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 1776 to 1800 of 3314 results

1776. A. D. IDIOTS

Illustration

G. William Genszler

... for "After Death." They don’t know that A.D. indicates the Lain "Anno Domimi" which means "In the year of our Lord." Even some people who understand the Latin miss the Living Power of Christ and act and live as if He was AD. "Already Dead." According to the Apostle Paul, these people are foolish idiots who salute and pay lip service to a beautiful tradition but deny the force of its power in their daily living. To such people ... Christ came ... and nothing more.

1777. Good News For Good Parents

2 Timothy 1:1-2:13

Sermon

... that there can be no higher tribute given to a mother than to say of her: she was the one who brought me to church and influenced me more than any other person in my commitment to Jesus Christ. In Paul’s letter to 1st Timothy, the apostle addresses the young disciple. He writes: Timothy, I give you thanks for your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Eunice, and then your mother Lois, and now, I am confident, dwells within you.” What if Eunice had hot taken the time or concern ...

1778. Episode III: Birth of the Church

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Brett Blair

... God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." Luke, the writer of the book of Acts, tells us how the people responded to Peter’s message. "When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brother’s what shall we do?" Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." They did repent and Luke tells us that 3000 ...

1779. The Trinity

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Brett Blair

... . In my thinking there is no difference in good theology and good practice. Good, solid theology gets down to the very core of our existence. Finally, I would disagree with him when he says that we should only preach Christ crucified. I know that is what the Apostle Paul said but this preacher doesn’t mean what Paul meant. He is saying that he only preaches about the cross and saving the sinner. I submit to you that the cross is not central in Paul's theology; rather, it is Christ. It has always puzzled ...

1780. God Makes The First Move

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... for a private conference one night. Prevenient grace caused a sawed-off tax-collector named Zaccheus to climb a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus. Prevenient grace prepared a man named Saul of Tarsus to encounter Jesus on the road to Damascus; and there he became Paul the Apostle. I have had so many young adults come to me over the years relating a similar story that I refer to it as the young-adult syndrome. Here is the typical way it sounds: "I grew up around the church, but as I got older, I got away ...

1781. God of Wrath and Grace

Genesis 6:1-8:22

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... calls “the blazing holiness of God.” The Hebrew word for anger occurs 455 times in the Old Testament. On 375 of those occasions it refers to God’s anger. Remember, at times Jesus blazed with anger at the scribes and Pharisees. The Apostle Paul declared, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men…” I have a fear that one day God may confront us preachers and declare, “You unfaithful servants, you changed my love into a sentiments, maudlin ...

1782. Building According To Code

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

Brett Blair

... good or shoddy material. We are building according to code or we are cutting corners. Jesus warned us to build our houses wisely, because the keys are going to be handed to us and we are going to have to live with what we have created. The apostle Paul admonished the Christians in Corinth: Let every man heed how he builds. The poet R. L. Sharp worded it this way: Isn’t it strange that princes and Kings and clowns that caper in sawdust rings; and common people like you and me, are builders for eternity ...

1783. The Best Way to Help Someone

Colossians 4:7-18

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... . His rescuer said, "Man, you're mighty lucky that I saw you, 'cause this train doesn't stop in Rosedale on Fridays." Sometimes, even with the best of intentions, we are not as helpful as we would like to be. In our scripture lesson for today, the Apostle Paul gives us the best strategy for helping another person. He uses his friend and associate evangelist, Apaphras, as a model. Let me set the scene for you. St. Paul is in a Roman prison, sometime between 59 and 63 A.D. He is writing to the Christians ...

1784. Putting Lent into Focus

Joel 2:12-17

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... of judgment occurs and God says, "No further!" In the human struggle there comes a time when the "exceeding sinfulness of sin" brings its harvest upon us and people yearn for a way out. That way is God’s way and through his prophets and apostles, his "errand runners," comes his call: Repent! Here again, however, such a word needs clarification. Yes, it involves being sorry for our sins, but this is apt to become merely a negative, closed-end experience. Truly, it must begin as Joel suggests, "Rend your ...

1785. Reviving Our Moral Responsibility

2 Chronicles 36:15-23

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... destruction. Christians believe in love, but everywhere throughout the world we see the fingerprints of the agents of hate. Christians affirm the power of right, but others claim that might is the only resource with any viable clout. Christians are apostles of goodness and kindness, yet their witness is overshadowed by reports of child abuse, domestic violence, homelessness, political intrigue and deception even in high places. It would seem at times that to preach love as a redeeming power is to prattle ...

1786. The Outcome of Easter Faith

Isaiah 25:1-12

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... . To grant the fact that Christ is risen, we said, is a comparatively easy thing, but Christ realized is far more difficult because the quality and integrity of our surrender to him are involved. In the New Testament the central message of the preaching of the apostles was "this Jesus whom God raised up whereof we are witnesses" (Acts 2:32 RSV). And the amazing success of their preaching came from an experience of the Risen Christ in their souls. Each had come face-to-face with him. In spite of threats of ...

1787. Passing the Easter Miracle On

Acts 3:11-26

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... hold a sanctuary in their hearts, and in the generations hence.... It is a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done; it is afar, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known. 1. The Layman’s Bible Commentary, "The Acts of the Apostles" (Richmond, VA: John Knox, 1967), p. 44.

1788. An Easter Dividend: The Courage To Be and To Do

Acts 4:1-22

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... courage so characteristic of the early church. A lame man at the Gate Beautiful of the Temple had been healed by Peter and there was awe and wonder among those who witnessed the miracle. The priests and Sadducees got wind of this and had the apostles thrown promptly into jail. The next morning they were hustled before Annas and Caiaphas (the same men who had part in Jesus’ trials) and were asked by what power and in whose name they had created this unseemly sensation at the Temple. Peter immediately ...

