Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: captured, trapped, catch, took, arrested, grabbed, taken, seized, stuck, apprehended, picked up, entangled, nabbed, jammed, abducted, acquired, got, bagged, gotten, netted, cornered, appropriated, tangled, snared, ensnared

Antonyms: free, freed, unconfined, loose, unrestrained, set free, uncuffed, emancipated, enfranchised, released, ambiguous, flaccid, let go, discharged, unbound, uncaged, unchained, unfettered, unleashed, unshackled, untied, avoided, discounted, disregarded, missed

Showing 1 to 25 of 1020 results

1. Are You Under Arrest?

Heb 5:11-13; 10:39

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... have the faith to make life our own. (Hebrews 10:39, NEB) Obviously most of us are not now dwelling in a building called a prison, but there is more than one kind of prison. You may know of no one who is presently under legal arrest, but there is more than one kind of arrest. And when Jesus says in the gospel that the Spirit of the Lord has sent him "to proclaim release to the captives," I don’t think he was talking only about those who were in the Jerusalem jail. I think his words are meant for me ...

2. From His Arrest to His Crucifixion and Burial

John 18:1--19:42

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... headed toward suffering and inevitable death. Between Friday and Sunday morning, remember to read John 18-19. Take note of how events unfolded in a way similar to what happened on that sharp curve in the tracks approaching Santiago de Compostela. From Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane on Thursday evening to late Friday afternoon at the place for Roman execution, this was a train wreck in the making. Nothing was going to prevent this disaster. Things were coming off the tracks. Second, as you read ...

3. Embalmed With Cardiac Arrest

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

I always wonder what an agnostic or an unbeliever or a skeptic does on Easter Day. Have you ever wondered that? Out of curiosity, let’s join two of them on the first Easter day. For them, the story was all over, the last curtain was rung down. Their hopes lay shattered. Their dreams lay twisted and ruined. Easter Day found them on the way back home to Emmaus, back to the old home town, about seven miles from Jerusalem, back to the workaday world, back to the dull, monotonous business of eking out an ...

4. Who Is This Man?

Mark 14:43-52

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... That is to say, "Will you stand guard?" They say, "Yes," and then fall asleep. Then Judas, who betrayed him, comes with a crowd to arrest him. Peter draws a sword to defend his Lord. We assume it's Peter. In John's gospel he's identified as Peter. Mark ... got to be Peter. It is the sort of impetuous, dumb thing that Peter would do. Then Judas kisses Jesus to identify him. Then they arrest him. And Jesus says to the mob, "Have you come out against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day ...

5. The Tragedy of Caiaphas

John 18:1-27 · John 11:45-47 · Matthew 26:36-75

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... from Death (Sirach 51:1-12) The Prophecy of the Coming Priest (The Testament of Levi) The Priest in the Order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 5 and 7) Zechariah’s Vision About His Son John (To Be Called The Baptist) (Luke 1:5-17) Jesus’ Prayer in Gethsemane, His Arrest, and His Confrontation by Caiaphas the High Priest (Mark 14:32-51 and 53-72; Luke 22:39-53 and 54-71) Caiaphas’ Dream of the Messiah [After Lazarus is resurrected by Jesus in front of many who were there….] Therefore, many of the Jews who had ...

6. "The Bitterness Of Betrayal"

Mark 14:43-52, Psalm 55:1-23

Sermon

R. Sheldon MacKenzie

... been betrayed by Judas so he had been betrayed by all the other disciples as well. He wanted his readers to feel for themselves the consequences of brave pledges of loyalty, when there is nothing with which to back them up. And in this account of the arrest of Jesus Mark warned his readers against a confession of faith that comes too easily. Too easily that is, unless they understood the consequences of what it was they were claiming to be. In the midst of their common sufferings he wanted them to see that ...

7. I, Caiaphas

John 18:12-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... be strictly legal in the eyes of Rome. Then Thursday evening a large contingent of soldiers followed Judas to the west edge of town on a raised piece of ground known as the Mount of Olives. It was very late that same Thursday when I was first told of the arrest. I had already alerted all members of the San Hedrin to be prepared for a quick meeting to decide the best course to take, one which would most readily convince Pilate to put Jesus to death. There was no need for a formal trial. After all, we did not ...

