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 2815 results
Sermon
Robert G. Tuttle
... found that solution. They take shelter in an evil environment where no shadow is cast. But this plunge into total darkness develops into total destruction. There is no saving guilt reaction because we are totally possessed by evil. Someone has given us a parable. A Jewish family in Nazi Germany knew that soon they would be sent to a concentration camp. They wanted desperately to save their retarded son from this destruction. Therefore, they worked out a bargain with a young German soldier who lived on their ...
Sermon
Alton F. Wedel
... mistakes and need desperately to be forgiven. Christ does not chain us to our errors. He unwraps the chains and sets us free and brings us back across the path of penitence to our forgiving Father, and to grace! It is no accident that in his parables and in his images our Lord used marriage as an illustration of his intimate relationship with us - Christ the bridegroom and his church the bride, and the marriage feast a symbol for the joy of everlasting life. He has given us the treasured gift of marriage ...
1778. What?
John 6:56-69
Bulletin Aid
Dallas A. Brauninger
... of Confession Some teachings just do not make any sense, God. We think we comprehend you, then realize we are trying to take your words literally and that is not what you meant at all. We become discouraged and move closer to disbelief. Your symbols and parables and metaphors are at once confusing yet clear as they point us toward truth. Move us toward better understanding so we will respond from spirit as well as from the head to your Holy Spirit. Amen. Hymns "Abide With Me" "God Of Wisdom, God Of Grace ...
Sermon
T. A. Kantonen
... are to be his followers, we too must "climb the steep ascent of heaven through peril, toil and pain." We must count the cost and be willing to pay the price of true discipleship. The portion of scripture before us is a direct continuation of the parable in which our Lord compares the kingdom of God to a great banquet to which people are invited but they invent various excuses for spurning the invitation. Here he goes on to show what is expected of those who accept the invitation. Although the banquet itself ...
Sermon
T. A. Kantonen
... To be a father is to have a heart, a heart that understands and pardons with constant patience the frailties and mistakes of the child. No one has understood so thoroughly and portrayed so beautifully the forgiving love of a father as our Lord in his parable of the prodigal son. The father loves back into decency the wayward son who has wasted his substance in riotous living. While human fatherhood is here a clue to the nature of God, our Lord presents such a glorious revelation of the heart of the Heavenly ...
1781. True Freedom
John 8:31-41
Sermon
T. A. Kantonen
... is fellowship with God. That is why, just as a bird is free only in the air and a fish is free only in the water, man is free only in God. For "in him we live and move and have our being." Rabindranath Tagore, Nobel Prize poet, uses this parable: "I have on my table a violin string. It is free to move in any direction I like. If I twist one end, it responds, it is free. But it is not free to sing. So I take it and fix it into my violin. I bind it, and when ...
Sermon
Gregory J. Johanson
... has withered. Our left hand that used to know how to live simply on the frontier, that used to value the accomplishment of the little guy and used to fiercely defend his Bill of Rights, has atrophied. We, who until now, were "Uncle Simon," in terms of the parable, find ourselves to be more like the woman - driven by our need to find a more lasting kind of acceptance in this world. Yet, if we trust the story, it may be good news that we are no longer Simon and now identify ourselves with the sinful woman ...
1783. Smart, Wise, and Foolish
1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5
Sermon
Gregory J. Johanson
... communication, even as I was. He said: "I guess you’ll have to draw me a picture." He reminded me to speak in common images and analogies from life, rather than in my accustomed jargon. I should have known that. That is precisely why Jesus spoke to the people in parables! It is a wise teacher who can learn from each student; a wise supervisor who can learn from the remarks of a new employee; and a wise adult who will be open to learn from a child. Think of your own life context. Are you able to be open ...
Sermon
Gregory J. Johanson
... required course. Such failures scare us deeply, and we do not recover from them quickly. Yet what is lost in failing to reach one goal may be redeemable, if in failing, we learn something which will help us live life more realistically. Jesus spoke reassuring words in his parable of the sower: "A sower went forth to sow. And as he went, some seed fell on the path, and some on thorny ground, and some on rocky ground, and some on good soil. Some was lost, but some brought forth grain - 30, 60, and 100 fold ...
Sermon
Gregory J. Johanson
... wrong direction. Finally, I realized I was lost, and I stopped my car, got out, looked up and found the north star. I realized how much I was lost, turned around, went in the opposite direction from my highway and got home. I think there is a parable in that experience. And it is that for the family in our day, the street lights are all shot out. People don’t know where to turn. We turn to marriage counselors, all kinds of literature, newspapers, hopefully finding something that will help. And we realize ...
Sermon
John R. Brokhoff
... , why is there so much dark hatred in the world? Could it be that we Christians are failing to be lights to the world? Is it possible that we have allowed the light to go out in our lamps? Are we like the foolish virgins in the parable? There was once a train and school bus collision. Seven children were killed. Later there was an investigation held. The signal man at the crossing was severely cross-examined. He insisted that he was swinging his lantern vigorously. The next day a friend complimented him for ...
Sermon
John W. Wurster
... him to marry a prostitute named Gomer. She is corrupted and immoral, soaked in sin (cf. 2:1-5). But this is the woman that God would have Hosea marry, this faithless women, this adulterer. Their relationship is presented as a sort of parable of the relationship between a loyal God and God’s disloyal people The children that result from this marriage are given symbolic names. The first child is named Jezreel. The name points back to former times, to battlefields of the past, to political shenanigans ...
