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 3901 to 3925 of 4968 results

3901. Should Christians Always Oppose War?

Romans 13:1-7

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... surprise you to know that Jesus was not a pacifist, at least in the classic sense. If you had asked the moneychangers in the Temple if Jesus was a pacifist, they would have replied, "Are you kidding? He drove us out with a whip!" Jesus allowed his disciples to carry swords, and the swords were not for killing snakes. They were for self-defense. In fact, at one point Jesus said, "If you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one." Simon Peter replied, "Look Lord, we have two swords." Jesus said, "That ...

3902. Divine Alka-Seltzer

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

... people of faith is a rather different one. It is a response which seeks not to avoid the suffering, but to use it. This second response to suffering is in fact the response of Jesus in our gospel for this morning. Mark writes: "Jesus began to teach his disciples that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again." Jesus suffers, but he suffers for a reason. Oh, even Jesus seeks relief. In the Garden ...

3903. Ready or Not, Here I Come!

Mark 13:32-37

Sermon

Daniel G. Mueller

... ! The same Lord who was born a Babe in Bethlehem, who lived and died on the cross in payment for the world’s sins, then came back to life again and ascended into heaven, is coming back. At the Ascension, when Jesus returned to heaven, two angels said to his disciples who watched him go, "This same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven shall return in like manner" (Acts 1:11). Over and over again the Bible tells us the good news that Jesus is coming back and each time it also tells us to be ready for ...

3904. Where’s the Power?

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

Daniel G. Mueller

... do and what God can do. Peter learned this lesson the hard way. Peter and the rest of the disciples were in a boat out on Lake Galilee. There was a storm and they were in trouble. Jesus was not with them but he saw their plight and came to them, ... walking on the water. When the disciples first saw him, they were scared out of their minds, thinking he was a ghost. The Lord assured them he was not. Peter asked to ...

3905. Coping with Fear, Worry, and Anxiety

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... of life is in God. The destiny of life is in his adequate hands. The true values of life were built into us by the Creator, Sustainer God, who is like Christ. At center, the universe is mind and heart, not machine. No wonder Jesus kept saying to his disciples, "O ye of little faith." It is said that if Christ would come today into a room of assembled people, and these people would bring to him all their fears, their sins, their sicknesses, their failures, he would say one thing to all of them: "You do not ...

3906. Service

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... the keys, until the manuscript is completed. It can be a thankless task; but it may be God’s call to make a contribution toward the advancement of the human family. A Mandate For All There is a place in God’s Kingdom for every disciple! Talent, skill, personality, age, sex, social or economic background, native tongue - the variety is as wide as humankind - and all can be used. Is Brother Lawrence not a beautiful example, washing pots and pans for the glory of God? "Be not simply good," suggested Henry ...

3907. A King - A Kingdom

John 18:28-40

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... them."1 In Revelation we are told Jesus is "King of kings and Lord of lords" (19:16). Still we ask, "Who is he?" One of the essential, significant elements of our Christian faith is the concept of the Kingdom of God. We pray daily, "Thy kingdom come." As disciples we live in light of that kingdom as a reality. Indeed, Jesus himself told us, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 10:7). It is warp and woof of the fabric of our faith. But whose kingdom is it? Herein we encounter a glorious paradox. We ...

3908. Twenty-First Century Reformation

John 8:31-41

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... trying to get Christians to come to worship. We plead, prod, offer gimmicks, have contests. To what end? The contemporary disciple must be asked, invited, to come for prayer and praise, for Word and Sacraments. Coming to worship ought to be a joyful part ... of the Christian’s life - no invitation should be required. Why should disciples of Jesus Christ need to be cajoled to do that which ought to be a natural part of their discipleship? Pierce Harris ...

3909. I Am The One Who Jesus Loves

John 13:23

Illustration

Brett Blair

... named John, is identified in the Gospels as "the one Jesus loved." Manning said, "If John were to be asked, 'What is your primary identity in life?' he would not reply, 'I am a disciple, an apostle, an evangelist, an author of one of the four Gospels,' but rather, 'I am the one Jesus loves.'" What would it mean, I ask myself, if I too came to the place where I saw my primary identity in life as "the one Jesus loves"? How differently would ...

3910. Lost Your Lunch

Mark 6:30-44

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... people? There sure were. All of them running up the road to Chorazin. I left my wood beside the road and followed them. SHUSHANA: That's something? Is that where you lost your lunch? DOV: No. I still had my lunch with me. It was so exciting. Jesus and his disciples were coming by boat but we got there before he did. SHUSHANA: What did Jesus do? DOV: Well, he taught as usual, and he healed some people who were sick and then he fed us. SHUSHANA: All of you? DOV: All of us. We ate my lunch. SHUSHANA: Who ate ...

3911. The Word of the Cross

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... allowed his Son to be subjected to the most intense suffering, not only in his body but in his sensitive spirit. The innocent one suffers, the guilty rejoice. He suffers the venomous hate of the high priests, the coarse buffoonery of the soldiers, the cowardice of his disciples, the treachery of Judas, the denial by Peter. God permits him to be goaded to the verge of despair and he cries out in agony, "My God, why?" Is there a righteous God when this can happen? Yes, there is, but his ways are not our ways ...

3912. The Holy Trinity

John 16:5-16

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... be satisfied with ruling over only a segment of the world or a portion of your life. Christians are people who acknowledge the authority of Christ, who "crown him Lord of all," who obey what he commands. And his last great command is: "Go and make disciples of all nations." Make known my redemptive power to all people everywhere, bring every area of life under my sovereignty. This mission, empowered by his own presence, goes on "to the close of the age." When the curtain is lifted on the last scene of human ...

