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 1551 to 1575 of 2815 results

1551. Epiphany 8

Hosea 2:2-23, Mark 2:18-22, 2 Corinthians 3:1-6

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... Jesus we have turned him into a reformer rather than the revolutionary he is. His intent was not just to reformulate the old way of relating to God; he came to set a new course for a radical righteousness. That's what he indicated by parables of the old and new cloth and the old and new wineskins. Jesus' gospel was more revolutionary than evolutionary, which is not to say that Jesus totally disregarded the religious traditions he was taught. SERMON POSSIBILITIES Old Testament: Hosea 2:14-20 1. Sermon Title ...

1552. New Life From Old

1 John 2:28--3:10

Sermon

Mark J. Molldrem

... are two things that immediately come to mind that can apply to every Christian life. First, the new life is characterized by forgiveness. Jesus taught us to pray, "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." In one of the parables of the kingdom, he reminded us that we are to forgive one another, just as God has forgiven us. When Peter asks him how many times a person should forgive, "As many as seven times?" Jesus responds with an exaggerated sense of unlimited forgiveness, "Seventy ...

1553. I Just Need To Talk To A Real Person

John 15:1-17

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

... the disciples of Jesus had voice mail it would go like this: (Hattie makes her voice sound like the recorded voices she heard earlier) You have reached the office of Jesus of Nazareth. To confess your sins, press 1 now; to request a miracle, press 2 now; to hear a parable, press 3 now; to file a complaint, press 4 now; to schedule a baptism, press 5 now; to learn about the next sermon on the mount, press 6 now; to leave a message with one of the other disciples, press 7 now; and if you are using a rotary ...

1554. Lent 4

Luke 15:11-32

Bulletin Aid

Craig M. Sweet

Reader 1: Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them." So Jesus told them this parable: "There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, People: 'Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.' Reader 1: "So the Father divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he ...

1555. Easter Sunday

Luke 24:33-41 · Psalm 23 · Acts 4:33-36

Bulletin Aid

Jack Brownlee

... both comfortable and uncomfortable with the way Jesus held with the law. The Cyprian part of him liked Jesus' less-nationalistic ways. Cyprian Jews were not Israelites. The Levite part of Joseph believed Jesus to be too brash in his interpretation of the law. Parables on a midrash are not Torah. One night, amidst the stories that Jesus would tell (one of which humorously cast Lazarus as a poor beggar), he was asked about the law on inheritance and a problem that had arisen between two brothers. The answer ...

1556. Structure And Clarity

Sermon

Michael Rogness

... at creation, or Jesus' words in healing. *Similar miracles of Jesus, where his word conveyed power, and this section of Luke is brimming with such wonderful stories -- the raising of the widow of Nain's son, 7:11-17; the woman anointing his feet, 7:36-50; the parable of the sower, 8:1-15; the stilling of the storm, 8:22-25; the Gerasene demon, 8:26-33, all examples of the power of Jesus' word. *Instances from real life where words are important, such as "I love you," "I hate you," ... *The pain of somebody ...

1557. Judgment Day

Luke 3:1-20

Illustration

John E. Sumwalt

... had made over a dozen trips, stopping only to watch as the fish made their way through the shallows to the deep. The next day he was back at the lake with his cane pole, fishing in his usual spot. Author's Note: Alternate Text, Matthew 13:24-30, The Parable Of The Weeds.

1558. Advent 1

Mark 13:32-37, Mark 13:1-31

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Note Having uttered two parables that urge watchfulness, Jesus here issues an explicit exhortation on behalf of that same virtue. In so doing, he emphasizes the uncertainty of the time of cataclysmic eschatological events, and counsels, not speculation, but preparedness. Liturgical Color Blue or purple Suggested Hymns Wake, Awake, For The Night Is Flying The ...

1559. Let The End Come

Mark 13:32-37, Mark 13:1-31

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... to gather his own, but in contrast his words are changeless. We continue with Mark's "Little Apocalypse." The pericope tells us of the coming tribulation, the collapse of the universe, the return of Christ and the gathering of his people. There follows the parable of the fig tree which is to give the faithful an indication of the time this will happen. While the universe passes and generations come and go, there is assurance that God's Word is eternal. Suggested Hymns Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers The Day Is ...

