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 1376 to 1400 of 2815 results

1376. Joy as Our Hallmark

Sermon

George Reed

... congregations. In the gospel reading for today we have Jesus responding to the criticism of the religious folks about his hanging out with folks of poor repute. There are three stories he tells and we have two of them today: the lost sheep and the lost coin parables. In all three the emphasis is on the joy at finding the lost. There are parties but we don’t have a lot of details about the celebrations in the first two stories. We just know that the person who found the lost rejoiced with their friends ...

1377. Keeping the Faith

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

Molly F. James

... but today’s is “Keeping the Faith.” Our Collect, our lessons — particularly the gospel and the epistle — are about being faithful, about being steadfast in our faith. In the gospel, “Jesus told his disciples a parable about their need to pray always and to not lose heart.” Jesus went on to tell the parable of the unjust judge and the widow who was faithful and persistent, who did not give up in seeking justice, and finally her faith was rewarded. The letter to Timothy also tells us to be ...

1378. By the Sea

Matthew 4:18-22, John 1:35-42, John 1:43-51

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... dies for the sins of all people, all people will from there onward be united with God, those of the 12 tribes, and all gentiles (foreigners) as well for whom Israel was to be a light for them to find God. One of the most famous parables of Jesus ministry is a parable about a lost sheep. It is one that echoes throughout Jesus’ mission. Wherever God’s people are, God will seek them until all have come home. Come home. God is seeking YOU! God is calling YOU . . . Come home. I know you can feel it this ...

1379. The House on The Rock

Lk 6:12-49 · Mt 5:1-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... sermon’ that day. Luke gives a shortened version but with the same material. In it, he outlined --as a rabbi would at the beginning of his ministry-- his “take” on the Torah and the prophets, his theology if you will. He did it in images, metaphors, stories, parables. He began his preface with a twist –you are blessed if you are down and out. He would grab the attention of all those unaccepted by the institution. He would end it letting people know that you are part of God’s people not by looks ...

1380. Scandal

Matthew 16:21-28, Matthew 17:14-23, Matthew 20:17-19, Matthew 26:1-5

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... it be when the Son of Man comes. For in those days before the Flood, people were eating, drinking, taking wives, taking husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and they suspected nothing till the Flood came and swept all away. [Jesus told more parables.] Jesus had now finished all he wanted to say, and he told his disciples, ‘It will be Passover, as you know, in two days’ time, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.’ Then the chief priests and the elders of the people ...

1381. Lord of the Harvest

Matthew 9:35-38, Luke 10:1-24

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... judgment. Like the metaphor of the threshing floor –the harvest is when people are brought before God, so that they can be judged. On the threshing floor, God will separate the wheat from the chaff. Or the wheat from the weeds! In one of Jesus’ parables in fact, he speaks of weeds that grow along with the wheat. They can’t be separated until the harvest. Initially, you can’t tell the difference between wheat stalks and stalks of the weed darnel. They look identical in the beginning,. But when they ...

1382. A Piggy Pudding

Matthew 8:28-34

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... of the Lord Psalm 107: The Lord Redeems from All the Lands God’s Warning to Those Who Worship Idols and Eat Pig as Spoken By Isaiah (Isaiah 65) The Warning to Idol Worshipers (Hosea 4) On that Day I Will Banish Idols from the Land (Zechariah 13) Jesus’ Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15) Jesus Exorcises Demons for a Man from Gerasene and Sends Them into a Herd of Swine (Luke 8, Mark 5:1-20) Some Attempt to Use the Name of Jesus to Cast Out Demons Without Faith in Ephesus (Acts 19) Image Exegesis: A ...

1383. Sycamore Blues

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , it is the “real-life” story of someone who did not take the “rich man’s” road as dives in the Lazarus story, but repented and received the gifts of heaven. Interestingly, both revolve around house and most probably table. Like Jesus’ parable of widow and judge, Zacchaeus was putting his faith in the wrong places…and like the rich man in the Lazarus story…was treating people like objects, not brothers and sisters. But the most interesting part of the story is the emphasis on the “sycamore ...

