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 2351 to 2375 of 3314 results

2351. Count Your Wows!

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... unexamined, headlong spiritual search, unencumbered and thus unguided by any institutional boundaries, is bound to result in some spectacular hoaxes. The world is awash in a host of counterfeit spiritualities. A culture on a soul train is bound to get derailed. The apostle Paul also found himself living in frenetically "spiritual" times. Recall that he began his sermon on Mars Hill with these words: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious...." But the Athenians were caught up in idol ...

2352. UpTime

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... while you are logged on? Can you recognize God's time while stretching out in the hot summer sun? At first glance, it may appear that today's gospel text depicts Jesus advocating a kind of "time off" from doing God's mission for his disciples. The "apostles" had returned from their mission (Mark 6:7-13) bubbling over with enthusiasm, anxious to tell Jesus all they had "done and taught"(v.30). In the midst of all this hubbub, of all the comings and goings, Jesus suggests that the disciples "Come away to a ...

2353. Quenching St. Anthony's Fire

Mark 8:27-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Philippians (1:29): "For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake" (KJV). In other words, suffering for the sake of Christ is as much an honor and a blessing as believing in him. The apostles kept the counsel after being beaten, rejoicing that they were "worthy to suffer for his sake." "Who do you say I am?" If your response is "The Messiah! The Son of the Living God," you are one of God's favored ones. But remember this: Your calling as God's ...

2354. Waging Wisdom

James 3:13—4:8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

2355. The Great Postmodern Soul Train

Mark 13:1-8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

2356. An Advent Attitude

1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

2357. Stable-Time

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

2358. The Perfect Time to Lose Your Luggage

Colossians 3:12-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

2359. Sleep Loose

2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the comfort and security of "sleeping loose." Paul's final words to the Corinthians this week demonstrate how a well-crafted "good-bye" can be meaningful and moving. Paul's future and the future of the Corinthian Christians were unclear. The apostle continued to face the possibilities of persecution, arrest and execution. The Corinthian church had both its internal battles and the external threats of persecution to cloud its destiny. When Paul invokes his message of "farewell" to these Christians then, it ...

2360. Hello!?

Romans 8:26-39

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the image of this Christ. It is the transformative power of God, embodied by the once-for-all-time sacrifice of Christ, that refuses to let our lives fall prey to the clutches of evil and despair. Paul's message is not some popeyed Pollyanna optimism. The apostle is not promising that nothing bad will ever happen to us. We will experience the full forces of evil loss, hardship, heartache over the course of our lives. But the promise God has made to us, through Christ's revelation of God's heart on the cross ...

2361. Anywhere Goes

Romans 14:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... asked a second question: "What would you do if it were an officer?" At this, the enlisted man paused and thought before answering: "Which one, sir?" We choose which ones we save, which ones we love, which ones are worth throwing the life preserver at. The apostle Paul in this week's epistle says that God changes all that. "Anywhere Goes." Network news recently devoted a few of its precious prime-time minutes to what was judged to be some really radical "news." It seems that "Christian rock" in all its pop ...

2362. Joy and Crown

Philippians 4:1

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... brothers and sisters. They were his "joy and crown." Despite the fact that Paul was always on the road, that he had no place to call "home," that he sometimes went years between seeing or hearing about those whom he called "friend," the apostle still rejoiced in all his personal relationships and was strengthened and nurtured by them. Did Paul have some secret to establishing rich and meaningful relationships that we have never managed to unlock? Not really. But perhaps because his life was so unpredictable ...

2363. Say Amen, Somebody

Psalm 1:1-6

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... "Yes" implies a "No" _ but the "Yes" has to come first. Alternative Sermon Ideas The Amen Litany At some point in the sermon, invite people to respond to your questions with a loud AMEN or a resounding YES! Instead of the questions below, you may wish to reformat the Apostles' Creed as your Litany of Affirmation. What do you say if I tell you God is good? AMEN! (or YES!) What do you say if I tell you God created the world and all that is within it? AMEN! (or YES!) What do you say if I say God chose ...

2364. Fingerprints of the Soul

Romans 5:1-5

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... she entitled The Church Hesitant (1993), she makes a salient distinction between "niceness" and "goodness." The great saints were often horrible. This is a source of consolation to selfish and prickly Anglicans. Jesus himself was not exactly nice: he snapped at his apostles and made them squirm. But he was goodness itself. In my experience, whether people are good or not has nothing to do with whether they are Christians. Some people just are good. Some churchgoers just are horrible. If someone offers to ...

2365. Drawing Lines

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... heaven and hell was breached. Jesus broke the power of death and crashed the gates of hell. God has done for us what Abraham refused to do for the rich man. To the witness of the tradition, to the truth of Scripture, God has added the glory of the apostles' witness of Jesus' resurrection. Is your life increasingly subdivided by lines of your own making? Are you on-line or off-line? Do you rate a by-line or are you on the sidelines? Do you walk a fine line, or have you found yourself red-lined? The only ...

