Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: take action, take steps, take measures, take the initiative, move, make a move, react, do something, proceed, go ahead, behave, function, perform, operate, work, take effect, serve, be efficacious, play, play a part, take part, be an actor, be an actress, be one of the cast, appear, pretend, play-act, sham, fake, feign, put it on, bluff, pose, posture, masquerade, dissemble, dissimulate, deed, action, gesture, feat, exploit, performance, undertaking, maneuver, stunt, operation, venture, effort, enterprise, achievement, accomplishment, law, decree, statute, bill, Act of Parliament, edict, fiat, dictum, dictate, enactment, resolution, ruling, rule, judgement, canon, ordinance, proclamation, command, commandment, mandate, measure, stipulation, direction, requirement, division, section, subsection, portion, part, segment, component, bit, turn, routine, number, item, piece, sketch, skit, playlet, dance, song, pretense, false display, show, front, facade, charade, guise, affectation, appearance

Antonyms: do nothing

Showing 476 to 500 of 1076 results

476. A Chance To Dance

Luke 5:17-25

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... Time by the American Film Institute. In 1932, a Hollywood talent agent made this note on his screen test: "Can't act. Can't sing. Can dance a little." The screen test was clearly disappointing, and David O. Selznick, who had commissioned the ... dance for joy because of the joy of the Lord. Let's look at the passage and see why the man danced for joy. Luke 5:17-25 (NRSV) [17] One day, while he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting near by (they had come from every village of Galilee and ...

477. The Adventure Begins

Ephesians 1:15-23, Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... the head over all things for the church, [23] which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. Specifically in verse 17 Paul says, "I pray that God....may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation." Just like the Disciples at Pentecost, just like those ... of wisdom and revelation" opens our hearts and our minds to both the glory and the will of God In the passage from Acts we read about the Ascension of Jesus and the commission Jesus gave them to go into the world starting in Jerusalem, then going ...

478. A Gratitude Adjustment

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. [16] He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. [17] Then Jesus asked, "Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? [18] Was none of them found to return and give ... the poor Samaritan could do was shrug his shoulders and grin in embarrassment and gratitude. It makes you wonder if acts like this aren't what caused the spiritual struggle in the garden, the night Jesus to wrestled with His willingness ...

479. The Miracle of Peace

Psalm 85:1-13

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... get out of bed, and from then on, I'm going to need a whole lot of help. In Jesus Name, Amen. Here we are just 17 days away from Christmas 2002. If you find yourself needing a lot of help, then you have come to the very spot to find the ... . The bell rings. The kids rush to class. Finally the teacher is forced to call the EMS to release Flick. Sensing that Flick has not acted alone the teacher says to the class, “I am sure the guilt you feel in this room is far worse than any punishment you might receive ...

480. A Strange Way in and a New Way Out

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

... draw analogies about life. "The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, but the Lord tests the heart" (Proverbs 17:3). This wisdom saying compares the processing of metal to the testing of human hearts. We value this kind of wisdom. ... he asks the Magi to let him know the whereabouts of the child. Herod represents all those in power who claim a noble purpose, but who act out of self-interest and greed. He stands in for all who clutch at power without regard for who might be hurt. When he claims a ...

481. Come

Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... sense of refreshment is not just for us but for "everyone who is thirsty." Let's look at the passage together. Rev. 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21. [12] "See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone's work. [13] I am the Alpha and ... DRINK." The old saying, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink" isn't just true about horses. Sometimes we acts like horses, too. We're presented with every opportunity to drink and "take the water of life as a gift." But we don't. We hold ...

482. Mystery of the Unlikely

Luke 1:39-55

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... may simply have been because they WERE descendants of David. It may have been because Mary was so young. Probably no more than 16 or 17. At that age she still had a great enthusiasm for life and faith. And a great ability to adapt and adjust, which was greatly needed when ... two partners: God sends a message, but we have to be willing to receive that message. And not only receive it but act upon it or obey it. (4) Mary and Joseph may have been Unlikely Parents but they listened and obeyed. III. Unlikely ...

