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 1351 to 1375 of 2815 results

1351. Jesus’s Fifth Discourse—The Eschatological Discourse

Matthew 24:1-35, Matthew 24:36-51

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... that will occur when it falls (24:4–35). The opposite warning is given for Jesus’s reappearing: there will be no anticipatory signs, so the disciples should always be prepared (24:36–41). The last half of the discourse consists of five parables exhorting Jesus’s disciples to be prepared by living lives of faithfulness and mercy (24:42–25:46). 24:1–51 · Matthew 24:1–2 transitions between Jesus’s prophecy of the temple’s desolation (23:38–39) and the Eschatological Discourse, beginning ...

1352. Teachings of Possessions

Luke 12:13-21, Luke 12:22-34

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... rabbi. But Jesus refuses, insisting that this is not his role. In verse 15 he warns of the root problem: greed. A greedy person thinks that the good life is found in things, but this is a distorted perspective (12:15). This discussion leads Jesus to relate the parable of the rich fool (12:16–21). The problem with the rich fool is not that he has bumper crops or that he decides to build more storage space (12:16–18). The problem is that he invests his entire life in his possessions (cf. 12:15). He draws ...

1353. Jesus at a Pharisee’s House

Luke 14:1-14

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... voiced (14:6). Observing that people are clamoring for the places of status at the banquet, Jesus makes some remarks on humility (14:7–14) to the guests (14:8–11) and to the host (14:12–14). Luke says that Jesus tells a parable (14:7); however, the word “parable” can have various meanings, and here it refers to the “wisdom sayings” that Jesus utters. Jesus’s advice in verses 8–10 could be understood as a sly way to get ahead. People who claim the reputable places at banquets end up being ...

1354. God’s Sovereign Choice

Romans 9:1-29

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... counters with a fundamental theological truth: human beings are not competent to question God (9:20). Paul confirms this truth with the parable of the Creator and the creature (Isa. 29:16; 45:9). God is the almighty Creator; human beings are his creatures. It is ... absurd when creatures accuse their Creator. In verse 21 Paul confirms the same truth with the parable of the potter and the clay (cf. Jer. 18:6). The potter has full control over the clay; the vessels he fashions ...

1355. Listening and Doing

James 1:19-27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... right climate for the growth of God’s word in their lives—they have to be fertile soil. Thus there is need to clear out the weeds of moral filth and evil. James’s reference to the word as being “planted in” us may allude to Jesus’s parable but probably also hints at the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s famous prophecy about the new covenant, in which God promised to “put [his] law in their minds and write it on their hearts” (Jer. 31:33). Becoming more specific, James now tells us how we are to ...

1356. The Gate to Grace, Goodness, and Glory

John 10:1-10

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... that Matthew, Mark, and Luke record in their gospels. However, there is one glaring difference and we find it in verse 6 where John calls these words from the Lord's lips a "figure of speech." It is an allegory not a parable. Jesus is not talking about violated cars here but about something far more important and vital. He speaks about sheep and ultimately we realize that he is speaking about people as his sheep. In doing this the way that he does, Jesus shows us the heart of a true shepherd, ...

1357. New Year's Resolutions

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

James L. Killen

... of our other resolutions could get. It will not be easy. But it will be truly good and ultimately profoundly happy. We don't have to wait until the last judgment to begin enjoying the good life that God wants for us. What about that other part of the parable of the last judgment? What about the unrighteous having to depart into torment? Well, we don't have to wait for that either. Most of the real suffering in our lives and in our world today is ultimately the result of our failure to learn to live in love ...

1358. One Heaven of a Party

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Sermon

Charley Reeb

... . The price is realizing that all our possessions will never bring lasting fulfillment. The price is the disappointing discovery of having gone against our creative destiny as those who bear the image of God. When Jesus told the parable of the rich fool, he was offering this very insight. In the parable Jesus communicates how tragic it is for a person to be void of generosity. Jesus describes a man whose foolish greed caused him to miss out on life’s most meaningful action: giving. The man looked upon all ...

