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 701 to 725 of 1076 results

701. Exercise Your Spiritual Gifts

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon

Richard Hasler

... of his letter. Paul begins by asserting his apostleship. He is one "sent forth" by Christ Jesus to do the will of God. Reference is made to brother Sosthenes. We are not absolutely sure who he is, but he might be the Sosthenes mentioned in Acts 18:17, the official of the Jewish synagogue in Corinth who was beaten by an angry mob. Paul writes to a specific Christian community but notice he calls them "the church of God" in Corinth. He is always aware of the divine origin of the church. The Corinthians ...

702. To Bow The Knee

Philippians 2:5-11

Sermon

Sandra Hefter Herrma

... of dying -- even the death reserved for terrorists and street scum. Notice, it does not say that God demanded his death. Indeed, in John 10:17-18, Jesus is quoted as saying, "For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up ... power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father." Jesus was not acting under compulsion. He was not satisfying some blood lust of an angry God. He came out of love for us, to lay down his life ...

703. Gomer, God's "Yet"

Hosea 1:1-2:1

Sermon

Richard L. Sheffield

... indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore" (Genesis 22:17). The message in Hosea is you may become a people as wayward as Hosea's wife, yet I will still love you. I have every reason ... exploit neighbor and nature, and threaten death to the planet entrusted to our care. We deserve God's condemnation. YET God acts with justice and mercy to redeem creation. In everlasting love, the God of Abraham and Sarah chose a covenant people ...

704. A Most Important Dawning

Isaiah 60:1-22

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

... send gifts of homage to this great King of kings. Bronze and iron and gold and silver all would pour in (Isaiah 60:17). It would arrive by camels from the east and stream in on ships from the west, all the things necessary to rebuild ... is and what our relationship to God and to one another is designed to be? You know the "new Christian" temperament? It describes how someone acts who has just learned about God's love in Jesus Christ. The person is excited, and glowing with relief and joy. The burden of years ...

705. Week Three Of Lent

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... us listen to the challenge to forgive others; let us be agents of reconciliation this day! Wednesday Week ThreeDeuteronomy 4:1, 5-9Matthew 5:17-19 The Spirit Of The Law To a non-lawyer like myself the law seems to have two parts, the letter and the spirit ... attitude that one brings is all important to God. The Pharisee is one who wants others to know that he is important. His acts of fasting and payment of the tithe are good actions. Certainly God is pleased with people who sincerely fast or support the Church ...

706. The Breath Of God

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Marc Kolden

... this way. "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." God acts now through those who follow Jesus: they (we!) must pronounce the words of forgiveness if people are to be forgiven. And if they ( ... Joel 2:28), and just as the New Testament teaches that no one could believe if not for the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9-17, indicating that all Christians receive the Holy Spirit), so also we need to realize that the command to forgive sins applies to all of ...

707. Welcoming Christ

Matthew 10:40-42

Sermon

Marc Kolden

... the most are those who already know it best. Faith comes by hearing, as the apostle Paul wrote, hearing the word of Christ (Romans 10:17) as it was spoken and written by the disciples and by others who were converted by their words. This is why we call the church ... many years; you, the believer, may never even know that anything has occurred. But in our passage Jesus praises even the simplest act of giving a cup of water to someone. Getting up on Sunday morning and going to worship may be an eloquent witness ...

708. The Assumption Of Discipline

Matthew 6:1-4, Matthew 6:5-15, Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill" (Matthew 5:17). The law and the prophets had perfectly set the stage for Jesus' ministry. And Jesus says "whenever you give alms," "whenever you pray," "whenever ... expansion in the Jerusalem Christian community, they determined to give themselves continually to prayer and the ministry of the word (Acts 6:4). And Martin Luther, when asked how he managed all his affairs, declared, "I have so much business I ...

709. The Christian Journey III: The Desert

Sermon

John N. Brittain

Exodus 17:1-7; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13; Mark 1:1-13 Years ago I visited a university which was really in the middle of nowhere. That is ... manna, we all share in the Eucharist, a practice Paul addresses a few verses later. And finally, the water which flowed from the rock which Moses struck was understood as a symbol of the saving acts of Jesus Christ, the living water. By the way, this passage was the inspiration for the famous hymn text, "Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me." Paul was neither the first nor the last to ...

710. Shared Bread

1 Corinthians 10:14-22

Sermon

Alex Gondola

... had shared food together, he would not allow the murderer to be punished. All around the world, people place a symbolic significance on the act of eating together. That's true of Ancient Persia, the Far East, and many other places. It's also true here in the United ... loaf of bread, all of us, though many, are one body, for we all share the same loaf" (1 Corinthians 10:16-17, TEV). Companionship from shared bread. For this one moment at least, denominations and political affiliations don't matter. And we are no ...

711. The Downside Of The Practice -- Performance Equation

Romans 8:28-39

Sermon

Robert R. Kopp

... " (Matthew 7:12). I'm still glad I'm a man because of the birth thing. I'll be a much better one when I start acting with gender fairness off and on the course. I'll be a friendly son of God when I stop shrugging off sexism and start standing up ... . And the only way to rise above them is to remain faithful to God's will for our lives. Or as Habakkuk explained (2:4; 3:17-19): The righteous live by their faith. Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the ...

712. Call Home

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

Rodney Thomas Smothe

... false sense of security based on our own ability. But the scripture says, "When he came to his senses" (Luke 15:17), when conviction set in, when that turning point occurred that young man and each and every one of us can return ... to right relationship with him. Our focus during the Lenten season revolves around our separation and God's reconciliation through his wonderful acts of mercy, forgiveness, and grace. A young man approached me during the fellowship hour following one of our worship services and said ...

