Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic

Showing 2476 to 2500 of 4967 results

2476. Don’t Be Childish, Do Be Child-like

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... s “childish” behavior. In this week’s epistle text Paul is pleased to pronounce all those who follow Jesus and have received the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the living Christ, as “children of God.” The indwelling Spirit is a “spirit of adoption,” re-birthing disciples into a new relationship as sons and daughters of God. It is the presence of this Spirit that allows us to address God even as Jesus himself did as “Abba, Father.” Some of you may not like what I’m going to say next. Some ...

2477. Toss Your Cap Over the Wall

Mark 3:20-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... out on the most spectacular, and often the most courageous change that can be made in a life is that of becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ. Now it is unfortunate that, for the most part, that statement will fall on deaf ears. All too often ... time with some of it: it was slow and often mysterious. But something real happened in Paul Stookey’s life then, and today he is living as a disciple of Jesus Christ. (5) His cap is over the wall. Isn’t it time for some of us to toss our cap over the wall? A certain ...

2478. Travel Light and Keep Moving

Mark 6:1-13

Illustration

Leonard Sweet

... is to travel lightly and keep moving. Nowhere do we see him sitting down with the twelve and a map, or a snakebite kit, or a store of provisions, or a feasibility study, or a specific set of "goals,""strategies" and "objectives." Jesus gives the disciples (at times as confused and uncomprehending a lot as ever there has been) only what they need most: a mission and the authority to carry it out. All he recommends they take in addition to this is a walking stick a personal goad to keep them moving when ...

2479. Go, Climb A Mountain!

Luke 9:28-36 (37-43)

Sermon

Cynthia Cowen

... in it' " (Isaiah 30:21 NIV). We listen and step out with confidence for - "Jesus is the way; listen to him." When the glory of that mountaintop experience disappeared; when the cloud went away and the conversation with heaven was over, Jesus was alone with his disciples. Jesus, their teacher and friend, was really the Son of God. What a confidence builder! If you believe Jesus is God's Son, if you have confidence and trust in that belief, then surely you will listen and obey. On top of that mountain, three ...

2480. Risky Business

Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... be filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 9:17). And the world has never been the same since. All because one almost-anonymous disciple was willing to put life and limb on the line and do the Lord's bidding. This was risky business, to say the ... on God's command and promise turns out to be the way to freedom. Or think of Jesus as he leaves the upper room with his disciples after the Last Supper. It did not take supernatural insight at that point for Jesus to know that there were people who wanted to get rid ...

2481. All Roads Lead To Bethlehem

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , God’s decisive action on earth for all peoples causes those who know and love Jesus to be on the move because our “redemption is drawing near.” That’s why we can “stand up and raise your hands.” The same power and purpose that enables Jesus’ disciples to “stand up and raise your heads” when the seas and the stars are rocking and roiling, invites each of us to set out this time of year on a new journey to Bethlehem. Advent is the time we “stand up” and “raise our heads” and once ...

2482. Help From Habakkuk?

Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

... , we ask, "Lord, increase our faith!" (Luke 17:5). The assumption is that if I just had more faith, then everything would be okay in my life, in my family, in my church, in this country, and even in the world. But when we say, "amen," to the disciples' request we betray a basic misunderstanding of faith as a commodity we possess or as a personal achievement. Jesus' parable of the mustard seed illustrates our mistake in thinking (Luke 13:18-19; 17:5-6). In that story Jesus is saying that the level of faith ...

2483. Blessed Are Those Who Believe

John 20:19-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were,” he said, “and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” That, of course, happened on the following Sunday evening. The Gospel of John tells us, “A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my ...

2484. Just Checking

Revelation 22:1-6

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , all about an existence lived beyond the certainty of death. John’s Revelation is about the promised gift of a new possibility and of a new reality. That is the “Revelation” unveiled; that is the message received at the end of John’s life as a disciple of Christ. The life cycle John’s vision describes is not a circle that ends in death. Rather, it is a spiral that moves from one circle to another, unfolding and unfurling upward to spin a whole new picture of God’s graciousness. It is springtime ...

2485. Anything to Declare?

Luke 10:1-24

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... packing other stuff!) In twenty-first century terminology that means no “game boys,” no platinum cards, no Tom Ford Tuscan Leather cologne, no Prada leather handbags, no back-up Prince Harry blue suede shoes. All those accessories only downplay what Jesus told his disciples to bring with them, what Jesus had entrusted to them — his anointing and authority, and the message of the kingdom of God. There is one time when no one boasts and brags about what they have, and when the less you carry with you ...

2486. A One Sentence Legacy

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

King Duncan

... against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.” Jesus was stating a solid spiritual principle in practical and recognizable terms. People fail in business. People also fail in life. And the reasons are often the same. One guy said sadly, “I started out on the theory that the world had an opening for me. I was ...

2487. Let Them Eat Cake

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... his beloved Timothy to “remember” that despite all he will encounter in life, all the attacks, all the rejection, all the physical and emotional pain he will encounter, there is the overwhelming reward of Christ’s presence and power. As long as a disciple’s faith in Christ stands firm, and our relationship with him stays strong, all the bad stuff, all the truly evil encounters we have here, can be countered with “pound cake” — with God’s ability to upside down forces that on their own ...

2488. The Widow and the Unjust Judge

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... faith?” reveals that this tale of the widow and the judge points beyond any human judicial relationships. In fact this parable is not about issues of justice at all. It is instead part of Luke’s continuing section on the need for disciples to exhibit steadfast faithfulness in divine promises, even as they suffer while awaiting the coming of the kingdom. Beginning in 17:20 Jesus’ discourse focuses on the Pharisees’ question about the coming of the kingdom of God. Instead of offering any definitive ...

