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 3276 to 3300 of 4967 results

3276. Ring Those Bells

1 Peter 3:8-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the facts of hate with the faith of love. Every day you live, outface the facts of despair with the faith of hope. This morning’s epistle lesson instructs us to be “prepared” to “give reason for the hope that is in you.” The assumption is that disciples of Jesus are known as those who have hope…Big Hope. That’s a BIG ASSUMPTION. There is a song entitled “The Seven Last Days.” The song tells of God getting sick and tired of the human species, and taking back, one-by-one, what God had ...

3277. You Have a Friend (Memorial Day)

John 14:15-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” Jesus is preparing his disciples for his absence. He says, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate . . .” That is the New International Version translation, “another advocate” like someone who stands beside you in a court of law. The original Greek is allon parakleton. The King James ...

3278. Envision: A Church After God’s Heart

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

James Merritt

... of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” (Matthew 28:18-20, NASB) A disciple is just another word for “Christ follower.” Jesus made it very plain that followers of Christ are to help others to become followers of Christ. There is a reason for that. Do you know what God cares about more than anything else in this world? People. God cares ...

3279. When “Vocation” and “Vacation” Are One

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... us who are “masters of macaroni,” or Kings/Queens of casseroles, recognize that sometimes what we have in the pantry is just not going to be enough. It is a dreadful place to stand. Jesus stood before a crowd of 5000 and declared to his disciples that five cheap loaves of bread and two stinky little fish would do. He had no qualms, no doubts. His private prayer “vacation” was taken over completely by his life’s “vocation.” And as Jesus prayed over those paltry offerings of fish and bread, his ...

3280. The Journey Begins

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... around missing persons. Every person far from God is a missing person to God. There is an Amber Alert on every empty chair in this Worship Center. Jesus spent the three most important years of His life doing two simple things: Finding missing persons Making committed disciples Of all the things He could have done (write books, make money, start a business, go to school) He gave His life to those two things. He wants you to give your life to those two things. Key Take Away: When you make the purpose of ...

3281. For the Hearing Impaired

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

James Merritt

... first command that Jesus ever gave to anyone was to be a finder of missing persons or the way He put it to His first disciples was “to be a fisher of men.” The common term for that is evangelism. The truth is for the vast majority of us, who ... things worse, and you feel like it would be better not to try than to try and fail) then, there is a story that Jesus told His disciples that you need to hear. It puts this whole matter of missing persons and what your role is and what their role is and what God’s ...

3282. While It Was Still Dark

John 20:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... body. Isn’t that interesting? Her first thought had not been that he had risen. This thought seems never to have occurred to her. I mean, dead people don’t rise from their graves, do they? John tells us, “She came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!’” Can you hear the panic in her voice? Remember when the airliner was shot down in the Eastern part of Ukraine last year ...

3283. I'll Never Forget That Night

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14 Don’t forget! Every year’s rehearsal of the Israel’s ancient exodus from Egypt is a re-presentation of the seminal event that determined her identity. Tonight, as we share the intimacy of Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples, it is important to recall what they, as deeply religious Jews, were thinking and feeling and experiencing. Passover was one of the highlights of the social and liturgical year, a time to gather with family and friends, and to draw all again into the drama ...

3284. Is the Doctor in Today?

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

King Duncan

... Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” They laugh at him. This is surely a case of “whoever laughs last, laughs best.” After Jesus puts them all out of the house, he takes the child’s father and mother and the three disciples who are with him, and goes into the child’s room. He takes her by the hand and says to her, “Talitha koum!” which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” Immediately the girl stands up and begins to walk around. At this, her parents ...

3285. A Cry in the Dark

Luke 21:25-36

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... there hope and is there God? With David (Psalm 43:3), we shout, "Send out your light and your truth!" Don't leave me alone. Give me some sign. Light a candle in the window and take me home. Advent reminds us of the power in Jesus' words to his disciples. God never denies us the light we need. As Joyce Kilmer wrote: Because the road was steep and long, and through a dark and lonely land, God set upon my lips a song and put a lantern in my hand. — Albert Joyce Kilmer, "Love's Lantern" (public domain) Still ...

