Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: simon, simeon, caphas, disciple, evangelist, the 12, the twelve, apostle, fisherman, petros, rock, stone

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Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... handy. If you check your Revised Standard Version, you find that the Greek word used for the man Peter, Petros, is different from the word in the phrase “On this rock,” which is petra. The two words are different, and the sentence is a play ... on words. Scholars tell us that petra denotes “a mass of rock” and petros means “a detached stone or boulder.” What, then, was the “rock” on which Jesus built His Church? Protestants believe that the ...

2. The Church Is Alive and Well

Matthew 16:13-18

Sermon

James Merritt

... form of that word, referring to a strata of rock, a huge mountain. Here in Georgia we have a massive mass of granite called Stone Mountain. If you go to the base of that mountain you can pick up all kinds of pieces of the rock. The stone is a Petros, the mountain is a Petra. What Jesus said to Peter was this: You are Peter "a little stone," but upon this Petra, the mountain, I will build My church. Now we do not have to wonder what the rock is, therefore what the foundation is. Paul said in I Corinthians ...

3. The King and His Castle

Matthew 16:13-18

Sermon

James Merritt

... this verse. But if you notice carefully what Jesus said you'll understand it clearly. The name Peter comes from the Greek word petros which is the masculine form of the Greek word which means "a small stone," or "a tiny pebble." If you're from Arkansas, it ... Mountain. If you go to the base of that mountain you can pick up all kinds of pieces of the rock. The stone is a petros, the mountain is a petra. Now what Jesus said was this: "You are Peter ‘a little stone,' but upon this petra, the mountain, I will ...

4. Don't Roll It Back

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... stone as opposed to petra, the immovable bedrock. Peter knew his own weaknesses all too well and chose to write about a new kind of “rock.” The image Peter offers is even weirder than the identity Jesus had given him as a “stone,” as a petros (me stone), and upon this petra (we bedrock) Jesus promised to build his church. The Me is built upon the We. In Christ Peter’s insecurities will be made solid, as will ours. Here in 1 Peter, “stones” become living things, not just basic building blocks ...

5. The Sign of Jonah

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... of Peter (referred to formerly by Jesus as Simon bar Jonah). As Jesus’ resurrection is a “sign” in itself, the “sign” of Jonah also appears to echo through this story of Jesus’ re-calling of Simon (whom he had nick-named Cephas or Petros). In the passage, we find several metaphors, including the metaphors of Peter’s names. Whereas earlier in John’s testimony, when Simon is called by Jesus initially, he is called Shimon Bariona (Simon bar Jonah –using the same name as descending from the ...

6. What's In a Name?

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... a new name upon his disciple Simon son of Jonah. He names him Peter (meaning stone). The phrase Jesus uses to describe Peter’s mission is a brilliant wordplay in fact: You are Kephas (Petros), and on this Kephas (Petra) I will build my ecclesia. The Aramaic, Kephas means rock. In Greek, these translate to petros (masculine) and petra (feminine). Jesus is calling Peter a “rock,” referring to his faith, his character, and his rock-solid loyalty to Jesus, as he just demonstrated by calling him the Son of ...

7. The Rock Of Faith

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

Roger G. Talbott

... are founded. In the passage, Jesus renames his disciple, Simon, calling him "Peter" which is an English version of the Greek word for rock. One of the intriguing things about this passage is that Matthew uses the masculine form of the Greek word for rock, Petros, for Peter's name -- obviously because Peter is a man -- but he uses the feminine form, petra, when he reports that Jesus said, "Upon this rock I will build my church." This rock on which the church will be built is feminine. The repetition of ...

8. A Big Fisherman · Peter

Mt 16:13-20 · Jn 1:35-42

Sermon

Gordon Pratt Baker

... of moods, one moment courageously casting caution to the winds; the next cringing before circumstance. His name was Simon. Jesus took one look at him and called him "Rock." (Matthew 16:18) The nickname stuck, and Simon entered history as "Petros" -- or, more familiarly, Peter. I A popular assumption notwithstanding, Peter was neither uncultured nor uncouth. On the contrary, he possessed a learning and a bearing leading. Neither was Peter an average fisherman eking out a living with his daily hauls. Rather ...

9. Rocky

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

William J. Carl

... Peter get this job in the first place? It all started with the story recounted in this text when Jesus renamed him “Rocky” and gave him the keys to the kingdom. Actually he called him Cephas which is an Aramaic nickname which means rock. Its Greek counterpart is Petros which also means rock. Thus on that day at Caesarea Philippi about 20 miles north of the Sea of Galilee, Simon Johnson, as he was known to his fishing buddies and his family, got a new name and his new name was Rocky. Rocky was the big ...

