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 551 to 575 of 4968 results

551. Acts 9:1-20

Acts 9:1-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... for the new apostle's life is first revealed. Saul is now to be the Lord's "instrument" - a term which literally means a "container or vessel." Thus Saul will "carry" Christ's name to the Gentiles. As shocking as this news is to Ananias, the Lord does ease his disciple's mind a bit. Ananias' job is simply to go to Saul and heal him - for the Lord assures him that "I myself will show [Saul] how much he must suffer for the sake of my name" (v.16). While Ananias may still harbor doubts about the wisdom of this ...

552. Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... his prayer in verse 13, his word reminds us of how often he found time to go to God in prayer. The Bible teaches us that Jesus spent many hours and many nights on his knees. In fact, Jesus had a reputation for being a person of prayer. Whenever his disciples couldn't find him, they often assumed he had slipped away to pray. In Mark's Gospel Jesus is seen as rising "long before dawn" in order to pray, probably two or three hours before the first traces of light. Jesus prayed also at dusk and between three to ...

553. Mark 4:35-41

Mark 4:35-41

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... faith. The shape of this tale takes on a standard miracle story format. It begins by setting the scene and placing it in context with what has preceded it. In this case we find Jesus concluding a long day of teaching by proposing that he and the disciples now cross over the sea of Galilee to begin work on the opposite shore. A word of caution here: Mark's geographical information is not to be taken literally. As Jesus is constantly leaving one area, crossing that sea, he seems to be traveling west to east ...

554. John 20:1-18

John 20:1-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... have quite awakened to the miraculous truth of this situation - "for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead" (v.9). Now John returns the focus of his resurrection rendition to Mary Magdalene. As though the other disciples had never been there, she continues to stand outside the tomb, weeping in despair. When finally she too gets up enough nerve to glance within the empty hole, we are not told whether the discarded grave clothes and shrouds are still lying about on ...

555. Acts 9:1-20

Acts 9:1-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

556. Acts 2:1-21

Acts 2:1-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... is "only nine o'clock in the morning" (v. 15). While it may be early in the day, Peter's words reveal that the true measure of this time is as an apocalyptic moment. The Holy Spirit's arrival, the power and authority this Spirit has poured out onto the disciples, is likened to the well-known apocalyptic text from Joel 2:28-32. It is a time of a new, never before seen event. It is time to mark the birthday of a new creation by God, a creation that itself invokes the beginning of the end times. The miracle ...

557. John 21:1-19

John 21:1-19

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... stood on the beach. Jesus, seeing them, called to them while they were still about 100 yards offshore (v.8) and inquired about their catch. The implication of his question is that, had they caught something, the stranger was interested in it as food. The disciples replied that they had caught no fish. Whereupon the stranger instructs them to "Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some" (v.6). Remarkably, these professional fishermen accede to the request of this unknown figure on the ...

558. Luke 14:25-33

Luke 14:25-33

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the work of the kingdom. It is he who is the tower-builder and the king going to war. He is the one who has counted the cost of building and of the battle. He is determined neither to abandon the building nor to sue his enemy for peace. The disciple can be confident that he is following one who has himself "estimate[d] the cost" (v. 28) and is capable of seeing this through. (For more on this view, see Peter G. Jarvis, "Expounding the Parables: The Tower-builder and the King Going to War (Luke 14:25-33 ...

559. Matthew 17:1-9

Matthew 17:1-9

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... that Mark's rendition is the most primitive of the three Gospel records. Luke has too much material unsubstantiated by Matthew and Mark (cf. Luke 9:31-32). In general Matthew tends to omit Markan material deemed redundant or less than flattering to the disciples, reason enough to account for the discrepancies between his and Mark's record of the Transfiguration. Matthew 16 sets the stage for something wondrous to occur. Jesus refuses the Pharisees' demand for a "sign from heaven" (vv.1-4) and cautions his ...

560. John 20:19-31

John 20:19-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to that locked room and found his friends celebrating instead of mourning. But Thomas, despite his new role as outsider, does not give up the group. Instead he expresses genuine, deep-seated doubts while remaining a part of his faith community. The other disciples, for their part, do not toss Thomas out for his skepticism - they try to convince him of their claim's truthfulness while keeping him in their midst. When Jesus himself reappears a week later, he also takes Thomas seriously. Doubtfulness is not ...

561. Mark 1:14-20

Mark 1:14-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... . The simple fishermen, Simon and Andrew, respond to Jesus' call to "follow me" as though they already felt the presence and pull of the kingdom. They "immediately" leave their nets abandon their old life and old ways of doing things in order to become disciples of this charismatic artisan-preacher. The call of James and John, another set of fishermen brothers, follows the same form. Clearly, Jesus is something radically new and different. Rabbis are sought out by students, who approach and ask to become ...

562. The Rush and the Hush of Pentecost

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... -flowing but blown over by the rush of a Holy Spirit so loud and exuberant that it attracted the attention of the crowds in the streets. The healing, “hushing” of the Spirit became a rush of new words of wisdom that poured out of these once-timid disciples. I love how Korean Christians pray. It’s actually much like early 19th century Methodists and Baptists used to pray, especially on the frontier. When it is time for “A Moment of Prayer” in a Korean church, it is not a time for silence. It is not ...

563. The Kingdom Is Not K-Mart

Luke 14:25-35

Sermon

James Merritt

... . That is why he said back up in verse 26 you've got to love him "more than your own life." If you are not willing to die to self, to ambition, to desire, to what you want and surrender your life totally to Jesus Christ you cannot be His disciple. If you want to win a popularity contest in this world, don't bother following Jesus. The world mocked Him and it will mock you. The world scorned Him and it will scorn you. The world rejected Him and it will reject you. Now this demand answers the question of ...

564. Mark 8: 27-38

Mark 8:27-30

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... ” at the cost of “life” is no gain at all. It is a dead loss. And in the final accounting, men and women do not have anything that can approach the ultimate value of “their life.” Only God can write that check. Jesus and his disciples have only started out “on the way.” But there is already an air of urgency in his final words. Jesus once again invokes the Son of Man identity, this time with the more scripturally recognized eschatological connotations. The scene is of the Last Judgment, with ...

565. Mark 13:1-8

Mark 13:1-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... lesson about the ephemeral nature of that building and all it represents. To teach this lesson Jesus perches himself upon a significant outpost, the Mount of Olives. He does not stand there alone, but with a select group of his followers, the first four disciples he had called, Peter James, John, and Andrew. Across the Kidron Valley from the temple mount, the Mount of Olives was said to provide a birds-eye view across the valley and into the opening of the sanctuary of the temple. Jesus was “sitting” as ...

566. A Stone’s Throw From: Heaven

Matthew 16:13-25

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you." [23] But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things." [24] Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. [25] For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. I. Context Let me put this ...

567. Acts 2:1-21

Acts 2:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... prophecies, declaring the messianic mission of Jesus Christ, and pointing towards the eschatological finale that God has promised. In the first portion of Peter’s first public sermon, the fiery fisherman begins with a good-natured response to the insinuation that he and the disciples are drunk. Of course they aren’t drunk. It is way too early in the day to be so hammered. Any reader of Luke’s text can almost hear the crowd chuckling back at Peter for such a disarming comment. Immediately, then, Peter ...

568. Peter, Our Folk Hero

Mark 14:27-31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... him to the quick — “You’re going to let me down.” How long was it after that? Maybe just an hour. The mob came and they seized Jesus and took him away. Verse 50 in your scripture captures that awful moment in terms of the response of the disciples – “They all forsook Him and fled.” Peter was included in that. “They all forsook Him and fled.” But Peter couldn’t stand it, and this is the reason he’s our folk hero. He couldn’t stand it, so what did he do? He followed along, close enough ...

569. Mistaken Identity

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... who we would like him to be, but who he is by his own testimony and actions. That seems to be why Jesus challenges his disciples to read the appearances well as they walk one day in the north country of Palestine. "Who do people say I am?" he asked ... he gave to us took all he had. Jesus is their familiar stranger. He is the man who lives down the hall, yet remains an enigma. The disciples know they don't really know him, yet they are willing to live with the tension as long as nobody has to name it. We are ...

570. Luke 14:25-33

Luke 14:25-35

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of the pending battle. In this case the greater number of his opponents’ troops causes him to adjust his plans and to ask for “the terms of peace.” Just as the king must consider what it will take to meet his enemy, Jesus wants potential disciples to look clear-eyed at the cost of following him. Discipleship is not based on a rash, spur-of-the-moment impetus. Discipleship is a carefully considered commitment. Finally, Jesus returns to the themes of verses 26 and 27, spelling out a final “short form ...

571. Matthew 14:13-21

Matthew 14:13-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... ’s grasp, Jesus could not get away from the crowds: “they followed him on foot from the towns” (v.13). Jesus’ attempt to be “by himself” — a description in Matthew which when coupled with a traveling motif assumes the presence of the disciples — is a failure. His “deserted place” is already inhabited by “a great crowd” when Jesus steps ashore. If Jesus had been anticipating some quiet time, he immediately changes his plans. The presence of the huge crowd that had hot-footed it over ...

572. Ascension Answers

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... writer), perhaps we ought to try a little harder to understand his point. In the first place, Luke wanted to answer some questions about Jesus. Luke witnessed to the resurrection of Jesus from the dead and then related some of the appearances of Jesus to his disciples. But there had to be some closure. Without Luke's steps to "tidy things up," there might still be people claiming that they saw Jesus down at the supermarket or on the No. 5 bus to Coney Island. The account of the ascension also, especially in ...

573. Do You Know Your Place?

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to himself. It is on the heels of Peter’s confession that Jesus begins to explain just what his messiahship entails and what will be expected of those who confess and follow him. In doing so Jesus redefines the whole concept of the Messiah and challenges his disciples to see their own role from a completely new perspective. Today’s text offers the first of three passion predictions in Mark’s gospel (8:31, 9:31; 10:33-34), each of which use similar language to declare that the “Son of Man” will be ...

574. John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

John 16:5-16

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... was of far less concern than why he was leaving them and where they would go. No wonder Jesus notes that, “sorrow has filled your hearts” in response to these final words about the future he is offering. Jesus now insists that it is important the disciples do know his destination, because it is his “going to the Father” that will enable him to send them the Paraclete/Advocate. Jesus must go to the Father so that the Paraclete may come into the world and spread his story of salvation and offer of ...

575. Fire from Heaven

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... with the Holy Spirit” and as a result they each began to “speak in other languages.” Here is the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise in Acts 1:8. For the gift of this Holy Spirit and the linguistic miracle it immediately offers makes it possible for the disciples to be “witnesses” to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to all the nations of the world. Luke may not specify exactly what was being said (at least until Peter begins speaking solo in v.14). But it seems self-evident that this was a multi-lingual ...

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