3286. Sunday's Here

John 20:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... to his tomb on that first Easter Sunday morning. She is unprepared for what she finds there. The stone that had sealed Christ’s tomb has been removed. His body is gone. Not knowing what else to do Mary runs to find two of Jesus’ closest disciples, Simon Peter and John, and says to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” Perhaps, they thought, grave robbers had stolen Jesus body, or the Roman authorities, or some misguided religious zealots. Who ...

3287. Ingredients of Good Government

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... about the ingredients of good government. His answer: “Sufficient food, sufficient weapons, and the confidence of the common people.” “But,” asked the disciple, “suppose you had no choice but to dispense with one of those three, which would you forego?” “Weapons,” said Confucius. His disciple persisted: “Suppose you were then forced to dispense with one of the two that are left, which would you forego?” Replied Confucius, “Food. For from of old, hunger has been the lot of all men ...

3288. Jesus Taken Up into Heaven

Acts 1:1-11

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... we are here given notice that in the story that is about to unfold the Spirit plays a key role. The Spirit is mentioned four times in this chapter alone (vv. 2, 5, 8, 16). 1:3 For forty days after his death, Jesus showed himself to his disciples. The Greek is literally, “through forty days,” which appears to mean, not that he was with them continuously, but that he appeared from time to time during that period. Forty was often used as a round number, but in this instance it seems to refer to the actual ...

3289. Peter Addresses the Crowd

Acts 2:14-41

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... working of miracles. It was his set purpose that Jesus should die. When Jesus himself had first broached this subject with the disciples, they met it with revulsion (Mark 8:31f.). To them it was unthinkable that the Messiah should die. But with new insight (see ... 10), miracles took place (4:30), demons were exorcised (19:13), sins forgiven (10:43). Salvation was dependent on his name (4:12); the disciples taught and preached in his name (4:17f.; 5:28, 40; 8:12; 9:15, 27, 29). People called upon his name (2: ...

3290. Saul’s Conversion

Acts 9:1-19a

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... his early life in Tarsus (see disc. on 22:3), but from the years that he spent there later (see disc. on 9:30). His own trade of tent making was an important Cilician industry (cf. 18:3). 9:13–14 Ananias is introduced into the narrative simply as a “disciple.” He was a Jewish Christian with a strong attachment to the law and held in high regard by the Jews of Damascus (see disc. on 22:12). He may have been the Christian leader. News had reached him of all the harm done by Paul in Jerusalem, and now ...

3291. Aeneas and Dorcas

Acts 9:32-43

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... used) in both Lydda and Sharon turned to the Lord [Jesus]. The Plain of Sharon stretched from Carmel to the south of Joppa, but the reference here will only be to that part of the plain in the vicinity of Lydda. 9:36–38 Meanwhile, in Joppa, a disciple named Tabitha … became sick and died (vv. 36, 37). Like Aeneas, she had a Greek name too (cf. v. 33; see disc. on 12:12), Dorcas, meaning, like Tabitha, “a deer.” Luke describes her as “full of good works and acts of mercy” (v. 36), where the sense ...

3292. On to Jerusalem

Acts 21:1-16

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... Caesarean Christians accompanied them as far as the house of Mnason (v. 16; see disc. on 9:6ff. and 15:3). This man was a Cypriot with a name common among Greeks, though we cannot doubt that he was a Jew, for he is described as one of the early disciples (v. 16)—the phrase almost has the sense of “a charter member”—which may take his conversion back to the Pentecost of chapter 2. The same expression is used by Peter in 11:15 with reference to that event (cf. also 15:7). Mnason appears to have been a ...

