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 1 to 25 of 78 results

1. Through the Eyes of an Eagle (Introduction)

John 20:24-31

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... there was a theological climate in the first century which was shared by more than one group within Judaism. So perhaps the Fourth Gospel, whatever its origin, may have had a very early date - perhaps even being written at the same time the other three “synoptic” Gospels were committed to writing. I find it most interesting that scholars who live and work in the Holy Land tend to give strong credence to John’s Gospel, many of them telling us that it appears to have been written by someone who lived ...

2. The Gospel According to Christ’s Enemies

John 11:1-16

Sermon

Richard Hoefler

... who would not listen to Moses and the prophets, and would not be persuaded even if a man were to rise from the dead. In John’s miracle, Lazarus does, in fact, rise from the dead and the Jews who witnessed it are not persuaded. So a Synoptic parable becomes an event in John. The miracle of the raising of Lazarus is for Richardson an illustration of "the truth that Christ is the resurrection and the life of all the faithful. To those who know Christ, the resurrection is not merely a hope for the future ...

3. I'll Never Forget That Night

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... them deeper and more complex secondary meanings. Fourth, there are extended monologues by Jesus scattered through the pages of John’s gospel that are both mystical and doctrinal, and have no clear parallel to the manner of Jesus’ teachings or conversations as recorded by the synoptics. In short, the fourth gospel is a wild ride in a theme park of its own. Yet, it is also so homey and comfortable that elements of it are like old slacks and shirts worn easily. The Greek language, through which the text is ...

4. Walking On Our Hands

John 8:31-41

Sermon

J. Will Ormond

... grass, and he met the butterfly eyeball to eyeball as it skimmed along the ground.1 Kysar concludes that the Evangelist John walks on his hands because he has a different perspective on the story of Jesus than do the other Gospels. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the "Synoptic Gospels" because they "see together." They follow the same general outline of Jesus' story, and share much of the material with each other. John, on the other hand, rearranges the ...

5. Bear the Light

John 1:19-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the discussion away from himself and his activities and towards “The one who is coming after me” (v.27). John declares he baptizes with water (v.26) but there is no discussion here of any other type of baptism that might follow — such as the Synoptic discussions of a baptism of spirit or fire. In this fourth gospel the topic immediately returns to John’s single-minded focus on witnessing to the one who is to come. If the Pharisees want John to disclose some hidden authority he has for his baptismal ...

6. More Than Enough

John 6:1-21

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

... , after everyone had all they wanted to eat, when they were “satisfied,” (From the root word “sate” which means to fill up so that no more is wanted.) Jesus gave his disciples another task, one that he did not speak in the other gospels. In the synoptic gospels, the leftovers were mentioned almost as an afterthought, a footnote to the story. But for John, it was part of the very center of the narrative. Jesus said to them, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” And, we ...

7. Night and Light

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

... passion. The scenes shifted, and John 13-20 became “the book of glory.” Here in John 13, we are told that Jesus knew that his “hour” had come, and so he gathered his disciples for a final meal. Following Mark’s lead, the synoptic gospels clearly identified the final meal that Jesus shared with his disciples as a Passover celebration. Yet strangely, for all the other symbolism in the fourth gospel, John clearly steered away from that connection in chapter 13. Why? The answer appears to have several ...

8. The Perisitent Noise Of Solemn Assemblies

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

There is hardly a better-known or better-loved story in the New Testament than that of the Good Samaritan. A Jewish scholar says that it "is one of the simplest and noblest among the noble gallery of parables in the Synoptic Gospels. Love, it tells us, must know no limits of race .... Who needs me is my neighbor. Whom at the given time and place I can help with my active love, he is my neighbor and I am his."1 So it is that Jesus illustrates in an unforgettable way ...

