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 4201 to 4225 of 4959 results

4201. Moses: On the Manna Diet

Exodus 16:1-5

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... come, if the crops failed, if they didn't do the hard work, there was no Kroger down the street or king-sized freezer in the kitchen waiting to meet their everyday need. They knew the bread was daily and their lives depended on it. So Jesus invited his disciples to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread." Daily manna…just enough. It's so simple. It's so obvious. Yet all of our trappings of modern life shield us from the reality. When we cut through all the "stuff," let loose from the weight of the luxury ...

4202. What a Serve!

Acts 6:1-7

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... had to get the word out, to rally the people, before they could do much of anything about serving the widows and feeding the hungry, right? It's easy to understand why the preaching ministry would take precedence. After all, Jesus' last command to the disciples was to go and preach the word to all nations, to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth. And besides, look at the results! Peter preached and three thousand responded. Then Luke says the church was ...

4203. Barnabas Found the Way

Acts 4:35-5:16

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... , he is the one who makes the way of welcome, who introduces him to the community of the faithful. (Acts 9:26-27) - In Judea, he is the one who carries the relief offering to the suffering Christians…a symbol of the open hearts of the disciples. (Acts 11:29-30) - In Antioch he serves with Paul, assisting others in their ministry, opening minds to the Gospel. (Acts 11:22-26) - In Jerusalem, he is there at the first conference, arguing for the inclusion of the Gentiles in the community…opening the doors ...

4204. The Church of Your Dreams

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... Peter's sermon, the inaugural sermon of the Christian era, you discover a profound statement of the faith. No dumbing down of the message, no soft-pedaling the witness of Jesus Christ. It is a call to grow deeply in the faith. Luke says the disciples committed themselves to the apostles' teaching, breaking of bread and prayer. And that is still the source of the church's strength today. One of the great challenges of a multi-cultural and multi-religious day is the ability to proclaim our faith in clarity ...

4205. On the Mountainside

Matthew 6:5-13

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... to close worship; rather it invites us to form our prayer life in simplicity and brevity, cutting to the core of what is truly necessary for our soul, body and life. [1] We call it the Lord's Prayer, but it is really the "Disciples' Prayer." Jesus gave it to his disciples as a sample prayer, a model prayer. In fact, in Luke's gospel, the prayer is offered in response to the specific request, "Lord, teach us to pray." Across the centuries and around the world, this pattern prayer has touched the hearts and ...

4206. Thanksgiving and Thanksliving

1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... ," so to speak, in our thankful expressions. If we really ascribe to Paul's approach, which means to live for Christ is also to die for him, even hardened secularists silently applaud our style. It is our spontaneity that sells others. There is nothing quite like a disciple who tells others how grateful he or she is for Christ and his church. "Sinners" may know a great deal more about the quality of our faith than we are willing to admit. A thankful style of living that exudes from our innermost being is an ...

4207. Training for a Purpose

Titus 2:11-14

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... gospels. Even the synoptic gospels show some differences among them. Then, John comes along and thrills us with both mystery and mysticism! However, when we read and study them together, what a magnificent narrative we receive. We are not disciples of Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. We are disciples of the babe in Bethlehem, born to bring us the good news that is always more than a single individual, except Jesus the Christ. Our training is not allowed to become negative under a single point of view. Christ ...

4208. Deep Calling to Deep

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... of Holy Scripture with the added ingredient of congregational worship. To take these areas seriously is to banish ignorance in spiritual matters. We are enabled to probe at the deeper levels and begin to enjoy the excitement of what it really means to be a disciple of the Christ. Then Saint Paul's brilliance may not become crystal clear, but at least we are familiar with the magnificent and marvelous theological artistry put before us. Yes, and when we are stumped, we are to go to prayer, not as an escape ...

4209. Looking Out for Others

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... such men and women that truly and wholesomely live a life of poverty, chastity, and obedience. For the average Mr. Church (man or woman) we are aware of our spiritual vocation to aid in spiritually forming others. As we benefit others, we benefit ourselves. All disciples committed to the Christ have known this at some level. Christ also died for weak believers! Just because we may have more maturity, does not mean the crucifixion was more for us and somehow we are favored in the Father's eyes. Those words ...

4210. Let God Do the Rest

Ephesians 3:14-21

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... clearly from the heart. From that time forward the boy kept an eye out for the man. Whenever he was in the area he hurried to listen to him speak. Over time the boy grew to love the man more and more. He truly envied the man's followers, his disciples. They traveled wherever he went. He could not wait to grow up so that he could follow the man as well. The boy received much from the man, especially the love and compassion present in his eyes and his heart-felt message, and he longed to be able to give ...

4211. Jesus Is the Recipe for Eternal Life

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... and desires. In John's Gospel, Jesus says, "Unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat, but if it dies it produces much fruit." In the synoptics the Lord presents the same message in varied ways. Jesus told his disciples, "Whoever wants to be first must be the last of all and servant of all" (Mark 9:35). In another context, Jesus put it this way, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who ...

4212. God Our Protector and Shield

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... pieces of God's armor and how they must be used to protect the people against the wiles of evil and darkness. First, Paul tells them to gird their loins with the truth. He must have been told what Jesus had said to his disciples: "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free" (John 8:31b-32). Anything but the truth is a masquerade, but God sees through the disguise. God's truth will protect us. Next, Paul says to put on the breast ...

4213. God’s Wisdom or the World?

James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." Jesus continued, "For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:23b-24, 26b). Clearly Jesus is telling his disciples that they must choose God and not the world. Lastly, Jesus himself was given the challenge of choosing the world or God. After his baptism, he chose to go to the desert to prepare himself for his public ministry (Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-15; Luke ...

