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 2851 to 2875 of 3314 results

2851. Follow the Directions

Psalm 119:9, 18, 89

Sermon

James Merritt

... % could not name half or more of the Ten Commandments 58% did not know Jesus preached the Sermon on The Mount 52% did not know the Book of Jonah was in the Bible 39% did not know Jesus was born in Bethlehem 30% did not know there were twelve Apostles [2] It reminds me of a Bible study class of young boys and the teacher said, “Who went into the lion’s den and came out unhurt?” The little boy blurted out, “Tarzan!” Of all the charges that God brought against His people, through all the prophets in ...

2852. Ignite: Set On Fire!

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... . Peter and all of these witnesses were ignited and excited by one thing – Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead. Listen to how the crowd responds. “Now they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’” (Acts 2:37, ESV) The question of the hour had changed. In verse 12 the crowd asked, “What can this mean?” Now, they ask, “What shall we do?” Even though there were thousands of people listening to this sermon, you ...

2853. Ignite: Man on Fire

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

James Merritt

... one man’s conversion would be so greatly emphasized. It is not surprising when you understand that the two greatest events that have happened since the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the coming of the Holy Spirit and the conversion of the Apostle Paul. Why is his conversion such a history changing, life impacting, spiritually transforming event? Perhaps, a stark historical analogy can make the point. Can you imagine this headline being on the front page of every newspaper in the world in 1944? Hitler ...

2854. One Thing

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

James Merritt

... . If you make too many resolutions you won’t have enough willpower reserves to stick to all of them.” This is his conclusion. “It is better to make one resolution and stick to it than make five.” Believe it or not, he is taking that right out of the Apostle Paul’s playbook that he wrote some two-thousand years ago. [Turn to Philippians 3] Paul was writing from a Roman prison. As far as he knew, every day would be his last one. In a sense, every day for him was New Year’s Day. He gives us the ...

2855. The Glory of the Cross

Galatians 6:11-18

Sermon

James Merritt

... the light of sacred story Gathers round its head sublime. When the sun of bliss is beaming, Light and love upon my way, From the cross the radiance streaming, Adds more luster to the day.1 That song could have been the theme song of the Apostle Paul. Paul had much that he could have boasted about when he was alive. In his day he was the church’s greatest preacher, greatest mission-ary, greatest apologist, greatest theologian, and greatest author. He wrote more books than anyone else in the Bible; almost ...

2856. Look and Live

Isaiah 44:24--45:25

Sermon

James Merritt

... need to pray for their salvation. Others have accused us of being religious bigots and narrow minded in our view that Jews need to come to Christ. Well, no less than a Pharisee of Hebrews, one of the greatest Jews who ever lived, the man by the name of the Apostle Paul said in Romans 10:1: “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.” One of the reasons why I love to preach the Gospel is because I know that I am trying to give, for free, the one thing that ...

2857. Envision: The Great Commitment

Matthew 20:20-28

Sermon

James Merritt

... Him Now I have to confess this is one of my favorite parts of this message, because I get to show you what God expects out of me, and what God expects out of you. Now listen carefully to Ephesians 4:11-12: “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry (service), for the edifying of the body of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-12, NKJV) Now don’t get the idea that I am about to say that I don ...

2858. All In: Calling Your Bluff

Romans 12:1-8

Sermon

James Merritt

... God. II. What Should I Become As A Member Of A Church? Listen to how the first church was formed in the New Testament. "Those who believed… were baptized and added to the church…they joined with the other believers and committed themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship… they worshipped together at the temple each day and met in homes [small groups]… and shared their meals with great joy and generosity." (Acts 2: 41-42, 46, NLT) I want you see the order that we find - here in these verses ...

2859. All In: Skin In the Game

Malachi 3:6-18

Sermon

James Merritt

... deposit their tithes and their offerings. Why the temple? Because that was not only the place of God’s presence, but it was also the distribution center for God’s ministry and God’s work. The modern day storehouse was the church. In I Corinthians 16:2 the Apostle Paul said, “On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.” (1 Corinthians 16:2, ESV) Do you see the words “store up”? That ...

2860. The Ice Bucket Challenge

Romans 13:8-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... " his brother Lucas with love. He offered love that was not even an effort, just a natural outpouring of an indwelling love. It is the same kind of love that is offered up in a short form by Paul in this week’s epistle text when the apostle reminds Christians to "Love your neighbor as yourself." And that "Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law." (Romans 13:9-10) Paul, the hardboiled old Pharisee, steeped in the stepby-step orderliness of Torah law, had been ...

2861. Prison Theology: Bait and Bail

Philippians 1:12-30

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... from Prison," Martin Luther King’s "Letter from Birmingham City Jail," Nelson Mandela’s "Conversations with Myself." Today’s text is from one of the "prison epistles"— Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon — so named because they were written by the apostle Paul during his incarceration in Rome. Of course, perhaps the most famous of the biblical literature written from prison is not by Paul but by John, who wrote from Patmos, the Dachau death camp of the first century, the stunningly ...

2862. Turning Pity-Parties into Praise-Parties

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... his hand. How could he had worry? Instead of reacting to the world with hatred, anger, violence, vengeance — there is another way. Instead of looking at a world fractured by war and rivalries and hatred, look towards Christ. One of the apostle Paul’s favorite words used in his writings is “moros” — a word usually translated as “fool” but best translated as “crazy.” Paul admitted to being “moros,” “crazy” in love with Jesus. Despite all the attacks and opposition, the beatings and ...

