Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: ruler, sovereign, monarch, supreme ruler, crowned head, majesty, Crown, head of state, royal personage, emperor, prince, potentate, overlord, liege lord, lord, leader, chief, star, leading light, luminary, superstar, mogul, giant, master, kingpin, celebrity, lion

Antonyms: queens, peasant, serf, slave, subject, servant, average joe, common man, rank and file, lower class, common person, workers, commoner, the masses, the poor, plebians, bourgeois, proletariat, laborer, working class, middle class, blue-collar, a nobody, subvassal

Showing 1 to 25 of 1363 results

1. Slaves of a Different Master

Romans 6:12-23

Sermon

William G. Carter

... translate the word both ways, and all of that. He listened with a smile on his face. Then he said, "You know, Paul calls himself a slave. And if you're going to belong to anybody, you ought to belong to Jesus. He is a tough master, but he is more than fair ... . I don't serve anybody but myself." Believe me, friends, there is no greater slavery than serving only yourself. Paul says he is a slave of Jesus. He struggles with his own urges, just like anybody else. But he knows in his gut that no good can come from ...

2. From Slave to Brother

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... and sisters even deeper, however. What would it mean for our nation's immigration policy to call those from another country brothers and sisters in Christ? We may not think such a political question is appropriate in the pulpit, but the relationship between master and slave in the first century was a political question as well. Paul taught that love transformed the way we see all of life, even politics. We may say that immigrants should obey the law, but if Philemon had obeyed only the laws of the state ...

3. Resurrection: From Slave to Child

Galatians 3:26--4:7

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

... the roadbed, Saul was converted - and in that conversion he was adopted by God in a way that changed him from slave to son. It even changed his name - from Saul to the Paul. Roman citizenship, inherited from his earthly father, allowed him ... walked upon by others, tracing our human story back through the centuries. The Christian call is that we dare not walk life’s road as slaves - bound by whatever shackles us to being less that God intends for us. We walk it as sons and daughters, adopted by God in Christ ...

4. Worthless Slaves

Luke 17:5-10

Sermon

George Reed

... be obeyed if this is the way things are. But we have to be careful here. Jesus does not say a word about the master’s attitude. Jesus couches the conversation in terms of what we would do if we were the master and what we would expect of our slaves. The lesson Jesus gives us is about our attitude as servants of the most high and is not a theological treatise on God’s nature. No matter how good we think we may be, we are to be humble and unassuming. Reflect on Jesus’ teaching about greatness in God’s ...

5. Sentimental Slaves

Exodus 16:2-15

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... bondage from which the Lord endeavors to set us free. And that is where you and I run the risk of becoming sentimental slaves. Peter quotes a proverb to identify the problem: "It has happened to them according to the true proverb, ‘The dog turns back to ... behind: Why look back? Perhaps because it's home. Sodom had become home to Lot and his family. Egypt was home to those Israelite slaves. And we always tend to be sentimental about home. For us today, we must remember that, at some level, sin is home for us ...

6. Parabola

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be ... Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe –the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And ...

7. Onesimus

Isaiah 43:1-13

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... sex. It is here that we have failed, and the church must admit her slowness to put into practice Paul’s "... as a brother." It is a mark of our shame that it has taken so long, and that we still have so far to go. Onesimus the slave is the stark symbol of our time. He is very much alive and can be seen: Detroit, Calcutta, South Africa, London, Watts, Latin America, and Atlanta - all house or dispossess thousands of the children of Onesimus. We will either see Onesimus "... as a brother ..." or there will ...

8. A Big Enough Reason

1 Peter 2:19-25

Sermon

David O. Bales

... the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, chapter 53, "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." Isaiah chapter 53 is about a suffering servant. Jesus, the suffering servant, didn't retaliate. Peter says that we shouldn't. In verse 20 he instructs slaves to endure unjust beating, and the word for "beating" is the word used about Jesus' torture during his trial. This is Jesus' pattern that shows us God. God doesn't just yell things at us or push us around. God suffered for us. Jesus died, Peter ...

9. The Son Makes Us Free

John 8:31-41

Sermon

Larry R. Kalajainen

... that slavery was only avoidable in a direct relationship with God by faith. Any attempt to ground one's identity in racial or ethnic or cultural or geographical or social or economic or even kinship ties was to end up a slave. A slave to what? To sin, Jesus answers. "Anyone who commits sin is a slave to sin." There is the word "sin" used both as actions and as a power. Committing "sins" is the result of slavery to "Sin" with a capital S. The primal sin, behind all individual sins as acts of wrongdoing, is ...

10. 1 Peter 2:19-25

1 Peter 2:19-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... had managed to gain their freedom. The author also demonstrates in verses 18 and 20 that he is aware of the abuses his readers have likely experienced as slaves. But these particular slaves or servants are baptized Christians and thus are "aware of God" (v.19) a knowledge 1 Peter now calls them to use so that they may interpret these experiences with uniquely Christian insight. What is translated in the NRSV as "credit" in verses 19 and 20 is not a term ...

11. What Outsiders Can Teach Us

Luke 7:1-10

Sermon

David R. Cartwright

... centurion appeals to what he judges to be a common bond that he and Jesus share. "For I also am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,' and he goes. And to another, ‘Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,' and the slave does it" (Luke 7:8). The centurion knows how Jesus must feel inside, being a man of authority himself. He is quite clear that he knows what it means to be under authority and to exercise it himself. He knows how to take orders and how to give ...

