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 126 to 150 of 4943 results
Children's Sermon
Wesley T. Runk
... where no one could find them. They felt unsafe and feared that the Roman soldiers would do the same to them that they did to Jesus if they were caught. Matthias was very close to the disciples and knew how they felt. He also knew that Judas, one of the 12, had betrayed Jesus and then was so ashamed that he took his own life and died. That meant that there were only 11 left. Matthias helped the disciples while they were in that upper room hiding from the soldiers by bringing them news and food and delivering ...
Children's Sermon
Wesley T. Runk
... one of the discussions that Jesus had with a friend called Philip. You know, of course, that Philip was one of Jesus' disciples and a very good friend. As a matter of fact it was Philip who brought to Jesus another man, Nathanael, who became one of the 12. Philip thought that Jesus was really great and he wanted to share Jesus with his friends. Well, my story is about another time when Jesus and the disciples were looking for a nice shady and grassy spot to rest and talk over the things that had happened ...
128. Increasing Our Standard of Giving - Sermon Starter
Luke 16:1-15
Illustration
Brett Blair
... found in the parable for today. Let's take a look. The Pharisees are standing off to the side watching Jesus as was their custom. Jesus' disciples are listening intently as he tells his story. Probably on this occasion there were more than just the 12. A large number of followers are gathered around. He tells them about a steward who handled all the business affairs of a wealthy man. But the steward has squandered his master's money; he was reckless and wasteful. Notice that this story follows another ...
129. What Time Is It?
John 10:22-30
Illustration
Andrew D. Kinsey
... what time it is." The controller replied patiently: "Well, sir, it makes all the difference in the world. If you are with United Airlines, it is 1500 hours. If you are with American, it's 3 p.m. If you are with Continental, the big hand is on the 12 and the little hand is on the three. And if you are with ComAir, it's Tuesday." Knowing what airline you are flying and where you are going can make all difference in the world! Building Loving Relationships. . . . Knowing what it is necessary to build loving ...
130. A Walk on the Moon
Illustration
... have known that the boy in whom the dream was planted that night would survive a near fatal motorbike crash which broke almost every bone in his body, and would bring to fruition this dream 32 years later when James Irwin stepped on the moon's surface, just one of the 12 representatives of the human race to have done so.
Humor
One little fellow turned to a classmate and asked, "Who was Round John Virgin?" She answered, "I think he was one of the 12 opossums."
132. Proper 12
1 Kings 3:1-15, Matthew 13:47-52, Matthew 13:44-46, Genesis 29:15-30
Sermon Aid
John R. Brokhoff
COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Genesis 29:15-28 (C) Jacob's uncle, Laban, tricks him into working fourteen years to marry Rachel. Jacob arrived at Haran and met Rachel, a daughter of Laban, at a watering place for sheep. Because of his love for Rachel, he offered to work seven years without wages for the hand of Rachel. On the wedding night Jacob learned he was tricked. Upon a promise to work another seven years, Jacob took Rachel for his second wife. Lesson 1: 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12 (RC); 1 Kings 3:5-12 (E) Solomon asks ...
133. Genesis 12:1-4a
Genesis 12:1-4a
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
In a mere four verses, we have described the creation of an entire people and the establishment of a radically new kind of relationship between humanity and divinity. The "call of Abram" does more than separate a lone herdsman from his ancestral family. This "call" separates the old animistic, anthropocentric notions of the universe from a remarkably new way of viewing the divine/human or creator/creation relationship. In the other popular, ancient Near Eastern religions, the numerous "gods" behaved in ...
134. 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
Paul's admonitions, advice and arguments before the Corinthian church serve not only to reveal what was wrong in that community, but also to celebrate what was right. By straightforwardly dealing with the contentious claims and competing camps, Paul can give us the impression that he was frantically involved in just keeping this church from self-destructing. We forget what the Corinthians were doing right especially as detailed by today's epistle lesson. This community was experiencing vital manifestations ...
