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 2651 to 2675 of 4957 results

2651. Proper 5

Matthew 9:9-13, Romans 4:1-25, Genesis 22:1-19

Bulletin Aid

... simply because of his mercy. People: Our unworthiness prevents us many times from giving ourselves in service to our Lord. Pastor: Jesus will help us overcome that if we remember he called Matthew, and even sat at table with other religious outcasts. People: We claim God's mercy, and ask him to use us in his service, forgiving our past sins. Collect Gracious Father, whose Son demonstrated your mercy by associating with sinners, even calling them into your service: Convince us of your mercy for us, that we ...

2652. Teachers Without Chalkboards

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

... that the effective power of the risen Christ is at work in our faithful acts. And it means that we can trust in his powerful presence. Eduard Schweizer states with clarity that what characterized Jesus was the fact that he really counted on God. Jesus expected, Schweizer claims, that in all of his activity the living and the real God would bear witness to himself and act and speak in person. When our Lord gave us the task of making disciples he also told us that we can count on him. Through our teaching ...

2653. Victory and Protest

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Richard L. Thulin

... . They rose in challenge that their condition need not be. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead; exclusion and oppression must end! That night on a Caribbean island I was reminded of the fact that Easter hymns have often celebrated life by laughing at death. They have claimed an open heaven by mocking hell. They have raised the lowly by ridiculing those who spread fear and terror. ("Now hell, its prince, the devil, Of all their pow'r are shorn; Now I am safe from evil, and sin I laugh to scorn.")5 That night ...

2654. No Telltale Clues

Matthew 9:9-13

Sermon

... near. This was a radical and startling act on Jesus' part. There are times when I think we miss the unsettling nature of Jesus' choice of Matthew. A few years ago when I first saw the movie "Oh, God," I thought it did us a great service by claiming that God can choose anyone to be his spokesperson. But John Denver was not exactly a startling choice. He was too clean. To be sure, the film depicted his character as slightly agnostic and as a man who stayed away from church. But that's nothing! The Denver ...

2655. Weightlifting

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

he eleventh and twelfth chapters of Matthew illustrate again and again the authority of Jesus. In today's text, for example, Jesus claims that he is the Son of God who alone knows the Father and who alone is known by him. Only I, Jesus says, can reveal God to you - and I choose to do so. What follows are some of the most comforting words to be found in Scripture: "Come to ...

2656. The Promise of Peace

Isaiah 2:1-5

Sermon

... and killing for control of land and destinies. In South Africa there is a race war of horrendous proportions being waged, that destroys and imprisons people. In our own country we continue to expend billions upon billions of dollars to fuel a military machine. We claim that machine is for defensive purposes. We must be strong in order to keep and maintain peace. We seem more than determined to be militarily mighty so nobody on this earth will mess with us. And always there is The Bomb that hangs heavy over ...

2657. A Renewed Call

Isaiah 49:1-7

Sermon

... demonstrated it was Yahweh who gave rain. But then we see Elijah fleeing for his life to Horeb and a cave because Ahab's Queen Jezebel has threatened to kill Elijah the prophet. Elijah tells Yahweh of the worthlessness of his life, his mission, his work. He claims to be the solitary faithful Israelite remaining alive. What's the use, Lord? Jeremiah of Anathoth was also called by Yahweh God from his birth to be a prophet of the Lord. Jeremiah undertook the mission to speak the Word of the Lord to the people ...

2658. Dog: Man's Best Friend?

Exodus 12:1-30

Sermon

Everyone who has ever had a pet claims it is the "best"; whether it is a cat, horse, chimpanzee, goldfish, or dog makes no difference. But, for the most part, the dog usually comes out ahead. Almost everyone can tell you a favorite dog story. I like the one about the couple whose home had been burglarized and ...

2659. God of the Ordinary

Exodus 13:17--14:31

Sermon

... little child. It isn't much God asks of us in order to be saved, "Repent, believe the Gospel, and be baptized." But out of that ordinary action is wrought the grandest miracle of all time - salvation and redemption for you and me! Even though some claim wildly-wonderful, other-worldly experiences when they are converted, even though they grandly affirm, "I really had a born-again experience!" (and I have no reason to doubt for a moment they did have a great conversion), that is not the usual way it happens ...

2660. Mi Casa, Su Casa

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

Mark Radecke

... of examples: bitter and often bloody struggles in Central America and the Philippines over the question of land reform; landlords beaten and properties angrily or carelessly trashed in every major American city; tenants freezing to death in unheated homes and owners claiming no responsibility to provide more than the law demands. And - for our part, at least - how often is our relationship with God like that of haughty tenant and landlord? Callous and careless, we poison God’s air, trash God’s streams ...

2661. Real Absence

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

Some among the faithful have been honest and candid enough to talk about it, even to write about it. James Nestingen said it in a sermon: "Despite pious claims to the contrary, I wonder sometimes if the experience of God’s absence isn't a lot more common to us than the sense of his presence."1 Frederick Buechner said it in some lectures and a book: "Just as sacramental theology speaks of a doctrine of the Real Presence, ...

2662. Talents and Trust

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

... a clause having to do with grounding mentally unstable combat pilots. At one point Yossarian, the book’s main character, talks with Doc Daneeka about grounding an obviously unstable pilot by the name of Orr. Yossarian learns how the rule works: The doctor can ground Orr if Orr claims he’s unstable and asks to be grounded. But if Orr asks to be grounded, then that’s proof he’s not unstable, and he has to fly more missions. Or, as Heller puts it: "There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which ...

