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 601 to 625 of 2815 results

601. What Is Heaven Like?

Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:31-35

Sermon

Brett Blair

... you'd be the gas station attendant." Yes, we often think we have the proper perspective on an issue when in fact we are way off. Jesus understood this propensity for us humans to get it wrong. Especially when it comes to things spiritual. So he told a few parables. He said the kingdom of heaven is like: I A small seed. A mustard seed to be precise. Why did Jesus choose such a small item to represent something so large as heaven? He did this because even though the Kingdom of Heaven is enormous we often are ...

602. The Marvelous Style Of Jesus: Truth And Love

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Joseph M. Freeman

... When I see someone in error and that error has personally hurt me, I go for that person's jugular, to deliver the truth, but little or no love accompanies it. Hence, the person becomes defensive and flatly refuses the truth that could correct the error. In this parable, Jesus shows himself to care both about the truth he wants to communicate and the manner in which it is cradled, via an earthly story. It serves to reiterate a precious principle to us: You and I will never be able to separate God's love and ...

603. The Sheep And The Goats

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

Brett Blair

... But in the end shouting and ultimatums will never win the day. The Apostle Paul admonished the church at Ephesus: “Stop being mean, bad tempered and angry. Instead, be ye kind to one another, even as God has forgiven you because you belong to Christ Jesus.” III Third, this parable suggests that in the end we are judged not on the bad that we do, but the good that we do not do. Those on the left hand of the King were denied entrance into the Kingdom. Why? Because he said, I was thirsty and you gave me no ...

604. In Quest of Fire

2 Chronicles 36:15-23

Sermon

Larry Powell

... of the Two Sons, following which he informed the luminaries that tax collectors and harlots would enter the kingdom before them; (2) the Parable of the Wicked Tenants, in which he referred to his own death at their hands. Neither parable went down well: When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. But when they tried to arrest him, they feared the multitudes, because they held him to be a prophet. (Matthew 21:45) Some coals refuse to be fanned ...

605. The Waiting Father

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

King Duncan

... stories in all the world's literature that are as well known or as well loved as the parable of the Prodigal Son. And rightly so. There is no portrait of God in any of the world's religions more winning than this one. Helmut Thieleke says that we ... sheep, one is about a lost coin, and the third is about a lost boy. It is important for us to see that in this parable Jesus was not interested in teaching us something about shepherding or keeping up with our money or even being good parents. What he was trying to ...

606. Grace Greater Than Our Sin

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... eternity. Finally, her father said, "Are you ready for your licking?" Reluctantly, she said "yes," as her siblings peered from the top of the steps between the woodwork. Her father turned to her and with his tongue licked her cheek. He chuckled, then sent her to bed. (2) Jesus' parable reminds us that no matter how hard we try we never deserve God's grace - it is a free gift. It doesn't matter how long or hard we work. It doesn't matter how pious our demeanor. We cannot earn God's love and acceptance. It is ...

607. When Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Matthew 21:23-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... when I pleaded with him. But the important thing is that he found me." (2) Sometimes we are blind to God's activity in our midst. This brings us to a second truth: SOMETIMES OUR ACTIONS DO NOT MATCH OUR WORDS. Jesus told the religious officials a parable. A farmer had two sons. The father went to his first son and said, "Go and work in the vineyard today." The son was somewhat rebellious. He replied, "I will not." The father was disappointed, but said nothing further. The farmer then asked his second son if ...

608. When Heaven Rejoices

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

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... drawer. She could not explain where the money came from and hoped she did not cheat any of her customers. Kevin was so happy, he called his wife at work and said, "I have my lost money." He was delighted in much the same way as the woman in the parable when she found her lost coin. "From now on," Kevin says, "I'm going to count my money before I leave the bank." (6) There is joy in finding what is lost. Jesus suggests that there are people, maybe even neighbors or co-workers, who have strayed but are ready ...

609. What It Takes

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... closer to Jesus? American novelist Ernest Hemingway used to give away some of his possessions at the beginning of each January. He gave them away to demonstrate that he owned them; they did not own him. Jesus wants to examine our ownership of our material possessions. IN THE PARABLE OF THE SHREWD MANAGER JESUS ALSO TEACHES US TO THINK OF THE FUTURE. In a time of personal crisis the shrewd manager did not think about how good he once had it. He planned for the day when he would have no job, no food, and no ...

610. Right Choices

Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... sister, I know. Have you ever noticed that sometimes people do really dumb things? Why do they do things like that? Jesus told a parable in which a farmer sowed good seed in his field. But while he was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat ... weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then we will gather the wheat and bring it into my barn." The implication of the parable is clear: There are good and bad folks in the world. The good folks come from God; the bad folks come from the devil. One ...

611. Unprepared

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... on their mind than oil for their lamps. You remember what it is like to be young, don't you? Decisions are often made impetuously. Things are often left undone because there are so many other exciting things to do. Half of the bridesmaids in Jesus' parable were unprepared. And many of us understand. We've been there. We can think of times when we were not prepared, when we were embarrassed, when we just plain blew it because we did not take a situation seriously. SOMETIMES BEING UNPREPARED CAN BE A SERIOUS ...

612. Through The Storm, Through The Night

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

Frank Lyman

... without regard for God's people. This poor widow proves to be a hero for she has dogged persistence. She wanted the judge to hear her case so she keeps at him, badgering and pestering him until he hears her case just to be rid of her. Jesus told this parable to emphasize the "need to pray always and not to lose heart." (Luke 18: 1) His point is not that God is like some godless judge who only answers prayer to be done with us! That defies logic! How could God be godless? The point is that if a persistent ...

613. Who Did He Praise?

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... greedy executive manipulated stock prices. Be careful if you are in the marketplace. You never know when somebody who's both shrewd and slightly unethical is going to clean your clock. Jesus knew such people existed. In fact, he told about such a person in one of his parables. And here's what might steam some of us--he had words of praise for this scoundrel. Amazing. Outrageous. Jesus says something good about a sleazeball. Let's see if we can't figure out what's going on here. There was a rich man who had ...

614. Yes, Virginia, There Is a Hell!

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

... understanding that, "I missed out on the big thing, the major thing, the thing I was created for in the first place." Hell is to live without love, to live in abject loneliness and alienation for eternity. And hell is guilt. The word guilt is not mentioned in this parable per se, but I believe the rich man experienced guilt gnawing at his soul. I believe it was partially out of a sense of guilt that he wants to have his brothers warned so they won''t come into that place of torment where he is. So he pleads ...

615. An Unpopular Profession

Matthew 9:9-13

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... he was well advised to avoid large crowds and dark alleys. Can you see why the crowds were scandalized with Jesus’ words and actions? He not only ate and drank with “sinners and tax collectors,” but He even made a tax collector the hero of one of His most famous parables. We find it in Luke 18, where Jesus talked about the two men who went up to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee (one of the good guys), and the other was a tax collector (one of the bad guys). And Jesus had the temerity to say that ...

616. The Achilles' Heel of the Church

James 5:13-20

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... them alone in the name of "tolerance." Then, if they come around on their own, we run down the road like some silly clown, with our robes flying in the breeze, ready to throw them a party and serve prime rib like the father in the parable of the Prodigal. Now, we should never practice a kind of "in your face" Christianity that disturbs the love ethic so poignantly evidenced in the life of Jesus the Christ. On the other hand, the Church can be victimized by its vacillations and compromised by its compromises ...

617. Justification By Grace Through Faith

Galatians 2:11-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... ourselves that we are good, when the only goodness we know is our own pride producing performance that requires the and receives the acclaim of the world. How far from the Father’s house are we? Can we hear the invitation? Come home. Remember the truth of the parable of the prodigal son. When the prodigal returned to his father’s house, the father accepted him as though he had never been away. And remember Janet’s word, I was trying to pry open the window, when all the time the door was open and I had ...

