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 126 to 150 of 2273 results

126. A Sign in the Heavens

Isaiah 60:1-6 · Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

... saw a sign in the heavens. That sign was a star that led them to a house where lay the newborn King of Kings. Welcome to this celebration of Epiphany. When we think of Epiphany many of us think of the celebration of the twelve days of Christmas. The idea of the twelve days of Christmas is based on the tradition that the wise men, or magi as they are often called, arrived to worship the Christ child twelve days after his birth. You will remember that in Matthew’s telling of the Christmas story, the wise ...

127. The Master Has Come - And Calls Disciples

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

... for a library card: He had to give a personal reference. The lady at the desk said, "Just put down the name of a friend." He said, "I don’t even have a friend. If I ever get one I’ll come back." We all need a friend. Jesus chose the twelve to be his friends. Who were they? Nobody. What qualifications did they have? None. How much training, influence, expertise, did they possess? Zero. But, he said to them, "Follow me." He took them on to be disciples. And, later on, he said to them, "No longer do I call ...

128. Peter's Confession of Christ

Mark 8:27-30

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... up to this point have shown wonder and bewilderment at Jesus (4:41; 6:52). Only the voice from heaven (1:11) and the demons (1:24, 34; 3:12; 5:7) see the truth of Jesus’ person! In contrast to the varying labels of others, Peter, answering for the Twelve, acclaims Jesus as Christ (or Messiah, see notes; 8:29), the same title given to Jesus at the beginning of Mark (1:1). This indicates that for Mark the title is a correct one and that Peter’s use of the title displays some recognition of Jesus’ true ...

129. What Names Are You Naming?

Isaiah 49:1-7

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... is added to the essence of the individual. But in the Old Testament especially there's also a seeming paradox to this power of the individual name. From the list of Abraham's twelve children, twelve individuals, come the identities of the Twelve Tribes, those who will become a collective people. Individual names now become synonymous with tribes, communities, and eventually with the nation itself . . . of God's chosen people, Israel. In fact, Judaism identifies itself most completely not as a religion, or ...

130. The Return to Jerusalem

Ezra 8:1-36

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... on the number twelve, certainly to represent all Israel. In the Ezra material Israel is mentioned twenty-four times, but Judah only four. In this list only the men are listed; in Ezra 2, the women are included in the numbers. Here the men counted in the twelve families number fifteen hundred. Therefore, with women and children there may have been as many as five thousand in the caravan to Jerusalem. All the family names in 8:3–14 are also in Ezra 2. That would indicate that those who return to Jerusalem ...

131. The Taught Can

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

George W. Hoyer

... was a time to be taught. Mark relates the call of some of the first disciples early in his book. He tells of the appointment of the twelve as apostles and tells of how Jesus sent them out two by two on a mission. But it is quite clear that Jesus regarded these days ... but for the time of his ministry on earth he limited his lectures to Palestine. He focused much of his instruction on the twelve. Small group discussion was in his lesson plan. On this morning the instruction began with what was designed to be a ...

132. What's In a Name?

Mark 10:2-16 · Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12 · Psalm 8

Sermon

Thomas C. Willadsen

... power, remember God created the whole universe in six days and the only thing God did was speak. This morning’s lesson from Hebrews challenges us to see who Jesus is in ways that we are not accustomed to. I counted twelve different images or metaphors for Jesus in the twelve verses we read from Hebrews. That’s too many for us to hold in our minds at one time as we ponder Christ and pray in Christ’s name. But it’s good for us to encounter images that are difficult or foreign to us because it will ...

133. Luke 10:1-11; 16-20

Luke 11:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... -two) focus more on how they should conduct themselves on their journeys. The sense of danger is affirmed by Jesus’ assertion that they go out “like lambs into the midst of wolves” (v.3). His counsel to carry no extra baggage (also given to the twelve) now sounds less like a practice in trust and more like advice on how to avoid being mugged. With each new directive Jesus affirms that his emissaries will meet both welcome and rejection on their journeys. While they are to offer “peace” to every ...

