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 1076 to 1100 of 2815 results

1076. The Blind Leading the Blind

Luke 6:39

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... to follow someone whom you cannot trust to lead you safely? I know that if I must follow someone else, then I want him to know more, be able to see better, and deal with any problem that comes up. Our leaders must be trusted. Jesus told us the parable about the blind leading the blind. He told it because He wanted us to know how important it was for us to know that we could trust Him. Jesus is the perfect leader. He knows everything, can see the problems ahead, and will always care orus first. Jesus is ...

1077. In the City

Luke 24:36-49

Illustration

Thomas Long

... a Fu Manchu mustache. He turned and tossed the ball to the kid, who, to everyone's delight and surprise, caught it. More enthusiastic applause from the crowd, who had come that night to see a baseball game but witnessed instead a city parable about justice and grace. The city is also a parable of human community. It is in the city that we learn best that everyone is not just like we are. Indeed, it was in the city that the disciples learned that the community of Jesus Christ is broader than we imagined.

1078. Building Barns, Postponing Life - Sermon Opener

Luke 12:13-21

Illustration

... successful man—we see him as savvy and wise. Yet, Jesus concluded the story by saying that this man was a fool. The issue before us this morning is then: what did this man do wrong? To answer that question we must understand that this is not a parable about money. It is a parable about values and what is important in life. With that in mind, let me suggest four things that this man did that made him a fool. I. First, he was a fool because he had full barns, but an empty heart. II. Secondly, this man was a ...

1079. People Get Ready!

Luke 12:35-48

Sermon

Brett Blair

... fair that this young man should receive half but Jesus doesn’t see it that way. He turns to this fellow and tells him a parable about a rich man who had a great crop and stored it all for himself but that night his soul was required of him. On the ... III. For all the words that we use to describe Christian behavior there is none better than servant. Look at this rather short but remarkable parable with me. The master has left to go to a wedding banquet and there is no way for the servants of that master to ...

1080. The Quality of Mercy

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

... -35. It was Jesus who told the story nearly 2,000 years ago. And having told it, he then said, "So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart." This story is usually called the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. And indeed it has much to say to us about the nature of forgiveness and the quality of mercy. It raises this penetrating and disturbing question: How can we expect God to forgive us unless we forgive others? And we do need the forgiveness ...

1081. Full Barns and Empty Hearts

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry." He had that deceptive sense of security that affluence brings to a person. All was going well. He could handle life and he slept each night with hardly a wakeful moment. But Jesus’ parable drives toward a deeper point: his success and prosperity didn’t count in any of the real crises of life. "But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you.' " His barns were full, but his heart was empty toward God. I Notice ...

1082. No Little Bit

Luke 19:11-27

Sermon

... may have no more than a bare room on the third floor, although you may be at the bottom of your company’s payroll structure, not even Father Abraham or King David or the Apostle Paul have a greater name than yours: "Child of the King." In this parable, our Lord highlights two other servants, each of them also entrusted with only one gold coin. But when the Master called them to account, one said: "Sir, I have earned ten gold coins with the one you gave me." To which the Master replied, "Well done! ... You ...

1083. The Footwashing

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

... worth something to the Christ, don’t you think? Surely he deserved commendation for his righteousness and his graciousness in serving as host for Jesus that day. Perhaps it was the Pharisees - even Simon, specifically - who prompted Soren Kierkegaard to write his parable about the danger of becoming merely a "satisfied customer" in the faith and not doing much about it. Kierkegaard imagined: that near the cross of christ a man had stood who beheld the terrible scene, and then became a professor of what ...

1084. Booby Trap

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

... needs of our neighbors close to home and across the world. Charles Frederick Richardson wrote a poem years ago that I learned when I was young, and while it isn’t outstanding poetry, it shows that he understood what Jesus was talking about when he told the parable of the Good Samaritan to the lawyer and those others who were present: If suddenly upon the street My gracious Saviour I should meet, And he should say, "As I love thee, What love has! thou to offer me?" Then what could this poor heart of mine ...

