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

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1201. When What You Signed Up For...

Acts 16:9-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... Called from the Badge to The Book,” June 26, 2012, Templeton Editor, originally published in the book Make Your Job Your Calling, https://makeyourjobacalling.com/category/stories-of-calling/. 5. Letters on the Healing Ministry by Dr. Albert E. Day (Methodist Evangelistic Materials: 1964). 6. David McLemore, https://www.thingsofthesort.com/sermons-2/2019/10/28/mark-1112-25-the-lesson-of-the-fig-tree. 7. Guideposts Editors. Mornings with Jesus 2020 (p. 28). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. 8. “Taking it to the ...

1202. Lesson from a Prosthetic Toe

Luke 17:5-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... of your life have to become quieter if you’re going to hear God.” (5) Is that what we’re missing? Have other voices become so loud in our lives that they have drowned out God’s voice? We equate faith with healings and miracles and flashy evangelistic crusades where people shout and faint and speak in tongues. We want a loud, miraculous display of power to prove our faith. Instead, God plants His Spirit in our hearts and minds and grows us into a people who reflect God’s character. Pastor Duke Kwon ...

1203. Stop in the Name of Love

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... spiritual family that stretches across time and space, from every nation and language and culture. The Apostle Paul is a man whose life was completely transformed by the power of Jesus. He went from being a violent persecutor of Christians to being the greatest evangelist of the Christian faith. In his letter to the church at Ephesus, he wanted to address some of the issues that were dividing the believers there. He needed them to understand that Jesus knocked down the dividing walls between us and made us ...

1204. What, Then, Would You Be?

2 Corinthians 5:20b—6:10

Sermon

Dr. Ronald Love

... willing to make the same sacrifices. Paul was asking if they would surrender the worship of false gods to accept the challenge of obedience to the gospel message. Paul was asking if they would stop quarreling among themselves, and act in unity for the evangelistic mission of the church. Paul is asking us how we will answer these questions today. We fortunately have not encountered many of the same sufferings as Paul. Prison and beatings are not a worry for us. But, have we had a sleepless night wondering ...

1205. To Cross Over

Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

Sermon

Dr. Ronald Love

... . Though Hill was educated at some of the best schools in England, because he was so outspoken churches would not let him use their pulpits, so he began to preach outdoors in the fields. Because of Hill’s outspoken style, he was a successful evangelist. Rowland Hill’s last words before his death on Thursday, April 11, 1833, were these, “I have no rapturous joys, but peace — good hope, through grace, all through grace. Grace, hope, security — they are the hallmarks of a life lived in faith.

1206. Capernaum by the Sea

Matthew 4:12-23

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... their prize catch. The only way they could ensure the largest possible catch of their favored fish, the Tilapia, known today in the region as St. Peter’s Fish, would be to net all of the others in the process first. This in essence was Jesus’ evangelistic method, his “Shepherd Search Team Method,” if you will. He would pull in every sheep he could. He would teach to them all. Those who remained would become part of his flock. Those whom he couldn’t reach, he would not continue to pursue. He would ...

1207. Herding Cats

Matthew 9:35-10:8-23

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... . Instead, proclaim my message, heal and raise the dead, cast out demons. Some will listen. Some won’t. Do not try to control the outcomes. Just do your thing and then walk away. God will take care of the rest. Jesus’ message then (his evangelistic method if you will) works the same today as it did those years ago. We live in a divisive culture. As always through the ages, people will think independently, will have their own ideas, their own religions, their own beliefs, and their own goals and ...

1208. Immediately, They Followed

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Will Willimon

... it a suitable challenge for a man of his talents? Mending the nets, always mending the nets. was sick of it. He reached out for more. Jesus came said, "Follow me," and he was born again, he left his and followed and now he has a nationwide evangelistic ministry. Yet there are limits to what even a creative preacher can do with this story. All of that about tensions within the family, searching for something more, could have been true. But isn't it interesting that Mark appears to care less? In about five ...

