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 176 to 200 of 1076 results

176. Hamburgers Don't Grow on Trees

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

Sermon

King Duncan

... inspired by a friend who had donated a kidney to help someone. Rick’s kidney ended up in a man in Livingston, New Jersey. What makes this story more wonderful is that Rick’s act started a chain of donations. The niece of the man who received Rick’s kidney made a donation, giving one of her kidneys to a stranger, and so on. Within a relatively short ... . (New York: Doubleday, 2001). Cited at https://jdshankles.wordpress.com/2012/07/. 8. https://chapel.duke.edu/sites/default/files/GoodEarth--06-17-12.pdf.

177. In Pursuit Of The Promise

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

... you another Counselor, to be with you forever ... you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you" (John 14:16-17). Luke referred to that promise in today's passage when he wrote, "And while staying with them he charged them not to depart from ... to it twice. He ended his gospel by emphasizing this message and then he echoed the same emphasis in the beginning of the Book of Acts. In the Gospel of Luke, we find these words, "And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, ...

178. Jailhouse Rock

Acts 16:16-34

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... cried out on many occasions, "These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation" (Acts 16:17). Most High God was the Gentile name for the God of the Hebrews. Evidently this began to annoy Paul after many ... expense and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance" (Acts 28:30-31). And the story stops. We're on our way to a big trial in Rome, and we never do find out what happens ...

179. A Shepherd Who Became a Sovereign

2 Samuel 12:1-31

Sermon

R. Blaine Detrick

... David, is the man we consider in this chapter. The Bible calls David "a man after God’s own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). Yet, in spite of that evaluation, David was guilty of adultery, murder, and cruelty of various kinds. How then could he ... 1. ____ long-haired son of David (2 Samuel 14:26) 2. ____ committed suicide (1 Samuel 31:14) 3. ____ slain with a slingshot (1 Samuel 17:49, 50) 4. ____ helped David escape by a window (1 Samuel 19:12) 5. ____ anointed David to be king (1 Samuel 16:13) 6. ____ ...

180. Prescription on a Pole

John 3:1-21

Sermon

David J. Kalas

... still, Jesus becomes the bronze serpent. The familiar passage moves beyond the reference to the serpent on a pole. Verses 16 and 17 state marvelously the motive and purpose of God. It is surely an essential part of the proclamation of the gospel to report ... 2:8-9), while at the same time affirming the necessity of faith (Romans 3:22-31) and our participation in our salvation (Acts 16:29-31). We are prompted to consider again the observation that the remedy recalls the malady. It was not some symbol of ...

181. The House on The Rock

Lk 6:12-49 · Mt 5:1-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... joy of doing it together. Actions build houses, as Jesus tells us in his sermon today. We build them brick by brick, stone by stone, act by act, deed by deed. [Ask people to hold up their stones or bricks]. You all have a stone [brick] in your hand today. Each one of ... 6:49) Minor Text Isaiah 2 (The Mountain of the Lord is the House of the God of Jacob) 2 Samuel 7 / 1 Chronicles 17 (God’s promise to flourish the House of David) Psalm 84 (Psalm of praise for the courts of the Lord) Psalm 18 (The Lord is ...

182. The Spontaneous Routine

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Theodore F. Schneider

... met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us (Luke 17:11-13)!" Always the master storyteller, Luke wastes not a word as he introduces our story. "Standing at a distance," indeed! That was ... , all good councils, and all just works do proceed." The biblical mandates and exhortations direct us to remember God's mighty acts for our salvation. Our blessings are counted neither to horde the largess of God's blessings nor to make us grateful because ...

183. The Door of Hospitality

John 12:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... in our lives, then we are set free to share with those who are around us; and how can we do otherwise? In Deuteronomy 24:17-18, Moses instructs the children of Israel not to deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of a widow as ... can’t reciprocate. I am a debtor to some kind person of the universe who on that particular day decided to do a kind act, a random act of kindness on behalf of somebody else. A young mother in her old Honda loaded down with children pays for the next five ...

