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 3476 to 3500 of 4968 results

3476. Family Ties And Unties

Mark 3:20-35

Sermon

David Coffin

... of the good news found in Mark’s gospel. Jesus in Mark’s gospel still has a place for all people who either stayed with the family ties or are have been untied to the family traditions. That is, all who do follow Jesus’ teachings and will as disciples are already part of the kingdom of God. Jesus looked at the crowds all around him, many who are nameless peasants, and people who will never have a book written or movie made about them. He tells them, “Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and ...

3477. Shake It Off

Mark 6:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... off the doubt that binds you, shake off the fear that paralyzes you, shake off the hesitance that inhibits you. And just keep dancing. Do the “wet dog shake” and move forward with a smile on your face and a lilt in your step. Why? Because that’s what disciples do. More than that, that’s what apostles do! We don’t let our voices be stifled by mud throwing. We don’t let our feet be mired in muck. Whatever is keeping you back from expressing your true self, your joy of the gospel, your love of ...

3478. Uncommonly Good

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

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... church, or even worship in the very same way. You are extraordinary, because you have a beautiful heart. When Jesus lives within your heart, everything common and ordinary in your life becomes extraordinary! And you find you can do extraordinary things. Every single disciple of Jesus is special and extraordinary. That doesn’t mean we’re better than anyone else. It does mean we love Jesus with our whole hearts, recognize where our extraordinary gifts come from, and praise him each and every day. It means ...

3479. The Ominous Invitation

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... you really want to take this on, I’ll let you take it on!” “Yes!” they reply with fervor and zeal! Not for a second understanding what that cup and baptism really mean! It’s going to take a good deal of time still for Jesus to help his disciples to understand that his goal –at least his goal in the life he’s living right now –is not to sit on the throne of Jerusalem. But to walk to his death for the sake of God’s mission! A mission of love, service, humility, and sacrifice, in which they ...

3480. Faces at a Funeral

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... lived half my life already. In the not-so-distant future I will be my great- grandmother, and only 25 minds will retain vague images of a wasted has-been. But Jesus will remember me! Like the thief on the cross, like his mother at his feet, like the disciples cowering in the shadows, Jesus will remember us. Because of Good Friday, he will never leave us. He will never forsake us. He will never forget us. We are the faces at his funeral. And when it comes time for our own funerals, his face will truly be the ...

3481. Into the Deep

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... at night, because many fish, such as bass, catfish, and carp come into the shallows at night to feed on smaller fish. Additionally, their trammel nets could not be seen as well by the fish at night. Yet at dawn, when Jesus told his soon-to-be disciples to push out further into the deeper water, the catch was overwhelming! Practically speaking…one could say that 1) if the fish were not swimming in the shallow water, they were likely in the deeper water 2) the fish they caught at dawn in the deeper water ...

3482. When the Small is Great, and the Great is Small

Mark 12:38-44

Sermon

Will Willimon

... A Newsome and Sharon H. Ringe, Editors, The Women's Bible Commentary. Westminster/John Knox Press, Louisville, KY, 1992). As Barbara Brown Taylor notes, “Nowhere in this passage does Jesus praise the widow for what she is doing. He simply calls his disciples over to notice her, and to compare....He invites them to... contemplate the disparity between abundance and poverty, between large sums and two copper coins, between apparent sacrifice and the real thing....He does not dismiss the gifts of the rich ...

3483. The Turning Point

John 13:31-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... of these for our present and our future. Christians take this a step further. Our greatest value lies not in what we are able to fix or redeem but in what God redeems through us, and despite us! We see this playing out in today’s scripture. We join the disciples in the midst of another flashback to their time in the upper room before Jesus’ death. They had just celebrated the meal together, when Jesus handed Judas a piece of bread dipped in wine and told him to go and “do what he had to do and quickly ...

3484. The Art of Reconciliation

Luke 12:49-59

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , listening, and love. We accept Jesus’ challenge to create beauty and art where others see division and to recognize God’s artistry within every human face. Today, I challenge you to be the kind of peacemaker and restorer that Jesus imagined we all as disciples could be. What will this mean for you? Within your family? Within your community? Within your nation? Within your world? It all starts with you. Because you too are an Artist of Reconciliation. You too are part of God’s Masterpiece! [1] See ...