Sermon
Robert Leslie Holmes
... overheard a group of Christians speaking about the Lord. They spoke of how he formed the universe and how he fulfilled the words of the prophets by coming to earth as a Bethlehem baby. She heard them describe his wonderful message and marvelous example of miracles and parables. She was caught in rapt attention as they told about his crucifixion on the cross that took away our sins. God’s Spirit moved in her heart and in amazement she exclaimed, “This is the man I want to give my heart. This is the man ...
Sermon
Harry N. Huxhold
... how the imperfections and flaws dominate their relationship more than any strengths or beauty they might offer to one another. The story begs for the kind of cleansing experienced by the sacramental action of the holy God revealed to him. Updike’s story is a good parable on how generation after generation can miss the offer God makes in God’s presence. The Call There was no mistaking the presence of God at this moment. Isaiah was fully aware of the fact that God had taken away any excuse he could make ...
1790. Exchanging Our Eschatological Heritage
Luke 21:5-38
Illustration
William G. Carter
... death and resurrection of Jesus, that the same Christ is coming to judge the world and give birth to a new creation. And so, people lose hope. As Hamilton puts it: This substitution of an image of nuclear holocaust for the coming of Christ is a parable of what happens to Christians when they cease to believe in their own eschatological heritage. The culture supplies its own images for the end when we default by ceasing to believe in biblical images of God's triumph at the end. The good news of the gospel ...
Sermon
James W. Moore
... in his lap, steadied her head against his shoulder, and held her tightly in his arms. The surgeon then quickly did his work… and sewed up the cut in her eye-lid… and the little girl did not flinch. She just held on tight to her Father. That’s a parable for us in our spiritual lives and a graphic reminder that whatever we have to face, we can hold on tight to our Father… and He will see us through. There’s a word for that… it’s called TRUST or FAITH. It’s surely what Jesus had in mind ...
Sermon
James W. Moore
... help Bartimaeus, a poor blind beggar whom no one else seems to care about, and in so doing, he underscores for us the beauty of all-inclusive love… the beauty of seeing every one we meet as a person of integrity and worth. Recently I ran across a powerful anonymous parable which I think expresses well what I am trying to say. It reads like this: “A disciple asked the Holy Man, ‘How can I know when the dawn has broken; when the darkness has fled? It must be the moment when I can tell a sheep from a dog ...
Sermon
Brett Blair
... The image of Caesar was a violation of the second commandment. But the Temple authorities were using the Commandment as means to cheat the people and making the Temple a place of profit rather than a place of prayer. 3. On Tuesday Jesus taught in parables, warned the people against the Pharisees, and predicted the destruction of the Temple. 4. On Wednesday, the fourth day, we know nothing. The Gospel writers are silent. Perhaps it was a day of rest for him and his weary and worried disciples. 5. On Thursday ...
1794. The Irresistible Influence Of The Holy Spirit
Acts 2:1-41
Illustration
James W. Moore
The Holy Spirit warms us and melts our cold, cold hearts. The following parable makes the point: Once upon a time there was a piece of iron, which was very strong and very hard. Many attempts had been made to break it, but all had failed. “I’ll master it,” said the axe… and his blows fell heavily upon the piece of iron, but ...
Sermon
Brett Blair
... . And if it is true that God owes us nothing, then we understand why self-righteousness is such a loathsome attitude for religious people. Self righteousness assumes we are due God’s blessings and grace because of our good behavior. Let’s take a look at this short parable that teaches us to avoid this attitude. Jesus asks you to imagine you are the owner of a farm with slaves. When the slave’s work is done for the day and he comes in from the field, are you going to wait on him? Help him recline ...
Sermon
David E. Leininger
... atrocities of war in Bosnia, the continuing trial to convict the murderer of Michael Jordan's father, the wrongful death suit against O. J. Simpson, children shooting other children in street-corner drug battles. The ageless bell tolls. One recalls the words of Jesus in the parable about the rich man who thought he had it made (Luke 12:16-21). He had done so well that he could tear down his barns, build some bigger ones, and think about early retirement, a life of ease. But then Jesus' words bring him up ...
Sermon
David E. Leininger
... which the waters began to subside. All told, it would be over a year before Noah and his fellow travelers would be able to get out of the ark. And yes, it must have been pretty ripe in there. Some wag has even suggested that the ark is a parable for the church: if it were not for the storm without, you could never stand the smell within! Perhaps so. Finally, this floating menagerie is able to disembark, and, filled with the hope of a new beginning, the first thing they do is worship the God who delivered ...
Sermon
David E. Leininger
... "land flowing with milk and honey." Then, in spite of all the benefits, they caught Gomer's disease...the roving eye. They began chasing after other gods. Sad. The story could have ended there...both for Gomer and for Israel. But in one of the most grace-filled parables in all of scripture we learn that, one day, Hosea got word of Gomer's predicament...that she had gotten herself involved with some low-life who cared so little for her that he was putting her up for sale on the open market. The prophet knew ...
Sermon
David E. Leininger
... money. Haggai would have said "AMEN!" And of course, he would not be alone in that. You know very well that Jesus would join in. Fully one-sixth of all the verses in the Gospels attributed to the lips of Jesus and one-third of all his parables concern the right management of possessions. Jesus knew that we could easily come to love that which we have accumulated even more than God. The rich young ruler came to Jesus, anxious to know the way to eternal life, but his possessions possessed him even more than ...
1800. The "T" Word
Malachi 3:6-18
Sermon
David E. Leininger
... a "touch," the man replied brusquely, "No." Giving him a long look, the inebriated one leaned forward and intoned loftily, "I should try to get some if I were you. You would find it very useful." Indeed. Jesus preached about money...a lot. Fully one-third of his parables deal with the proper handling of money and possessions. A problem in his day, a problem in our own. Our lesson says, "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house [or that the work can be done and the bills ...
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