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 2815 results

451. Good News for Tenant Farmers

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... ministry, we can sow, but we cannot guarantee results. We can give it our best effort, but cannot completely control the outcome. Only God can do that. And God is convinced that in the end, when it comes to [that] harvest the results will be abundant."(4) Hmm. The Parable of the Sower. In the original version, I suspect we would identify Jesus as the farmer, the seed as the gospel, and the field as the world. I would cast you and me, not as those types of soil with which we may have been identified in years ...

452. Don't Apologize For Success (but Give Thanks)

Luke 19:11-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... we are. Happy thanksliving. We are to live out the gratitude that we feel. This brings us to the second thing to be said. BECAUSE GOD HAS GIVEN US OUR ABILITIES, TALENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES, WE ARE TO USE THEM IN SERVICE TO THE WORLD. This parable in Luke is very similar to the parable of the talents in Matthew’s Gospel. The king gave to each of his servants a gift of money and when he returned he asked to see what they had done with those gifts. One had multiplied his gift tenfold and he was given dominion ...

453. The Repentant Heart

2 Samuel 12:1-31

Sermon

Timothy Smith

... able to confess our sins, we restore our relationship with God and we are able to start over again, living our lives the way God would want us to. It's never too late to ask for forgiveness and start over. Jesus taught us that in one of his parables. Confession is good for our souls. Joe never felt good. He always looked a little pale and complained about not feeling well. He had problems in his throat and had difficulty breathing. Joe went to doctors and spent a lot of money on tests. Most of his modest ...

454. What Goes Around Comes Around

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... boy saw how his father treated his grandfather and assumed that it was an acceptable way to treat someone who was old. Jesus told a parable. A certain rich man had the very best of everything. He was so rich that he didn't need to work. He had the finest ... the rich man, now the rich man is begging for a few drops of cool water from poor Lazarus. WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND. This parable teaches us that WHAT'S IMPORTANT IN LIFE IS NOT HOW MUCH WE HAVE, BUT THE WAY WE TREAT OTHER PEOPLE. The rich man was ...

455. Dressed For The Wedding

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... , "Friend, why do you not have on the proper clothing?" NOTICE ALSO THAT THIS STORY DOES NOT HAVE A HAPPY ENDING. Some of Jesus' parables are like that. We want grace and we are confronted by judgement. We want more time and time runs out. Some of us are ... God is like by what my father did that night." Our sin is serious business. God's grace is a costly gift. AND SO THIS PARABLE ASKS US TO EXAMINE OUR LIVES TO SEE IF WE ARE PROPERLY DRESSED. FOR THE WEDDING PARTY. Do you have on the right garments garments ...

456. Reaching Our Full Potential

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... us for His glory. Piper prays daily, "Lord, let me make a difference for You that is utterly disproportionate to who I am." (6) That is the prayer of a man who is an obedient servant of God. Lois Cheney in her book, God is no Fool, tells a revealing parable about a man who was touched by God. God gave this man a priceless gift--the capacity for love. The man was grateful and humble, and he knew what an extraordinary thing had happened to him. He carried this capacity for love like a jewel and he walked tall ...

457. When "Well Done" Is Rare

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... of the inequality of life. Why is one person born to desperate poverty and another to affluence? This is an immense and troubling problem. Everyone who has seen Michael Jordan play basketball or Emmitt Smith run with a football knows we are not all created equal. However, this parable reminds us that on Judgement Day we will not have the luxury of passing judgement on God, but that God will be judging us. God will gently remind us that we are not here on earth to discuss what kind of God He is but what kind ...

458. When You Pray

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... we bargain, cajole, or appease. We’re coming to a father who delights to supply His children’s needs. So when we pray, we know who God is. But we also know who we are. Because we know who we are, we pray out of our need. Look at the parable Jesus uses to teach us about prayer. It begins with need. A traveler arrives at midnight. Hospitality demands that you receive the traveler and feed him. But you don’t have anything. The cupboard is bare. So you go to a neighbor’s house. It’s midnight and you ...

