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 251 to 275 of 1409 results

251. How To Handle Criticism? Keep Moving

Luke 9:51-56

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

How do you like it when people criticize you? The person who first said “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me” either lived as a hermit or was an out-and-out liar. Words can hurt. Words do hurt. Words can hurt a lot. Words can hurt a lot more and do a lot more long-term damage than any puny stick or stone. Studies have shown how lasting an impression, how lifetime an impact, words can have on children. Children who receive constant criticisms about their looks, or their brains ...

252. From Lust to Love

1 Corinthians 13: 1

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

How can a person express their love of basketball, chocolate, their children, God, and their spouse with a single four-letter word - love? That's what I would like us to consider today. In the early part of the 20th century a Jewish philosopher by the name of Martin Buber tried to distinguish between human connections that are mainly "I-It" relationships and those interactions which are primarily "I-Thou" relationships. In "I-It" relationships we seek to acquire and possess. In "I-Thou" relationships we ...

253. The Horror before the Blessing

Matthew 2:13-23

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

A few years ago, a woman wrote in exasperation to the editor of her newspaper. She demanded to know why the media always publish negative and sad stories during the holiday season. As she pointed out, "Christmas is supposed to be a happy, joyous time."1 Her letter sounds almost as if she thinks that, even if bad news happens during the holiday season, the newspapers and television should simply ignore those things. Maybe we all wish Christmas time had a kind of protective bubble around it. Christmas could ...

254. David And The Giant

1 Samuel 17:1-58

Children's Sermon

Marti Kramer Suddarth

Object: - Card stock sheet printed with 1 Samuel 17:37a (reference and scripture) on one side and 2 Samuel 21:15-20 and 1 Chronicles 20:4-7 (references only) on the other side - Mylar helium balloon tied to a nine-foot string with a weight at the bottom - Sling - Traced hand and foot of a six-foot-tall man, enlarged 150%, printed on card stock and cut out - Balloons, one per child (optional) Do you know the story of David and Goliath? We can read the story in 1 Samuel, chapter 17, which is in the Old ...

255. Are You Going to Fish?

Luke 19:1-10

Illustration

Bob Younts

There's an old story about a fisherman who was very successful. Every morning he went out on the lake in a small boat and when he returned a couple of hours later, his boat was loaded down with fish. He never failed. People wondered how he did it, even when others were not catching anything at all. He always came in with his boat just overflowing with fish. One morning a stranger showed up with his fishing tackle and said, "Mind if I go fishing with you this morning?" "No," said the fisherman. "Just hop in ...

256. You Can’t Blame John

Matthew 11:2-12

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

You can't blame John. After all, he's in prison. In prison. Let those two little words sink in. He's in prison. A not so nice place to be. In prison. The very man who had attracted a flurry of attention in recent years because of his no-holds-barred announcements of a new world order that was just around the corner; this one, this man, this fiery preacher who shook up everything and everyone with his blazing rhetoric about kingdom come; this John, this man, this preacher is in prison. In prison. And he's ...

257. Rock Solid

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

King Duncan

I read a quirky little item sometime back. It seems that the Main Library at the University of Indiana sinks over an inch every year. It seems that when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building. And so the library is sinking. Obviously some heavy reading takes place at the University of Indiana. It is a foolish person who does not take into account both the weight of a structure, and its contents, as well as the foundation on which it ...

258. Finger Food

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Sticks, forks, fingers: the three ways people of the world eat their food. The majority today still use fingers, as has been the case throughout history. In fact, forks were unknown until the 10th century. Knives and spoons only appear in 5th the century. Jesus ate with his fingers. We all still love to eat with our fingers. Ever notice that the first food to disappear on a buffet table is always the “finger food?” The first to go are those little bites and nibbles we can pick up, pop in, and chow down, ...

