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 26 to 50 of 339 results

26. All Saints' Sunday

Mt 5:1-12 · Is 26:1-21 · Rev 21:9-11, 21-27

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... of Happiness. 5:1-12. Need: Today we want happiness here and now and not "pie in the sky by and by." On this All Saints' Sunday, our attention is focused on those who died for Christ. What is their condition? What can we expect when we die? The Beatitudes list the kinds of people who are happy ("blessed") now and in heaven. "Shall" points to the future happiness of the dead in Christ. Outline: Heaven is a haven of happy people. A. They have the kingdom - vv. 3, 10 B. They have their needs fulfilled - vv. 4 ...

27. The Poor in Spirit

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

... of happiness. Instead, blessedness refers to a deep abiding happiness that can neither be given nor taken away by the world. It is well-being and prosperity: the gift of God to all people. Today, I do not want to talk about all of the qualities expressed in the Beatitudes. I want to take one of them and see if it can shed light on the rest. "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." Notice that Jesus did not say, "Blessed are the poor." Jesus knew that blessedness was not tied to ...

28. Lessons for Year A Epiphany 4

Micah 6:1-8, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... does not need God's favor? Probably most are in church to receive the blessing of God. It is obvious that not all people are blessed though they may need God's blessing. Why not? Is it God's unwillingness or our lack of receptivity? The answer is in the Beatitudes - Outline: God's blessing comes to those - a. Who have spiritual needs - vv. 3-6. b. Who practice virtues - vv. 7-9. c. Who suffer for a good cause - vv. 10-12. Old Testament: Micah 6:1-8 1. Get Right With God (6:1-8). Need: How are things ...

29. Epiphany 4

Psalm 15:1-5, Micah 6:1-8, 1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5, Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... in vv. 3-12. The material is quite deliberately structured, as can be seen from a careful comparison of this passage with the comparable text in Luke 6:20-23. There are four pronouncements common to the two Gospels, and Matthew's list contains five beatitudes without parallel in Luke. Luke's text seems more primitive than Matthew's balanced and elaborate passage. Matthew offers two sets of sayings structured in an A/B/A/B pattern that cohere by beginning and ending with the line "for theirs is the kingdom ...

30. The Good Life

Luke 6:17-26

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... memorable: his was not a happy life from the worldly point of view, but he fulfilled his divine commission and, we may assume, has received his ultimate reward. 6:24–26 But woe to you. The four woes in 6:24–26 set out the obverse of the four beatitudes. In all these respects, what appears on the surface to be a happy and successful life turns out in the end to be empty. As Jesus memorably puts it in Matthew 6:2, 5, 16, “they have received their reward in full” (using the same word for receiving ...

31. The Poor In Spirit

Sermon

John A. Terry

... our relationship to God and our lives. Lasting happiness is discovered in our awareness of God in our lives, our openness to God, and our acknowledgment of our dependence on God. Here Jesus invites us into a new relationship with God. The first of these beatitudes is: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." More common advice today is expressed in Ruddigore, a Gilbert and Sullivan opera: If you wish in the world to advanceYour merits you're bound to enhanceYou must stir it and ...

32. The Persecuted

Sermon

John A. Terry

... which it is not. If our concern is our immediate reward, we will pity ourselves for the injustice done us. However, if our concern is to do what we do for Jesus' sake, then the things that happen to us are seen in the larger context of these Beatitudes. In fact, the normal and healthy response to being reviled and persecuted and having all kinds of evil spoken against us falsely is not gladness and joy. It is like the conversation between a parent and child at the checkout line at the grocery store. As the ...

33. The Poor In Spirit

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

John A. Terry

... of our relationship to God and our lives. Lasting happiness is discovered in our awareness of God in our lives, our openness to God, and our acknowledgment of our dependence on God. Here Jesus invites us into a new relationship with God. The first of these beatitudes is: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." More common advice today is expressed in Ruddigore, a Gilbert and Sullivan opera: If you wish in the world to advance Your merits you're bound to enhance You must stir ...

34. The Persecuted

John 15:18-27

Sermon

John A. Terry

35. Who Has Everything?

Matthew 5:5

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... to do some research on him this week, but could not find him listed in the encyclopedia, or even in a book about the movies. But he personifies to me every concept I used to have of meekness. Coincidentally, his name was Donald Meek. This Beatitude of Jesus comes as a real surprise to us because it is so completely and entirely the opposite of everything that we think of as twentieth century measures-of-men. We think in terms of strength and power, ability, self-assurance and aggressiveness. "Ah, he’ll ...

36. Let’s Climb a Mountain

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

James W. Robinson

... are now taking in the country. When we look out over the countryside, it is like seeing a reflection of God." That’s where the pursuit of purity will lead. C. And then there are those who hunger and thirst from their rigorous climb for righteousness. A beatitude from this second trio of peaks has the same reassuring word for them, "This is the trail. This is the way. Walk in it." The righteousness that they so intensely desire lies within their grasp. God wants to give it to them. The person who longs for ...

37. What Making a Difference Looks Like

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

... of the same kingdom. Our unity is not that we all have the same experience or that we are all at the same place; our unity is in Jesus who has the right to do with us as he will and when he will. We must also not separate the beatitudes from the story in which Matthew places them. A few disciples, four thus far, have said Yes to the challenge to tag along and observe as Jesus announces and enacts the kingdom of God. Simon, Andrew, James and John. Jesus does the same thing everywhere he goes; in each village ...

