Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 101 to 125 of 173 results

Matthew 11:2-11

Sermon

John Jamison

Have you ever had doubts about what you believe? I mean really had doubts? You were so certain of everything, but over time questions started arising. Or maybe something happened that shook you really hard, and you began to wonder if all that you believed in was real? Can you relate to that at all? That’s where we find John in today’s scripture. He had spent so many years being the powerful prea...

102. The Succession

Matthew 11:2-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

The wildly successful show on HBO called “Succession” is a satire of a wealthy media empire, whose patriarchal mogul is aging. Those vying to succeed him in the business offer varied and conflicting ideas about how the companies should be run, but their tempestuous leader has no current intention of passing the baton. The dark comedy portrays the power, wealth, and often underhanded “politics” of ...

103. Are You the One Who Is to Come?

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

King Duncan

In his book Horns and Halos, Dr. J. Wallace Hamilton tells about one of the weirdest auction sales in history; and it was held in Washington, D.C., in 1926, where 150,000 patented models of old inventions were declared obsolete and placed on the auction block for public auction. Prospective buyers and on-lookers chuckled as item after item was put up for bid; such as a "bed-bug buster" or an "illu...

104. When You Are Weary

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

One of the amazing facts about the human race is how alike we all are. We share most of the same hopes and dreams, likes and dislikes. Even in a world of almost 8 billion people, there are certain universal things that most people agree on. To prove this, I’m going to read a series of statements. If you agree that a statement is true in your life, raise your hand. Here’s the first one: I’m a rea...

105. Rest

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Sermon

William G. Carter

I don’t know of a more inviting invitation: “Come to me and I will give you rest.” Jesus speaks to the woman who cannot sleep, to the child who is anxious, and to the man is bone-tired. Come ... rest. The invitation is gentle, not forceful. He speaks from a level place, a humble place. His invitation includes all: “all you,” or as they say in the South, “y’all.” There’s not a single person exclude...

106. The Paradox of the Yoke

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Most people would not prefer to be fastened into a yoke. Yokes are rigid. They are entrapping. They are hard, and they are inhibiting. Yet, you wouldn’t want to plow a field without one –if you lived in the first century that is. Think of it perhaps this way. You’re going on a hike through the wilderness. In order to survive well, you carry a fairly heavy, bulky backpack on your back. It may feel...

107. Couldn’t Be Easier

Matthew 11:2-11 · Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

You’re not supposed to mess with holiday traditions, but we do. A couple of years ago a shock wave ran through the Facebook community. Peanuts specials like It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and especially A Charlie Brown Christmas were purchased by one of those special platforms and would no longer be broadcast on network television. Even though the days are long past when the family gathere...

108. The Benefit of the Doubt

Matthew 11:2-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Do you have doubts about your faith? Do you harbor unanswered questions in your heart that you find difficult to answer? Most Christians, at one time or another, have struggled with matters of faith. “Why did this happen to me?” “How could God allow this?” “Where is Jesus when I need him?” “Could the scriptural account really be true?” “Does God hear my prayers?” “Does my faith matter?” At the sam...

109. Signs of the Season

Matthew 11:2-11

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

Object: Wreath or piece of mistletoe Good morning, boys and girls. What have I got here? Does this remind you of any certain holiday? That's right, Christmas. We're entering into the Christmas season. We'll soon be seeing all kinds of signs of the Christmas season. In Norway and Sweden, you can tell when Christmas is coming because people hang birdseed outside their houses. This is their Christmas...

110. How Jesus’ Friendship Makes Your Burdens Light

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

Jesus was teaching about the kind of authority he has. We need authority in our context, because to Jesus' mind we are a very confused, wayward generation. There was nothing to compare the people of his time to, nothing to compare us to.1 They and we are wayward, hardened, confused people. Inappropriate behavior seemed to be the order of the day in Jesus' view. The people of Israel were like child...

111. The Guest List

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Sermon

David Kalas

Some invitations are open invitations. Other invitations are more narrow, more targeted — they have names on them. The open invitation says, “Everyone is invited!” The targeted invitation says, “This particular set of people is invited.” We hear this week an invitation that came from Jesus. At first blush, we may think of it as an open invitation, for it seems to have that quality to it. In fact, ...

112. The Curse of the Unsatisfied

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Have you ever heard of a Pecksniffian? You have to love that word! It was created to describe the characterization of a man named Seth Pecksniff from Charles Dickens’ very long and complex novel, Martin Chuzzlewit. Written in 1844, the nearly 900-page novel describes the lengths of greed, selfishness, hypocrisy, and scheming that some people will undertake in order to accrue fame and money! Seth P...