184. When Life Gets Hard, Christian, Rebel!

Lamentations 1:1-22

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... . He is also a man who says yes, from the moment he makes his first gesture of rebellion.... In every act of rebellion, the rebel simultaneously experiences a feeling of revulsion at the infringement of his rights and a complete and spontaneous ... in Dr. King’s sense. We can only do it, we only have the confidence and strength to do it, because of the power of faith (Luke 17:6). Come to think of it, our faith in itself is not what gives the courage to rebel against the evils of life. It is the love ...

185. The Telling Trademarks of Truth

James 3:13-18

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... on it proves to be false and foolish. In verses 13-16, James shows what real Godly wisdom is not--and in verses 17-18, we see what real wisdom from above produces. There are some very telling trademarks of truth that can be traced. William Shakespeare ... you," and stayed at home where he belonged on her birthday--he would have been happier and $3300 richer. His knowledge did not help him act as a wise man. The Bible has a great deal to say about wisdom. In a wonderful way, the Bible is God''s wisdom imparted ...

186. Name Above Every Name

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Leonard Mann

... brought her owners much gain by soothsaying." Paul said to the spirit, "I charge you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her" (Acts 16:18). Peter and John were going up the temple steps at the hour of prayer when they came upon a lame man asking alms, and ... wrote to the Colossians: "Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus" (3:17 RSV). Yes, the name was of unsurpassed importance among those first followers of the Way. Sometimes actors and performers argue among ...

187. Great Grace Was Upon Them!

Acts 4:32-37

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

... supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. (2:15-17) In the Bible there is no divorce between spirituality and social responsibility. The vertical dimension of the community of believers - that is, our ... people. We look at our possessions in a new way. With the spirit of God in our lives we rise above "me" and "my" and act on the basis of "we" and "our." What we do with what we have, tells the world what we believe. That’s what stewardship is. ...

188. What It Takes

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

... them, they will owe me." Of course, he would need a favor from them ” he would soon be out of work. Time was running out. He had to act fast before word reached his boss' clients that he was being fired. He called in all the people, one by one, who owed crops to the wealthy landowner. ... Paradise," sermon by Dr. R. Maurice Boyd, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, New York, June 17, 1990. 5. William Barclay, THE GOSPEL OF LUKE (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975), pg. 208. 6. Robert Fulghum, UH-OH (New ...

189. Jumping through Hoops

Acts 11:1-18

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... , "The fruit never falls far from the tree," might be good for agriculture, but not for families of believers. "If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?" (Acts 11:17). That's the question Peter asked of himself — and by extension the question asked for us as well. Yet the quest for the pure church — and by pure what the person usually means is exclusive — is not only fruitless, it is un-Christian. We hinder God by ...

190. What Is Our City?

Acts 4:32-35

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... . The American was rattled. Didn't Saint Paul say once that faith is futile without the resurrection component? (1 Corinthians 15:17-19). The American embarked upon a mission to read up on all the latest scholarly German commentaries on the five accounts ... be divided equally among the forty members and, "furthermore," he suggested, "I move that no new members be taken in." The embryo church of Acts 4 took to heart the new command of Jesus, "that you love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my ...

191. The 5 Worst Things Christians Say After A Tragedy

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... greater still. God’s love unlocked the door to eternal life. All that we need to do is turn the knob and enter in. That takes an act of repentance — a turning towards God’s love and away from all that stands against that love. Let me end this morning where we began: with ... turn away from God suffer divine judgment and reap despair, illness, imprisonment, hunger, poverty, and death (see also Job 4:17; Ezekiel 18:26). Jesus will have none of it. Jesus refuses to make such a straight-line assessment of the ...

192. Voice Recognition

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . It’s a whole new world, this world of resurrection. Jesus’ first act is not to act. Jesus’ first act is to speak. His final act is to breathe. But his first act is to speak. His voice is his first resurrection appearance to his ... enough to banish all need to prove by the other senses. This empowering voice of peace reaffirms the promise Jesus had made in John 17:18: “As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” The “shalom alekem” Jesus’ voice offers both ...