2663. When the Poor Become Rich

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

... frequently the persecuted. They know their own spiritual poverty, thus they can feel empathy for those around them who also struggle. They can trust God unconditionally, because they know God’s love for them is unconditional. Arthur Rubenstein is reported to have claimed, "I accept life unconditionally. Most people ask for happiness on condition, but happiness can only be felt if you don’t set any condition." The poor in spirit set no condition, thus any moment in life, regardless whether it be a time ...

2664. The Abiding Presence

Exodus 33:12-23

Sermon

... to have built, and named St. Clement Danes in London. But why did they give that name to the church? Why the name of St. Clement? What could he have meant to the Danes? The answer, for me, was supplied by a verger at St. Clement’s, London, who claims that the Danes had learned that St. Clement was the patron saint of sailors. Since the Danes were sailors, it was appropriate to name both of those churches after him. They believed that he, in the name of God, was with them as they faced the perils of the ...

2665. Judgment and Justice

Amos 5:18-27

Sermon

... have not been given up in vain; good has come from their self-sacrifices in the name of Jesus the Christ. God’s words to the people of Israel, spoken through Amos, continue to echo and reecho for the benefit of those who worship God and claim to be his people: "But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." Colman McCarthy is correct when he insists that Christians are likely to miss the true joy of their faith if they do not explore the mysteries of it. Worship ...

2666. A Day For All the Saints

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

... reaching that point in his life where he had to die and be separated from everything he loved here on earth while anticipating the joys of heaven. Heaven was real to him, and eternal life, before the throne of God and the Lamb, was something that he was about to claim for himself. And he knew very well that the promise of the Gospel was totally and completely a gift from God through the mercy and love of Jesus Christ. He knew what it was to "wash his robes in the blood of the Lamb" - there is no other way ...

2667. Unscrambling The Voices

Illustration

Staff

... it's all very confusing - how to separate them, to whom to listen. Well, we are together this morning in this special setting to try to hear the voice of God. He also has a voice in this world, you know. Here we draw aside from the clamor and conflicting claims to which we are so constantly exposed; here we put ourselves into a position where it is easier for us to listen. All we do here is intended simply to fix things so it will be less difficult for the voice of God to come through to each of us ...

2668. To Touch The Untouchable

Luke 5:12-16

Sermon

... in the Book of Leviticus, the leper was expected to separate himself and to cry out "unclean, unclean," whenever other people came near him. His illness was of the body, but it also became an affliction of the mind because of his social rejection. One authority claimed that when the wind was blowing from a leper toward a healthy person, the leper was to stand at least 50 yards away. The leper was not avoided because he was thought to be contagious, but rather because he was considered to be defiled in a ...

2669. A Joyful New Beginning

John 20:1-9

Sermon

... die on my feet, as becomes an Emperor." For the word emperor, we can substitute the words "man" or "woman." It certainly becomes a man or woman to go on with life with as much intensity as one can to the end of one's days, especially if that person claims to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.2 But as we travel the rough and rocky roads of life, it is sometimes very difficult to remember that fact. No man or woman here today needs to be lectured on the frail and precarious nature of life on earth. Illness or ...

2670. Being Different

Daniel 3:1-30

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... courage to be different. A Christian is not a person with average tastes. A Christian is not a person with average morals. A Christian is not a person with average ideals. A Christian is not a person who bends the knees to the lowest common denominator. Claiming membership in the kingdom of God forever takes you away from the cult of the ordinary. Jesus' question, "Do you really want to be healed?" is no small question. Once you take that name as your name, nothing else matters. It is a serious choice. It ...

2671. Power

2 Corinthians 6:7

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... students, you can't use power that way. If God must operate with our world in a similar manner, you and I must ask: Well, then, what power comes to me as a human being when I pray to God? What does prayer do for me? What power can I claim? Prayer gives us the power of an identity that goes back farther than our own life and extends beyond our death. It is amazing how human beings can lose their identity. To forget who you are is called amnesia. I'll never forget the time Big Al Geddie forgot who ...

2672. The Cracking Point

Mark 12:1-12

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... one. All the owner has left is a beloved son. So he sends him, saying, "They will respect my son." But the renters have become profiteers. They want to steal the property. Under Jewish law, three years undisputed possession of a piece of land enabled a person to claim ownership of that land over the holder of a deed. The tenants were elated when the son came. They got their hands on the heir. So they killed the owner's son. Jesus reported, "What will the owner do? He will come and destroy the tenants." When ...

2673. Christian Values On Anger

Matthew 5:21-26

Bulletin Aid

... hand you over to the judge and you may end up in prison. You will not get out until you have paid the last penny." Congregation: We have a terrible adversary, eager to take us to the courts of heaven. Our case has been settled by Jesus Christ. May we claim you as our advocate in both word and deed so that we don’t have to try in vain to pay every last penny.

2674. Christian Values God’s Book

Joshua 1:1-18

Bulletin Aid

... , for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Congregation: In Scripture we have many instructions that make life better and many promises of your care and your power to help us obey. Your Word only complicates life when we’ve failed to heed it. May we claim your power to change our lives and rest in the assurance that you are with us. Amen.

2675. The Christian Life Sheep

John 10:22-42

Bulletin Aid

... to me is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hands." All: May your strong hands ever lift us from our sinful ways. Continue to read the deepest longings of our hearts and to encourage us to abandon our rebellion. We ask you to claim us for your own. Amen.

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