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 351 to 375 of 3314 results

351. Faithquakes

Luke 17:5-10

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... They experienced a faithquake. The faith factor means that we change our orientation from the ways of this world to the ways of God's kingdom. Sometimes it takes another person's strong words about what is really important to wake us up. That's what happened to the apostles. Having to face our sins helps us see the need for our Savior. The faith factor means that we give up control of our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ. We seek to do what God wants us to do, instead of stubbornly clinging to what we want to ...

352. Building God’s Kingdom: The Christian Challenge

Romans 10:8-13

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... of Jesus to those who live in darkness and ignorance. Lent presents an opportunity to share the good news with others, but today's lesson from Paul's letter to the Romans makes it clear that our efforts will be best served by working as a team. As the apostle says, "There is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord of all is generous to all who call on him. For, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved' " (10:12-13). If the world can come together to aid victims of disaster ...

353. Galatians 1:11-24

Galatians 1:11-24

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , “Arabia” referred to the area east of Jerusalem, which at that time was the kingdom of the Nabateans, under the rule of King Aretas IV (9 BCE-40CE). Paul also makes it clear that he did not go to Jerusalem and confer with Peter and the other apostles at the Jerusalem church at this time. In fact Paul specifies that a good three years passed before he made a journey back to Jerusalem. Paul’s mission and message were clear to him from the moment he received his revelation. In Paul’s mind, there was ...

354. Colossians 1:1-14

Colossians 1:1-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

There is disagreement among scholars over the authorship of Colossians. Was it was written by Paul or composed by Timothy for Paul. Maybe it was authored by some other close companion of Paul’s who wrote in the apostle’s name and style? The current debate over authorship was not a concern for first century Christians, nor for the subsequent generations of Christ followers. Whether the author was Paul or one of his companions, the letter to the Colossians was presented under the authority of “Paul, an ...

355. A Disconcerting Sight

1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... life, both at the individual and the collective levels, is very much a work in process. Paul is able to come back to the untoward problem of divisions within the Christian community. It is unreasonable, ludicrous in fact, to quarrel about which apostle is the "top" apostle in the process of growing Christians. All three whose names marked the parties in the Corinth church were simply God's workmen on God's farm, and the Corinthian Christians were the growing plants on the farm. The famous sentence, "We are ...

356. A Vision Vanished

Philippians 3:4-14

Sermon

Larry Lange

... a preacher." "Church?" Arnold spat. "What's the church done for me? Just gimme the usual." "That's my boy," said the bartender, reaching out across the sticky bar to clap Arnold on the shoulder. I have not seen Jesus as Arnold had. Nor have I seen Jesus as the apostle Paul had. Nor, I imagine, have many of you seen Jesus. Even if we had seen Jesus as Arnold had, it's easy to see how quickly such a vision vanished in the fog of his doubt and confusion. It's easy to understand why our responses to Jesus fall ...

357. Leaders Worthy of Imitation

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... Christ. The wounds from the flogging Paul and Silas had received at Philippi may not have completely healed yet (Acts 16:22-23). In his preaching, Paul resists all temptation to tone down the gospel message. Paul is sure of his call to be an apostle to the Gentiles, and he does not present a sugarcoated gospel (1 Thessalonians 2:3). He proclaims that salvation comes by faith alone through the grace of God. Pastors and church leaders have always needed a healthy dose of ego strength if they are to survive ...

358. Resolutions for a New Year

1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... church. As a matter of fact, I wonder how much good a New Year's resolution about peace would be — sinners that we are, it may be doomed before it starts. Perhaps we would be more realistic in trying to make any resolution about peace by considering what the apostle Paul does as he gets beyond this greeting in the letter to the church at Corinth. Listen again to what he says: "I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way — in ...

359. Due for Renewal

Mark 2:13-22

Sermon

Robert J. Elder

... to take part. Once, the chair of a denominational committee on worship, when speaking of new things and strong opposition to them by congregations, shared a story about a friend of his in ministry. This pastor wanted his congregation to recite the Apostles' Creed on a given Sunday. Strange as it may seem to some, reciting a creed together was new experience for this congregation, and especially for the church secretary, whose own beliefs were strongly opposed to the congregational recitation of creeds in ...