259. I Built a Shrine

Matthew 14:22-33

Illustration

King Duncan

When Jesus told those early disciples to fear not he was not telling them to seek safety and security. Rather he was telling them to move forward, but to always trust him. Years ago there was a little comic strip that spoke to this quite beautifully. The comic strip "B.C.," set in cavemen days, had its hero, B.C., sitting in his fur loincloth, opening a box. A letter in the box says, "Congratulations! You have just purchased the world's finest fire-starting kit!" The next picture shows him reading on, "The ...

260. The Vision of God

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

Sermon

Gibson “Nibs” Stroupe

Chapter 10 of 2 Corinthians begins a sharp divide with the nine chapters that have preceded it, a break that continues through the rest of the letter. The first nine chapters revealed a significant struggle between Paul and the Corinthians, but it seems in those chapters that Paul felt that they were making progress. As we saw in the previous lectionary passage, Paul felt confident enough in chapter 8 to urge the Corinthians to finish taking up the offering for the church in Jerusalem. From chapter 10 on, ...

261. No Clues?

Matthew 1:18-25

Drama

Arley K. Fadness

Theme: See the signs — they’re very clear Characters: Detective Joe Clue Damis (Joe’s pregnant wife) Tone: Humorous Setting/Props: Kitchen table Flowers in a vase Two or three chairs Coffee pot Radio Knitting needles Yarn Couch Baby clothes Approximate time: 5 minutes Damis: (talking to herself) Ooooh. Morning comes too soon. I’ll fix myself some coffee. Maybe some java will wake me up and get me going. I think I’ll fix myself a little cream of wheat, too. Maybe it’ll settle my touchy stomach — ooooh. ( ...

262. Are You Going to Fish?

Humor Illustration

There is a ridiculous old story about a fisherman who was enormously successful. Each morning he would take his small boat out on the lake and within a few hours he would return with a boat loaded with fish. People wondered, how did he do it? One day a stranger showed up and asked the man if he could go along the next time the man went out fishing. The man said, "Sure. Meet me here tomorrow morning at 5:00 and we will go out." The next morning the two of them made their way through the early morning mist ...

263. The Counting Beagle

Humor Illustration

Joe Bob had been bragging about town that his pet beagle Earl could count. Joe Bob made a bet with his friend Jack that he could prove it. First, the two men took the dog Earl out into the field. Joe Bob pointed to a nearby pasture. "Earl, how many cows are in that field?" Earl rolled on the ground five times. "Five cows! That's right!" exclaimed Joe Bob. Jack remained unconvinced, so they decided to try another test. They went to a local pond. Joe Bob pointed at the pond and said, "Okay, Earl, how many ...

264. The Simplex Faith of 3:16

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

If I were to say three numbers, “3:16,” what would you say? Wow! Some of you didn’t even say “John 3:16,” you just started quoting the verse: “For God so loved the world . . . “ If there is one Bible verse both locked down and totally lapsed Christians might know, it is John 3:16. Thank you, Tim Tebow. John 3:16 is held up at half –time in sports arenas. It is flashed on cardboard placards on freeway off-ramps. Tim Tebow found a creative new place to assert John 3:16 when he scraped out the three numbers ...

265. John 3:14-21

John 3:1-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Throughout John’ gospel, familiar Jewish themes and traditions are given surprising spins as they are reframed by an author who stands on the other side of the resurrection event. For example, John’s prologue presents the Genesis creation story, but transforms the very nature of divine creativity by asserting that “In the beginning was the Word.” In this week’s gospel reading John takes a well-known miraculous scene from Israel’s past, the healing of those Israelites bitten during a plague of snakes ( ...

266. A Baby Changes Everything

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Never leave dry dog food or cat food outside overnight. If you do, chances are that sooner or later something other than your furry family member will amble up to help themselves. One of the most startling creatures to belly-up to the kibble buffet is the opossum. ‘Possums aren’t particularly dangerous to humans (unless they are rabid). But they have mastered the art of looking scary. Flick on the porch light and catch a possum snout down in the dog’s bowl and you will be rewarded with glowing red eyes, ...

