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 1451 to 1475 of 2815 results

1451. Miracle Ten: Healing A Blind Beggar

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon Aid

Harold H. Lentz

... Persistence is a characteristic of a strong faith. Jesus tells of a man who was visited late at night by a neighbor who was asking a favor. The request was refused until the persistence of the asker is met in order to stop the repeated request. Jesus told the parable in order to encourage us to persist when approaching God with our requests. On another occasion Jesus tells of a judge who would not answer the pleas of a widow until she had worn him down with her requests. Seeking God's help is not a one-time ...

1452. Will The Real Messiah Please Stand Up?

Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

William L. Self

... invite him into our hearts. The real messiah has stood up. The challenge is with us. "... a historian without any theological bias whatever cannot portray the pageant of human progress without giving a foremost place to a penniless preacher from Nazareth." The real Messiah has stood up. 1. Hugh Martin, Parables of the Gospels (London: SCM, 1957), p. 91."

1453. Praying With Bloody Knuckles

Isaiah 62:1-12, Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

William L. Self

... Livingstone were willing to sacrifice everything to achieve their spiritual ends. This type of praying is not prayer called in to eke out what is lacking in an otherwise contented life, but rather it is life-centering. Bloody knuckles praying is serious business.1 In the parables on importunity Jesus focuses on persistence. He wants us, he says, to pray and not lose heart. Our day needs to hear this. We pray in a rather casual way once or twice and give up if nothing happens quickly. It is like turning on a ...

1454. No Shortcut To Glory

2 Kings 2:1-18

Sermon

William L. Self

... at its spiritual best when they do attend. Someone should work with the nursery and teach Sunday school, but "I must be away next week to attend a football game. And, by the way, God does not seem as real to me as he once did." In the parable of the lost sheep it is clear that the lost one was not stolen from the flock -- he just gradually nibbled himself away. No prophetic mantle can fall on anyone whose faithfulness is that shallow and whose spiritual strength is that vacuous. Many a young preacher wants ...

1455. All Dressed Up And Somewhere To Go!

Isaiah 62:1-12, Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... vulnerable, and offensive has no need to hide or to be ashamed. Through the unlikely vehicle of a tiny Jewish babe, God's goodness fashions a wedding garment of salvation and righteousness. The teachings of the divine tailor are clear. From the garden of Eden to the parable of a lost son who returns in rags from a pig sty only to have a father remove the filthy clothing and dress him in fine garments, God covers God's people for the occasions of celebration. We are, indeed, all dressed up. Yet God's purpose ...

1456. A New Name

Genesis 17:1-27

Sermon

Paul W. Kummer

... his/her life to make an eternal spiritual difference in the world each day. I pray that for myself each day. Even as Abraham and Sarah were called to be very fruitful and be the father and mother of kings, so we are too! I know someone who views the parable of the seeds sown upon different soils in the New Testament as a challenge to Christians to pray for fruit and harvests in our lives. But he pleads, "Don't settle for thirty or sixty times what was sown, but at least 100 times the fruit." In fact, he ...

1457. The Highest In The Lowest

Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... , hard conditions of the ancient world. We must not forget the stark realism of the brutally human aspects of this birth. This loving and heavenly atmosphere faced tragic and difficult times. Look closely, for this that surrounds Mary and Joseph is a parable about life with all of its heavenly and human qualities. It is much like our lives, where there is the blending of the heavenly and the earthly, joy and sorrow, anticipation and disappointment. Heaven Touches The Earth Look where heavenly glory touches ...

1458. So Much To Say, So Little Time

John 16:5-16

Sermon

Alexander H. Wales

... , and yet, he was aware of the fact that the disciples were just not ready to take it all in. Up to this point, they were struggling just to understand what he had been trying to tell them. They were still stumbling over the meaning of the parables, attempting to put some flesh on stories that seemed to be like a gossamer cloth spun with gold thread, yet impossible to grasp even when they had their hands on it. They were constantly bickering with each other, trying to get a more prominent place in the order ...

