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 676 to 700 of 715 results

676. House of God

Ephesians 2:1-10, Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... same way about the Romans, and those too who won’t cause any conflict, or make any waves.” No way! Whom did Jesus choose? A few rowdy, coarse fishermen, some of them known for their raucous behavior, a sicarii (a hit man with a dagger), a tax collector (that’s kind of like putting a rep from the IRS into your church!), a couple of John’s disciples –ascetic perhaps, some who hated the Romans, and some who worked for them, some who hated each other in any other kind of circumstance! And he taught ...

677. The Mustard and the Cedar

Ezekiel 17:1-24, Matthew 13:31-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... of the Lost Sheep The Parable of the Lost Coin The Parable of the Prodigal Son The Parable of the Dishonest Manager The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus The Parable of the Widow and the Unjust Judge The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector The Parable of the Ten Pounds The Parable of the Wicked Tenants The Parable of the Fig Tree The Mysterious Parabolic Vision in Revelation (4 and 5) Image Exegesis: The Mustard and the Cedar In one of the shortest parables of scripture, Jesus “re-signs ...

678. House of Prayer

Matthew 6:5-15, Matthew 6:16-18

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... God’s people are everywhere, and God would call all of them to His kingdom, all those who would love God, follow Jesus, love with a beautiful heart. You know those Eunuch’s? If they have a good heart, they’re mine, says God. You know those tax collectors? Those prostitutes? Those you don’t like or reject? They’re mine, says Jesus. God’s new covenant is a covenant for a community that can’t be defined with walls. The new community is a community that is a new kind of garden place --with Jesus ...

679. What is Your Golden Calf?

Exodus 32:1-33:6, Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... this material or this chair. But it’s something so much stronger and more beautiful. I would trust my life to that? Wouldn’t you? Based on the Story Lectionary Major Text The Making of the Golden Calf (Exodus 32) Jesus’ Encounter with Zacchaeus the Repentant Tax Collector (Luke 19) Minor Text David Takes What is Not His and Is Confronted by Nathan on God’s Behalf (2 Samuel 12) Gehazi’s Greed (2 Kings 5) King Hezekiah’s Offer of Monetary Retribution to the King of Assyria (2 Kings 18) Advice on ...

680. When Someone Disagrees with You

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... , so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.” In other words, they would probably be cast out of the church. We don’t cast folks out of church very often nowadays. For one thing, where would we draw the line? Murder? Adultery? Using crude language? Smoking? Criticizing the pastor? Well, maybe that last ...

681. Wake Me Up!

Romans 13:8-14

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... change us and influence us to harmonious living. When Jesus gathered his first disciples together, he did not look for like-minded people. But he chose disciples from a wide range of places, cultures, mindsets, and occupations: rowdy fishermen, devout Jews, tax collectors, Sicarii, Greek, those from within and without the system. In everyday life, these men would have despised each other, would never have spoken let alone spent time together. And yet Jesus taught them to become brothers, a team, to respect ...

682. Rule of Love

Matthew 22:34-46

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

... and touched a leper, even though the rules said, “Keep away from people like that.” He healed on the Sabbath day, even though the rules prevented it. “The Sabbath was made for us,” he said, “not us for the Sabbath.” He ate and drank with tax collectors and sinners, even though the rules discouraged it. He befriended foreigners like Samaritans, even though they played by a different set of rules than did the Jews. If Jesus was here today, I am pretty sure he would sit down to eat with his Muslim ...

683. The Old, Old Story

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... ’s blessings, love, mercy, and grace, as well as Jesus’ identity within our own time and culture? What do we need to do? And how do we do it? The parable itself can be fairly easily transferred to today’s standards. In this, we see Matthew, the tax collector, nodding his head, as he’s listening to Jesus’ words. A wealthy man entrusts his money to his hired investors. To one trusted investor he gives $5,000,000. To another he gives $2,000,000. To yet another he gives $500,000, according to the way ...

