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 4972 results

2476. Satisfied Customer

John 6:25-59

Sermon

James Merritt

... has responded in that fashion and won’t be the last one. Frankly, given the scope of Jesus’ impact on history that response always leaves me curious. In the history of the world, there has only been one individual who has ever claimed to be, literally, the Son of ... in him whom he has sent.’” (John 6:28-29, ESV) Jesus said there is one primary job you had better get done before you leave this planet. You’ve got one big work to do and that is to believe in Me that God has sent. They don’t like that ...

2477. The Reject

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

James Merritt

... said I didn’t need forgiveness, but I let her know I had not driven two hours not to be forgiven and I would not leave until I was. She did graciously forgive me. When I walked out that door a twenty-year burden had been lifted off my shoulders. If ... seeking him. He came to seek those who are lost. What motivated Jesus to go to Jericho? The same thing that motivated Jesus to leave heaven and take on the form of human flesh, to die on a cross, and to be completely separated from His Heavenly Father. He ...

2478. No Excuse

Luke 14:15-24

Sermon

James Merritt

... Sure enough, the date was bad from the start. He couldn’t stand her and she couldn’t stand him and they were both miserable. Mercifully, an hour into the date his friend called and Jeff pretended to be in shock. He said, “I am so sorry. I have to leave. My aunt just died. She said, “Thank God, because if yours hadn’t, mine would have had to.” No, this man didn’t go to the banquet, because he didn’t want to go to the banquet. What is the point? Why does Jesus even list these excuses to begin ...

2479. Paradise Lost

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

James Merritt

... know some things God never intended for them or any other human being to know. Now they know shame. Before they were naked without shame and now they are naked with shame. Instinctively, what do they do? They sewed fig leaves together to cover their shame. The rest of human history is all about making fig leaves to cover things up. Why do people lie on their resume? Why do people tell us they have degrees they don’t have and had experiences they have never known? Because, they are trying to cover up their ...

2480. It's All Good

Revelation 21:1-27

Sermon

James Merritt

... holes in all the world. It is the called “The Road Hole.” We could not believe our good fortune. All of our buddies were having to sleep in single twin beds almost side-by-side in small rooms that you could have fit into our bathroom. As they went to leave, I said to them, “I don’t mean to be rude, but how much does this suite cost a night?” The man in his Scottish brogue said, “Lad, I’m really not supposed to tell you, but you do deserve an answer. In American dollars, this room is $ 3,200 ...

2481. It's Not Rocket Science

John 8:31-41

Sermon

James Merritt

... to wash their hands in running water, because they did not realize that even if you wash your hands in a bowl of water you leave invisible germs on your hands. Well, Doctor God has known about that all along, because he said, “And when the one with a discharge ... life is to be lived. It is not just to tell you how you got here, but why you are here, and what you are to do until you leave here. The Bible is not a book of biology, but it will lead you to the Lamb of God that can take away your sins. It is not ...

2482. Are You a Polar Bear?

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

... “Is that so?” said Lyman Beecher, glaring at his Calvinist friend. “Then I won’t do it.” And with that, he turned and went back to his own church and preached that morning. Of course, maybe that was what God planned all along. Who knows? We’ll leave the question of whether everyone is chosen to God. The important thing is that we know we were chosen--not because we are better than anyone else. We’re not. None of us acts like God’s children all the time. That’s the meaning of grace. But ...

2483. How God Looks at Marriage

Mark 10:2-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... --that marriage is for keeps? Perhaps. However, that simply means that society has changed. It does not mean God’s ideal has changed. It has not. “At the beginning of creation,” said Jesus, “God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” 1. http://www.jokes2go.com/jokes/5529.html. 2 ...