713. The Divine Advocacy

John 16:5-16

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... long after Memorial Day is itself dead and forgotten. Pentecost means 50, and refers to the 50th day following Easter. According to the Gospels and Book of Acts, for 40 days the resurrected Jesus appeared to his disciples and then ascended into heaven. But on the Jewish festival day of Pentecost, 50 days after Easter ... condemn the world, but to save it and make it whole" (John 3:16-17). This is the Divine Advocacy. 1. Phillips, J. B. God, Our Contemporary, (New York: Macmillan, 1960), p. VIII. 2. Ibid., p. 6.

714. Bad Timing

Matthew 20:20-28

Sermon

Thomas Long

... like a blacksmithing major at the local vocational college, is a living embodiment of bad timing. What she does, of course, is to act on her concern about the job potential of her two sons. No surprise there; parents have been anxious about their children's ... best" is now a piece of permanent, eternal, immutable bad timing because in Jesus "the kingdom of heaven has come near" (Matthew 4:17). So, the message of the gospel is not carpe diem, but "repent"; not "watch for the right moment to make your move," ...

715. The Breath Of God

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Marc Kolden

716. Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

William B. Kincaid, III

... part of who we are is wrapped up in this person whom we mourn. Mourning often is painted as a time when all is lost, but this act of remembering calls to mind that not all is lost. We remember the time we spent with the person, both the little incidents that would only mean ... . 40. 6. Walter Brueggemann, Praying the Psalms (Winoma, Minnesota: St. Mary's Press, 1986), pp. 17-22. 7. Harold Kushner, When Bad Things Happen to Good People (New York: Avon Books, 1981), p. 120. 8. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, On ...

717. I Am The Teacher

Sermon

Ronald Lavin

... nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them." -- John 13:12-17 (NRSV) ____________ Jesus never said, "I am the teacher." Precisely, he said, "You call me Teacher and Lord -- and you are right, for that is ... and make my own decisions and go my own way. What I had to learn from the Teacher is that this way doesn't work. No act of the self can lift the self out of the self by the self because the biggest problem I have is the self. That Jesus is ...

718. A Moment Of Decision

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... declared that God's judgment was imminent. The only way people could escape it was to confess their sins and in a deliberate act of repentance turn from their wrongdoing. But surely Jesus had no need to be baptized under those conditions. Why then was Jesus ... . The apostle reminds us, "... if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him" (Romans 8:17). To be baptized into this ministry of Jesus means involvement on our part. It is at this point we are afflicted with paralysis ...

719. Pathway To God's Kingdom

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

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

... in the New Testament except in the synoptics. 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 ... understand that God's kingdom is already a present reality. He spoke to the Pharisees, "In fact, the kingdom of God is among you." (Luke 17:21) In a paradoxical way, that seems true to life. God's working presence seems always to do with the immediate moment as well as ...

720. Words As Images

Sermon

Michael Rogness

... we are addressing a generation accustomed to acting primarily on visual stimuli ... In our modern age the preacher must therefore translate the biblical message into one that ... calf .... The minister says, "all men are mortal" and meets drowsy agreement; he announces that "Mr. Brown's son is dying," and the church becomes the church.17 Imagery takes an abstract, general idea and expresses it with a concrete, specific term which creates a picture in the mind. For example, "Flowers are beautiful" is a ...

721. What Do You Expect Your Religion To Do?

James 1:1-18

Sermon

Clement E. Lewis

... like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act -- they will be blessed in their doing. If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts ... about those who had worked all day in the fields, and then were directed to prepare and serve the evening meal. (Luke 17) We never quite seem to get everything done that we desire -- there is continually something beyond. And that is good. That something ...

722. Taking Life Seriously

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

W. Robert McClelland

... genuine concern to us because it is to God. So too, the life of our planet earth. Its creation was an act of God. But its destruction could well be our own doing. Polluting the earth with our waste. Cutting down rain forests. ... Jerusalem. Finally, during the last meal with his disciples, Jesus uttered the words that must have popped their eyes open, "The hour has come (John 17:1)." The words burst forth, not as a death knell, but the glorious climax to a life intentionally lived. When Jesus invites us to take ...

723. What's a Good God Doing In a World Like This?

John 16:5-16

Sermon

James Weekley

... cold - the whole lot of us. Apart from him we become entombed like the self-seeking goodness of the Pharisees. Jesus himself suggested, "Why call me good? Only God is good." (Matthew 19:17) With Jesus goodness is Godness. You'll hear that again. For the present, the drama of God's goodness must be acted out in our limbs. His goodness in that lubricant which gets us moving toward human need. Jesus specialized in those difficult, radical needs no one else would touch ... street people ... lepers ... rip-off ...

724. A Letter From Paul

Sermon

Erskine White

... ). Oh, this love of money exacts such a terrible price! It makes whole societies obsessed with materialism and also acts as an anesthetic on the individual conscience, allowing people to do things they would never do without the justification ... world and are part of the world, but you are not a mere reflection of the world. Instead, you are "a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17), a new society of people bound together and imbued with "the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16). "Once you were no people, but now ...

725. No Need For Weeping Anymore

John 20:10-18

Sermon

Erskine White

... the Lord is risen today! Mary was blessed to be present at the moment of creation, the moment of the "new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17) when the kingdom of death was ended and the kingdom of eternal life was begun. But we are no less blessed today. We are ... life! What a difference it makes to bring to our present problems the perspective of eternity! "Woman, why are you weeping? Why do you act as if all hope is gone? Look up and see that they have not taken your Lord away - He is standing there before you ...

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