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 476 to 500 of 715 results

476. Pay It Forward!

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to them. · Sometimes Jesus asked his disciples to gather up tiny scraps of food so he could feed a multitude! · Sometimes Jesus asked his disciples to go fishing in empty waters! · Sometimes Jesus asked his disciples to sit down with tax collectors, prostitutes and other well-known sinners! · Sometimes Jesus asked his disciples to stay calm during a life-threatening, violent storm! · Sometimes Jesus asked his disciples to leave their families and security to follow him! Today we read how Jesus asked ...

477. Trash Cans or Treasure Chests

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... He recycled his passion and became the greatest of the kings. Peter was a boastful, swearing fisherman. He recycled his pride and became the rock upon which Christ built his church. Mary Magdalene recycled her love and became a saint. Zaccheus, a tax collector recycled his miserliness and became a disciple of Jesus. Saul of Tarsus, a persecutor, a hater of Christians, recycled his hatred and became the greatest of the missionary theologians. Esther, a harem girl, recycled her sex appeal and saved the Jewish ...

478. Prayer

Luke 2:8-20

Bulletin Aid

Stephen Brown

... Relegated to the stable in the back alley. Not born in a clean nursery or a warm bed at home. Good News is coming. Strange how you bring it. We should know you by now. We should trust your stories. We should believe in your promises. You call tax collectors and fishermen and dine with prostitutes and sinners. Can we respond to your call and accept the Good News in humility and brokenness? You speak in a burning bush and issue plans for an ark. Can we hear your anthems of peace and receive the Good News with ...

479. Can You Jump for Joy?

Luke 1:39-45

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Jesus did have enough spirit and spunk that he attracted flocks of disciples and entertained huge crowds with his words of wit and wisdom. Do you really think Jesus would have been such a popular party guest on the "A" list of all the local rowdies (the tax collectors, the rich, the morally lax) if he was nothing but a sad sack, a woebegone wet blanket? When Jesus healed the man who had been confined to his bed for years, don't you think both the healed and the healer grabbed each other, whooped and danced ...

480. The Dash of Discipleship

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... things must crop out and sprout the people must now bear fruits worthy of repentance. The prophet isn't concerned with any artificial status that might suggest greatness or guarantees at the end of life. Whether one is a child of Abraham or a rich tax collector or a powerful solider, their position and power will have no bearing on judgment we all must face at the end of life. Actions, fruits, all that a truly repentant person does throughout the course of their transformed life, is what fills the bushel ...

481. Looking for Shoots or Roots?

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... as a nation. [Google some images of a military messiah the ancient Hebrews were expecting.] Jesus’ focus on healing, his preference for teaching in the small towns and back roads of Galilee--his Sabbath infringements, his association with sinners and tax collectors, his gossiped gluttony and drinking with ne’er-do-wells---all may have made his messianic identity suspect in the eyes of John’s disciples. Jesus listened to their question. Then Jesus patiently asked them to itemize “what [do] you ...

482. Follow Me!

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

James McCormick

It was the beginning of new life for Peter and Andrew on that day, by the Sea of Galilee, when Jesus tapped them on the shoulder and said, “Come, follow me.” And, what an opportunity he gave to Matthew, the tax collector, when he issued the invitation to him, “Matthew, come, follow me.” Those three, and the other nine disciples all answered, “Yes.” But there were others who heard the call and said, “No.” There were those balking inquirers who responded with excuses, “I’ve just gotten ...

483. Be Kind

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

James McCormick

... most men. But Jesus included women in his inner circle and he rebuked the disciples when they tried to keep children away from him. Jesus was concerned about everybody. He had compassion for everybody: Jews, Samaritans, Gentiles, lepers, thieves, prostitutes, tax collectors - everybody! He expressed that compassion in kindness. One of his best known parables, the parable of the Good Samaritan, is about one person helping another person in need. It’s about human kindness. It was so important to Jesus, in ...

