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 715 results

426. The Measure of Greatness

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

Brett Blair

... amount that you have sacrificed. We stood to inherit our father Zebedee’s lucrative fishing business. We gave all of that up.” At this point Matthew chimes in: “Well if you want to talk about giving up money, I can play that game. I was a tax collector. None of you had as much money as I did. Therefore, I am the greatest.” When the twelve arrived at their destination, Jesus asked them what they had been talking about back on the road. It was a question meant for their introspection. Jesus knew what ...

427. The Star Thrower

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... the base communities and various reforms, those of low degree are being exalted and the hungry are being fed. It is to be remembered that much of Jesus' appeal was to those who were blamed too much in their time -- people like prostitutes, tax collectors, sinners, peasants, neglected folk, and all the other multitudes of the great unwashed masses, the hoi polloi. Blame had been carried too far. Were you blind? It was because you or your parents sinned, said the self-righteous. Were you epileptic or neurotic ...

428. Giving Everything: The Widow's Might

Mark 12:41-44

Sermon

Brett Blair

... it may not get our attention as it should it does get the attention of Jesus. Calling his disciple to him he said, “I tell you the truth this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.” On that day, I am sure tax collectors, officials, and Pharisees entered the temple on that day and put in several drachma. Hundreds times more what this poor lady put in. She dropped two lepta in the treasury. It would take 50 such poor widows to equal one drachma’ worth of giving. But it got Jesus ...

429. The Healing of Jairus' Daughter and the Hemorrhaging Woman

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

James W. Moore

... AND FINALLY, LOVE HAS THE POWER TO REDEEM. Let me ask you something. Be honest now. Do you know the redeeming love of Christ in your life? Has He turned your life around? Has He loved you into life? There is a beautiful old story about Zacchaeus the tax collector. It tells how in later years, he rose early every morning and left his house. His wife, curious, followed him one morning. At the town well he filled a bucket and he walked until he came to a sycamore tree. There, setting down the bucket, he began ...

430. Nicodemus

John 3:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... his activity to preaching in the desert; he did not baptize anyone; he was certainly no ascetic - in fact, the word we had was that he was something of a party-boy, eating and drinking with some of the worst riff-raff in the nation: tax-collectors, prostitutes and the like. But the biggest difference between Jesus and John was what Jesus DID - word had it that Jesus was performing remarkable miracles... making the lame to walk, giving sight to the blind, even restoring the dead to life...the stories were ...

431. A Theology of Work - Labor Day

Deuteronomy 5:1-33

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... for a biblical understanding of work? AMBIVALENT. Some good, some not so good. We have no record that Jesus ever worked or urged anyone else to do so. In fact, when Jesus invited people to follow him, they QUIT their jobs as fishermen or tax collectors or whatever to join in the entourage. Some still do that even today. Not everyone, of course. No problem there - people can still be dedicated Christians in any kind of occupation. That was the special insistence of the protestant reformers who pressed the ...

432. The Handwriting on the Heart

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... indeed draw people to him. It had been so since the night of his birth - humble shepherds and learned magi. As a boy in the Temple, there were rabbis and scholars. As a man there were folk from all walks of life - from fishermen and tax-collectors to men like Nicodemus, the cream of Israelite society; upstanding women and fallen women; the little children loved him enough to make such a nuisance of themselves that the disciples tried to shoo them away. Even a hard-bitten Roman governor would be mesmerized ...

433. The Incomparable Christ

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... to be baptized in recognition of their cleansing - thus his nickname, John the Baptizer or John the Baptist. John was a man of high ethics - he preached fairness and sharing: a person who had two coats should give one to a someone who had none; tax collectors were warned to collect no more than their due; and soldiers were instructed to rob no one and be content with their wages. Fairness. Sharing. But sharing your brother's wife was a bit much. So here he was. The royal prison. Meanwhile, John's cousin ...

434. I Am Sombody!!!

Mark 1:9-13, Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... that fact that you are Israelites - God's CHOSEN people - to save you. GET right and DO right." The crowds asked what to do. He responded, "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise." Tax collectors were told, "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you." Soldiers were instructed, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages."(2) It was a message that affirmed what they already knew: if they ...

