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 3201 to 3225 of 4967 results

3201. What Is the Future of United Methodism?

John 2:12-22

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... offense for clergy. In other words, a pastor could have his/her credentials revoked if the church he served failed to pay the denominational franchise fee. I was curious to note that no similar accountability was discussed concerning the making of disciples which we say is our main mission. III. THERE IS A FUTURE FOR UNITED METHODISTS IF WE RECONNECT THE CONNECTION. The wave of Church systems today is toward independence. The marquees that once announced Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian now read Community ...

3202. The Holy Spirit and You

John 14:15-27

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... us to comfort and convict, to remind and renew, to guide and guard, to sustain and support and to keep us in every way. Come let us take a closer look at what the Holy Spirit can do for you. I. THE HOLY SPIRIT HELPS US. As Jesus prepares his disciples for his departure he makes a promise. “I will not leave you as orphans," says Jesus. In fact, “I will ask the Father and He will give you the ‘Paraclete' to be with you forever." Now a Paraclete is someone who is called in, someone who can be counted on ...

3203. The Power of a Helping Hand

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... opportunity to see good things in their world that for the most part has been broken down. Dr. Olds: Marcus, thank you for leading this congregation in this ministry. I know it’s growing, expanding. You are doing a Chapel service now on Thursdays as well as the Disciple Bible Study and there are other people involved. Thank you for hearing the voice of God and responding to God. If I can help somebody as I travel along, If I can cheer somebody with a word or a song, If I can keep somebody from traveling ...

3204. From Anger to Courage

Mark 11:12-19

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... goes free? No, there's a cross for everyone, and there's a cross for me. When Peter could not fight, he fled – his running led him to denial. When Judas lost control, he betrayed his Lord. His guilt resulted in suicide. When the going got tough, the disciples got going and John alone could be found at the Cross. Where were Jesus' friends when he needed them the most? They were running, hiding, resenting, and hurting. Anger can do that to us. “I just don't want to get involved." “It's not my problem ...

3205. Join

Acts 11:19-26

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... fed the 5,000, the crowd wanted to make him king, but Jesus had a better idea. He told them He was the Bread of Life, and He had no plans to open a bakery chain of free bread in Galilee. From that time, many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him. Myth #2: NO ONE WANTS TO MAKE A COMMITMENT ANYYMORE. We are a society of option tenders. Thirty years ago, a movement started in America developing church for those who “disliked church." Doing careful research they discovered certain people ...

3206. The Joyful Provider

John 2:1-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... I want to know is a RESOURCEFUL JESUS. Here at the wedding, the wine runs out. You know this story. You learned it in Sunday School, in Disciple Bible Study. John is the only one who bothers to tell it. It's a strange sort of miracle of Jesus; it's not a tragedy ... Lenten season and if you read far enough over in the 14th chapter you'll run into a phrase that Jesus says to his troubled disciples on the eve of his departure. He says Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you, not as the world gives give I ...

3207. The Loving Friend

John 4:1-15

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... route from Judea to Galilee is through Samaria, Jews never traveled that way. They took the long route across the Jordan River and then north through Jordan and then crossed back over into the area of Galilee where the fishing is good and the grass is green. So the disciples had to drop their faces and jaws and lips and wonder “What are you saying Jesus? I have to go through Samaria?" So why did Jesus have to go through Samaria? Well, you figure it out. I'm not sure I've got the answer. But as the story ...

3208. The Gentle Healer

John 9:1-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... Healer of which Michael Card speaks is the Jesus I want to know. The 9th Chapter of John is a kind of showdown for Jesus. He heals a blind man and encounters the wrath of the powers that be. Come, let's listen in on this drama involving the disciples, an unnamed blind man, Jesus, the community, the parents, and the religious authorities of the day. A BLIND MAN SEES. One who has never seen the light of day, the colors of trees, the face of a friend, is treated by Jesus with mud pies which when washed off ...