1459. Ya Can't Make Me

Luke 9:57-62, Luke 9:51-56

Sermon

Alexander H. Wales

... to the restaurant before they stop serving lunch." The little boy continued, "But he looks like he could really use some help. Shouldn't we help?" "We just don't have time," the father snapped back. The boy then queried, "Is this kind of like the parable of the Good Samaritan that we studied this morning in Sunday School?" Why are children so good at getting to the point of things? We have a similar situation in this morning's Scripture lesson. Jesus was headed towards Jerusalem and was passing through a ...

1460. Focus On The Son

Romans 1:1-17

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... meet him, to use the haunting phrase of Mother Teresa, in "his distressing disguise," that is in the poorest of the poor on the streets. She and her co-workers are so absorbed with Jesus and his teaching that they know full well the meaning of his words in the parable: "... just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40). The time spent with Jesus sharpens their seeing. Now, they see others through the eyes of Jesus. Where is our focus on this ...

1461. You Can Be Like Children

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

Michael B. Brown

... work with their fun. So we make it a rule That they must go to school So their elders can get something done. Some children came searching for Jesus. His friends were distressed and inclined To think: "Oh, how terrible To have a fresh parable Suddenly slip from His mind!" So they tried to get rid of the children Surely no major disgrace, Protecting their Master, From certain disaster. By keeping the children in place.- "Let the children come in!" shouted Jesus, Then said something frightfully odd: "They are ...

1462. You Can Be Intelligent

2 Chronicles 1:1-17

Sermon

Michael B. Brown

... the shoppers gazed into the window and saw all the items for sale. But the price tags had been switched. And many exquisite items appeared to be of little value, while some things almost without worth seemed to be the most desirable of all. Only a parable, of course, but it does happen, doesn't it? Society too often attaches its tags of highest worth to things that ultimately do not matter much, while other issues of urgency are all but ignored and deemed unimportant. Consider what we are willing to pay and ...

1463. Second Thoughts

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Robert Beringer

... of Jericho. What is remarkable is that in just 15 miles, the elevation drops from 2,400 feet above sea level to 1,400 feet below sea level at the Dead Sea. (I will always remember those figures because when I once preached on this parable, I announced that the Dead Sea was 1,400 miles below sea level! Afterward, a parishioner said, "Pastor, I know you preachers go pretty deep for your sermons, but your message this morning takes the cake!") But spiritually speaking, those who are serious about following ...

1464. Living Our Lives On The Edge

Leviticus 19:1-37

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... from Egypt, and had nothing to eat. The Lord called them to think beyond themselves, and to be grateful for the abundance of food and goods that was theirs, that those less fortunate might be cared for. It was sort of the welfare system of their day. Remember Jesus' parable of the rich man whose harvest one year was so enormous that he decided to tear down the barns he had and build bigger ones to hold it all? Luke records the story in the 12th chapter. Remember the man then said, "... I will say to my soul ...

1465. Week Three Of Lent

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... Azariah can offer God is a contrite heart and a humble spirit. Still, Azariah believes that this is all that God truly wants. God wants a forgiving spirit in our attitude toward others as well. The confidence which Azariah displays is brought to fruition in the parable of the forgiving king. The king gives the servant a second chance. The debt is written off; it seems that nothing more is required. But as the story continues we see that there is one more very big item that is required -- namely the servant ...

1466. The Second Meal

Sermon

Robert F. Scott

... with her tears and dried them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment." Note that in Jesus' parable, love is the result of forgiveness. Then Jesus took this principle, to which the Pharisee had agreed, and applied it to the situation at that table. "Simon," he said, "You didn't even give me the ordinary everyday courtesies, but this woman, whom you despise, has done so ...