435. Power

Mark 1:9-13, Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... that fact that you are Israelites - God's CHOSEN people - to save you. GET right and DO right." The crowds asked what to do. He responded, "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise." Tax collectors were told, "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you." Soldiers were instructed, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages."(3) It was a message that affirmed what they already knew: if they ...

436. When What's Lost Is Found

Luke 15:8-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... like many of us. We know in our minds that we are sinners, but we specialize in misdemeanors not in felonies ” in small sins not in large ones. In our minds, ours are excusable sins. We are like the Pharisee who thanked God he wasn't like the tax collector. His sins fell within a range of acceptability. British actor Peter Ustinov said he once dreamed he had been elected Pope. In his dream he saw smoke rising from the chimney pots, and heard people saying he must go out on the balcony at once and wave ...

437. Would You Mind Rescuing Me?

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

King Duncan

... of Christ is the work of us all. There wasn't a single ordained, seminary trained clergyperson among all those who torpedoed that first community of believers into the most powerful force in the society of its time. Farmers, fishermen, homemakers, tax collectors, ordinary people fueled the church's growth and influence in New Testament times. About a year ago, a major corporation announced it would be moving its corporate offices across the country. During an interview with the press, the board's chairman ...

438. Grace Greater Than Our Sin

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... of bonus. It doesn't seem fair, does it, that people can waltz in here at the last minute and claim the same benefits as those of us who have labored for decades? Jesus faced this same dilemma. He was criticized for spending too much time with tax collectors and other sinners and not spending enough time with the respectable folks. Respectable folks didn't like that. Could it be that God knows some things that we don't? Could it be that the sinner we so harshly judge is closer to God than we might imagine ...

439. The Unexpected Jesus

Mark 3:20-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... control, and when the unexpected happens, we sometimes lose that control. Some of us don't appreciate the unexpected at all. THAT WAS ONE OF JESUS' PROBLEMS: HE WASN'T WHAT PEOPLE HAD EXPECTED. His was an unconventional ministry was aimed at fishermen, tax collectors, and housewives ” people who were not the elite of his time. In spite of his astounding popularity, it was clear that he was charting his own course, and playing up to no-one. Some of his teachings even contradicted the conventional wisdom of ...

440. Empowered

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... believe we can pull ourselves out of the muck and the mire of a disappointing and dismal situation. And the church is the place where true empowerment takes place. Can we not see that Pentecost is about empowerment? A handful of farmers, fishermen, tax-collectors and housewives became so empowered that they turned the Roman empire upside down. That's quite an accomplishment. It may very well be the greatest single act of empowerment in recorded history. How did they do it? The answer is quite obvious. And ...

441. One In Christ

Galatians 3:15-25

Sermon

Dr. Ronald Love

... as ourselves, to do unto others as we would wish them to do unto us, and when entering a room to sit at the foot of the table. The principles Jesus taught, he also lived. Jesus invited to his table all sorts of people ” Greeks, Jews, sinners, tax collectors ” so they all would come to know his grace. He befriended a man who was hated by all: Zacchaeus. He met secretly at night with a man who was confused: Nicodemus. He healed a man who had a dreaded disease: the unnamed leper. These principles continued ...

442. Why Change Is Possible

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... said many will think: This is quite un-American to climb off the corporate ladder for the sake of Christian service. However, it is quite biblical. (2) The New Testament lesson from Luke 19:1-10 is the account of a greedy, guilty, money-grabbing tax collector who is transformed into a sharing, sensitive, saint of God by the forgiving power of Jesus Christ. Can and will you add your name to that list today? Do you remember the story of Bob Ingersol? He was a famous and learned unbeliever of the last ...

443. Let My Little Light Shine

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... were not Jesus' methods. Jesus motivated through positive messages of hope and encouragement. Consider our lesson for today. Jesus says to his followers, "You are the light of the world. . . ." Can you imagine that? Here was a motley crew of farmers and fishermen and tax collectors and housewives in a tiny and remote village in an obscure part of the world and Jesus was saying to them, "You are the light of the world." Talk about a statement of faith! Let's go farther than that. Talk about a crazy idea ...

444. I Love You, Man!

John 21:15-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... I see several pictures. I see Jesus, against the counsel of his disciples, take up little children in his arms and bless them. I see Jesus stopping a parade to respond to the cries of a blind street beggar. I see Jesus going home with Zacchaeus, a hated tax collector, to demonstrate to him that God still loved him. I see Jesus responding to the hunger needs of five thousand people by directing his disciples to feed them. I see Jesus talking to a woman with a bad reputation at the well. Through faith in God ...