484. Getting a Handle on Our Faith

John 11:1-16

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... our love of Bible stories. Here is a brief excerpt from J. Edward Chamberlin’s If This Is Your Land, Where Are Your Stories (Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 2003): “I teach at a university, and I’m constantly asked one question by family and friends, tax collectors and taxi drivers. What do I actually do there? To which I have a simple answer: I tell stories.” (P. 234) “In an interview which he gave on German television in 1976, Karl Rahner was asked: ‘Could you briefly formulate the purpose and theme ...

485. Changed Lives - Simon Peter (Maundy Thursday)

John 13:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” God with a towel around His waist. God with a basin of water kneeling in front of humble fishermen, tax collectors and other common ordinary folk. God doing the work of a servant. God washing feet. I’ve read that in the early days of Christianity kings and emperors used to copy Jesus’ actions on Maundy Thursday. They would wash the feet of poor people, sometimes of ...

486. The Lost and Found Celebration

Luke 15:15-24

Sermon

James W. Moore

... words, excuses, cover-ups… scapegoats… But there is the publican with his prayer of penitence. He bows his head humbly, beats upon his chest and cries “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” Then the parable closes with this: “This man (the penitent tax-collector) was justified rather than the (excuse-making) Pharisee.” What God wants is not excuses but penitence. When I was on the staff at First United Methodist Church in Shreveport, I learned many things from Dr. D.L. Dykes. Let me tell you about ...

487. Love One Another

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

James W. Moore

... itinerant preacher from Nazareth, this one his colleagues were wondering about and worried about. Or Maybe the Pharisee is afraid of “guilt by association” because he knows that Jesus has just been out in the streets associating with some outcasts of society… tax-collectors and sinners. Whatever the case, the Pharisee does not perform these three acts of good manners and respect. In those days, houses of well-to-do people were built around an open courtyard in the form of a hollow square… and often ...

488. The Truth about Truth

John 8:31-32

Sermon

James Merritt

... northern tribes had been carried away into captivity by the Assyrians. The two southern tribes had lived seventy years in captivity in Babylon. At that very moment there was a Roman governor in the palace, Roman flags at the seaport, Roman soldiers on the streets, Roman tax collectors in their offices, and a Roman coin with the image of Caesar stamped on it. There are some of you here this morning in bondage, but you don't want to admit it. There are some of you in bondage to booze and bitterness. There are ...

489. The Door Is Always Open

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

James Merritt

... Reaction of a Selfish Brother The prodigal son had come home. Every-body was happy except the older brother. Now there is a reason why Jesus put the older brother in this story. Jesus told these parables to two groups of people. In v.1 there were the tax collectors and the sinners. In v.2 there were the scribes and the Pharisees. Now there was one simple difference between these two groups. The first group was made up of sinners who knew they were sinners; the second group was made up of sinners who did not ...

490. Saving Private Ryan

Acts 1:8

Sermon

James Merritt

... —to keep the light of Jesus Christ burning in our hearts, and sharing that light with a world that is lost in darkness. II. The Designated People God Selects For The Mission When Jesus said, "You shall be witnesses to Me," He was talking to tax collectors, fishermen, homemakers, farmers, people just like you and me. When He said, "you" he was talking to disciples. If you are a Christian, and therefore a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, He was talking to you too. You cannot call yourself a disciple of ...

491. The Superhero Miracle of Humor

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... s an example of Jesus being good, playing, making jokes, and loving one another: Jesus insisted upon working miraculous healing cures upon the most worthless, unimportant, un-newsworthy individuals—lepers, mentally ill people, outcasts, unpopular people, poor people, tax collectors, general “riff-raff.” What a joke! This was Jesus’ big joke. He never cured Herod Antipas’ daughter’s headache; he didn’t make rich people richer; he utterly failed to perform before the religious establishment in ...

492. Three Strikes?

Matthew 18: 15-20

Illustration

Johnny Dean

... in the presence of witnesses. If the situation still remains unresolved, tell it to the church - sic the elders on them! That'll teach them a lesson! But if THAT doesn't work then let the one who sinned against you "be to you as a Gentile or a tax collector." That seems pretty straightforward, doesn't it? Sounds a lot like "three strikes and you're out," as a matter of fact. Most of us would agree with that approach. If somebody does you wrong, they either ought to make it right or pay the price. Or, as one ...

