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 1301 to 1325 of 2815 results

1301. Embrace the Sense of Community

Matthew 20:1-16

Illustration

Philip W. McLarty

There's a play by Timothy Thompson based on this parable in which he depicts two brothers vying for work. John is strong and capable; Philip is just as willing but has lost a hand in an accident. When the landowner comes, John is taken in the first wave of workers, and as he labors in the field he looks up ...

1302. Bible Ignorance

Illustration

Staff

... for church membership was asked, "What part of the Bible do you like best?" The man said: "I like the New Testament best." Then he was asked, "What Book in the New Testament is your favorite?" He answered, the Book of the Parables, Sir." They then asked him to relate one of the parables to the membership committee. And a bit uncertain, he began... Once upon a time a man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves; and the thorns grew up and choked the man. And he went on and met the ...

1303. A Riddle

Mark 4

Illustration

Steven Molin

... the devil, poor people have it, rich people don't need it, and if you eat it, you'll die?" The answer is: "Nothing." I knew I should have gone to Stanford! Literally, the word parable means "a riddle." They are stories that leave the listener with the responsibility of figuring out just what they mean. Jesus told more than 40 parables during his ministry, and he only explained one of them to his disciples, so that left the disciples with a lot of figuring out to do. And then Jesus took the answers with him ...

1304. The Tower of Siloam

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... depended on your perspective) who were murdered by Pilate. Jesus responds that their fate was no different than those who died when the Tower of Siloam fell. According to Jesus the crucial fact was whether the individuals in question had repented in a timely fashion. His parable of the fig tree was a reminder for all of us that first and last things have priority over even the most compelling events of the present. It all comes down to this. If a thing was right before September 11, it is still right ...

1305. Begging and Bragging

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Scott Bryte

... did. The Pharisees agreed with Jesus. The Sadducees didn't believe in the resurrection of the dead. The Pharisees did (and we know who's side Jesus was on there). So why is it that the Pharisees are always the bad guys when Jesus tells his little parables? Why is it that the Pharisees were so eager to stop Jesus from teaching that they arranged for his death? Here's the problem with the Pharisees. They were good people and they knew it. They followed the rules and wanted everyone else to see how well ...

1306. Would A Loving God Really Let Anyone Go To Hell?

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... still alive. If folks took that as seriously as they do the picture we get of the punishments of hell, poverty would have long ago been wiped out. But poverty is not the focus of our attention now, even though that really is the primary focus of the parable. Rather, it is this picture we have of divine punishment. This one story has done more to influence our long-held concept of eternal damnation than any other in scripture. The question is how are we to understand it in light of what we have come to know ...

1307. Rich Man, Poor Man

James 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’” (Matthew 25:31-46) That’s a scary parable especially in a society that determines a person’s worth on the basis of his or her bank account. But this is where the teachings of Jesus clash quite definitely with the values of society how we view the poor. Scripture is clear: our closeness to God is reflected ...

1308. Proper 25

Psalm 65:1-13, Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22, Joel 2:23-32, Luke 18:9-14, 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

... . The sermon might explore the purpose and value of this literary form and consider why Jesus might have chosen it to carry his ideas. The question arises today: Do we need to distinguish between the parables Jesus told and his other “lectures”? What might be considered his “central” teachings? Another sermon approach would be to consider the directives Paul gives Timothy; what value do they have for young people today? Are we Christians or Paulians? Contemporary Affirmation Leader: We recognize ...

1309. The Messiah’s Mark

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the need to answer every question he was asked? Yet each one of his seemingly “straight forward” answers in today’s reading holds the fodder for future questions. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus’ answer to the Scribe’s question leads to the parable of the “Good Samaritan” — and so to a completely new definition of who is the “neighbor” we are commanded to love. In Mark’s text, Jesus’ declares that the Scribe who engages Jesus with a question receives an answer, celebrates and expands on ...

1310. All Roads Lead To Bethlehem

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to stay at home and stay self-absorbed, believing that they can be self-contained and independent. Second, the “nibblers.” One of the duties of a shepherd is to prevent wayward sheep from wandering away on their own. One of Jesus’ best known parables is the “parable of the lost sheep.” He described himself to his followers (his flock) as the “Good Shepherd.” But as any shepherd will tell you, a sheep doesn’t separate itself from the flock and get lost as an act of rebellion or defiance. A ...

1311. Luke 10:25-37

Luke 10:25-37

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of ritual purity and the dietary restrictions of “kashrut” enabled pious Jews to maintain their unique identity and heritage even though the “resident aliens” were now their rulers. Jesus’ response is to offer one of the most recognized and beloved of his parables. It is found only here in Luke, and known as the story of the “Good Samaritan.” As Jesus begins his story he purposefully says nothing about the status of the man who was journeying along the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Neither ...

1312. Mary AND Martha, Heart AND Home

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... are to sit down at the table. It takes careful timing and teamwork to put out a big special meal. This kind of performance pressure is apparently what fuels the discussion in this week’s gospel text. Luke now follows up his “Good Samaritan” parable with another exchange that only he reports. As Jesus continues on his journey towards Jerusalem he also continues to rely on the welcoming hospitality of others while on his way. Although Luke does not name the village Jesus now enters, John 11:1 notes ...

1313. Financial Planning

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... , ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be,” Jesus concluded, “with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” This is an important parable. And yet, the sad truth is that most of us don’t see ourselves in this story. In our eyes we’re not rich and we’re not foolish. Well, maybe not rich, anyway. Actually we have more in common with the rich fool than any of us ...