134. Many Disciples Desert Jesus

John 6:60-71

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... which one would betray him. Jesus himself points to his earlier warning that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him (v. 65; cf. v. 44) as further evidence of the same supernatural knowledge. In contrast to the indefinite many of verses 60–66, the Twelve (vv. 67, 70) are assumed to be a fixed group already called and chosen (cf. Mark 3:13–19 and parallels). In John’s Gospel the call of at least four of them has been recorded (1:35–51), but their existence as a group is made explicit ...

135. Blessings and Woes

Luke 6:17-26

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... the “level place” (6:17–19) is based loosely on Mark 3:7–12. Luke reversed the order of these Marcan units to accommodate the sermon that follows (6:20–49). As it now stands in Luke, Jesus goes up on a mountain (v. 12) to appoint the Twelve, then he descends to a plateau to teach and heal crowds (vv. 17–18), which leads quite naturally into the sermon. (Mark has no equivalent sermon.) The sermon seems to be derived primarily from the sayings source utilized by Luke and Matthew. Thus, we may say ...

136. Holy Friendship

John 6:60-71

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... , "Do you also wish to go away?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God." John 6:66-69 (RSV) Jesus said to the twelve, "Will you also go away?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." It is easy to think of Jesus' life as being calm and quiet, with hours of solitary meditation or periods of religious conversations with his chosen ...

137. Following Summons

Acts 9:32-43

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... Kingdom of God has come to earth (Revelation 21:4). So our text for the morning is promissory, you see. You and I, no matter how strong our faith, cannot raise the dead as Peter did. Peter works within the circle of that power that has been lent to the twelve disciples by the risen Christ. And Peter's resurrection of Dorcas is an exhibition of that power. But Peter's act in Christ is also a promise to us -- that such is the kingdom toward which we journey, when death shall be no more. God in our Lord Jesus ...

138. Matthew 9:35-10:8 (9-23)

Matthew 9:35-10:8 (9-23)

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... calls for in 9:37-38 is not a harvest of the people, but a harvest of blessing for the people. To distribute this harvest, Jesus first urges his disciples to pray for additional "laborers." Jesus then provides the answer to this dilemma by gathering the Twelve to him and investing them with the power and authority to cast out unclean spirits and heal diseases of both the body and soul. Obviously the disciples have now taken on new stature and importance in Jesus' mission. Prior to this, they simply trailed ...

139. Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

Mark 6:30-44

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... to the Israelites in the wilderness (Exod. 18:25; Num. 31:14). The prayer with which Jesus receives and multiplies the bread and fish is similar to his prayer over the bread and wine at the institution of the Lord’s Supper (14:22). In utilizing the Twelve to dispense the bread, Jesus ministers to the crowd through the disciples. Like the harvest in the parable of the sower (4:9, 20), the feeding of the five thousand results in a miracle of abundance: “All ate and were satisfied” (6:42), with twelve ...

140. Punishment of Midianites

Num 31:1-54

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... no United Nations organization in the predatory ancient Near East. People who showed weakness soon ceased independent existence. The operation commanded by God is a holy war that deploys a symmetrical army of twelve thousand, composed of one thousand soldiers from each of the twelve tribes (31:3–5; cf. Rev. 7:4–8—twelve thousand from each “tribe”; 14:1, 3). The army is accompanied by a priest equipped with sacred utensils and signal trumpets (31:6) to sound blasts that will call the Israelites to ...

141. Acts 19:1-7

Acts 19:1-22

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Epiphany to Easter is a baptismal story, echoing this week's gospel text recounting Jesus' own baptism. Read at the beginning of the New Year, both texts themselves tell of new beginnings. Baptism is the first act in Jesus' public ministry, while the baptism of the twelve in Ephesus marks the start of a newly revitalized faith in that community. Today's Acts text is the first in a series of three stories of Paul's definitive work in Ephesus (19:1-20), work that demonstrated Paul's authority to teach, preach ...

