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 1851 to 1875 of 4967 results

1851. Lamplight vs. Starlight

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... that only dazzle and inspire. Jesus calls us to be lights for the world, not exploding supernovas. Alas, there seem to be a lot more Christians who want to be stars than are willing to be lamps. Jesus encountered the "star syndrome" among his own disciples. In Matthew 20:20ff, the sons of Zebedee and their equally ambitious mother petition Jesus, begging him to "save them seats" in heaven. James and John don't want just any old place - they specifically ask Jesus for the "star" seats, those immediately at ...

1852. Stand Against or Walk Alongside?

Philippians 2:5-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... career as an itinerant, wandering from place to place, refusing to set up a permanent place of residence, a "Jesus school." To be a student in the Jesus seminary meant a walk-talk pilgrimage. Jesus went out to the lakefront to talk Simon Peter and Andrew into becoming disciples. He sat kicking his feet in the dust at the edge of a well to meet the Samaritan woman. He made a healing house call to cure Simeon's mother-in-law. He walked right in to Levi's tax booth to invite him to "follow me." He interrupted ...

1853. An Action-Packed Faith

John 13:31-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . Few of us carefully budget some extra money for a long phone call and a bunch of flowers for Mom we just do it. The consequences (the bills) will come later. Today, we just want to show how much we care by doing something. Jesus' new commandment to his disciples was precisely this: Show your love. Love one another. By your love, they will know more about you than by anything else you could do. Love each other as I have loved you. Jesus didn't love us by simply feeling loving toward us. Jesus lived a life ...

1854. Mark 8:27-38

Mark 8:27-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... . Jesus begins these lessons by initiating a discussion about his identity leading to Peter's classic confession that Jesus is "the Christ." But Jesus has much more to reveal to his disciples before they are really able to confess his messianic identity and comprehend what that actually entails. So Jesus silences the disciples, curtails any pride they may feel in guessing his identity, and begins to fill in the blanks in their understanding. The messiah Jesus depicts in verse 31 is very different from ...

1855. Mark 10:46-52

Mark 10:46-52

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... - as a part of the concluding sentence to the whole pericope. Even then no mention is made concerning just what Jesus did to give Bartimaeus back his sight. At the close of the story, the focus is once again turned back on Bartimaeus, now the newest disciple, as he follows Jesus into the next phase of his ministry. Bartimaeus' vocabulary helps to shift our attention and prepare us for the transition Mark is making from Jesus the teacher to Jesus the crucified Christ. In verse 47 Bartimaeus calls out to him ...

1856. Matthew 5:13-20

Matthew 5:13-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... stand - where it can throw its light in the widest possible directions. It is the combined power of all these brightly burning lamps that creates the long-distance glow of a city on a hill. Verse 16 focuses further on light as the mark of a true disciple. This "light" is now defined more specifically as "your good works," which should "shine before others." The Jewish concept of good works, as noted in Matthew 5:38-48 and 25:31-46, are acts of mercy and reconciliation. Acts of mercy and reconciliation put ...

1857. Acts 2:1-21

Acts 2:1-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... . In verses 14-36, Peter delivers an eloquent and powerful response to this challenge. It is at this point that the Holy Spirit becomes available to all that is, all who will hear the gospel preached and respond. The Holy Spirit enters the disciples as tongues of flame. But it does not enter the world until Peter opens his mouth. The first section of Peter's speech corresponds to the conclusion of today's lesson. The entirety of Peter's speech follows a common biblical pattern. Beginning with examples ...

1858. Mark 8:27-38

Mark 8:27-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

1859. Mark 10:46-52

Mark 10:46-52

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

1860. John 20:1-18

John 20:1-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to the central figure of this unfolding drama: Mary. After leaving the women with whom she had first come to the tomb (see Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:1-3, Luke 24:1-3) to summon Peter and John, she had returned to the tomb after the women and two disciples had been there and gone. Alone, she remains outside the tomb weeping. On her return, she has not met the other women with whom she first went to the tomb. It is clear she has not heard their report that Jesus is alive. The synoptists mention one angel; John ...

1861. Luke 17:11-19

Luke 17:11-19

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... laudable character of this one leper does he drop the other shoe: "And he was a Samaritan." Jesus' own words continue to heighten the outsider nature of this one who returned. Instead of directly addressing the prostrate form before him, Jesus first wonders aloud to his audience (the disciples) about the absence of the other nine and the presence of only one. Only then is this one an "outcast" by the norms of Jewish society identified by Jesus as "a foreigner" and held up as a positive example before the ...

1862. Acts 19:1-7

Acts 19:1-7

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... a personal experience of the Holy Spirit's presence in their lives. When Paul re-baptizes these believers, then, he invokes the name of Jesus. But theologically, the focus here is still not the primacy of Jesus' baptism over John's. Jesus specifically ordered his disciples to ask God for the gift of the Spirit (Luke 11:13). Furthermore, he gave them a formula, invoking his name, in order to make this request (John 14:12-14). Thus the Ephesian believers are baptized "in Jesus' name" in order that they may ...

1863. Mark 10:46-52

Mark 10:46-52

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... raise a ruckus. Jesus is identified to the reader, and supposedly to the blind Bartimaeus, as "Jesus of Nazareth." But when the excited Bartimaeus begins calling for him it is for "Jesus, Son of David" (v.47). The name change is significant. To the disciples and other hangers-on in the crowd following Jesus out of Jericho, Jesus was indeed "of Nazareth." As "Jesus of Nazareth" he was an identifiable man from a specific place, who had established himself with a reputation as a preacher and healer and teacher ...

