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 3376 to 3400 of 4968 results

3376. Who Is This Man?

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” “You are the Messiah,” said Simon Peter, “the Son of the living God.” The question that confronts you and me today is the same one that confronted those early disciples. Who do you say Jesus Christ is? Opinions vary. For some people he is an example of the best of what it means to be human. He’s the ideal person for us to emulate. He is the model for what we all should be. Haddon Robinson, in his ...

3377. His Final Words

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

King Duncan

... a member of the house of David. He was son of the late Joseph, a carpenter of Nazareth, and Mary, his devoted mother. Jesus was born in a stable in the city of Bethlehem, Judea. He is survived by his mother Mary, his faithful Apostles, numerous disciples, and many followers. Jesus was self-educated and spent [at least three years] of his adult life working as a teacher. Jesus occasionally worked as a medical doctor and it is reported that he healed many patients. Until the time of his death, he was sharing ...

3378. Have You Ever Screwed Up?

John 20:1-18

Sermon

John Jamison

... tomb was opened, and the body was gone. Not only had they taken away the hope she’d nurtured during the last three years, but now someone had taken away the chance for the one final act of love she had to offer. She ran back to Peter and another disciple with him, telling them what had happened. We can see the footrace that followed as the three of them all ran to the tomb. Peter was the last to get there, perhaps because he had already given up the hope needed for a good, fast run. Over the next few ...

3379. Tangled Up in the Vines

John 15:1-8

Sermon

John Jamison

... either going to say something profoundly kind and loving, or something that is so brutal and harsh that it will end up dividing and destroying families and nations even today. Jesus says, “I am the true vine” (v. 1). Think of what goes through the disciples’ minds immediately. For generations of vine stories, the vine has represented the true way, the true vision for what the people of Israel were meant to be. The vine has been God’s way. Jesus then began talking about pruning the vineyard, and this ...

3380. Such a Little Thing

Mark 4:26-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... fed the 5,000. He said that most of the people going even on a short excursion would carry a small amount of food with them just in case they were delayed. This crowd stayed around for hours listening to Jesus teach. They were hungry. There was no way the disciples thought there could be enough food to feed such a mob. But there was a lad who had with him five small barley loaves and two small fish. It might have been a lunch his mother handed him to take with him when he began his journey. It was just ...

3381. Gouge-Your-Eye-Out Sunday

Mark 9:38-50

Sermon

Rick McCracken-Bennett

... comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sister, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26). Certainly Jesus knew that there was quite enough hatred in the world already and did not intend for his followers to ... man to sell everything he has and give it to the poor if he wanted to have treasure in heaven, or when he told his disciples regarding this man, that it is hard for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God. Jesus was trying to make a ...

3382. Jesus: The Original Superhero?

John 18:33-37

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... came to be. Not a Superman king, but a Spirit-filled king. Not a success-seeking king, but a servant king. Not a power-hungry king, but a king who would use his power to bring good news and healing and freedom. For the most part, Jesus' disciples didn't get it -- at least not until after his death, resurrection, and ascension. But once they understood -- once they too received the power of the Holy Spirit -- they were transformed, and they went on to change the world! When we catch a glimpse of that kingdom ...

3383. I Am the True Vine

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Brett Blair

... the vineyard. He waters and tends the soil, so that the vine is properly nourished. He takes pride in his crop. But this means that he also prunes the vines and removes the dead wood. The grapes hang on to the branches. What Jesus is saying is clear. The disciples should receive their strength from Jesus. He is the true vine. If they break away from him, they will be like unproductive branches and die and bear no fruit. They then will have to be pruned out. What can we make of this analogy in terms of our ...

3384. A Word to the Wealthy

Mark 10:17-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... a fool because he had not laid up treasure in heaven. In another story he describes a man who woke up one day in hell because the man had great wealth and he ignored the needs of a beggar who lay at his gates. On another occasion Jesus told his disciples not to be anxious about what they should eat, or what they should drink, or what they should put on. We are not to worry about these. We are to trust in God, not in our bank account. Jesus warned time and time again about reliance on money. Notice, he ...

3385. Flying High

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... statement that we should “never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed individuals can change the world, indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” (6) If you are going to set out to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth as Jesus called his disciples to do, you’ve got to be committed to flying higher than the common, contented duck is ever going to fly. Jesus said to James and John, “You don’t know what you are asking. Are you able to drink from the cup that I drink, or to be ...

3386. A Difficult but Joyous Journey

Luke 1:39-55

Sermon

King Duncan

... . John writes in his Gospel, “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, ‘Woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.” (John 19: 25-27) Doubtless Mary would gladly have taken her son’s place on the cross of Calvary just as he took ours. Life took some ...

3387. The Reception was Excellent

John 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... You know the story well. “On the third day,” says John in his Gospel, a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. The third day John refers to is the third day after Jesus had left Judea. It was a two-day walk to Galilee, and so he and his disciples would have arrived on the morning of the third day. Cana was a very small village, about 3.5 miles from Jesus’ home in Nazareth. It would not be surprising if Jesus’ family had some close friends in Cana, maybe even some family members. This is borne out by ...

3388. What Gets Into Us?

John 18:1--19:42

Sermon

King Duncan

... , active in her community and church, risks the love of her husband and the respect of her friends by becoming involved in a cheap and tawdry affair--and we ask why? What is it that gets into people? The betrayal of Jesus by Judas posed a real problem for the disciples. How could the Messiah be put to death? It must have been in the plan of God. Was Judas merely a puppet, chosen for this tragic assignment? If he was, that would be contrary to what the rest of the Bible says about the nature of man. So, what ...