267. The Door of the Cross

John 10:1-21

Sermon

David O. Bales

Last summer my wife and I enjoyed visiting our friends Dick and Mary in Montana. They have about 45 quarter horses and they were thrilled to show us the herd and take us along one evening to feed them. That evening we also helped get a three-month-old filly into the barn in order to medicate a cut on her face. The filly was a little skittish, but we got her into the barn and into a large stall and then Dick tried to get a halter on her head to hold her still in order to clean and medicate the cut. She, ...

268. Apron Up (Mother's Day)

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

[This Mother’s Day sermon is based around the metaphor of the “apron.” We encourage you to invite your parishioners to wear an heirloom apron to church on Sunday, or to at least have you, your ushers and worship leaders wearing aprons from family traditions. This sermon also encourages people to tell their own “apron” stories, or to invite someone who has a particularly meaningful apron to come forward and tell the story of their apron on behalf of all the other aprons present. Release your artists to ...

269. Family Re:Union - (PG) Parental Guidance Required

Psalm 127:1-5

Sermon

James Merritt

The headline in the BBC News said it all. When I read it, I thought to myself, “They said more than they intended to say and they were exactly right.” Here was the headline – US Homebuilding At All-Time Low.”[1] What they were referring to was the fact that the rate of construction of new homes in the United States fell by 15.5% in December of 2010. It hit an all-time low. In fact, the rate of new construction from December 2007 to December 2010 was down 45%. In reality, they weren’t really referring to ...

270. The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Acts 20:13-38

Sermon

James Merritt

Let me begin with a story of a Christmas that a certain young man would never forget. It was the first time that he had been given money by his parents so he could go and buy them a Christmas gift. For several years he was always getting something from his parents, but never giving anything to his parents. He finally realized one day, “Something is wrong with this picture.” Being too young to work and not being smart enough to ask for an allowance he went to his mom and dad and offered to do some extra ...

271. One Thing

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

James Merritt

I believe that every year that God gives us on this earth is to be a year where we are as productive as we can be for His work and as pleasing as we can be for His glory. The longer you live the more you realize just how fleeting these years are and just how important it is to maximize the potential of each year for being what we ought to be and doing what we ought to do. Every year at least half of us in this will do something that in the beginning will be very exhilarating, but in the end very ...

272. The Knot: Tied

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

James Merritt

There are two topics a pastor can talk about that are guaranteed to generate emails, letters, phone calls, discussion, and debate. Those topics are money and marriage. I knew that this series we are doing on marriage would generate a lot of interest, reveal a lot of anguish, and strike a lot of nerves. There is an old joke about marriage that goes like this: “Marriage is like a deck of cards. In the beginning all you need is two hearts and a diamond. At the end you wish you had a club and a spade!” ...

273. In Praise of Perseverance

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

The newspaper cartoon is a favorite. It concerns the daily adventures of a family with attentive parents and small children. The scene shows the little boy and his mother walking out the front door of the church at the close of the Sunday morning service. There is snow on the church's front lawn. The child revels in wonder. He says, “Yes! My prayin’ worked.” The reader is left to imagine the previous scene from inside the church. The little boy spent the hour with head bowed, eyes closed, hands folded ...

274. A Strong Bundle of Christians

Illustration

Michael P. Green

A man asked his young son to break a bundle of sticks. He returned a little later to find the lad frustrated in the task. He had raised the bundle high and smashed it on his knee, but he only bruised his knee. He had set the bundle against a wall and stomped hard with his foot, but the bundle barely bent. The father took the bundle from the child and untied it. Then he began to break the sticks easily—one at a time. So it is with the church: united we are strong, divided we can fail or be broken.

275. Unconditional Puppy Love

Illustration

Michael P. Green

One Sunday a little boy looked up at his dad and asked, “Daddy, how does God love us?” His father answered, “Son, God loves us with an unconditional love.” The lad thought for a moment and then asked, “Daddy, what kind of love is unconditional love?” After a few minutes of silence his father answered, “Do you remember the two boys who used to live next door to us and the cute little puppy they got last Christmas?” “Yes.” “Do you remember how they used to tease it, throw sticks and even rocks at it?” “Yes.” ...

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