1314. That's Not Fair

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... re talking to him now.” At every layer of society, someone is complaining, “That’s not fair.” Jesus told a parable about a landowner who went out early in the morning, about six o’clock, to hire workers for his vineyard. This ... because I am generous?’ Then Jesus added these cryptic words, “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” This is a parable of the generosity of God. God pours out His grace full and completely on all who will receive it. We who have labored in the vineyard ...

1315. Drowsy Disciples

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... are represented in the same contexts in Matthew 24 and Luke 21. Verses 33-37, however, are not found in the corresponding portions of Matthew and Luke. If Mark’s brief reference to a man going on a journey and leaving servants in charge is an abbreviated form of the parable of the talents, as some have argued, then we find it elsewhere in Matthew (ch. 25) and Luke (ch. 19). In both Matthew and Mark, therefore, this entire teaching is found in the midst of the Holy Week narrative. In Luke, meanwhile, the ...

1316. Getting to a Teachable Moment

Mark 15:1-15

Sermon

Craig MacCreary

... by following how Columbo would figure out who done it. By the time the reader of Mark gets to Holy Week, we know that Jesus is God’s Son and that it will remain a secret. Much to the frustration of the religiously learned pondering the parables does not solve the mystery of Jesus’ full identity. If anything, the mystery only deepens as one considers Jesus’ actions and teachings. “They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. They were all ...

1317. Pride Is a Noxious Weed in the Garden of Life

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... -intentioned, good people with enormous unrealized potential for doing better. Even though they had the potential to be the hope for the nation, their potential would never be realized because they thought too highly of themselves. That, of course, is the theme of the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector who go to the temple to pray. Because the Pharisee wants to be certain that everyone has the opportunity to see and hear him, he stands away from the crowd, yet within sight and hearing of a newly ...

1318. "Gotcha" Questions from Mean-Spirited People

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... , they would be discredited. When the religious leaders refuse to answer Jesus' question, he says, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things." The score in this little contest: Jesus — one; assorted mean-spirited religious leaders — zero. Our Lord then continues preaching. He tells the parable of the wicked tenants (20:9-19). This story is designed to caste the scribes and chief priests in a bad light. Even the religious leaders recognize themselves as the wicked tenants in the ...

1319. A Lost Boy

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

King Duncan

... on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” So, says Luke, they began to celebrate. Those listening to Jesus share this parable--both the religious leaders and the “sinners”--would have been flabbergasted by this father’s demonstration of grace toward his wayward son. For one thing, it was undignified for an elder man to lift up his robes and run. And yet the father ran . . . and he ...

1320. Ahaz King of Judah

2 Chronicles 28:1-27

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... is made into the worst Judahite king by the Chronicler, the writer apparently does not attribute the same blame to him as the Deuteronomist does to Manasseh (who is held responsible for the exile). Some scholars suggest that there are similarities between the Ahaz narrative and the parable of the good Samaritan in Luke 10:25–37. Granted, the basic structure of the Ahaz narrative could have contributed to further interpretation in new contexts, but the connections usually made between the narrative and the ...

1321. The Old Testament Ritual Described

Hebrews 9:1-10

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... covenant and at the same time pointed inescapably to the future. That future has now come for the author and his readers. 9:9–10 The continuing necessity of an “outer tent,” itself symptomatic of the problem of the old covenant, serves as a illustration (lit., “parable”) for the present time. By this the author means, as he will begin to show, beginning in verse 11, that the significance of Christ’s work, as now known and proclaimed, is that the way has been made clear for us to draw near to God ...

1322. By Faith

Hebrews 11:1-40

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... if necessary the sacrificed Isaac could be raised by God “from the dead” (God could raise the dead). The next clause is difficult to interpret exactly. Figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death reads literally, “from whence he received him in a parable.” This may mean no more than that since Isaac was as good as dead at the point of being sacrificed, it is “as though” he had been raised from the dead. There may, however, be a deliberate allusion here to Isaac as an anticipation ...

1323. Trials and Temptations

James 1:1-18, James 1:19-27

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.” The wealthy have absolutely nothing to rejoice about. Like the rich man in the parable (Luke 16:19–31), they are on their way to hell. James is here applying this teaching and exhorting his congregation to act on it. 1:11 The picture is an image that is very widespread. One sees it in Testament of Job 33 and in Pliny, Natural History ...

1324. Habakkuk’s Second Complaint

Habakkuk 2:2-20, Habakkuk 1:12--2:1

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... , the victims will “lift up a poem.” The verb (nasaʾ) is the one lying behind the noun massaʾ in 1:1; the noun (mashal) is usually translated “proverb” or “parable,” but “poem” is the nearest English word. The second noun (melitsah) occurs elsewhere only in Proverbs 1:6; the NIV there translates it “parable.” The third noun (khidot) suggests puzzling statements, the kind that you have to think hard about. Thus, while the series of five “Oh!” declarations that constitute this poem ...

1325. Jesus Changes Water to Wine

John 2:1-11

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... of epitome or scale model of Jesus’ entire Galilean ministry, in which he turns the water of traditional ritual cleansing (v. 6) into the wine of a new and joyous messianic age. Jesus’ ministry is seen in much the same way here as in certain synoptic parables. When asked why his disciples did not fast, he once asked in return, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them” (Mark 2:19). Jesus was not, of course, the bridegroom at ...

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