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 1876 to 1900 of 2815 results
Sermon
King Duncan
... , but showed no normal aggression and, most noteworthy, failed to reproduce. After five years, every mouse had died. This occurred despite the fact that right up to the end there was plenty of food, water, and an absence of disease. (2) This is a parable of modern life. For many people, a simple task like getting to work is extremely draining. There are too many cars on the highway. Roads are too often under construction. Commuting time is getting longer and longer. We have even invented a new term ...
1877. Heroes
Revelation 7:9-17
Children's Sermon
King Duncan
... to help and maybe their parents and they build some really impressive sand castles. There is only one problem with sand castles. What's that? When the waves come in, they wash the sand castles away. Sand castles don't last. You may remember Jesus told a parable about people who build their houses on sand and not rock. These houses have the same problem as sand castles. They do not stand. They get washed away. (Matthew 7:26-27) Our theme today is heroes. In the book of Revelation we read about people who ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... slacks. Michael lifted him up in his arms. Someone asked the tyke, "Honey, who's got you?" And the child answered, "Uncle Michael." (9) Michael was very fortunate he had such a home to come back to. Everyone needs that. Everyone. That is why Jesus told a parable about a young man who went off to a far country and came back home defeated and in disgrace. But his father welcomed him with open arms. Everyone needs a home like that. Everyone needs a home where they learn a healthy sense of their own identity ...
1879. Children Of The Light
1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11
Sermon
King Duncan
... . People who serve as Jesus served. And that brings us to the final characteristic of children of the light. We are watching, we are witnessing, and finally we are WORKING--WORKING IN THE SERVICE OF OUR LORD. In our Gospel lesson for the day, Jesus tells the famous parable of the talents. A man was going on a trip. He distributed his wealth to his three servants. To one he gave five talents--to the second, he gave two talents--to the third he gave one talent. When he returned from his trip, he asked the ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... willful behavior. Thus was born the word "capricious." (3) On the whole goats do not have a particularly favorable reputation--excepting for the fact that their milk is prized by some people today. Jesus, of course, talked about sheep and goats. And in our parable for the day he stood them in sharp contrast. There will come a day, says Jesus, when the shepherd (meaning God) will separate his sheep from the goats. "Come, you blessed of my Father," he will say to the sheep, "inherit the kingdom prepared ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... Samaritan. He is one of the best-known characters in history. We know he belonged to a despised people--Samaritans--people who did not keep the laws in the prescribed way and who had intermarried with foreigners. We know he was the surprise hero in Jesus' parable that bears his name. We know he was a generous and compassionate man who paid an innkeeper out of his own pocket for the upkeep of a stranger who had been stripped, robbed, beaten and left for dead beside the road to Jericho. Everybody knows about ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... a personal mission statement? "This is why I am here: a, b, c, d." You and I are invited to experience life as we have never experienced it before--with joy and exhilaration and love. We are invited to a feast. But there is an addendum to this parable. THERE WAS ONE POOR MAN AT THE WEDDING FEAST WHO WAS NOT PROPERLY DRESSED FOR THE OCCASION. That should not be surprising. Where would homeless people find proper clothing for a wedding feast? Why was the king so upset with this one man? Scholars tell us that ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... seemed to recognize him. He went to one elderly woman in a wheelchair and asked, “Sister, do you know who I am?" “No, sonny," she replied, “But you check with the lady at the front desk. She can tell you who you are!" The righteous man in Jesus' parable was not only reminding God of his virtue, he was also trumpeting his goodness to the other worshipers in the Temple. He was a blowhard, a braggart, in short, a jerk. Still, he had kept the Law, as he understood it. He was a moral, upright citizen. He ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... if we will give them the opportunity. Kindness to strangers is how we open ourselves and others to that opportunity. “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers . . ." 1. Reported by Sam Allis/Boston, Nancy Harbert/Angel Fire and Lisa H. Towle/Raleigh, with other bureaus. 2. parables, etc., Volume 15, Number 12, February, 1996, p. 8. 3. Irv Zuckerman. Hire Power (New York: Perigee Books, 1993), p. 72. 4. BreakPoint Commentary #91103 - 11/03/1999 “God's Instrument": The Story of Squanto by Charles Colson.
Children's Sermon
King Duncan
... out the seed. Sometimes we get involved in too many things and God gets crowded out. Do you ever get so busy you forget to pray? Or so busy on the weekends that you don't have time to come to church? What would be the good soil this parable is talking about? . . . A life lived the way that makes Jesus happy. This kind of life produces good fruit like kindness, helpfulness, etc. (Give each of the children a seed or a package of seeds) Say: When you plant your seeds, remember to plant them in the right place ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... to build upon: They are a love of life and ability to take great pleasure from small offerings, an assurance that the world owes you nothing and that every gift is exactly that, a gift." (7) Maybe this is what Jesus meant when he concluded his parable by saying, "So the last will be first, and the first will be last." Am I getting through, friends? This is powerful information. The first misconception is that happiness on any scale is something you can acquire. THE SECOND MISCONCEPTION IS THAT A PERSON'S ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... when Jesus was in the room. People were laughing and they were crying and all the time he was getting his point across. Bible scholars tell us he generally was trying to get only one point across. That's what we should look for in Jesus' parables. One point in this very entertaining story. And it is an entertaining story. Stories about dirty, rotten scoundrels are always entertaining. Who among us doesn't like listening to stories of con men or con women who use their wits to survive because that's the ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... . As an example, he shares the story of his conversation with a Russian officer who had never seen a Bible, never attended a church, yet he desperately wanted to know about God. First, Pastor Wurmbrand read the Sermon on the Mount and some of Jesus’ parables. The Russian officer was so moved by Jesus’ words that he got up and danced around the room. Then, Pastor Wurmbrand read the story of Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion. All the blood drained from the officer’s face. He fell into his chair and began ...
