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 3101 to 3125 of 4942 results

3101. The Gravity of Grace

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Postmodern culture has a moral atmosphere of zero. In a zero-morality culture, the church must pump up the atmosphere with the gravity of grace. One of the most basic skills astronauts must learn to master is how to function in an environment of zero gravity. While it may be a thrill to find your body suddenly capable of flying and free-floating anywhere in the cabin, an absence of gravity can also increase the difficulty of completing a host of tasks. For instance, just how do you get the toothpaste to ...

3102. Strength's Weakness

John 20:19-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

It is at the point of our strengths rather than our weaknesses that we are most vulnerable. Our strengths can create even greater monsters than our weaknesses. In downtown Detroit, an entire side of the CadillacTower building bears the muscular image of Barry Sanders, the NFL's leading rusher and Detroit Lions running back #20. The only way you know who is responsible for this massive, looming work of people's art, this icon to a sports god, is by one symbol in the upper right-hand corner: a swoosh (Nike ...

3103. Make Disciples

Matthew 9:35-10:8 (9-23)

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

What would it mean if we were to become disciple-making churches? A tourist collected a few of the signs in English that monolingual Americans traveling abroad must contend with. In an airline ticket office in Copenhagen, there is this promise: "We take your bags and send them in all directions." A Swiss restaurant announces to its customers that "Our wines leave you with nothing to hope for." A rather severe Acapulco hotel posts a sign assuring its customers that "The manager has personally passed all the ...

3104. Tremendous Trifles

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Moral failure comes not from enormous misdeeds, but through lapses in "tremendous trifles." Have you ever tried quickly to pull a dangling thread from the hem of a pant-leg or skirt or jacket, only to find you've got hold of one of those dreaded running stitches? Instead of breaking off, the thread continues to unstitch itself until the entire hem falls out. Instead of freeing yourself from one annoying little thread, you now have a major clothing catastrophe. It is always the little things that end up ...

3105. And Again I Say...Amen!

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

What are the marks of an Amen discipleship? How would a Yes spirit manifest itself? The second of a two-part sermon. When your car starts making bad noises _ banging, or whining, or knocking _ you take it in to get its carburetor, or timing, or fan belt adjusted. When some people feel achy or out-of-sorts, they get a chiropractic "adjustment." There are many Christians out there this morning who are also making whiny noises or creaking and cracking and causing pain to others around them. When Jesus urged ...

3106. Never Give Up

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Because God never gives up on us, we need never give up. From the many true and apocryphal stories about the life of Winston Churchill comes the report of a singular commencement address. After enduring a lengthy introduction, Churchill is reported to have risen from his seat, strode to the podium and stared fixedly at his audience of new graduates. "Never give up!" he pronounced solemnly. Churchill then turned, walked back to his chair and sat down. As the stunned students momentarily sat in silence, ...

3107. Luke 2:22-40

Luke 2:21-40

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

If you grew up in the middle of the “baby boom,” you remember how every classroom was overflowing with kids. But teachers didn’t have to memorize fifty new names for every class, because certain names were so popular there would always be at least two or three in every room. If a teacher guessed Steve, Dave, Mike, or Jeff for a boy or Kathy, Pam, Lisa, or Cheryl for a girl, chances were good that the teacher would be right. One name never present in those classrooms was “Jesus.” Although Latino culture is ...

3108. Isaiah 50:4-9a

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

From the Service of the Word we take our First Testament text for this week. Isaiah 50:4-9a is the third in the series of four "servant songs" attributed to the work of Second Isaiah (chapters 40-55). Much of Second Isaiah's soaring elegant poetry speaks optimistically of a return from Babylon for the exiled Israel. Probably composed around 547, Second Isaiah and the exiled Israelites both took encouragement from the rising strength of Persia under the powerful rule of its new king, Cyrus. The four servant ...

3109. 1 Samuel 16:1-13

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

This week's First Testament text tells the story of God's surprising choice of David as the new king over Israel. Contrasting the tale of Saul's anointing with that of David's selection as king reveals a vast disparity between the two men. Perhaps the individual most cognizant of these differences is Samuel. Samuel is already a respected seer among the twelve tribes when the people's clamoring for a ruler goaded God into approving them a king. The Lord speaks privately with Samuel, revealing to him where ...

3110. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Here we have probably the best known words Paul ever wrote. Paul has just spent the last chapter convincing the Corinthians that spiritual gifts come in many forms, and that each form is as valuable and worthy as any of the others. Using his famous "body" analogy, Paul has made a strong case for the interdependence of all manifestations of the Spirit. Suddenly, as though afraid the Corinthians might miss something obvious, Paul abruptly re-directs his focus. Having validated the equality and equanimity of ...