2489. Peace and Quiet in an Upside-Down World

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Tony Everett

... learned at the master’s feet. Second, faithful teaching first means faithful listening to the master every day. “Morning by morning he wakens — wakens my ear to listen as those who were taught” (Isaiah 50:4). For Isaiah’s disciples there and then and for Jesus’ disciples here and now, faithfulness includes daily listening to the master. Have you ever heard a good teacher remark that they never really understood a skill or concept very well until they were required to teach it? Did you know ...

2490. Soiled Faith and Watered-Down Churches

1 Corinthians 3:1-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... writing to the contentious, combative Corinthian Christian community, he did not offer them a microwave, quick-result option, as a way to “fix” their communal-spiritual problems. Instead Paul offered the One who was the final fix, the only and ultimate way in which disciples of Christ could find support for all their issues and problems. Paul insisted that it was not himself, not Apollos, not any one of those who had been called to help in the ministry of the Word, who were to be called upon in times ...

2491. Waking the Giant

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... church? That is the question I would have you contemplate on this Pentecost Sunday, 2014. Imagine if there could be an event in the twenty-first century comparable to the first Pentecost two thousand years ago. You know the story of that first Pentecost. The disciples were all together in one place when suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were gathered. Suddenly above their heads there seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came ...

2492. Ignite: Set On Fire!

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... I. We Have A Mission To Fulfill Luke tells us that Jesus, having been raised from the dead, has spent forty days with His disciples. Now, that they have this risen Lord on their hands, they are not sure what they are supposed to do next. He tells them ... to be a church ignited by the Holy Spirit we have a mission to fulfill. II. We Have A Might To Use Jesus has given the disciples their marching orders. They know what they are to do. They know where they are to do it. But amazingly, Jesus does not tell them to ...

2493. Prison Theology: Bait and Bail

Philippians 1:12-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... list." More people are living behind bars than are behind bars. Freedom is less about physical location than spiritual location. The gospel is good news to all who are imprisoned . . . . whether imprisoned by iron bars or imprisoned by bars of mind, spirit, soul, or society. Disciples of Jesus are "go to jail" people and are "in jail" with all people. If truth be told, we are all imprisoned by our failure to be fully human and our inability to be full participants in the Father’s love. When Paul was in ...

2494. Traveling Tables

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... potatoes. Christ calls all to join him at the table: “Come and dine.” “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and dine” (Rev.3:20). When Jesus gave his first disciples that great “commission,” which was really the church’s first “mission statement,” it was not a lesson in playing it safe. Jesus did not say, “Go and find like-minded people, and make an organization, and celebrate among yourselves what you believe.” Instead Jesus ...

2495. Discipleship: Backward or Forward to God

Luke 9:51-62

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... again and stayed home, devoted to the old order until at last he was buried in it. Alas, said Jesus, the way to God is not backward, but forward. God is interested in creating a new future. Go, proclaim the kingdom of God. III. The third backward-looking, would-be disciple wanted first to go say good-bye to those at home. Jesus gave his now-famous reply, saying, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." I doubt if there are many who have had the experience of ...

2496. How to Get the Job Done

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... the new opportunities that are there to bring them into the kingdom. III. Want to get the job done? Then dedicate yourself to the task. You will note that after Jesus pointed out that the fields were white unto the harvest he said to his disciples that they should pray to the Lord of the harvest that he would send forth laborers. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray, therefore for dedicated laborers. Some years ago Russell Conwell wrote a best-selling book, Acres of Diamonds. He pointed ...

2497. Pet Rocks and the Big Reveal

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

King Duncan

... world can never know. Jesus had prepared all his life for this day. It was a divine appointment--so much so that even the owners of the donkey responded agreeably when they were told simply, “The Lord has need of it.” The Spirit of the Lord went ahead of the disciples and prepared the heart of the owners of the colt. There’s good news in that as well. You see, when God has a plan and a purpose, nothing can stand in His way. If God says that His kingdom is coming, it’s time for us to join the ...

2498. Hosea's Wife and Children

Hosea 1:1-2:1

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... book of Hosea is not biography; it is word of God, and the important thing is that we read it as such. Prophetic Sign and Symbolism (1:2-9): 1:2–3 This prose passage comes from the hand of an editor, who was probably a contemporary disciple of the prophet, and it recounts the event that led to Hosea’s ministry. Thus, v. 2a in the Hebrew is a superscription: “The beginning of the speaking of Yahweh through Hosea.” However, that phrase refers only to Yahweh’s initial command to Hosea to “Go, take ...

2499. Jesus and Those Who “Believed”

John 8:31-41, John 8:42-47, John 8:48-59

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... . Their faith is not genuine (cf. 2:23–25). Jesus has directed their attention toward the future, but they will have none of it. The present is good enough for these “believers,” and they are satisfied with their current relationship to God. To become real disciples, they need time. Only by continued obedience to Jesus’ message can they know the truth and know what it is to be free (vv. 31–32). The mention of freedom offends them with its implication that they are not already free. As Abraham’s ...

2500. The Triumphal Entry

John 12:12-19

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... text leaves the Aramaic untranslated (cf. also Didache 10.6: “Hosanna to the God of David”). Luke, instead of leaving the phrase untranslated or translating it literally, brings out his interpretation of it by the use of the paraphrase: “the large crowd of his disciples began to thank God and praise him in loud voices for all the great things that they had seen: ‘God bless the king who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ” (Luke 19:37–38; for a more literal rendering of “hosanna,” cf. Rev ...

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