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

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326. What Will We Do When He Is Gone?

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... mood in that upper room was, to say the least, somber. Those closest followers of Jesus were filled with a profound sense of impending loss. Each person must have wondered “Oh, Jesus, how are we going to get along without you?” In the synoptic gospels, Thursday evening’s meal is central to the narrative. Matthew, Mark, and Luke remember that Jesus used the bread and wine at the last supper to institute what is variously called the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist, Holy Communion. “This (bread) is my ...

327. From His Arrest to His Crucifixion and Burial

John 18:1--19:42

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... was choreographing the events leading to his death. For instance, John insisted that Jesus needed no help to carry his cross. Unlike the other gospels, in John, Simon of Cyrene is not pressed to assist. Jesus carries his own cross. He was in control. In the synoptic gospels, Jesus prayed that this cup would pass from him. To state that differently, he prayed: “Lord, if it is all the same to you, I would just as soon not suffer and die under these circumstances.” In John, Jesus did not even consider the ...

328. Preparing the Way

Matthew 11:2-11

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... can remove the fear and anxiety that makes us deaf to the things we don’t like to hear. There are only three accounts in the gospels of Jesus raising someone from the dead. (The story of Lazarus appears only in John’s gospel, not in the synoptics.) The other story is that of Jairus’s daughter whom Jesus says is not dead, but “just sleeping.” So it’s not unreasonable to assume that when Jesus says, “the dead are raised” he may be talking not literally but spiritually. Those who live as though ...

329. The Mustard and the Cedar

Ezekiel 17:1-24, Matthew 13:31-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... one in its place, and voila! Shock! Confusion! A shaking up of reality, and a shifting of truth! One of those times Jesus does this is with the parable of the “mustard seed,” a tiny but mighty parable (of course!) appearing in all three synoptic gospels. In the parable, Jesus introduces a mustard seed, the tiniest of seeds, but when planted in the field, becomes the mightiest and a tree sturdy and wide enough to house birds perching in its branches. This line alone would have taken people immediately ...

330. A Dirt Story

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... , give me the opportunity to explain. Jesus was a keen observer of the world around him. His observations resulted in many of the parables that he told. That is certainly true in today’s parable. It is a simple parable yet it appears in all three synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark and Luke—which suggests that it is something to which we ought to pay attention. Listen to Jesus’ words: “A farmer went forth to sow. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it ...

331. Driven to Their Knees

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... , said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (Mark speculates that Peter did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) All three of the Synoptic Gospels record Peter’s words—which pretty well authenticates that he said them. Have you ever been so afraid that all you could do was babble? People react in different ways to fear. Some become quite talkative, others morosely silent. Fear brings out the best in ...

332. The Cost of Discipleship

Philippians 2:5-11

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... with the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, before we can reach the greatest event of our salvation, we must walk the road with Jesus that begins today with his triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem. From the perspective of the synoptic evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, this is the one and only time that Jesus comes to Jerusalem, and he does so for the sole purpose of sacrificing his life so that humanity, God’s greatest creation, could have the possibility of eternal life ...

333. Meeting Jesus

John 3:1-17

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... was not destroyed because of the faithfulness of the cult members. Fringe members, on the other hand, were more likely to shrug it off, admit they were wrong and “put it down to experience.” http://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html 2. He is not mentioned at all in the synoptic gospels.

334. How Did I Get That Job?

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

Dave Zuchelli

... things to say about it. You’ve undoubtedly heard Jesus’ saying, “It is much harder for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle” (Mark 10:25). That statement is found in all three of the synoptic gospels, so it must be somewhat important for us to understand. He also said, “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort” (Luke 6:24). I really don’t like the sounds of that. It more than implies we already have our ...

335. Bent Out of Shape

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... and labors, bondage and burdens. She has been set free on the very day that God declared “freedom” from toil, worry, and fret. As Jesus had told his opponents formerly, “the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.” All of the synoptic gospels drive home this quote more than once, for Jesus is adamant, the Sabbath was not intended to burden people but to ease their burden. Whether the man with a withered hand or this woman bent and disabled, Jesus restores their ability to function as ...