1864. Ordinary and Humble Princes

John 1:43-51

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

... , compassion, and sacrifice, it makes sense to begin with a bunch of fellows who couldn't get much more humble if they tried! The messengers fit the message. In fact, over the course of his ministry if Jesus had any significant struggles with his disciples, it was the struggle to keep them humble and ordinary-looking. Every time a couple of them started angling for power or arguing amongst themselves as to who was the greatest, Jesus slapped them back down to the street level of service. When Peter ...

1865. An Unnerving Experience

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... said that the decision to climb was David’s, and she holds no hard feelings toward any of the forty or so people who passed him by. Be careful if you take up mountain climbing. It obviously has great risks as well as great rewards. Jesus once asked his closest disciples Peter, James and John to join him on a hike up a mountain. We have no evidence that it was a harrowing climb it was no Everest but what happened on the top of that mountain was still unnerving. It had been a very busy week for Jesus and ...

1866. Lent 2

Mark 8:31--9:1, Romans 4:1-25, Genesis 17:1-27

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... belonging to God. b. What you will do for God. 1. Walk with God v. 1. 2. Be blameless v. 1. 3. Keep his covenant v. 10. Epistle: Romans 4:13-25 1. Our father of faith (4:13-25). Need: One of our deepest needs is faith. With the disciples we pray, "Help our unbelief." We sing, "O for a faith that will not shrink." Abraham is known as a man of great faith, our father in faith. A look at his faith will help us to follow in his steps of faith. Outline: What faith can be – a. Faith ...

1867. Proper 11

2 Samuel 7:1-17, Ephesians 2:11-22, Mark 6:30-44, Mark 6:45-56

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... . Christ's death has removed the hostility and cancelled the law which separated Jew from Gentile. The two are now one in the church. The practical result is that Gentiles are no longer aliens, but members of God's family. Gospel: Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 The disciples return from their preaching journey and are exhausted. People with needs throng around them so that they do not get any rest. Jesus takes them in a boat to a secluded spot that they may rest and be apart from the crowd. But the people will not let ...

1868. Proper 16

John 6:25-59, 1 Kings 8:22-61, Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... terms of a Roman soldier's equipment. Since the Christian is now equipped for battle, he goes forth emboldened and empowered by prayer. Gospel: John 6:56-59 At the close of the discourse on Jesus as Bread from heaven, many of Jesus' followers, other than the disciples, found it impossible to accept his words on his divine origin and the eating of him for eternal life. If they were offended at the idea that Jesus came down from heaven, what would they say if they saw him ascend to heaven? (v. 62) Jesus goes ...

1869. Proper 19

Proverbs 1:20-33, James 3:1-12, Mark 8:27-30, Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... in Peter by rebuking Jesus for his plan to suffer and die. This was God's plan to redeem the world. Because of this, the cross was a "must." (v. 31) It was Satan's plan to keep God from saving the world through the cross. If the top disciple could be Satan's spokesman, it indicates that all Christians are subject to serving as Satan's tools. Satan can exist, speak and work in a church. 4. Come (v. 34).How does one come to Christ? Preachers say, "Come to Christ, accept Christ." The laity asks, "How do ...

1870. Anybody NOT seeing red?

1 John 1:5--2:14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to LIVE, we are called to be thrivalists by our death-defying God. Instead of now being a time to “hunker down,” now is the time to “lighten up” and “look ahead.” In today’s epistle reading, John looks out at the new generation of Jesus disciples and spots wolves in sheep’s clothing. As he warns about the ravages of community-crunching wolves in their midst, he does not preach, “God is your armory” or “God is our bunker.” Instead he declares, “God is light!” In 1 John we have a ...

1871. Too Good Not to Be True

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

King Duncan

... we want is change. We are afraid to ponder the idea that Christ really is alive that the gospel really is true because if we accept that, we can no longer be content with half-hearted commitment to Christ’s person or his purpose. Those early disciples met the risen Chris, and they were forever changed. They enlisted in his cause. They gave everything they had in serving him. Some of you are familiar with the name Malcolm Muggeridge. Muggeridge died in the fall of 1990. He was a highly intelligent man who ...

1872. Mark 4: 26-34

Mark 4:26-29

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... for the great power that is to come. Mark’s community would have recognized the mustard plant as appropriate for Jesus’ own earthly ministry. The Messiah came as an itinerant teacher/rabbi who gathered a few ordinary people to be his disciples. Jesus’ incarnational presence was as a mustard plant not an imposing cedar, not a Messiah of towering strength or military might. Yet the divinely ordained growth of that small beginning resulted in the same kind of exponential growth and presence—inviting ...

1873. Second Sunday in Lent

Genesis 17:1-27, Psalm 22:23-31, Mark 8:31-38, Romans 4:13-25

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

... his wife. Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 Second Lesson—Paul uses the example of Abraham and Sarah as a model of trust in God’s promises of salvation. Romans 4:13-25 Gospel—Jesus rebukes the idea that his mission can be accomplished without suffering and says that all disciples have a cross to bear. Mark 8:31-38 CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. People: And also with you. Leader: Let all who see God be joyful in heart and exult in the hallowed name. People: We will live ...

1874. “Bad Form” and Bad Jesus

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... .” If you and I are not acting “after the manner of Jesus,” then we are being “bad Jesus” to this world. There is a world of difference between saying and doing, between rhetoric and reality. It is one thing to say you’re a disciple of Jesus. It’s another thing to be a disciple of Jesus. It is one thing to mouth the rhetoric. It is another thing to live the reality. If you and I are called to “BE Jesus” for this world, then the worst thing we can do is to be “Bad Jesus” for this world ...

1875. Bad Form and Bad Jesus

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

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