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 426 to 450 of 3314 results

426. Fatal Subtraction

Acts 5:1-11

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... a piece of property and held back a portion of the profit. He could have kept some profit for himself. There was nothing saying he had to give all the profit to the church. His problem was that he lied to God, the Holy Spirit and Peter and the other apostles. When Peter asked him if he turned in all his earnings he said, "Yes," knowing he was lying. At that moment he was struck down and died because he lied to God - blasphemed the Holy Spirit by not keeping the promise he made to God when he joined the ...

427. Redrawing The Landscape

Multiple Scriptures

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... was developed in childhood and was entirely appropriate to childhood but which is inappropriately transferred into adult situations. The apostle Paul spoke vividly of the acceptance of reality when he told the Corinthians: "When I was a child, I ... little girls. We can become unaware of the positive aspects of reality. One of the paramount awarenesses made by Jesus Christ and the apostle Paul was that human beings don't like to change their maps once they have drawn them. Even when our life maps aren't ...

428. James the Lesser · A Small Man for a Big Job

Matthew 10:1-3

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... disciples called him the "Lesser" and he answered to it. He did his job and went wherever the Spirit of God called him. "James the Lesser" is a name and a man to remember since he did one of the big jobs for Jesus. He was a friend and an apostle and everyone knew him because he was the shortest man in the group. When someone met James the Lesser, they never forgot him and what is even more important is that they didn't forget what he had to say or what he did. He was a friend of Jesus ...

429. John · A Man of Trust

John 19:26-27

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... was met there by the Father in Heaven. It was a really special time, and Jesus told them to tell no one about it until just the right time. There were other special moments like this that James, Peter and John shared together. They were the leaders of the apostles and Jesus spent some extra time with them. But how was John different? There were some times when you knew that Jesus trusted John as his very special friend. One of these times was when Jesus was on the cross and about to die. Mary, the mother of ...

430. The Glorious Company

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Theodore F. Schneider

... these blessings, woes and exhortations to the disciples and not to the crowd, as is the case in Matthew's account. The Beatitudes were not initially for everybody. They were intended for the disciples, those who were being set apart to be witnesses of the gospel as apostles. They presuppose the needed grace of God to fulfill their calling. 2. Each of us has different gifts. Not all of us are called to die for the faith, but we are called to live it to the fullest level of trust our gift of faith allows ...

431. When Thomas Doubted

John 20:24-31

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... chapter of Thomas stands out clear before us. He made a serious mistake. He withdrew from Christian fellowship. He sought loneliness rather than togetherness. In the second chapter of Acts, we read how Christians are described. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers… All who believed were together and had all things in common… (Acts 2:42, 44a).” Because he was not there with his fellow Christians, he missed the first coming of ...

432. Lent

Sermon

Betty Lynn Schwab

... ? Do you take time to express sincere thanks to God for God's blessing upon your life? What fruit does your life bear because of your faith in Christ Jesus? Reader 1: Let us pray. All: God of the Heavens and Earth, you blessed Ancient Israel, Jesus and the Apostles. You bless us today. During Lent this year, help us to be more mindful of your presence in our lives. May we be moved more often to give you thanks. May our daily life bear more fruit because of our faith in Christ. Amen. (Bowl of fruit set up ...

433. The Dynamics of Doubt

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... around believers. They would not have felt uncomfortable with Jesus. He would simply have helped them understand their doubts and led them to confess: "I believe, help my unbelief." Jesus helped Thomas "take his doubt in" by showing his wounds to the apostle. As we show our wounds to one another, instead of just speaking about our virtues, we encourage the incorporation of unbelief into belief in the family of God. The counterpoint of belief and honest expression of doubt is expressed by Dietrich Bonhoeffer ...

434. Faith-Filled Living

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

... it not. And third, I believe in God, even when he is silent." Faith is a trust in God to be present, loving and good to us in every circumstance of life. Pnat’s what the disciples wanted, and that’s what we want. From Whom Does Faith Come? "The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ " (Luke 17:5) Faith is God’s gift. It is through the goodness and grace of God that we are able to trust God. This may sound like a vicious cycle, but it is true. God enables us to trust God. The disciples ...

435. The Fourth Sunday of Easter

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Kendall K. McCabe

... , is his ministry. It is his work we are about, not our own. A great deal of ink has been spilled over the years about the term "apostolic succession." It is too often taken to mean a succession of laying on of hands back to the apostles, a kind of ministerial genealogy. Those who define it that way then conclude that only individuals who presumably have been ordained in that succession are able to do things "validly." It becomes magical in its interpretation and understanding, even if one were able to buy ...

436. Why Look To Heaven?

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

... fortress in which we gain protection, the church after the Ascension frequently describes our faith as a ship in which we boldly venture into the world. The new relationship with God that came with the Ascension is the difference between being a disciple and being an apostle. Certainly we are called to discipleship --- to be students and followers of the master. But we're also called to apostleship. We're called to take the Good News we've learned from Christ and share it. And that's not just a selfless act ...

437. The Resurrection of Our Lord

Acts 10:23b-48, Exodus 10:1-20, 1 Corinthians 15:12-34, John 20:1-9, John 20:10-18, Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon Aid

... . They were honest, God-fearing, reliable men and women who gave their lives for their faith in the resurrection. Men do not usually die for a legend. If they had manufactured the story, they would not have been surprised by the resurrection. Even the Apostles had to be convinced by Jesus that he was really alive again. c. A variety of reports. The accounts have many variations but they do agree on the essentials of the resurrection story. If this were a composite creation of the disciples, they would ...