3389. Who Is a Missionary?

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... who a missionary is or should be, I recommend A Hitchhiker's Guide to Missions by Ada Lum (InterVarsity Press, 1984). Lum gives some helpful definitions and analysis of just what the missionary enterprise is all about. "A missionary is a prepared disciple whom God sends into the world with His resources to make disciples for His kingdom." She suggests six biblical images: 1. A Witness—Acts 1:8; Isaiah 43:10-12 2. An Evangelist—Luke 2:10-11; Acts 11:19-21 3. A Pioneer—Hebrews 12:2; Acts 20:22-24 4. A ...

3390. A Prayer to a Good, Good Father

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... straight, weighed in before the dad could answer. “You don’t think we want stale bread, do you?” he said. (5) For those of us who love warm, fresh bread, I believe that young man is on to something. What I believe Jesus was saying to his disciples was that we should pray that our daily needs are met. That is a reminder of our dependence on God. Of course, most of us have difficulty distinguishing between our daily wants and our daily needs, but that’s another sermon. Praying that our daily needs be ...

3391. Use Your Head as Well as Your Heart

Luke 14:25-33

Sermon

King Duncan

... .” Wow! That will clear the room in a hurry. Give up everything? How many of us really want to take this religion business that far? Yet that is the demand Christ makes of every one of us if we would be his disciple. There is a line that we desperately need to cross, and that is the line that separates those who follow Jesus from those who do not. Once we cross that line, something special is expected out of us, and that is that we dedicate everything we are and everything we ...

3392. Preparing the Way

Matthew 11:2-11

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... getting ready for the arrival of the Messiah. To help us in our preparation, Saint Matthew tells us a story about John the Baptist. In this morning’s reading, John had been arrested and was being held in jail at Herod’s desert fortress of Machaerus. John’s disciples had been visiting him in prison and one of the topics they talked with him about was the ministry of Jesus. John sent them back out with a question for Jesus: “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” This was ...

3393. Clearing the Eyes

John 9:1-12, John 9:13-34, John 9:35-41

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

... Sabbath... a heresy never to be violated for it would anger God. Jesus was challenging that perception and making it clear that the only violation of God comes from those who do not heal when they have the chance to do so. There was challenging of authority. The disciples knew Moses, they taught Moses, they knew sin when they saw it. Jesus said he came so that those who were blind would see and those who think they see will become blind. Folks, the sunglasses of our own views must be taken off if we are to ...

3394. Friday

John 18:1-11

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

... rabbi was dead... gone forever. We do incredible injustice to Jesus in our jump to Easter Sunday while Jesus’ body is still warm in the tomb. [1] Listen closely, and you will hear echoes of the night before in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus was questioning the disciples, “Can you not stay awake? Can you not wait for just an hour?” Jesus’ words rebuke us now but for a different context. “Can you not wait to celebrate? Can you not wait and grieve for me as you would one of your own? As mine grieved ...

3395. Shockwaves of Joy

Matthew 28:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... Way, the Truth and the Life was now dead and in the grave. And then they saw the angel waiting for them. Notice what the angel says, “He is not here, he is risen, just as he said. Come see for yourself. Then go quickly and tell the disciples that he’s already headed for Galilee.” And as the women hurried out from the tomb, Jesus appeared to them in the flesh. Jesus, whose bloody, tortured body they had prepared for burial, was standing before them alive. “Do not be afraid,” he said. “Go and tell ...

3396. The Death of John the Baptist

Matthew 14:1-12, Mark 6:14-29, Luke 9:1-9

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb. The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were ...

3397. The Good Catch

Matthew 17:24-27

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... that bears His name! Today, I invite you to come forward and to renew your baptism. Come, be blessed, splash some water from the basin up front onto your face and hands. And pray with me: “Lord, you have made me free in Jesus. Make me your disciple also here on earth. Bless this faith community. Imperfect as it is, we are the “body” of Christ. And I pledge my life to you in worship, ministry, and love. Amen. Based on the Story Lectionary Major Text Matthew the Tax Collector’s Witness to Peter’s ...

3398. Lay It All Down

Mark 11:1-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... down all of their prayers, their hopes, and their faith at his feet as the one to restore Israel’s future. But Jesus was up to so much more than that, so much more than they could ever imagine possible. He had tried to tell his followers and disciples about what was to come. They were too inspired to hear it. It sounded too strange, too incredulous, too out of the box, too fantastical to understand and take in. They wouldn’t understand until much, much later. But they did understand this. He was the one ...

3399. The Sign of the Servant

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... to me, all you who are fed up with systems and hierarchies and people who don’t really care about you. My way is easy. I will give you rest. Follow Me! What do you get when you cross a person weary of the world’s burdens with Jesus? A disciple of course! So . . . There you go! *The Jewish Virtual Library. Article by Shira Shoenberg Based on the Story Lectionary Major Text Jesus Invites Us to Take On His Yoke (His Way of Living the Shema) (Matthew 11) Minor Text The Curse of Cain (Genesis 4) The Error of ...

3400. Masks Off!

John 7:25-45 and 8:11-59

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” Even as he spoke, many believed in him. To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is ...

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