113. Give Me A Break!

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Larry Goodpaster

Jesus was having one of those days! You know the kind of day when nothing goes exactly the way it was planned. The kind of day when staying in bed seems to be an option that should have been taken the first thing in the morning. The kind of day when the only words spoken to you, or at you, are words of criticism and sarcasm. The kind of day some of us have far too often. That was the kind of day J...

114. The Easy Yoke

Matthew 11:25-30

Eulogy

Richard F. Bansemer

Death after long illness The meditation text is Matthew 11:28-30: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."Sometimes it seems as though these words of Jesus haven't been read by the church of the twentieth...

115. Power to the Faint

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

At that time Jesus declared, "I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will. All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to revea...

116. Invitation to a New Life-Style

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Pentecost VII "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." [Matthew 11:28-30] In his book, The Greening of America, Charles Reich claims that we are living during a transition from one age to another, from Con...

117. Still in One Peace

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Every year, it seems, the fireworks of the Fourth kicks off the vacation season. The arrival of July, with its big 4th of July national party, really marks the opening of vacation season. Throughout June kids are still having to go to school. There are graduations and auspicious end-of-the-year occasions that make for mandatory attendance. For the many schools and corporations whose fiscal calenda...

118. Keeping Company with the Weary

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Invitations: They grab our attention every day. Somebody is getting married, a friend is having a party, a business is hosting a luncheon and we are invited. What would our lives be like without invitations? The greatest invitation ever offered came from the heart of Jesus Christ addressed to pilgrims like you and me. It is printed in your bulletin. Will you read it with me because it is Jesu...

119. Jesus as God’s Wisdom Is a Hidden Reality

Matthew 11:20-24, Matthew 11:25-30

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Rejection of Jesus as God’s wisdom both deserves judgment and fits a divine pattern in which truth is hidden from the wise and revealed to unexpected ones. Understanding the Text In this passage Matthew’s Jesus critiques various Galilean towns for failing to respond to his message of repentance (see 4:17). As in 11:2–5, the miracles that he has done are directly linked to this message ...

120. Rest for the Weary

Matthew 11:25-30

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Matthew 11 concludes by returning to Jesus as the embodiment of the Wisdom of God (11:25–30; as in 11:1–19) as well as introducing the theme of revelation (11:25, 27). According to this prayer of Jesus, God has hidden the truth of the kingdom—what God is doing in Jesus—from the wise but has revealed it to “little children” (11:25), and the Son (Jesus, who has been described already as “Son of Man”...

121. Rest for the Weary

Matthew 11:25-30

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

11:25–26 The final section of chapter 11 (vv. 25–30) comprises three rather separate utterances: a thanksgiving, a soliloquy, and an invitation. The major question raised by commentators regarding these verses has to do with authenticity. It is commonly held that the high Christology of the passage, combined with similarities to Gnostic thought, places its origin at a later period. Beare comments,...

122. The Burden Bearing Christ

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Brett Blair

There is a wonderful legend concerning the quiet years of Jesus, the years prior to his visible ministry. The legend claims that Jesus the carpenter was one of the master yoke-makers in the Nazareth area. People came from miles around for a yoke, hand carved and crafted by Jesus son of Joseph. When customers arrived with their team of oxen Jesus would spend considerable time measuring the team, t...

123. B.T.D.T.

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

To a "weary and heavy-laden" generation who has Been There, Done That, Jesus offers something radically new: real rest! Have you ever watched a commercial for that glow-in-the-dark neon-green soft drink "Mountain Dew"? It's exhausting. The television screen is filled with frenetic action. Young men spend 60 seconds catapulting out of airplanes on snowboards, leaping off cliffs while wearing parac...

124. What Do You Bring to the Table?

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Tom Garrison

When we fly we are well aware of the fact that you cannot simply go out and buy a ticket and get on an airplane anymore. Nowadays, because of all the skyjacking and dangers, there is an elaborate system of surveillance before you get near an aircraft. Understandably, the authorities want to know what you are bringing with you to the plane. And so your own person and everything you are carrying is ...

125. The Promising Invitation

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Marc Kolden

Our gospel reading today contains one of the most familiar passages in the Bible. Most of us probably know it in words of one of the older translations, but most of us do know it. "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28, KJV). For centuries this passage has been used for comforting the grieving, encouraging the struggling, and giving hope when...

Showing 101 to 125 of 173 results