618. Building A House

Luke 6:46-49

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... that Jesus told in the last part of Chapter Six. The first was about the blind leading the blind, and the other is about bad trees being unable to bear good fruit. We are going to look at those parables in the sermon next week. It's the third of those parables at which we look today -- the parable about building a house. Jesus tells us that there is only one way to build a house that will be secure against the storms that will always threaten. You have to dig deep down, Jesus said, and lay a foundation ...

619. Hosea's Marriage Troubles

Hosea 2:14-20

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... be a "renewed" covenant, because it is consistent with the promises that the prophets revealed, that God will be always faithful to us, and bring us back to him. That is the content of the teachings of Jesus, especially in the parables. It is found in the parable that was read to us this morning, the parable of the friend at midnight. A neighbor comes to the door at midnight, bangs on the door, wakes up the man of the house, and says, "Give me some bread." Now the owner of the house is not overly pleased ...

620. Proper 22

Exodus 20:1-21, Isaiah 5:1-7, Philippians 3:1-11, Philippians 3:12-4:1, Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... or else!" Professors are expected to publish and are judged according to the quantity and quality of their publications. Jesus compares God's people to a vineyard. It is natural for a vineyard to produce grapes. If not, the vines are destroyed or replaced. In this parable Jesus teaches that God's peoples are expected to produce good fruit. If they do not, they are subject to being discarded in favor of a people who will produce. This sermon is urgently needed because of the little or no yield by many church ...

621. The Garden Is Doing Fine?

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... seed, and as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trodden underfoot. And the birds of the air devoured it." Anyone who has ever planted a garden knows the ruin of crows. And here we have a great mystery of the faith. In his explanation of this parable, Jesus said, "The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, that they may not believe and be saved" (Matthew 13:19). Did you know that the late atheist Madelyn Murray O'Hare was reared a ...

622. As Long As It Is Day!

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... God. It ruins your relationship with people. It imprisons you with torturers! It makes you sick to be unforgiving! Let Go? What about you? Have you called on God to forgive you? Your debt is impossible to pay, you know. I hope you're not like the fool in this parable who just wanted a little more time so he could scrounge up ten million bucks. Have you faced God and told him you're helplessly a debtor to sin and prayed for mercy? You can be let loose from your sins in Jesus! And what about your own debtors ...

623. God, The Venture Capitalist?

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... Lord, and we shall give account of our stewardship. The text says some of us are given five talents, others two, some of us one. We're not all equally endowed. But a man shows who he is by what he does with what he has. In the parable, the five talent man told the businessman, "Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more." He was commended. The same with the two talent employee, and so on. "Well done, thou good and faithful servant!" Ah, but one employee took his stewardship ...

624. Praying Through

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

Stephen M. Crotts

... a thousand hills. "Ask," Jesus said. "Ask, and it shall be given you." Seek, And You Will Find Christ not only told us to ask in prayer. He also told us to seek. Jesus said, "Seek, and you will find" (Matthew 7:7 RSV). The widow does this in the parable. She "kept coming to him" with her plea. It is true that Christ did a lot of asking in prayer. He asked for bread, wine, healing, and a host of other things. But Christ also prayed prayers of seeking. In the Garden of Gethsemane the Lord searched for God's ...

625. Jesus Calls for Treen Christians

Matthew 13:31-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of the mustard seed, it's not based on mustard's healing properties or vital potency. Instead it's the tiny mustard seed's ability to grow beyond all expectation into a shrub so high and so vast that it becomes a tree. In fact Jesus' parable specifically declares that "the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches" - a detail that conclusively defines this plant as a true tree. The brain-shaped symbol of the tree is a powerful one. It has represented strength, community, and power since the ...

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