336. Advocating For Whom?

John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

Sermon

David Coffin

... of wine and Jesus told his mother, “My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4 RSV). Throughout the gospel of John, Jesus had planned for his hour. This would result in him almost turning himself in to those who arrest him in John 18:5-6. Unlike the synoptic gospels, Jesus planned and prepared for his hour to come. He was then lifted up on the cross. Along with his time of death, it was and is also his time of glory. Today, on Pentecost Sunday, we are invited to consider when our “hour” will come for us ...

337. Kingdom Mystery

Mark 4:26-34

Sermon

David Coffin

... the gospel, beside the Mark 13 apocalyptic discourse. The theme is how the kingdom of God arrived and works to transform the world even now. The assumption is that this is God’s world, which God created and continues to create. Mark is the first synoptic gospel to be written, usually dated around 65-70 CE. Later gospel writers Matthew and Luke used portions of Mark’s gospel along with a separate unidentified source known as “Q.” Mark wrote to a persecuted community of faith who were under the heavy ...

338. Prophet Without Honor

Mark 6:1-13

Sermon

David Coffin

... the major manufacturer in town. Welcome to the world of Jesus in our Mark 6 lesson today. The story of Jesus being rejected in his home town of Nazareth is also cited in Matthew 13 and Luke 4. This means it was well known by all of the synoptic gospel writers. In Luke’s gospel, the home town crowd expects some special consideration in terms of more ministry, miracles and feeding since he was the son of the community. In Luke, Jesus refused to limit his ministry to his place of birth, but saw himself as a ...

339. The Loaves

John 6:1-21

Sermon

David Coffin

... to test his disciples by asking, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” John 6:5 (RSV). John was unique to other gospels in that he featured the disciples Andrew and Philip in his stories, rather than Peter, James, and John in the synoptic gospels. Lesser known names do have a place in the kingdom in John’s gospel. There was an unnamed boy with five loaves of barley bread and two fish. Jesus took his offering. He had the disciples seat the people in groups of fifty. Jesus then parted ...

340. Belonging at the Table

John 6:51-58

Sermon

David Coffin

... desirable situation. While Moses delivered the people from the Egyptian Pharaoh, Jesus in John had something far more comprehensive in mind. In John, when Jesus died on the cross for the sins of humanity, it is on the exact Passover day. The synoptic gospels place the last supper on Passover day, whereas John placed Jesus’ crucifixion on that same day. Jesus is the final Passover Lamb that was used to deliver people from political bondage. However, Jesus’ sacrifice was intended to deliver humanity from ...

341. When the Rules Change

7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Sermon

David Coffin

... good news while realizing the rules change in life and he is keeping it real. Amen. 1. John R. Donahue, S.J., and Daniel J. Harrington, Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of Mark, (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2002). 2. Bruce J. Malina, and Richard Rohrbaugh, Social Science Commentary: On the Synoptic Gospels, (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 2003) 373. 3. Katharine Doob, Sakenfeld, Editor, The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Volume 2, (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2007).

342. Never Satisfied

John 14:8-17, (25-27)

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... the Father.” Do you want to know God? Know Jesus. Know Jesus, know God. And according to our Christian tradition, there are two ways to get to know Jesus. One is through the New Testament, especially the gospels. It is in the words of the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and the spiritual gospel, John, that we find and become acquainted with Jesus. It is in those books that we see his miracles, hear his teachings and his commandments, and watch his example. It is in that seeing, that hearing ...

343. Strength for The Journey

John 16:12-15

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... at it. The son part of the Trinity was no more difficult to figure out than the Father part. The Son is Jesus, right? And where do we find Jesus? Why, in the gospels, of course. You want to know the second person of the Trinity, read the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and then read the spiritual gospel, John. That will give you a pretty good understanding of just who Jesus was. If you are willing to spend the time and energy, you can develop a close, personal relationship with him. But the Holy ...

344. As a Fire Exists by Burning

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... her berry dumplings and pronounced them delicious. But, you ask, what does that have to do with today’s lesson from Luke’s gospel? Company’s Comin’ There are some New Testament scholars who insist that we can’t possibly understand the full meaning of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) unless we study them in the context of the first Jewish War that took place from 66-73 CE. I concur. This is a sermon, not a history lecture, so I’ll try to keep the contextualizing short, but please do ...

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