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 1676 to 1700 of 2815 results

1676. Proper 11

Matthew 13:24-30

Bulletin Aid

Theme: God's discrimination Exegetical note One of the most disturbing slogans to come out of America's recent war experiences was "Kill them all, and let God sort them out!" The parable of the tares (or "weeds") offers a much more positive angle on divine discrimination, both in its original form (vv. 24-30) and in its (almost certainly later) allegorical interpretation (vv. 36-43). The suggestion is that in God's Reign (and in the Church) no artificial human "weeding" is ...

1677. Limitless Forgiveness

Matthew 18:21-35

Bulletin Aid

Exegetical note The saying of Jesus about forgiveness and the loosely connected parable of the unforgiving, forgiven servant work together in this setting to suggest that forgiveness should be both limitless and contagious. Not only should one forgive without ceasing, but one who is forgiven should multiply the mercy by forgiving as well. Call to Worship Leader: Let us bless the God of ...

1678. Proper 27

Matthew 25:1-13

Bulletin Aid

Theme: Parousia and preparedness Exegetical note On the lips of Jesus this parable was probably about the coming Reign of God and the urgency of preparedness. But for Matthew it is about the delay of the parousia experienced by the Church of his own day (some half-century later), which by the twentieth century looks more like a non-occurrence. The challenge today, ...

1679. Proper 28

Matthew 25:14-30

Bulletin Aid

Theme: Preserving vs. promoting the gospel Exegetical note Exactly what Jesus' original intent was for this parable is uncertain, but the fearful, "protectionist" mentality of the third servant is universal and timeless: he timidly decides to protect what he has rather than to develop it, and because of his subsequent actions he is pronounced "wicked and lazy." This story could be applied to a myriad of cases, ...

1680. A Glory Revealed in the King

John 12:12-19

Sermon

Charles M. Mountain

... not arrived." After he voluntarily entered Jerusalem, the hour was upon him. Like a woman whose time to give birth had come, Jesus knew the birth-pangs of New Age were about to issue in new life, but only through his death. He would become the seed of his own parable that must die, be buried - but then live again to bear much fruit. He said, "The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified." The lifting up of Jesus on the cross - that is, the hour of his shame - is the hour of his glory; the cross ...

1681. My God, My God, ... Why?

Mark 15:33-41

Drama

... two of his followers, women who had watched him die, helped me wrap the body and place it in the vault. As I folded the linen around him, ... Ach, he was so young and strong, I recalled how vigorously he used to preach about the kingdom. His stories and parables were so fresh and powerful. "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds, which grows into a great bush and a home for all the birds of the sky." And, "the kingdom of heaven is like the tiniest bit of yeast hidden in a ...

1682. Sunrise Surprise

Drama

... something else that Jesus said one time. Remember, he said, "As Jonah was three days in the belly of the fish, so must the Son of Man be three days in the heart of the earth." He could have meant he would be dead for three days. Remember the parable about the grain of corn? Peter (Interrupting) Come on, John ... you’re very tired. John (As they slowly depart) Remember, the corn had to be planted in the earth and die if it was to come into newness of life. That’s what he said. Peter ... don’t you ...

1683. Salvation: Authentic and Powerful

Amos 5:18-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... attitude which left people with the impression that they had fulfilled their religious responsibilities simply by a weekly act of worship." Join me as we probe further. On God’s Terms Salvation worth anything is on God’s terms. It is like our Lord’s parable in Matthew 13:45-46, which relates majestic simplicity: "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it." Christian unity and salvation ...

1684. Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Daniel 2:24-49, Daniel 2:1-23

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... not because God is slow or hard of hearing but because God knows the best way to answer your prayer. Over time God will fulfill your request or reshape it, revealing his wisdom and superior timing. In Luke 18:1 we read, "Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up." Here is the third life-lesson: With God All Things Are Possible Almost any realist would have advised Daniel, "There is no way you can both discern and interpret the King's dream. Write your ...

1685. Celebrating with Jesus

Luke 5:33-39

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... the Holy Spirit is here among us, living in every believer’s heart, we should rejoice. Of course, there are periodic times of crisis and sorrow when fasting is appropriate. But our dominant mood should be joy. Then in verses 36 through 39 Jesus offers a parable or an object lesson. No one repairs an old garment with a patch from a new garment. Not only would one ruin the new garment, the patch would look out of place on the old, worn garment. Similarly, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Goatskins ...

1686. Put Something in Its Place

Matthew 12:38-45, Luke 11:14-28

Illustration

Howard Thurman

One day Jesus told a parable about a man out of whom a devil has been cast. When the job has been completed, he felt perfectly safe and secure. He may have said to himself, "Now that is done. He is gone and my house is at peace. I shall buy new furnishings, put up fresh ...

The guru instructs by metaphor and parable, but the pilgrim learns through the telling of his own tale.

Sheldon B. Kopp

1688. Prodigal Sons

Illustration

John T. Seamands

In his parable of the prodigal son or, more correctly, the prodigal sons, Jesus again brings out the two-fold nature of sin. The younger son stands for the sins of the flesh, the sins of transgression. He was guilty of gluttony, drunkenness, licentiousness, and adultery. The elder son stands for the sins of the spirit, the sins of the disposition. He exhibited the inner attitudes of jealousy, self-righteousness, anger, unconcern, and an unforgiving spirit.

