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 151 to 175 of 3314 results

151. How's the Old Complaint?

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... for a season. We know that from time to time he had to stop what he was doing to recuperate. So how's the old complaint? He mentions it only once, and that is when he is telling the Corinthians that he has the credentials to be an apostle. You see, that is another thing that he has a right to complain about. His friends back in Jerusalem, the Judaizers, organized to follow him around the Mediterranean world. As soon as he leaves some place, they come in and tell everybody there, "You know, Paul really isn ...

152. Proper 28

Judges 4:1-24, Matthew 25:14-30, 1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11, Psalm 123:1-4

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

... hope with the helmet is striking. Faith is for now and hope is for the future, but love is associated with the present, and we know from other passages in Paul's epistles (especially I Corinthians 13) that love has no end. In this passage the apostles treat every aspect of Christian life. Remarkably no part of our existence—present, future, or eternal—is left untouched by the saving work of Christ. The outcome of the assurance of salvation is a security that sets us free to live our lives for others. We ...

153. Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... that while Luke's concern may have been to ensure that those earliest on the road for Christ were actual eyewitnesses and would keep the miraculous story straight, the criterion articulated here by Peter would exclude Paul from true apostleship. Once the pool of potential apostles has been pared down to two by human guidelines, Peter turns the choice of the new candidate over to God. In verse 24 the eleven now return to the prayerful attitude stated in verse 14, and turn the decision over to God. The lots ...

154. Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

155. Acts 5:27-32

Acts 5:27-32

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the central thrust of this entire narrative Christ's directive that the disciples "will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (1:8). Acts is no less than a missionary journal recalling how the apostles preached the gospel, formed the church, and tirelessly worked to spread the Good News first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. While the gift of the Holy Spirit miraculously transformed Jesus' whimpering, limping, beaten-down little band of followers into a ...

156. Decoding the Da Vinci Code (Part Two - Explaining the Facts)

1 Peter 3:15

Sermon

James Merritt

... not God. This was a myth that was voted on at the Council of Nicea and that nobody really believed for the first 300 years of the church. The oldest document that we have that reflects the belief of the early church is found in the writings of the Apostle Paul. These writings date between A.D. 50 and A.D. 68 which is almost 300 years before Nicea. One of the very first confessional statements about Jesus Christ is found in the Book of I Corinthians where we read these words: "For even if there are so-called ...

157. A Frightening Friday

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... there is nothing so destructive in our world as pure, unadulterated egotism: witness the likes of Adolf Hitler and many others. It was a singular and demonic instant of glory. Pilate has not only found his way into the holy scriptures, he appears as well in both the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. We are not apt to forget him anytime soon! His is one of the few names having been perpetuated from the times our Lord walked and talked upon this earth. He made history and his name is there for all to see. Yes, one ...

158. 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... gift or action taken on another’s behalf was part of the social fabric. But Paul’s thankfulness and joy over hearing the good news about their faithfulness is so great, the gift of their steadfastness is so obviously directly from God, that the apostle knows he can never “repay” (“antapodounai”) or return an adequate measure of thanksgiving. In fact, Paul gets a bit tongue-tied trying to express his emotion: the more literal rendering of his outburst here is “all the joy with which we rejoice ...

159. You Can't Fool God: Ananias and Sapphira

Acts 4:33 - 5:11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... . Or to make themselves look better or more important. That family reminds more of the main characters from our Scripture this morning. Let's look at the story of Ananias and Sapphira found in Acts 4:33-5:11. Acts 4:33-5:11 [33] With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. [34] There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. [35] They laid it at ...

160. By Whose Standards?

1 Corinthians 4:1-5

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... have the specialized meaning it has come to have for many of us. In fact, the word is still used in the Greek Orthodox church to simply mean someone who is sent out on religious work. Paul here uses the word in a broader sense than the "twelve apostles." He means any leader in the church sent by God. And he is one. But he has been deliberately highlighting other words. He has already said "workers" and "builders"; now "servants" and "stewards." This was an effective way of reminding the Corinthians that the ...