1560. Proper 6

Mark 4:30-34, Mark 4:26-29

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Note Mark probably connected these two originally independent "seed parables" because of the similarity of subject and metaphor. Each speaks to the nature of the Kingdom, but with a particular nuance: the secretly growing seed suggests that the Kingdom's growth on earth is beyond human comprehension or control; while the mustard seed emphasizes the contrast between the first, tentative ...

1561. A Seeking Savior

Luke 10:1-24

Sermon

W. Robert McClelland

... . So, which is it? Monkey-hold salvation or Cat-hold salvation? Does God sound the alarm in Jesus leaving us to come running and hold on tightly, or does Christ take us by the nape of the neck and carry us to the throne of grace? At least in these parables it appears to be a Cat-hold salvation. Jesus pictures God as a shepherd who seeks out a lost lamb and carries it home on his shoulders. Or a homemaker who searches every corner of the house for a lost coin until she finds it and rejoices with her friends ...

1562. Let Us Pray!

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

W. Robert McClelland

... eyes popped open. She sat up in bed studying her father. "Daddy, do you mean it, or are you just preaching?" Sometimes it is hard to know with preachers. Sometimes it is even hard to know with Jesus. But such boldness is again affirmed in the parable Jesus tells immediately following his instructions in prayer. A man awakens his friend at midnight with a request for food and is rebuffed. The man continues to bang on the door allowing his friend no sleep until he responds to his request. The friend responds ...

1563. Spaghetti

Matthew 7:24-27

Children's Sermon

Mark A. Hultquist

... really can't do anything with this the way it is. Now let's try the second piece. Notice how flexible and soft this is? This is the way spaghetti should be! In order to eat it, you have to make it flexible first. Well, that is just what the parable meant when Jesus spoke about the two people who built houses. The one was strong-willed and determined to do it his own way and built on the sand. He built his whole life on his will and not on God's Word and the result was a house that ...

1564. Sandwiches

Matthew 25:18

Children's Sermon

Mark A. Hultquist

... city on a hill and the light of the world. God's desire is not for us to keep the good news about Jesus to ourselves. He wants us to let that good news out and to tell the world! We are not to be like that man in Jesus' parable who hid his treasure in the ground. We are to be like those who went out and used what God had given them!

1565. Star Miracle

Matthew 2:1-12, Isaiah 60:1-22, Ephesians 3:1-13

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... worship him" - vv. 2, 11 2. The Significance of the Star Miracle (2:1-12). For the astronomers in Jesus' day, the new star was not just one of a million in the sky. This star was different. It had a significance. We remember that a miracle is an enacted parable. What is this Epiphany star saying to us? A. Christ is universal - the star appeared to gentiles - v. 1 B. God is in control of nature - "his star in the East" - v. 2 C. God guides through the darkness - "We have seen his star" - v. 2 D. God protects ...

1566. Tilted Haloes

Mark 3:20-30

Sermon

James Weekley

... out to seize him, for people were saying, "He is beside himself." And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said. "He is possessed by Beelzebul, and by the prince of demons he casts out the demons. "And he called them to him, and said to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand ...

1567. Are Half-Painted Rainbows Enough?

Mark 4:30-34

Sermon

James Weekley

... of hope can happen. In one of his stories he draws upon the analogy of a mustard seed. It's scarcely larger than a pin head. If given proper nourishment and care, it is capable of growing into the largest of shrubs. Jesus did not instruct with parables to prove his creativity as a teacher. They were shared to incubate truths about God and ourselves. The seeds of faith lie dormant within each of us. When we permit him to nurture it with TLC (tender loving care), then the harvest is on its way. Before ...

