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 4977 results

2476. Lent 4

1 Samuel 16:1-13, Psalm 43:1-5, Hosea 5:1-15, Hosea 6:1--7:16, Romans 8:1-17, Matthew 20:17-19, Matthew 20:20-28

Sermon Aid

... burden of Lent will, then, be removed and the pilgrims will be able to give thanks for what they went through to reach the cross and hear the "He is not here, but is risen, as he said" that still echoes from the empty tomb. The psalm fits quite nicely the middle of Lent, and is most appropriate as a link between the First and Second Lessons and the Gospel. The Psalm Prayer (LBW) Almighty Father, source of everlasting light, send forth your truth into our hearts and pour over us the brightness of your light ...

2477. Easter Day

John 20:1-9, Colossians 3:1-17, Psalm 118:1-29, Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon Aid

... :1-2, 15-24 - After a rather general, but glorious, introduction, the the first two verses ("Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his mercy endures forever. Let Israel now proclaim, 'His mercy endures forever.' "), the middle portion of the psalm addresses quite well what God has done in the resurrection of the Lord, despite the fact that it was created for another and entirely different occasion (probably the completion of the walls of Jerusalem, under Nehemiah, in 444 B.C.). Its choice in the LBW for ...

2478. Easter 2

Acts 2:14-41, Psalm 105:1-45, 1 Peter 1:1-12, John 20:19-23, John 20:24-31

Sermon Aid

... Spirit - have sealed the faithful into an everlasting relationship with the living Lord. John 20:19-31 The "seeing is believing" theme, which is introduced by Thomas, who was absent when the Lord made his first post-resurrection appearance to his disciples, quite naturally gains a hearing with believers of every age. The faithful have had, ever since the ascension of Christ, to believe by the hearing the Word, the Good News, without having the benefit of actually seeing the resurrected Lord. Thomas' problem ...

2479. Easter 3

Acts 2:14-41, Acts 2:42-47, Isaiah 43:1-13, 1 Peter 1:13-2:3, Luke 24:13-35

Sermon Aid

... he is different, unpredictable, breaking away from our stultifying expectations, precisely because he does come as the stranger into our lives to give assurance and pardon and hope." Another sermon on the Gospel - "Holy Heartburn." The late James S. Stewart approached this text quite differently in a class on exegetical preaching which I was in many years ago. He insisted that the homiletical key to this sermon was verse 32, "They said to each other, 'Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us ...

2480. The Ascension of Our Lord

Acts 1:1-11, Ephesians 1:15-23, Luke 24:36-49, Luke 24:50-53

Sermon Aid

... 1:1-11 This continuation of the Gospel according to St. Luke is the reading that has established the festival of the ascension forty days after Easer. It offers a picture of the departure of Christ from the earth which is satisfying, but also quite disturbing. The satisfaction comes with the knowledge that Christ has completed his work in triumph and now returns to the Father; the disturbing part is the ascension itself; it is too unscientific for many persons today. Had he just disappeared, at least it ...

2481. Proper 8 & Pentecost 6

2 Kings 4:8-37, Genesis 32:22-32, Psalm 89:1-52, Psalm 17:1-15, Isaiah 2:6-22, Jeremiah 28:1-17, Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon Aid

... which the father has moved from Methodist to the Unitarian faith, the mother is Church of Christ, one child has become a Roman Catholic, another a Presbyterian, and their youngest fell in love with a Jewish woman and converted to Judaism. They get along quite well, continue to be rather close to one another, perhaps because they take their religion in small doses; Christianity is a casual kind of faith for them. The really difficult decision has to do with taking Jesus seriously enough to follow him; that ...

2482. Proper 12 & Pentecost 10

1 Kings 3:1-15, Exodus 3:1-22, Romans 8:18-27, Romans 8:28-39, Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:47-52

Sermon Aid

... church where they were married, and where their two children were baptized, from their home that is high atop a hill; they never attend worship services there. Their lives and life-style seem almost to be a parable of this time, this age, which is quite a contrast from that of Jesus' parables, because their treasures are of this world, not of the kingdom of heaven. 1. Our most precious gift - the kingdom of heaven. Jesus not only believed that, but he illustrated it with parables, and died to validate his ...