4214. In Solidarity with Jesus

Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-18

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... life of personal humility that was centered on the needs of the common good of all. We recall how Jesus instructed his disciples to always sit at the lowest place of honor at the table so one might later ask them to come higher, concluding ... lives in the service of others, to grow rich, not in the eyes of the world, but the eyes of God (Luke 12:21). Jesus told his disciples, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their ...

4215. Sacred Pleasures

Romans 14:1--15:13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... seaside — to preach, to teach, to heal, to picnic and eat with friends. Jesus only made for the desert, for the hard-bitten wilderness, when he was driven there by demons, or by the harangue of crowds. When Jesus was relaxing with the disciples, enjoying fellowship with friends, he was usually by the water. There can be no doubt that the waterfront gave Jesus great pleasure. Today’s epistle reading introduces Paul’s “Pleasure Principle.” I know, I know. Very few would ever consider Paul a “party ...

4216. The Longest Shortest Half Of A Verse

Mark 6:1-13

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

... to come to this place, or to stay away, to serve you with our hearts, hands, and feet, or to serve you with our lips only. Send us among the ones hurting in our neighborhoods. Send us further, beyond, to the four corners of the world! We would be your disciples, your apostles, your family. Amen. Prayer Of Confession How is the time so urgent, which God gives us only once? And how is the world so empty, that it is loved by us too much, that we walk in it like one dreaming, little thinking of the span of God ...

4217. Momentous Moment

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

David T. Ball

... God to connect with us. Gathered in that large upper room, after they had begun to eat, Jesus revealed that he knew he was about to be betrayed. “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” “Surely, not I?” the disciples all replied. “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowl with me.” Run, Jesus, run! Why, oh why, didn’t he get away and hide? Instead, with the mightiest powers in the world closing in, he continued on with the meal, taking a ...

4218. Caring for the “Little Ones”

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

George Reed

... by his actions that this daughter is worthy of his time and worthy of the healing power of God. He stops the event from being a grand spectacle by not allowing the crowd to follow him to the house. He takes only the closest of his own disciples with him along with her father. When he arrived at the house, the mourners were already there with their crying and wailing. When Jesus asserted that she was not dead but sleeping, the crowd laughed at him. Jesus thought the little girl was worth facing the taunting ...

4219. Anywhere But Home

Mark 6:1-13

Sermon

George Reed

... mother and the rest of his family. There is a lesson to be learned for those of us who find someone changing in the midst of our family. We need to help them through these times of change. If they are trying to live out the faith as disciples of Jesus, then as Christians we would think this would be easy, but it isn't always. We may not understand the changes and the choices they make may not fit into our understanding of the faith. If they are rebelling against the Christian lifestyle or opting for some ...

4220. Does Easter Make a Difference?

Acts 4:32-35

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... not, Jesus is alive. Whether the living Christ makes a difference to us today is the question behind the question of the truth of the resurrection. Acts 4:32-35 tells us that Christ's resurrection made all the difference in the world for the early disciples. The resurrection difference could be seen and heard in the peace they felt, the power they experienced, and the purpose that drove their lives from that point on. Note that the resurrection difference was not to be found in a trouble-free life. On the ...

4221. Man Proposes; God Disposes

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... sons of Jacob (Israel). The new Israel should have twelve leaders on whom the church would be built. Who should be number twelve? The apostles proposed that the new apostle should either be Matthias or Barsabbas (Acts 1:23), both of whom had been disciples from the beginning. Both had also been witnesses to the resurrection. That was good practical thinking. They didn't just use their reason to determine their decision; they prayed about this matter. Then they cast lots to determine which of the two God was ...

4222. An Exquisite Attitude of Gratitude

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... upon God’s central saving impetus. God wants to save. God wants the best for all creation. God so loved the world that he gave his only Son for our sake and our salvation. This is a hope to be thankful for. The second gift Paul wants disciples to discern is “the riches of his glorious inheritance.” Don’t get greedy. This is not OUR inheritance. Paul is speaking of God’s inheritance. And what does God “inherit?” Us. A questionable deal for the divine. A godsend for us. Is there any notion more ...

4223. 1 Corinthians 1:3-9

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... arrogance of these gifts may be the cause for Paul to write to the Corinthian church in the first place, the apostle cannot help but point out it is the abundance of these same gifts that testifies to the truly graced life of faith these divided disciples enjoy. Paul’s thanksgiving for these gifts is a thanksgiving for the source of spiritual gifts more than for the gifts themselves. It is only because of the “Lord Jesus Christ” that these gifts are available to the Corinthians. It is only as they are ...

4224. Watchfulness

Mark 13:24-37

Illustration

Tim Carpenter

... YOU, $3,000 for me, and we give the bid to the guy from Western Kentucky!" Now, they had bigger problems in Frankfort than deciding on a water fountain. But so often we can get sidetracked by things that seem important, like water fountains. The disciples were more concerned with the temple being destroyed and the world coming to an end than they were with the things that matter most in life: character, integrity, compassion, and preparedness for Christ's return. This is what Jesus means when he tells his ...

4225. Used Tombstones

John 20:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... as a tribute to its mission as a depository for the granite husks its believers do not need. In order to qualify as the owner of a used tombstone, however, Christians must catch the excitement of a resurrection faith. Peter and the beloved disciple caught on quickly when, after viewing the abandoned tomb, they believed not in human grave robbers, but in God's most miraculous grave robbing activity in all human history. Conversely, Mary Magdalene, when confronted with the same evidence, could only perceive a ...

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