1689. The Landmark

Luke 23:26-43

Illustration

Brett Blair

... could not do it. "Well," said the representative of the British navy, "if you do not rebuild the church we will. That spire is on all our charts and maps. It is the landmark by which the ships of the seven seas steer their course." A true parable, that! Never more than now, when the souls of men need divine help, stable and secure, strong, sustaining, and empowering, was the church's message needed. Though the hurricane of hell brought the sins of the world down upon the body of Christ, crushing the life ...

1690. This God’s For Real!

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

... - that following the flesh-and-blood, embraceable/embracing God would lead to uncertainty and bloodshed - Peter and the others must not have known exactly what to make of all of it. The Christ, this Jesus whom they’d followed all this time, was great for telling parables, for couching things in riddles. This was probably symbolic talk like so much else they’d heard from him. The story of Peter’s denial of the One whom he had once confessed as Christ, Son of the Living God, is commonplace to all of us ...

1691. Do It For the Joy of It!

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

... strings. And trading time is over." 2. Reck-less Time Has Come Let’s try a second cartoon. This one first appeared in the "Middle Ages" but has survived throughout the centuries to tantalize us in the modern church. This cartoon really was more of a parable. It is said that a Christian pilgrim once encountered a woman walking the streets of a European city, carrying a burning torch and a bucket almost full with water. When the pilgrim asked the woman why she carried these, she answered, "The water is to ...

1692. Which Jesus? This Jesus!

Acts 17:1-9

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... teachers and asking questions. And those men, some of them the finest thinkers of their time, were astonished at his understanding and answers. He taught "as one having authority." More than any other sage, he taught us of God. Those who heard his beatitudes, his parables, his words of wisdom and power, finally had to say, "Never man spake like this man." You can think of Christ as an ancient teacher, and he was. But he is likewise of today and tomorrow. His Spirit, his words, his teachings, are as modern ...

1693. No Sooner Said Than Done!

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... is enough to declare the Word, and God through the Word will change the nation. If the Word can do all that the text says it can and will do, why are we in the present mess? We will find the answer in today’s Gospel lesson which tells Jesus’ parable of the sower. The sower spreads the seed of the Word upon the soil of the people. Not all seed produces results. Only one-fourth gives a harvest. The other three-fourths do not receive the seed. It is not the fault of the seed but the soil. If we ...

1694. Count Me In!

Isaiah 56:1-8

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... they had intermarried with Gentiles after the Assyrian invasion in 722 B.C. A Jew would not speak to nor enter the home of a Samaritan. When Jesus’ enemies wanted to insult Jesus, they called him a Samaritan. Yet, Jesus made a Samaritan the hero of his parable about the man robbed on the road to Jericho and left half dead. Again, the only one of the ten lepers healed by Jesus who returned to thank him was a Samaritan. At Jacob’s well, Jesus offered living water to a Samaritan woman. Another class of ...

1695. Sick Of A Sick Society

Jeremiah 14:1--15:21

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... mercy. Notice in our text what God says he will do for Jeremiah if he returns: "I will make you impregnable ... I will deliver and save you ... I will rescue you from the ruthless." Nothing pleases God more than when sinners repent, for Jesus in his parables tells us that repentance of sinners makes the angels sing for joy. Paul asks, "Do you not know that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?" Joel says, "Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful ..." A Psalmist assures ...

1696. Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams

Luke 1:67-80

Sermon

Carroll Gunkel

... Corrigan and Betty Williams were neither professional religion ists nor professional peace-makers. They were just individual Christians who had met the Master and had heard his invitation to bring peace where there was hatred. Several years ago I heard a Scottish preacher share a parable from his homeland. He said that it was a tradition that after Jesus had died on Good Friday and had descended into Hell to set free the sinners therein, he was met by the Devil. The latter said to Jesus, "Now that you’ve ...

1697. Anne Sullivan

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Carroll Gunkel

... of Anne Sullivan. For Anne, her work with Helen was not a burden but a priviledge; it was a ministry. Her congregation numbered only one, but she gave to her one congregant everything she had. Anne Sullivan’s service with Helen Keller made our Lord’s parable of the ninety and nine come to life. The rest of the Keller family represented the ninety-nine sheep safely in the fold. Helen was the one lost sheep. In emulation of the good Shepherd, Anne went searching for the one lost sheep, found it, nurtured ...

1698. Call Him a Story Teller

Luke 1:1-4

Sermon

George Bass

... recorded for posterity the fascinating details of what we now call "the Christmas story" - Jesus’ conception, birth, the only story from his boyhood - and he makes the people involved in the drama real and memorable. He collected and included the fantastic parables of Jesus that constituted the bulk of his teaching and preaching ministry for those short three years. Luke spells out the details of how Jesus trained his disciples to carry on his ministry after he would be gone. And he graphically pictures ...

1699. Who Keeps Getting in My Way?

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... to feel humble. It is not to be self-promoting, but self-renouncing. It is not to be self-centered, but self-circumferenced. To be poor in spirit is to be able to admit that: "I need thee every hour." It is to be like the second man in that parable Jesus told - the one about the two men who went into the church to pray. The first man stood and told God everything he had done to merit favor. He fasted and tithed and he never cheated on his wife. Then he looked across the church at the other man ...

1700. Whatever Became of Sin?

Romans 5:12-21

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... one another with great effectiveness. They spend most of their wealth on stockpiles of explosives and poisons ... Suddenly we awoke from our pleasant dreams with a fearful realization that something was wrong. ... Whatever became of sin?3 Menninger goes on to quote a parody on the Parable of the Tares. "An enemy hath done this" ... "Sir, forgive me, I can no longer bear to conceal my secret. I know the enemy who sowed the tares. I saw him do it ... I was awake the night the weeds were sown. I saw the man ...

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