1209. Love In Action

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Will Willimon

... , and give it to the poor."' And Jesus loved him. Oh, I've got my own resources for rationality and weaseling out of the "sell all you have, and give it to the poor." But the thing that strikes me is Mark's editorial comment; not found in the other evangelists' treatment of this tale: "And Jesus loved him." He loved him. Does that seem strange to you? With people around like Jesus to love you, you don't need anyone to despise you! "Jesus loved him and said, 'Go, sell all you have, and give it to the poor ...

1210. Limiting Labels

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

... boxes by pinning them with labels. As a young preacher in Mississippi in the early ‘60s, I was labeled a liberal because of my stand on civil rights. When I left Mississippi and moved to southern California, I was soon labeled a conservative because I was evangelistic in my preaching and had a southern accent. In both instances the labels were limiting. People heard me out of their own preconceptions of who I was and what I stood for. When we reserve judgment, we’re saying, “There’s more to you than ...

1211. Dying, We Live

1 Corinthians 15:51-58

Sermon

Will Willimon

... Airlines, punishing me? I groaned. More than that, I couldn't help wondering whatever happened to the good old-fashioned way to immortality? The Greeks had children. The Egyptians had embalmers. We now have yogurt, wheatgerm, oatbran, and aerobics. This person, with her evangelistic wellness, had just taken a couple of years off my life. Sure, there's much to be said for good health. But it has gone quite beyond that. We're not talking about looking fit or feeling better. We're talking immortality here ...

1212. Imperfect Pastors

Exodus 32:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... it, but because of God’s character and God’s promises. God had made a covenant relationship with them, and God is always faithful to His promises. So how do we give up our fake substitutes for God and find the relationship God made us for? Evangelist Billy Graham said there are three steps to conversion: repentance, faith and new birth. Repentance is turning away from our former life. Faith is turning towards God. And new birth means becoming a child of God, which will cause us to “love the good (we ...

1213. On Rendering to God and to Caesar

Mark 12:13-17, Isaiah 42:1-9

Sermon

Will Willimon

... does it. The Rev. Jerry Falwell has created an empire for political agitation among those who once claimed that preachers shouldn't talk politics. And who could have dreamed, even a few years ago, that we would have a conservative television evangelist running for President? Suddenly, preachers of all persuasions, left and right, conservative and liberal, are talking politics. Sometimes, you can't even tell the difference between a preacher and a politician -which may not be such a nice thing to say ...

1214. Family Ties And Unties

Mark 3:20-35

Sermon

David Coffin

... of persuasion. This is a reminder to Christians everywhere that we can make our best case both in actions and verbs, and certain people and groups will still remain unconvinced and will still oppose our efforts as disciples. This is not a modern evangelistic crusade where auditoriums of people gather in for praise music, to listen to testimonies and a sermon, then are invited to an altar call. Mark’s gospel keeps it real! Powerful people crave more power and are not going to compromise, despite the ...

1215. Building Trust

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

David Coffin

... sower and mustard seed earlier in Mark 4. Mark’s gospel is written to small town and rural audience round 70 CE. He uses very basic koine Greek (instead of the highly educated classical Greek). Mark is not as polished in his writing skills as evangelist Luke, in his books of Luke and Acts. Thus, to learn in these small town rural communities means to practice what they are taught in terms of hands on application. For example, if a person wishes to earn a Veterinary Technician’s Certificate, he or she ...

1216. Which Kingdom Do We Serve?

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

David Coffin

... work. Good people do get hurt for standing up for what they believe to be right. This is also the world in our gospel lesson of the Mark 6 today, as it relates to John the Baptist. This particular passage is another example of Mark the evangelist “sandwiching” one story within another one. The initial story was Jesus sending out the twelve disciples to do ministry. While they were gone, this account is inserted into Mark, chapter 6. After the story of John the Baptist, the return of the twelve disciples ...

1217. More Than Gimmicks

John 6:24-35

Sermon

David Coffin

... or grow bad while out in the desert’s dry lands. Jesus’ bread from the past meal was able to be gathered up and given to other people in need. It had a longer shelf life — possibly eternal. “Bread” is a metaphor used by John the evangelist to invite the hungry and thirsty crowds to build a relationship with Jesus, who is God in the flesh John 1:1-14 (RSV). While Moses’ bread was instrumental in delivering the people from Egyptian bondage, they would still die a natural death. Jesus’ bread ...

