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 701 to 725 of 2815 results

701. The Unforgiving Servant

Matthew 18:21-35

Drama

Robert A. Lehmann

... 's enough for anyone. Solo 3: That's all we can expect. Narrator: Jesus answered him; Jesus: I tell you, not just seven times but seventy-seven times. Solo 2: Seventy-seven times! Solo 1: That's an awful lot. Solo 3: Why so much? Narrator: And Jesus told this parable to explain it. Jesus: The Kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the reckoning, a man was brought to him who owed 10,000 talents ($10,000,000) and he could not pay the debt, so ...

702. The Prodigal Son or The Merciful Father

Luke 15:1-7

Drama

Robert A. Lehmann

... Solo 3: Because Jesus was an important man. Solo 4: And important men had nothing to do with sinners! Narrator: So Jesus told a parable. Jesus: There was a man who had two sons; the younger of them said to his father, Son 1: Father, give me the ... make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost and is found! Narrator: Now Jesus ends the parable here and we never find out if the two brothers are reconciled or not, but the analogy is clear ... Solo 4: God keeps accepting us ...

703. A Change of Direction

Matthew 21:28-32

Sermon

... always "got religion" every time a revival meeting was held, and, second, between meetings he was known to everyone as the community rascal. Yes, I'm quite sure the Lord also has to contend with the yes-sayers and the no-doers. The second possibility recognized in this parable is a more hopeful one, thank the Lord. It is the possibility that one who has said "no" may later have second thoughts about it, and change his mind and say "yes." One who has turned to walk away may yet turn around and come back. One ...

704. An Encounter With Two Old Friends

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

... iniquity and passing over transgression?" Would we justify a God who freely pardons, who passes over iniquity, closes his eyes to sin, deals so unjustly with us that he ignores the virtues of the Pharisee and commends the confession of the publican? Suddenly the focus of the parable shifts from these two worshipers to the God whose temple they had entered. "Who is a God like thee?" We begin our worship always, not in our own name, but in the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We ...

705. Treasure's Tug

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

... could shout, "Hey, Mom, look here!" and you zoomed around the block with the breeze in your face. In that moment, a joy filled you so full that your heart pounded and you were truly alive. The cost was worth it. The Christian discovers that such moments are little parables for the way God upholds us and gives us an amazing and exhilarating joy when we assume the costs and travel by faith. In the end ... Well, the surprise of today's Gospel is that we really don't know what will be "in the end" except that ...

706. No Weedless Garden

Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon

Richard L. Thulin

... the Church. It was one of the most celebrative and exuberant pieces that I had read in quite a while. He used the body imagery of St. Paul to draw his picture of the Church, but he could just as easily have used the positive agricultural figures of today's parable. It would be true to the spirit of his paper to call the Church a weedless and ripening field. Into rich soil good seeds have been planted and now as far as the eye can see there is wheat and barley growing in one great unbroken mass. The field is ...

707. God’s Safety Net

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

D. Wayne Burkette

... world is the way we respond to the Lord himself. It would appear that the Lord of the church is saying to those who are the church that we are to be, in some sense, God’s safety net. How much more plain could it be said than in this parable that the church’s love for Christ will be realized or lost by our efforts to feed and clothe and shelter and console? The world is filled with persons who are unprotected, uncared for, hungry, abused, and belittled, and Christ the King is looking for his church to be ...

708. The Cracking Point

Mark 12:1-12

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... . They got their hands on the heir. So they killed the owner's son. Jesus reported, "What will the owner do? He will come and destroy the tenants." When the scribes and priests heard this, they exclaimed, "God forbid!" Now, my friends, immediately following this parable, Jesus was asked, "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" Jesus simply responded, "Give Caesar the things that Caesar owns and give God the things God owns." Obviously, the meaning is clear - woe, be unto us if we try to give ourselves ...