12. Refresh Your Heart

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... refreshing of the heart.” The guy who used to run errands and wash your socks is now to be treated and accepted as an equal to one of the greatest theologians who ever lived — the very one who introduced you to the transforming Christ. The one who was a slave is to be held in the same esteem as the one who challenged and changed your life. In twenty-first century terms this is like saying the person you buy a Slurpee from at the 7-11 is to be treated, respected, and honored with the same value you show ...

13. Winner And Still Champion

Mark 9:30-37

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... sometimes even a freedman could not escape that taint. Christians didn’t seem to believe that way. There is evidence Priscilla and Aquila, wife and husband, who appear in the Acts of the Apostles, were a noble woman and a freedman. His status as a former slave did not keep him from being a companion of Paul and a teacher of the good news with his wife. Around the year 115 AD Pliny the Younger, governor of Bithinia, who wrote a letter to Emperor Trajan asking what to do about the illegal Christian faith ...

14. Set Apart at Christmas

Romans 1:1-7

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many." Paul himself summarized this attitude in the great hymn in Philippians 2: Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though ...

15. God's Chosen People: Partners

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... used her First Aid training, our first concern cannot be for ourselves. Let’s live again with this scripture, and discover what it means to be chosen as a partner with Christ. Soak your mind in that astounding, exhilarating word of Jesus “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave doesn’t know what his master is doing; but I call you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you.” Let me remind you of what I said in my last ...

16. Freedom Song

Galatians 6:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... and I unto the world." Our freedom came at a great price the price of Christ's blood. Maya Angelou tells of Tom, a slave in the antebellum South. Tom's owner allowed him to take jobs off the plantation at night, on holidays, and on weekends. He worked ... had stashed away a thousand dollars, he went to the owner of the plantation and asked how much he was worth. The owner said most slaves brought between $800 and $1,200, but since Tom was older and had no children, if he wanted to buy his own freedom he would ...

17. Invited To The Table

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... said, "Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally." We are offended by the idea of slavery, as well we should be. Second, we are offended by how elitist the story sounds. "Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, "˜Come here at once and take your place at the table'? Would you not rather say to him, "˜Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you ...

18. A Man Named Useful

Philemon 1:8-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... Christ gave his life to make us useful to God. You don’t have to be a criminal, a prostitute, or a runaway slave to qualify for a second chance. Sometimes you can be wealthy, educated, cultured while at the same time being prideful, snobbish, condescending ... . You either hate and be angry or you forgive. I said I have to forgive.” (7) Paul sent a letter by way of a runaway slave. He was asking Philemon to give this man named Useful another chance. Did he? I hope so, and if there is someone to whom we need ...

19. The Condition Of Mercy

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Donald Dotterer

... have to have been something comparable to the savings and loan scandal of the 1980s. The debt was so enormous that there was no possibility of the man ever repaying the loan to his master. And so the king, seeing the magnitude of the debt, ordered that the slave, his wife, his children and all his possessions be sold. In those days, it was not unusual for persons to be sold into slavery to pay a debt. This would have made only token payment, but the king would have at least recovered some of his lost money ...

20. A Glory Revealed in Liberty

John 8:31-41

Sermon

... death to life."8 In Jesus, God provided for us all a new Exodus, a way to enter the promised liberty his death and resurrection have won for us. And only Jesus could have done this. Only he has the authority, and the right to do it. He said, "The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does. If the Son sets you free, you will be really free." We’re dealing with not just "any old body" when we relate to Jesus. He is the Son of God, the Lord and co-creator of all things. As ...

21. On Taking Candy from a Stranger

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... It is important to note that Jesus is not minimizing the holiness of God by freeing this burdened woman on the Sabbath. In fact, her healing is a Sabbath act. In Deuteronomy 5: 15, Moses reminded the people of Israel of God’s commands: “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.” What the leader of the synagogue didn’t seem to grasp was ...

22. Unwanted Freedom

John 8:31-36

Sermon

Chris Ewing

... the kind of political voice and consumer "good life" that we take for granted are not even on the table; they would not have entered Jesus' hearers' imaginations. A much more gritty kind of reality is in view. In Jesus' day, slavery was commonplace. Some slaves were captured in military raids, and of course some were born into slavery, but it was much more common for people to be enslaved as restitution for debt, or to enter slavery voluntarily as an escape from poverty. While the degree of slavery varied ...

23. Serving With Water: The Washing

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Steve Swanson

... to say such things as: "Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave." (Matthew 20:26) Or: If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all. (Mark 9:33) Or, ... that once drowned our sin can remind us that we are indeed - and continue to be - washed clean all the way through by the servant, the slave who was this world's king and God, our Lord, our Savior, our friend - Jesus the Christ. Nothing in my hand I bring;Simply to thy ...

24. Faith Bridges the Gap

Luke 7:1-10

Sermon

... Peter’s mother-in-law. And why would he call Jesus "Lord," that honored word for the Saviour that has almost disappeared from our language? How did this Roman become a believer? We’ll never know, but what we do know is that he placed the life of his slave in the hands of almighty God. That is an act of faith worthy of any believer, isn’t it? He really believed that there is a God who loves and cares for his creatures. In his book about James Jones and the Jonestown massacre, James Reston insists that ...

25. Being Set Free

John 8:31-41

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... self, sin, fear, and others. Jesus goes on to say in our Gospel, "... I tell you the truth; everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave does not belong to the family always, but a son belongs there forever. If the son makes you free, then you will be really ... us to accept Christ for that master. It was Jesus’ point here, that if we sin we are not free. In fact, we are slaves. The Scripture, the message of our Savior, talks of liberation. Paul puts it ... "All men have sinned and are far away from God’s ...

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