Revelation 6:1-17

Teach the Text

J. Scott Duvall

... is opened (6:9–11), John sees the souls of martyred believers in heaven. They cry out to the sovereign Lord for justice and vindication. God’s response is to assure them of victory and instruct them to wait a bit longer. With the opening of the sixth seal (6:12–17), there is no more delay, and unbelievers now face the wrath of God and the Lamb. As with the trumpet and bowl judgments to follow, when we come to the end of each series, we have arrived at the end of history (cf. 6:12–17; 11: ...

21. Spiritual Blessings in Christ

Ephesians 1:1-14

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... number of scholars who have tried to explain the origin of Ephesians from a baptismal context have focused their attention on this particular hymnic section. In the hymn, the author utilizes baptismal terms and concepts such as sonship (1:5), redemption (1:7), and sealing (1:13). The most likely explanation for this is that the writer is drawing upon baptismal theology to thank God for all the blessings of redemption that he has provided through Christ to those who have believed. Since the passage is a hymn ...

22. The End Times

Daniel 12:1-13

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... see the scroll, for it would be hidden away. It speaks to those living in the time just before the coming of the kingdom of God, which the biblical writer thought would be in his century. In contrast to Daniel, in the NT apocalypse John is told: “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near” (Rev. 22:10; see also Rev. 5:1, 4–5; 10:4). The fact that the book circulated in the time before Jesus supports the argument that its author was not attempting to predict the ...

23. Beautiful

John 20:19-23, Song of Songs 4:1-16

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... paths of life; your presence will fill me with happiness.” (Acts 2:25-28 and Psalm 16:2, 8-11) No matter where you are, even sealed in a room, hiding from the authorities who want to kill you, even hiding in your grief or your guilt, Jesus will find you. And when ... Disciples in a Locked Room (John 20:9-23) Minor Text The Story of Noah and the Mourning of Methuselah (Genesis 5-7) The Sealing of the Garden (Genesis 3) Song of Moses (Exodus 15) The Psalm of Jonah Psalm 98: Sing a New Song Psalm 30: Lifted from ...

24. Rain of Grace

Hosea 6:1--7:16

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... our personal commitments to Jesus. May our hearts not be fickle like the diaphanous, disappearing dew, but firm and sure as a rainstorm, that He is our Lord and Savior. Jesus is here. Present and reaching out His hand to you, to anoint you, to confirm you, to seal you and protect you, to put the sign of God’s grace upon you, so that you might enter His heavenly kingdom. Come forward now to the altar, receive the mark of Christ upon you, the chrism of His grace. Know His face. Accept His grace. Step into ...

25. Your Wake-up Call

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... you for that purpose, then it is only in serving Jesus Christ that you will find your identity and peace and fulfillment. No other goal will satisfy your life in the same way. And that brings us back to the story of Chad Williams, our Navy SEAL who thought he would find success in a military career with one of the most elite special forces teams in the world. One evening, Chad and his girlfriend were invited to attend a worship service. The speaker, Greg Laurie, preached on a passage from the Old Testament ...

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