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 4801 to 4825 of 4968 results

4801. Capernaum by the Sea

Matthew 4:12-23

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... and ethnically mixed region of northern Galilee was no mistake or coincidence. This was root central. Here the silent voices of the lost tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali would be sought by God in the person of Messiah. To this end, Jesus chose 12 primary disciples, trained them as 12 apostles, and led them into region after region in the north, searching for those who may still remain faithful and wish for redemption. This was no whim or spontaneous ministry. His was a well-planned out mission. But how would ...

4802. The Light from the Cliff

Matthew 5:13-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... a cliff, the light became a beacon of hope to all who dared cross the dangerous waves of the Great Lakes.[1] The Split Rock Light has since saved thousands of lives. The “saving” nature of the “light” best describes Jesus’ metaphor, as he addressed his disciples, teaching them about what it meant to be a “light to the world.” In Jesus’ scripture for today, he uses several metaphors to describe what it means to be a follower, a member of God’s present and active kingdom in the world. One of ...

4803. Faith or Folly

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... and Eve, does not fall for this trick either and responds: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” Finally, Jesus’ humanness is tested a third time, as the devil urges him to take the easy way out. He could respond in just the way his earthly disciples and peers will expect him to respond: he can seize power, over throw Rome, start a revolt, rule the nations as David and Solomon did of old. All he has to do is forsake his covenant with God and make a “deal” with the devil instead. He can be ...

4804. What Fills Your Life Now?

Acts 7:55-60

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... of the religious leaders who would dedicate themselves to persecuting the followers of Jesus after Stephen’s death. This persecution would scatter believers all over the Roman Empire, leading them to fulfill the Great Commission Jesus gave his disciples in Matthew 28 to go into all the world and make disciples. And Stephen’s example of faith, courage and conviction surely stuck in Saul’s mind. Just a few chapters later in the Book of Acts, Saul’s life is changed forever when he meets the risen Jesus ...

4805. When Time Stands Still

John 11:1-45

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , that would compel them to understand the meaning of the empty tomb, that would prompt them to deliver the message that would become our gospel. This scripture story is not just any miracle, it’s a turning point in Jesus’ disciples’ (all of his disciples’) comprehension of the meaning and value of life. For four days, for those who mourned, time stood still. Their days dissolved into stillness, doubt, despair, and hopelessness, as they lamented Jesus’ absence and the finality of their brother’s ...

4806. Sola Fide

1 Peter 1:3-9

Sermon

Dr. Ronald Love

... Jesus changed his name, was known as Simon. Simon was an ordinary fisherman in Galilee. Simon was married and the foundation of his home can still be seen in Israel today. When Simon and his brother Andrew were summoned by Jesus to be two of his twelve disciples they immediately left their fishing boats to become a part of Jesus ministry. Simon soon became the leader of the twelve and for this reason Jesus changed his name to Peter, which in the Greek is petra or rock. Even though Peter was the rock of the ...

4807. With Challenge And Invitation

John 10:1-10

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... in fact he says it twice (verses 7, 9). To our twenty-first-century ears, it may seem confusing for Jesus to be the Good Shepherd, the gatekeeper, and the gate all at the same time. But his manner of speaking is similar when he later talked with his disciples about “the way” he is going, and then says, “I am the way” (John 14:4, 6). It’s as if no one image is enough to describe who Jesus is: light, water, bread, vine, shepherd, gatekeeper, gate, way, and more. Each image conveys part of who Jesus ...

4808. The Flow

John 7:37-39 · 1 Corinthians 12:3-13 · Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... we ask the Holy Spirit to come upon us in a powerful and redeeming way, we can open ourselves up to experiencing this kind of true connection with God that many in the past and present have experienced. That day of Pentecost long ago came after the disciples had spent weeks on end praying ceaselessly. Jesus had told them to do so, and they did, staying often in the Temple or in their rooms. They had seen the risen Christ. They had experienced the miracle of the resurrection. Now they prayed for change. They ...

