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 451 to 475 of 4968 results

451. The Call of the Cross

Luke 9:18-27

Sermon

... death-resurrection prediction for this occasion? But Christ wasn’t done yet; he had one thing more to say: "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me ..." There’s no way of determining if the disciples comprehended what Christ was getting at at that point in their relationship with him, is there? It turned out to be more than a call to commitment; it was a call to total commitment in which they would literally lay down their lives as followers of the ...

452. Jesus ... Who?

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... in a manger." But, when you are proud of others, it is a good kind of pride. This was the pride the people of Plains and the Disciples had. We do have reason to be proud of Jesus. You and I can be proud of his courage shown when he was threatened by King ... . To know Jesus is to love him and to die for him. How is the world to know who Jesus is? When Jesus led the Disciples down from the Transfiguration, he commanded they should tell no one who he was, as revealed on the mountain, until he was raised from the ...

453. Peter Becomes the Rock

Drama

G. Franklin Gray

... will but thine be done." And when Jesus was dying on the cross, he pleaded, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" It’s clear to me, you wanted Jesus to die. God, you left him to his enemies ... you deserted him. You are no better than the disciples who deserted him. Do you feel guilt like I do? God, I am standing before a bush like Moses did. You spoke to Moses. Make this bush a burning bush and talk to me. (Pause) Now, God! I need an answer, God! (Pause) I demand an answer, God! Your silence ...

454. Counting the Cost

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

... excuses for spurning the invitation. Here he goes on to show what is expected of those who accept the invitation. Although the banquet itself is free and there is no charge for entering the kingdom of God, he says, "you must sit down and count the cost" of being my disciple. Don’t be like the man who starts to build a tower but can only lay the foundation and then runs out of money and cannot finish the job. Don’t be like the king who rashly goes to war against another king whose army is twice as big ...

455. A Fishing Trip To Remember

John 21:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... with mentally and emotionally. They wanted to believe, but it was like they were in a dream. It was too much, too soon. The disciples were still trying to sort all of this out when Simon Peter said, "Let's go fishing." And they all agreed. An evening in ... us to focus not on our own needs but on the needs of others, and finally to say to us what he said to those disciples two thousand years ago: "Follow me." Will you heed his summons? Will you sell out lock, stock and barrel to follow the risen Christ? He ...

456. Finding Calm In The Storm

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

King Duncan

... care that we perish?" And Mark tells us simply that Jesus "rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace! Be still!' And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm." Then Jesus said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?" Mark tells us that the disciples were filled with awe, and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?" I. The Fury of the Storm There are three elements of this word picture that Mark has painted for us that we need to ponder this day. The First is ...

457. Fans or Followers

Matthew 4:18-22

Sermon

King Duncan

... tonight.” I know how that orchestra conductor felt at that moment. Every pastor does. The work of the church is so important. Our ministry to little children and to youth and to adults is so vital to the Kingdom of God. This is a place where disciples grow. This is where we are equipped for the work Christ has given us. The church deserves our best loyalty and service. I’m reminded of a story about another orchestra that was giving a concert in a large church hall in England. The place was absolutely ...

458. Strong Faith

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... of food they had would never be enough. But they were wrong. Little is always much when Jesus is involved. Jesus took the little bit of food they brought him, "looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples." In turn the disciples gave the food to the crowd. You know the rest of the story. Everyone had enough to eat and twelve baskets of food were left over. There are many places people are putting their faith nowadays ” in their bank accounts, in taking care of their ...

459. The Patron Saint Of All Who Are The Last To Know

John 20:24-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... can teach us that it's O.K. to have honest, questing doubters among us. Faith can only be shared if doubters are allowed to express their doubts, so that faith can be planted. The key to Thomas' ultimate faith is that he stayed within the circle of the disciples and acted as a person of faith, until faith returned. Anyone can be faithful, when life is easy. It takes real faith to be faithful when life is tough. Doubting Thomas may have been the last to know, but today we know him as Saint Thomas. His story ...

460. God Has Gone Up

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... did not know what the future held, they knew who held the future. It is said that the wife of Albert Einstein was once asked if she understood her husband's theory of relativity. She replied,"No, but I know my husband and I know he can be trusted." The disciples knew that Christ was with the Father and that Christ could be trusted. They believed that he was in charge and that made all the difference. I am so thankful that I am not in charge of the universe. When I look over my life and see the times when ...

461. Lord of the Dance

Mark 2:13-22

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... is being said in the Gospel, the "Godspell," then you will want to sing. In the next scene, the people who have seen all of this banqueting, who have heard the singing of joyful songs out of season, ask Jesus, "Why do John the Baptist's disciples and the Pharisees fast, and your disciples do not fast?" Jesus says, "The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them." That is to say, the party has started. A new age is here. A new way of living in this world is here, by the gift of God's grace ...

462. Until It Dawns on You

Matthew 17:1-9

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... : the presence of "glory." Glory is manifested as light. Glory is the signature of God. Glory is all that you can see of God. Looking at God is like looking at the sun. So it is in prayer that God comes to Jesus in glory. Peter and the other two disciples see this. Then, all of a sudden, there are Moses and Elijah, standing on either side of him. Then a voice says, "This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to him" As quickly as it appeared, it disappeared. Jesus is there, alone, praying. That's an ...