2366. Home Improvement

Jeremiah 23:1-6

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... told of some friends losing their 22-year-old son in a tragic automobile accident. "When we gathered in the sanctuary for the funeral service," the bishop said, "we sang some of the great hymns of the church. We affirmed our faith by saying the Apostles' Creed. The choir offered a choral arrangement of Psalm 23. We prayed prayers from our liturgy. Some weeks following the service, the grieving mother said something like this: I was too hurt to sing the hymns, and I couldn't say the creed with confidence ...

2367. The Light Shines in the Darkness

John 1:1-18

Illustration

King Duncan

... of the British Honduras on the Caribbean . . . .the cloud up there looks a little like the profile of Thomas Eakins, a famous painter and sculptor . . . And that group of clouds over there gives me the impressions of the stoning of Stephen . . . I can see the Apostle Paul standing there to one side." Lucy responds, "Uh, huh, That's very good . . . .What do you see in the clouds, Charlie Brown?" and Charlie responds with his typical note of inadequacy: "Well, I was going to say I saw a ducky and a horsy, but ...

2368. John 20:1-18

John 20:1-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... In a day before creeds and canonized texts, there was great concern over the various traditions that circulated about Jesus's crucifixion and resurrection. Paul's experience of the risen Christ shaped his spirit so profoundly that it is little wonder the apostle's writings helped establish the fledgling Christian fellowships as true resurrection communities. As we see in this week's Epistle, Paul's faith determined the shape of what was to become the central kerygma for the Church. Peter's soliloquy in Acts ...

2369. Ephesians 6:10-20

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... in Christ and the established systems of the dominant pagan culture. Ephesus had already been the scene of one such face-off (see Acts 19:21-41). Although Paul's own experiences in Ephesus and elsewhere were painfully and frightfully physical, the apostle begins this admonition to "armor up" by identifying "the wiles of the devil" as the most menacing danger threatening Christians. Despite all his run-ins with local authorities, all his nights in gloomy prison cells, all his constant refereeing of bitter ...

2370. Mark 9:38-50

Mark 9:38-50

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

The week's gospel text is part of a series of seminars in discipleship Jesus holds for his twelve apostles during their final expedition to Galilee. Jesus' teachings surprise in several ways. Earlier during their travels in this region the disciples had twice failed to comprehend Jesus. When Jesus foretells his impending death and resurrection (vs.30), the disciples are so confused that they are too embarrassed to even ask ...

2371. Luke 6:17-26

Luke 6:17-26

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... 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 not only a "level place," but a leveling place as well. Here the perhaps slightly smug apostles, all the rest of the disciples, and a large, milling crowd from all over the countryside and all walks of life, gather together in equanimity. If Jesus is speaking from a truly level place that means that all seats are "general admission." There is no ...

2372. Galatians 6:7-18

Galatians 6:7-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... states plainly where the ultimate responsibility lies for those whose harvests are stunted and decayed. It is within everyone's own power to determine whether the outcome of their life will be blessing or judgment. Verse 9 relieves this somber picture with the apostle's positive advice that we should therefore "not grow weary in doing what is right...." For those faithful to the Spirit, there is a harvest of eternal life freely offered. "Weary" is another term rarely used by Paul, although it was common to ...

2373. 2 Timothy 1:1-14

2 Timothy 1:1-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the powerhouse truths Paul unleashes here - gifts that make momentary imprisonment or any physical suffering appear totally insignificant by comparison. Having reminded Timothy of the miraculous nature of the gospel message, Paul can boldly proclaim his multiple roles as herald, apostle, teacher and sufferer - all for the sake of that same gospel. In verse 12 Paul makes clear to Timothy what living for the gospel entails. Even as God has entrusted Paul with the task of dispersing the gospel message, Paul ...

2374. 2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5

2 Thessalonians 2:13 – 3:5

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... 's focus on this second consideration begins with verses 13-15 as he assures the Thessalonians of their "salvation through sanctification by the Spirit." As Paul gives thanks for this incredible gift, note his distinction between "God" - the Father - and "the Lord" - the apostle's customary term for Jesus Christ. Yet while Paul identifies Jesus as the one who holds the Thessalonians in love ("beloved by the Lord"), he maintains that it is God the Father who had intended the salvation of the elect from the ...

2375. 2 Corinthians 13:11-13

2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... (12:14; 13:1), Paul is making his third trip to this quarrelsome congregation. His original visit was followed by his "painful" visit. Despite all the harsh words that have been exchanged between Paul and some of these Corinthian Christians, the apostle's closing remarks offer an olive branch and appeal to their sense of fellowship and community. Paul uses the most common of traditional closing words for his letter "farewell" but softens its standardized form by addressing this closing to his "brothers ...

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