135. Psalm 12
Psalm 12:1-8
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
A psalm about words—the deceitful, destructive words of the godless (12:2–4); the true, unfailing word of the Lord (12:5–6). The beginning and the ending of the psalm present God’s enemies as dominant in a world where the righteous are few in number (12:1–2, 8). Although the psalmist knows that he is not the sole believer in God on earth (cf. “us” in 12:7), he feels overwhelmed by a world filled with self-centered, self-aggrandizing oppressors. He seeks God’s help, knowing that God will do what he promises ...
136. Proper 12
Lk 11:1-13 · Col 2:6-15 · Gen 18:20-32 · 2 Ki 5:1-15
Sermon Aid
John R. Brokhoff
COMMENTARY 2 Kings 5:1-15 General Naaman of Syria is healed of leprosy by obeying Elisha's order to bathe in the Jordan. The confession of faith by an unknown Jewish slave girl in the home of Syria's chief of staff results in the cure of leprosy for her master, Naaman. On the basis of the confession Naaman goes to Israel. When Elisha the prophet orders him to wash in the Jordan seven times, he goes off in a rage feeling insulted. But his aides convince him to stay. Naaman then dips himself in the Jordan ...
137. 1 Timothy 1:12-17
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
One of the unique features of 1 Timothy is that it lacks (or at least misplaces) the usual Pauline expressions of thanksgiving. Typically, Paul offered thanks for his coworkers and for the churches he helped establish. This section would also give thanks for Christ's redemptive work and God's grace. In 1 Timothy, after the salutation, the epistle moves immediately into a discussion about combating false teachers (vv. 3-7) and then into an exploration of the proper function of the law (vv. 8-11). It is in ...
138. Proper 12
Psalm 85:1-13, Colossians 2:6-23, Hosea 1:1-2:1, Luke 11:1-13
Sermon Aid
William E. Keeney
PERSISTENT PRAYING A special interest of Luke in both the Gospel and the Book of Acts is prayer. He frequently notes the prayer life of Jesus. Before every major crisis in his ministry Jesus spent time in prayer. The parables for today with their surrounding materials give an occasion for the preacher to deal with the whole subject of proper praying. It is an opportunity to deal with common misconceptions of prayer. It is also an opportunity to consider the whole discipline involved in praying. While Jesus ...
139. Romans 5:12-19
Romans 5:12-19
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
Much of our understanding of Paul's discussion on "sin" in Romans 5:12-19 is colored by centuries of church history and theology. For instance, nowhere in today's text or anywhere else in the New Testament is there any reference to something called "original" sin. That phrase was derived from the Vulgate's Latin translation of Paul's Greek text - a translation which makes a much stronger grammatical case for a causal connection between Adam's sin and the resulting sinfulness of all future generations of ...
140. Mark 12:38-44
Mark 12:38-44
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
With very few exceptions (e.g., 12:28-34), Jesus generally had a prickly relationship with "scribes" in Mark (see 3:22-30; 7:1-5; 11:18, 27f.; 12:12). Thus it is not too surprising to find Jesus using scribes as glass-case exhibits of ignorant behaviors and arrogant attitudes. Jesus begins by attacking the popular style of scribal dress, a fairly easy target. A successful first-century scribe wore a long linen robe with a long white mantle decorated with beautiful long fringes. White robes identified the ...
141. Hebrews 11:29-12:2
Hebrews 11:29-12:2
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
The epistle to the Hebrews was almost certainly not written by Paul. But it almost certainly was authored by someone who was a very close associate of Paul, someone who knew his theology and thinking, his style and syntax. This author also speaks with a Jewish voice, one comfortably familiar with Jewish theology, tradition and soul. Some favorite candidates for authorship offered by scholars have included Barnabas, Silas, Luke and Apollos. Among these four, Apollos appears to hold the best qualifications ...
142. Romans 5:12-19
Romans 5:12-21
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
The first gospel text read at the beginning of Lent this year reminds us how the early church came up with the duration of the Lenten season. The forty day period before Easter mirrors the forty days Jesus sent in the wilderness fasting and praying. The first epistle text read at the beginning of Lent this year reminds us of something else: what awaits us at the conclusion of these forty days — nothing less than the very destruction of death’s power and the triumph of God’s grace and righteousness. We ...
