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 1232 results
526. The Inner Demands of God's Law
Matthew 5:33-37, Matthew 5:31-32, Matthew 5:27-30, Matthew 5:21-26
Bulletin Aid
Dennis Koch
Gospel Notes Here begins the section of Matthew's version of the Sermon on the Mount that contains the so-called "antitheses" of Jesus concerning the Law. Having asserted that he has come to fulfill rather than abolish the Law and the prophets, Jesus proceeds to quote the Law ("You have heard it said ...") and then to intensify it ("But I say ...") by extending its purview ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
The body of the Sermon on the Mount begins by highlighting the disposition of Jesus and his followers in relation to the Old Testament law, or torah (5:17–48). Jesus affirms his mission to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (the Old Testament Scriptures) rather than abolish them. He warns his followers against breaking or influencingothers to ...
Bulletin Aid
Theme: The inner demands of God's Law Exegetical note Here begins the section of Matthew's version of the Sermon on the Mount that contains the so-called "antitheses" of Jesus concerning the Law. Having asserted that he has come to fulfill rather than abolish the Law and the prophets, Jesus proceeds to quote the Law ("You have heard it said ...") and then to intensify it ("But I say ...") by extending its purview ...
529. Historical Surprises
Luke 12:32-40
Illustration
William E. Keeney
Who would have thought that relatively powerless persons could bring shifts in history? Gandhi, an unsuccessful lawyer, adapted the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount and the writings of Tolstoy and became the key to bringing independence to India, because he was ready. Rosa Parks, in refusing to move to the back of the bus in Montgomery, sparked the beginning of the civil rights movement of the '50s and '60s. She was a rather inauspicious ...
530. Epiphany 7
Matthew 5:27-30
Bulletin Aid
Theme: Jesus' "higher righteousness" Exegetical note These verses contain three of the so-called "antitheses" of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, in which he intensifies the demands of the Law. Here, lust is equated with adultery, divorce is forbidden (the exception being Matthew's, not Jesus'), and swearing (as opposed to merely false swearing) is prohibited. In each case, Jesus is calling for a "higher righteousness" that moves beyond external obedience ...
531. The Living Christ
Luke 24:36b-48
Illustration
Susan R. Andrews
As a young man, Mahatma Gandhi studied in London. After learning about Christianity, and after reading the Sermon on the Mount, he decided that Christianity was the most complete religion in the world. It was only later, when he lived with a Christian family in East India, that he changed his mind. In that household he discovered that the word rarely became flesh, that the teaching of Jesus rarely became the ...
Bulletin Aid
Dennis Koch
Gospel Notes Matthew's location of Jesus' great Sermon on the Mount is undoubtedly meant to strike a parallel with Moses and the Old Law. Here Jesus begins with the Beatitudes, which are addressed, not to a general audience, but to those -- apparently the lowliest and most oppressed of society -- who have devoted themselves to the inbreaking Reign. For them, the bleak ...
533. The Highest Priority
Luke 10:38-42; Matthew 6:33
Illustration
Arthur E. Dean Windhorn
... out that the coat was uneven? What went wrong? I'll tell you what went wrong. When you don't get the first button in the right hole, all the rest are out of sequence too, right?! That's a parable about life. Jesus said it this way in the Sermon on the Mount: "Seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well." (Matthew 6:33) If the Lord is not the high priority in your life, then, like the overcoat, so many other things in life will be out of whack as well.
534. Little Difference
Illustration
Erwin Lutzer
... little difference in ethical behavior between churchgoers and those who are not active religiously...The levels of lying, cheating, and stealing are remarkable similar in both groups. Eight out of ten Americans consider themselves Christians, Gallup said, yet only about half of them could identify the person who gave the Sermon on the Mount, and fewer still could recall five of the Ten Commandments. Only two in ten said they would be willing to suffer for their faith.
I do not believe there is a problem in this country or the world today which could not be settled if approached through the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount.
Harry S. Truman
We have grasped the mystery of the atom, and rejected the Sermon on the Mount.
Omar Bradley
Modern poverty is not the poverty that was blest in the Sermon on the Mount.
George Bernard Shaw
Sermon
Bill Mosley
They didn't get a TV Guide so they planned their television viewing by the commercial previews. Sometimes the networks don't tell you everything in the previews, like, this particularly good adventure is a two-part mini-series, and you need to watch tomorrow night, too. And the most dreaded words in the English language flash across the screen: To be continued. You didn't know? You watched the whole show thinking it would all be resolved and over at the end? Then it happened at the most inopportune time: ...
540. Saving A Church
Hebrews 12:1-13
Sermon
I imagine that different letters in the New Testament were written with varying degrees of haste. Paul wrote an angry letter to the church at Corinth. You can tell that as he wrote it he had a lot of things on his mind. On the other hand, the Book of 1st Thessalonians consists almost entirely of prayers and praise. Obviously, there was not a great sense of urgency about the letter. When Paul wrote his brief letter to Philemon, he told his friend and former slave, Onesimus, to personally deliver it. It ...
541. Saving A Church
Hebrews 12:1-13
Sermon
I imagine that different letters in the New Testament were written with varying degrees of haste. Paul wrote an angry letter to the church at Corinth. You can tell that as he wrote it he had a lot of things on his mind. On the other hand, the Book of 1st Thessalonians consists almost entirely of prayers and praise. Obviously, there was not a great sense of urgency about the letter. When Paul wrote his brief letter to Philemon, he told his friend and former slave, Onesimus, to personally deliver it. It ...
Sermon
Brett Blair
I want to encourage you to do something. If you have never read Victor Hugo’s memorable novel the “Hunchback of Notre Dame,” pick up a copy and read it. Hugo uses an interesting literary technique in the story. The reader is allowed to see the basic decency and humanity of Quasimodo, the hunchback, while the crowd sees him only as a monstrous freak. The story, in its essence, is part tragedy, and part hope. Our text this morning, not surprisingly, comes from Luke’s Gospel. This story also, is part tragedy ...
Sermon
King Duncan
[While King Duncan is enjoying a well deserved retirement we are going back to his earliest sermons and renewing them. The newly modernized sermon is shown first and below, for reference sake, is the old sermon. We will continue this updating throughout the year bringing fresh takes on King's best sermons.] Original Title: Swimming with the Sharks New Title: Transformed by the Transfigured Perhaps you’ve heard the old story that sharks only grow as large as their surroundings permit. I’ve heard that for ...
Sermon
King Duncan & Angela Akers
Do you believe places have a memory? I know that seems like a strange question this morning. Don’t worry, I drank my coffee. I’m firing on all cylinders. But are there places in your life that evoke such strong memories that when you go back to them, you can almost see and feel and smell past experiences there? Or have you ever stood in a place and felt the stories emanating from its walls? I feel that way inside this church building sometimes. I think back to all the people who prayed here, who wept here ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Do you remember how fascinating and fun transparency books were? Especially grizzly, gross, and so, of course, great, were those that showed what lay inside the human body. Those books, with their series of clear pages that overlaid one on top of another--adding the veins, the arteries, the muscles, the internal organs the nervous system--revealed a hidden world to curious kids. Now there are moving, revolving, 3-D images kids can call up on the family computer, images that are much more accurate and ...
Sermon
Mark Trotter
We were all attracted to the story of Lance Armstrong winning the Tour de France last weekend, that grueling bicycle race. It is one of the great endurance races in the world today. Lance Armstrong won it in record time, two years after undergoing surgery and then chemotherapy for cancer that spread throughout his body, including to his brain. It is a testimony first of all to the wonderful advances that medicine has made in curing cancers, but everyone recognizes as well that it is a terrific testimony to ...
Sermon
Mary S. Lautensleger
Have you ever had a "mountaintop" experience? We use that term to describe various circumstances - a brilliant sunrise, a special time shared with friends or loved ones, a quiet moment of deep reflection. Such events are meaningful and important, but they are human experiences and have their place in the realm of the ordinary. There are also glorious worship experiences, when we feel on top of the world. Momentous mountaintop experiences are exhilarating, causing us to want to preserve them indefinitely. ...
Sermon
King Duncan
Life has a way sometimes of slipping up behind and slapping us in the head. Sometimes it is a gentle slap. Other times it is not. A man was driving down the road. He passed a traffic camera and saw it flash. Astounded that he had been caught speeding when he was doing the speed limit, the man turned around and, going even slower, passed the camera again. It flashed once more. He couldn't believe it! He turned, going a snail's pace, and passed the camera one more time. Again, he saw the camera flash. He ...
Sermon
Charles L. Aaron
Mountains fascinate us. They tower majestically against the horizon, strong and immovable. Looking up at them from the ground is a magnificent delight, as we try to take in their imposing vastness and mystery. If we accept their defiant invitation to climb them, we are rewarded by a spectacular view. Climbing a mountain makes us feel like giants peering over entire cities lying beneath us. Many of us have our favorite memories of a mountaintop view. One of the joys of visiting Virginia in autumn is the ...
550. Appointment with Thunder
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Sermon
David J. Kalas
If you're like me, then you've spent your whole life in the church. And if you've spent your whole life in the church, then you've surely heard about the Ten Commandments before. We grew up with them displayed on the walls of our Sunday school classrooms, and perhaps in the stained-glass windows of our sanctuaries. We have heard sermons, lessons, and devotionals based on them. Perhaps we've even seen a movie or two about them. Why, then, would a preacher want to return to such well-worn material? First, we ...
Showing results