8. Faces of Failure: Peter

Matthew 26 (selections)

Sermon

Don Tuttle

... wrote his Gospel. Whatever the case, Peter soon hears the cock crow and knows he has failed. He has failed to keep his promise to never deny Jesus. And so he goes out and weeps bitterly. I’m sure fear plays a part in Peter’s failure. Seeing Jesus arrested, he has reason to be anxious. But fear is only part of the problem. The real issue is Peter’s arrogance. When Peter sits across from Jesus and promises to remain faithful, he assumes he has it within himself to do it. He arrogantly assumes he can, on ...

9. "Catch-able" But Not "Fetch-able"

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... to be sure to bring Big Haley in. The sheriff and his deputies had no trouble finding Big Haley's cabin. He knocked on the cabin door, entered, and informed her she was under arrest. What he discovered, though, was that Big Haley was bigger than the cabin's doorway. After some futile effort, he decided not to arrest her after all. When the judge later asked the sheriff about Big Haley, the officer complained that--in the mountain vernacular-- "She's catch-able but not fetch-able." (1) Some things in life ...

10. Embedded In Bedrock Or Destroyed By A Typhoon

John 18:25-27

Sermon

Dale Dickerson

... of a man named Malchus, the high priest's servant. But Jesus interrupts Peter's brave stand and says, "Put your sword back into its sheath. Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?" (Jn 18:11). So the police and soldiers arrest Jesus. After the arrest, Peter and another disciple follow Jesus as he is being lead to meet Annas, the father-in-law of the high priest, Caiaphas. Peter is brave, yet his bravery is about to turn into idle bravado. Soon he will deny he ever knew Jesus. That can happen ...

11. He Came To Us

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... sheriff to be sure to bring her in. The sheriff and his deputies had no trouble finding Mahala's cabin. He knocked on the cabin door, entered, and informed Mahala she was under arrest. What he discovered, though, was that Mahala was bigger than the cabin's doorway. After some futile effort, he decided not to arrest her after all. When the judge later asked the sheriff about Mahala, the officer complained that, "She's catchable but not fetchable." (1) Some things in life are like that. They may be catchable ...

12. Ignite: Fight Fire with Fire

Acts 4:1-22

Sermon

James Merritt

... the beating, he got up to walk to the church and when he walked outside there were two Romanian policemen there. He held out his hands thinking they had come to cuff him and take him back for more beatings and they said, “Sir, we are not here to arrest you. We are here to protect you.” Tson said, “What do you mean?” One of the officers said, “Sir, we don’t understand. We just know we have been given orders to escort you everywhere you go and to make sure that nothing happens to you.” God did ...

13. John and Frank

Matthew 11:2-11

Sermon

John Jamison

... . The girl had a brief conversation with her mother, who was still angry about what John had said about her. The daughter returned to Herod and said the only thing she wanted was the head of John the Baptist. Herod had no choice but to honor his word. John was arrested and thrown into a prison cell on a mountain out on the edge of the wilderness, far from where he could cause any more trouble, where he was to be killed. And that’s where we find John today. It is worth noting that, when we say John was in ...

14. Imagine This

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

John Jamison

... been born in Tarsus. That made him officially a Roman. Any Roman who was accused of a crime had the right to ask for a one-on-one hearing with Caesar himself. Paul asked for that and the Sanhedrin had no choice. Paul was placed under house arrest until he was shipped off to Rome. He remained prisoner there for two more years before he had his hearing. Some historians say it was Emperor Nero himself that beheaded Paul. Saul was born a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees, the protector of the laws of Moses. Paul ...

15. When the Way Is Hard

Matthew 26:14-27:66

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... slapped, then questioned again and again. Imagine being mocked, beaten, and stripped. Each blow and insult was an indignity and a foretaste of death until Jesus’ final suffering on the cross and his last breath. Jesus knew all of that was coming. Well before his arrest, he told his disciples of the suffering and death that awaited him: after Peter’s declaration of Jesus as the Messiah (16:13-23), as they gathered in Galilee (17:22- 23), and on their way to Jerusalem (20:17-19). Each time Jesus predicted ...

16. Facing Death

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... rest of his disciples, Jesus did not try to hide from them or avoid them in any way; instead, the text says that “Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward” (John 18:4). Jesus went forward to meet those who had come to arrest him. He went forward to meet suffering and death. When the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching, their roles soon became reversed as Jesus went on to challenge the high priest. Jesus pointed out how he had always taught out in the open ...

