Sermon Resources on Inspiration

Quote

Author

Helen Keller

Keywords

Scripture

Habakkuk 2:2, 2 Corinthians 5:7, Ephesians 1:18, Proverbs 29:18, John 9:39

The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.

illustration

What is Vision?

Author

Chuck Swindoll

Keywords

Scripture

John 9:39, Habakkuk 2:2-3, Colossians 3:2, Psalm 119:18, Ephesians 1:18

Vision is the ability to see God’s presence, to perceive God’s power, to focus on God’s plan In spite of the obstacles….Vision is the ability to see above and beyond the majority. Vision is perception...

Quote

Author

Herman Melville

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 14:14, 1 Kings 19:11-12, Habakkuk 2:20, Psalm 46:10, Mark 1:35

All profound things, and emotions of things are preceded and attended by Silence. . . . Silence is the general consecration of the universe.

illustration

Transferring Our Hope

Author

Tony Reinke

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 44:9-10, Jeremiah 10:14-15, Psalm 135:15-18, Habakkuk 2:18-19, Exodus 20:3-5

Idols are dangerous when a worshiper, having lost patience in God, transfers his hope and joy into a deity represented by a handmade thing and cries to it: “Awake and arise!” In this move, human antic...

blog

Presence and Silence

Author

Alan Fadling

Keywords

Scripture

Habakkuk 2:18-20

A Practice of Silent Prayer Recently, I’ve restarted my daily practice of silent prayer. Like many who try this practice, I feel an immense amount of resistance arising within me against my intention...

Quote

Author

Emily Dickinson

Keywords

Scripture

Habakkuk 2:3, Romans 12:12, James 5:7-8, Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 130:5, Lamentations 3:25-26

To hope means to be ready at every moment for that which is not yet born, and yet not become desperate if there is no birth in our lifetime.

illustration

Restlessnes Keeps the Pedal to the Metal

Author

Ryan P. Tinetti

Keywords

Scripture

Habakkuk 2:5, James 3:16, Mark 8:36, Luke 12:15, Isaiah 57:20, 1 Timothy 6:9, 1 John 2:16

Restlessness keeps the pedal to the metal. To offer a suggestive analogy in this vein: several years ago there was a recall on some Toyota vehicles. Evidently the cars would be given to sudden and unc...

illustration

How Our Limits Help Us

Author

Ashley Hales

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 32:1, Genesis 18:10–14, Habakkuk 2:3, Acts 1:4, Romans 8:23–25, Psalm 27:14

We must learn to see our limits as the entrance into the good life, not what bars us from it. But as we grow older, waiting feels like an inconvenience or affront. We take out our phones when we’re...

Quote

Author

Lewis B. Smedes

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 10:36, Habakkuk 2:3, Psalm 37:7, James 5:7-8, Lamentations 3:25-26

Waiting is the hardest work of hope.

illustration

The Significant Reminder at the Milan Cathedral

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

James 4:14, Habakkuk 2:14, Matthew 6:19-21, John 9:2, 1 John 2:17

Over the triple doorways of the Cathedral of Milan, there are carvings. One features a beautiful wreath of roses, accompanied by the inscription: “All that pleases is but for a moment.” Another displa...

liturgy

Lord, there is no seedling in the thicket that does not call you its maker

Author

Calvin Miller

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 19:40, Isaiah 55:12, Job 12:7-10, Habakkuk 2:11, Psalm 96:11-12

Lord, there is no seedling in the thicket that does not call you its maker. And I, too, come knowing that whatever the quality of my life is, it is thou, O God, who stamped your purpose on my soul. So...

Quote

Author

Richard Rohr

Keywords

Scripture

Job 2:11-13 , Isaiah 40:31, Habakkuk 2:2-3, Luke 2:25-32 , James 5:7-8, Psalm 130:5-6

Contemplation is waiting patiently for the gaps to be filled in, and it does not insist on quick closure or easy answers.

illustration

Rejection & A Psalm of Praise

Author

Jen Pollock Michel

Keywords

Scripture

1 Samuel 16:1-13 , Habakkuk 2:2-3, Matthew 17:20, Romans 5:3-5 , Philippians 4:6-7 , Psalm 42:11

In Circle of Quiet , Madeleine L’Engle describes how her young adult novel A Wrinkle in Time was dismissed by eight publishers before it eventually landed with the publishing house of Farra...

illustration

The Power of Silence in a Prayerful Life

Author

John Climacus

Keywords

Scripture

Habakkuk 2:20, Lamentations 3:26, Psalm 46:10, Zephaniah 1:7, 1 Thessalonians 4:11

The Desert Saint John Climacus placed a strong emphasis on the role of silence in the life of prayer. In his guidebook to the spiritual life, he had this to say: Intelligent silence is the mother of...

illustration

Your Cell Will Teach You Everything

Author

Thomas Merton

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 46:10, 1 Kings 19:9-18, Matthew 5:5-15, Daniel 3:19-27, Exodus 13:21-22, Mark 1:35-39, Luke 5:16, Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Genesis 32:24-30, Psalm 62:1, Hosea 2:14, Habakkuk 2:1, 1 Samuel 3:1-10, Isaiah 26:3

A certain brother went to Abbot Moses in Scete, and asked him for a good word. And the Elder said to him: Go, sit in your cell and your cell will teach you everything. An elder said: The monk’s ce...

illustration

The Value of Patience

Author

Heather Thompson Day

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 5:22, James 5:7-8, Romans 8:25, Habakkuk 2:3, Isaiah 40:31

A 2007 study conducted at Fuller Theological Seminary found patient people were less likely to suffer from depression. Patient people were found to be more grateful and expressed they felt more connec...