360. The Gospel According To Pronouns

Acts 10:34-43

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... the one anointed and ordained by God. He is the one who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed. He is the one who was put to death, but who rose again. He is the one proclaimed by the prophets who preceded him and by the apostles who followed him. He is the one through whom we receive forgiveness of sins. The good news, you see, is all about a person: It's all about him. Meanwhile, Peter makes several references to "we" and "us." With these pronouns, of course, he is referring to himself ...

361. Surprise in a Graveyard

John 20:10-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... go and see what real power is.’ Williams died peacefully,” notes Colson, “as unshakable in his conviction about the resurrection as he had ever been in the cases he argued so brilliantly in court.” (4) Christ is alive. In 1 Corinthians 15:3-7 the Apostle Paul wrote, “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to ...

362. A Matter of Trust

Galatians 1:11-24

Sermon

King Duncan

... societies. The essential ingredient was trust. The happiest countries are those in which people feel they can trust their government, trust their social institutions, and trust their neighbors. (3) Trust is a very big deal indeed. It is evident that one problem the apostle Paul had at the beginning of his ministry was that many in the early church did not trust him. We see in our lesson for today from Galatians that some in the church in Galatia had questions about Paul’s credentials. They challenged ...

363. The Church Is the Place

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... sensitively with the issues at hand. Paul’s goal was always to build up the church and never tear it apart. In the first verse we discover that Paul was clear about who he was and what his mission was. Paul was called by God to be an apostle, a missionary to the Gentiles. His mission in life was to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to as many people as he could. That powerful vision would take Paul to places he never dreamed of going. Following the prompting of the Holy Spirit, Paul found himself ...

364. Spirit-Direct

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... circles. He realized that it was the hand of God leading him to take the gospel to the next level, to the Gentiles and to all people. It is “God working in our hearts that produces change in our lives.” As our lesson from the Acts of the Apostles opens Peter is giving a sermon in Cornelius’ house. His audience was eager to hear what he had to say. Peter told them, “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him ...

365. Credible Witnesses

2 Peter 1:12-21

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... they had enough money to open a charter middle school. Thinking of all the people who impacted his life, Roynell proudly claimed, “We’re changing lives.”[2] Our faith is alive because of the faithful witness of others. We have the testimony of the apostles who were eyewitnesses to Jesus’ teachings, miracles, and most importantly his life, death, and resurrection. We have the church where the scriptures are read and taught. And we have the Holy Spirit in our lives that prompts us to say and do things ...

366. The Fellowship of the Believers

Acts 2:42-47

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... ; 5:5, 11, 13; 19:17). This was probably his intention here, but in the Greek there are simply two statements (albeit, closely linked): “awe came to everyone”—the reference is probably to non-believers—and “many signs and wonders came about through the apostles.” 2:44–45 All the believers were together (v. 44; see disc. on v. 42). One result of this was their readiness to share their belongings with one another. They made this their practice. The verb is in the imperfect and could be rendered ...

367. Saul in Damascus and Jerusalem

Acts 9:19b-31

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... importance in his epistles (e.g., Rom. 8:3; Gal. 4:4; Col. 1:15–20) and figures in his own account of his calling to be an apostle (Rom. 1:1–4; Gal. 1:16). In regard to this it is also worth noticing that the verb raised havoc (v. 21, Gk. porthein) is found nowhere ... of him. He brought no letters of recommendation (cf. 18:27). 9:27 In the end it was Barnabas who brought him to the apostles. How he and Paul made contact or why Barnabas should now have come to Paul’s aid we do not know. There are no ...

368. The Return to Antioch in Syria

Acts 14:21-28

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... the must of verse 22; see disc. on 1:16). The kingdom of God is referred to in its future sense as the ultimate goal of salvation (see note on 1:3). NIV shows this teaching about suffering and entering the kingdom as the very words of the apostles, as indeed they may have been, if they had struck a deep root in the heart of one of their hearers (why not Timothy?). This ministry of confirmation was accompanied by a work of organization, for in each church they appointed elders to take care of the spiritual ...