493. Strength through Diversity

James 2:1-17

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... , all those who had any who were sick with various kinds of diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on each of them and cured them" (Luke 4:40). Christ also reached out to those rejected by society. He called a tax collector, Matthew, to be a member of his inner circle. While scholars are not certain, tradition suggests that Jesus' friend Mary Magdalene, the first person to see him after the resurrection, was a former prostitute. Jesus summarized his preferential outreach to the marginalized of ...

494. In Solidarity with Jesus

Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-18

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... foremost, he chose to become human and, thus, experience our daily life in every aspect, save sin. Next, Jesus associated freely with all people, but in a preferential way with those whom society had placed on the margins — foreigners, the poor, the diseased, tax collectors, sinners, and women. No one was excluded in Jesus' mind. Third, Jesus constantly spoke of and lived a life of personal humility that was centered on the needs of the common good of all. We recall how Jesus instructed his disciples to ...

495. Caring for the “Little Ones”

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

George Reed

... as not worth the time or resources it might take to reach out to them and touch them with God's love. If these twin stories are not enough to bring us to that realization, then Jesus will offer us time and time again the example of his eating with tax collectors, prostitutes, and known sinners. We will see him reach out and touch a leper. We will see him asking for a drink from a woman of Samaria. No one in Jesus' eyes is beyond the love of God. So where does that bring us as disciples of this Jesus who ...

496. The Cost of Being a Prophet

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

George Reed

... into Jerusalem and turned the tables of power and commerce over in the temple marketplace. We are disciples of the one who not only forgave sins but fed the hungry. We follow the one who turned upside down the social structures by eating with sinners, tax collectors, and prostitutes. In the early church, the office of deacon was begun when the ministry of taking care of the physical needs of the widows and orphans began to be a heavy burden on the pastors. If we are Christian, our faith must take political ...

497. Does Easter Make a Difference?

Acts 4:32-35

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... minds in the Lord Jesus Christ." The apostles not only had that peace; they spoke with great power. In addition, they promised that others who believed in the Lord would receive that same power. The Holy Spirit had descended on the motley group of ex-tax collectors, fishermen, and nobodies and given them spiritual power far beyond their dreams. In our story, we read that they gave a testimony to the power of the risen Lord. What a difference the resurrection made for them! That same power of the Holy Spirit ...

498. Healing in His Wings

Acts 14:8-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Jesus also took the time to be with those who sought him out for healing. More often than not, it was this tendency that got Jesus in trouble with the authorities and even with his own disciples. Eating and drinking with tax collectors, preaching and walking among the street rabble were generally viewed as demeaning and worthless activities. When Jesus spent time with Zacchaeus, he was criticized roundly for such "wasteful" behavior. Entering fully into a healing relationship does not therefore insulate us ...

499. A Say-so Spirituality

John 20:19-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... a ride home with someone in a Volkswagen. Sometimes it seems that in our own "clueless" church culture, we have taken Jesus' powerful "As/so" declaration and allowed it to degenerate into a faithless, wimpy "As/if" disclaimer. Instead of as Jesus went to the tax collectors and sinners, so we must make the poor and the rich, the very young and the very old, the unchurched and the overchurched, the street-scented and the cologne-scented feel welcome to join us in worship we have disclaimed "As if" when faced ...

500. Make Disciples

Matthew 9:35-10:8 (9-23)

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of details about the Twelve that Jesus originally called. We know that four of them were perfectly prepared for a life of active ministry as fishermen. We know that one of them led a morally exemplary lifestyle before his calling the tax collector Matthew. We know that one of them had a temperament that Jesus felt perfectly comfortable confiding in Judas the betrayer. Oops. Perhaps not such a practically "perfect" group after all. But despite their background, profession or character, Jesus "called them too ...

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