illustration

The Great Temptation

Author

Alan Fadling

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 26:3, Mark 6:31, Habakkuk 2:3, Psalm 27:14, Genesis 8:22

In his excellent book, An Unhurried Life, Alan Fadling describes one of our greatest temptations in the modern age—hurry: Hurry is a great temptation. Hurry looks like impulsive, knee-jerk reactions...

liturgy

Father God, we live in a world

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 61:1-3 , Ezekiel 37:1-14 , Habakkuk 2:2-4 , Romans 1:16-17, Philippians 2:1-4, Psalm 34:17-19

Pastor: Father God, we live in a world where good news is rare. Help us always to remember the Good News of Your Son, who by His life, death, and resurrection brought into the world the hope of a ne...

illustration

Patience is a Hard Discipline

Author

Henri J. M. Nouwen

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 8:25, James 5:7-8, Isaiah 40:31, Galatians 5:22, Habakkuk 2:3

Patience is a hard discipline. It is not just waiting until something happens over which we have no control: the arrival of the bus, the end of the rain, the return of a friend, the resolution of a co...

illustration

What Hath God Wrought?

Author

Mark Batterson

Keywords

Scripture

Numbers 23:23, 1 Peter 4:10, Romans 1:20, Habakkuk 2:2, Proverbs 8:12, Genesis 1:1

In the crypt of the Capitol, there hangs a bronze plaque commemorating the inventor of telegraphy, Samuel Morse…In 1825, Morse returned to Washington to paint a portrait of the Marquis de Lafayette, t...

illustration

Christianity Refuses Cynicism

Author

Andrew Greeley

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 1:31, Habakkuk 2:14, Isaiah 25:8, Revelation 21:1-4, Revelation 22:3-4

Reject Christianity, if you will, out of motives of cynicism; turn away from it because you believe. Reality is malign and punitive; choose a God that is cantankerous, vindictive, or forgetful, or det...

illustration

Waiting is More than In-Between Time

Author

Jason Farman

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 40:31, Lamentations 3:25-26, James 5:7-8, 2 Peter 3:8-9, Habakkuk 2:3

Waiting isn’t an in-between time. Instead, this often-hated and under-appreciated time has been a silent force that has shaped our social interactions. Waiting isn’t a hurdle keeping us from intimacy ...

Quote

Author

Karl Barth

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 15:6, Habakkuk 2:4, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 5:1-2, Matthew 17:20, Psalm 62:5-6

Only faith survives; faith which is not a work, not even a negative work; not an achievement, not even the achievement of humility. . . . Faith is the ground, the new order, the light. . . . Faith is ...

liturgy

Let us pray for the whole people of God

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 55:10-11 , 1 Samuel 3:1-10 , Habakkuk 2:3-4, John 1:35-39, 2 Timothy 2:2, Psalm 34:17-19

Pastor: Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs. O Lord, our heavenly Father, receive our thanks that You preserve Your Church on earth...

illustration

Did God Do This?

Author

William Paul Young

Keywords

Scripture

Habakkuk 1:, Habakkuk 2:, Habakkuk 3:, Romans 8:22, 2 Peter 3:9

I was sitting in a hotel lobby in Orlando, Florida, having a conversation with my friend K, from Germany. Her world-class young athlete friend was recently paralyzed as a result of an on-camera stunt ...

illustration

The Greatest Promise in History

Author

Nancy Guthrie

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 3:15, Genesis 22:18, 2 Samuel 7:12-13, Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 7:14, Micah 5:2, Habakkuk 2:3, Isaiah 40:31

When someone promises us something wonderful, we can hardly wait for that promise to be fulfilled. If the promise is something good, we want it now! We really don’t like to wait. And yet the very best...

liturgy

Sing To The Lord, Alleluia

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 96:1-9, Isaiah 45:18-22, Habakkuk 2:14, Matthew 28:18-20, Romans 1:16-17

Pastor: Alleluia! Christ is risen! People: He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Pastor: Oh sing to the Lord a new song; People: sing to the Lord, all the earth! Pastor: Sing to...

illustration

How We Wait

Author

Jason Farman

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 40:31, Habakkuk 2:3, James 5:7-8, 2 Peter 3:8-9, Psalm 27:13-14

Part of our experience of waiting is cultural, and how time elapses while we wait can vary from person to person and context to context. We wait differently and we have different expectations that are...

illustration

Getting Your Money’s Worth

Author

Eugene H. Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 5:16, John 9:4, Isaiah 30:15, Habakkuk 2:20, Zechariah 2:13

In the last class I taught at Regent, an obviously irritated young woman came up to me and said, “Dr. Peterson, three times during your lecture you did not say anything for twenty seconds. I know beca...

illustration

The Church of Silence

Author

Ryan Holiday

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 46:10, 1 Kings 19:11-12, Isaiah 30:15, Habakkuk 2:20, Mark 1:35, Matthew 6:6, Luke 5:15-16, Matthew 14:23, Matthew 6:1-34, Mark 1:35

In downtown Helsinki, there is a small building called the Kamppi Chapel. It’s not a place of worship, strictly speaking, but it’s as quiet as any cathedral. Quieter, in fact, because there are no ech...

illustration

illustration

blog

illustration

illustration

illustration

liturgy

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

liturgy

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

liturgy

illustration

illustration

liturgy

illustration

illustration

illustration

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Genesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

Joshua

Judges

Ruth

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

1 Kings

2 Kings

1 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

Ezra

Nehemiah

Esther

Job

Psalm

Proverbs

Ecclesiastes

Song of Solomon

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Lamentations

Ezekiel

Daniel

Hosea

Joel

Amos

Obadiah

Jonah