4809. The Gift of Forgiveness

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... more than he cared about the seriousness of the rattlesnake bite. We’re all familiar with the slogan: I DON’T GET MAD, I GET EVEN. Well, there is a better option. It is to forgive. Have you ever wondered why Jesus was so adamant that his disciples practice forgiveness in all their relationships? In our text for today Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Peter probably felt like he was being generous when he ...

4810. The Fringe

Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... the messiah can save one from sin. This prophecy and this Jewish garb have important meaning for today’s scripture. In the scripture passage for today, we see a number of events happening. First, Jesus calls Matthew (a tax collector for the Romans) to be a disciple. As he sits eating dinner with him and other tax collectors, the Pharisees critique him. He replies that he has come to call not the righteous but sinners: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” Jesus sees ...

4811. Herding Cats

Matthew 9:35-10:8-23

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... for the power and presence of God! He had no need of doing anything more. He provided the “food.” And the people came. They believed. They converted. They praised God. They changed heart. This is the message now that he needs to get across to his disciples. You can try to “herd cats” all you want, but you’ll never build a kingdom that way, he instructed. Instead, proclaim my message, heal and raise the dead, cast out demons. Some will listen. Some won’t. Do not try to control the outcomes. Just ...

4812. Let's Get Together

Acts 2:1-21 · Genesis 11:1-11

Sermon

Will Willimon

... attracts like. That's what some of the proponents of the Church Growth Movement say. If you want your church to grow, make sure that your church is homogeneous, full of people like us. Didn't Jesus say, ''Go ye into all the world and make disciples of all nations...,'' translated as, ''You guys scatter''? Well, yes. But we better put down stakes here, get our building paid for by keeping the church middle-class, middle-age, middle of the road. God wants us to scatter. We want unity, community on our terms ...

4813. A Second Look

Matthew 5:27-48

Sermon

Will Willimon

... for an eye, this is the lex talionis, the law of retribution. But Jesus urges us to live as if our lives were not determined by those who do wrong. When the other seeks to harm or victimize, the disciple seeks to restore and heal. Others may victimize you, but you don't have to play the victim. Disciples live, not in response to, or in reaction against others' conduct. Neither our friends nor our enemies dictate our ethics. Jesus' way of looking at people is to be our way of looking at people. We are called ...

4814. You've Got Spirit

Luke 3:15-22 · Acts 8:14-17 · Psalm 29 · Isaiah 61:1-4

Sermon

Will Willimon

... enabled us to heal, enabled us to invite. It was the Spirit that did it. The Spirit. I'm just an ordinary man who got inspired. Get it?" (Acts 8) Toward the end of John's gospel, as Jesus prepares to go to his cross, he tells his grieving disciples, "I will not leave you comfortless. I will send to you the Holy Spirit, the Comforter" (John 17). That sounds so comfy and cozy, doesn't it? The Spirit as Comforter. Well, there is comfort, and then there is comfort. In the Bayeux tapestry there is a scene in ...

4815. Fearful, But Not Afraid

Matthew 14:22-33

Sermon

William G. Carter

... was profoundly frightened, says the gospel of Matthew. He kept his eyes focused on the Lord until the fierce wind slapped him in the face. He descended into the water and cried out for help. That is how I know the story is true. Peter, the star disciple, was afraid. I can understand that. Fear rises up in the soul at the most inopportune time. Say, for instance, you enter a room full of new faces. The air is charged with the buzz of multiple conversations. Laughter dances in the air. Everybody is having a ...

4816. A Woman Dancing

Exodus 15:20, 21

Sermon

Will Willimon

... , my Spirit rejoices at God by salvation.") And it was two women who, came out to His tomb with spices to dress his decaying body, that the angel said, "Fear not. He is not here. He is risen. Go, tell." And they danced all the way back to the despairing disciples. As Paul says, "We do not grieve as those who have no hope." In the depth of the Depression in the 1920's, the brilliant and cynical H. L. Menken was visiting in a black church on the south side of Chicago. He was, like many who enter the worship ...