1789. Easter Journeys Out and In

Acts 8:26-40

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... story excites the Christian mind to the degree that the miracle of the Resurrection does in its spread into the lands surrounding Jerusalem. Here, in these early chapters of the Book of Acts, is a recital of the activities and exploits of the early Apostles - Peter, John and Philip - as they went from town to town declaring the message of a Risen Lord and ministering to the sick, the crippled and those suffering from mental or spiritual miseries. Few of these anecdotes are more interesting than Philip’s ...

1790. The Gospel on Trial

Acts 21:1-16

Illustration

Larry Powell

... of Paul’s. The gospel was on trial then; it is on trial today. Has there been a time when it has not been on trial? Both the Gospel and Paul were on trial in Jerusalem. But then again, as we have seen in Paul’s letters, the apostle had actually been on trial in Macedonia, Thessalonica, Beroea, Athens, Corinth, and Ephesus. Oh, he was not dragged into court in those places, but he was on trial all right. And now he had come to Jerusalem, bearing an offering collected from the Gentile churches. He had ...

1791. Song of a Churchgoer

Psalm 92:1-15

Sermon

Gordon Pratt Baker

... , it runs them laterally beneath the soil. As a consequence, for all its apparent sturdiness, it topples in a heavy wind. So, too, the author warns, righteousness can never be taken for granted. Long after the psalmist’s lips can no longer sing his love song to the church, the Apostle Peter sums it all up by urging the saints in his fellowship to exert every effort to continue growing in grace and the knowledge of God (2 Peter 3:18).

1792. The Reality Of Sin

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

Robert Allen

... . Whether we read the Bible or not, sin is the most realistic fact in our world. Sin is real, and every day, we are confronted with its tragic consequences in our midst. II. There is sin in our lives. All of us certainly know what it is to sin. The Apostle Paul said, "I don’t do the good that I want to do; instead, I do the evil that I do not want to do ..." (Romans 7:19). This is not merely one man’s confession, but it is the confession within each of our hearts. There is something of ...

1793. I Believe In Heaven

John 14:1-4

Sermon

Robert Allen

... future because our faith enables us to catch a glimpse of an everlasting Kingdom which lies beyond this world. Jesus said: In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you ... The Apostle Paul spoke of the fantastic hope that each of us has beyond this world when he said: The eye has not seen, nor the ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him ... Jesus affirmed this hope ...

1794. The Gospel In Miniature

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Robert Allen

... when we are dead and buried and pushing up daisies. But eternal life is something we have right now and it continues through the experience we call death. We are on the road to eternal life if we dare to walk with God today. I love that phrase by the Apostle Paul in Romans 14:8 where he says, "Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s." That is a beautiful passage which affirms God’s promise to us. Not too long, one of the funeral homes phoned to tell me that a woman died who was ...

1795. Religion In A Nutshell

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Robert Allen

... can you explain the beliefs and the doctrines of our faith concisely? Other than just making a long series of statements, how can anyone possibly deal with the complex and essential doctrines of religion in brief? I could recite one of the creeds, like The Apostles’ Creed, and say this is what we believe. As a matter of fact, the early creeds came into existence because people were trying to give a short statement of what was important in religion. However, I thought the creeds might be a little too much ...

1796. I Love A Parade

Matthew 21:1-11, John 12:12-19

Sermon

Robert Allen

... . Call an unhealthy, troublemaking, absent-minded ex-jailbird as their pastor? That was the most ridiculous thing they had ever heard of and they asked, "Who is the applicant? What is his name?" The man reading the letter simply smiled and said, "It’s signed Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ." One of the things that has happened to the church in our day is that Christians have lost their boldness. So often our relationship to God is a casual thing, yet he calls us to be boldly committed to him. He calls us ...

1797. The Easter Event - After The Resurrection

Matthew 28:1-10

Sermon

Robert Allen

... conquerors of the grave as well. The joyful hope of conquering death brought the disciples out of hiding and sent them into the world proclaiming the good news of the Easter event. They were changed people because they knew that God had not deserted them. The Apostle Paul proclaimed this joyful hope when he wrote to the Roman church: I am convinced that nothing can separate us from the love of God - nothing in death or life, nothing in all of creation will be able to separate us from Christ Jesus our Lord ...

1798. Five Minutes After Death

Revelation 21:1-27

Sermon

Robert Allen

... an allusion; it is still only a picture; it is still only an imagery; and it leaves so much to the imagination. Perhaps this is exactly what God intended. Perhaps it is enough for us to believe in a Savior who has gone to prepare a place for us. The Apostle Paul, attempting to sum up his thoughts of what will happen to us in the world to come, said: ... The eye has not seen, nor the ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him ... (1 ...

1799. The Flight From Light

Isaiah 60:1-22, Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Erskine White

... to a reluctant embrace of darkness and a headlong flight from light. The ancient Greek writer, Euripides, understood this human tragedy when he wrote, "People somehow fend off righteousness" (Hippolytus 93). What a phrase that is! Righteousness seeks us out and we actually fend it off! The Apostle Paul knew this well: "I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate" (Romans 7:15). Who among us would deny that Paul is speaking for all of us and not just for ...

1800. Send Me!

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

Frederick C. Edwards

... of God in one’s life. Moses was called from being a shepherd in a foreign land to lead his people to freedom. Zacchaeus, upon meeting Jesus, changed from being a cheat and became an honest man. Saul, the persecutor of Christians, became Paul the Apostle of Jesus. And the young Isaiah was changed from the comfortable aristocrat to become the fiery prophet of God. Certainly many of the disciples had radical changes wrought in their lives upon meeting Jesus. Levi, who had become wealthy as a tax collector ...

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