3209. The Resurrection and Life

John 11:32-44

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... deafening. The most troubling part of this story is that Jesus waited. Is God ever late? In the light of eternity, no, in the depths of our grief, often. II. JESUS WENT. Jesus is the one who goes. Verse 7 says that He said to His disciples, “Let us go to him," but the disciples resist, saying to Him that you are dead meat back there. They tried to stone You the last time You were there and yet, You are going back? Army Captain David Roselle lost his right foot when the Humvee in which he was riding hit an ...

3210. The Humble King

John 12:12-19

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... about Christianity is that no one could have guessed it." Our Messiah is born in a stable. We let our King ride in majesty on a donkey. We hang our Savior on a cross. How odd of God. Who can imagine it? A horrible week in the life of His disciples becomes a holy week in the life of His followers. Who can comprehend it? Even Palm Sunday, a simple parade becomes a paradox. Those who crown Him King will soon call for His crucifixion, for God can never be put in a box. The Jesus I want to know is ...

3211. Work, For the Night Is Coming

John 9:1-5

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... Gomorrah. At last we got what we deserved. Some atheists, who refuse to believe in God at all, will cite the suffering of people as an excuse for unbelief. Some people say God is to blame. What will Jesus say? Jesus said in reply to the disciples, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned." Waiting on tiptoes for someone to blame, we hear silence instead. Not one theological explanation of why anybody suffers. Who's to blame? Without saying a word, Jesus answers, “No one." When Job of old asks the God of ...

3212. You Can't Stay on the Mountain Forever

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... whom I am well pleased.” So this was God’s doings God’s powerful witness of the divinity of Jesus, and the fact that God had sent his own son to save us. “One cannot believe the Bible and doubt the deity of Jesus. Matthew says that when the disciples heard the voice they fell on their faces and were sore afraid, and that Jesus came and touched them and told them to get up and be not afraid, All agree in practically identical words that when they lifted up their eyes they saw Jesus only. Here is the ...

3213. The Way and The Truth and The Life

John 14:1-14

Sermon

Lee Griess

... . We see love reaching out a hand of care. We see love healing the leper, accepting the outcast, rebuking the hate-filled. We see love restoring the fallen, welcoming the prodigal, freeing the captive, and giving new life to all. Remember what Jesus said to the disciples of John the Baptist when they came to him asking if he was the Messiah, sent by God? In Matthew the eleventh chapter, Jesus says, "Go tell John what you see and hear: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are ...

3214. Political Pardon

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... how the forgiven debtor treats the man who owes him a little. These people also report the man's actions to the king who had originally laid aside the huge obligation that could never have been paid. In telling this part of the story, Jesus reminds his disciples and us that the goal of any spiritual formation in our lives is not merely to make us feel good, or to give us a sense of accomplishment. This is quite important, since it was Peter's question that sparked the teaching in the first place. Peter ...

3215. The Victory Is Ours

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... I feel all the closer to God for it."1 Today we give thanks to God for those special people in our lives and the lessons they have taught us. We know from our own experience that it is not always easy to live out our faith as modern-day disciples of Jesus Christ. We try our best to obey Jesus' commands of loving God and neighbor while paying attention to "the least of these who are members of my family." There is a cost to our discipleship. If we have not ruffled some feathers now and then, perhaps we were ...

3216. Easter 7

Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35, John 17:1-11, Acts 1:6-14, 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

... given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.” All: Before time began, your love brought all things into being and all things were created for your glory. Leader: Again, after supper, he took the cup and giving thanks to you he gave it to his disciples, saying: “Take and drink. This cup is the new covenant in my blood, poured out for you and for all people, for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.” All: Before time began, your love brought all things into being and all things ...

3217. Playing the Blame Game

John 9:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... no one being at fault]?” Then she added, “Whoa, bummer!” (1) Well, it is a bummer. Bad things can happen at any time to anyone and sometimes there’s no one to blame. In today’s lesson from John’s Gospel, Jesus’ disciples encounter a man blind from birth. The disciples ask Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” There it is, that question: who is to blame for this man’s misfortune? Somehow if we can just affix blame, we think it will make the situation ...

