By Josh Read on Mar 10, 2026
The word "hope" has become church wallpaper. It's on coffee mugs in the lobby, printed across banners above the baptistry, and threaded through every worship set since 2015. Your congregation has heard it so many times it slides off them like rain off a windshield.
Here's the tension: the biblical word for hope has almost nothing in common with the sentiment we've domesticated it into. The Hebrew word "tiqvah" literally means "cord" or "rope", something you cling to when the ground gives way. The Greek "elpis" in Paul's letters is never wishful thinking. It's confident expectation aimed at a future only God can deliver.
This sermon outline is built for the Sunday you peel the bumper sticker off and show your congregation what hope actually costs and why it's the most defiant act a believer can perform.
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By Dean Shriver on Apr 2, 2025
based on 37 ratings
| 168,736 views
Scripture presents covenantal, legalistic, and worshipful tithing. Only worshipful giving reflects New Covenant generosity rooted in gratitude, allegiance, and grace.
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By Karl Vaters on Apr 26, 2024
based on 4 ratings
| 26,353 views
We can either whine about how the new generation chooses to worship, or we can worship and minister with them. But we can’t do both.
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By Bruce D. Johnson on Feb 29, 2024
Biblical interpretation requires careful study and humility. Responsible interpreters recognize their limitations while striving to understand Scripture faithfully.
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By Ben Reed on Sep 20, 2024
Preaching shapes the preacher by deepening prayer, study, humility, worship, and dependence on God.
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By Jared Moore on Aug 11, 2020
Your hearers often hear you before they hear the Scriptures. If your people know you, they’ll have a better basis for understanding your sermons.
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By Sherman Haywood Cox on May 31, 2023
Some pastors avoid difficult truths in preaching, choosing encouragement over correction. Faithful ministry requires proclaiming the whole counsel of God, even when it is uncomfortable.
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By William Boekestein on Apr 27, 2021
based on 2 ratings
| 18,931 views
A number of years ago I was about to preach for the first time in a certain church. As I arranged my papers and books I noticed a sign near the top of the pulpit. It was a quotation from John 12:21: “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
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By Tim Keller on Jul 18, 2024
Pastors face real pressure, but passing off another’s sermon as your own is still theft. New Testament scholar D. A. Carson, senior pastor Sandy Willson, author and senior pastor Tim Keller, senior parachurch executive Matt Perman, and church research consultant Glenn Lucke speak to the issue of Plagiarism.
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