Sermon and Worship Resources

Antonyms: keep, claim, continue, stick by, self-control, power through, achieve, defend, bear, hope, acquire, quick visit, adopt, continue along, adhere, remain, pursue, support, take up, keep up, reuse, advocate, stay, persevere, cherish, keep going, carry on

Showing 2476 to 2500 of 4933 results

2476. Forgive Our Enemies

Humor Illustration

Heinrich Hein, the poet satirist wrote, "My nature is the most peaceful in the world. All I ask is a simple cottage, a decent bed, good food, some flowers in front of my window, and a few trees beside my door. Then if God wanted to make me wholly happy, he would let me enjoy the spectacle of six or seven of my enemies dangling from those trees. I would forgive them all wrongs they have done me forgive them from the bottom of my heart, for we must forgive our enemies. But not until they are hanged!"

2477. The Church Sexton

Humor Illustration

There is a beautiful example of the good news/bad news principle in the story of a young man who applied for the job as a sexton at a nearby church. The minister of the church knew the young man to be a hard worker and dependable. He was concerned, however, that the young man could neither read nor write. There were several duties around the church for which this would be a severe handicap. So he awarded the sexton's job to someone else. The young man found another job, worked hard, saved his money, ...

2478. A Bear of a Customer

Humor Illustration

A certain bear, displaying a $5.00 bill, entered a bar and ordered a beer. The owner, thinking the bear couldn't be too intelligent, told the bartender to give the bear only 25 cents back in change. Having done this, the bartender watched in wonder as the bear placidly sipped his beer. Finally he could stand it no longer, and the bartender attempted to engage the bear in conversation. "You know," he said to the bear, "we don't get too many bears in this bar." To which the bear replied, "At $4.75 a beer, it ...

2479. Students Changing Light Bulbs

Humor Illustration

HOW MANY BIG TEN STUDENTS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHT BULB? At Michigan it takes two. One to change the bulb and one more to explain how they did it every bit as well as any Ivy Leaguer. At Northwestern it takes four. One to change the bulb, two to place bets on how long it will take, and one to run the book. At Michigan State it takes four. One to screw in the bulb, and three to figure out how to get high off the old one. At Ohio State it takes five. One to change it, two to talk about how Woody would ...

2480. Lightbulb Jokes

Humor Illustration

No modern society would be complete without a listing of some of the jokes that start off - How many _____ does it take to screw in a light bulb?: How many country singers does it take to change a light bulb? Four: one to screw in the new one, and three to sing about the old one. How many Virginians? Three: one to hold the ladder, one to screw in the bulb, and one highly refined lady to remark how much lovelier the old bulb was. How many Oregonians? Forty-two: one to hold the ladder, one to screw in the ...

2481. Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Great Love

Mark 10:1-12

Illustration

John McCard

There dwells within all of us the capacity to do great harm to other people when we insist on getting our own way, when we place our own fulfillment first, and we desire the adoration and worship of other people. I realize that many of us at different times in our lives fail to meet the expectations that Jesus has expressed as part of the Father's will in today's gospel. And because we fail at times to live out the vows that our lips might profess, this does not mean that God does not love us or that we ...

2482. What Anger Leaves Behind

Jn 20:1-18; 24-31

Illustration

Brett Blair

There was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all ...

2483. Psalm 44

Psalm 44:1-26

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The psalmist here presents four key ideas: (1) God has the power to deliver his people from their enemies, having done so in the past (44:1–8). (2) God has rejected the present generation of Israel, delivering them into their enemy’s hands (44:9–16). (3) God has rejected them despite their faithfulness to him (44:17–22). (4) Although God has rejected them, they plead to him for deliverance, because he alone is their Redeemer (44:23–26). God alone has the power to deliver his people to freedom or to bondage ...

2484. Psalm 85

Psalm 85:1-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

After judging his people for their sins, God forgives them fully and brings them back from their captivity (85:1–3). Yet God remains grieved by what they have done and has not removed all of the negative consequences of their sins (85:4–6). Israel has the hope of God’s salvation of peace—perhaps even for the current generation, if they trust him fully (85:7–9). Even though all is not well in Israel, God still blesses his people in many different ways (85:10–13). (“Folly” [85:8] is translated in the NIV as ...

2485. The Transfiguration

Mark 9:2-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The initial reference “after six days” (9:2), opening the transfiguration narrative (9:2–13), is unusual since Mark rarely gives specific time delimitations. The “six days” appears to link the transfiguration to Peter’s confession, assuring the bewildered disciples of the divine confirmation of Jesus’s way to the cross. Peter, James, and John appear elsewhere as Jesus’s inner circle (Mark 5:37; 13:3; 14:33). The “high mountain” (9:2) probably refers to Mount Hermon, rising 9,200 feet above Caesarea ...

2486. Making One’s Calling and Election Sure

2 Peter 1:1-11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

1:1–2 · Salutation: The letter opens with the identification of the author as “Simeon Peter” (RSV; NIV: “Simon Peter”)—this work uses the more original form of the name, Simeon (as in Acts 15:14), rather than the shortened version Simon. He is writing to those with “a faith as precious as ours”—so, to faithful believers. The expression “our God and Savior Jesus Christ” is unusual and unlike similar expressions later in the letter. If our author is following the normal rules of Greek, he is talking about a ...

