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 1201 to 1225 of 4968 results

1201. St. Andrew Christians

John 1:35-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the truth about who Jesus is and what Jesus is doing in this world. St. Andrew Christians don’t just offer to give up their seat on the bus or our space in the parking lot. St. Andrew Christians offer Jesus to all the world. As Jesus’ disciples we have “bragging rights.” It is our mission to go around “bragging on Jesus.” When Jesus performed healing miracles he did not go around bragging about what he had done. Jesus did not PR himself, or brag about his healings. Often Jesus told the ones he ...

1202. Come with Me to the Mountain

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.” I want to give you an invitation this morning to come with me to the mountain. In a figurative sense, let’s leave the everyday world behind for a few moments and stand with those three disciples on that mountain. In the first place, we also need to see who Jesus is. Listen to the words of the great author and pastor Leslie Weatherhead: “Some years ago I had a strange dream. I am not making this up for the purpose of the sermon. I was ...

1203. Wrong!

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... thought the prophecy of Joel was about an “end” found they were wrong, for the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy was about a new “beginning” — the beginning of the age of the Holy Spirit and the Church of Christ. Yet no matter how right the disciples-now-apostles got it on the Day of Pentecost, the first birthday of the Church, our wonderful human gift for error has led us down some very wrong paths over the past two millennia. Martin Luther told a group gathered around his kitchen table in 1533 ...

1204. Save Me, Lord

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , even out of love and compassion, insures the other will have a gray and dreamless life. Like the over-aided moth, they will have no strength, no vibrancy, no soaring spirit in their living. In today’s gospel text Jesus shows his great love for his disciples by sending them off, by themselves, without his help, to struggle alone. Jesus lets them sail into a big storm, and allows them to battle against the wind and the waves all night long. The timing is important. The well-fed five thousand are touting ...

1205. Matthew 16:13-20

Matthew 16:13-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Jerusalem and the beginning of the end of his earthly ministry. Jesus’ question, “Who do you say that I am?” triggers an inspired answer from instinctive Peter and opens the next chapter in the salvation story. Jesus’ first question to his disciples in this week’s text asks his closest companions to “take the temperature” of the crowds they have encountered in their travels. Who is Jesus, “The Human Being,” to them? Matthew’s list of “candidates” is unique. This gospel writer adds ...

1206. Monster Rehab

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . Tomorrow is Halloween. In case you somehow missed it, the big question on the commercials for “Party City” (for whom Halloween is their retail equivalent of Christmas) is “What will you be?” It is the exact same question Jesus is posing to his disciples and the other temple crowd listeners in today’s gospel. What will you be? Will you need to define yourself according to human measures? Will you claim yourself as better, more respectable, worthy of the head table, deserving of a title? Or will ...

1207. Mark 13:34-37

Mark 13:32-37

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... may have rendered the people “homeless,” the return of the Son of Man brings them back to their ultimate home. Jesus steps back from the final curtain of the Parousia and once again focuses on the current moment, the current of time in which his disciples are living. The lesson or parable of the fig tree is offered to show how Jesus’ followers may discern the approach of all “these things.” The fig tree, which loses all its leaves over the winter, is something of a late bloomer. Unlike the early ...

1208. Mark 1:29-39

Mark 1:29-34

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve” (“diakonesai”). It is hardly coincidental that Mark records the first action of this healed woman to be an act of service — an action carried out before Jesus’ very first, newly called disciples. Her response of service to the touch and call of Jesus serves as a template for these first followers. There is a bow to proper Jewish behavior in Mark’s text. Despite Jesus’ reputation, despite the power and persuasiveness of his synagogue activity ...

1209. Mark 1:1-11

Mark 11:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... a colt, the foal of a donkey.” That this young animal “has never been ridden” emphasizes both the purity of Jesus’ actions (Numbers 19:2) and the royal nature of his identity. No others were ever to ride the king’s mount. Jesus directs these disciples to answer to any inquiries about their appropriation of the animal with the response “The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.” This use of “Lord” or “kyrios” here seems to be a reference by Jesus to himself, not to God ...

1210. Practicing the Presence

Acts 8:26-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . But too often that “presence” is put on a shelf. The “presence” is side‑lined or side‑stepped, as other concerns take center stage. There is a huge difference between the Spirit of Christ being present in every disciple’s life, and the Spirit of Christ being preeminent in every disciple’s life. Philip opened himself to the message of the Spirit and ran down a chariot in the middle of a desert road. He did not “trust his gut.” He did not consider the strange circumstances. He did ...

1211. The 4 Spiritual Flaws

John 6:1-15

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... myself. I can do it on my own." Jesus says to all "I-can-do-it-on-my-own" types, "Sit Down." Or in other words, Trust me. Put your future in my hands. Jesus asks Philip how the massive crowd can be fed. The overwhelmed disciple responds with mathematical figures that guarantee failure. Likewise the miniscule bit that Andrew offered as a possible "idea" for feeding the five thousand is a recipe for failure. The responses of Philip and Andrew absolutely proved that they could not "do it on their own. Five ...

1212. Finish What You Start

Luke 14:25-33

Sermon

... The cost of discipleship, or at least, a cost of discipleship is that we are asked to put nothing in the way of following Jesus. If we decide we are going to follow Jesus then we must prepare ourselves for hardships. And, if we think of ourselves as disciples of him and we haven't experienced hardship, haven't had to ask tough questions about our priorities, then maybe we're lucky or perhaps we need to take a good hard look at what we think it really means to follow Jesus. Don't forget, if you decide to ...

