Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1526 to 1550 of 4508 results

1526. Jesus Is the Boss of the Whole World

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: A policeman’s badge; a scalpel or anything to identify a doctor-hospital relationship; a gavel a judge would use Lesson: "When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men." Good morning, boys and girls. I have a couple of things this morning that I collected during this week so that I could tell you something new about Jesus. Jesus is ...

1527. The Power of God

Children's Sermon

Object: Signs of authority: a policeman's badge, a nurse's cap. Good morning, everybody. Isn't this a wonderful day? Here we are all together in church, ready to worship God and make friends with God's people. I have with me this morning some things that belong to some of God's people. I am hoping that you will be able to tell me what these people do. First of all, I need two helpers, a boy and ...

1528. Doctor Thomas Dooley

Sermon

Carroll Gunkel

From time to time people will ask, "How long does it take to write a sermon?" Generally, I cannot attach a specific time to the preparation of a particular sermon. Every sermon is a composite of everything a preacher has read and studied on a subject. In the case of this particular sermon, however, I can give at least a general response to that question: This sermon was begun more than twenty y...

1529. Our Deepest Fear

Illustration

Marianne Williamson

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves: "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?" Actually, who are you NOT to be? You are a child of God.

1530. A Call to Action

Illustration

Leonard Sweet

A few years ago Congress passed a law which entitles any deceased U.S.veteran to have two uniformed military personal present to fold and present a flag, and to have "Taps" played on the bugle at the end of the service. Who could argue with such a simple honor? There is one little problem. There are very few bugle players around these days. This dearth of brass musicians has caused the Congressio...

1531. The Picture of Jesus

Illustration

John R. Brokhoff

For many Christ has never become a personal reality as he was to Matthew in the tax office. It is like a certain bachelor professor who had a friend, an artist. One day he went into his studio and saw a magnificent portrait of a lovely lady. He could not help admiring the painting. The professor asked if he could take it and hang it in his apartment. His friend suggested that maybe he might want t...

1532. What Jesus Wants

Illustration

John R. Brokhoff

Years ago there was a man in the west who was caught stealing sheep. They branded him on the forehead with the letters ST, "sheep thief." Later his life changed and he became a model for all. People forgot that ST stood for "sheep thief" and thought it symbolized "saint." This is what Jesus wants to happen in every person's life, including yours and mine. He associated with sinners, had dinner wit...

1533. I Will Remember No More

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

The evangelist, Luis Palau, met Maria Benitez-Perez. Maria had made an appointment under false pretenses. She claimed that she wanted to interview for a job. But as soon as she entered his office, Maria made her intent clear. She was the secretary to the Communist Party in Ecuador. She denounced everything having to do with God or with Jesus Christ. Her bitterness overwhelmed Palau. But he listen...

1534. The Healing Power of Touch - Sermon Starter

Illustration

Brett Blair

As Matthew's story begins this morning, Jesus, the great physician, is on his way to make an emergency house call. There was a little girl who was in a grave state and her father implored Jesus to come. We are told that a large crowd of the curious followed Jesus. Some were hoping he would succeed, others that he would fail; most probably got caught up in the excitement of the parade. In this thr...

1535. Doing Our Homework

Sermon

Larry Goodpaster

Whenever the “new” bumps up against the “old” there is bound to be friction. It happens within the community where we live. Someone -- an elected leader or would-be community change agent -- comes along with a new idea, seeing new possibilities for the future, and there is a vocal hesitation. “Why should we change?” the long-time residents complain. “Things are just fine the way they always have b...

1536. Sinners Anonymous

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him. And as he sat at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" ...

1537. Matthew 9: 9-13, 18-26

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Our gospel reading for this week picks and chooses from a series of event/encounters that begin to define Jesus’ mission and ministry. Although a variety of currents are ebbing and flowing in this text, the underlying give-and-take is about the identity and nature of discipleship. First, a new individual disciple, Matthew, is singled out and called in almost case-study fashion. Then a surprising d...

1538. The Challenge, The Call, The Cure

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

The 1999 movie October Sky, is the true story of Homer Hickam, Jr., who rose from a gloomy West Virginia coal mining town with not much hope of a future to become a NASA engineer. Homer's mind and imagination is completely captured by the launch of Sputnik. All of a sudden he is fascinated by rockets. There's a scene early on in the movie when Homer is thinking about talking to Quentin, the ...