38. Epiphany 5

Matthew 5:17-20, Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

... . They are a composite of those who are citizens of the kingdom of heaven. The composite is a good description of the person of Jesus himself. Jesus uses the symbols of salt and light to summarize the effect which persons who exhibit the characteristics of the beatitudes have in society. Context of the Lectionary The First Lesson. (Isaiah 58:1-9a) The text has as one part the proclamation, "Then your light shall break forth like the dawn" (Isaiah 58:8). Isaiah 58:10 also says, "Then your light shall rise in ...

39. A LITURGICAL DRAMA FOR ALL SAINTS’

Drama

Tom Eberle

... in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Box: I object. Irrelevant and immaterial. Who the heck knows what it means to be poor in spirit? I thought the whole idea of religion is to be rich in spirit. Forget about that one and bring on the next beatitude. Minister: I will if you will allow me the privilege of returning to it. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Box: I don’t believe in hitting a person when he is down, so I’ll let that one go. Minister: Blessed are the meek ...

40. All Saints

Psalm 34:1-22, Revelation 7:9-17, 1 John 2:28--3:10, Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... the beginning of the famous section of Matthew's Gospel called "The Sermon on the Mount" (Matthew 5:1-7:28). The lectionary reading offers direction for knowing what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Structure. Verses 1-2 introduce the well-known "Beatitudes" in vv. 3-12. The material is structured deliberately, as can be seen from a careful comparison of this passage with the comparable text in Luke 6:20-23. There are four pronouncements common to the two Gospels, and Matthew's list contains five ...

41. All Saints' Sunday

Mt 5:1-12 · 1 Jn 3:1-3 · Isa 26:1-21 · Rev 7:9-17; 21:9-11, 22-27; 22:1-5 · Ps 24 · Ps 34 · Ps 149

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... -12 This text is also featured in Epiphany 4, where the emphasis was more on the present state of blessedness. For All Saints' the accent is on the blessedness of those who die in the Lord. The reward of the blessed dead is summarized in the first beatitude: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (v. 3). Furthermore, they will be comforted, they will inherit the earth, they will be filled, they will receive mercy, they will see God, and they will be called children of God. The ...

42. Epiphany 4

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5, Micah 6:1-8, Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... characteristics of those who belong to God their humble spirit, meekness, gentleness, and so forth. These blessed ones are those who are in tune with their own weakness and realize that they have nothing to boast of and so they place their trust in God. The Beatitudes, a part of a larger collection of our Lord's teachings called the Sermon On The Mount (Matthew 5-7), are not laws of God or a prescription for righteousness, they are a portrait of God's saints. The gospel lesson fulfills the theme of humility ...

43. Who Keeps Getting in My Way?

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... does mean that, but it means more. To get right with God means we have to make him sovereign over our lives. It means that in any situation our first thought is of God and not self. I suppose we could come closer to understanding this first Beatitude if we were to substitute the word "ego" in its earlier meaning for the word "spirit." Blessed are those who are poor in ego. Ego means self in the sense of too much emphasis on self: self-satisfaction, self-seeking, self-centeredness. Words like pride, conceit ...

44. The True Nature of Happiness

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Brett Blair

... is that we really don’t grasp the true nature of happiness, and because of that it so often seems to elude us. You see, we think that happiness deals with our outer circumstances. We think that the truly happy man is one who has achieved outer success. Thus our beatitudes read: 1. Blessed is the man who makes a fortune. 2. Blessed is he who earns six figures. 3. Happy is the man who has a palace in the city and a summer home in the mountains. 4. Blessed is he who has won the applause of his pears. 5 ...

45. Matthew 5:13-20

Matthew 5:13-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... own sake, but that their greater goal is to produce "good works" and to "give glory" to God's presence. The rather abrupt change in images in verse 17 may seem to suggest a certain disjunction between verses 17-20 and the preceding beatitudes and the salt/light texts. But the thread Jesus uses to connect these thoughts is that of eschatological fulfillment. First he reminds his listeners of the two-layer tradition Judaism enjoys - both the law and the prophets. Jesus then claims that in the approaching ...

46. The True Nature of Happiness

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Brett Blair

47. The Challenge Of Simplicity

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

John Jamison

... think it matters where he said it: mountain, plain, boat, on the dock at Josiah’s Bait and Tackle Shop; it doesn’t change what he said. For just a few minutes, I’d like to see if we can tune out some of the distractions and hear the Beatitudes. But before we begin, I need to warn you that this is going to be difficult at times — not difficult to understand what Jesus was saying; that’s not difficult at all. Jesus had the take on things that other people made complex, and he was good at explaining ...

48. The Peacemakers

Sermon

John A. Terry

... !" The courageous young man answered, "Sir, I recognize that it has not come for you, nor yet for Russia, nor for the world. But it has come for me." And so we are called to living by an understanding and an ethical imperative that Jesus set apart in these beatitudes. I was born during World War II. About that time a columnist in Chicago told of a London taxi driver by the name of Herbert Hodge who had come to Chicago for a visit. This man had suffered and seen all the horrors of the battles of London. As ...

49. The Peacemakers

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

John A. Terry

50. All Saints' Sunday

Jn 11:32-44 · Mt 5:1-12 · Isa 25:6-9 · Rev 7:9-17; 21:1-6 · Ps 24

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... 's Eve with seven other couples to celebrate the gift of life. They would discuss how the year had gone and attempt to ascertain where God had been in their lives. One man suggested that each couple would try to live out one of the Beatitudes during the coming year. They agreed and so each Beatitude was inscribed on a piece of paper and put into a hat. Each couple drew one out but did not divulge which one they got. At the end of the year, when they gathered on New Year's Eve, they made a game of guessing ...

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