Sermon
King Duncan
Pastor Jonathan Romig tells about a place he likes to go caving near his home town of Estes Park, Colorado. Someone has defined caving as the art of safely moving through a natural cave to a destination and returning to the surface without hurting yourself or the cave. Caving is also known, of course, as spelunking. Many people find caving challenging and enjoyable. However, it is definitely not for those who suffer from claustrophobia. The place Pastor Romig tells about is a mountain in Colorado called ...
144. Proper 12
Mt 13:31-33, 44-52 · Rom 8:26-39 · 1 Ki 3:5-12 · Ps 105
Sermon Aid
Russell F. Anderson
COMMENTARY Old Testament: Genesis 29:15-28 Jacob the trickster gets tricked. He is smitten with Rachel and agrees with her father, Laban, to work seven years to obtain her hand in marriage. On the wedding night, he gets an unexpected wedding present, Rachel's sister, Leah. Jacob agrees to work another seven years for Rachel because she is the true treasure of his heart. Old Testament: 1 Kings 3:5-12 God appears to Solomon in a dream, telling him to ask for his heart's desire. Solomon recounts a litany of ...
145. Step Four - Courage
Mt 26:69-75 · Acts 9:1-9 · Ps 139:1-6
Sermon
John A. Terry
Step four: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. The psalmist talks of the God before whom such a searching and fearless moral inventory is both possible and necessary. Ours is a God who, in traditional language, is omniscience and omnipresent, a God who knows all and is everywhere. This Psalm is sometimes called the Psalm of the unavoidable God. We believe that before our God there are no secret thoughts or actions. All is known by our God. I remember hearing a lecture one time where ...
146. Proper 12 & Pentecost 10
1 Kings 3:1-15, Exodus 3:1-22, Romans 8:18-27, Romans 8:28-39, Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:47-52
Sermon Aid
THEOLOGICAL CLUE Once more the eschatological framework of the church year is reinforced by the day's readings, especially the lesson from Romans 8 and verses 47-50 of the Gospel of the Day, which speak specifically of the "end of the age" and the judgment that will come with it. Matthew's Gospel also spells out the nature of realized and present eschatology in the two little parables of the treasure and the precious pearl. Without the readings, the eschatological motif of Pentecost would be virtually ...
147. Hebrews 12:1-2, 12-17
Hebrews 12:1-2, 12-17
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
The homily to the Hebrews is full of dire warnings and extravagant promises. Both of these extremes are punctuated by the writer's almost frenetic pleas for the people to press on in faithfulness so that they may bring the promises to fruition in their own lives. The first two verses of chapter 12 establish a motif that the author continues through verse 13. Using familiar physicality, he creates an image that translates into the 20th century pulpit with as much power as it had in the first century. By ...
148. Romans 12:1-8
Romans 12:1-8
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
Although when one thinks of Paul's teachings on "spiritual gifts," one usually turns to his writings in 1 Corinthians 12, this topic is also discussed and developed in Paul's letter to the Romans. In some ways, the apostle's unique use of "body of Christ" imagery for the church community is even more important and poignant for the Roman Christian communities than for those obstreperous believers in Corinth. Paul's letters addressed to "all God's beloved in Rome" (Romans 1:7) were intended not just for a ...
149. 1 Timothy 1:12-17
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
The so-called "pastoral epistles" have experienced a varied life in biblical scholarship. They have been present in the acknowledged canonical books ever since it was first established (c. A.D. 170) - with the notable exception of Marcion's quixotic selections. They "fell from grace" in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when critical textual analysis began to develop. Despite the long canonical tenure of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, the authenticity of their Pauline authorship came under close scrutiny ...
150. Colossians 3:12-17
Colossians 3:12-17
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
Paul's letter to the Colossians is generally understood to have been in response to some doctrinal/behavioral errors that were beginning to plague that community. While nowhere in Colossians does Paul specifically define the nature of these errors, internal evidences from this letter (2:8, 9, 18, 23) suggest there may have been both a tendency toward ascetic ritualism and a rising attraction to a cult of angels or spirits. Paul's warnings and advice also seem to indicate that while some of these Colossian ...
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