2484. A Man with No Name

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

King Duncan

... has to overcome, something almost magical happens. Doors open; mountains are climbed. Wilma Rudolph was the 20th of 22 children. Born prematurely, doctors did not expect Wilma to survive. She did, but at the age of four, she contracted double pneumonia and scarlet fever, leaving her left leg paralyzed. She learned to walk with the aid of a metal brace. When Wilma was nine-years-old, she removed the leg brace and began walking without it. By age 13, she developed a rhythmic walk. That same year, she decided ...

2485. A Man Named Many

Mark 5:1-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... at the same time frustrated his ravaged mind. Jesus saw at once Many’s wretched condition. He commanded the impure spirit to leave Many, who then cried out, “Have you come to torment us?” And then, as if to steady Many’s mind for ... Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” Note this: It is not necessary for everyone who has met Christ to leave home and become a missionary in some distant land. Jesus needed Many to be a missionary in his own hometown, with his own family, and his own ...

2486. The King Born in a Manger

Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

King Duncan

... world a kingdom of love, peace and good news--good news to the poor, the hurting, the lost, the lonely, the grieving and the dying. What are we to make of this, the most beautiful story ever told? What are we to take away with us as we leave this place to return to our homes on this Christmas Eve? First of all, Christmas Eve reminds us of God’s love for the unlovely. We so glamorize the Christmas story, but there was nothing glamorous about giving birth in a stable filled with animals. There was nothing ...

2487. Two Kinds of People

Jeremiah 17:5-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... that other group--that group that is like a tree planted by the water with its roots spreading out to the river, with its green leaves and bounteous fruits, there are some steps we must take. For in God’s world there is no harvest to be reaped unless a seed ... be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.’ “Notice, Bob,” Dwight continued, “ ...

2488. Second Chances

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... -like decision. The tree’s taking up room. It’s using fertile soil in which another tree might prosper. “Cut it down!” he says to the man who cared for his vineyard. But the man who cared for the vineyard tries to intervene. “Sir,” the man replies, “leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.” Obviously the man who cared for the vineyard saw possibilities in the tree that the owner of the tree could ...

2489. Plucked From The Burning

Illustration

Michael P. Green

An old Indian, after living many years in sin, was led to Christ by a missionary. Friends asked him to explain the change in his life. Reaching down, he picked up a little worm and placed it on a pile of leaves. Then, touching a match to the leaves, he watched them smolder and burst into flames. As the flames worked their way up to the center where the worm lay, the old chief suddenly plunged his hand into the center of the burning pile and snatched out the worm. Holding the worm gently in his hand, he ...

2490. Care of Vines

John 15:1-8

Illustration

Michael P. Green

... them. A vine produces certain shoots called “sucker shoots,” which start to grow where a branch joins the stem. If allowed to continue to grow, they would dissipate the life of the vine through so many branches that the vine would produce little or no fruit and would produce mainly leaves instead. Every vinedresser knows it is important to prune away these little sucker shoots to ensure plentiful fruit. Since the shoots grow right where the branch joins the stem, creating a tight cluster where dirt ...

2491. Essential To Our Nature

Genesis 2:4-25, Genesis 3:1-24

Illustration

Abraham Kuyper

“A beautiful geranium plant that adorned the window died during the winter. Leaves and flowers withered, leaving only a mass of mildew and decay. What was the cause? Merely the loss of the sun’s light and heat. But that was enough, for those belong to the nature of the plant, and are essential to its life and beauty. Deprived of them, it remains not what it ...

2492. Uzziah King of Judah

2 Chronicles 26:1-23

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... 15:5. There, without citing any background circumstances, the Deuteronomist writes that “the LORD afflicted the king with leprosy until the day he died.” The Chronicler adds that the priests hurried him out of the temple and that the king himself was eager to leave, because the LORD had afflicted him. As in the source text, 2 Chronicles 26:21 states that the king lived in a separate house, but the Chronicler adds that he was leprous, and excluded from the temple of the LORD. Whereas 26:15 ended with ...