2863. Faith’s First Impressions

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Can you imagine what a different New Testament it would be if the books were in their chronological order of being written, rather than the biographical account of Jesus’ life? First Thessalonians is the “first impression” of the written testimony of the apostle Paul, whose writings predate those of the gospels. Paul’s first message is written to a community he had helped nudge and nurture into existence. First Thessalonians is the first and oldest voice of Christian faith put into writing. And what ...

2864. Changing Times

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... remind Israel that condemnation and punishment are not God’s last word to them. 2 Peter 3:8-15a It is not helpful to probe too far into theories of origins with this letter. If tradition stands, this is a communication from the apostle Peter in his last years before being executed at the hands of Nero around 64 AD. There are a number of challenges to this view (none insurmountable), and any good commentary can provide highlights. Still, the similarities between 2 Peter and Jude add mysterious questions ...

2865. Still Surprised After Christmas

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... resurrection. Beyond Jesus’ earthly ministry and into the book of Acts: the Pentecost crowd was surprised to hear the message being preached in their own tongues; the assembled believers were surprised by Peter’s miraculous release from prison; and the apostles themselves seemed to be surprised by the Holy Spirit coming upon Gentiles. Christmas was a time full of surprises: the incarnation, virgin birth, star, and angels. But the surprises keep coming long after Christmas. If we have known his power ...

2866. Why Matter Matters

2 Peter 3:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... forward, relentlessly insisted upon the true humanity of Jesus. Arguing against those who tried to make Jesus into a more divine figure and somewhat less than human figure, Cyril pounced upon the gospel of John and refused to step back from the apostle’s pronouncement that “the word became flesh.” The gospel does not say “the Word became human,” Cyril repeated. The gospel says “the Word became flesh.” Thanks to Cyril of Alexandria Jesus did not become some kind of angelic super-hero who walked ...

2867. Prescription on a Pole

John 3:1-21

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... food” simply because they regard it as “miserable food.” Here, of course, is the hallmark of selfish ingratitude: We don’t see what we do have simply because we would prefer to have something else. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, meanwhile, the apostle observes that “all of us once lived ... in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses.” That is his way of characterizing our former condition, and it seems to be all about the flesh. Such a generalization is not ...

2868. God Writes Straight with Crooked Lines

Mark 1:35-39

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to “Exalting God Only.” This is a new kind of ego, a Jesus ego, a God-concentrated and committed ego that “exalts God only.” A bad ego edges God out. A good ego exalts God only. God has exalted Jesus to God’s right hand. Or as the Apostle’s Creed puts it, he is “seated at the right hand of the Father.” An “ego” that “exalts God only” is an ego that is constantly pointing to Christ, not to itself; an ego that boasts and brags about Jesus only, not about oneself; an ego that turns the ...

2869. The Messed Up

John 4:1-26

Sermon

James Merritt

... much is He gravitated to people that others ignored, ridiculed, hated, and rejected. Today, we are going to look at one of the most fascinating conversations Jesus ever had with a woman whose autobiography would have been titled, “The Mess Up.” The Apostle John devoted 42 verses to telling the story of this amazing encounter between Jesus and a messed up woman. We are reading the longest conversation ever recorded between Jesus and any other individual. That alone tells us that the lessons in this story ...

2870. Reliable Witness

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

King Duncan

... government officials. Colson says: “The Watergate cover-up reveals the true nature of humanity. Even political zealots at the pinnacle of power will, in the crunch, save their own necks, even at the expense of the ones they profess to serve so loyally. But the apostles could not deny Jesus because they had seen Him face to face, and they knew He had risen from the dead. No, you can take it from an expert in cover-ups I’ve lived through Watergate that nothing less than a resurrected Christ could have ...

2871. Have You Had Your Caffeine Today?

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... to this celebration of Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit came upon the church. This is one of the most important days in the church year. Our lesson for the day is from the book of Acts. Though the book is popularly called, “Acts” or “Acts of the Apostles,” it would be more appropriate to call it, “The Acts of the Holy Spirit,” for it is the Holy Spirit that empowered the disciples to do all the amazing things that they did. Jesus had said to his disciples to go into all the world and preach ...

2872. Chickens with Eyeglasses

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... rabbi Gamaliel. No one in the church was as well educated as he. Paul was a Harvard man in the company of rednecks. Fourteen of the twenty-seven books in the New Testament have traditionally been attributed to Paul, and approximately half of the Acts of the Apostles deals with Paul’s life and works. It would have been easy for Paul to become arrogant and proud, to think of himself as being better than others, for even church leaders can be afflicted with the deadly sin of pride. Except for one thing in ...

2873. Be Careful What You Ask For

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... few sentences later he says, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant . . .” Jesus’ prophecy would come true. Tradition tells us that James was the first apostle to be martyred and John was the last to die after enduring years of persecution. I guess they did not know what they were asking for. But they did not turn back. And thank God they did not, for they played a critical role in continuing Christ’s ...

2874. Tranquil: The Blessed Village on a Hillside

John 6:25-59

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... were a young couple with two children, living in a rented house, owned one car and I had a job that didn't pay much." John 6 opens with an account of Jesus feeding the five thousand. You know the story well. When the meal was over, Jesus and the apostles leave for the other side of the lake. The next day, some of those who got the free lunch come to Jesus in hopes of a repeat. The Master chastises them. "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate ...

2875. How to Get the Job Done

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... men to help him spread the word about the new kingdom of God. If Moses and the seventy elders were developing the Old Israel, Jesus and the seventy were about to develop the New Israel. In Jesus' case, the seventy signify something more. If the twelve apostles were originally sent to the lost sheep of the tribes of Israel, the seventy have a broader mission. They are to announce the coming kingdom not only to the Jews, but to Samaritans and Gentiles as well. In Jesus' day, it was popularly believed there ...

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