161. For All the Saints

Colossians 1:1-14

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... know all of the saints around the world. In the same way, it's quite likely that the writer of Colossians did not know all of the saints he wrote to in the city of Colossae. The first line of the letter identifies the primary letter writer as the apostle Paul. He was well travelled for his day and age and knew many people in many churches. Yet he writes to the Colossians in verse 4: "we have heard of your faith." Theirs was a long-distance relationship. He hadn't seen or experienced their faith because he ...

162. A New Kind of Authority

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

King Duncan

... and I believe it is significant in Paul’s situation. He wanted people to know he wasn’t the same man he had been. In fact, later Paul may have been making a pun on his name meaning small, when he refers to himself as the “least of the Apostles.” Sometimes as adults even Christian adults who are also parents or bosses or leaders in our churches or communities, we can let a little bit of authority or power or success go to our heads. We may think because we are used to making decisions that we are ...

163. Simon the Sorcerer

Acts 8:9-25

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... reached Jerusalem that the people of Samaria had accepted the word of God (v. 14; the reference is a general one to the region), the apostles sent Peter and John to them. The fact that they were sent by the whole group acting as a collegiate body shows that no one ... conversion. He, too, wanted the power that he had first seen in Philip and now saw at work in the ministry of the apostles. Thinking that it could be bought, he offered … money to Peter and John (v. 18; cf. 2 Kings 5:20ff.). In the manner ...

164. The Council at Jerusalem

Acts 15:1-21

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... of revelation that he had in mind was not the kind that comes by human beings but directly from God (cf. Gal. 1:1, 12). Besides these things, there are a number of serious difficulties in identifying Galatians 2:1–10 with Acts 11:30. First, the apostles are not mentioned in the passage in Acts, whereas in Galatians Paul says that he and Barnabas met with Peter and John and James the Lord’s brother. Nor can it be supposed, in light of those passages in which the elders are clearly distinguished from the ...

165. Paul’s Second Visit to the Jerusalem Church

Galatians 2:1-10

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... almost the same words, Paul expresses his hope that he would not have run in vain (2:16). In the Philippian letter the test will be in the “day of Christ,” whereas in Galatians Paul’s focus is on the meeting at Jerusalem. While the apostle does not accord the Jerusalem leaders any authority over himself or his gospel, he does recognize how significant their influence is and thus how critical is their acceptance of his gospel. Additional Notes 2:1 We could read the word again to indicate that Barnabas ...

166. The Armor of God

Ephesians 6:10-20

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

... (Mark 13; 2 Thess. 2:8–10; 1 John 2:18; 4:17) or the final battle of Armageddon (Rev. 16:12–16; 20:7, 8). True, believers are warned in Scripture to prepare themselves for eschatological judgment, but this is not what appears to be in the apostle’s mind; he sees the conflict as a current crisis and so admonishes them to be ready. The coming day of evil is a reminder of the ever-present reality of wickedness and temptation. Those equipped with God’s armor will be able to stand their ground. When ...

167. A Call to Persevere

Jude 1:17-25

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... men in fact do not have the Spirit. They are not Christians at all (Rom. 8:9) and thus fail to understand the things of God (1 Cor. 2:14). They are not on the right wave-length. But the arrival of such alien intruders was foreseen by the apostles (v. 17), and they gave due warning of what was going to happen (1 Cor. 11:19). In that Jude’s readers can take comfort: things are working out exactly as spiritually minded believers have forecast. The doom of the false and the glorifying of the true are alike ...

168. Shining as Stars

Philippians 2:12-18

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... kauchēma in 1:26, to kauchēma hymōn, “your (ground of) boasting.” That that I did not run or labor for nothing: O. Bauernfeind suggests, in the light of Gal. 2:2, that the expression “running in vain” (eis kenon trechein) “was a common use of the apostle’s” (TDNT, vol. 8, p. 231, s.v. “trechō”). The word translated labor (kopian) is a favorite of his for describing Christian service, whether his own or that of others (cf. Rom. 16:6, 12; 1 Cor. 4:12; 15:10; 16:16; Gal. 4:11; Col. 1:29 ...

169. Ascension and Commission

Acts 1:1-11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... event (cf. Luke 24:4), and the words these two men speak point to the return of Jesus in the future. Jesus’s public ascension therefore becomes a promise of his return. Moreover, the emphasis on “looking” (1:11) also confirms the role of the apostles as witnesses. In the narrative that follows, Luke explains that the ascension of Jesus signifies his enthronement in heaven, when he becomes the Lord of all (2:34–35). By means of his lordship over all, he can grant forgiveness and salvation to both ...

170. Jesus Sends Out the Twelve

Matthew 10:1-42

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... sent on a mission” (Gk. apostellō). Beare holds that the title denoted a charismatic function rather than a specific office and that it was not limited to the Twelve (p. 240). In 1 Corinthians 15:5, 7, there is a distinction between the Twelve and “all the apostles.” The names of the disciples are also listed here and in Mark 3:16–19, Luke 6:13–16, and Acts 1:13. The order varies somewhat, although Simon Peter heads each list and Judas Iscariot is always last (obviously, he is not listed in Acts ...

171. The Weak and the Strong

Romans 14:1--15:13

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... one another. But if we must judge, let this be our judgment, not to put a stumbling block or obstacle in a brother’s way” (Gnomon, vol. 3, p. 178). This exhortation echoes the teaching of Jesus (Matt. 7:1–5; 17:27; Mark 9:42), as well as the apostle himself (9:30–32; 1 Cor. 8:9–13), and it may have been influenced by an oft-quoted passage in Judaism, “Do not put a stumbling block in front of the blind” (Lev. 19:14). A proskomma (stumbling block) is a static metaphor of a stone in the road ...

172. Thanksgiving

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... conversion of the Corinthians to Christian faith. Clearly they have their identity in Christ Jesus, and perhaps Paul even means to remind them that they are “in Christ” and no longer “of the world” (see 1:27–30). As Paul was (literally) “called apostle,” i.e., called to be one sent by God, so the Corinthians are (literally) “called holy ones,” i.e., called to be holy. The word translated holy in the NIV is sometimes rendered “saints” in other translations, but today that term has taken ...

173. Praise to God for a Living Hope

1 Peter 1:1-12

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... spiritualized in 1 Pet. 2:4–8. On the significance of the name-change Simon/Cephas/Peter, see Cullmann, Peter, pp. 17–21. An apostle of Jesus Christ: the office authorized apostles to express God’s own words, whether oral or written (Acts 5:3–4; Rom. 2:16; 1 Cor. 1:17; 2:13; ... great OT prophets could see only tantalizing hints of the extent of God’s program for his people, but the apostles—and now also Peter’s Christian readers—are privileged to be living at the time when they can see how it ...

174. The Value of Doubt

John 20:19-31

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... , believing little or nothing. Our credo then is reduced to nothing more than a list of what we do not believe. This principle is expressed in the gospel reading for today. A week after the first Easter, the risen Christ returned to the room where the apostles were staying. Jesus stretched out his hands to Thomas and said, in essence, “You said you would not believe until you had an opportunity to see and to touch. You now can see me. Step forward and touch me.” Thomas was moved to faith and said ...

175. The Awesome Power of FUD

John 21:1-19

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... first nineteen verses of the final chapter of the book of John. I submit that this story both portrays the power of FUD and offers some guidance on how to deal with it. The setting was after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus and seven of the apostles were fishing on the Sea of Galilee. Think about that for a moment. That was the job they had before they met Jesus. They had already encountered the risen Christ. Jesus had already charged them saying, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” The ...

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