369. Paul’s Farewell to the Ephesian Elders

Acts 20:13-38

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... himself in this way are laid to rest (cf. also 1 Cor. 1:11). But some still contend that the speech is too apologetic to be original and that Luke must have composed it himself in defense of Paul against his later detractors—those of Luke’s day, not the apostle’s. But Paul had no lack of critics in his own day (cf., e.g., 2 Cor. 10–13; 1 Thess. 1–2). Even if they had not yet appeared in Ephesus, past experience would have taught him that they soon would, and this speech is (in part) his attempt ...

370. Paul Opposes Peter

Galatians 2:11-21

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... circumcision refers to the Jews (2:7), verse 12 most likely indicates the ethnic identity of the men from James. Paul’s clarification that these men were Jews draws the Galatians’ attention to the investment in being respected by his kinsfolk held by Peter, the apostle to the Jews. The dynamics of hypocrisy and truth play loudly in these verses. Paul has no doubt but that he is on the side of truth. Paul charges that Peter’s change of behavior when the visitors from Jerusalem came was not “in line ...

371. Instructions on Worship

1 Timothy 2:1-15

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... of the Gentiles. Such an emphatic outburst, which almost certainly is intended to emphasize what follows, not what precedes, seems quite out of place, except for the need of the church in Ephesus to hear clearly that Paul’s own ministry as teacher (not apostle) of the true faith to the Gentiles also demonstrates the universal scope of the gospel. This latter phrase in particular would seem to suggest some form of Jewish exclusivism as lying at the heart of the problem (cf. esp. Titus 1:10–16). The ...

372. Submission to Rulers and Masters

1 Peter 2:13-25

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... Matt. 10:16; Mark 14:27; Luke 12:32; Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 9:7; Heb. 13:20. See C. K. Barrett, The Gospel According to John (London: SPCK, 1955), p. 310. Pastoral images in 1 Peter abound, doubtless prompted by the risen Lord’s threefold commission to the apostle (John 21:15–17): scattered (1:1); kept by the vigilance of God (1:5); a lamb without blemish (1:19); follow in his steps (2:21); straying sheep, now returned to the Shepherd (2:25); elders bidden to tend the flock of God (5:2); and to be examples ...

373. The Empty Tomb and the First Appearance

John 20:1-9, John 20:10-18

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... ) in the story of Jesus’ resurrection. She, not Peter (cf. 1 Cor. 15:5; Luke 24:34), was the first to see the risen Jesus. The disciples are never called “the apostles” in John’s Gospel. The Greek word apostolos, “apostle,” occurs only in 13:16, in the sense of “messenger.” But Mary was a kind of “apostle to the apostles,” a messenger sent to Jesus’ gathered disciples with the good news that he was rejoining his Father—and theirs (vv. 17–18). The Lord himself was close behind his ...

374. Mission and Rejection in Galilee

Mark 6:14-29, Mark 6:7-13

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... involves authority from God in the proclamation of the kingdom truths. Since we are officially “sent” (the meaning of “apostle” in 3:14) as official representatives of the Triune Godhead, we go out with their authority. Finally, mission ... our model. Ephesians 4:13 speaks of “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Here this means that the apostles would reproduce Jesus’s miracles and proclaim his teaching throughout Galilee, and in 6:13 they were successful in doing so. Note that ...

375. The Commissioning of the Disciples

Luke 24:50-53, Luke 24:36-49

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... God. Acts 1:13 will speak of a “room where they were staying,” but the reference here is presumably to their daytime location, in the temple courtyard where Jesus had so recently taught. It is there that Luke will locate the life, worship, and public proclamation of the apostles during the early chapters of Acts (Acts 2:46; 3:1, 8; 4:1; 5:20–25, 42). So the story that began in Luke’s Gospel with worship in the temple (1:8–25) now concludes in the same place, pointing forward to its dramatic sequel ...

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