1359. Captains or Parties

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

... the religious leaders, and they are us. Like Pogo said, "We have seen the enemy and they is us." The tenants' mistake is that they want to keep that which has only been lent to them. They were terrible people. They killed the boss' messengers and then the son. The parable implies we are like this. If we put ourselves into the story, then we have to ask, "Do we take from God that which belongs to God and put it in our pockets? Do we treat God as miserably as those tenants did?" I hate to say it, but I ...

1360. Jesus Calms the Storm

Mark 4:35-41

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... the wind and waves. The change from relatively calm teaching discourse to a violent storm and the display of Jesus’ awesome authority over the forces of nature jolts the reader with a reminder that Jesus is more than a religious teacher. The parables are veiled discourse, and Jesus has spoken of the presence of the kingdom of God in him as still something of a “secret” (4:11), “hidden” and “concealed” (4:22). In this story something of the true significance of Jesus flashes forth momentarily ...

1361. The Authority of Jesus Questioned

Mark 11:27-33

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... identifies John as the herald of the time of redemption and connects his execution with Jesus’ own death. In the parable immediately following, Jesus likens Israel to a vineyard under the care of tenants and refers to servants sent to them who are mistreated and ... rejected. As we will see in the discussion of this parable, these servants are to be understood as the prophets of the OT, among whom John is grouped (11:32). This confrontation between ...

1362. Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-two

Luke 10:1-24

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... of John (John 3:35; 10:15) and teaches that the Son reveals the true identity of God (cf. John 14:7, 9). Verses 23–24 are also derived from the sayings source. Matthew (13:16–17) places this saying in the context of the discussion of the Parable of the Sower (Matt. 13:3–23; cf. Luke 8:4–10). Nevertheless, the respective Matthean and Lucan contexts are quite similar. In both Gospels Jesus’ saying is private (Matt. 13:10; Luke 10:23) and in both Gospels the saying is applied to the great privilege ...

1363. The Triumphal Entry

Luke 19:28-44

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... ’ “Royal Entry” (Tiede, p. 327: “royal procession”). The observation is an important one, for among the Synoptics only Luke adds, the king, to the quotation of Ps. 118:26 (see John 12:15). The cry of “king” links the Triumphal (or Royal) Entry to the preceding Parable of the Ten Minas (19:11–27), where the man of noble birth is “appointed king” (19:12). Jesus is that “man of noble birth” (as seen in the Infancy Narrative, 1:26–38; 2:1–38) who is to be absent for a time, but who ...

1364. Israel's Unbelief

Romans 9:30--10:21

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... who did not pursue righteousness” (9:30). Herein lies the offense of grace, as Jesus illustrated in the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matt. 20:1–16). It is indeed bad business to pay laborers who have worked one hour the same wage as ... those who have worked twelve. Jesus’ parable, however, is not about economics, but about grace. There was a Roman coin (an assarion) worth one-twelfth of a denarius, a day ...

1365. Murder

Matthew 5:21-26

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... be turned over to the judge, who will put you into prison until you pay up the last red cent. The gentile practice of imprisoning a debtor was particularly offensive to the Jews. In jail there was no way to earn money to pay the debt (Jeremias, Parables, p. 181). Jesus is not counseling opportunism for the sake of personal advantage. He is saying that all disputes should be taken care of without delay and that to fail at this has dire consequences. Some find in this passage an allegory of final judgment: it ...

1366. The Fig Tree Withers

Matthew 21:18-22

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... . 252). Beare calls it “the only cursing miracle in the Gospels” (p. 419). Some have suggested that the entire episode is the result of the tradition behind Matthew and Mark taking the parable of the barren fig tree recorded in Luke 13:6–9 and turning it into an actual event. Apart from the problem of creating history out of a parable, the two accounts have nothing in common except a fig tree that had no figs. Jesus’ words to the tree should be taken more as a prediction than as a curse. History has ...