1889. Love Of Life
Ezekiel 37:1-14
Sermon
King Duncan
... for you? The same one who has sustained you all your life--the one who wants to be your friend in everything you do. Don't ever think of dropping out of the race. Embrace life. This is God's will for you. Embrace life. 1. PARABLES, ETC. Volume 21, Number I March, 2001. 2. Tom Dalzell. FLAPPERS 2 RAPPERS (Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 1996), p. 48. 3. Contributed by Dr. John Bardsley. Source: INTERNET, 5/13/2000. 4. Contributed by Dr. John Bardsley. Source: Stanley, Gary, WHAT MY DOG HAS TAUGHT ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... son. On one occasion her heart was broken. But she loved him and stood by him to the end. Why? Because that is what life is all about. Love within the human family. Love within the divine family. Love, which comes from the heart of God. 1. Parables, Etc. Vol. 21. No 4, June 2001, pg. 1. 2. (c) Copyright 2000 asasparks@mindspring.com 3. As quoted by James Emery White, A Search for the Spiritual: Exploring Real Christianity (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1998), 77-78. Cited by Leonard Sweet. 4. Author Unknown.
Children's Sermon
King Duncan
... larger than his. He leaned over and snapped at the dog that he saw in the river and dropped the bone he was carrying in his teeth into the river below. I was reminded of this fable by the story in our lesson from the Bible today. Jesus told a parable about a man who owed a king an enormous debt which he could not pay. The king forgave him his debt so that he would not have to go to jail. Another man owed this same man a very small debt but instead of forgiving him, he had this other ...
Children's Sermon
King Duncan
... he might lose some of his Master's wealth. But then, just like an alarm going off, the wealthy man came back home. And he praised the first two servants for investing his money. But he scolded the servant who had hidden his money in the ground. This is a parable--and it is really not about money at all. It is about our lives. Jesus wants each of us to be the best we can be. He wants us to take care of our minds, and to take care of our bodies and to use them to His glory. He ...
1893. Hungry For Bread
Matthew 25:31-46
Sermon
King Duncan
... Sunday was once asked, "What must I do to go to hell?" Sunday answered, "Nothing." (8) That's the message of Matthew 25 also. If we want to have hell on earth and hell for eternity, then we will look the other way. The goats were those people in Jesus' parable who saw the need, but did nothing to help. The goats' response is captured perfectly in this paraphrase of today's passage: "I was hungry and you said apply for food stamps. I was homeless and you said there is a shelter in town. I was lonely and you ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... , Jr., and Evelyn Stoner (Chattanooga, TN.: AMG Publishers, 1996), p. 59. 8. (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1982). Cited in Richard Exley. Deliver Me (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1998), pp. 211-212. 9. Timothy White. The Entertainers (New York: Billboard Books, 1998), pp. 42- 43. 10. Paul J. Wharton, Stories and Parables for Preachers and Teachers (Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1986).
Sermon
King Duncan
... it: "When a resolute fellow steps up to that great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find that the beard comes off in his hand, that it was only tied on to scare away timid adventurers." Leslie Weatherhead once told a parable of a little boy who fled from a witch who had turned herself into a cat. As the boy ran, he kept glancing fearfully over his shoulder. The first time he looked back, the cat was the size of a calf. The next time he looked, it had grown to ...
1896. Why He Came
Mark 1:29-34
Sermon
King Duncan
... purpose of preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God. For 2,000 years this Gospel has been proclaimed--and because it has been proclaimed--the hungry have been fed--the sick have been ministered to--the world has been made more humane. 1. Parables, Etc. Volume 21, Number I, March 2001. 2. "Prayer Priority" by Mell Winger, Rev magazine, Nov/Dec 2001, p. 55. 3. Jim Sheard and James F. Gauss, A Champion's Heart--Qualities for Success (Nashville: Countryman, 1999). 4. Elie Wiesel in All Rivers Run to ...
Sermon
Eric Ritz
... to make the changes necessary to produce satisfying wine like she had for years before. Family traditions ran too deep to replace the vats. In time the world famous vineyards fell into ruin, and only the family members continued to drink the wine."* In this little parable, William Easum is describing many churches. We can be so wedded to the past that we miss God's call to serve the present. Two conflicts: "the fast" and "the past." The important thing is that we keep alive a fresh experience of the living ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, "˜An angel has spoken to him.'" That's interesting, isn't it? Some people were ready to hear God's word. Others heard only thunder. Which would you have heard? It's like the parable of the sower. Some of the seed falls on fertile ground. Other seeds fall among weeds that choke them out. And some falls on barren ground and never sprouts at all. When life has not turned out the way you had expected, go deeper into your faith. Spend ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... . Christ wants you to move to higher ground. Won't you open your heart to him today? 1. Monday Fodder Update - March 25, 2002 2. Hudson, Virginia Cary. O Ye Jigs & Juleps! (New York: Inspirational Press, 1962), p. 6. 3. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995). 4. James E. Carter, People Parables (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1973), p. 47. Cited in Living Expectantly by Brian L. Harbour, Broadman Press, Nashville, 1990, p. 119. 5. James Merritt, Friends, Foes, and Fools (Nashville: Broadman and Holmes, 1997).
Sermon
King Duncan
... to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." (NRSV) That's an interesting statement. You are not far from the kingdom of God. What did Jesus mean by that? We know that the kingdom was at the very center of Jesus' teaching, because so many of his parables are about this kingdom. But nowhere in scripture is the kingdom defined. We know that it has to do with the reign of God in human hearts. But what does that mean? Is it possible that the kingdom of God is not so much a place as it is a ...
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