1568. Our God Delivers!

Daniel 3:1-30

Sermon

Erskine White

... have the option of denying or ignoring the threatening flame - it was right there in front of them. So, too, have other people in history had to face up to the inferno. Indeed, a story from our own recent past is worth remembering here, as a parable for the existential dilemma we face today. It is the story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the great pastor and theologian of the German Confessing Church. When war broke out with Nazi Germany, Bonhoeffer was in the United States and his friends were begging him to stay ...

1569. Lent 3

1 Corinthians 10:1-13, Exodus 3:1-22, Psalm 126:1-6, Psalm 103:1-22, Luke 13:1-9

Sermon Aid

George Bass

... , who do not hear and heed his message about the coming of the kingdom of God in himself, will be the same as that of the people who were the victims in his two examples: "I tell you ... unless you repent you will all likewise perish." The parable about the unproductive fig tree is pertinent to individual Christians and the church, too. God expects his people, the church, to win converts to Jesus. In this, he is most patient, but we have to wonder how long his patience will last! The members of the body ...

1570. Proper 20

Luke 16:1-15, Psalm 113:1-9, Psalm 130:1-8, Amos 8:1-14, Hosea 11:1-11, 1 Timothy 2:1-15

Sermon Aid

George Bass

... his opening plea that prayer is basic to the business of being a Christian. Prayer is a spiritual activity that is essential and common to all parts of the church of Jesus Christ. Luke 16:1-13 (RC, E, L, C) It is believed that this parable originally was meant to be an eschatological exhortation given to the disciples as Jesus sought to educate them for ministry; all people will be called to account in the last days, and some will be found faithful while others will be confronted with their infidelity ...

1571. Proper 22

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13, Amos 5:1-17, Habakkuk 1:12--2:1, Habakkuk 1:1-4, Psalm 95:1-11, Psalm 37:1-40, Luke 17:1-10

Sermon Aid

George Bass

... our faith!", is underlined by the similar emphasis upon faith in the first reading (Habakkuk) and the second reading from 2 Timothy 1; it comes from the lips of the disciples in response to Jesus' teachings about "temptations to sin" and especially the parable in the latter portion of the Gospel for the Day. The cry for increased faith, therefore, is said in the context of the doctrine of justification by faith through grace, rejecting any doctrine of salvation by works, no matter how good and faithful ...

1572. Church People Beware!

Matthew 21:28-32

Sermon

William J. Carl

... out and kick people in the teeth in the ways we treat them. That’s happening in every congregation. Don’t you find a little bit of contradiction in that? God does. Jesus does. And he sees right through us, right through our little facades; and with this parable he says, “Church people beware!” James picked up the same theme later and played it out as far as it would go. You know the passages, “Faith without works is dead,” and all that. But try as he wants, James could never go as far or state ...

1573. When is Patriotism An Idol?

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

George Johnson

... and death issues. There he would die on the cross. You catch from the teachings of Jesus that Surround this text, a kind of urgency, a kind of confrontation with ultimate questions, questions that probe the depth of one's being. There is in the parables and sayings of Jesus at this point, a question of ultimate authority and allegiance. By what criteria or authority do you make decisions, establish values, find meaning and purpose? In the sayings of Jesus that surround this text, there is also a number of ...

1574. Prepare The Way Of The Lord

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

James Garrett

... us. We are his children by his deliberate will. God in his amazing grace and mercy has taken the lost, helpless and weak -- adopted them into his own family. The debts are cancelled. The unearned love and glory inherited. John Killinger has taken some of the parables of Jesus and retold them in the language of Christmas. What person among you, taking 100 children to the theater for a performance of A Christmas Carol, if you lose one of them, does not stand the other ninety and nine in the theater lobby and ...

1575. Jesus’ First Sign

John 2:1-11

Sermon

James Garrett

... people. He entered into their daily lives. He wept at their funerals and rejoiced with them at their weddings. He was perfectly at home at a wedding feast. He was no severe, austere killjoy. He enjoyed sharing in the happy occasions. Once he used a wedding as a parable for the kingdom of God. He went that day, not to perform a miracle, but simply to be with friends. We all need friends who share with us in life’s sorrows and joys. A writer dedicated a book to a friend with these words: “Duddley Knott ...

Showing results