1213. The Ultimate Mountain Top Experience

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... grasp. He was doing the will of his Father. Even more importantly, he and the Father were one. “This is my son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” This is one of the holiest moments in Scripture. This is epiphany at its best. God is revealed to the disciples of Christ in all His glory. Christ is revealed as God’s Son. It is the kind of scene that makes us want to take off our shoes because we are on holy ground. That is the kind of experience that is missing in today’s secular world. Pastor Quintin ...

1214. When We Feel Unwanted

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

King Duncan

... people spread their cloaks down before Jesus. It is in John’s Gospel that we read that people came out to meet Jesus with palm branches. (2) When the procession came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen. They shouted out, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” and “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Obviously this did not set well with some ...

1215. Filling the Hole in Our Hearts

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... up, the Holy Spirit helps us become all God has created us to be. One of the images used in Scripture to help us understand the work of the Holy Spirit is that of fire. You’ll remember that tongues of fire appeared above the heads of the disciples on the Day of Pentecost. Some denominations use a flame to indicate the presence of the Holy Spirit in their church logo. The symbol of fire represents the work of the Spirit helping us become what God intends for us to become. There is a story that comes from ...

1216. The Lamb

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

Argile Smith

... in the title John conferred on Jesus gave a striking prelude to his life, death, and resurrection. Just as John said, Jesus was the Lamb of God, and he demonstrated it by the way he lived, died, and rose from the grave. After God’s ascension, his disciples proclaimed the good news about his sacrifice for sins. They also began to portray God as a victorious ruler who would come for his people, gathering them from the four corners of the earth to join him in heaven. There God will be the eternal centerpiece ...

1217. Really!

Luke 20:27-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... -changing. The gospel truth, the resurrection truth, means nothing less than Jesus is as alive in the world today as he was in first century Israel. “Poser’s” think Jesus was a good guy who lived and died two thousand years ago. Disciples know Jesus walks and talks with them, all day, every day, for the length of their days. The Sadducees rejected the possibility of resurrection because they were strict literalists. The rich territory of oral tradition that gave the Pharisaic tradition its lifeblood ...

1218. A Miracle Story

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... for every future generation — to walk in his shoes, to slip on his sandals, to wear his Crocs — wherever that path may lead. That is what it meant to experience the story of Jesus in the present. That is what it means to be a day-to-day disciple. To live the story of Jesus as an event in the past, an experience in the present, and an expectation of the future. For Peter that meant traveling to the home of a Gentile and ultimately inviting him and his whole household into the Christian community of the ...

1219. Here's Mud in Your Eye

John 9:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... through him might be saved” (3:17). However here was an opportunity to show forth the majesty of God by bringing light to a man who was in darkness. That was all that mattered to the Master. Do you see the difference between Jesus and his disciples? By disciples, I mean us. Do you see the difference between Jesus and us? A man comes up to the window of our car asking for a handout. Immediately we make judgments about him. Alcohol, drugs, refusal to work we’re more concerned about the why rather that ...

1220. Have You Checked Your Love Levels Recently?

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... moment. Instead it was completely about the power of love. The mysterious burst of light that beamed out from the “transfigured” Jesus was not a super-powered laser but a reminding, unremitting light of love — a transfiguring power for every generation of disciples. Jesus calls us to love. The transfiguration is a twitter of divine love — a moment of few words but a moment that gives the whole shebang of truth. In this transfiguration tweet, Jesus’ divine nature shines through giving us a glimpse ...

1221. Show Me Your Baptismal Certificate

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... our hands should go up. For we have a ministry to the body, but we have a mission in the world. A “mission trip” is not something you go on for a week or weekend. A mission trip is another name for the life of a baptized disciple. Are you raising missionary kids? Are you building a missionary family? Do you have a missionary marriage? Your baptismal certificate is your identity “card” that proclaims your identity as a minister and missionary. If you do still have it, why not get it reduced to card ...

1222. What Are You Waiting On?

John 11:1-16

Sermon

James Merritt

... ’s a second thing that God is waiting on. So the next time God delays, God holds out, God stays silent, God does nothing, there’s a second thing that God is determined to see happen and that is: II. Faith is fortified. We just read where Jesus tells the disciples that Lazarus has died and He’s glad. Now let’s see why He was glad. “Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe.’” (John 11:14-15 ESV) Now we learn the ...

1223. Reliable Witness

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

King Duncan

... something that they know is not true. People with a second-hand faith might be reluctant to give their lives. After all, they might have a degree of uncertainty. They weren’t there. They simply heard a report from people they trusted. But the disciples were there. They spoke with absolute certainty. They saw nail scarred hands. They spoke with him and ate with him. And, eventually, they died for him. There can be no doubt of their reliability. Chuck Colson says it better than anyone else. For our younger ...

1224. Jesus Prays for Us

John 17:6-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... them to do was to go around armed to the teeth. When we pray for protection, we pray that nothing painful or harmful will happen to us. Jesus knew better than that. He knew that we live in a world of pain. Some pain is unavoidable. Christ’s disciples would experience pain because of their devotion to him. There was no way to avoid that. So rather than pray that they will avoid pain, he prays for their UNITY. Now, why would he pray that? There is strength in unity. When you have friends and family and ...

1225. Be Careful What You Ask For

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... most powerful demonstration of that truth. His death, which he had just predicted, was a demonstration of that. As he himself once put it: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). His washing his disciples’ feet at the last supper was an indication of that. Think of it. The great, matchless God of all the universe stoops down to become a human being and becomes a washer of feet. This is greatness at its zenith! Jesus himself is the supreme example ...

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