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 251 to 275 of 2815 results

251. The Shepherd and His Flock

John 10:1-21

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... they give a real picture of a wolf attacking a flock of sheep, with the hired man running away to save his own life. The key to the interpretation of the story is given first: I am the good shepherd (v. 11a). Then the story is told, as a parable should be, entirely in the third person: The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep … (v. 11b). The story continues through verse 13, but verses 14–16 are different. The repetition of I am the good shepherd necessarily brings Jesus back to the use of the ...

252. How to Deal with Demons

Matthew 12:38-50

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... of relativity. Now I don’t know much about the theory of relativity, but I know it’s something we can learn. Most of us could learn it if we determined to do so. I’m talking about something far more difficult today—How to deal with demons. Our parable for today is one of the most graphic in Jesus’ repertoire of gripping stories. It’s a story of demons and an empty house. Now we may not have the same understanding of the world and of demons as was prevalent in New Testament times, but few of us ...

253. How to Escape Being Possessed By Our Possessions

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... taught that men should be afraid to become rich. “How hardly shall they that have riches enter the Kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom.” (Mark 10:24-25) “This parable (of the rich fool) is designed to show how riches and good fortune in life tend to lead not to blessing but to tragedy. Here we discover one of the great differences between the thinking of Jesus and our own.” (2) Isn’t it true? We envy people who ...

254. A Prophet Without Honor

Matthew 13:53-58

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... earlier in Luke (4:16–30), where his sermon in the synagogue led to an attempt to take his life. In both Mark and Matthew, Jesus returns to his ancestral home, where his message is heard but not accepted. When Jesus finished teaching the series of parables listed by Matthew in chapter 13, he moved on from there (Capernaum?) and returned to his hometown. The basic meaning of patris is fatherland (the place of one’s patēr), but as Luke indicates, it refers to the town of Nazareth (Luke 4:16) rather ...

255. Proper 13

Luke 11:1-13, Hosea 11:1-11, Colossians 3:1-17, Psalm 107:1-43

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... to put to death the vices of the old life and to take on the virtues of life in Christ. Gospel. (Luke 12:13-21) The parable of the unwise farmer is told in response to a man who wanted Jesus to settle a quarrel about an inheritance. Jesus used the occasion to ... those who are in distress. In contrast to the foolish who think they are self-sufficient (such as the farmer in Jesus' parable), the wise person rests upon the steadfast love of the Lord. Context of Related Scripture Exodus 2:14 -- The Hebrew people ask ...

256. Prepared Servants

Luke 12:35-48

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... in heaven. Exodus 12:11 -- Eat with your loins girded. Revelation 3:20 -- I am standing at the door, knocking. CONTENT Precis of the Parable Jesus urged the disciples to be ready for action and to have their lamps burning. They are to be like persons waiting for ... get ready and serve them a feast, even if it is the middle of the night or approaching dawn. Jesus adds a second image to the parable. It is the image of an owner of a house who suspects that a thief is planning to break into it. If the owner knows ...

257. Signs of the End of the Age

Mark 13:1-31, Mark 13:32-37

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

... (3:20-30); and by his own family (3:31-35). What is going on here? Will everyone reject the coming reign of God? The Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1-34) says NO! There are a variety of kinds of hearers of the good news. There are "path" hearers ... We shall meet him again on the last day and he will be for us there also, a gracious Savior. It is interesting to note in this parable that the way people are to prepare for the coming is for "each with his work" to be faithful. One can almost see a doctrine of ...

258. The Scariest Sound in the World

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Johnny Dean

... is that they expected him to be there at a certain time and the time came and he wasn’t there. Notice that, in this parable, it is the GROOM who is the center of attention. In the male-dominated society of Jesus’ day, that was the way of life, ... to the Tuesday morning prayer meeting..." "When I retire, I’m going to get more involved in the life of the church..." The parable reminds us that we have no guarantee of tomorrow. All we have for sure is today, right now, this moment. Everything beyond that is ...

