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 1051 to 1075 of 1225 results

1051. “Unless You Repent . . .”

Luke 13:10-17, Luke 13:1-9

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... forward without suggesting the crass notion of individually earned suffering that Jesus here dismisses? 2. 13:6–9. Consider what sort of “fruit” the parable of the fig tree is calling for. What are the implications of the parable for our evangelistic and/or pastoral approach to unbelievers and also to believers who are perceived to be unrepentant and/or unfruitful? 3. 13:10–17. See “Teaching the Text” suggestions on 6:1–16, which are equally applicable here. Another point of discussion might ...

1052. The Coming of the King

Luke 19:45-48, Luke 19:28-44

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... out. The donkey ride is often described as Jesus’s “entry” into Jerusalem, but in fact he does not reach the city until later (19:45). People often wrongly assume that the messianic welcome was uttered by the people of Jerusalem. But all the evangelists in different ways indicate a contrast between the attitude of the disciples and pilgrim crowd outside the walls and that of the city. This should be teased out by careful analysis of what each of the Gospel writers actually says. Encourage listeners to ...

1053. At the Tomb

Luke 24:1-12, Luke 23:50-56

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... registered with the disciples, who are taken by surprise both in this section, by the discovery of the empty tomb and the angels’ message, and in the next sections, by meetings with the risen Jesus. There are well-known differences between the ways the four evangelists relate the discovery of the empty tomb (and still more in their selection and location of meetings with the risen Jesus). But while not all the details fit well together, all four accounts of the women and the angel(s) convey the same sense ...

1054. The Commissioning of the Disciples

Luke 24:50-53, Luke 24:36-49

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... passage: 1. The nature of Jesus’s resurrection body (physical but unique, capable of being taken into heaven) and of the disciples’ post-Easter experiences (down-to-earth rather than psychic). 2. The ascension of Jesus: an embarrassing extra (why do the other evangelists not narrate it [though there is a hint in John 20:17]?) or a necessary conclusion to Jesus’s life on earth? What would be missing from our theology if we had no account of the ascension? How does modern understanding of the cosmos ...

1055. The Gospel of God in Christ through Paul

Romans 1:1-17

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... will fill out the details regarding these blessings, but suffice it to say here that the love of God in Christ provides sinners with peace with God when they accept by faith that Christ died for their sins and arose for their justification. Third, the evangelistic scope of the gospel is cosmic. Jesus, the Messiah of Israel, is Savior of the world and Lord of the universe. The message of Jesus Christ knows no boundaries. It spread from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria to the uttermost parts of the world, thanks ...

1056. God’s Saving Righteousness and the Restoration of Israel

Romans 3:21-31

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... asked you why he should let you enter heaven, what would you say?” Most folk in the category of individual legalism will point out the good works in their lives as grounds for their justification on judgment day. The challenge of the Christian evangelist is to wean such persons from trusting in their own merits before a perfect God. Second, millions of people trust in their national identity to be justified by God. One thinks especially of Americans who claim that their country is a Christian nation and ...

1057. Witnesses of the New Covenant

Romans 12:1-8

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... perhaps in the worship setting. These gifts are sometimes thought today to be associated with those well trained in interpreting and applying the Scriptures. A pastor both teaches and preaches, all the while shepherding the congregation toward spiritual maturity. An evangelist is especially successful at winning others to Christ. But this particular calling does not eliminate the mandate of the Great Commission that all believers be witnesses to Christ as well. An exhorter is someone in the body of Christ ...

1058. Introduction and “Hello”

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

... to the enemy!8 Biography: Vincent Van Gogh. The first son of a Dutch minister, the great painter Van Gogh (1853–90) is not often associated with, as writer Kristopher Kowal puts it, “Christian conviction—let alone one with missionary and evangelistic aspirations.” More often, biographers focus on the sensational sides of his personality. Nevertheless, at one period of his life, Van Gogh gained a reputation among very poor miners “for selflessly sharing their hardships and for his love of the ...

