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 2801 to 2825 of 3314 results

2801. A Resume of Righteousness

Genesis 15:1-18

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... of Genesis this morning is one of the watershed events in Abraham's life and experience. But not only for Abraham, it is a watershed for us, as well. Four thousand years later, that event in Abraham's life proves to be a landmark in our experience, too. For the apostle Paul points back to this episode as a crucial turning point in understanding the salvation that you and I have in Jesus Christ. The issue at hand is no less a question than how it is that we are saved. How is it that a sinful human being ...

2802. God All Along

Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... are heretics — "any who belonged to the Way" (v. 2). We would better recognize both those heretics and their pursuer by different names. The so-called heretics were actually the early Christians, and their chief antagonist was the man we later know better as the apostle Paul. We so associate Paul with the spread of Christianity that it is hard for us to imagine him as one of the earliest and fiercest opponents trying to extinguish it. We read a dozen or so books in the New Testament written by Paul ...

2803. Earth, Wind, and Fire

Joel 2:23-32

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

... toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you. — Genesis 3:17b-18 Therefore, it is not surprising to find that, for Joel, "the land is the barometer of Israel's relationship with Yahweh."[1] The apostle Paul picks up on this divine ecology when he speaks in Romans, chapter 8, of the whole creation waiting and longing and groaning for the redemption of God's children (Romans 8:19-23). While today we may not be able to make the direct one-to-one associa ...

2804. Put Within Us

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

... in relationship to God and God's people, and through him we are invited into that relationship in a new way. Through the faith relationship with Christ Jesus it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us (Galatians 2:20). Therefore, the apostle Paul could write, "If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17). There, the language of love and faithfulness — the language of the new covenant — is spoken and lived from deep within because we have been stamped with the love ...

2805. Oh, By the Way…

Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

... . He is that Son of Man who received glory and dominion over all peoples, nations, and languages. Because Christ is risen — he is risen indeed! — the events of human history, no matter how great and terrifying, cannot touch the destiny of God's holy ones. And therefore, as the apostle Paul writes in Ephesians, we, the saints now living on earth, can live to the praise of his glory (Ephesians 1:6, 14). Amen. 1. Paul D. Hanson, Old Testament Apocalyptic (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1987), p. 32.

2806. Making Something Out Of Nothing

Haggai 1:15b—2:9

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

... " scripture informs us, God quite literally made all matter out of nothing other than God's own thought and plan and spoke it all into existence. Later, God started a nation out of two senior citizens, Abraham and Sarah, whom, we are told by the apostle Paul, were so advanced in age that they were as good as dead (Romans 4:10). When the descendants of Abraham and Sarah were in danger of being eliminated by the ancient Egyptians, God led the slaves out of bondage to freedom and nationhood. Later ...

2807. When We Don't Know God

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... .” (1) His misguided quest for more made him one of the most pitiable men on earth. Let me tell you about another man in search of more. His name was Saul of Tarsus. Does anybody remember him? Of course you do. Saul of Tarsus became St. Paul the Apostle, but before his conversion on the road to Damascus, he also was in quest of more. In his case, his quest was more religion. Listen to his words in our lesson for today: “If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more ...

2808. 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , of the kind of manifestations of the Spirit the faithful community may expect to see and experience. This list is not precise, it is profuse. Paul is draining the Corinthian Christian Churches attention to just how many ways, how many forms, the one Spirit may take within their community. The apostle is driving home the dual messages of great diversity and singular unity. Each believer is uniquely gifted and each believer is uniquely connected through the Spirit to every other one who confesses Christ.

2809. In the Service

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

2810. What the Ascension Tells Us

Luke 24:50-53

Sermon

King Duncan

... things: It tells us who Jesus is, it tells us what we are to do, and it tells us where the power comes from for living as Christ would have us live. Let’s deal, first of all, with who Jesus is. We say it well [each Sunday] in the Apostle’s Creed: We say we believe in [Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord: who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at ...

2811. Fire from Heaven

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... citizens of Florence with artistic and magnificent spectacles of many sorts. He produced many religious pageants with striking realism and effectiveness. On one occasion, he surpassed himself in staging a pageant of Pentecost. The descent of the tongues of fire upon the apostles, however, was just a bit too realistic. Actual fire was used, the flimsy trimmings and stage hangings were set ablaze, and not only the stage but the whole church burned down. Before we call down the Spirit from heaven, like Elijah ...

2812. Filling the Hole in Our Hearts

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

A Sunday School teacher taught her class to recite the Apostles Creed by giving each child one phrase to learn. When the day came for the class to give their recitation, they began beautifully. “I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth,” said the first child. “I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord,” said ...

