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 4426 to 4450 of 4968 results

4426. Fast Forward Faith

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... Son of David." That was one of traditional titles used for the Messiah. It means "son of the beloved" or "beloved son of God." How cool is that. Look at all the imagery and irony just in the names. The "son of the beloved" is leaving Jericho followed by his disciples and a crowd. On the way out he encounters a blind beggar, this "son of fear," this "son of the unclean" who cries out to Him, "Messiah, beloved son of God. Have mercy on me!" At first Jesus doesn't hear this "son of the unclean." Either that or ...

4427. Earth, Wind and Fire

Acts 2:1-21; John 15:26-27, 16:1-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... door, a canister fills up with laugh power. It turns out that laughter is ten times more powerful than fear. I personally think there is a ton of truth in that line. The Monsters of Monster's Inc. Discovered a new and more powerful energy source. And so did the disciples. So do we. The heartwarming of the Holy Spirit is ten times more powerful than the fear of God's wrath. And that's one of the reasons God set their hearts on fire. Where do you get your power? Conclusion I'll bet you've noticed this gift I ...

4428. Blast From The Past

John 17:1-19

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... for worship we feel the power and effect of that prayer. It's like a Blast From The Past. And we feel it. So, let's look at the passage that tells us about this Blast From The Past. Read here - John 17:1-19 (NRSV) Jesus prayed for the Disciples, the each church that would grow and become the church which we belong to, and for all of His followers, which includes us. Jesus' prayer included two things. He prayed that we be GUARDED AND GUIDED. I. Guarded A. One of the things that I've learned over the years ...

4429. Chosen

John 15:9-17

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... , introduces you to someone else and tells that person: "I'd like you to meet one of my best friends." It lifts your spirits. It draws you close. Well, that's exactly what Jesus did. He changed our status in His eyes and in God's eyes. He told the disciples and tells us: [15] "I'm no longer calling you servants . . . No, I've named you friends." (Msg) That's incredible, don't you think. To have Jesus consider us His friend. Not in the sense of the hymn "What A Friend We Have In Jesus" but to truly be ...

4430. Rolling Thunder or Voice of God?

John 12:20-33

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... up in John's Gospel. Instead this is the struggle played out in front of all the disciples and the crowds. And yet, even in that struggle, Jesus is filled with hope. How could Jesus have hope? Here he was facing the cross. He's already had this conversation ... with Peter and the disciples. He set his heart and soul on the cross. He knew His own death was just around the corner. And not just any death ...

4431. Acquired Taste

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... goodness is at stake? Can you acquire a taste for compassion over collusion when beauty is at stake? You grow your faith by stretching it, by acquiring new tastes. You grow your soul by flexing the power of the Holy Spirit in your life. You grow as a disciple of Jesus by acquiring a taste for faith that can withstand the pressures of complacency, the lure of acceptance, the ease of going along. Every person you meet is an acquired taste. Look at the person next to you. Look them in the eye and say, “You ...

4432. Eyes To See, Ears To Hear

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

James McCormick

... how much we listen to without hearing? A major problem with the human race is our blindness and deafness. That’s why Jesus, in the scripture for today, was praising his disciples. They were seeing and hearing things that escaped most people. In fact, He said that many of the prophets and righteous people longed to see and hear what the disciples were seeing and hearing, but they were unable to do so. That’s what this sermon is about: seeing and hearing. For years, poll after poll has showed that most ...

4433. Luke 18: 9-14

Luke 18:9-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the words of our prayers. Although the connective “also” in v.9 clearly ties this week’s parable to the preceding one in Luke’s text, the audience Jesus addresses is less clear. Throughout this section Jesus has only alternatively addressed his disciples and the larger crowd in attendance. As the details of this particular text unfurl it seems obvious to identify the “Pharisees” as the object of this example. But there are enough vagaries and general vagueness to suggest that Jesus’ words were ...

4434. Can You Be Popular and Serve Jesus?

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... wrong with that. How about if you had done the very best you could, and instead of being applauded, you were persecuted? That would be a bummer, wouldn’t it? And yet Jesus tells us that when that happens to us, we ought to rejoice. Jesus said to his disciples on one occasion, “Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven.” I don’t know about ...

4435. Timing Is Everything

Matthew 11:2-12

Illustration

Mark Trotter

... more a trick of chronology than anything else, due to being active at the very moment when fruition was possible." It's a wonderful statement. It tells you that timing is everything. That's what we learn from the Bible. Look at our lesson for this morning. The disciples of John the Baptist come to Jesus, and ask, "Are you the one, or do we look for another?" It is a critical question for John. John has preached that the time has come. The Messiah, he said, is about to appear, so repent, get ready, put your ...

4436. Dream Power

Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... by their commitment to embodying God’s “good news” for this world. Joseph didn’t act because he witnessed miracles. Joseph didn’t say yes because of healings, or by the demonstration of divine powers. All those gifts would be given to Jesus’ disciples and other witnesses. Joseph made God’s work in this world possible solely on the basis of dreams. What if instead of calling our communities of faith “the church” we called ourselves a DreamScape — a place where people who are committed to ...

4437. Carbon Pure and Perfect

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... saved” (v.18). Salvation is a lifelong process, a lifetime of growing in prevenient grace, a lifetime of living through saving grace, a lifetime of slip sliding on sanctifying grace. Jesus didn’t call one perfect disciples. Jesus called twelve impressively imperfect disciples. Twelve different inclusions of following Jesus. Jesus is our diamond, whatever his clarity. Fourth, Cut: Every diamond is made beautiful by the shade it takes and the number of light reflecting facets that are carefully incised ...