1085. Dead or Alive?

Joel 2:28-32

Sermon

... , and he pleaded with them to choose life. John reported that God’s concern in sending Jesus into the world was that all who would respond in faith might have everlasting life. Jesus wanted to help everyone have life - and have it in joyful abundance. In his great parable of the prodigal son, he ascribed the father’s joy to the fact that a son who had been dead was now alive again. On one occasion, too, when Jesus was urging persons to follow him in meaningful living, he met the excuse of a funeral to ...

1086. Weed-Pulling

Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon

Richard Patt

"Jesus told them another parable: 'The Kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. One night, when everyone was asleep, an enemy came ... not to pull up some of the wheat with the weeds. And do not harm the good and healthy wheat in the process of your weed-pulling! So let's take our cue from Jesus in this parable before us today. Let's deal with the "weeds" in the world and society and our own lives. But let's realize the pit-falls and the harm that can result from going too far. The road ...

1087. Proper 12

Lk 11:1-13 · Col 2:6-15 · Gen 18:20-32 · 2 Ki 5:1-15

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... by the forgiveness of our sins through Christ's nailing on the cross our debts (sins) owed to God. On the cross Christ canceled the power of evil forces and triumphed over them. Luke 11:1-13 Jesus teaches his Disciples how to pray by example and parable. Prayer and Spirit are two emphases of Luke's gospel; both of these are prominent in today's gospel lesson. Seeing Jesus pray, a Disciple asks Jesus for a lesson in prayer. In response Jesus gives no lecture on prayer, but simply gives a model which we ...

1088. Proper 14

Lk 12:32-48 · Gen 15:1-6 · Jer 18:1-11 · Heb 11:1-3, 8-19

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... promises of God, but they saw from afar their destination which was the city of God. Luke 12:32-48 God gives his kingdom to those prepared to receive it. Verse 32 concludes the foregoing section on anxiety about material needs. Verses 33-40 constitute the parable of the waiting servants. Jesus teaches that we should not worry about the material things of life. Instead God will give us the kingdom and then our treasure will be in heaven. But the coming of the kingdom is delayed. When will Jesus return? His ...

1089. Proper 22

Lk 17:5-10 · 2 Tim 1:1-14 · Am 5:6-7, 10-15

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... honestly say, "I have all the faith in the world." If we really have faith, do we need more? Jesus in this text corrects the disciples' desire for more faith. He says the quantity or degree of faith does not matter. It is sufficient just to have faith. The parable of the mustard seed emphasizes that the smallest amount of faith can do wonders. The admonition of this sermon is "Have faith," not "Have more faith." Outline: A little faith is a lot. A. The fact of faith - you do or you do not have faith - v. 5 ...

1090. The Call to be Holy in Love

Leviticus 19:1-37

Sermon

... a fashion. In Luke's Gospel, after Jesus has summarized for the lawyer the will of God as loving God with the whole self and loving your neighbor as yourself, the lawyer asks the question, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus then tells the parable of the Good Samaritan. The parable of the Good Samaritan proclaims that to ask "Who is my neighbor?" is to ask the inappropriate question. The appropriate question rather is "To whom am I a neighbor?" Our crucified and risen Lord gave freely of his life for us and for ...

1091. Talents and Trust

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

... somebody risks. Catch-22. Our gospel text for this day contains a Catch-22 that Jesus taught: "To everyone who has will more be given; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away." The story that preceded that saying is, of course, the Parable of the Talents. The situation is much like the risk-and-trust Catch-22. A master entrusts an enormous amount of property to his three servants. To give you some idea of the worth of a talent, it would be the total amount earned by a laborer working ...

1092. Compassion

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... , frankincense and myrrh have been put away in the storage rooms above the organ chambers. The Easter flowers have not yet been ordered. We are in the gaps between Christian festivals. But, my friends, it is in life's gaps that we become real. Jesus told us a parable about how people become real. Real is not how you are made. It is something that happens to you. Jesus said a man was beaten and left half-dead. He was unconscious and his clothes were torn off. He was simply "a certain man." There was no clue ...