17. A Violent Week

Mark 14:1-2 · Luke 22:14-23:56

Sermon

Will Willimon

... to learn. On the night he was betrayed, one of Jesus' followers took up a sword and attempted to defend Jesus against those who arrested him. He only took off part of the servant's ear. (If disciples use swords, they at least ought to be good at it ... strange by what happens a short time later when they go out and are met by Judas, the High Priest, and soldiers who have come to arrest Jesus. One of the disciples draws his sword and cuts off a piece of one of the aggressor's ears. Jesus rebukes him in the ...

18. What’s In a Word?

Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... a charge of heresy. El Borcense was a professor of philology. That meant he taught the history and meaning of words. What words could he teach about that were so heretical that he fell into the hands of the notorious Spanish Inquisition? Simply this: he was arrested by the Spanish Inquisition be-cause he said the depictions of the Nativity in church paintings were all wrong. He insisted the language of Luke 2:7 — “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in ...

19. The Road To The Cross

Matthew 27:11-26

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... front of others (Matthew 22:15ff, 23-24), our gospel (at the beginning of Chapter 26) tells us that "the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and took counsel together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him (Matthew 26:3-4)." The plan of the religious establishment to put Jesus away seems to have had its origins in jealousy over the influence that Jesus was having on the crowd in Jerusalem. What else is this but social sin ...

20. The Boy Who Ran Away

Mark 14:43-52

Sermon

Erskine White

... t just grown-ups who were with Jesus that final night. I was there, too. I am the boy who ran away naked when they arrested our Lord. The events I'll describe began with the Last Supper. Do you remember how when Jesus came to Jerusalem, He told His ... finally got home, my heart was pounding and I started shaking all over. The more I thought about how close I had come to getting arrested with Jesus, the more my body shook uncontrollably. It was a night I shall never forget. Yes, I was there. I was just a ...

21. The Symphony of God

Acts 5:17-42

Sermon

Carl Hoefler

... . It has just begun. The story of our text is similar, at many points, to the Easter story. There is an imprisonment, guards, an angel, an open door, and a miraculous escape. Peter and the other apostles have been preaching about the risen Christ. They are arrested and thrown into jail. Suddenly, an angel appears and leads them past the guards through an opened iron gate to freedom. Then the angel says to them, "Go stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life." When the Sanhedrin ...

22. A Change of Direction

Matthew 21:28-32

Sermon

... . In the infant time of the Christian Faith, Saul of Tarsus was going down the road to Damascus. He was continuing in the way he had been going. He had participated in the stoning of the Christian martyr, Stephen. He had sought and obtained warrants for the arrest of Christians in Damascus. And now he was on his way to that city to carry out that mission. But he was intercepted. He didn't expect to be intercepted, but he was. The Lord took him by surprise. The Great Interceptor accosted him on the road ...

23. Killing A King

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

... king. Though he was a king, he did not use force. It was his right and prerogative to, use force to defend himself against his enemies. Any king has that right. As a king. Jesus showed himself to be a greater king by refusing the use of force. At his arrest, he told the Disciples not to resist because he said he could call down twelve legions of angels to defend him. He could have wiped out the despicable minority of people if he wanted to, but he did not. He was too much of a king for that! He acted ...

24. Journey To The Cross IV: Jesus and Judas

Mark 14:43-52

Sermon

James W. Moore

... have suggested that, saying Judas was undone by his greed and his love for money. But that really doesn’t carry much weight because Judas could have struck a better bargain than that… if his interest had been money. And remember also that almost immediately after Jesus was arrested, Judas threw the money back at them and then took his own life. Some say he did it for the money, but I don’t think it can be that simple. Was Judas a spy? Some have said that. They think he was “planted” there by the ...

25. Christian Courage

Acts 4:1-22

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

... Dean Inge, "We are distressed because our churches aren’t half-empty; but many of them would be emptier if the gospel were preached in them." To insure my safety and popularity do I water down the gospel? I know some people who for conscience sake, were arrested and spent a night in jail. They were very fearful and apprehensive. Was this the right thing to do? Will I be forever branded as a law-breaker? What will jail be like? These were some of the fear-producing questions. But the jail experience, for ...

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