2493. Jesus Taken Up into Heaven

Acts 1:1-11

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... ). In the phrase after his suffering, Luke uses a word that, more than most, reminds us of the cost at which our salvation was won (cf. 17:3; 26:23). 1:4 Besides this, one other matter in particular found a place in Jesus’ instructions: the apostles were not to leave Jerusalem, but were to wait there for the gift that he had told them about, that is, the gift of the Holy Spirit which the Father had promised (cf. Isa. 32:15; Joel 2:28–32; Acts 2:33, 39; Gal. 3:14; Eph. 1:13, and for Jesus’ teaching ...

2494. The Apostles Persecuted

Acts 5:17-42

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... except the fear of God, by which they meant that God is sovereign and the human part is simply to obey and to leave the issue with him. The Sadducees, in contrast with this, held a doctrine of human self-determination. Nevertheless, for the reason mentioned ... recalled and sentenced to be whipped. The charge of blasphemy (if indeed that had been the charge) was apparently dropped, leaving only the lesser charge of disobedience. It was within the competence of the Sanhedrin, and also of the lower synagogal ...

2495. Stephen’s Speech to the Sanhedrin

Acts 7:1-53

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... assumes this when he recalls that it was after Terah’s death in Haran that God’s call came to Abraham again, and again he moved on. However, the details of his narration are here at odds with the Genesis story. He speaks of Abraham as leaving only after Terah died, whereas the evidence of Genesis is that Terah lived for many years after the departure of Abraham (cf. Gen. 11:26, 32; 12:4). Either, then, Stephen was mistaken (and Genesis at this point is susceptible to misunderstanding; Terah’s death is ...

2496. The Church Persecuted and Scattered

Acts 8:1b-3

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... all the believers, but especially against those who were most closely associated with Stephen and who probably shared his views. In short, the Hellenists were probably the main target of their attack, so that it was they for the most part who were compelled to leave Jerusalem. No doubt the Hebrew Christians were also affected. Some may have fled with the Hellenists. But we need not understand by the word all that every member of the church left the city; verse 3 shows that they did not. Luke is prone to ...

2497. Peter’s Miraculous Escape from Prison

Acts 12:1-19a

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... to this, there were probably other servants inside. The story that follows is full of true-to-life detail: the recognition of Peter’s Galilean accent (cf. Matt. 26:73) as he called to the servant who answered his knocking (and her name is remembered); her leaving him there for sheer joy, the door still unopened, as she ran to tell the others the news; the disbelief with which her announcement was greeted; the attempt to find some other explanation—You’re out of your mind, they told her.… It must be ...

2498. In Pisidian Antioch

Acts 13:13-52

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... watching the nations,” lent itself particularly well to Paul’s purpose, as did the additional words and perish, which may be inferred from the Hebrew but are not expressed in the Hebrew text. 13:42–43 Interest was aroused, and as Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath (v. 42). It is not clear in the Greek who did the inviting. It may have been either the people or the officials; no subject is expressed. Nor is it ...

2499. In Lystra and Derbe

Acts 14:8-20

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... the magistrates had been involved, so he had nothing to fear at that level. Indeed, as a Roman citizen he had a strong case to put before them against his assailants had he wished to do so. As it was, he chose not to prosecute, but simply to leave. The next day he and Barnabas set out for Derbe (see disc. on v. 21). These experiences must have brought vividly to Paul’s mind what had happened to Stephen (7:58). They certainly left an indelible impression on Paul himself (cf. 2 Tim. 3:11)—literally, if ...

2500. On to Jerusalem

Acts 21:1-16

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... determined to go to Jerusalem. The Greek is emphatic: “I, for my part, am ready” (cf. Luke 9:51). See note on 2:38 for the name of the Lord Jesus. 21:14 In the face of this determination, the others could only accept Paul’s decision and leave the matter with God. In this context, the Lord’s will be done seems to echo Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane (Luke 22:42; cf. also 18:21). 21:15–16 Eventually they got ready and went up to Jerusalem (v. 15). It is possible that these preparations included the ...

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