3913. The Courage to Be Me

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... The acknowledgment of doubt, where I feel it, almost implies that a fuller knowledge, a more complete understanding, a more mature grasp is both possible and worth seeking after. One day Jesus was called to the home of a man who had an epileptic son. His disciples had not been able to heal the boy. The father, in understandable anguish, asked if there was any possibility that Jesus could help him. Mark (Mark 9:23) records the reply of Jesus as follows: "All things are possible to him who believes," and the ...

3914. The Family Was God’s Idea

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... came to get his ear for a minute; they had something important to say to him, and he was called from his talk and was told, "Your mother’s out here." And he said, "Who is my mother? And who are my brothers?" And stretching his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven, is my brother, sister, and mother." Now some might say this is a rather spacey and harsh indifference to kinship. What kind of a person was Jesus anyway to talk ...

3915. Jerusalem, Emmaus and the Meaning of Life

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

... do come in." Mr. D., at this moment, feels to be at home, to have returned to Jerusalem, and with him we have the privilege of recognizing Christ’s presence. Mr. D. gives us hope as Christ did for the disciples, that we have recognized him in conversation. Though at times we are like the disciples: foolish and slow of heart we know we like to eat, talk and listen and have faith that we too will recognize him on our journey, with our families and communities at our meals, in our celebration; in our living ...

3916. You're Going To Have A Baby!

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... from God. This is a normal reaction when people step into the real presence of the Holy. The angel said to the shepherds, "Do not be afraid, I am bringing you good news of great joy." When Jesus and the disciples were on the top of the Mount of Transfiguration and they heard God speak, the disciples fell on their faces before the transfigured Christ. He said to them, "Get up and do not be afraid." God is holy, the totally other, and humans are sinful and unworthy to be in the presence of the Almighty. We ...

3917. Happy New Year?

Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... for each other.' 'Oh,' he said, 'I mean I was nervous; I'm not anymore. I guess it's not so bad around here.' " As with the disciples on the way to Emmaus, Jesus joins us in our earthly walk and at once we lose our fear. As a Christian you can be happy because ... spirit of "I shall overcome." In the darkest hour of his life when he was faced with the cross, Jesus said to his Disciples, "In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world." Happiness comes from a ...

3918. Giving Everything: The Widow's Might

Mark 12:41-44

Sermon

Brett Blair

... little old lady and she has two small coins worth nothing and drops them in. They barely make a noise. You can almost see the Temple leaders as they roll their eyes and hope for better results with the next person who walks in the door. Jesus then calls his Disciples over and says, “This poor widow has put more in to the treasury than all the others.” To the Sadducees this woman is a waste of time but to Jesus she is the stuff by which Kingdoms are erected. Thus, at its heart, the story of the widow's ...

3919. When the Sermon Turns Sour

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

William G. Carter

... you are too busy murdering the prophets.” Even on Easter: the news came out that Jesus was risen; but his own disciples didn’t believe it. Jesus joins two of them on the road to Emmaus, but they do not recognize them. So as they walk, Jesus interprets ... the Bible. He reminds them of what the Good Book says. And it fills his disciples with heartburn. Luke wants us to know that the most scandalous thing we can ever do is to hear the Bible. The most outrageous ...

3920. The Kind of People Whom God Chooses

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

William G. Carter

... and their perfect understanding. We want to believe that they had their collective act together. We want to affirm them as competent and capable, always knowing the correct answer to a question or the perfect solution to a problem. But that was not the case. The twelve disciples were ordinary people, like you and me. I don’t know about you, but that makes me feel a whole lot better. Following Christ is difficult enough. It is an awesome task to live as God’s person in a world like this. It is even worse ...

3921. The Next Step

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... had a problem with a group, the cross would make them scatter. Strike the shepherd and the sheep will run off. It would put an end to this Messiah business. And it appeared to work. Jesus’ disciples went into hiding. The empty tomb didn’t make much difference to either the Romans or the disciples. Empty tombs were not that uncommon in those days. People were always stealing bodies. They said the same thing happened to Jesus’ body. Somebody obviously stole it. An empty tomb was not impressive. It did ...

3922. Exposed!

2 Corinthians 2:12--3:6

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... they found a large crowd arguing with the teachers of the law. Next they encountered a boy with some kind of epileptic seizure. What a strange person this Jesus appeared to be. His life was all wrapped up in mystery and holy times. But he told his disciples not to hold on to any of them. Peter, James, and John could not freeze the mountaintop experience. Jesus apparently knew that a life only of inspiring moments and sacred knowledge limits the God who will be who God will be in the ordinary experiences of ...

3923. He Commanded Us to Preach

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... is no shirking and compromise with those powers and principalities that seek to neutralize the impetus of the message and efficacy of the messenger. Christ issued the command that the word should go forth with power and authority so as to make new disciples of all nations. The problem in Peter’s time were those enemies outside of the early faith community who aligned themselves in opposition to the message of the followers of the way. Today, much opposition comes from those within the faith community who ...

3924. The Hospitable Servant: A Woman Named Lydia

Acts 16:11-15

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... manifested in such foolish statements as, “God did not call women to preach. If the Lord had wanted women to serve in his church he would have called women disciples.” The problem is such vainglorious assertions cannot be corroborated by the biblical record, for it is evident that Jesus, the apostle Paul, and the other apostles and disciples had a reverence and respect for women in general and women of faith in particular. In fact, women were the mainstay of support of Jesus’ movement, and there are ...

3925. Lift Up Your Heads!

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Brett Blair

... in our life span and so, we wait and we watch. II We watch the heavens because there will be signs of our redemption and secondly we watch on earth. It too is witness of our redemption. Look at the fig tree and all the tress, Jesus told his disciples. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so when you see these things happening… What things is Jesus talking about? What are the sprouting leaves that we are to be watching for? He seems to be saying when nature ...

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