1093. Counterfeit Christians and the Rest of Us

Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon

Gary W. Houston

... over night. If we do we will do more damage than good. Instead, we have to slowly come to recognize that we do not have to identify with, and therefore give power to, those aspects of our own selves that can be called "tares." Jesus taught us in today’s parable that he and the angels will do the judging. Hear once more these words from Matthew 16:27: "For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works." This means that I do not ...

1094. Easter 4

Acts 2:14-41, Psalm 23:1-6, Acts 6:1-7, Acts 7:54--8:1a, 1 Peter 2:13-25, John 10:1-21

Sermon Aid

... St. John, the person and work of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, are described. In the first little parable, Jesus shows his authority and legitimacy as the Messiah to the religious leaders of Israel; it had to be heard as a challenge by them, one they ... couldn't ignore. In the second little parable, Christ asserts that those who have faith will hear and follow him; he will indeed be their shepherd, for they are his sheep ...

1095. Proper 4

Deuteronomy 11:1-32, Genesis 12:1-8, Matthew 7:15-23, Matthew 7:24-29, Romans 3:21-31, Psalm 31:1-24, Psalm 33:1-22

Sermon Aid

... "that day" - the "day" of his return and the judgment that will bring upon all humans who have ever lived. On the other hand, on "that day," those who have not kept the teachings of Jesus Christ will be expelled from the kingdom of the Lord God. The little parable about the wise man who builds his house upon the rock, and the foolish man who builds his house upon the sand, sums up the Old Testament reading as well as it brings closure to Jesus' last lesson in the Sermon on the Mount. The conclusion of this ...

1096. Proper 12

Matthew 13:44-46

Bulletin Aid

... in this selection form a pair and say essentially the same thing from two perspectives: God's coming Reign is like a treasure or rare jewel that is so invaluable that it is worth total sacrifice. Matthew's message in recording these two parables was probably an indirect exhortation to his contemporary Church to accept self-sacrifice willingly. Call to Worship Leader: Let us worship the God of hidden treasures! People: LET US PRAISE THE GOD OF UNTOLD RICHES! Leader: Let us pledge ourselves to seek God ...

1097. Proper 20

Matthew 20:1-16

Bulletin Aid

Theme: God's gracious unfairness Exegetical note The original "punchline" to this parable was probably verse 15, which would shift the focus of the parable properly from the laborers to the vineyard owner and would underscore his generosity. The lesson, then, is about God and God's coming Reign: God will be just to all but "unfairly" gracious to some. Call to Worship Leader: Let us gather in the name of the God of glory! ...

1098. Proper 23

Mt 22:1-14 · Php 4:1-9 · Ex 32:1-14 · Ps 106

Bulletin Aid

... eyes, hearts, minds, and spirits away from all that troubles us and upon the peace and joy that await us in the Christ. In his name we pray. Amen Gospel Lesson: Matthew 22:1-14 Theme: The "many called" of God Exegetical Note Matthew has spliced together two originally independent parables (vv. 1-10 and 11-14) and allegorized them to speak to his contemporary situation. The original point of the first of these is that the coming Reign of God is to be populated by a motley assortment of outsiders - in this ...

1099. Proper 23

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon Aid

... the chancel ahead of time for a party with balloons, streamers, noise-makers. Prepare the congregation, adults and children, ahead of time to refuse to come to the party. Have them respond that they have no intention of coming to the party. After explaining the parable to them, send out another invitation. Have some people (servants) to go out among the congregation, and invite them to come in. Then, for a few moments, have a party in the chancel, which you may want to follow with a party in the social ...

1100. Proper 27

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon Aid

... their lamp. That would be tough on a camping trip. Jesus always asks us to be ready for whatever happens. We can decide to waste our time, or to use our time well. Ask for ways to use our time well. Or, build the message around the parable of the talents. Tell the story in a modern form. Or, maybe you would want us to use Clarence Jordan's translation from the Cotton Patch Version, with the necessary revisions for the ages of your children. Proclamation of the Word Consider these ideas: Foolish and Fool ...

Showing results