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 526 to 550 of 3314 results

526. Luke 17:5-10

Luke 17:5-10

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... faith the size of an acorn or a potato. If genuine faith is present, i.e., visible, it will have the power to achieve its intended purpose. The second section of the pericope, verses 7-10, while distinct, builds on this first interchange by showing the apostles what is the nature of faith: A faithful witness is one who obediently carries out the will of the master without the expectation of praise. The scene, exclusive to Luke's gospel, depicts a small farmer who has but one servant. This servant, a jack-of ...

527. 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12

2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Liturgical Background of the Necessity and Propriety of Giving Thanks According to 2 Thessalonians 1:3," Journal of Biblical Literature, 92 (1973), 432-438.) Instead of seeing Paul's "as is right" addition as a sign of doubt, it is far more likely that the apostle is reacting appropriately to the good news he has received about their faith. Many of the hopes and concerns voiced by Paul in his first letter have been answered positively, as evidenced by Paul's observation that "the love of everyone of you for ...

528. Romans 1:1-7

Romans 1:1-7

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... components of the salutation are in verses 1 and 7; everything else is details. Paul's self-understanding of who he is and what he is about is threefold: He is a "servant" (the word is doulous, slave) of Jesus Christ, he is "called to be an apostle," and he is "set apart for the gospel of God" (v.1). The congregation at Rome was composed of a large number of slaves, not to be mistaken for ignorant day laborers. Many, in fact, were highly educated and had assumed responsible positions in the service of ...

529. Acts 19:1-7

Acts 19:1-22

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... on those who would follow him. In the one-and-only example of a complete second baptism, Paul re-baptizes these disciples “into the name of the Lord Jesus” (v.5). Others who had received only John’s baptism (most notably Jesus’ twelve apostles, most recently mentioned Apollos [Ephesians 18:24-28]) did not require a re-wetting in order to enter into true discipleship. But for whatever reason Paul extends both experiences to these disciples: first baptism (“in the name of the Lord Jesus”); then a ...

530. Acts 7:55-60

Acts 7:55-60

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... their daily rations of food. Stephen is noted as particularly "full of the Spirit and of wisdom" (6:5) among the seven men chosen to provide this service. While we might be tempted to see waiting on tables as drudgery, the apostles understood table service to be important and deeply spiritual work. They solemnly prayed and laid hands on these new assistants to recognize the significance of their work for the community. Sometime after being commissioned, Stephen comes under the jealous eye of certain ...

531. Philippians 1:21-30

Philippians 1:21-30

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... 's faith is so overwhelming, so all-consuming that he doesn't just experience his life as being "in Christ" or "with Christ" or "for the sake of Christ." Paul's living being is so immersed in his faith that for him living is Christ. The apostle's heavenly communion with the divine has already begun on earth. We know from Paul's other letters how convinced he was that the Parousia was very near. Perhaps, part of that assertion stemmed from the overpowering, super-enabling sense of Christ "here and now" that ...

532. Easter 2

Acts 4:32-37, 1 John 1:5--2:14, John 20:19-23, John 20:24-31

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... beginning (4:32-35). Need: The farther back we go to the source, the truer is the picture of the situation. This is the case with scriptural manuscripts: the older, the more accurate. In this pericope we are taken back to the original church, the time of the apostles. What was the church like then and what was she doing? Have we today departed from what the church should be and do? Outline: What our church should be – a. A gracious caring church vv. 33b, 34a. b. A costly sharing church vv. 34b, 35. c. A ...

533. Proper 24

Psalm 119:1-176, Jeremiah 31:27-34, Luke 18:1-8, 2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

... which have power to make you wise. People: The Bible can lead us to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. INVOCATION We come to worship, O God, in response to your Word spoken in Jesus Christ and made known to us in the church of the apostles. Receive us as faithful witnesses to the faith inspired by your Spirit and desiring to be found ready at the coming of the Son of humanity, Jesus Christ. Amen. PRAYER OF CONFESSION Vindicator of your people, you listen to us patiently. We confess the same sins ...