709. Proper 22 & Pentecost 20

Matthew 21:33-46, Philippians 4:2-9, Philippians 3:12-4:1, Numbers 27:12-23, Psalm 81:1-16, Isaiah 5:1-7

Sermon Aid

... , but behold, a cry! Has the "new Israel," the church done any better than the original Israel? We have to keep that question in mind when we read and preach the Gospel for the Day. The song of Isaiah takes on a bitter taste when one reads the parable about the man who established a vineyard, rented it out to people, only to have them beat and kill his servants and, finally, his son, so they could take over the vineyard for themselves. Numbers 27:12-23 When God commands Moses to climb a mountain and look ...

710. A Fool’s Tools

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

... . In a humorous vein he describes his hardships and closes each verse with the words "I did what I could." That’s really what Christ asks of each of us. But there’s a kind of urgency about doing what we can. The thirteenth chapter of Luke describes a parable situation in which a man’s fig tree hadn’t given fruit for three years. When he asked the caretaker to cut it down, the caretaker requested that it be given another year, and the man agreed. In contrast to the fig tree, we don’t have the ...

711. I ... Oh ... U

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

... merits, and why the buildup of his own esteem at the expense of this tax collector? Christ didn’t plan to provide pat answers to such questions, but he did expect his word-picture to make us think and to raise questions like this. Like most of his parables, it’s an example story to make a point. In his character descriptions, he is setting up two extremes - the very pious, self-centered ... the very penitent, God-centered. And he wants us to keep a mental picture of each as we go about our daily living ...

712. The Sin of Judging

Matthew 13:36-43, Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

... the wheat into my barn.’" Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field." He answered, "He who sows the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world, and the good ... off to school late only to receive a whipping. Have we not often done the same in our judgments? Granted, the plea in the Parable of the Tares is not that we condone sin or wink at evil, but that we be charitable and reticent to condemn so that ...

713. Forgive To Be Forgiven

Genesis 50:15-21

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... a Christian and as such to be a follower of Christ is to extend mercy as he did. He taught, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." When we think of how many and how grievous our sins are, we realize how much we need mercy. In the parable of the two debtors, the king asks the unforgiving one, "Should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant as I had mercy on you?" Christ the King asks us the same question. How can we have mercy on others if we have not received mercy from God in ...

714. Christ the King

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me’ " (Matthew 25:34-36). There is a bold and frightening lesson in this parable: God will judge us by seeing how we react to human need. God’s judgment does not depend on how much we learn, or how ... help him. His children are our fellow persons. William Barclay in his Daily Study Bible on Matthew tells of two men who found this parable "blessedly true." "The one was Francis of Assissi; he was rich and wealthy and he was high-born and he was high-spirited, ...

715. A Risky Lifestyle

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... the same one talent and presented it to him. The master was highly displeased. He took that one talent and gave it to the servant with ten talents. Then he cast the one- talent man into a place of misery. Allow me to lift up several truths from the parable. First, God Expects Much of Us. In verse 24 the one-talent man says to the master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you did not winnow." The master does not dispute that description of himself. The master ...

716. Judgment Day is Coming (Adapted)

Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 13:36-43, Matthew 13:47-52

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... against the rule of God and were cast out of heaven. Satan tries to connect with the original sin in all of us, attempting to separate us from God and make this world resemble hell. II The second truth declared is that God is patient and kind. In Jesus' parable, the owner of the farm does not clean out the weeds right away. God is amazingly patient with us sinners. Listen to this word from II Peter 3:9: "The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting ...

717. Forgive Us Our Debts

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Brett Blair

... jail. His original debt was reinstated. Now the question is, what was Jesus attempting to say to Simon Peter? Through this parable Jesus says Peter you can be forgiven. But, forgiveness carries a heavy price. And, a forgiven soul should be a forgiving ... story is saying to us that forgiveness carry’s a large price tag. Have you ever thought that Jesus did not have to end the parable of the prodigal son the way that he did. We know that as the prodigal comes home, the elder son is jealous and sulks. But ...