3111. 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Paul spends considerable time in 1 Corinthians on the topic of food. Chapters 8-11 all look at the use and abuse of such a humble human necessity when it provides a symbolic means of dining with the divine. This week's epistle text lies midway through his discussion. In chapter 10 Paul begins by reaching back into Hebrew history to show how the fickle tendencies of the human spirit can undo the exquisite acts of love and deliverance God may perform. Paul spends the first four verses citing some of the most ...

3112. 2 Timothy 1:1-14

2 Timothy 1:1-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

As in the other two pastoral epistles, Paul begins his second letter to Timothy with a formal apostolic greeting that lays out the primary motivation for this letter: "for the sake of the promise of life that is in Jesus Christ." It is only that "promise of life" that drives Paul on, despite his imprisonment, infirmities and loneliness. Paul considers these physical limitations to be of little consequence - significant only if they provide a new layer of depth and meaning to his witness. Because of his ...

3113. 1 Corinthians 1:10-18

1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

From the very outset, Paul straightforwardly asserts what continues as a major theme throughout his first Corinthian correspondence - his plea for unity of "mind" and "purpose" among some quite combative Christians. Paul has heard disturbing reports about the extent to which bickering and backbiting have begun to threaten the stability of the Corinthian community. Scholars posit that "Chloe's people" (v. 11) refers to a group of Ephesian Christians who had kept in close touch with all that was happening in ...

3114. 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

In 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, Paul continues to offer his view of essential Christian unity amid myriad claims to the exclusivity of certain groups and their ideas. While verses 10-16 dismissed any special claims that Corinthians might make based upon their loyalty to any one individual leader, Paul now turns to the even more insidious divisiveness suggested by those who touted one form of theological knowledge or insight over another. Corinth was an extremely Greek Roman city. Its Greek heritage was long; its ...

3115. 1 Samuel 16:1-13

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

The books of Samuel record some of the most dramatic developments and transitions in the history of Israel. A transitional figure himself, Samuel combines the solid role of judge with the fluid role of seer, eventually growing into arguably the first of the true prophetic figures. The events Samuel finds himself in the midst of are as changeable as his own character. In the face of Israel's greatest threat - the Philistine army - Samuel oversees the establishment of Israel's greatest experiment - the ...

3116. Luke 6:27-38

Luke 6:27-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

In Luke, Jesus goes to the mountains for prayer, reflection, refreshment, rejuvenation. It is while enjoying one of these mountaintop moments that Jesus singled out 12 apostles from among his many disciples. Immediately after this, Jesus leads his newly appointed apostles back down the mountain to "a level place," a place where apostles, disciples and a crowd of eager people stand shoulder to shoulder. The level place accords them all equal footing, just as they are all equally in need of Jesus' message. ...

3117. Genesis 9:8-17

Genesis 9:8-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Having survived the floodwaters of God's righteous wrath, Noah acts as the human representative for a series of covenant renewal rituals. Genesis 8:20-22 establishes the covenant between God and humanity despite any evil thoughts or deeds that human beings may enact in the future. In chapter 9:1-7 God reiterates the role of humans as the gardeners of Eden. The third covenant, the so-called "covenant of the rainbow," is the subject of this week's First Testament text. The text begins with God re-affirming a ...

3118. Isaiah 50:4-9a

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

3119. 1 Samuel 16:1-13

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

3120. 2 Samuel 7:1-17

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

The seventh chapter of 2 Samuel marks the beginning of a new epoch the settled life of the nation Israel. Previous chapters have dealt with David's wars and conquests with seizing the land and defeating the Philistine enemies within her borders. With the entry of the Ark of the Covenant into the city of Jerusalem (chapter 6) a different kind of existence confronts David and his people. Instead of being outsiders and upstarts, they are now suddenly numbered among the established nations of the region. It is ...

3121. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

3122. 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

3123. 2 Timothy 1:1-14

2 Timothy 1:1-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

3124. 1 John 5:9-13

1 John 5:9-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

The lectionary epistle for today presents only a partial reading of a powerful message that 1 John's text puts before us. The lesson formally begins with verse 9, where the text reflects on the difference between the "human testimony" and the "testimony of God." The greatness of God's testimony has been demonstrated to humanity, 1 John proclaims, by the fact that the Divine has "testified to his Son." But to understand just what "testimony" is being talked about here, we must move back a few verses. Verse ...

3125. Mark 5:21-43

Mark 5:21-43

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

The gospel text from Mark this week includes two separate pericopes that are interwoven in a typically Markan manner. This technique, known as "intercalation," is found throughout Mark's gospel. As many as nine of these insertions have been tallied, including 3:19b-35; 4:1-20; 5:21-43; 6:7-29; 11:12-19; 14:1-11; 14:17-31; 14:53-72; 15:40-16:8. Scholars do not fully agree on Mark's motive behind his method. The Markan practice of beginning one story, breaking off from it to introduce a second complete and ...

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