1059. Portions for the Priests and the Levites

Numbers 18:8-32

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... funds. It turns out that he had done something similar to a group in Mississippi. The image of the huckster preacher is embedded in the American psyche by news accounts like this one, and through literary characters such as Sinclair Lewis’s fictional evangelist, Elmer Gantry. The Bible is aware that not every minister is virtuous. Eli’s two worthless sons “were treating the Lord’s offering with contempt” (1 Sam. 2:17) rather than with the holiness that it deserved. Judas Iscariot stole from Jesus ...

1060. Moses’s and Aaron’s Sin at Meribah

Numbers 20:1-13

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... had their ministries marred by sin. There are many modern examples. Here are a few. Some years ago a president of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship had to resign from that position when he admitted to having an adulterous affair. In 1988 a well-known television evangelist was accused of spending time at a motel with a prostitute, which led to the revocation of his standing as a licensed minister. In 2006 a leader of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) admitted to having had a massage from a male ...

1061. A Failure of Leadership

Num 20:14-29

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... , were unable to give the people their allotment in the land of promise. Their replacements, Joshua and Eleazar, did (Josh. 14:1). Illustrating the Text Spiritual leaders die. Personal Story: Three of my heroes of faith as a young Christian were the evangelist Billy Graham, the apologist Francis Schaeffer, and the British pastor and thinker John R. W. Stott. As I write these words, only Billy Graham is still alive, and he is suffering from failing health and is no longer active in ministry. Church history ...

1062. David the Conqueror

2 Sam 5:6-25

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... can trust. Illustrating the Text God accomplishes his purposes through those who promote his kingdom agenda. Christian Biography: A Passion for Souls, by Lyle Dorsett. This is a biography (1997) of D. L. Moody, businessman, national and international evangelist, and cofounder of the famed Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. Arguably one of the most important American figures of the nineteenth century, Moody was born and raised in poverty, had little education, and seemed an unlikely figure to accomplish ...

1063. The Lord Chooses a Prophet

1 Sam 3:1--4:1

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... obedience. A recent film version (2011) earned critical acclaim. God brings spiritual renewal through those who honor him. Christian Biography: Billy Graham. It has often been said that there is no explanation for Graham’s (b. 1918) success as a worldwide evangelist who has preached to 215 million people in more than 185 countries, founded the Billy Graham Association, and had an audience with a number of presidents, starting with Harry Truman. Despite his worldwide success and his access to the halls of ...

1064. David Flees to Gath—Again

1 Samuel 27:1-12

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... , accepting what is given as from his hand, peaceful in the knowledge of his divine oversight and in the promise of eternity. History: In The Attentive Life (2008), Leighton Ford, head of Leighton Ford Ministries and former member of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, tells the following story: When the bombs were falling on Europe during World War II, thousands of orphaned children were placed in refugee camps. There they were safe and fed. But since many of them had almost starved, they could not ...

1065. “Create in Me a Pure Heart, O God, and Renew a Steadfast Spirit within Me”

Psalm 51:1-19

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

... is witnessing to others about God’s grace. David commits himself to that task, to “teach transgressors your [God’s] ways,” “sing of your righteousness,” and “declare your praise” (51:13–15). Further, we might say that repentance has an evangelistic edge: “and sinners will turn back to you” (51:13). While repentance for this suppliant is a very personal matter, its larger effect is the restoration of Zion, an indication that personal piety in the Psalms has corporate implications (51:18 ...

1066. Nebuchadnezzar’s Judgment and Repentance

Daniel 4:28-37

Teach the Text

Ronald W. Pierce

... man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.11 Repentance is the only path to restoration. Quote: Charles Spurgeon. In his sermon “Two Essential Things,” preacher and evangelist Charles Spurgeon once said: Evangelical repentance is repentance of sin as sin: not of this sin nor of that, but of the whole mass. We repent of the sin of our nature as well as of the sin of our practice. We bemoan sin within us ...

1067. Thank You, Siri...Oops!

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... knew he could help them. Was it something in his appearance--something about the way he carried himself? Maybe it was the expression of love on his face. John Haggai tells about Charles G. Finney, a lawyer of great intellect and scholarship, who became an evangelist after his conversion. It is said that Finney made a greater impact on America than anyone else of his time. He had no entourage, no press corps, no public relations advance team, no public address system. Yet, during one six week period, 30,000 ...