463. God Will Take Care of You

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... yet-to-be-realized meal is an act of trust. Once these people sit down they are relinquishing their own power to feed themselves. They are putting their future in another's hands. It's as the crowd trusts Jesus to feed them, and it's as the disciples trust Jesus to take and use the small gleanings they have to offer, that the miracle occurs. Not only is there food enough for all; not only is just the edge taken off their hunger: most amazing of all, all are filled (or "satisfied"). Jesus' ability to provide ...

464. Go Meditate!

Revelation 19:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and secure. In Jesus mediation, we're driven to the edges, to the very margins of sacrificial love, where we lay down our preferences, lay down our rights, so that others may know the meaning of God's love. The kind of mediation to which God calls his disciples is reflected in this story by homiletics professor Ron Allen. "When I was about eight," he writes, "I was with some neighborhood kids. We were building a dam across a drainage ditch down the block. A new kid came up, looked me full in the face, and ...

465. The Church on Main Street

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

James McCormick

... of life, nothing makes much sense, and nothing works out very well. That’s one place our focus must be if we as a Church are to do business on Main Street! We belong to God and we always will. That’s the first thing. II. Second, to be a disciple means that, just as we belong to the God made known in Jesus, we also belong to the family of God. Saying “Yes” to Christ and being converted is not the completion of the Christian process; it’s just the beginning of it. God loves us and accepts us just ...

466. What Is A Christian?

Acts 11:26

Sermon

James Merritt

... tried to live by the Golden Rule, she said, "Absolutely." Now, I want to go to what the Bible says a Christian is. I was amazed to learn that even though the term "believers" is used 80 times to describe Christians, "saints" is used 60 times, and "disciples" is used 30 times, the word "Christian" is used only three times. Yet these three instances are crucial because they tell us what a Christian is all about. Now although the word was used commonly, both inside and outside the church by the middle of the ...

467. Matthew 14:13-21

Matthew 14:13-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to get a move on, trek back to the nearest villages, and start scaring up some grub. The “hour” that is “late” is the generally accepted time for the evening meal, and as that time “passed” the hunger of the crowd would surely grow. Since the disciples are the first to point out this need, Jesus assigns them the job of feeding the enormous crowd: “you give them something to eat” (v.16). As with the feeding miracle Elisha worked in 2 Kings 4:42-44, those charged with getting the crowd a ...

468. The Three Stages to Truth: A Biblical Philosophy of Education

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... only be perplexed about this mighty prophet: "We had hoped he was the one." In Jerusalem they are paralyzed with fear when the very one they most desire to see actually appears before them. Yet it is only by experiencing this stage of search theology that the disciples are ready to listen to the truth Jesus will now lay before them. There is an Aesop fable about a dispute between the sun and wind over who was the strongest. The wind noticed a man walking along wearing a coat. He challenged the sun: "I am ...

469. John 20:1-18

John 20:1-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to God. The story he tells, of course, is a highly condensed version of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Witnessing the physical resurrection of Christ (he "ate and drank" with them after he rose) now becomes the special mark of the chosen disciples, Peter among them. The mission of these chosen witnesses is to spread the word, not only of Jesus' resurrection, but of Christ's role as the "judge of the living and the dead." Christ's role as judge was part of the gospel message, validated ...

470. Luke 9:28-36 (37-43)

Luke 9:28-36 (37-43)

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... wonder that they are "terrified" at the prospect of this sudden encounter. The text is a bit difficult to decipher at this point. The pronouns do not make it clear whether the "they" who enter into this cloud includes just Moses, Elijah and Jesus or if the disciples are also caught up in the mist. Whatever the case, it is clear that, unlike the divine voice that spoke when the heavens opened at Jesus' baptism, this voice is heard by all present. The words are uttered in the third person as a proclamation to ...

471. John 20:1-18

John 20:1-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

472. Mark 8:31-38

Mark 8:31-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to chosen members of the Jesus team Peter "took him aside" and began to "rebuke him" (v.32). Jesus rejects both Peter's message and his attempt to assume the role of teacher. In his rebuke of Peter, Jesus orders him back to a proper discipling position "Get behind me" and differentiates between the all-too-human concerns of Peter and the infinitely more important, eternal matters that are at stake. Part of the paradox Mark skillfully depicts in this exchange is that at the very moment Jesus is flexing the ...

473. Mark 13:1-8

Mark 13:1-8

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , Jesus notes that these deceivers will invoke the Messiah's name by claiming "I am he," trying to usurp the power of the divine name. False prophets are masterful at attaching the credentials of heaven to their earthbound existence. Likewise, Jesus cautions his disciples not to let events in the natural world be falsely labeled as portents of an imminent eschaton. As they have in the past, wars and conflicts will continue to occur. But the simple unfolding of human history is a story controlled and timed ...

474. Luke 21:5-19

Luke 21:5-19

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Yet even though there will not be "early dismissal" for loyal believers, they should never doubt that these events are unfolding according to divine plan and in keeping with God's time. This uncalculated but apparently lengthy stretch of time between the disciples' hard experiences of persecution and the falling of the final eschatological curtain is the focus of Jesus' words in verses 12-19. Luke highlights the temporal order of end-time events by having Jesus pointedly declare in verse 12, "But before all ...

475. Matthew 10:40-42

Matthew 10:40-42

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... this connectedness makes the extended logic of verses 41-42 more obvious. First, the reference to "prophets" can be taken literally, as prophets were understood to be ones who spoke for God, who were God's mouthpiece to the people. If, indeed, the disciples' relationship reached behind Jesus to God, this designation "prophet" is literally correct. The NRSV has improved upon the RSV and the NIV by re-translating verse 41 in a more literal fashion as well. The RSV and NIV has compressed this reference to ...

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