Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: simon, simeon, caphas, disciple, evangelist, the 12, the twelve, apostle, fisherman, petros, rock, stone

Showing 1901 to 1925 of 2105 results

1901. Come Back

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... other, with our hypocrisy. Here's a little test: What did Walt Disney's breakfast consist of? I'll give you three guesses: 1. bowl of kumiss (Mongolian fermented mare's milk) 2. Dunkin' Donuts drowned in whiskey 3. Sushi (on the theory that it would be ... love, the eyes of compassion, the eyes of "come back." Jesus looks at us this morning with those same "come back" eyes. Peter came back. All the disciples except Judas came back. We're betrayers, all. But the message of the gospel this morning is "come back ...

1902. For All the Saints

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... can illuminate a city, or open your pores. Liquid, ice, steam – it's all water. Transformed, reformed, regenerated, water. On November 1, known as All Saints Day, we celebrate another miraculous transformation. This is the day we fragile, frail, and oh-so- ... a "son of Abraham. All it takes to transform Zacchaeus from sinner to saint is to "come down." When Jesus first spied Simon Peter and Andrew, and then James and John as they were fiddling with fishing nets, he called out to them, "Follow me!" All it ...

1903. Straw Polls and Soul Quakes

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Jesus was in her late forties or early fifties, quite old for that day. The Spirit descended upon betraying cowards like Simon Peter and doubters like Thomas. It descended upon nationalistic Zealots like Simon and good ole boys' like Andrew. The Spirit visited the women ... of a single truth. First he affirms the validity of variety. There are innumerable "manifestations of the Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:7). All manifestations are truly spiritual gifts and therefore each one is infused with divine significance ...

1904. Trash Cans or Treasure Chests

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . I want us to read I Corinthians again. I want us to hear the power of these words. Let's start with verse 1:25: Divine folly is wiser than human wisdom and divine weakness stronger than human strength. My brothers, consider your call, my sisters, consider ... became the father of the nation. David was an adulterer. He recycled his passion and became the greatest of the kings. Peter was a boastful, swearing fisherman. He recycled his pride and became the rock upon which Christ built his church. Mary Magdalene ...

1905. How to Rub People the Right Way

Acts 4:36-37

Sermon

James Merritt

... a wall that Paul could not penetrate. Everybody else shut the door. James, the brother of Jesus, he wanted nothing to do with Saul. Peter, who had the keys to the kingdom, kept the door locked. John, the apostle of love, said "I love anybody but Saul." Andrew, who loved ... . It became so popular he came up with the idea to try to sell it to restaurants. Well, guess what? He was turned down 1,014 times before a man named John Y. Brown tasted his chicken and said, "I'll go into business with you." That man's ...

1906. An Unidentified King

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... but it seems that no one can ignore him. Is it any wonder that the book about Jesus continues to be the # 1 best-seller? Jesus had such charisma that people would sit three days straight, without food, just to hear his riveting words. ... . After Jesus questioned the disciples about the crowd's perception of him, he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter responded, "You are the Christ of God." Each time a person makes such an affirmation, Jesus the unidentified king is crowned in that life ...

1907. Secret Revealed

Romans 16:25-27

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... that and this passage especially calls for our complete attention and study. Focus: God's Son visibly comes on the stage of history. Body 1. What was shrouded in holy secrecy becomes evident. God has a way of doing these things to us, doesn't he? By this is ... spoken now and forevermore. Mary's son is the one, the only one Christians are called to follow. Others, such as Peter, James, John, and Paul, will provide guideposts through their witness and writings, but this Jewish baby boy is the one who provides ...

1908. Looking Out for Others

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... disappoint unless we pay little real attention to it. Focus We are called spiritually to form others, as well as ourselves. Body 1. Weak believers are always among us. Even as we speak about the weakness of others, we are reminded of how weak ... provides excellent examples. However, we do know those who went through such episodes became stronger. Even though they wept bitterly, as did Saint Peter, the powerful pain of it all enabled them not only to return to their former level but above it. It is so important ...

1909. The Passion of the Servant Leader

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... God. We are moved by the words of Jesus, spoken about and to the crowd, to the disciples, to the Sanhedron, Peter, Pilate, Herod, his mother, and Mary Magdalene that week we call holy. We are sustained by the silences as well as the ... a standing ovation and saying, "Enter into the joy of your master." Isn't that the most important thing of all? 1. "He," refers to both masculine and feminine gender here and elsewhere. 2. Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth edition (Springfield, Massachusetts: ...

1910. No Comment

2 Kings 2:1-12a

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... deal with the vision he encounters by naming it, trying to harness the miraculous by enclosing it with descriptive words. Peter tries to domesticate the vision by proposing some bustling busywork to engage him and his companions while the epiphany lingers. ... Revelation it even says that "And there was silence in heaven for about the space of half an-hour" (Revelation 8: 1). Perhaps the greatest master of the "no comment" response was Jesus himself. His ministry was a mastery of understatement. His message ...

1911. The Three Stages to Truth: A Biblical Philosophy of Education

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to be a rabbi. Later the teacher, now revealed as Christ, appears to the disciples in Jerusalem and continues his lessons. Peter himself serves as teacher in the temple portico, providing salvific knowledge to the Jews gathered there. Robert McAfee Brown has examined ... re-gathered in Jerusalem. The developmental sequence moves from "searching for truth," to "listening for truth," to "embodying truth." 1. Searching for truth is represented by the question "What is going on?" On the Emmaus Road and in Jerusalem ...

1912. Aged to Perfection - The Third Age

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... than 15 years. The new "four ages" proposed to categorize the lifelong experiences of people divides up our years as follows: 1. The First Age - This is the period of our immaturity, the time when the pounds would melt off you like snowballs ... Third Age - What we used to consider the beginning of "old age" has now been redesignated as the "era of personal fulfillment" (Peter Laslett, A Fresh Map of Life: The Emergence of the Third Age [Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1991]). Under the happiest of ...

1913. The Hand, the Lamb and the Dove

John 3:1-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... one is faced with the mystery of the Trinity Three-in-One and One-in-Three. In Helen Waddell's famous book Peter Abelard, the Canon of Notre Dame converses with one of Abelard's fiery young disciples, Pierre, about the master's latest treatise ... our future? Joanna Macy, an educator, ecologist and author, suggests three directions, each of which seems to reflect one aspect of the Trinity. 1) To incarnate God the Creator: Work with what is at hand. What has the Father/Creator God given you that is all around ...

1914. What Are You Looking For?

John 1:35-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... or a burning bush. Growing your soul, filling your spirit with the right nutrients and nourishment, is a lifelong process. The Bible testifies to at least four different shapes and sizes of conversions: 1. gradual conversions - e.g., St. John 2. crisis conversions - e.g., St. Paul 3. series of crises followed by a conversion - e.g., St. Peter 4. a crisis conversion at the end of a gradual process - e.g., the Ethiopian eunuch Which one are you? Sometimes it takes long years of sitting at the Rabbi's feet ...

1915. The Longest Journey Is the Shortest Distance

Acts 17:22-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . "Intent" depends, Hamel and Prahalad argue, upon the presence of three attributes in order for it to gain any headway. 1. A sense of direction: Our spiritual journey gets off on the wrong foot when we make the mistake of looking for ... he had back in Nazareth. The Syro- phoenician woman surprised him with her tenacity. The Roman centurion surprised him with his faithfulness. Simon Peter surprised him with both his insight and his ignorance. Satan tried to surprise him in the wilderness. At every turn of his ...

1916. Ten Commandments of Trust

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... can begin to dig ourselves out of the hole that threatens to swallow our sense of community, of well-being, of security. 1. Thou shalt turn only to trustworthy sources. In a world where trust is one of our most endangered virtues and values, ... " (Psalm 34:8). - Turn to Isaiah 26:3 "Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace in peace because they trust in you." - Turn to I Peter 5:7 "Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you." - Turn to a yielded life . . . Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own ...

1917. The Oblivious Obvious

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... as obvious in church. No Sunday should ever pass in which a confession of Jesus Christ as Lord is not spoken aloud. When Simon Peter fell on his knees and confessed, "I am a sinful man," he contributed to a host of obvious texts we have at our fingertips ... is possible for God" (Luke 18:27). "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34). "Follow me" (John 1:43). "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit" (John 3:5). "See ...

1918. And Again I Say...Amen!

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Jesus was advocating was to be genuine. Let me suggest three ways we can both love our enemies and do it genuinely. 1. Be a Take-It-on-the-Chin Christian We all can learn from criticism. In The Godfather II, Michael Corleone preaches the ... honor: he honored others by his needing them. Jesus affirmed people by demonstrating and acknowledging his need of them (the disciples, Peter, James and John especially, the Bethany family, etc.); he depended on them; he counted on them. Jesus demonstrated that we all ...

1919. Back to the Real World

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... with love and with faith in God. It was not easy, but they knew God was with them, just as God is with us. It’s good to know. Indeed, it’s the best Good News in the world. 1. Contributed by Dr. John Bardsley 2. Charles Kuralt with Peter Freundlich, American Moments (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998), pp. 70-71. 3. David Cameron, “Artificial Muscles Gain Strength,” February 15, 2002, www.techreview.com/articles/cameron021502.asp. Cited by Henry G. Brinton, http://www.fairfaxpresby.com/worship/sermons ...

1920. Member Means Minister

Ephesians 4:11-12

Sermon

James Merritt

... same time also by His grace enables you to serve Him? "It is God who saved us and chose us for His holy work." (II Timothy 1:9, LB) "Holy work" there simply refers to ministry or service. When you study the Bible, you will find the word "ministry" is the same ... have, God gave it to you to be used in service and ministry. "Each of you has received a gift to use to serve others." (I Peter 4:10, NCV) The good news is that there are more than enough gifts in the church to do everything that God wants the church ...

1921. Building God’s Kingdom: The Christian Challenge

Romans 10:8-13

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... world in over a century struck southern Asia. The 9.0 magnitude earthquake, with its epicenter some 1,000 miles southwest of the island of Java, generated a tsunami that traveled outward at almost supersonic speed ... unified effort. The reality of our call and the need to respond is made clear in a humorous and illustrative story: Fred Everybody, Thomas Somebody, Peter Anybody, and Joe Nobody were neighbors, but not the type that most would want to know. They were odd people and difficult to understand. The ...

1922. Carrying the Burdens of Others

Philippians 2:5-11

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself" (1 Timothy 2:11-13). Humility leads to exaltation. As they say, "The ball is in our court." Holy Week is the culmination of the ... must be willing to downplay our own efforts to the exaltation of others. Next we went to the mountain with Jesus, Peter, James, and John. As we witnessed Jesus' transfiguration we were challenged to look inside and find what needs transformation in our ...

1923. Jailhouse Rock

Acts 16:16-34

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... . Authorities like the jailer can be outsiders just as much as the forsaken are. But those far off are now brought near (cf. Colossians 1:21-23). That's the deal God has made through the new covenant. Church is where you find it, at the riverside or in ... turner, and suddenly the book of Acts stops. It doesn't end. It just stops. There's a reason. The book of Acts is not about Peter or Apollos or Priscilla or Paul. It's about the gospel of Jesus Christ, and how it moves through the world. And that story isn't ...

1924. Saintly Visions!

Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

... run by good people and then there is the Dark Side, governed and controlled by the bad people. The Four Beasts in verse 1 represent the unknown, or the dark side, because the ocean was for the Hebrew people a place to be feared. It was ... confirmation class and by the singing of the hymns of the church. The names of Jesus, Mary, Paul and Deborah, Ruth and Naomi, Peter, Timothy, Moses, Calvin, Luther, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr., come immediately to mind and there are many more that you know within ...

1925. Gideon: One Giant Leap

Judges 6:11-16

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... wrote in praise of space exploration. But Bradbury didn't attend the association's awards meeting in Florida. You know why? He won't fly. (1) I think that is so ironic. But then we all have our own fears and foibles don't we. And so did the subject of ... Gideon asked. And the reason God didn't just zap him and choose somebody else is the same reason God chose Abraham and Moses and Peter and Paul and you and me. God always chooses the least likely person for God's purposes, so that God, and God alone will be ...

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