1068. Judgment and Restoration

Isaiah 66:1-24

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the glorious acts of God. The restoration of the Jews to the land, God’s continued care for the Jewish people, and God’s acts of redemption (including the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ and the work of missionaries and evangelists) will result in many nations (including the Jews) bringing sacrifices to the Lord and serving as priests and Levites in God’s presence. They will gather together from festival to festival and enjoy covenant fellowship from generation to generation. The prophet ...

1069. Blessings and Woes

Luke 6:17-26

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... on the Plain (6:17–49) is considerably shorter than Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount (cf. Matthew 5–7). The relationship between the two accounts is complex; one can probably explain some of the differences by the editorial work of the evangelists. Jesus opens the sermon by drawing radical contrasts between two kinds of people. Those who are poor, hungry, weeping, and hated are blessed. Although this happiness is a present experience (“yours is the kingdom,” 6:20), it is primarily a future blessing ...

1070. Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

John 3:1-21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... , and ascension (3:13–15)—in Johannine language, Christ’s glorification. It is the result of this work that will release the Spirit (7:37–39). It is difficult to know whether 3:16–21 continues the words of Jesus or represents the comments of the evangelist (see NIV note on 3:15). The same holds for 3:31–36. Are these the words of the Baptist or the author? Some scholars argue that a certain symmetry should be seen: Jesus and John’s statements are followed by the beloved disciple’s additional ...

1071. The Unbelief of the Jews

John 10:22-42

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... these verses indicate a major transition. Jesus has withdrawn from public purview. The public signs are over. The Book of Signs, which began with John the Baptist (1:18), now anticipates its completion with a second reference to him (10:40). The Fourth Evangelist even reminds us of the subject of these ten chapters. Although John worked no signs, Jesus did; and those who witnessed these and perceived their truth found faith (10:42).More signs await those disciples of the inner circle (chaps. 11–12), and ...

1072. Jesus' Death and Burial

John 19:28-37, John 19:38-42

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... Psalm 22:15, while the hyssop that satisfies his thirst reflects Exodus 12:22 and Passover symbolism. Hyssop was used with blood on Israel’s doorposts in Egypt. This is a uniquely Johannine note (cf. Mark 15:36). John is also the only one of the evangelists who speaks of the Roman crurifragium, or breaking of legs (19:31–37). Again this serves Passover imagery in that the Passover lamb could have no broken bones (19:36; Exod. 12:46). Jesus was already dead (19:30), but if a man were not, a violent ...

1073. Jesus and the Miraculous Catch of Fish

John 21:1-14

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... chapters 5 and 6 for greater sequential clarity. And finally, some have pointed to chapters 11 and 12, suggesting an expansion to the Book of Signs. But to note such features is not to say that these additions cannot be from the pen of the Fourth Evangelist. On the contrary, each narrative enjoys a striking unity with the rest of the Gospel. In chapter 21 these connections are numerous. In 21:14 the appearance of Jesus is numbered as his third, which presupposes his appearances in 20:19 and 20:26. Typical ...

1074. On to Jerusalem

Acts 21:1-16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... his arrest, this prayer also resembles Jesus’s Gethsemane prayer (Luke 22:39–46). When they arrive at Caesarea, Luke and his companions stay “at the house of Philip” (21:8). Luke reminds readers of the earlier narrative of Philip by calling him an “evangelist” (Greek euangelistēs), a word whose verbal form has been used more than once in describing his ministries (Acts 8:12, 35, 40). Moreover, the phrase “one of the Seven” (21:8) also points back to the choosing of the “seven men” in ...

1075. Paul’s Teaching

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... all counterfeit gospels and all false approaches to what it is for God to refashion us in his image, Timothy is to offer himself as one who is sober (“keep your head in all situations”), courageous (“endure hardship”), godly (“do the work of an evangelist”), and just (“discharge all the duties of your ministry”; 4:5). 4:6–8 · Paul’s final testimony: Chief among the reasons that Timothy must get over his timidity (1:7) is that, to anticipate Paul’s athletic imagery, the baton is being ...

Showing results