718. A Shepherd Who Became a Sovereign

2 Samuel 12:1-31

Sermon

R. Blaine Detrick

... David have been so blind? This was exactly what he had done. With all his wealth, with all that God had given him, yet he reached out and took the one precious thing that Uriah, the Hittite, loved most ... his lovely wife. David’s response to the parable confirms the spiritually sensitive person that he was. He did not rant and rave. He did not protest his innocence. He did not order Nathan to be slain. He was anguished and ashamed. He was humble and penitent. He said, "I have sinned." He admitted his ...

719. The Promise Of Life ("U" Turns Permitted)

2 Samuel 12:1-31

Sermon

Roger Prescott

... need to think carefully in our decisions so that we do not lead people astray into situations that might harm them - or others. Not all of us are "lucky" enough to have a Nathan. 2. It is always easier to see other people’s faults Nathan’s parable was powerful in its effect because it first disarmed the king. David was sure this was a story about "Somebody else’s" incident. And it is always easier to see other people’s faults. Centuries later Jesus would echo the gist of this encounter when he said ...

720. A Fool and his Money

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... that the children we are raising have been taught so well that they are even worse than us old folks. "Never before has so much meant so little to so many." And there are too many miserable millionaires to be ignored. STUFF! Just like the fellow in the parable. But he has more of a problem than an accumulation of STUFF. He has come to believe that the STUFF is his security. WRONG, Fool! Even without the problem of an untimely demise, this never works. Ask anyone who has ever been robbed...or had their house ...

721. When What's Lost Is Found

Luke 15:8-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Do you believe that? Jesus must have believed it, for he made the same essential point three times in this same chapter. First in the parable of the lost sheep, then in the parable of the lost coin and finally in the parable of the lost son which we know as the parable of the prodigal son. In each, Jesus repeated this theme. God rejoices over the sinner who comes home. Do you believe that? Do you believe there is rejoicing in heaven every time a sinner ...

722. On Fooling a Mafia Don

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... authorized to give away his company's money like that no matter how desperate he was to find another job. His behavior was inexcusable. This brings us to the question for the morning: Why did Jesus make a hero of this man? For basically, this is Jesus' parable of the unjust steward brought into modern times. Why did Jesus make a hero of this scoundrel? Certainly it was not because of the steward's sense of ethics. What ethics? Like many people today this man believed the end justifies the means. Can't you ...

723. What Do We Need For Christmas?

Luke 2:(1-7) 8-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... spend the rest of my life playing 'Follow the Leader' with Jesus Christ." (1) In that same book she shares this insight, "This world cannot be a home for anyone of us until it is a home for all of us." (2) This Christmas, like the man in the parable, and like our Christian Sister, Joyce, may we realize that what we want and what we need aren't always the same thing. Allow Christ to help us change the direction we travel and the attitude that shapes our thoughts. Let us play `Follow the Leader' with Christ ...

724. Pray Constantly

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... we are of more value than many sparrows. When I pray, I am not pleading my case before an implacable judge in a cold court of justice, I am talking to a Heavenly Father who knows and understands." (5) Jesus portrayed God as a loving Parent. Through Jesus' parables we see a God who cares about each one of us and knows each one of us by name. That is how we can pray with persistence and patience ” it is because we know the One to whom our prayers are directed. Back in September 1984, country singer Barbara ...

725. Surprised Sheep And Graceless Goats

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

Stan Meade

... Jesus. It might be a word of kindness or encouragement. It might be a visit at the hospital or a gift to someone in need. You did it unto Jesus. Surprised? Most of us are as unaware of the importance of our good deeds as were the sheep in Jesus' parable. There is a Czechoslovakian film called ADRIFT. It is about a fisherman and his family who one day rescued a girl from drowning. The girl came to live with this family for a while. They couldn't find anything about her past. It was a mystery. In those years ...

Showing results