2813. Good Hearts

Romans 5:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the world. The gospels tell us what Jesus did and who Jesus is. Paul tells us what Jesus means. In the first four chapters of Romans, Paul describes and defines the miraculous mission Christ had accomplished. It is a transformation the apostle calls “justification by faith through grace.” Having so succinctly expressed this theological truth, Paul now begins to unpack that revelation. What are the consequences of this new reality, this “justification,” and what do they mean in the lives of all those ...

2814. Galatians 2:15-21

Galatians 2:11-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... in Christ yet then return to embrace one’s old way of life, a life lived under the law. That would be the act of a transgressor. This is precisely the case Paul argued so forcefully against Peter and the others who separated themselves from the Gentiles. The apostle now shifts to the first person singular to use himself and his experience as an example of being in Christ. It was under the rule of the law that Christ died (Galatians 3:13). Thus it was “through the law” that Paul has now “died to the ...

2815. It’s Complicated

Galatians 2:11-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

2816. Anything to Declare?

Luke 10:1-24

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... favor the seventy-two call attention to Genesis 10, which lists all the nations of the world as numbering seventy two. The “world-wide” number suggests that Jesus’ mission and message, as will be elaborated in Luke’s second volume The Acts of the Apostles, is already being positioned to distribute beyond the bounds of the Jewish faith. Those who favor the manuscripts that record “seventy” point to Numbers 11:16-17, where Moses picks seventy elders to work among the people, and to Exodus 24:1, 9 ...

2817. Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Luke 10:1-24

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

2818. The Lord’s Prayer and The Stones-Serpents-Scorpions Story

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the risen, regnant and returning Christ, and with studied watchfulness never take their eyes off of him. That’s one reason why churches were built after having been properly “oriented” facing the east – and why to this day in Westminster Abbey the Apostle’s Creed is recited by the congregation after rising to face the East, toward the altar. What do we call it? “The Lord’s Prayer?” “The Disciples’ Prayer?” The “Our Father?” The “Pater Noster?” Maybe we ought to call it the ...

2819. Waiting for Christmas

James 5:7-12

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... in your life this Christmas? Our goal come Christmas Day is to be different as a result of our spiritual preparation during our Advent journey. The book of James is filled with much practical advice for those striving to live the Christian life. The apostle James believed that genuine faith results in outward actions and responses. The way we treat each other speaks volumes about our own understanding of faith. If we do nothing to help a sister or brother who is going through a difficult time, then we ...

2820. The Best Gift of All

Titus 2:1-15

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... not only as an infant but also as our Lord and Savior who calls us to follow him. For our lives to truly be changed by the birth of Jesus requires that we examine his entire life and teachings, so that we can see the whole picture. The apostle Paul was writing to one of his traveling companions, Titus, to encourage his friend and the other believers on the tiny island of Crete. There was controversy as the believers struggled with questions of law and how to deal with others whose view of faith was quite ...

2821. Discerning In Love

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... and lead us. The problem is that there are so many distractions that lure us away from the faith. We often become lost when we follow too many detours. As we have discovered it did not take much for the Corinthians to become distracted and confused. The apostle Paul spent a year and a half teaching the Corinthians about Jesus and the Christian faith. Paul then set out for a new destination to begin the process all over again, witnessing to others about Jesus, and then starting a new church. It was not long ...

2822. Grow Up!

1 Corinthians 3:1-23

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... behavior that we are different from the rest of the world. The love, joy, and generosity in our lives should stand out. If we blend in with everyone else there would be reason for concern. The Corinthian church presented quite a problem for the apostle Paul. Within that new church some people thought too highly of themselves, and this only added to their problems. Whenever there are people within the church who project themselves as better than everyone else there are bound to be problems as well as hurt ...

2823. Philemon 1:1-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to help them achieve true independence. Rather than being set “free,” they were cruelly set adrift. But Paul has no such “freedom” in mind for Onesimus. First and foremost, Paul claims Onesimus as his “child,” a baptized convert whom the apostle declared was his “child.” Huge amounts of eisogesis have suggested the circumstances which may have brought about this relationship. But all we have is the text. There is no textural testimony that Onesimus was a “runaway slave.” There is no ...

2824. Praise and Blame

1 Corinthians 4:1-21

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... produces passion in you.” What are you passionate about? The Corinthian congregation was in the midst of a conflict that if not soon resolved could destroy the church. The situation was serious. In that congregation some people who were critical of the apostle Paul while others were supportive of him. Some might even have blamed Paul for their present difficulties. In the midst of disagreements we should remember that Paul’s goal was always to build up the church and never tear it down. Paul experienced ...

2825. Everyone Is Invited

Romans 1:1-17

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,” Jesus instructed his disciples, “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” Elsewhere in his writings the apostle Paul claimed, “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). The gospel message opened people’s eyes to the possibility ...

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