684. About That Anger

John 2:12-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... such practices. That is something that a lot of good, sweet, nice, decent people need to realize. When Jesus told us to turn the other cheek, he did not mean for us to become doormats for everyone to walk on. Certainly he was no doormat. He drove the tax collectors out of the temple. So, obviously, there are times when we must express our anger. Remember that even anger is a gift from God. It can be a great motivating force in life. There is a time for holy anger. Christ’s example also teaches us there is ...

685. Homecoming

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Will Willimon

... bride and baggage to he knows not where, Jacob on the lam, and Israel taking forty years to go about three hundred miles, to say nothing of Jesus, always on a journey, never at home, nowhere to lay his head. With a terse, "follow me," urging these tax collectors and fisherfolk to leave home and wander with him on a journey that seems to have no end. The couple of times Jesus manages to stop by home and visit his family seem to go badly. Which makes all the more strange, at least from a biblical perspective ...

686. It's All About the Messiah

Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

... people fought back with resistance including rebel bands. Six thousand Pharisees refused to take the imperial oath to Jupiter that Rome demanded. Herod, the puppet king of Israel was nervous. He did all within his power to satisfy Rome’s tax collectors and commissioners. There was sedition and plots whispered throughout the land. Herod’s ears were everywhere and whenever he suspected that a plot to overthrow his government was bubbling up, he acted with vengeance. In Samaria he had the two Hasmonaean ...

687. For the Love Of God is Forgiving

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... 's the Good News. It's the Good News because the Son of God gave his life for us. And his very act of giving himself for us, proves that the love of God is forgiving. The woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery, Zaccheus the tax collector, all knew they had slapped the skunk. They all knew that they were covered with the stink of sin. They could smell it themselves. Not only that but everyone around them kept reminding them that they stunk. Just like they did the woman in today's scripture. Simon ...

688. Which King Do We Worship?

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... every kingdom on earth. Instead, he came as a helpless baby born to a poor couple. He could have cozied up to the religious leaders of his day and been the most popular teacher in the Temple. Instead, he hung out with sinners and tax collectors, and stayed in constant trouble with the religious elites. He could have called down a host of angels to eliminate every Herod in his path. Instead, he chose to die a desperately painful and humiliating death to save everyone—even those who hated him—from ...

689. The Baptism of the Lord

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

... from the world we live in and become monastics or isolationists. As you observe the life of Jesus he continually engaged in meeting the needs of the world through healing, giving hope, breaking the caste system (think of the Samaritan woman, the tax collectors like Zacchaeus and Matthew), changing the moral culture of his society, and challenging the arrogant Pharisees. What are we doing to make a difference in our world as the fellowship of believers? How are we engaging in our community? Paul wrote to ...

690. The Green-Eyed Monster

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... metaphorical. God of course is the Father. His estate is the world that belongs to God. And the prodigals are those who have strayed away from the faith, leaving a trail of sins behind them. Who are the prodigals in the story? The tax collectors and sinners gathered around Jesus, listening to him teach. Who is the “older son?” Why, the Pharisees and Scribes of course. In this story, we have two “sons” or “peoples” of God. Both equally beloved. One is beloved for their consistent and faithful ...

691. Graciousness and Grumbling

Matthew 20:1-15

Sermon

Will Willimon

... things don't work that way, as has been the case for lots of Americans these days, a kind of meanness sets in.”[1] Meanness. Grumbling. Two men went into the chapel to pray, said Jesus, one, a money grabbing, traitorous, idolatrous swindler of a tax collector; the other a Bible-believing, tithing, deacon. Two men left the chapel; the former, was justified, accepted, but not the latter. A boy demanded his inheritance from his father and then left the father's house and blew it all on booze, loose-living ...

692. Find Joy Again!

Romans 15:4-13

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... Law. They thought they knew everything there was to know about God. Jesus comes along and says, “You just don’t get it. I come eating, drinking, and having a good time -- and you accuse me of being a glutton, drunkard, and a friend to sinners and tax collectors.” They accused Jesus of being a party animal. They thought he was playing too hard. They thought they had God all figured out, but they hadn’t. They could not see that Jesus was trying to get us to enjoy life again. Do you know what Jesus ...

693. You Don't Have to Yell

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... appreciate the mercy of God. There are only two instances in the Gospels where people hesitated to approach Jesus: the woman who was hemorrhaging blood who reached out to touch the border of Jesus’ robe (Luke 8: 43-48) and Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector who was despised by the Jewish believers (Luke 19: 1-10). In the first case, Jesus saw the woman, spoke to her, and, of course, healed her. In the second instance, Jesus approached Zacchaeus and invited himself over for lunch. In both cases, Jesus ...

694. To See and Be Seen

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... loving despite seeing. In our scripture for today, we have a story of Zacchaeus, a man who strived to see Jesus, because he deeply to be seen. Often, we look at Zacchaeus as perhaps a haughty man, as the scripture tells us he was very rich and a tax collector (meaning also most likely shunned by his community). But the man described in Jesus’ story as told by Luke does not come across that way. He urgently wants to see Jesus. He’s obviously heard about him. He has heard of what he can do. He’s heard ...

695. A Last Appeal

Luke 23:33-43

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... , yet he was so different from the other so-called messiahs. Instead of spending time with the elite of the day — the Pharisees, the scribes and the Sadducees— this man chose to spend his time and even dined with them — the poor, the tax collectors, women, prostitutes and other “outsiders” in Israel. Jesus had announced his watchword numerous times: “The Son of Man came to seek out and save the lost” (19:10). The two criminals next to Jesus had completely different attitudes. The one is highly ...

696. When the Way Means Staying Home

John 11:1-45

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... of the congregation, I know that God is calling them elsewhere at least for now. In response to the call of Jesus, Peter and Andrew left their fishing nets. The sons of Zebedee left their father with the family fishing business. Matthew left his tax collector booth. Women traveled with Jesus and supported him out of their funds. Crowds flocked to hear him teach and followed him even when he tried to get away for some much needed solitude after the death of John the Baptist. But not everyone who followed ...

697. Stay—Tuned

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... is not a message, but a massage.” Hmm. “Repent,” said John. Luke’s account had the crowds asking him How? In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money ...

698. The Way of a Saint

Revelation 7:9-17 · Luke 6:20-31

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... a kiss, another with a denial. His countrymen traded his life for that of a terrorist. “Give us Barabbas,” they shouted. “While on earth,” writes Yancey, “Jesus seemed to gravitate toward other rejects: those with leprosy, prostitutes, tax collectors, paralytics, notorious sinners . . .” And yet, Yancey notes, “To Endo, the most powerful message of Jesus was his unquenchable love, even for—especially for—people who betrayed him. One by one, his disciples deserted him; yet still he loved ...

699. Walk the Talk

Matthew 21:23-32

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... went to the second and said the same, and he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go.” Jesus asked then, “Which of the two did the will of his father?” They answered, “The first.” Then Jesus hit them hard with God’s truth: “The tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.” In other words, they listen to me, and they honor God. They get it! God desires us to “repent” –to change our minds, turn our heads toward God, and get in line with God’s ...

700. (Don’t) Follow Me

Matthew 23:1-12

Sermon

Steve Molin

... condemning the Pharisees for their own practice of unrighteousness. And here is the irony of Jesus’ words, according to Alyce Mckenzie: “The listeners of Jesus’ day would have expected the Pharisee to be a careful observer of the Law. They would not have expected the tax collector to go to the temple at all.”1 No wonder Jesus was so hard on the Pharisees! They criticized Jesus and his disciples for the way they did not wash their hands, and the way they snacked on the heads of grain on the sabbath ...

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