483. The Grateful Samaritan

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

King Duncan

... again and found a man and a woman clinging desperately to a piece of wreckage. He brought them in, too, and collapsed on the beach. Fewer than one-fourth of the 400 passengers on that boat survived the shipwreck, 17 of them rescued by Ed Spencer. His own health, however, was irreparably damaged by his act of heroism, and he was never able to return to school, ultimately living out his days as an invalid. Years later, a reporter doing a story on Great Lakes tragedies found Spencer as an old man in a nursing ...

484. The Season of Reconciliation

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

... not be pleased. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise" (vv. 16-17). Lent is a time to go inward, to open your heart to God and receive the wonderful gift of reconciliation that God offers. There's ... removing the wall that stands between you, or accepting your differences? I encourage you to take the ministry of reconciliation seriously and act on it during this season of Lent. You may have a long list of people you would like to work at ...

485. The Real Underdog!

1 Samuel 17:1, 4-11, 19-23, 32-49

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

Every boy I knew growing up in the Midwest loved this story. We acted it out. We imagined ourselves as David, the shepherd boy, with nothing but a sling and a few ... if it turns on me, I seize it by the beard and batter it to death. Lions I have killed and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine will fare no better than they ..." (1 Samuel 17:34-36). Wow! This is the talk of either a very courageous young man or a real fool. These, as we used to say in Oklahoma, are not the words of some city kid. These ...

486. The Missing Figure in the Nativity Scene

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... come before the Messiah; indeed, some modern Jews continue to await Elijah’s coming. This is why the disciples asked Jesus in Matthew 17:10, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?” Jesus tells his disciples that Elijah has ... as the “savior of mothers.” In 1818, Semmelweis was born into a world of dying women particularly women dying in the act of childbirth. The finest hospitals lost one out of six young mothers to a scourge known as “childbed fever.” And here’ ...

487. Ready Or Not, Here He Comes!

Luke 3:7-18

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... "worth the same as" or "equivalent to" or "measuring up to." In other words, your talk might declare that you have cleaned up your act — repented — but your walk will show it. John's next comments are as apt for today and tomorrow as they were for the people ... his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire" (Luke 3:17). At first blush, this does not sound like someone I would look forward to. But inthe context of what John has just told ...

488. Help From Habakkuk?

Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

... a commodity we possess or as a personal achievement. Jesus' parable of the mustard seed illustrates our mistake in thinking (Luke 13:18-19; 17:5-6). In that story Jesus is saying that the level of faith really isn't the issue. What matters is in whom you put ... our lives or in the world. Therefore, as the psalmist says, we can commit our way to the Lord, trusting that God will act (Psalm 37:). And as HaBAKkuk (or HAbaKKUK) reminds us, we can endure the struggles of the present with patience and hope with joy ...

489. Face to Face

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... in the normal. Although we usually think of the traditional “Transfiguration” scene presented in the gospels (Luke 9:28ff; Matthew 17:2ff; Mark 9:2ff) as the source of all transfiguration imagery, Paul extends that concept in two different ways in ... that the glory was momentary, that it was being “set aside.” From Paul’s post-resurrection perspective he views Moses’ act of veiling as evidence the prophet recognized the transitory, temporary “glory” of the Law. Hence he did not want the people ...

490. Jesus Light

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. 14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. 17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children; Here ... individuals with names, not institutions or instruments with numbers. The “light” that Jesus gave his disciples enables us to act as “glow-worms” to the world. Jesus light does more than make us a lighthouse beacon to the ...

491. In the Mood for Murder

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... hell.” Why would Jesus make these extreme comments about an emotion as universal as anger? It is because the outward act always begins with an inward emotion. I believe we need to give these words of our Master our most prayerful ... he drove the tax collectors out of the temple (Mt. 21:12-17; John 2:13–22)? He was angry with those who criticized him for healing on the Sabbath (Mark 3:5 even uses the word “anger”). And in Matthew 23:17 he called the Pharisees “blind fools.” So we conclude that there ...