445. Where's George?

Luke 15:1-7, Luke 15:8-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... looking for lost coins or lost sheep in the 1990s is that a lot of those coins or sheep do not want to be found. Isn't that your experience? The busybodies were criticizing Jesus again this time for the kind of people he associated with. Tax collectors and other sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This irked the religious leaders. So Jesus told the religious leaders a couple of parables. The first was about a shepherd who left ninetynine sheep in the wilderness to find one that had gone astray. The ...

446. One Life To Live

Isaiah 42:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... have a tendency to move beyond righteousness to self-righteousness. They are prone to condemn those whom they adjudge as not having the will power, the character, the personal discipline that they have. They become the pharisee looking down at the tax-collector, the older brother refusing to welcome the prodigal back home. They become rigid reactionaries stoning the Apostle Stephen. Righteousness is a gift from God. It is not something we simply earn. When Paul Powers was seven years old, his mother died ...

447. Needed: Peacemakers

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... peace in his lifestyle? How can we follow his example? First, Jesus came to destroy the barriers that separate people. In a world in which religion is so often used to divide people, Jesus sought to bring people together. He welcomed children, ate with tax collectors and sinners, allowed a sinful woman to anoint his feet with oil, and healed lepers. In fact, the first time Jesus announced his true identity as the Messiah, it was to a Samaritan woman with a bad reputation (John 4). Righteous Jews of Jesus ...

448. Danny Devito In A Tree

Luke 19:1-10

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... know the story of Zacchaeus? Let's all sing the song "Zacchaeus Was a Wee Little Man." (If you are not musically inclined, ask someone to help you with this.) Did you know that the crowd was unhappy with Jesus for going home with Zacchaeus? Zacchaeus was a tax collector and was very rich. He sometimes charged the people more than he was supposed to charge; therefore, the people didn't like him. Jesus saw his heart and told the people, "I have come to seek and save those like him who are lost." That means He ...

449. A Father Pleased With His Son

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... dried them with her hair. "Doesn't the Master know what kind of people have invited him to dine this evening? Can't he see that he will never win the hearts of the people if he insists on being seen in the company of sinners and tax- collectors?" Jesus didn't seem to put anybody down--not the woman caught in adultery, nor the despised Samaritans or even the agents of Rome. Instead, he reserved his wrath for the self-righteous Pharisees who were experts at making other people feel unworthy. Listen again, my ...

450. Sarah Laughed

Genesis 18:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... then perhaps we could dismiss God. It is the absurd in life that gives us hope--a Savior born in a stable; a blood-stained cross that becomes a symbol of hope for millions of people; a motley group of farmers, fishermen, housewives and tax collectors who believe that their leader has been raised from the dead, and with that belief as their touchstone, take over an empire; a carousing young playboy who will one day be known, ironically, as St. Augustine; a world-renowned organist, scientist, philosopher who ...

Showing results

Showing 426 to 450 of 715 results

426. The Measure of Greatness

Mark 9:33-37

Sermon

Brett Blair

427. The Star Thrower

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

428. Giving Everything: The Widow's Might

Mark 12:41-44

Sermon

Brett Blair

429. The Healing of Jairus' Daughter and the Hemorrhaging Woman

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

James W. Moore

430. Nicodemus

John 3:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

431. A Theology of Work - Labor Day

Deuteronomy 5:1-33

Sermon

David E. Leininger

432. The Handwriting on the Heart

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

David E. Leininger

433. The Incomparable Christ

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

David E. Leininger

434. I Am Sombody!!!

Mark 1:9-13, Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

David E. Leininger

435. Power

Mark 1:9-13, Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... that fact that you are Israelites - God's CHOSEN people - to save you. GET right and DO right." The crowds asked what to do. He responded, "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise." Tax collectors were told, "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you." Soldiers were instructed, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages."(3) It was a message that affirmed what they already knew: if they ...

436. When What's Lost Is Found

Luke 15:8-10

Sermon

King Duncan

437. Would You Mind Rescuing Me?

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

King Duncan

438. Grace Greater Than Our Sin

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan