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 344 results

151. Jesus Is the Recipe for Eternal Life

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... the things of God and God's people and less on our own needs and desires. In John's Gospel, Jesus says, "Unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat, but if it dies it produces much fruit." In the synoptics the Lord presents the same message in varied ways. Jesus told his disciples, "Whoever wants to be first must be the last of all and servant of all" (Mark 9:35). In another context, Jesus put it this way, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny ...

152. God’s Wisdom or the World?

James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... traditionally known as Dives, and the beggar Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) we recall how Dives seemed unconcerned about the beggar until it was too late. He made his choice and so, too, will his family have the opportunity to choose, God or the world. All the synoptic evangelists (Matthew 19:16-30; Mark 10:17-31; Luke 18:18-30) report the story of Jesus' encounter with the rich young man who was challenged to divest himself of his wealth. Again, in essence it is a choice between God and the world. Jesus provides ...

153. Accepting the Lord Once Again

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... messianic figure was executed as a common criminal. Such a fate was cursed. The book of Deuteronomy (21:23) reads, "Anyone hung on a tree is under God's curse." The author of John's Gospel, most probably writing one generation after the synoptics, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, had greater perspective on the events of Jesus' life. Thus, he opens his gospel with some very profound and important Christian theology about Jesus. The prologue of John's Gospel has possibly received more commentary than any one other ...

154. Mark 1:4-11

Mark 1:4-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... new experience of grace. Verse 8 reflects Jesus' words recorded in Acts 1:5 and 11:16. Matthew and Luke use the common "Q" source for the same phrase and record Jesus' promise to baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. All the synoptic accounts exclaim the difference of essence and presence that Jesus' experience of baptism embodies. Today's epistle reading, Acts 19:1-7, demonstrates this difference made manifest in the life of the church after Jesus' death and resurrection. Having set the stage with a ...

155. Luke 6:17-26

Luke 6:17-26

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... a part of his ministry. What a powerful beginning for them all! Returning from the mountain top (Luke's traditional choice for retreats of prayer and meditation), Jesus and his disciples now come down to "a level place." While all three of the synoptic gospels record their own versions of the following events, they all locate the participants in very different geographical areas - the mountains for Matthew, the sea for Mark, and the plain (the "level place") for Luke Luke's choice of location seems to be ...

156. Luke 4:1-13

Luke 4:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

All three of the synoptic gospels agree that Jesus experienced a period of temptation; all three give us similar versions of the incident. In addition, Hebrews 4:15 also testifies to Jesus' temptation episode. The author of Hebrews used the temptation narrative to show that Jesus, like us, faced threats to his own fragile humanity. ...

157. Luke 10:25-37

Luke 10:25-37

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... 40) and Mark (12:28-34) each record their own versions of this dialogue, but neither add the capstone of the Good Samaritan to conclude this exchange. Luke's lawyer is also a much more active part of this discussion than in the other two synoptic Gospels. Here, in good rabbinic style, Jesus turns the lawyer's question back on him. The lawyer correctly responds with the same answers Jesus himself gives in Matthew and Mark, citing the great commandment from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. Before the tale ...

158. Matthew 14:13-21

Matthew 14:13-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

This week's gospel reading offers the one miracle story that all four gospel writers saw fit to include in their works the feeding of the 5,000. In the synoptics, this miracle story follows on the heels of the news of John the Baptist's death with both Matthew and Mark giving a full account of the treacherous events that led up to his execution. John the Baptist's death obviously disturbed Jesus deeply. John was both Jesus' kinsman and ...

159. Matthew 15:(10-20) 21-28

Matthew 15:(10-20) 21-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... cleanliness begins in 15:1 with a direct dialogue with the Pharisees and scribes who are "from Jerusalem." By specifically identifying these authorities as "from" Jerusalem, he heightens the sense of confrontation and danger that lurks under this text. The synoptic Jesus only heads toward Jerusalem once for his final, tragic encounter with the religious leadership his crucifixion and death. In verse 10, Jesus completes his private dialogue and now calls out to the crowd, inviting public discourse on the ...

160. Matthew 16:21-28

Matthew 16:21-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

One mark of the Synoptic Gospels is how they carefully divide Jesus' ministry into two definite stages. Matthew and Luke follow Mark's lead by having Jesus remain in the region of Galilee, preaching, teaching and healing for the first half of their gospels. Only after Jesus makes his explicit passion prediction does his one ...

161. Mark 1:1-8

Mark 1:1-8

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... a repentance of sin and a new beginning. Mark's editorial penchant again surfaces as he describes the wilderness message John the Baptist preaches. In verses 7-8, John's declaration has none of the combative, judgmental flavor that colors the other two synoptic gospels. Although Mark clearly also had access to the "Q"-source texts that described John's tirade against the "brood of vipers" in Mark's hands, John the Baptist's work is only to offer "a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins ...

162. Luke 4:14-21

Luke 4:14-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

This week's gospel text demonstrates well how each of the three synoptic gospel authors could use the same material, remain true to the sense and power of the story and yet sculpt it to their own purposes. Here, whereas Luke has the same basic story of Jesus' experience in Nazareth, he uses it quite differently from either Matthew or Mark. Luke 4: ...

163. Luke 9:28-36 (37-43)

Luke 9:28-36 (37-43)

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

In this week's gospel text, we read about one of the most remarkable and least remarked upon events in Jesus' life _ the Transfiguration. It is an experience that all three of the synoptics record with a great deal of consistency. Each of these gospel writers places the Transfiguration directly after Jesus makes his first passion prediction _ before he and the disciples begin winding their way to Jerusalem and the events that await them there. Yet for all its drama and power, this ...

164. Luke 13:1-9

Luke 13:1-9

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

The incidents recorded and read in Luke's gospel this week are unique to that gospel. They appear neither in the other synoptic gospels nor in John. Despite the fact that both Jesus and Luke assume they are making reference to well-known tragedies in verses 1 and 4, those incidents are also not well represented in ancient historical texts. Luke has just closed a section (12:57-59) that speaks of the ...

165. John 14:23-29

John 14:23-29

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , John 13:31-14:31 is considered by a majority of scholars to make up the first unit of Jesus' farewell discourse. This lengthy discourse continuing through 16:33 or even 17:26 offers a unique body of material that has no parallel in the synoptic gospels. While last week's exegesis examined the opening statements of this crucial dialogue, this week's text focuses on what most scholars identify as the third and closing section of the first unit of discourse. If John 13:31-38 opens with Jesus blatantly ...

166. Luke 12:13-21

Luke 12:13-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... fixation of a man seeking a judgment. There is certain linguistic and historical evidence to suggest that this man from "the crowd" may represent more than just an individual seeking an equitable settlement. The crowd (ochlou) is often referred to throughout the synoptics as though it had a kind of organized energy and agenda. The opinion of "the crowd" matters both to Jesus and to the religious and political authorities who seem intimidated by it. There is some scholarly musing that "the crowd" represents ...

167. Luke 10:25-37

Luke 10:25-37

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

168. Mark 9:2-9

Mark 9:2-9

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

The "Transfiguration" event is recorded in the other two synoptic gospels (Luke 9:28-36 and Matthew 17:1-8) as well as in the epistle 2 Peter 1:16-18. But both the brevity and focus of Mark's gospel make the miracle of "Transfiguration" a crucial step in the text's revelation of Jesus' identity and mission. Mark' ...

169. John 12:20-33

John 12:20-33

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

John gives us a scene that has no parallel in any of the synoptic gospels. Following on the heels of the Pharisees' disgruntled observation, "Look, the world has gone after him" (v.19), John notes the arrival of "some Greeks" who voice their desire to "see Jesus" (vv.20-21). The fact that these "Greeks" have apparently gone up to worship at the temple ...

170. John 3:1-17

John 3:1-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... from this point on suggests a certain curtness on Jesus' part. He responds to Nicodemus' greeting by immediately cutting to the heart of the issue that concerns Nicodemus the coming kingdom of God. Although the "kingdom of God" is a well-used synoptic term, in John's gospel that descriptive phrase is used only twice, both occurring in the course of this exchange with Nicodemus. Clearly, then, the coming kingdom is a crucial centerpiece to this dialogue the focal point of Nicodemus' questions and concerns ...

171. Luke 8:26-39

Luke 8:26-39

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... spiritual and psychological power as it touches on such issues as the Gentile mission, Jesus' messianic identity, discipleship, and even homiletics itself. We begin our brief study aware that absolutely everyone agrees that this story (which is found in all synoptic gospels) is an authentic Jesus story. Healer/Messiah/"Son of the Most High," Jesus is revealed hanging out with the wrong type (a demoniac), in the wrong place (the Gentile lands "opposite Galilee"), at the wrong time (before any Gentile ...

172. John 1:29-42

John 1:29-42

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... title to Jesus' expanding resume: He is Logos, Lamb, Son, Chosen One, Rabbi, and now Messiah - or anointed one, the Christ. Perhaps Andrew's brief time with Jesus had already convinced him that "rabbi" was not a sufficient title. Whatever the case, the confession the synoptic Gospels place on the lips of Simon Peter comes from the mouth of his brother Andrew here in John's Gospel. Since Jesus is introduced to Simon Peter as "the Messiah," John also moves the event of that disciple's symbolic name change to ...

173. John 3:1-17

John 3:1-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Jesus opens to this Pharisee the possibility of a radically redrawn relationship with the divine that is imminent and immanent. Jesus combines two distinct terms here, one familiar and one quite new. The phrase "the kingdom of God," while used frequently in the synoptic Gospels, occurs only here in John's text. As an enigmatic eschatological symbol, the kingdom of God denotes both a time and a place where God will reign. Coupled with Jesus' unfamiliar dictum that one must be born another, the coming kingdom ...

174. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... allow Christians to stand "blameless" when Christ returns. Relating the Texts Having looked at Mark's prologue and introduction of John the Baptist last week, the lectionary now offers us the chance to compare John's portrait of this prophet to the synoptics' version. John the Baptist was an inspiring enough figure for John the gospel writer to let him break into the glorious rhythm of the fourth gospel's magnificent prologue. Verses 6-9 work John the Baptist into the "light" motif, clearly distinguishing ...

175. Luke 1:26-38

Luke 1:26-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Showing results