4438. The Evangelist Has a Shady Past

John 4:1-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... at the well. Our story takes place in a Samaritan town called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. A Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus asked her, “Will you give me a drink?” The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” For Jews ...

4439. Why Are You Here?

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... used the words of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible in which Jesus says to Judas, ‘Friend, why are you here?’” (vs. 50). (1) You remember the setting for this question. Jesus was with his disciples at a place called Gethsemane. He had gone there to pray. Afterward he had a word with his disciples. While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Judas had arranged a ...

4440. What Kind of Pillar Are You?

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the kingdom of God as something that was both “fulfilled” by his presence, yet was also a reality that was still to come. To live in God’s kingdom that is both “now” and “not yet” requires disciples to always be in forward motion, a Carpe Manana moving towards a future that is forever being unveiled. Jesus’ disciples are called to flavor that future with the good news of the gospel, acting as salt to a planet that is yearning for a taste of God’s power and presence. The pillars of God’s ...

4441. K.I.S.S.

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

King Duncan

... is difficult, but communication is also critical in living together in families and as communities. Here’s the final thing to be said: Communication of the Gospel is our primary responsibility as Christians. What was Christ’s final instruction to his disciples? “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” This is our primary task as believers in Jesus the Christ ...

4442. John 4:5-42

John 4:1-26

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the Samaritan woman to recognize as Messiah the one who brings God’s presence “in spirit and truth” to the people, not just as someone who can know her secrets. The first section of this Samaritan scene ends with the return of the disciples. They appear suitably astonished and subtly appalled to find Jesus talking with a Samaritan and a woman. The woman herself leaves immediately. The telling detail of her abandoned water jar suggests she might return. Although she leaves Jesus at the well, the woman ...

4443. All Boxed In?

Matthew 28:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... a claim that almost guaranteed the rejection of the resurrection to most. But it was a claim so “out of the box” that it grabbed the attention, grabbed the hearts, of those who had heard Jesus, witnessed the persecution, experienced the fervor of the first disciples. Jesus lived his whole life “out of the box.” He left his birth box. He chose to wander without a steady source of income. He was wifeless and childless. He willingly moved from his homeland of Galilee to Samaria and down to the region ...

4444. Optical Illusions

Luke 24:13-35

Illustration

Mickey Anders

... woman. In the second one, some people see a rabbit; some people see a duck. Physicists say that optical illusions prove that our brains add substantially to the visual input from our eyes. What we see is actually made up by our brains. In our Scripture passage today, the two disciples on the road to Emmaus did not see Jesus even though they walked with him and talked with him on the road. That simple puzzle has amazed Biblical scholars for ages. We assume that Cleopas and the other ...

4445. Because I Live (Memorial Day)

John 14:15-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... ’ grateful hearts. The song clearly affirms the hope believers have in Christ. We can face tomorrow, with all its uncertainty, as we realize that God holds the future and makes life worth living. (2) “Because I live, you also will live . . .” said Christ to his disciples. What does that say to you and me about our lives? Christ’s words remind us, first of all, that we are loved. Listen, now, to the rest of this passage: “Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I ...

4446. Looking at Footprints

John 17:1-11

Illustration

Barbara Lundblad

... watch him disappear into the clouds. If you look closely at the picture, not in the clouds, but on the ground, you can see footprints on the earth. The artist has carefully etched Jesus' footprints down on the level where the disciples are standing with their mouths open. Perhaps the artist was simply imagining a homey detail that isn't in the text. Or, perhaps, the artist is pressing us with the old question, "Why do you stand looking up into heaven? Look at these footprints here on the earth." Jesus ...

4447. You Can’t Will Them All

Matthew 10:14

Illustration

Mark Trotter

... . It's been a team effort all the way." "You Can't Win Them All" sounds like baseball wisdom. But I would like to point out to you that it is also biblical. It was Jesus' advice to his disciples. It is our lesson for this morning, the 10th chapter of Matthew, Jesus' instruction to his disciples. Most people remember Casey Stengel from his glory days with the New York Yankees in the 50s, when they won all those titles and world championships. Most don't remember that Casey Stengel coached the Mets, and lost ...

4448. The Parable of the Soil

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and produces a new generation, a new “crop” for the kingdom. But whether it is a “bumper crop” or an average harvest, or even a lean year, is not at issue. All that fall on “good soil” is a good outcome. The work and witness of disciples is not measured in bales of bounty. It is calculated by the “goodness” of the “soil,” that is, by the passion of the individual to bringing Jesus’ message to some form of fruition. To be “good soil” we cannot just “go through the motions.” To ...

4449. God Works with People

Matthew 14:13-21

Illustration

Leonard Mann

Historically, God has always worked with people, and through people, to get things done in the world. Remember, please, that it was with the food the disciples brought to Jesus that he fed the multitude. And he didn't feed them, really; it was the disciples who did that; it was from their hands those people received that food that day. It is the way of God to use human instrumentality to accomplish his purpose. Perhaps he could by-pass the human instrumentality and get his work done without the ...

4450. God Lets Us Help

Matthew 14:13-21

Illustration

Leonard Mann

... to the Lord that the Green Mountain Boys were there!" The plain fact is, of course, that wherever God has done things in the world somebody has been there helping him do them. Yes, perhaps Jesus could have fed that multitude without the five loaves and two fish which the disciples brought to him, but he didn't. He let his ...

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