4817. The New Family

Acts 8:26-40

Sermon

Will Willimon

... of third-century Roman parents concerning a group called the church. Once they came to Jesus saying, "Your mother and brothers are outside asking for you." "Who are my mother, my brothers?" asked Jesus. His family was that new gathering of people called disciples. The family is not only the source of our greatest gifts, but also of our greatest damage. I doubt that when psychiatrists are counseling deeply troubled persons, they talk about much other than family. The family has become the one, the only place ...

4818. Revising The Agenda

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

William G. Carter

... is a central theme for such days, which often coincide with a bleak North American winter. But when we probe deeper, we hear that self-denial is central to the story of Jesus. It is a central theme in the passage we heard a few minutes ago. Jesus told his disciples he was going to suffer and die. This was the first time he said it. Here in a central text of the gospel of Matthew, the secret was out - that Jesus who saves will suffer. The one who confronts every kind of evil will be destroyed by evil. Jesus ...

4819. The Way of a Saint

Revelation 7:9-17 · Luke 6:20-31

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... never been easy. In today’s lesson from Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is speaking to people who knew what it was to be rejected, persecuted, discriminated against, held down. And the interesting thing is that he calls them “blessed.” Listen to his words: Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, when they ...

4820. When God Leads

Joshua 3:7-17

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... on the weight and penalty of the world’s sins so that we could be saved from death and given eternal life. And his direction to us can be found in one of his last encounters with his disciples in Matthew 28 when he says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore 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. And surely I am with you always, to ...

4821. Avoiding the “F” Word

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... our mind, body, and spirit, to let God care for our mental and spiritual health. Jesus was not just a brilliant rabbi, but he was a wise and emotionally and spiritually intelligent person, who understood the reactions and emotions of human beings and tried to help his disciples learn not only about the Torah but about the deeper issues of what it meant to be human. He taught them that healing is not merely a matter of the body but of the mind and of the spirit. Every time Jesus healed people, he recognized ...

4822. Trouble in the Vineyard

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... have felt this way at one time or another. The truth is, we hate God’s generosity and grace when we don’t agree with it or when we think it’s not “fair” to us. Perhaps Jesus saw this disposition in the character of his very human disciples. But he describes God’s “kingdom” as a very different kind of place––a place in which all are valued, not for their time but their intrinsic worth in the eyes of God. Listen to Jesus’ story in Matthew 20 about a vineyard and its workers. The vineyard ...

4823. Cast in the Image of God

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... “truth” telling marks the clue for today’s interaction. The scripture for today show Jesus in dispute once again with several colleagues –some Pharisees and some Herodians. Interestingly, the Pharisees don’t approach Jesus themselves, but they send their disciples as guinea pigs to try to “entrap” Jesus in a dilemma regarding “partiality.” In other words, they play on Jesus’ commitment to treating everyone equally no matter their station or status. They state that Jesus is not lured or ...

4824. (Don’t) Follow Me

Matthew 23:1-12

Sermon

Steve Molin

... that’s what is at the core of #me too: not sex, not job termination or political agendas - power. And just so you know it, it’s not a new thing. In our gospel lesson today, Jesus had just finished telling a string of parable to his disciples, but also to a swelling crowd, and the common thread of the stories was power; exerting it, threatening it, and abusing it. And it led Jesus to point the finger at his religious adversaries, the Pharisees. Do you know the Pharisees; these men of first century ...

4825. Burning the Midnight Oil

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Steve Molin

... of Jesus are.[1] They are the description of the kingdom of God by God’s own self.” Jesus did not write them down as an author would; he told them to small groups, to angry crowds, to the masses, to individuals, and most often, to his disciples. He painted word-pictures about what life would be like on the other side. And all of these centuries later, Christians young and old have continued to gain glimpses of heaven by reading and telling the stories Jesus told. We learn from God’s autobiography that ...

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