1384. The Good Husband

Isaiah 54:1-17, Isaiah 55:1-13, Isaiah 56:1-8

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... God is really referring to the fruitfulness of His people, all of God’s people inclusive, who reveal themselves to be loyal to Him as “householder.” He is the Master of the Vineyard, in which all are called, the old and the new (see Jesus’ parable of the vineyard workers). And God is reminding us of his “arrabon,” His promise to cherish, made by the bridegroom in His betrothal covenant. God reminds us, that God will honor that arrabon, and that His return is imminent. God’s presence is the ...

1385. Unreasonable Mercy

2 Kings 5:1-27, Matthew 8:5-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... ’ sacrifice, we pray for God’s mercy. But surely we are more deserving than….this guy? Or that woman? Or this people? Or that thief? Or that person who never believed all his life? Jesus tells many stories that address this feeling –the parable of the workers in the vineyard, the parable of the prodigal, the story of the last being first, and the first last. And why should we do all of the work, and others benefit? It’s “UNFAIR” you shout in your heart! It is. God is not fair. God is merciful ...

1386. Bringing in the Sheaves

Ruth 1:1-22, Ruth 2:1-23, Ruth 3:1-18, Ruth 4:1-12, Ruth 4:13-22

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... 16-21) Elisha’s Healing/Raising of a Shunammanite Woman’s Son (2 Kings 4) Psalm 19: The Lord’s Salvation Jesus Heals a Canaanite Woman’s Daughter in Tyre (Matthew 15:21-28) Jesus Heals a Syrophoenician Woman’s Daughter in Tyre (Mark 7:24-30) The Parable of the Great Dinner (Luke 14:15-24) Salvation is for All Who Believe with the Heart Reminds Paul (Letter to the Romans, Chapter 10) Optional OPTION TWO Lectionary The Raising Up of a New Prophet Like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-22) Psalm 2: The Son of ...

1387. Run Away Bride

Exodus 24:1-18, Matthew 22:1-14, Hosea 1:1-2:1

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... Against God Minor Text Ezekiel’s Story of Jerusalem and the Lord’s Adulterous Wife (16 and 23) Jeremiah’s Story of Israel’s Unfaithfulness to God (3) Psalm 106: Israel’s Waywardness and God’s Faithfulness Psalm 73: God’s Faithfulness to Wayward Israel Jesus’ Parable of a Great Dinner (Luke 14:1-24) Beware the Way You Live (Paul’s Letter to the Church in Ephesus 5) Moses Officiates the Covenant Between God and Israel Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab ...

1388. House of Prayer

Matthew 6:5-15, Matthew 6:16-18

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... the ending of that gospel in Matthew?...after Jesus teaches that prayer? Read it again. He emphasizes the part about “measure for measure” –the part we like to pretend He didn’t really say. Remember the parable of Jesus in which the “unclothed” man is removed from the Son’s wedding? Or the parable of the Samaritan? Measure for measure is not just a simple line and definitely not a tame one. It’s the most challenging line in the prayer –added purposefully by Jesus to emphasize our role in ...

1389. The Prodigal

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... God has to do with being “beloved.” We want to be “beloved” by God for the things we do. God calls us beloved for the people we are, the people He created and called “good.” This is driven home astutely in the story of the prophet Nathan’s parable of the “wealthy sheep thief” as well. In the story, a wealthy man with hoards of sheep and cattle feeds a visiting traveler not with one of his own flock but steals the beloved and only pet of a poor man, a loyal and trusting servant. When King ...

1390. Sweet Vine

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... : The Lord’s Blessing You are the Fruit of Your Actions (Proverbs 11:30; 1:31; 12:14) The Lord Plants, and the Lord Uproots (Jeremiah 12) Israel’s Unfaithfulness (Ezekiel 15) Israel’s Wickedness (Hosea 10) The Song of God’s Vineyard (Isaiah 5) Jesus’ Parable of the Wicked Tenants (Luke 20:9-19; Matthew 21:33-46; Mark 12:1-12) The Fruit of the Spirit Described by Paul (Galatians 5) Image Exegesis: Fruit Sometimes you can’t know what kind of vine you’ve got until the fruit emerges. And although ...