1367. At the Home of Martha and Mary

Luke 10:38-42

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... other matters, even though they may be commendable of themselves. It would have been far better for Martha to have made simpler and less time-consuming preparations in order, like her sister Mary, to learn from the Lord. Likewise, the priest and the Levite of the Parable of the Good Samaritan needed to learn that God and people are better served by deeds of mercy than by religious rituals. Evans (p. 43) suggests that Luke intends this passage to parallel Deut. 8:1–3 where people are to learn that they are ...

1368. Signs of the End of the Age

Luke 21:5-38

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... . 7:13) and his followers’ redemption are drawing near. (That Jesus identifies himself as the Son of Man seems clear enough from Luke 12:8–9 and esp. 22:22, 48; see note below.) 21:29–33 This part of Jesus’ eschatological discourse is made up of the Parable of the Fig Tree and has appended to it two brief, more or less related sayings (vv. 32–33). The lesson of the fig tree and all the trees is clear enough. When they sprout leaves one knows that summer is near. Likewise, when the events described ...

1369. Nathan Rebukes David

2 Samuel 12:1-31

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... it in that way. In David’s capacity as the head of the justice department (8:15), it would not be unusual for such cases to be brought before him. Nor would David have assumed that Nathan was there to deal with David’s own sins. With a parable like this it is unnecessary to make every detail of the story fit what happened among David, Bathsheba, and Uriah. In Nathan’s tale the rich man’s crime was the abuse of power involving greed, gross injustice, and sheer meanness. How could a man who owned so ...

1370. Listening and Doing

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

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 ...

1371. You Are Invited to a Banquet

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... She replied, “An elephant sat on it.” That is when the officer brought out a little balloon for her to breathe into. (1) If I had no better excuse than that an elephant sat on my car, I believe I would have kept quiet. Jesus told a parable about a king who was throwing a marriage feast for his son. He sent out invitations to all his friends and other persons of prominence throughout the kingdom, but they did not come. Some did not even bother to respond to his invitation. Others made excuses. They said ...

1372. Ready for the Big Date?

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... uses these ominous words. “And [then] the door was shut.” Later the five foolish young women also came to the door. “Lord, Lord,” they said, “open the door for us!” But he replied, “Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.” Jesus follows this parable with this admonition: “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” The question for the morning is this: Are you prepared? Do you have oil for your lamp? Who knows what tomorrow may bring for any of us? Who knows what ...

1373. So, You Want to Get Well?

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... I come to you, Lord, knowing that I need help. If I come, like the Pharisee in one of Jesus' parables saying, "I'm glad I'm not like this tax collector... I avoid sin, I go to church regularly, and say my prayers every night...." I will go ... away unforgiven. If, like the tax collector in that same parable, I say sincerely, "God be merciful to me, a sinner," I have opened the door to new life, health, and wellness. O Lamb of God ...

1374. No, We're Not There Yet

Mark 13:1-8

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... keep awake" (v. 35), "what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake" (v. 37). Near the end of the chapter, Jesus told a brief parable about a master who went away on a journey and left his slaves in charge of his household. Each one had work to do and was ... will return and make everything right in the end. Yet clearly, God has left us with work to do. That's the point of Jesus' parable of the master away on a journey. That's the point of Matthew 25, where Jesus again talked about the end of time, when all the ...

1375. If the Stones Cried Out

Luke 19:28-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... . Even the disciples were longing for this Messiah, and they were beginning to believe that Jesus just might be the one. It’s interesting. As Jesus and his disciples were nearing the city of Jerusalem, he told them a parable about an earthly king who left his followers in charge of some money. In this parable the king told each of his workers, “Put this money to work until I come back.” The king was taking a big risk, leaving his wealth in the hands of his workers, and he expected a return on his ...

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