9. Holy Week

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... there to rescue the Hebrews, to release them from their bonds. The tradition is significant and is still celebrated with much solemnity. Christianity certainly has a vast tradition as well. The account of the Last Supper is mentioned in all four Gospels, but only the Synoptics describe the institution of the Eucharist on this date. St. Paul is our other source of what happened that evening. Paul tells us in the Second Reading that he hands on to us what he himself learned. In other words Paul is passing on ...

10. Pathway To God's Kingdom

Mark 4:26-29, Mark 4:30-34

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

... . In the gospel of John it is cited only twice. In the book of Acts, describing the beginnings of the Christian church, it is only noted six times. But the kingdom of God is a central part of the synoptic tradition, that collection of preaching found in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Jesus' preaching, as remembered in Matthew, Mark and Luke, is filled with illustrations of God's rule upon earth, God's kingdom. His teaching is understood as both something about to happen (imminent) and as something already arrived ...

11. Manufactured Christianity: Jesus Sells, Jesus Sells!

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... the same incident. Consequently, when different witnesses corroborate a story, you can be fairly certain that it is of exceptional clarity and veracity to them. The writers of the synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, fall into this phenomenon. Some of their stories are disputed by each other. On some they agree. All three synoptic writers agree on a significant incident: the temptation of Jesus, following his baptism. All three writers relate the story. We can infer from the temptation story that the ...

12. Lazarus Laughed

John 11:17-37

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... , you will admit, open some interesting possibilities! At any rate, this story does not sound like an allegory or a parable or a “made up” story. It is filled with all sorts of little details which give it the ring of veracity. Why, then, did not the “Synoptic Gospels” (that’s what we call the first three) mention it? Could it be that Lazarus was still alive when they wrote, and they wished to save him the embarrassment of having folks treat him like a side-show freak, coming up to him and saying ...

13. Some Said It Thundered

John 12:20-36

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... wishes to die at age 33. (Give or take a few years. We are unsure of Jesus’ actual age.) No one wishes to die upon a cruel Roman cross. John’s Gospel does not give us the story of Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, where the Synoptics tell us that He sweat great drops of blood in fearful anticipation of the cross, but John does have Jesus, in the very last week of His life, shrinking back from the frightening realization that the path he was treading would inevitably lead to a cross. As Betty ...

14. Dealing with Our Doubts

Mark 9:14-32

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... AFTER JESUS AND THE “INNER CIRCLE” OF PETER, JAMES, AND JOHN, CAME DOWN THE MOUNTAIN, THEY ENCOUNTERED HUMAN SUFFERING. This narrative, commonly referred to as “An epileptic boy healed” appears in all three Synoptic Gospels...and in each, immediately follows the Transfiguration of our Lord. In all the Synoptic Gospels these events are linked: the glory at the mountaintop and the suffering in the valley. That’s the way life is, isn’t it? We may have some high moment of inspiration, but ...

15. Holy Thursday

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

... Church agree that the Last Supper took place on the Thursday of Passion Week. And they agree that Jesus was crucified on a Friday. If one measures the day in the Jewish manner, from sunset to sunset, then the Synoptic Gospels (the first three Gospels which “see things with the same eye” i.e., “Synoptic”) tell us that the Last Supper and the crucifixion of Jesus occurred on the same day! I never thought of that before. The first three Gospels say that the Last Supper was a Passover meal. On the other ...

16. Letting Go and New Beginnings

Mark 9:2-9

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... transform the apostles challenges us to see our need to change, drop the past, and look to the brightness of the future. The Transfiguration was certainly a very important event as it is one of only a few that are related in all three synoptics. Many scripture scholars believe that this event may have actually occurred after the resurrection, but was placed by the evangelists at a time during Jesus' life to convey an important message. The missive, many say, is that the Jesus' disciples must learn to change ...

17. Commissioned for Christ

2 Kings 2:1-12

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... took his three so-called "super apostles" to the mountain and there he was transfigured before them. Some scripture scholars believe that this event was actually a post-resurrection story that was placed at this point in the synoptic gospels for effect. The fact that all three synoptic writers, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, narrate this event — one of the few so mentioned by all three evangelists — is clear evidence of its significance. What happened on that mountain? Jesus was, for a short period of time ...