259. Proper 12 & Pentecost 10

1 Kings 3:1-15, Exodus 3:1-22, Romans 8:18-27, Romans 8:28-39, Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:47-52

Sermon Aid

... give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. Here, then, is the content of the treasure in the field and the pearl of great price pointed out by Jesus in the two little parables which introduce the Gospel for the Day. The wisdom to know God, his will, and his ways, is of greater value than anything else in life. Exodus 3:13-20 (C) The Roman, Episcopal, and Lutheran lectionaries appoint Exodus 3 for the Third Sunday in Lent of Year C ...

260. While You Are Waiting

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... were killed, and the Jews dispersed all over the world. It is undoubtedly in response to that event, the fall of Jerusalem, that this parable was included in the gospel with the caveat to warn us, we don't know about such things, and we will never know ... what we want. But that is not the kind of waiting that we are talking about here. That is not the kind of waiting that the parable is talking about. It is talking about waiting on God. Waiting on God is not waiting to get what we want. Waiting on God is ...

261. The Lost and Found Coin

Luke 15:8-10

Sermon

James W. Moore

... values and cherishes and prizes and treasures each one of us like that… and when we get lost He urgently wants to seek us and find us and when He does find us, there is great joy and relief in His heart and in His Kingdom. Now, what makes this parable unique and different from the other two (in Luke 15) is that the coin gets lost through no fault of its own. It doesn’t wander off like the lost sheep. It doesn’t run away like the lost son… no, it gets lost because… somebody else drops it, somebody ...

262. The Lost and Found Coin

Luke 15:8-10

Sermon

James W. Moore

... values and cherishes and prizes and treasures each one of us like that… and when we get lost He urgently wants to seek us and find us and when He does find us, there is great joy and relief in His heart and in His Kingdom. Now, what makes this parable unique and different from the other two (in Luke 15) is that the coin gets lost through no fault of its own. It doesn't wander off like the lost sheep. It doesn't run away like the lost son… no, it gets lost because… somebody else drops it, somebody ...

263. Mark 4:26-34

Mark 4:26-34

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of the sower," Jesus here uses seeds as his primary image. The tutored disciples know that the seed represents the word of God (4:14) and the "someone" scattering that seed is Jesus as he preaches the world all about the land. The parable of the growing seed truly is about his seed and not about anything the sower does. Once planted, the seed begins to "sprout and grow" and the sower has no idea how this happens. Human abilities and comprehension are without consequence or influence on the growing seed ...

264. Lean on Me

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

... is surely fair to say that for some, the judge was the story, not the widow. It is funny isn't it, how several people can see or hear the same story and come away with different perceptions of that story? If you are an attorney, you may see this parable in an entirely different light. You may think that the judge was not at all ruthless. One of the primary responsibilities of a judge is to see to the protection of the weakest people in our society. It is the judge's job to lift the burden from the weakest ...

265. The Measure You Give Is the Measure You Get

Mark 4:21-25

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... knows what he can do, and he does it, but he rests in the fact that God must do the rest. After this, Jesus told another parable about a grain of mustard seed - the smallest of all seeds - yet when it is sown and grows up; it becomes the greatest of all scrubs ... you do not need to insult your friend; all you need to do is let him alone.” (Clovis G. Chappell, Sermons From the Parables, Abingdon Press, New York and Nashville, p. 218, MCMXXXIII) II. Home is at the measure you give is the measure you get. The ...

266. Mark 4:26-34

Mark 4:26-29

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... for the harvest is ripe,” suggesting an eschatological action. Despite the unknowable quality of the grain’s development, the eventual harvest of the crop is fully expected and never in question. The sickle is always at the ready for that day. The second parable in today’s text is also declared to be specifically about “the kingdom of God.” It similarly features the unique, inexplicable growing nature of seeds. The mustard seed, while tiny, is certainly not the smallest seed on earth. But it was ...