3218. The Lenten License to Steal, Drink, Lie and Swear

Romans 4:1-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... self-concern. Deny our need to control our destiny. Deny the self-motivated directionality of our lives and instead “believe God.” It is time to find faith, have trust, and believe God. This Lent can we dare to become, like Abraham, a “believe God” disciple and faithfully follow Jesus all the way to Jerusalem? Too many Christians believe in God, but they cannot hand over the controller. No wonder the Wii and Xbox 360 Kinect’s gaming systems are so popular. YOU are the controller. Your moves, your ...

3219. When to Take the Shirt off Your Back

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , not meterological reasons. As Jesus prepared to enter into Jerusalem proper, he intentionally “changes things up.” The Galilean ministry is at an end. The time for keeping a low profile is over. It is a new messianic moment. Jesus had announced to his disciples the fate that awaited “the Son of Man” once he entered into the city of Jerusalem. As Jesus crossed into Jerusalem the Calvary cross already stood before him. He chooses to embody the image of the humble king, the meek Messiah, riding on a ...

3220. The Meals-on-Wheels Temple

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... becomes a “spiritual house,” and all its members become participants in a new “holy priesthood.” Almost two thousand years before Harry Truman, Jesus declared, “the buck stops here” to all who would follow him. Jesus took everything — his self-centered, competitive disciples; the failure of the Temple-based faith; the sins of the entire world -upon himself. And he took that weight onto the cross. As followers of Jesus, we are to take on . . . not the sins of the world, but a commitment to ...

3221. Unity Isn’t Easy

John 17:1-11

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

... ; Well, that's another story! Unity isn't easy. But Jesus not only prayed for it, He modeled it for us. Remember when the disciples came to Him complaining about the people who were preaching and doing signs and wonders in Jesus' name but weren't part of the crowd of disciples? They were ready to run them out of town or call down lightning upon their heads. Jesus told the disciples not to stop them and said, "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit." Christian unity is not determined by whether we agree with each ...

3222. Those Kissing Christians

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... is about kissology. It is about kissmetrics: the ability and facility of the Body of Christ to offer the “first kiss” of salvation to a world that is desperately in need of divine embrace: the touch of love, the touch of faith, the touch of hope. As disciples of Christ we have the calling and capability to offer a “first kiss” to everyone we meet. But first we have to be willing to pucker up! First we have to risk being rebuked and rebuffed. First we have to handle sometimes being slapped down and ...

3223. Finger Food

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the food on your plate will be the focus of the meal. “Formal” dinners are all about “form,” not about food. What is that word — “presentation?” Jesus was definitely into finger food. Every meal Jesus hosted was a hands-on affair. Whether he and his disciples were breaking off the heads of wheat to munch on as they traveled the countryside, or when he was sharing a jug full of water with the woman at the well, Jesus took no notice of formal dining rules. The wheat-plucking took place on the ...

3224. A Whole City at The Door

Mark 1:29-39

Sermon

Robert J. Elder

... of God" (Mark 1:14). That is the very first thing said of Jesus' ministry in the gospel: that "he came proclaiming the good news of God." This is the clue that helps us understand why, when the mobs were beating a path to his door, and the disciples came to find him so he could continue in his high-growth ministry opportunity, that he did not choose the "do-good" definition of ministry, that he chose instead to move on to neighboring towns so that, as he said, "I may proclaim the message there also; for ...

3225. Silence and Darkness

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

John Smylie

... , preferably in the dark. Thirteen candles are placed upon the altar or a table. The candle in the center represents our Lord, the other twelve candles preferably in non-matching candlesticks, with different heights and different colors, represent the twelve disciples. The service begins with a few prayers acknowledging and welcoming the presence of our Lord. The service includes four readings. The first describes the betrayal of Judas. After the reading is concluded a few moments of silence are kept and ...

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