3485. A Call To Community

Acts 16:6-10

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

... lives, guiding and directing them to bring God's purposes to fruition. The Call As we read this record of Paul's journey, there is the unmistakable sense that God is leading and directing his ministry. Previously in this chapter of Acts, we read of a disciple named Timothy who chose to accompany Paul. Then we read of Paul's frustrations in ministry "having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia" and having attempted to go into Bithynia, "but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them" (Acts ...

3486. A Maturing Faith

Acts 16:16-40

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

... Paul and Silas to respond? They have been out doing the work of their Lord and this is their reward. Well, Paul and Silas were not fearful or even angry. They don't appear to be vindictive or resentful. In the next image of these faithful disciples, they are praying and singing hymns to God. Far from being anxious and fear-stricken, Paul and Silas are having a midnight celebration. They are sitting in jail, facing charges, but they are not worried about their future because they have trusted God to direct ...

3487. An Extremely Odd Couple

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

J. Will Ormond

... ages there would be times when his followers would be tempted to lose heart. At the climax of the age would they still be holding firm? Therefore, at the conclusion of the parable he poses a question which gives promise of his final return and challenges his disciples of every age to pray always and not lose heart. "When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" We cannot avoid this question for ourselves by projecting it far into some vague, remote future. It faces us here and now. Surely the ...

3488. Topsy-turvy Christianity

Luke 6:17-26, Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

J. Will Ormond

... first heard Jesus speak these words. What do you think your reaction would have been? That might depend on the part of the gathered company to which you belonged. According to Luke's chronology Jesus, just before he began this Sermon on the Plain, chose from among his disciples twelve whom he called apostles (Luke 6:12-16). These words must have come as a shock to them. Did some of them wonder what they had gotten themselves into? Did they ask one another, "Does he mean if we are poor we are blessed, but if ...

3489. Good News Among The Rubble

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

J. Will Ormond

... a good word for Jesus Christ when we are in a sympathetic situation, much less when the atmosphere is hostile. We feel that we don't know what to say. We are uncomfortable and hesitant. We fear failure. Can we lay hold of the promise Jesus gave his first disciples? He told them not to worry about what they would say. He would give them the words. He would speak through them with such power that their opponents would be silenced. It takes a great leap of faith to step out on these glimmers of good news among ...

3490. Priorities

Luke 9:51-56

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... Without plowing, I hope. (MOE KNOCKS HIM DOWN. CURLY FALLS INTO LARRY AND KNOCKS HIM DOWN) MOE: Yes, without plowing and without living with the foxes and birds. Here's the plan. We'll dress like Jesus and then He'll think we're some of His disciples. CURLY: His despicables? MOE: Never mind. (HANDING THEM ROBES WHICH THEY PUT ON) Put these on. LARRY: I feel funny. MOE: You look funny. (HAIR PULL) CURLY: I never wore a dress before. MOE: These are bathrobes. (EYE PUNCH) CURLY: I never took a bath before. MOE ...

3491. Anybody Listening?

Mark 6:1-6

Sermon

William G. Carter

... hear him. Then, as it happens frequently in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus told his followers to mimic what he had just done. He sent out the disciples, two by two. He said, "I'm going to give you the power to do what I've been doing. I want you to heal and ... , although when you speak some people won't give you a hearing" (Mark 6:11). Isn't that striking? As Jesus sent his disciples with power and authority, he reminded them of the sure resistance to the words and deeds of God. Anybody listening? Maybe not. Many ...

3492. The Open Hand

Mark 2:23-3:6

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... to pause and take another look at our lives by worshiping God. The difference between Jesus and the Pharisees came not on the content of the third commandment, but on the legalistic way that they applied the command regarding the Sabbath. The Pharisees criticized Jesus' disciples for picking ears of corn in the fields on the Sabbath day. Jesus responded with a story from 1 Samuel 21:1-6 about great King David who had eaten consecrated bread set aside for the priests. Jesus said that "the Sabbath was made ...