534. Easter 2

Psalm 118:1-29, John 20:19-31, Acts 5:27-32, Revelation 1:4-8

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

... but victorious in the circumstances of history you will bring us safely through all testing to final triumph. Amen. PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING Living Spirit, we give thanks for all that has been recorded in the gospels of all that Jesus performed in the presence of the apostles. We rejoice in the other signs too numerous to be written that Christ has given among your people, then and now: the healing of the sick, the peace that has been given to those who have been doubtful but wanting to believe. We exult in ...

535. Transfiguration

Exodus 24:1-18, Psalm 2 or 99, Matthew 17:1-13, 2 Peter 1:12-21

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

... you but that you graciously receive us and what we bring for the sake of Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen PRAYER OF INTERCESSION AND COMMEMORATION God of Moses and Elijah, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, hear the prayers of your church who with the apostles are committed to worship your exalted Son Jesus of Nazareth. Bless every house of prayer that has been built by your church. May they continue to be dedicated to the glory of your well beloved Son Jesus and to exalt no other person, living or dead ...

536. The Message That WILL Save Your Life

1 Corinthians 15:1-4

Sermon

James Merritt

... meaning, 'I'm going to heaven after I die'. Before modern evangelicalism, nobody accepted Jesus as their personal Savior... or said the sinner's prayer." I for one think that man is as wrong as wrong could be. His problem is not with me. His problem is first with the Apostle Paul, but it is also with the scripture. Paul did get the Gospel right and Paul did say, "It is by the Gospel that we are saved" and went on to say that you must, "Call upon the name of the Lord to be saved" and when you call upon ...

537. Did You Know...That You Can Know God?

1 John 2:3-5

Sermon

James Merritt

... only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, the one You sent." (John 17:3, CEV) That is why I can say to you today there is nothing and I mean absolutely nothing more important than knowing God. Only those who know God will enjoy eternal life in Heaven. The Apostle God made a statement to Timothy that says it all, "Some of these people have missed the most important thing in life – they don't know God." (I Timothy 6:21a, LB) Did you know that you can know God? Did you know that you can know that you do ...

538. Will the Real God Please Stand Up?

2 Corinthians 13:14

Sermon

James Merritt

... what unfortunately too many pastors and preachers do too often. I am going to try to explain something that in a sense is inexplicable and incomprehensible. The reasons the Trinity is a mystery is because it is about God and God is a mystery. The Apostle Paul once uttered these words. By common confession great is the mystery of godliness: He was revealed in the flesh Was vindicated in the spirit Seen by angels Proclaimed among the nations Believed on in the world Taken up in glory I Timothy 3:16 (NASB ...

539. The King and I

Isaiah 6:1-9

Sermon

James Merritt

... President George W. Bush, "George" is his name, but "President" is his title. The title given to God in the Old Testament was "Lord," the Sovereign One. This was a name that was reserved for God alone. But who is this Lord that was sitting on a throne? Well, the Apostle John quotes verses 9 and 10 of this chapter in John 12:40. But then he said in verse 41, "These things Isaiah said when he saw Jesus' glory and spoke of Him." The Lord sitting on the throne in the Old Testament is none other than the Jesus ...

540. Fish and Sheep

John 21:15-25, John 21:1-14

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... other disciples were doing all the work in bringing the heavily loaded net to shore. This fellow designated as "the Rock" by many was certainly colorful but many, if not most of us, would not have made him first among equals in the college of the twelve apostles! Yet, the gospel story, not just in John but the other three, tells us he and the Lord had a very special relationship. After all, he was the one who recognized Jesus as the Christ. Some might add, in jest, Jesus had to call him to ministry before ...

541. All Is New in Christ

John 11:4-6, Philippians 3:4-11

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... unbelievable. Yet, Paul says that Jesus was so important to him, that he willingly cast aside all other things, leaving the past completely, so as to have Christ and Christ alone. As Jesus reached out to Paul in a personal way on the Damascus Road, making the new apostle one with him, so Paul tells us, as Christ's emissaries, to reach out to others, and preach the good news. We are to tell them of their need to leave the past behind and press forward to the reward of Jesus. Christ is the one and only prize ...

542. Caring for Others: The Christian Vocation in the World

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... written during the period of his Caesarea imprisonment. Regardless of its precise Pauline authenticity and its origins, the letter is very important in providing many ideas on the proper Christian life, including this magnificent prayer which we have just heard proclaimed. The apostle prays in thanksgiving for the Christian community at Ephesus asking that God enlighten the people: "I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come ...

543. It All Begins with Prayer

1 Timothy 2:1-7

Sermon

Clayton A. Lord

... religious organization to save the world. That is our job. We were called to transform the world through the power of the gospel. It is an overwhelming task. We need to pray for boldness. Paul had this task. He says, "For this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle — I am telling the truth — and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles." That was who Paul was called to be. And so it is with us, as well. Unleash the power of prayer in your life and watch what God can do with it. Amen.

544. The Easter Era

Acts 10:34-43

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... read or said in the service, but he saw all that was done and the action spoke for itself, a message he would never forget. Acts 10 has to be one of our favorite passages in the Bible. It's all true. Even though we think of Paul as the apostle to the Gentiles, it was Peter who made the first move. No. That's wrong. It was the Spirit. The Spirit who spoke to Cornelius. The Spirit who spoke to Peter. The living Spirit. Acts 10 is still happening. Every time you read a missionary magazine and see a photograph ...

545. Fruit with Feet

Acts 9:1-20

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... The fruit doesn't fall far from the tree." It's a way of saying that people can't change. But that's not the Christian belief. We believe that fruit can sprout legs and run to Jesus! When Luke wrote his history that we call "The Acts of the Apostles," he lived in a time when biographies were written to show you could never change. If you were great you were born great, grew up great, and stayed great. If you were rotten, you were born rotten, grew up rotten, and stayed rotten. But Luke's Gospel showed that ...

546. God's Call for All

Acts 9:35-43

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... them. It means they realized the relationship of receiving and giving had ended. When Peter became an agent of healing, when the Holy Spirit brought her back to life, it was a symbol of the reunion we shall all enjoy when we are restored to each other. The Apostle Paul says that none of us live to ourselves and none of us die to ourselves. There is a link, a tie that binds us together, and although it is a matter of faith, something that is unseen, that cannot be weighed or measured, it becomes visible in ...

547. The Thing With Two Heads

Matthew 16:13-24

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... soul. Two minds, two hearts, one soul with a split personality. He was bold and timid, strong and weak. What made him that way? And why in the world would Jesus choose someone who couldn't make up his mind? I. Becoming a Disciple A. Peter was the Apostle formerly known as Simon. Simon means one who hears, one who obeys. It means that Peter was compliant and pliable. He was a diamond in the rough. Simon Peter was becoming a disciple. He was still in training, still being formed and molded and shaped into the ...

548. Chosen by God

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... are loved by God, and nothing - absolutely nothing - can separate you from that love. III The theme builds. Not only are we chosen, we’re chosen by God and we’re chosen for a purpose. Paul is talking to all Christians, not just to those who are “Apostles”, not just to those who are ordained. He’s talking to you. You’re called for a purpose, and in verse 4, Paul says that the purpose is that we should be “holy and blameless before (God) in love”. One translation has that “holy and full of ...

549. Being and Doing as the People of God

1 Peter 1:13-2:3

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... up the cross. This is what Jesus was calling for when He said in Matthew 11:29: “Take my yoke upon you and learn of Me.” Two common words help us: disciple and apostle. A disciple is a learner, a follower. The word has the same root meaning as pupil. An Apostle is a doer – one who is to be alive as a disciple and learner and as an apostle. So is our way to be and do. If we are not becoming more like Christ in our character and in our actions we are not growing as Christians. III THE POWER TO ...

550. Marketing or Disciplemaking?

Acts 2:42-47

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... our hearts strangely warmed and transformed. Let me tell you, my friends, when that happens you won't have to advertise it. People will know. Worship is to be caught in the awe of God's presence. IV. TO WORSHIP IS TO BE DEVOTED They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer (Acts 2:42). One of the great privileges of being able to work in the church is that you work with some of the finest people on earth. My have friends tell me “You don ...

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