1539. Jesus Eats with Sinners and Heals the Sick

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Matthew encourages his readers to trust and follow Jesus, whose healing power and mercy toward sinners signal the arrival of God’s kingdom. Understanding the Text The final section of chapters 8–9 continues to accent themes of Jesus’ authority to heal—with three healing accounts in this section—and faith as the appropriate response (9:22, 29). The call narrative of the tax collector Ma...

1540. The Call of Matthew

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Between the second and third sets of miracles in chapters 8–9, Matthew again focuses on discipleship in light of the kingdom’s arrival. The call of Matthew, a tax collector, to be a disciple of Jesus (9:9; cf. 4:18–22) is tied to Jesus’s practice of eating with “sinners” (9:10–13). Tax collectors were those who had aligned their interests with the Roman occupation and would have been despised by t...

1541. The Calling of Matthew

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

9:9 As Jesus leaves Capernaum (cf. Mark 2:1), he sees a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth alongside the road. In Jesus’ day heavy taxes were levied upon the people for all sorts of things. In addition to the three main taxes (ground tax, income tax, and poll tax), duty was imposed upon all imported goods. Every caravan that used the main roads and the ships that came into harb...

1542. Friends In Low Places

Sermon

Marc Kolden

This gospel reading from Matthew is surprising, if you think about it. A man named Matthew is sitting at his job in the tax collector's booth and Jesus comes to that town and says two words to Matthew, "Follow me." And Matthew stands up, walks off his job and follows Jesus. Does that ring true? Matthew didn't count the cost; he didn't think of the consequences; he just followed. It seems too abrup...

1543. I Like Brussels Sprouts, but...

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

We're a people in love with what Dr. Seuss called "thneeds." In his classic 1971 cry for environmental and consumer consciousness, Dr. Seuss' The Lorax denounced the clear-cutting, water-fouling, air-smudging practices by the greedy thneed - maker of the "Once-ler." The Once-ler chopped down all the beautiful Truffula trees to knit their brightly colored tufts into strange-looking, sweater-like t...

1544. The Testimony of a Tax Collector

Sermon

King Duncan

It was a simple statement but still it hurt. "SEE, this man eats with sinners and tax collectors." They hurt because I was one of those tax-collectors. Tax collectors are never popular. "Adopt a flat tax," said Steve Forbes in the primary campaigns, "and dismantle the Internal Revenue Service." "I'm proud to be paying taxes in the United States," said Arthur Godfrey. "The only thing is ” I could...

1545. No Telltale Clues

Sermon

At times the author of Matthew's Gospel startles us by the small amount of information he offers. Just when we would like to know what it is that is going on, he is silent. Just when we most feel the need of a telltale clue, he tells us nothing. Jesus stands before the stranger called Matthew and says, "Follow me." Matthew accepts the invitation without question or hesitation. All that the evangel...

1546. Saving Sinners

Sermon

"Jesus left that place, and as he walked along he saw a tax collector, named Matthew, sitting in his office. He said to him, 'Follow me.' And Matthew got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at his house, many tax collectors and outcasts came and joined him and his disciples at the table. Some Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, 'Why does your teacher eat with tax collector...

1547. Jesus’ Hospital

Sermon

Our Holy Gospel for today says that "as Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ And he arose and followed Him." Now that’s what we call a response to a call don’t we? Jesus said: "Follow Me." Matthew got up and followed him. The problem with many of us is that we haven’t even gotten up yet, much less are we following Jesus....

1548. Follow Me

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

Exegetical Aim: What it means to follow Christ. Props: None. Lesson: Good Morning. (response) How is every one? (response) Good! We are going to play follow the leader this morning. I need everyone to stand up. Now, I am going to be the leader. Everybody get in line behind me. Stay in line and as we go each of you has to say and do everything I do, OK? (ok) As you go down one isle and then up an...

1549. Proper 5

Bulletin Aid

First Lesson: Genesis 22:1-18 Theme: Faith and commitment Call to Worship Pastor: Life is a test of faith day after day. People: Day after day God proves himself worthy of our trust. Pastor: Each day God asks that we put him first in our lives, and give him our full surrender. People: We trust God to be all that he promises. May we be all that he asks of us. Collect O Lord, our great Provider, ...

1550. Prayer

Bulletin Aid

Good news and Bad news! First the good news - Jesus associated with sinners! That means there's hope for me! God knows I'm not perfect But he loves me anyway! Now the bad news - Jesus associated with sinners! Not the good Church people Pillars of the community But the bums The crooks The drunks What kind of example is that? And even worse news A dilemma - Who should I associate with? The good ...

Showing 1526 to 1550 of 4508 results