18. Drowsy Disciples

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... that they should be “blameless” on that day, and he recognizes — as we have seen in Isaiah and will see again in Mark — that the present involves waiting (“you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ”). Mark 13:24-37 All three synoptic gospels include a collection of end-of-time teachings of Jesus during the extended narrative between the events of Palm Sunday and Easter. In Matthew, the teachings with an end-of-time theme occupy most of chapters 24 and 25. Luke devotes somewhat less of ...

19. Bread of the Eucharist (Bread of Life IV)

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Charles R. Leary

... you read Matthew’s, Mark’s and Luke’s versions of the Last Supper, it is easy to recognize in them that Jesus chose bread to take the place of his broken body, and wine to take the place of his shed blood. Most liturgies use these Synoptic references to the Last Supper rather than the one in John because the meaning is more obvious. John offers no interpretation of his text. Three: By the time John wrote, Christianity had been around two and a half generations. The story had been told again and again ...

20. An Untouchable God?

1 Samuel 6:1-7:1

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... only when God wants to be touched. That issue is addressed fully and forever later in the New Testament and in no place there more poignantly than in the story of the woman who suffered with a severe bleeding disorder, related in all the synoptic gospels. (Mark 5, Matthew 9 & Luke 8) This woman’s alleged uncleanness removed her from the consolations of faith (see Leviticus 15); it was held that her condition rendered her unacceptable to God. Little wonder that when she heard of Jesus and his healing ...

21. Nothing Is Impossible

Exodus 13:17--14:31

Sermon

Walter Kimbrough

A marvelous story is told by the synoptic gospel writers about a boy who was possessed by an evil spirit. His father was concerned sufficiently enough to seek help for the boy in a time when all help had failed. The boy was brought to the disciples of Jesus with the request for healing, but they were powerless ...

22. Keeping In Touch… With The Lord

Exodus 33:12-23

Sermon

Walter Kimbrough

... not supplication, or begging, but a simple asking for and affirmation of that which we know is waiting for us at the hands of our Father. Further, it is contended that prayer has simplicity. It’s not tough to understand or master. Each of the three synoptic gospel writers found the need to tell the story of the unnamed woman who had been bleeding for 12 years without finding relief. Medically, she should have been dead as the result of a depleted blood supply. But, for whatever reason, she was still alive ...

23. The Resurrection Is Freedom

John 11:38-44

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... with it is a present reality! Think about that point for a moment. This idea that the new life given in the resurrection is already available to the faithful is a central (though too often overlooked) theme in Jesus' preaching. Think how often in the first three (synoptic) gospels Jesus proclaims that the kingdom of God (the new order of things) "is at hand (Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:15; Luke 11:20; 17:21)."2 John seems to make the same point in his representation of Jesus in our gospel story today. When Jesus ...

24. The Signs Of Salvation

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Theodore F. Schneider

... to reward the righteous and punish those who are beyond the usual pale of social respectability. Clearly, "salvation" is the goal of God's plan for his Son, Jesus Christ, and this salvation is an important part of the Christ event. Among the synoptic gospels, Luke is the only one to assign to Jesus the title "Savior." Paul writes of awaiting and working out our salvation. For Luke, salvation is something already achieved. "Today salvation has come to this house." The ancient Hebrew root word most often ...

25. What Is Your Holy Week Address?

Matthew 27:45-56

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... one of the ears of the high priest’s slave. Next we have Good Friday with its suffering, and its mood is defeat. Jesus is treated to a kangaroo court, completely lacking in any semblance of judicial respect, found guilty and taken away to be murdered. The synoptic Gospels paint a picture that reflects defeat. It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun's light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. (Matthew 27:45, 51, GNB ...

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