1467. The Ninth Meal

Sermon

Robert F. Scott

... he hadn't been there for months.Usually he came quietly with his disciples, but this time was different. He came with shouts and a big procession, entered the temples and raised a storm with the thieving merchants, challenged the high priests and told parables against them.Then came the terrible shock. Jesus was arrested; he was turned over to the Romans to be crucified, with all the beatings and mockery and coarse brutality of the Roman soldiers and that terrible death. Today the Sabbath was over, and it ...

1468. Invitations To The Light

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Phyllis Faaborg Wolk

... , the words to call people out of the darkness and into the light, into a celebration of good things: salvation, Christian caring, hope, forgiveness and new meaning. So don't hold back. Invite. Oh, it's true; some will reject your invitation. That's clear from Jesus' parable. Some will be too busy with "important" things to take the time for that which is essential. Some will ridicule you and ignore you, too blinded by the darkness to see the gift you offer. Some will even try to kill you, if not your body ...

1469. The Seven Last Words Of Pilate

Sermon

Thomas Long

... of NBA centers; this diminutive bureaucrat flexing himself up on his tiptoes, craning his neck in vain as he tries to find a decent sight line, finally lifting his skirts and shinnying immodestly up the nearest sycamore tree. Or again, it is one thing to read Jesus' parable of the lost sheep, but quite another to experience it in the theater of the absurd. In the *Sermon emphasis John 18:28--19:22 ear it all sounds rather manageable, perhaps even tame: A sheep is lost, the shepherd goes to find it, and that ...

1470. Behold The Man Who Tried To Be King

Matthew 21:1-10

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

... loyal to him. They knew and accepted the meaning of his entrance into the city. James Stewart, the Scottish preacher, said that as Jesus went to the capital city "he openly accepted the tribute" of the crowd, and in entering Jerusalem as a king he was acting out a living parable about who he was.2 We think about this today. But let me remind us also that Palm Sunday is still before us today. It will not let us rest. It will not let us go. It will not turn us loose or let us turn aside. Palm Sunday and ...

1471. The Man Born Blind

John 9:1-12

Drama

Dallas A. Brauninger

... 9:24, and John 11:27. Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind."39 Several passages refer to the sight and blindness metaphor: "The reason I speak to them in parables is that 'seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand' " (Matthew 13:13). "Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit" (Matthew 15:14). "The Spirit ...

1472. Sermons

Sermon

John R. Bodo

... Beatitude uttered by our Lord: "Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet believe...." 2. Jonah Introductory Note This treatment of the Book of Jonah takes the story virtually at face value though admitting the obvious: that it is not history but a parable. The accent here is on Jonah, the man, a human being very much like us whose quarrel with God, while unfolding within a fanciful and politically loaded story, resembles our ongoing quarrel with God who steadfastly refuses to act as we feel God should ...

1473. Equipped To Play

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

Robert R. Kopp

... a tough game and it makes sense to play with the best equipment. History has taught there are always new and improved ways of doing things. If you think that's hooey or somehow alien to our ethic, you need to take another long look at our Lord's parable of the wineskins (see Matthew 9:17). Life is tough too. You know that. There's no need to catalogue the crises. You know them. And many of you have already experienced more than your share of them. We can be thankful that our Lord has provided the equipment ...

1474. Call Home

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

Rodney Thomas Smothe

... our text today challenges us to seek God. But where and how do we find God? Isaiah tells us to call upon the Lord while he is near. But where do we find God, or does God find us? The Gospel of Luke 15:11 records the story of the Parable of the Prodigal Son. This story illustrates how we can suffer spiritual loss if we allow ourselves to become separated from God. The farther we get from God and go our own way, and the more we allow sin to take control of our lives, the more we experience spiritual ...

1475. Holy Hype

Matthew 11:1-19

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... have them in your pocket. It's great, you'll see. Now, listen, this speech, yeah, I wrote it myself. I think it combines just the right amount of humor to warm up the audience and then we have some salient points and examples and I wrote some of those parables that you like to tell. And then you end up with a teary-eyed appeal for a conclusion that will melt even the hardest heart and get those people to part with some of that green stuff. After all that's what it's all about, isn't it? We ...

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