3293. Paul Speaks to the Crowd

Acts 21:37--22:21

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... complementary with respect to both the details they give of Paul’s life and their theological thrust. The latter is most evident in the two accounts of Paul’s conversion (22:6–16; 26:12–23). Acts 22:6–16 makes the point that Paul, alone of all the disciples, had seen the Christ exalted in glory (vv. 11, 14) and that the glorified Christ had spoken in a way that only he had understood (v. 9). The setting of Acts 26:12–23 is, on the other hand, “that of an inaugural vision, such as the prophets ...

3294. Paul's Charge to Timothy

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... . on 1 Tim. 2:2) in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. That is, those who want to live … in Christ Jesus (live a truly Christian life), and do so with true eusebeia (“godliness,” as opposed to the asebeia, “ungodliness,” of the false teachers), must expect as disciples to experience in some measure what Christ did. Jesus himself called for such discipleship (Mark 8:34; Matt. 5:11–12), as did Paul (1 Thess. 3:4; 2 Cor. 12:9–10; Rom. 8:17; Phil. 1:29). It is otherwise with the false teachers. Not ...

3295. Concluding Exhortations

Hebrews 13:1-25

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... he is sending to them, though it seems lengthy and difficult. 13:23 The readers are now informed (I want you to know is lit., “know”) about the release of our brother Timothy. It is probable, though not absolutely certain, that this Timothy is the disciple of Paul whom we know of elsewhere in the NT. In any event, he is apparently well known and beloved to the readers. It is also probable, but again not absolutely certain, that the message about Timothy is that he has been released “from prison ...

3296. Suffering for Being a Christian

1 Peter 4:12-19

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... of God’s people to overflowing when they greet Christ on his triumphant return in glory (1:6). 4:14 One form of suffering may be verbal abuse hurled at them because they are associated with the name of Christ: “they belong to that evil gang!” Jesus forewarned the disciples of this type of persecution (Matt. 5:11; John 15:2), and it came to pass from the earliest days (Acts 5:41; 9:16; 21:13; James 5:10; 3 John 7; Rev. 2:3). The proverb may claim that “Hard words break no bones,” but something more ...

3297. Making One's Calling and Election Sure

2 Peter 1:1-11

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... purpose in writing: to warn his readers against apostasizing on account of a moral libertinism which amounts to turning away from this true knowledge of Christ (2:2). Additional Notes 1:1 Simon Peter: See Additional Note on 1 Pet. 1:1; also Cullmann, Peter: Disciple—Apostle—Martyr, pp. 17–21. Other NT characters with the Hebraized name Symeon (as in the Greek here) are mentioned in Luke 2:25, 34; Acts 13:1; Rev. 7:7). Peter’s self-description as a servant (doulos) and apostle (apostolos) recalls the ...

3298. Israel Punished and Restored

Hosea 2:2-23

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... Mark 2:18–22). And yet it will gather up all of the promises of God in the old covenant and bring them to fulfillment. The interpreter needs to be aware, then, that when Jesus sat at table with his disciples on the night in which he was betrayed, he took the cup after supper and gave it to his disciples, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. . . . For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Cor. 11:25–26). With that act, our God ...

3299. Punishment for Israel

Hosea 9:1--10:15

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... –4 by describing Israel’s situation after its conquest and exile by Assyria. But the way Egypt is used here is very different from the way it is used in 9:3, and this is a brief oracle that has been attached to verses 1–4 by the disciple-redactor of Hosea. The picture that the prophet paints of the northern land after its fall to Assyria is bleak. Nothing is left there but briers growing over Israel’s abandoned idols of silver (cf. 8:4), and the tents of its pilgrims to its religious festivals stand ...

3300. Warning Against Antichrists

1 John 2:18-27

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

... cast doubt upon your spiritual experience. You are the only living expert on your relationship with the Spirit of Jesus. No one else knows your heart.” In the light of all this, the author urges his readers to remain in him, just as Jesus commanded his disciples in John 15:1–10. This is, above all, what the Holy Spirit, the anointing, has taught: do not be led astray but remain loyal to Jesus, the true Christ (v. 22), and to the community of those who, like the Elder, have resisted the secession of ...

Showing results