267. Riddles and Metaphors

Ezekiel 15:1-8, Ezekiel 16:1-63, Ezekiel 17:1-24

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... 117, see also Zimmerli, Ezekiel 1, p. 367) is a familiar one to any reader of Scripture. It figures prominently in the songs of Hannah (1 Sam. 2:1–10) and Mary (Luke 1:46–55). Further, the notion of dramatic and unexpected reversal is a common image in the parables of Jesus (e.g., Matt. 20:1–16; Mark 9:33–37; Luke 13:20–30). Indeed, Jesus plays off verses 22–24 when he describes the kingdom of God as a mustard plant: a common weed which “is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it ...

268. Challenge and Counterchallenge

Luke 20:9-19, Luke 20:1-8

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... allusion here puts Jesus in the place of God in Isaiah’s vision and reminds the reader of Simeon’s prophecy that the child will be the cause of many falling in Israel (2:34). 20:19 They knew he had spoken this parable against them. The parable was spoken openly to “the people” (20:9), and although it is not explicitly applied, the imagery was too obvious to miss. In the setting where they have just challenged Jesus’s authority, this was clearly a deliberate and public counterchallenge, calling ...

269. Paying Taxes to Caesar

Matthew 22:15-22

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... of Jesus. It is better to take the two accounts as separate but related narratives told on different occasions in order to illustrate or strengthen basic truths. It would be highly unlikely for Jesus to have told each of his parables on one occasion only. The so-called strange and unnatural additions appear as such only to those who would rewrite Scripture to match twentieth-century expectations. Allowed the full expression of Near Eastern hyperbole, they cause no particular exegetical problem. 22:15 ...

270. Marriage at the Resurrection

Matthew 22:23-33

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

271. The Greatest Commandment

Matthew 22:34-40

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

272. Whose Son Is the Christ?

Matthew 22:41-46

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

273. A Lamp On a Stand

Luke 8:16-18

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... and Mark 4:2–34 highlights the different emphases that the three Synoptic evangelists are able to bring out of what is essentially the same material. The Marcan collection begins with the Parable of the Sower and its interpretation (4:2–20), to which is added the Parable of the Lamp (vv. 21–25) and two kingdom parables (vv. 26–32). The main point of this collection seems to be the concern to show how the kingdom will grow. Despite obstacles, failures, and a small beginning, through the preaching of ...

274. Jesus' Mother and Brothers

Luke 8:19-21

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

275. Lost

Luke 15:1-7, Luke 15:8-10, Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... (1 Peter 5) Luke’s Witness to the Stories of Those Lost Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes ...

Showing results

Showing 251 to 275 of 2815 results

251. The Shepherd and His Flock

John 10:1-21

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

252. How to Deal with Demons

Matthew 12:38-50

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

253. How to Escape Being Possessed By Our Possessions

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

254. A Prophet Without Honor

Matthew 13:53-58

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

255. Proper 13

Luke 11:1-13, Hosea 11:1-11, Colossians 3:1-17, Psalm 107:1-43

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

256. Prepared Servants

Luke 12:35-48

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

257. Signs of the End of the Age

Mark 13:1-31, Mark 13:32-37

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

258. The Scariest Sound in the World

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Johnny Dean

259. Proper 12 & Pentecost 10

1 Kings 3:1-15, Exodus 3:1-22, Romans 8:18-27, Romans 8:28-39, Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:47-52

Sermon Aid

260. While You Are Waiting

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Mark Trotter

261. The Lost and Found Coin

Luke 15:8-10

Sermon

James W. Moore

262. The Lost and Found Coin

Luke 15:8-10

Sermon

James W. Moore

... values and cherishes and prizes and treasures each one of us like that… and when we get lost He urgently wants to seek us and find us and when He does find us, there is great joy and relief in His heart and in His Kingdom. Now, what makes this parable unique and different from the other two (in Luke 15) is that the coin gets lost through no fault of its own. It doesn't wander off like the lost sheep. It doesn't run away like the lost son… no, it gets lost because… somebody else drops it, somebody ...

263. Mark 4:26-34

Mark 4:26-34

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

264. Lean on Me

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

265. The Measure You Give Is the Measure You Get

Mark 4:21-25

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam