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 2815 results

551. Jesus and Women

Luke 7:36--8:3

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... rather than the basis for it. 7:48 Your sins are forgiven. Jesus speaks directly to the woman for the first time. As in 5:20, his declaration provokes theological questions (7:49), but this time the issue is not pursued. Following the logic of the parable in 7:41–43, we must suppose that the woman’s loving actions show that she is already aware of being forgiven, and that Jesus here simply makes it explicit. (The verb is in the perfect tense, lit., “have been forgiven.”) Perhaps we should assume ...

552. Priorities

Luke 12:35-48, Luke 12:22-34

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... Lord’s return. The point would be obvious to Christians after Jesus’s death, resurrection, and ascension. At this point in the Gospel story there has been no indication to the disciples of Jesus’s going away and coming back, and they may have seen in the parable no more than a general exhortation to be alert in God’s service, just as the Old Testament prophets had warned people to be ready for a coming “day of the Lord.” 12:37 It will be good for those servants. Literally (here and in 12:38 ...

553. Lessons in Discipleship

Luke 17:11-19, Luke 17:1-10

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... :1–10 has a different focus. Some key insights are as follows. 1. The centrality of repentance and forgiveness. A saving relationship to God depends on our repentance and his forgiveness (3:3; 5:32; 13:3–5; 15:7, 10; 24:47; and note especially the parable of the lost son [15:11–32]), but here we see also the ethical implications, in that we are equally obliged to forgive each other in response to repentance, to “be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (6:36). 2. Faith and miracle. Jesus’s ...

554. Serendipity

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... , the pearl of great price. Like the farmer who found the treasure in his field, the merchant did not hesitate to sell all he owned. For him, the value of the pearl was so great that parting with everything else was no sacrifice. Now why did Jesus tell two parables at the same time with the same message? He didn’t want anyone to miss the point. The poor and the rich receive the kingdom the same way—by making it the priority of their life. And the reward of the kingdom is the same for both—the poor ...

555. The Shepherd and His Flock

John 10:1-21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... up the current metaphor from Ezekiel 34 and interprets it in light of his own mission. The metaphoric teaching of Jesus in 10:1–21 closely resembles the parables of the Synoptics. The parable is given in 10:1–5, a note of incomprehension is recorded in verse 6, and then Jesus interprets the meaning of the parable (cf. the format of Mark 4). The parable itself discusses the legitimate leaders of the sheep. Just as with the corrupt priests of the Maccabean era, Jesus suggests that there may still be false ...

556. Signs of the End of the Age

Mark 13:1-31

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... . 30:4, which promises that God will regather Israel when they have been scattered in his judgment. Here the promise of a regathering of Israel is revised to refer to an ingathering of various peoples in the church. 13:28 This lesson: Greek, “a parable,” the last parable mentioned in Mark’s account (cf. 4:1–34; 12:1–12). 13:30 I tell you the truth: This Greek phrase connotes solemn assurance like an oath (see note on 3:28). This generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have ...

557. Repent or Perish

Luke 13:1-9

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... man who pleaded for the tree probably represented no one, but it is possible that later he came to be understood as symbolizing Jesus in his intercessory role (see Marshall, p. 556). Lachs (p. 297) cites the Syriac version of the Story of Ahikar as a possible parallel to the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree: “My son, thou hast been to me like that palm tree that stood by a river, and cast all its fruit into the river, and when its lord came to cut it down, it said to him, ‘Let me alone this year, and I ...

558. The Narrow Door

Luke 13:22-30

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... these verses (particularly the reference to Jesus’ going through the towns and villages … as he made his way to Jerusalem) the beginning of a new major sub-section in the Central Section (see commentary on 9:51–62 and 10:1–24 above). This could be the case, but the Parable of the Narrow Door does relate to the previous parables, especially since it is a parable concerned with entry into the kingdom of God (v. 28). The question of v. 23 (are only a few people going to be saved?) occasions the ...

559. How Well Do You Listen?

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... to truly listen to God. It’s ironic, isn’t it? We will resolve to spend an hour each day exercising our bodies at the gym, but we will not spend half that time each day getting our soul in condition spending time in God’s presence. Jesus told a parable: A sower went forth to sow. Some of the seed fell by the wayside and the birds devoured it. Some fell on hard ground and withered because the young plants could not put down deep roots. Some fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked them. But ...

560. The Greatest Sin

Luke 13:6-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... rob a bank. What then is the worst thing we can do as a follower of Jesus Christ? Think about that for a moment. Jesus told a parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he ... your neighbor as you love yourself and sit idly by when a fellow human being, regardless of who they may be, needs help. So Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he ...

561. Being Neighborly

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Robert C. Cochran

... of the Good Samaritan, years of use have turned a shocking, profound statement of the Christian life into trite moralizing. Let’s look at today’s gospel carefully, then, to see what the writer of Luke really had in mind. The first thing you notice is that the parable doesn’t stand alone. Jesus had a specific purpose in mind when he told it. A lawyer had stood up to test him. To understand this, we have to get away from our notions of what a lawyer is. In Jesus’ time, to be a lawyer was to be a ...

562. Words Are Not Enough

Matthew 21:23-32

Sermon

Roy Howard

... on doors, and inviting people to be reconciled in the Spirit of Jesus. This is the vineyard of the Lord and she is doing her part to announce a better way by living a better way, the way of God’s peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation. The judgment of the parable is upon those who say one thing and do nothing about it. It is a necessary reminder for one who lives by words to acknowledge that words are sometimes not enough. When it comes to the work of the church, I have to ask myself repeatedly whether I ...

563. All Are Invited, but…

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

... another part of town? What if they are different? On top of all that, we also have one more thing to worry about… what if we do find the courage to invite them, only to learn that the king finds their presence problematic? Are you as perplexed by the parable as I when the king starts acting like a nightclub bouncer and says to one of the guests, “How did you get in here without the proper clothes? This is a wedding banquet, after all. The least you can do is show up wearing the right kind of clothes ...

564. Little Start, Big Finish

Mark 4:26-34

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... us because most of us have known a grandma, an aunt, or a wife in our lives who had a necklace or bracelet with a little glass bubble on it and inside that glass bubble was a mustard seed. “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it?” he begins. Then he answers his own rhetorical question: “It is like a mustard seed which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet, when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs ...

565. A Pep Talk for the Kingdom

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... case tells you that she was determined in her pursuit of justice. What was the source of her courage? She believed that God was on the side of justice, and she had faith in her cause. That brings us to the first message we receive from this parable: it takes courage to advance God’s kingdom. In 1943, a young man named Benjamin Ferencz graduated from Harvard Law School and enlisted in the army to fight in World War II. His battalion was involved in major campaigns across Europe. He was also assigned to the ...

566. Truth and Consequences

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... “great chasms” are too “fixed” in their ways to listen (give heed) to the scriptures and the prophets. And the good news? Although by the time we reach the finality of death, it is too late to heed Jesus’ message, those listening to Jesus’ parable are ironically given the gift that the rich man asks for. Jesus himself serves as the messenger (instead of Lazarus) to all so that the Truth of God and his own sacrifice might triumph over death –and the great chasm! Throughout the scriptures, the ...

567. With Challenge And Invitation

John 10:1-10

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... is: light, water, bread, vine, shepherd, gatekeeper, gate, way, and more. Each image conveys part of who Jesus is - who God is - and no one image is enough. These ten verses from the gospel of John are part of that wonderful collage. They form a beautifully rich parable of God as the shepherd who cares for the sheep night and day, who keeps them safe like the gate of the sheepfold, and protects them from anyone who might try to harm them or steal them away. Jesus’ disciples and all of us are the sheep ...

568. Catholic

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Sermon

William G. Carter

... five-pound bags. And when you add in the forty-two cups of water to make it come together, you have about a hundred pounds of dough. That’s an enormous amount of flour, enough to bake enough bread to feed a large crowd of people. This woman in the parable, this kingdom woman, is working in the yeast in all of that flour. Imagine that! If you can picture it in your head, you know her work is going to take a while. This is not a rush job, and neither is the work of God. Maybe you have noticed ...

569. In the Mirror

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... father’s words on us like a blanket of love and then went quietly. He looked us in the eye until we grew uncomfortable. We do not know what to say, and Jesus will not say it for us. Seeing Ourselves For The First Time And that is where this parable, this unfinished story, becomes for us a mirror. Because we see ourselves for the first time, like our little daughter Kristyn did that day we held her in front of the reflective surface and she caught her own eye, when we look into this tale. We catch sight of ...

570. An Extremely Odd Couple

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

J. Will Ormond

... source of hope for those first Christians. Many of them held on to hope. Many of them never wavered in their faith. Many of them showed incredible patience and were persistent in prayer. Had they not done so, the Christian church would not have survived. This parable not only encouraged them to be patient, but it gave them a basis for their hope. Ironically, they could see in the character of the judge the basis for their hope. They grasped the truth that God is not like the judge. Jesus himself makes the ...

571. Rich In God's Sight

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

Richard Patt

... this: Rich? or rich in God's sight? You and I do not have to have Jesus draw us a picture (as he did in this parable) in order to realize the folly of thinking that life is only a matter of money, or of the security such funds provide. We are the ... sight." So that is what we want to consider in a positive way: being rich -- being rich in God's sight. As we consider the parable, the first point that impresses us is the story's sense of urgency. Time marches on. The days and years tick away. There are certain ...

572. The Hands And Arms Of Grace

Luke 15:1-7, Luke 15:8-10, Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Glenn E. Ludwig

... outstretched and hands opened in welcome and love? That's precisely how God loves us -- arms outstretched, running toward us always, welcoming us home. Jesus says through this parable, "That's how God loves us." You realize that we have misnamed that parable for many years. We know it as the parable of the prodigal son. Perhaps it would be best to rename it "The Parable of the Forgiving Father," for that is surely what it is all about. And we have seen that symbol of the love and acceptance of God in an ...

573. Country Songs and Easter Hymns

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

Thomas Long

... they moved to the new location, the store manager telephoned a downtown pastor. "I don't want to embarrass Ruth," he began, "so would you please find her and tell her where we've moved. I want to be sure she can find us." There in the city is a parable of mercy. An urban grocery store owner wants to be sure a homeless woman, a woman very much unlike the owner, can nonetheless find food, and for disciples with discerning eyes, there is much to learn here about the power of God in the world. "Stay in the city ...

574. Table Manners

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

Alex Gondola

... enemies would invite him to dinner. Although sometimes, as on this occasion, his enemies were also trying to trip him up. In this chapter, Jesus tells three stories about suppers. I see implications in each story for our reception of the Lord's Supper. One, the Parable of the Great Feast, stresses the importance of attending when invited. A rich man invites lots of people to a feast. In those days, dinner parties were big events. They could go on for a week. No expense was spared. The servants were sent out ...

575. Proper 13

Colossians 3:1-17, Hosea 11:1-11, Luke 12:13-21

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... do with my life?" It is a shame to waste your life when you have but one life. It is a tragedy to waste a life on unimportant causes. Then there is also the future prospect of facing God to give an account of the stewardship of your life. The parable in today's Gospel is the tale of a man who wasted his life on the acquisition of material goods. "This night your soul is required of you." Outline: A life that is wasted a. Is motivated by greed v. 15. b. Accumulates great possessions v. 18. c. Is devoted ...

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