492. The Voice-activated Life

2 Peter 1:12-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... your voice gives you access to whole new worlds of fantasy and fun. The power of The Voice is testified to in this week’s texts. Both Matthew 17:1-9 and 2 Peter 1:16-21 reminds us that it is with a word that God reveals the presence and power of Jesus. It was with ... Her” was called the scariest horror movie of 2013, even scarier than Texas ChainSaw Massacre 3D and there’s not one act of violence or blood in the movie. Siri is a voice that simulates a relationship. In the movie “Her,” artificial ...

493. Night of Light

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Timothy Cargal

... oracle’s relevance to Jesus was fulfilled not at his birth but at the beginning of his ministry (see again Matthew 4:12-17). Thus, just as Isaiah’s oracle was originally associated with a king’s coronation and the beginning of his reign, Matthew ... not supposed to be just a time to recognize and celebrate God’s gift to us. That gift is always to be a challenge to act in such ways as to extend God’s grace to others. Even as we are busy driving back the physical darkness with all our decorations, ...

494. Everything Must Go: If I Were a Rich Man

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

James Merritt

... you will see, that it is. I want to warn you, the message of this parable goes against the way we think, the way we act, the way we live, and the way we handle our wealth as much as anything that Jesus ever told. Because of who we are and ... .And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’” (Luke 12:17-19, ESV) If you listen to those verses carefully you heard the following words a total of ten times – “I” and “my.” He thought ...

495. You Shall Be My Witness

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... Spirit is come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses, in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) That’s what Jesus said: “You shall be my witnesses.” And that’s what the 83-year-old grandmother was doing in Southern Illinois. We ... UMC, Columbia, Missouri 2. Donald Shelby, “Speaking of Hallowed Things,” January 17, 1988—First United Methodist Church, Santa Monica, CA 3. Sheldon Vanauken, A Severe Mercy 4. Donald Shelby, “Speaking of ...

496. A Jiffy for Eternity

John 3:1-17

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act," says the Lord. (Ezekiel 37:12-14) This is what happens every time the wind of God -- the Holy Spirit -- moves across the cold dead ... , God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him" (v. 17). Did you hear that sentence? Despite what many of us may have heard or feared, this God who comes to us in Jesus is for ...

497. What Was That All About?

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

James L. Killen

... of this dramatic situation. We have heard how God, the Word, came to live among us as one of us. We have heard how God acted to orchestrate the birth of one who was destined to be the messiah. If this story of the coming of the savior was not something ... ﬁnd Jesus back in Galilee, preaching the same message John preached: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near" (Matthew 4:17). We ﬁnd him healing people, making them whole in more than just physical ways, and calling others to join him in his ...

498. Jesus' No-Nonsense Guide to Discipleship

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

April Yamasaki

... of honor." How ironic given his decidedly shameful occupation of begging on the street; yet by the end of the story Bartimaeus acted with honor as a good disciple who followed Jesus. What is it about Bartimaeus that makes him a good disciple? What can ... hears say, 'Come.' And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift" (Revelation 22:17). Coming to Jesus may look different for each one of us. A longtime member of the church once told me that Sunday morning was ...

499. A Bridge Between Two Worlds

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

... all about the kingdom of God. To understand this story in Luke 18, we have to go back to the end of Luke, chapter 17. In Luke 17: 20-37, Jesus warns his followers that the kingdom of God is coming and they need to be prepared because most people will not be ... way to cross the bridge, Sharansky replied that the KGB had told him to cross the bridge in a straight line, and his last act of defiance against his oppressors was to dance his way across the bridge into freedom. (5) Prayer is the tool God gave us to ...

500. Trusting in the Goodness of God

Genesis 2:15-17, Genesis 3:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... scavenging for resources to stay alive. God intended for us to live in His presence and in His provision. Then we read verses 16-17: And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from ... when I asked God to take charge of my life.” For Mr. Irwin, who died March 1, 2014 at age 73, the hike was an act of salvation. And whenever he got the opportunity, he quoted the first verse he learned as a new Christian, from Second Corinthians 5:7: “For we ...

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