10. The Importance of Believing

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

... us into relationship with him. When Jesus asked his question, "Who do you say that I am?" it was Simon who answered. He said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:16) And Jesus replied, "And I tell you, you are a rock, petros, Peter, and on this rock I will build my church." The Apostle Simon got his new name that day, Peter. By his believing, he had reached out and touched truth, had made connection with an anchor stone. As belief always puts us into relationship with that in which ...

11. Who Do You Say I Am?

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

Brett Blair

... Luther, the German theologian, wrote: “I care not whether he be Christ, but that he be Christ for you.” Peter responded: Thou art the Christ the Son of the living God. Jesus, at that point, gave him a new name. You are no longer Cephas, he said, you are Petros, the rock. In truth, nothing was ever to be the same for Peter again. III This where the third question comes in, it is not a direct question questioning the text but I want to make it question. Here it is: What then is the church to do with this ...

12. Give Us A New Name!

Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

Frederick C. Edwards

... established with Abraham, together with the promise that Sarah would bear a son (Genesis 17:5f, 15-16). In the New Testament, Saul became Paul, significant of his life-changing conversion on the road to Damascus. And Jesus called Simon, the fisherman, "Petros," or Peter, meaning "rock," significant of his strength. But later when Peter showed signs of weakness Jesus reverted to calling him Simon again, the significance of which the disciples could not have failed to note. In the missionary days of the 19th ...

13. A Reed Who Became a Rock

John 1:35-42

Sermon

R. Blaine Detrick

... and cowardliness. I don’t know about you, but in lots of ways I am like that Peter. And I feel a certain nearness to this man. Yet this is the man whom Jesus called to be a rock. Actually, that’s what his name means: petros, in the Greek, literally means "rock." And this was the name that Jesus gave to Simon - whom we know as Peter. I often wonder what on earth Jesus ever saw in that impulsive, headstrong, unpredictable, blasphemous, changeable, wavering, vacillating big fisherman. Then I take a good ...

14. Do You Love Me?

John 21:15-25

Sermon

Brett Blair

... make of all that had happened. Then there is a flashback. He recalls how some months earlier he left his fishing nets at the seashore to become a follower of Jesus and how Jesus liked him and included him and changed his name from Simon to Peter (Petros, the Rock) because Jesus felt that Simon was strong, stable, and solid like a rock. But then all of a sudden, things turned sour. Jesus was arrested and Peter the Rock got scared and on that fateful night, he denied his Lord three times. The next day, Good ...

15. Who's Who

John 1:29-42

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... Simon. In John, Simon's brother, Andrew, brings him to Jesus. We do not often meet someone who immediately changes our name, but that's what Jesus did with Simon. Jesus nicknames Simon, Cephas, Aramaic for the "Rock." The Aramaic comes out in Greek as Petros, and in English as Peter. In whatever language you say it, Jesus' words sound strange. What does Jesus see in Simon that deserves this nickname, the Rock? We know that Simon does not always act like the Rock. The Rock quivered in his sandals standing ...

16. A Complicated Disciple

John 18:15-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... at Caesarea Philippi, Peter declared his belief that Jesus was the “Christ, the Son of the living God.” Christ called him “blessed,” saying the revelation came not from himself but from the heavenly Father (Matthew 16:16-18). Jesus called him Peter--in Greek Petros and Aramaic Keophas--meaning a “fragment of a rock” or “a pebble.” Then Jesus teaches us the importance of words, for he uses another word for rock when he says, “Upon this rock I will build my church.” The word here is Petra ...

17. Peter the Petulant

Mark 14:1-11, Mark 14:12-26, Mark 14:27-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , hot-headed, impulsive fisherman, clearly with a fisherman’s mouth, to be the next stone in his ministry. Jesus was the cornerstone. Peter was meant to be the first to build upon his mission. But while Jesus named him “peter” (cephas or petros), sometimes his name seems more suited to “petere” –the word for petulant! For Peter certainly voiced his own opinions, perhaps more than anyone else. Yet Jesus saw in him the strength and passion to carry on his mantle –if only Peter could truly ...

18. Be Strong

John 21:15-25, John 21:1-14

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , said Isaiah (51:1-2). Jesus calls upon this powerful statement in his interaction with Peter in our scripture for today, saying to him, as he called him from the waters to stand “naked” and revealed in his sin and failings before Him: “You are petros (a stone) and upon this petra (bedrock) I will build my ecclesia (people).” Jesus’ new “Temple” built on the “rock” of salvation would be built upon the earth on the foundation of Peter’s faith. Peter was not perfect. But he was strong in ...

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