1218. Breathe

John 6:56-69

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... mission that they never had before experienced. In that moment, they transfigured from disciples to apostles. This experience of breathing in the Holy Spirit’s presence, energy, and power became what was known as a “baptism of fire.” It enabled early evangelists for Jesus to persevere beyond any human capacity. It was as though they were zapped with the voltage of ten thousand strands of lightning. Their brains and hearts were rewired, and their souls readied. By the time of the third century, paying ...

1219. A Portion of Thyself

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... could learn something! So it is appropriate for Jesus’ followers always to ask one another, “Are you aware?” Do you see? Have you reached beyond yourself and looked at the lives and the circumstances of your partners in the human enterprise? In 1966, evangelist Martin Higgenbottem was one of the main speakers at the Berlin World Congress on Evangelism. He told the gathering that his life of devotion and service had to do with his mother. He remembered coming home from school one afternoon to find her ...

1220. Living Through Hard Times

2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10

Sermon

Bonnie Bates

... As Paul wrote this second letter to the church in Corinth, he was reminding the people that he, too had struggled: “in beatings, imprisonments, and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger” (2 Corinthians 6:5). His life, as follower of Jesus and as evangelist had been difficult, more difficult in some ways than our Christian lives have been. We, in the United States at least, are rarely beaten or imprisoned for our faith. We may have had hard work to do and some sleepless nights, but most of us ...

1221. Do You Think That I Have Come To Bring Peace?

Luke 12:49-56

Sermon

Will Willimon

... remark), “Jesus broke the hearts of many a first-century Judean family." We hadn't thought about that. We aren't told what fisherman father Zebedee thought of his two boys going off with Jesus, leaving their nets and hitting the road as traveling evangelists. And the whole congregation of sons and fathers, mothers and daughters, got real quiet here in Duke Chapel. “Do you think that I have come to bring peace? No. I have come to turn father against son, son against father, mother against daughter. I ...

1222. Starting Over

John 21:1-19

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... Jesus. It is fascinating to note that the gospel of John is actually quite complete at the end of chapter 20. Although no manuscripts exist of the book, excluding chapter 21, which is viewed as a later appendage. Still, even if it was written later by the evangelist or one of his disciples, the story it tells brings further completeness to the rest of the gospel. Living Into Easter For one thing, it sets the mission of the church in motion. In John 20, Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into this new body of ...

1223. As a Fire Exists by Burning

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... . Three other admonitions among the many that Jesus speaks to his seventy disciples and Luke to the refugees who had descended upon Antioch, require our brief attention before we are quit of this pericope. Note, please, that two marks of true, Christian evangelists are vulnerability and dependency. The disciples are going out into the mission field as sheep among wolves, vulnerable and open. They were to be dependent upon the kindness and generosity and the hospitality of their hosts. They were not to shop ...

1224. Evangelism Has Fallen on Hard Times

Luke 10:25-37

Illustration

Clovis G. Chappell

"Evangelism" is a beautiful word that has lost its winsomeness [effectiveness]. Somehow on its journey from the Jerusalem of yesterday to the Jericho of today it has fallen among thieves that have wounded it and stripped it, departed, leaving it half dead. It takes a rather rash Samaritan, therefore, to dare turn aside to set this poor chap upon his beast and take him to an inn and take care of him. This is especially true because a veritable procession of Priests and Levites are passing by, not only ...

1225. Make Haste Slowly

Illustration

Joe Aldrich

A model from the world of real estate becomes instructive at this point. A firm in Salem, Oregon, assigns 500 families to each agent. Agents are expected to contact each assigned family once per month for a year. The contact may be personal, a telephone call, or a letter. Research indicates that it takes at least six contacts for people to remember who the agent is and the firm represented. During this time of "building relationships," agents are encouraged not to go in the house (good psychology, everyone ...

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