2487. The Parable of the Two Sons

Matthew 21:28-32

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

21:28–32 The parable of the two sons is recorded only by Matthew. It is the first of three parables directed against the religious leaders of the day. Jesus calls on them to give him their judgment about which of the two sons did the will of his father. When the first (some take prōtos to be the older) was asked to work … in the vineyard, he refused, but later changed his mind (he was “smitten with regret,” Rotherham) and went. The other son said he would go (notice the polite egō kyrie, I will, sir) but ...

2488. Daring to Act

Illustration

Theodore Roosevelt

It is not the critic who counts, not the person who points out where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the person who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the devotions, and spends himself or herself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and at the worst, at least fails while daring greatly; so ...

2489. The Transforming Power of Friendship

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

As a part of an assignment for a doctoral thesis, a college student spent a year with a group of Navajo Indians on a reservation in the Southwest. As he did his research, he lived with one family, sleeping in their hut, eating their food, working with them, and generally living the life of a twentieth-century Indian. The old grandmother of the family spoke no English at all, yet a very close friendship formed between the two. They spent a great deal of timesharing a friendship that was meaningful to each, ...

2490. Forgiven and Pardoned

Matthew 5:1-12

Illustration

Don Mallough

A young employee secretly misappropriated several hundred dollars of his business firm's money. When this action was discovered the young man was told to report to the office of the senior partner of the firm. As he walked up the stairs toward the administrative office the young employee was heavy-hearted. He knew without a doubt he would lose his position with the firm. He also feared the possibility of legal action taken against him. Seemingly his whole world had collapsed. Upon his arrival in the office ...

2491. Inspired by the Best

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

Leonardo da Vinci had started work on a large canvas in his studio. For awhile he worked at it—choosing the subject, planning the perspective, sketching the outline, applying the colors, with his own inimitable genius. Then suddenly he ceased, the painting still unfinished, and, summoning one of his students, invited him to complete the work. The student protested that he was both unworthy and unable to complete the great painting which his master had begun. But da Vinci silenced him. "Will not what I have ...

2492. The Wrong Nobel

Illustration

Brent Beasley

Alfred Nobel made his fortune as the result of an invention of dynamite. One morning he awoke to read his own obituary in the paper. You see, his brother had died, but a careless reporter had published the obituary of the wrong Nobel. It described him as “the dynamite king, the industrialist who became rich from explosives.” It made Alfred Nobel sound like nothing more than a merchant of death. Needless to say, Nobel was more than a little upset by what he saw...not simply that the wrong person was being ...

2493. The Way We Raised You

Illustration

King Duncan

One day when Junior was 14 he noticed his father wearing a happy grin as he came home from work. “Got pinched for speeding, but Jake down at city hall got the ticket fixed for me,” he said. When Junior was 15, he was with his mother in the family car when she backed into a tree, doing extensive damage. “We’ll say someone rammed into us when we were parked downtown,” she said. “Then we’ll collect insurance for it.” When the boy was 16, he listened to his grandfather reminiscing about the “good old days of ...

I was losing interest in politics, when the repeal of the Missouri Compromise aroused me again. What I have done since then is pretty well known.

Abraham Lincoln

The legitimate object of government is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but cannot do at all, or cannot so well do for themselves, in their separate and individual capacities.

Abraham Lincoln

After all manner of professors have done their best for us, the place we are to get knowledge is in books. The true university of these days is a collection of books.

Albert Camus

The men who have done big things are those who were not afraid to attempt big things, who were not afraid to risk failure in order to gain success.

B. C. Forbes

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.

Bible

If you don't think drugs have done good things for us, then take all of your records, tapes and CD's and burn them.

Bill Hicks

Heaven knows that I have done all that a mortal could do, to save the people, and the failure was not my fault, but the fault of others.

Davy Crockett

Showing results

Showing 2476 to 2500 of 4933 results

2476. Forgive Our Enemies

Humor Illustration

2477. The Church Sexton

Humor Illustration

2478. A Bear of a Customer

Humor Illustration

2479. Students Changing Light Bulbs

Humor Illustration

2480. Lightbulb Jokes

Humor Illustration

2481. Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Great Love

Mark 10:1-12

Illustration

John McCard

2482. What Anger Leaves Behind

Jn 20:1-18; 24-31

Illustration

Brett Blair

2483. Psalm 44

Psalm 44:1-26

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

2484. Psalm 85

Psalm 85:1-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

2485. The Transfiguration

Mark 9:2-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

2486. Making One’s Calling and Election Sure

2 Peter 1:1-11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

2487. The Parable of the Two Sons

Matthew 21:28-32

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

2488. Daring to Act

Illustration

Theodore Roosevelt

2489. The Transforming Power of Friendship

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

2490. Forgiven and Pardoned

Matthew 5:1-12

Illustration

Don Mallough

2491. Inspired by the Best

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

2492. The Wrong Nobel

Illustration

Brent Beasley

2493. The Way We Raised You

Illustration

King Duncan

I was losing interest in politics, when the repeal of the Missouri Compromise aroused me again. What I have done since then is pretty well known.

Abraham Lincoln

After all manner of professors have done their best for us, the place we are to get knowledge is in books. The true university of these days is a collection of books.

Albert Camus

The men who have done big things are those who were not afraid to attempt big things, who were not afraid to risk failure in order to gain success.

B. C. Forbes

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.

Bible

If you don't think drugs have done good things for us, then take all of your records, tapes and CD's and burn them.

Bill Hicks

Heaven knows that I have done all that a mortal could do, to save the people, and the failure was not my fault, but the fault of others.

Davy Crockett

Showing results