193. Prophets and the Powerful

1 Kings 21:1-3, 17-21

Sermon

Will Willimon

... you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the LORD.”' (1 Kings 21:1-3, 17-21) A few years ago, Dr. Billy Graham was asked about his friendship with then recently deposed Richard Nixon. Graham had been ... President one day until a woman assured me, “Don't worry about having a preacher run for President because, if he gets elected, he won't act like a preacher for long.” And you know, she's probably right. Because that's what power does to people. It changes them so that they ...

194. The Promise Of Belief

Genesis 15:1-18

Sermon

Rodney Thomas Smothe

... Abram would have total confidence in God's promise. No, Abram's response: "But God, I am still childless." Sometimes because God doesn't act when and how we think God should, we respond in doubt. I know a young couple whose lives were tragically interrupted when their young ... though no heir had yet been born, God counted that as righteousness and a covenant ceremony took place (7-12 and 17-18). While we are no longer required to offer animals as a sacrifice, the season of Lent offers us many opportunities ...

195. What Happens When We Can't Believe It?

John 20:24-31

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... going through a living hell. Life was really treating them rotten, sort of like it does for us sometimes (1 Peter 1:6; 3:13-14, 16-17; 4:12; 5:10). And in the middle of all the suffering being inflicted upon them it was only natural that the people to whom Peter ... simple answer: Believe in the Risen Lord. Hang on, forget your feelings, and have faith in Jesus Christ (John 20:26-29; 1 Peter 1:3-7; Acts 2:22-24, 31-32). How can I do it? How can I believe in Jesus' resurrection and in God's love for me? How can ...

196. The Time of Our Visitation

Sermon

Leonard Mann

... world, and he is here, and he says, "I am with you" (Matthew 28:20). He says, "The Father has sent me" (John, chapters 5 through 17). He says, "I came from the Father" (John 16:28). It was the late J. B. Phillips who declared: "Ours is a visited planet." I ... he has come in very close to you. You do believe that God loves and cares; now I ask you to believe also that he is acting as if he does. Yes, John, you yonder in Herod’s prison, rejoice and be at peace. We don’t altogether understand how it is that ...

197. The Greatest Story Ever Told

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... own thing, without obligation to anybody or restriction by anybody. But what a lie! That formula is a sure-fire recipe for misery. Let's be honest. All of us have spent some time in a far country during the past year. Let's move to Act II in the prodigal's drama. In verse 17 we read, “But when he came to himself, he said 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger. I will arise and go to my Father...’” The words, "But when he came to himself ...

198. Easter Turns ONLY into ALSO

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... him in this way: "a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms liberally to the people, and prayed constantly to God" (Acts 10:2 RSV). One day, in his devotions, he had a strange vision in which a voice told him to send two emissaries to the ... to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?" (11:17). What of our day? Are the forces of tolerance fighting a losing battle against the stone wall of prejudice - in workshop, in school, in ...

199. Standing In the Gap: The Work of Intercession

2 Chronicles 7:11-22

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... is accomplished through us. Why is it? Why is it such a long leap in our mind to think that as God is dependent upon our acting, so He is dependent upon our praying. Is the question becoming more valid: what if—what if there are some things God either cannot or ... unless people pray? Do you remember the story of Israel’s first battle? The dramatic incident is recorded in Exodus 17. The Israelites confronted the Amalekites in Rephidim. Joshua commanded the army of Israel; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up ...

200. Speaking of the Spirit

Romans 8:12-17

Sermon

William G. Carter

... heirs with Christ - if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:14-17) The Holy Spirit is the most mysterious person of the Trinity. Presbyterians, for the most part, get stuck when it comes to ghost ... act like God acts, we show that we belong to God. Not only are we God's spitting image, we are called upon to do his work. We are invited to act as God acts toward us. Needless to say, that is something of a challenge. A lot of times we follow our own spirits. We act ...

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