3493. Himself The Real Presence

John 6:25-59

Sermon

George W. Hoyer

... The divine-human Jesus ate and drank as naturally and as necessarily as we all. When he wanted to assure his followers that he truly was alive after his dying, when he had returned to be with them, he asked, "Have you anything here to eat?" The disciples then gave him a piece of broiled fish, "and he took it and ate in their presence" (Luke 24:41-43). What was always "unnatural" or rather "supernatural" was that it was God sharing in the bread and wine, the fish and the vegetables. It was God fellowshipping ...

3494. Tears At The Tomb

John 11:17-37

Sermon

William G. Carter

... of Jesus, and Jesus knew it. When Jesus wept, he faced the inevitability of his own death. This was the Gethsemane moment in the Gospel of John. By choosing to bring Lazarus out of the tomb, Jesus chose to go into his own tomb. The One who invited potential disciples to "come and see" the works of God made known in him was invited at the tomb of Lazarus to "come and see" the inevitable consequences of his life-giving works in a world of death.3 From the beginning of time, he shared his life with the Eternal ...

3495. Flatliners

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Richard A. Wing

... of the lens through which we are invited to see the world. Jesus' pain in the midst of all of us is the pain of putting all of these things in front of the people and the people still insisting on blindness. I have a friend who talks about the disciples being the "chosen frozen." They were the persons who really didn't see what was there. He wrote a column that said, "I can just see Jesus speaking to them on the plains, speaking to them on the levee, and Peter speaks first, 'Are we supposed to write this ...

3496. They Didn't Have To Do It, But They Did

Genesis 14:1-24

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... to stand up by sitting down on a Birmingham bus and refusing to give her seat to a white man, but she did. Likewise, the other disciples and apostles didn't have to take the crucible of faith and spread the Good News of Christ, but they did. Our world has been ... shop in Nazareth, but he did. He didn't have to take his ministry on the road, but he did. He didn't have to choose twelve disciples, but he did. He didn't have to feed the five thousand, but he did. He didn't have to heal the sick, cast out demons, ...

3497. Lent 4

Psalm 32:1-11, Joshua 5:1-12, 2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2, Luke 15:1-7

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... The psalmist compares his own straying to that of a lost sheep. Isaiah 6:5 -- Isaiah expresses his sense of being lost in the presence of the Lord. Jeremiah 50:6 -- The people are like lost sheep because the shepherds have led them astray. Matthew 10:6 -- The disciples are sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Passages dealing with sonship:Psalm 2:7 -- The psalmist hears the Lord claiming his own as a son. Proverbs 3:12 -- The relationship of a person to the Lord is compared to that of a father to ...

3498. Let Me Explain: A Sermon By Judas Iscariot

Matthew 26:1-5

Sermon

Don M. Aycock

... to say. How the hope inside of me burned brightly when he spoke. His words were like arrows which pierced through to the heart of any situation. I just knew that he could be our leader in overthrowing Rome. Then an incredible thing happened. Jesus asked me to become a disciple, to join his inner circle of friends. I could hardly believe it at first. I had gone looking for him but he acted as if he had sought me out. He had a way of doing that with everyone, of making them feel that he was searching for them ...

3499. On Golf, Swimming, Gardening and Lent?

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Glenn E. Ludwig

... hit the ball out in the right direction. If we need a good biblical model for this philosophy, just look at Peter. Of all the disciples, the scriptures paint him as the most human -- so human, in fact, that we almost wince for him a time or two. It seemed he ... he felt badly about what he had done. Scripture testifies that he went out and cried bitterly over it, but he didn't turn in his disciple's badge over it. He kept going on. He went back to the upper room with the others. When the women came in on Easter ...

3500. When Did Jesus Pray?

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

John G. Lynn

... . God's sovereignty re-established in his life, he did not go back to the synagogue to tell those scribes and Pharisees where to get off. He did not return for full scale battle in their arena. No, when it was day, directly but quietly he called his disciples and chose from them 12 whom he named apostles: those whom he would send out before him to the places where he himself was to go. It is good strategy to call those loyal to your side when you sense you are under attack. Prayer gave Jesus the courage ...

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