438. Giving Thanks Before Thanksgiving

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Brett Blair

... Yet, in the midst of all of that there was gratitude to God. The Pilgrims thanksgiving was not for the materialistic things of life; the pilgrim’s thanksgiving was one of hope and faith. It was that same sense of hope and faith that enable the apostle Paul to sit in a dingy prison cell in Rome and write: “First, I give thanks to God, through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Perhaps Daniel Defoe gave us some good advice through his fictitious character Robinson Crusoe. The first thing that Crusoe did ...

439. Bloody Hands, Troubled Soul

Mark 14:12-26

Drama

... to touch him, or they wanted his hands upon their heads, or placed over their injuries. They even brought children for him to bless. That was a huge crowd, and after a long day with them, Jesus withdrew to a hill nearby, and there he chose his disciples - "apostles" he called them. And he called me. Out of the hundreds, nay, thousands to pick from, he chose me. (I have often wondered why. What did he see in me?) And then Jesus gave us authority to preach, to cast out demons, and to anoint and heal the ...

440. The First Council

Acts 15:1-21

Sermon Aid

CSS

... with Peter, who was depicted as vacillating and unwilling to stand up for his principles. Paul doubtless saw this as the place to make a stand to validate his ministry. If he were to accept the rebuke that came from Jerusalem, his entire vocation as apostle to the Gentiles would be destroyed. Either the Gospel was limited to the Jews, or to people who first became Jews, or it was intended for the world. Apparently the group at Jerusalem was willing to accept an occasional Gentile into their midst, as a ...

441. A Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

George Bass

... , the Son of the living God." And Jesus called him blessed because God in heaven had revealed this to him and declared: "You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church." He did just that as he changed a rough fisherman into a believer and an apostle. And he reminded the disciples that the Messiah would have to suffer, die, and rise again in order to accomplish reconciliation of God and his people in the world. Christ seems to have had an easier time with Peter than he did with Paul, doesn’t he? But ...

442. On Top of the Mountain

Matthew 17:1-13

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... ball or a pretzel. The figure changes its shape, but it is still clay. This is called a transfiguration because it changes shape. This day on the mountain Jesus was transfigured but he did not change shape. He was transfigured in a different way. When the apostles looked at Jesus, they knew that he had changed because his clothes and his body were filled with light. No man had ever looked so bright as Jesus did. The light was so bright that the disciples fell to the ground and covered their eyes. There ...

443. Paper Flowers and Disciples

Matthew 28:16-20

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... disciple. [Take one of the children and pretend you are wrestling him into a position of submission. As you wrestle him ask him repeatedly to give in and become a disciple.] That is one way to make a disciple. Do you think this is the way Jesus meant for the apostles to make disciples? [Let them answer.] Do you know any other ways to make people disciples? I know how to make a flower out of paper. [Take your pattern and a pair of scissors and cut out a flower.] If I can make a flower with scissors, maybe I ...

444. Grace, Salvation, and Redemption

Romans 8:18-27, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Romans 5:1-11

Sermon Aid

T. A. Kantonen

... but also what he must be saved to - reconciliation and righteousness and life."11 Paul’s message of salvation is an announcement of an event which has already taken place. Salvation is based on what God has already done. "God shows his love for us," declares the apostle, "in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). "While we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son" (Romans 5:10). With Aulen we may speak of the death and resurrection of Christ as the "Christ ...

445. Salvation as Personal Experience

Romans 9:30--10:21

Sermon Aid

T. A. Kantonen

... bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God" (Romans 12:1). Our bodies are the "temple of the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 3:16). The Lord rules in our bodies over our whole existence, not just the inner life. "Do you not know," asks the apostle, "That your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute?" "Shun immorality, for it is a defilement of the temple of the Spirit" and "glorify God in your body" (1 Corinthians 6:15 ff ...

446. Paul Today

Acts 17:16-34

Sermon Aid

T. A. Kantonen

... self is to emerge. Karen Homey saw in preoccupation with self the distinctive trait of the neurotic personality of our time. Paul’s gospel thus speaks to contemporary man in his actual condition. He needs to find a center of life beyond himself. He needs to discover with the apostle the new life which leads him to say, "The life I now live is not my own life but the life which Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). If Paul speaks meaningfully to men of today about the need of a new life, can the same be ...

447. The Art of Living Until

Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon

Leonard Mann

... , is the second requirement in mastering the art of living until: Be confident of the outcome. No, we cannot be sure what storms may set upon us along the way, but we can be sure of a safe haven at last. As the persecutions were tightening about the Apostle Paul, he left Ephesus to go to Jerusalem. In his farewell to the Ephesian Christians, he said, "And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, bound in the Spirit, not knowing what shall befall me there" (Acts 20:22 RSV). As Paul saw it, Jerusalem was a part ...

448. Name Above Every Name

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Leonard Mann

... has been performed through them is manifest to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name." What did the authorities then do to the apostles? "They called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus" (Acts 4:15-18). Here is where they drew the line; it was the name which was the issue. Those judges didn’t tell Peter and John to stay off the streets ...

449. Free to Be

Acts 4:23-31

Sermon

Michael J. Anton

... would be without a job. My fear for my own security can be a great enemy, and it can enslave me. Then I am no longer free. I cannot rationalize my way out; I can’t con myself out of being afraid. The only workable answer is the one the apostles used: "We cannot but speak of the things we have seen and heard." The spirit of that answer is the Spirit of God himself. When Peter and John returned to the other disciples and reported their experience, they all joined together to ask God to grant them one thing ...

450. PREACHER

Mark 1:14

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

... freely, and it is not unknown among the Buddhists. It has its roots in the activity of the Hebrew prophets and scribes, the former representing the broader appeal, the latter the edification of the faithful, and in the ministry of Jesus Christ and his apostles, where again we have both the evangelical invitation and the teaching of truth and duty. Whichever is emphasized in preaching, the preacher is one who believes himself to be the ambassador of God, charged with a message which it is his duty to deliver ...

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