459. Whether You'll Weather the Weather

Luke 6:46-49

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... Word and the other had not, then we might label them "lucky" and "unlucky," "fortunate" and "unfortunate." But they had the same opportunity. They heard the same Word. But in the end, one responded wisely to the Word, and the other did not. In so many of the parables Jesus tells, you and I are presented with a choice of characters. Am I more like the priest and the Levite or the Samaritan? Do I more closely resemble the wise virgins or the foolish ones? Do I live like the first two stewards or the third who ...

460. Proper 12

1 Kings 3:1-15, Matthew 13:47-52, Matthew 13:44-46, Genesis 29:15-30

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... is a truism accepted universally. The higher the value, the most must be paid to get it. Do you want the best or are you satisfied with the mediocre? Can you afford the best? In the parables, Jesus says that the most precious value is the kingdom of God. Are we willing to pay the price to have the kingdom? In the parables, the farmer and the merchant sold all their goods to purchase the one field or the one pearl. Outline: What price are you willing to pay? a. The value of the kingdom of God - nothing more ...

461. Lessons for Year A Proper 27

Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... of us are foolish when it comes to the Parousia. Our foolishness is expressed in claiming to know the day and hour of Jesus' return, in withdrawing from the world to await the Parousia, and in ignoring the possibility of Jesus' Second Coming in our time. In the parable we have a model for wise men and women. Outline: To be wise like the wise women - a. Be prepared for Jesus' coming - v. 4. b. Refuse to share your spiritual resources - vv. 8-9. c. Enter the feast of the kingdom - v. 10. 2. Christ Is Coming ...

462. Proper 28

Judges 4:1-24, Matthew 25:14-30, Zephaniah 1:4-13, Zephaniah 1:14--2:3

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... I have earned by my brain and brawn is all mine." Many have no concept of stewardship except, in some cases, as tithing. But, the parable teaches us we are accountable for what God has given us and we are responsible to develop our gifts to the maximum. Outline: How ... the return of Christ. Paul urges us to be ready for Christ's return by living as people of the day. In the parable of the talents (Gospel), we learn that when Christ returns, we are accountable for our lives during the interim. But what kind of ...

463. Soul Deep Not Skin Deep

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... actions of a dishonest manager is praised. These are unlovely people whose harsh, ugly lives can't be hidden. Yet as their actions bring the reality of the kingdom closer, their lives open up to reveal God's power at work within them. Let's bring Jesus' parable into the 21st century. Our role models today aren't those who do good, but are those who look good - no matter what they do. Twenty-first century culture is a celebrity culture. We worship these celebrity icons and look to them to lead us in the ...

464. Matthew 20:1-16

Matthew 20:1-16

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... but a “vineyard” was frequently used as a symbol for Israel (see Isaiah 5:1-7’ Jeremiah 12:10). If the vineyard brings to mind God’s people, then certainly this vineyard owner must be God. And the “harvest” is about to begin. Jesus’ parable depicts a typical first-century custom day laborers gathering in the early morning seeking employment and a day’s wage. It is hardly a scene we find unusual. In every big city, in every small town, willing workers (often immigrants) appear on known street ...

465. The Four R's

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... where they 'have to take you in' but where they want to take you in, where you are welcomed by the people in it, the animals in it, the furniture, the food, the bric-a-brac. R #4: REALITIES The final seeds mentioned in Jesus' parable were the lucky ones. Falling onto good soil, free of weeds and sheltered from weather, these seeds sprouted and grew vigorously. Because everything was working in their favor, these seeds were able to produce a harvest that far exceeded the norm. We all have different realities ...

466. Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... a tree sprouted from the single seed of Abraham's faith? The birds of the air flocking to this tree suggest the emigration of people from all the flocks of the world, making the tree their new home - their nests - and adding to the strength of that kingdom. The parable told in verse 33 is unusual in that it uses leaven in a positive sense. Leaven or yeast is far more often used as a symbol of contamination or corruption (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; Galatians 5:9; Matthew 16:6). Instead of spreading evil or ill ...

467. The World Is Not Enough

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

James Merritt

... not because he had money, but because money had him. This man eventually died with the cancer of covetousness. We learn from this man why truly "the world is not enough." There are some tremendously valuable lessons that we can learn from the man in this parable that will help us rightly relate to money, and make sure that money is rightly related to us. I. Be Sensitive To What You Want "And He said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of covetousness...'" (v.15) Now literally translated, Jesus used two words ...

468. Here Comes the Bridegroom

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

James Merritt

... He had His second coming on his mind. Just as He was serious about the second coming, we had better be as well. In this parable He gives us three pieces of advice we had better heed if we are going to be ready for the bridegroom when He comes for ... act as if they are religious, but will reject the power that could make them godly." (nlt) Remember Jesus said in verse 1 that this parable is about the Kingdom of Heaven and here is the point. You can be a church member without being a kingdom citizen. You can be ...

469. Only the Lost and the Least

Luke 15:1-10

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... in the upper class, a drachma might have seemed like it had little worth, but to a common housewife, a lost drachma, was worth a tedious search. Jesus said, God is more like the common laborer and common housewife than like the rich and powerful upper class. In the parable of the lost coin, Jesus was saying that each individual, created in God's image, is worthy of God's attention. God focuses on each of his children because he loves every one of us as if there is only one of us. A pastor was making a home ...

470. Making Wise Investments

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... save money! He did not lose anything. He did not waste it. He did not throw it away. He just held onto it. In the parable the Lord says, “You could have at least put it into the bank and collected interest." Life is an accountability we give. Life is a ... will be given more and they will have an abundance, but from those who have nothing even what they have will be taken away." The parable gets tough and hard now, does it not? I wish they had stopped earlier but here it is. In reality, you and I know this ...

471. Lessons from a Fool

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ ” Jesus concludes his parable like this: “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” Ouch! I would like to think he wasn’t talking to you and me, but I suspect he was. We may not think of ourselves as ...

472. Not What You Expected

Hebrews 2:10-18

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... the midst of the congregation I will praise you. I will put my trust in him. Here am I and the children whom God has given me. He was really one of us here in this world! Thinking back for a moment to those three parables in Matthew 25, we could interpret them this way: The wise virgins did the right thing in prudently caring for their lamps because they properly understood the significance of the coming of the bridegroom; the servants who wisely invested their master's funds understood their responsibility ...

473. There's Something about Con Men

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... of a con man. There’s something about a con man that captures the imagination. There have been several successful weekly television shows through the years in which the hero is a former con man now using his creative skills for the greater good. Jesus once told a parable about a man with that kind of wily disposition. He, too, was something of a con man. Most of you know the story quite well. There was a rich man who had a manager for his estate. The manager, unfortunately, was a bit lax in his oversight ...

474. Oops! I Didn't See You

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... . It’s called a conscience. What we really need is a machine that will tell us when there are people around us who need us, people we are overlooking right outside the gates of our consciousness. Love sees. That’s the first thing we need to understand from this parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Love sees. The rich man passed this poor beggar day after day and never really saw him until it was too late. You and I need to train our eyes to see those around us. Being sensitive to others is not something ...

475. What to Do with the Weeds

Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... have sown. However, if we get hit by that texting driver, we have reaped what another has sown. You and I may look at this parable and say it is horrible that the weeds get thrown in the fire, but that’s the way life is. It is absurd to sugarcoat ... forces that assailed him or her. We also do not know what we would have done in the same circumstances. (6) The teaching of the parable is clear: there will come a time when the wheat is separated from the weeds. But only God is in a position to judge which ...

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