Sermon and Worship Resources

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Matthew 9:35-38, Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Marc Kolden

It's probably not a good idea to speed-read the Bible. You might get the overall story and you might even improve your comprehension but you would be likely to miss the little details. And in our passage today from Matthew 9-10 the details are at least as important as the story of the events themselves -- and the details may be more interesting. The story has to do with Jesus seeing all the people...

2. Friends In Low Places

Matthew 9:9-13

Sermon

Marc Kolden

This gospel reading from Matthew is surprising, if you think about it. A man named Matthew is sitting at his job in the tax collector's booth and Jesus comes to that town and says two words to Matthew, "Follow me." And Matthew stands up, walks off his job and follows Jesus. Does that ring true? Matthew didn't count the cost; he didn't think of the consequences; he just followed. It seems too abrup...

3. God Deep In The Flesh

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Marc Kolden

Our gospel reading today from Matthew 28 is both famous and familiar. Most of us have heard it many times. It is Jesus' "Great Commission" to the eleven disciples shortly after his resurrection. The disciples go to the mountaintop and the risen Christ comes to them in the midst of their doubts and astonishment and speaks those amazing words: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to ...

4. Stop Being Afraid

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Marc Kolden

Jesus' instructions to his disciples prior to their first mission continue in today's gospel reading. He has been telling them about all the dangers and hardships they may have to put up with and ends by saying (in effect), "What do you expect? A disciple is not greater than his teacher. If the world gives me a bad time, it will give you one too" (Matthew 10:24-25). So what does Jesus do? Sell the...

5. The Bread Of Life

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Marc Kolden

Nearly the whole sixth chapter of the Gospel of John is about bread. It begins with an account of Jesus feeding a huge crowd of people from five loaves and two fish and doing it so lavishly that there are 12 baskets of crumbs left over. Then, after Jesus and his disciples left by boat, the next day the crowd searched and found him on the other side of the lake, but Jesus criticized them: "You're l...

6. The Breath Of God

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Marc Kolden

Pentecost is the third great Christian festival. On Christmas we celebrated the birth of Christ, our Savior. On Easter we celebrated his victorious resurrection from death. And today we remember Christ's giving of the Holy Spirit. Our story from the gospel of John takes place on Easter evening, after the disciples had discovered that the tomb was empty and Jesus had appeared to Mary Magdalene. Je...

7. The Breath Of God

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Marc Kolden

8. The Promising Invitation

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Marc Kolden

Our gospel reading today contains one of the most familiar passages in the Bible. Most of us probably know it in words of one of the older translations, but most of us do know it. "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28, KJV). For centuries this passage has been used for comforting the grieving, encouraging the struggling, and giving hope when...

9. The Spreading Word

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

Marc Kolden

Jesus told them a parable: Listen up, folks. A farmer went out to plant. This was many centuries ago, before modern machinery. He carried a large bag of seeds and threw them all around by hand. In those days, a farmer threw the seeds (or "sowed" them) before he plowed them under. He would come along later and turn ground over so that the seeds would be covered with soil and could grow. Therefore, ...

10. The Sure Foundation

Matthew 7:15-23, Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

Marc Kolden

Today we have heard two short sayings from the very end of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. First Jesus says, "Not everyone who says, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven." Not everyone who says, "I believe"; not all who say they are Christians; not everyone who claims to have done great deeds in Christ's name will be saved. "But only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." And we ...

11. The Wheat Among The Weeds

Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 13:36-43

Sermon

Marc Kolden

Our gospel passage today is this peculiar parable of Jesus about the wheat and the weeds. Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven (that is, the rule of God) is like this: A man went out in his field and sowed (by hand, of course, in those days) the good seed that he had saved from the previous year's crop. It was sown all over, not in neat rows or spaced evenly. And since nearly 2,000 years ago ther...

12. Welcoming Christ

Matthew 10:40-42

Sermon

Marc Kolden

What is this passage about? Is it about the disciples, the twelve? Yes, of course, it is about them; these are Jesus' final words of instruction to them and astonishing words they are! "Whoever welcomes you guys welcomes me," Jesus says, "and whoever welcomes me welcomes the Father who sent me" (10:40). Their mission was God's mission; their words were God's words; the people whom they met encount...

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