142. Jesus' Mother and Brothers

Mark 3:31-35

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... the high privilege and duties of discipleship, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the difficulties and temptations to failure. In the present passage, Jesus says of his disciples that they have become his true family. Though it is fairly clear that the Twelve are the ones referred to, the more general description of those Jesus commends as those seated in a circle around him (3:34) has the effect of leaving the circle open for others to join. The Christian readers are to identify themselves with those ...

143. Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , technical definition which identified the uniquely chosen first twelve disciples of Jesus. Certainly, for Mark's readers, the term "apostle" denotes one who operated in the name of another. An apostle claimed the authority of the one who sent him out, which is why the Twelve are so eager to relate to Jesus "all that they had done and taught." The mission they had carried out was none other than Jesus' own. Jesus' response to his apostles' return is also unique to this moment in Mark. Jesus calls for his ...

144. Whoever Is Not Against Us Is For Us

Mark 9:38-41

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... to use Jesus’ name in a magical spell, for elsewhere Mark rejects a magical view of Jesus’ power (see notes and comments on 5:25–33; 6:5–6; 7:34). Further, the issue is not the practice of exorcism but whether a person who is not identified with the Twelve can still be a true follower of Jesus with the right to minister in his name. The thrust of Jesus’ answer in verses 39–41 is that anyone who claims to be a follower of Jesus must be received unless he or she gives reason to think otherwise ...

145. Number Thirteen Had to Try Harder

1 Corinthians 15:9

Children's Sermon

... else to make sure that the whole world knew of the love of God and that Jesus was the Christ. He told everyone about the resurrection of Jesus as he traveled from one country to another. Paul was not one of the first twelve disciples (Show them the twelve screws.) and he came much later to believe that Jesus was the Christ, but (Show them the small screw.) he worked hard to make sure that everyone remembered the resurrection of Jesus and not the terrible things that Paul did. You and I can do something Paul ...

146. Nahor's Sons

Genesis 22:20-24

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... found in 11:27–32. The genealogy’s location here provides background information for the course of Isaac’s life. Isaac’s future bride, Rebekah, was introduced to Abraham in this genealogy. Nahor’s sons became the twelve Aramean tribes, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel (49:28) and the twelve tribes of Ishmael (25:12–16). The narrator saw God’s hand at work in constructing tribal organizations of twelve linked by a common ancestry. Only a little is known about some of these names ...

147. Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

John 13:1-17, John 13:18-30

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... literally “apostle” (the only occurrence of this word in John’s Gospel), and it may be that verse 16b serves as a subtle reminder that the group addressed so decisively in verses 12–17 were in fact “the Apostles” (elsewhere in this Gospel referred to as “the Twelve” (6:67, 70; 20:24). In any case, the emphasis on sending in verse 16b is not accidental, for it is reinforced in verse 20, a pronouncement with close parallels of its own in the synoptic Gospels (e.g., Matt. 10:40/Luke 10:16; Matt ...

148. The Council at Jerusalem

Acts 15:1-21

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... in the people of God. To this summary of Peter’s speech James then added the words of the prophets (v. 15)—plural, though he cites only one prophet, either as including others who spoke along the same lines, or as referring to the Book of the Twelve Prophets. The quotation is from Amos 9:11f. in what appears to be a rather free reproduction of the Greek version, including perhaps a phrase from Isaiah 45:21, “who foretold this long ago” (cf. 3:21). The passage speaks of two things: first, the ...

149. Offerings for the Tabernacle

Exodus 25:1-9

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... them on Aaron’s ephod. Onyx is a kind of fine quartz (see 28:9). The ephod was the high priest’s vest-like garment made of gold and linen, over which he wore the breastpiece. Exodus 28:6–21 describes these articles of clothing and the twelve various gems mounted on the breastpiece. Verses 8–9 are a necessary guide to understanding the purpose and function of the tabernacle (see Introduction to the Tabernacle in §30). “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this ...

150. Scandal

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

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... will be raised to life again.’ And a great sadness came over them. …… Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, and on the way he took the Twelve to one side and said to them, ‘Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man is about to be handed over ... to Jerusalem; Jesus was walking on ahead of them; they were in a daze, and those who followed were apprehensive. Once more taking the Twelve aside, he began to tell them what was going to happen to him: ‘Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of ...

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