1391. Living a Jesus Powered Life

Genesis 9:1-17, Genesis 6:1-8:22, Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... Prophecy of God’s Restoration of Fruitfulness to the Mountains of Israel (Ezekiel 36) Psalm 92: The Righteous Will Flourish like the Palm Tree Psalm 105: Praise for God’s Fruitful Covenant Psalm 128: The Fruit of Blessing Matthew’s Witness to Jesus’ Parables of Seeds and Weeds (13:1-32) Mark’s Witness to Jesus’ Commissioning of His Disciples (16:14-20 within the longer ending) Paul Explains the Fruits of the Spirit (The Letter to the Galatians 5) Matthew’s Account of Jesus’ Commissioning of ...

1392. God Has Not Forgotten You

Jeremiah 29:1-23

Sermon

Lori Wagner

"’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”(Jeremiah 29:11) “However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) Parable: An elderly man sat at North Port, where he sat each day for many years. One day, a stranger came by and asked him what he was waiting for. “I’m waiting for my ship to come in,” replied the man. “I don’t see any ships round here,” ...

1393. You Are What You Wear

Luke 24:1-12, Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... belonging” and of “suitability” based not on one’s money but on one’s honor and respect for the host and the occasion! This was not a reflection of political or social critique, not a body politic on dress code, as some “literalizations” of the parable have imagined. But it is a comment on what lies within a person’s heart and where their loyalty lies. Ever heard the express, to “wear your heart on your sleeve”? God clothes us in the kind of clothing that reflects the heart beneath. When ...

1394. The Overtaxed Soul (Even Me)

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... our spirit by accumulating upon our souls a multitude of hidden sins. The pressure of hiding exacerbates the burden of the sin itself, creating a “sin blanket,” layer upon layer of shame, guilt, lies, and fear of exposure. We know from the parable Jesus told after this story (the minas) that God values those who invest, who take responsibility for their actions, and who aren’t afraid to admit and risk failure or rejection. By stepping into the Light and taking responsibility to “make things right ...

Christ does not save us by acting a parable of divine love; he acts the parable of divine love by saving us. That is the Christian faith.

Austin Farrer

1396. OK Boomer

Matthew 21:28-32

Sermon

King Duncan

... of his father”—the defiant son who said he wouldn’t work but did, or the polite one who said he would work, but didn’t? You can’t always judge character by good manners, can you? Many people have been misjudged on the basis of their etiquette. In this parable we see two types of persons. The response of the first son was defiance. “No, I won’t go. How dare you ask me to do that! You know I have plans with my friends.” Many of you who are parents have encountered that kind of response at some ...

1397. Jesus’ Recipe for a Kingdom Style Feast

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... interpretations he is teaching them and infiltrate them into the world in a way that will change the world. Let’s look at what he is saying. At first glance, this part of Matthew’s witness to Jesus’ teaching looks just like a mish-mash of random mini-parables with no specific goal but to throw out tidbits of wisdom. But if we look a little deeper, it’s actually a “how-to” list, a recipe if you will, for getting the Word out and gaining followers of The Way. Step One: Ingredients. Add to the ...

1398. God’s Quality Control Crew

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... . Because our job is to cultivate the most wonderful fruit we can in the vineyard that God has given us. This is the way we “build” God’s garden kingdom on earth, “as” God has imagined it from, and like, in heaven. At the end of Jesus’ parable, he threatens the chief priests and pharisees, saying that if they continue to rule the Jewish people as they are, God’s kingdom will be taken away from them and given to others, who will create the kind of “vineyard” world God intends us to create ...

1399. Your Faith is Your Fuel

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... assurance. It allows us to keep seeing ahead through the muck and the mire, so that we can keep going, even when others stop. Without it, we are always driving on half empty. Jesus understood this about the human condition. We see this in his parable of the ten bridesmaids. Jesus knew that many would get excited about their faith initially, would maybe like the novelty of his message, would engage with him in discipleship initially, but then they simply would peter out. Like a flash in the pan, they would ...

1400. Choosing to Be Grateful

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

... even needs to proclaim Thanksgiving Day to an otherwise distracted and per-occupied nation.”2 Maybe the one leper in Jesus’ parable returned to give thanks simply because his parents raised him to do so. But most people are brought up to say “thank you,” even ... , I imagine, the other nine lepers in Jesus’ parable. Why, then, did they fail to say “thank you” in this instance? No one knows for sure, but maybe it’s because they ...

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