2483. Proper 15 & Pentecost 13

Isaiah 56:1-8, Psalm 67:1-7, Psalm 78:1-72, Exodus 16:1-36, Romans 11:11-24, Romans 11:25-32, Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon Aid

... myopic, because he believed that the return of Christ was close at hand; and he thought he could make the Jews jealous by offering, as Matthew puts it, "the children's bread to dogs." That salvation and eternal life are irrevocable gifts from God is quite evident to Paul; after all, he has clearly articulated the doctrine of justification by faith through grace in this same letter. Although there is a hint of "greater good because of evil" in his "God has consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have ...

2484. The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost

Isaiah 25:1-12, Psalm 23:1-6, Psalm 135:1-21, Deuteronomy 34:1-12, Philippians 4:2-9, Philippians 4:10-20

Sermon Aid

THEOLOGICAL CLUE If there are any chips out of, or cracks in, the eschatological framework of the church year - which admittedly becomes quite brittle by itself at this time of the year - they are restored by the readings of this Sunday. These lections point to the last things and, specifically in the first reading and the Gospel for the Day, to the incredible feast over which our Lord will preside in the new ...

2485. Proper 27 & Pentecost 25

Psalm 50:1-23, Psalm 43:1-5, Psalm 63:1-11, Amos 5:18-27, Hosea 11:1-11, 1 Thessalonians 4:13--5:11, Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon Aid

... ." This, therefore, is a psalm that faithful Christians may recite with genuine enthusiasm. Psalm 43 (E) The Episcopal Church, more than most other denominations, tends to use entire psalms, either as responsories or as devotional acts in themselves. Sometimes this psalmody may become quite lengthy, but this is not the case with Psalm 43; it is only six verses long. Judica me, Deus, as it is titled from the first verse, ("Give judgment for me, O God"), has found its way into various services of the church ...

2486. All Saints' Day

Revelation 7:1-8, Isaiah 26:1-21, 1 John 2:28--3:10, Revelation 21:1-27, Matthew 5:1-12, Psalm 24:1-10, Psalm 149:1-9, Psalm 34:1-22

Sermon Aid

... opening of the psalm ("The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it, the world and all that dwell therein") intended to place it on Thanksgiving Day. Rather, it is from verse three onward that the psalm ad-dresses All Saints' Day, and does it quite effectively: "Who can ascend the hill of the Lord and who can stand in his holy place?" The psalmist answers his own question this way: Those who have clean hands and a pure heart, who have not pledged themselves to falsehood, nor sworn by what is a fraud ...

2487. Giving Thanks Before Thanksgiving

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Brett Blair

... , a useful occupation, plans for the future—they were dead men. Their situation was made worse because leprosy was believed to be highly contagious. Actually, we know today that it is not. But tell that to ancient superstition. The scripture made it quite clear that as these lepers approached Jesus they stood at a far distance. Jewish law clearly prescribed that a leper could not get within fifty yards of a clean person. Everywhere these poor men journeyed they heard familiar words yelled out: “Unclean ...

2488. Sermon Opener - To Be Sure!

Luke 17:11-19

Illustration

Theodore F. Schneider

... are faithless, he remains faithful - for he cannot deny himself (2 Timothy 2:13)." Our faithlessness and ingratitude cannot make of God something that he is not. To be sure! All of which brings us to the heart of today's gospel. Rudolph Bultmann is quite correct when he notes that the emphasis of Luke's story is not the miracle of 10 lepers cleansed, but rather the contrast of gratitude and ingratitude depicted on the same dramatic canvas. Luke draws the contrast all the more boldly when he notes that the ...

2489. Sticks and Stones

1 Samuel 17:1-58

Sermon

... from Bethlehem and reached the Israeli camp. His older brother Eliab promptly scoffed at his offer to fight. It seems that for forty days Goliath had challenged the best warrior in Israel’s camp to single combat. This is a concept foreign to us, but quite common in the works of Homer and other ancient historians. An idea that George Patton revived when he suggested that he and the Desert Fox, Erwin Rommel, duel to the death in tanks under the broiling sun of the North Africa Desert. Word reached Saul ...

2490. The Attitude of Readiness

Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon

Russell F. Anderson

... existence to one of those people movers which are seen in airports and other places where it is necessary to transport large volumes of people. You know what I mean: it's like an elevator that doesn't go up, just carries us along. Have you ever noticed how quite a number of people are not content with the speed at which this conveyance is moving them along? It's as if the track beneath them is the course for the Grand Prix and they're a super-charged BMW determined to win the race. There may be legitimate ...

2491. God’s Special Mission for You

Isaiah 40:1-31

Children's Sermon

... like Daniel in the lion’s den or David and Goliath and we think that everyone who does something special for God must be exceptionally strong or brave or bright, and then we think that God couldn’t possibly have any use for us since we are all quite ordinary people. Well, the truth is that most of the people in the Bible are not superheroes; most of them are average people like us, with their own strengths and weaknesses. But, it’s also true that God had a special mission for every one of them just ...

2492. Epiphany 5

Matthew 5:13-16

Bulletin Aid

Theme: Enlightened discipleship Exegetical note In an odd combination (though not quite a mixture) of metaphors, Matthew here has Jesus refer to his disciples as "salt" and "light" with respect to their role in bringing salvation to the world. The more developed of the two images is the latter: the disciples' "light," which is to be flaunted rather than obscured, is apparently ...

2493. Easter 5

1 Peter 2:4-12

Bulletin Aid

... letter's real author was, it certainly does reflect what often appears to be the great Apostle's tendency to put his foot in his mouth. Here he jumbles and mixes three metaphors: newborn babies, living (?!) stones, and the New Israel (although he doesn't quite call it that). The most important theological thing he says comes in verse 10, after even he appears to have given up on his dubious images: God's power and mercy are utterly transforming. Call to Worship (based on Psalm 31) Leader: God is our rock ...

2494. Proper 25

Matthew 22:34-40

Bulletin Aid

... In Jesus' name we pray. Amen Prayer of Confession God of the ages, we confess that we are far better at talking about love and declaring love than at actualizing love and living love; and that much of the love we profess for you never quite finds expression in our attitudes and actions towards our fellow human beings. Forgive us, we pray, and convince us that the two kinds of love taught by Jesus were not independent options from which we may choose, but equally binding and mutually reinforcing expectations ...

2495. Epiphany 4

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon Aid

... do for others. Give an example from your own growing up years of each. Tie it together with the Beatitudes. Proclamation of the Word Consider this: Jack Parr once said, "Happiness can be found in the yellow pages of your telephone book - under saloon." Quite a contrast with where Jesus said we would receive it. Our society, including much of the church, seems to teach that the best way of being happy is to enjoy unbroken good fortune in every respect. We have learned, consciously or unconsciously, that our ...

2496. Easter 5

John 14:1-4

Sermon Aid

... stewardship of perceiving - Where do you perceive Jesus? Offer some places where people normally and usually do not "find or look for" the Christ. Charge to the Congregation Suggestion: It's one thing to state, "Lord, show us the Father, and then we'll believe." It's quite another thing to practice Jesus' statement, "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father." (John 14:8-9) I invite you this week, to look for the marks of Christ in this world - and then, write them down, and put them in the offering plate ...

2497. Proper 17

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon Aid

... Robert E. Mogar of Stanford University's Institue for the Study of Human Problems. One of the conclusions was this: out of twelve options, they rated economic security, careers, and family life as their three most important concerns after college. That represents quite a contrast with Dietrich Bonhoeffer's statement of faith, "When Christ calls a man (person), he/she bids that man (person) come and die." (The Cost of Discipleship. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, p. 7. copyright 1959 by S.C.M. Press Ltd.) Stewardship ...

2498. Proper 19

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon Aid

... old rancher who refused to forgive, but who made certam that "he and the men used to ride into church because 'It's good for the men, it'll teach 'im a lesson.' " But when a poor man, living next to the rich man, stole a calf and didn't quite make it, the rich man said, "String him up, it'll teach him a lesson." And the rich man went right on going to church and thinkin' himself a proper Christian right up 'til ... one night he had a dream, and he dreamed he was dead an standin' before his ...

2499. Proper 22

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon Aid

... and accountability. Consider how we take the easy way out in our lives, in our homes, communities, and congregations. Jesus did not take the easy way out. Our Scripture points out one illustration of confrontation. Jesus kept saying to people; "Get going and quit sinning!" Luther said, "Cut it out!" I say, "Give it up - anything which separates you from God, from others, from your best self." After several moments of silence, you may want to use the following prayer, given either by the pastor, or printed ...

2500. Proper 23

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon Aid

... act of Confession with words similar to these: "We have heard that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Helmut Thielicke, in his book of sermons, The Waiting Father, says that "... The road to hell is paved ... with things that are quite harmless, with pure proprieties ... [which] acquire a false importance in our life, because they suddenly get in our light.' (p. 186)" Now, during a period of extended silence, ask the people to think about, pray about, those "harmless" things which get in the ...

Showing results