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 975 results

We cannot conquer fate and necessity, yet we can yield to them in such a manner as to be greater than if we could.

Walter Savage Landor

God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to Him.

Andrew Murray

Abstainer: a weak man who yields to the temptation of denying himself a pleasure.

Ambrose Bierce

The presidency does not yield to definition. Like the glory of a morning sunrise, it can be experienced - it can not be told.

Calvin Coolidge

Speak the truth, do not yield to anger; give, if thou art asked for little by these three steps thou wilt go near the gods.

Confucius

Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world.

Helen Keller

Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion.

Jack Kerouac

Obstacles cannot crush me, every obstacle yields to stern resolve.

Leonardo Da Vinci

You win the victory when you yield to friends.

Sophocles

260. Submission: Yield In All Directions

Ephesians 5:21

Illustration

Stephen P. Beck

Driving down a country road, a man came to a very narrow bridge. In front of the bridge, a sign was posted: "YIELD." Seeing no oncoming cars, he continued across the bridge and to his destination. On the way back, he came to the same one-lane bridge, now from the other direction. To his surprise, he saw another YIELD sign posted. Curious, he thought, "I'm sure there was one posted on the other side." When he reached the other side of the bridge and looked back, sure enough, yield signs had been placed at ...

261. Sweet Vine

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

The season is nearing for planting. Those of you who plant gardens or farms know that it’s vitally important to plant well, tend well, and prune well for the best yield and the best crops. Grapes can be especially finicky to manage. There are many vineyards. But only a selection of grapes yield the best wines. Why? For those of you who aren’t growers…. let’s come at this another way. In today’s world, our young people are killing their peers at an alarming rate. While many are quick to blame parents, ...

262. Proper 10

Genesis 25:19-34, Isaiah 55:1-13, Romans 8:18-27, Romans 8:1-17, Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Genesis 25:19-34 Once again, God seems to linger in fulfilling his promise to make a great nation of Abraham's progeny. Isaac is 40 by the time he married Rebekah. Another 20 years expire before his wife gives birth to the twins, Esau and Jacob. Perhaps the Lord wants to demonstrate that this business of nation building is his doing, not a human accomplishment. Esau, being firstborn, earns the birthright, but foolishly sells it to his scheming brother for a pot of stew. Old ...

263. Invincible Harvest

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

A cartoon I remember from years ago pictures a preacher in a pulpit ready to begin his sermon. The entire front wall of the church is made up of giant audio speakers. The preacher has his hand on the volume control of the amplifier. He has a slightly wicked grin on his face. As he swiftly turns the dial from zero to full volume he says, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." The audience is not visible, but one imagines them sliding down in their pews, shoulders hunched, hands clasped tightly over their ...

264. Scissors, Paper, Rock

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

"Tough as nails." "Hard as a rock." "Solid as a brick." Those are our metaphors for strength and sturdiness. God, however, hardly ever seems to agree. The divine preference is for security in fluidity and victory in vulnerability, defying our concrete convictions. Do you remember as a kid playing the ancient game "scissors, paper, rock?" You and a friend would beat three counts into your palm with a fist, and on the third count would reshape your fist into either "scissors" (two fingers extended), "paper ...

265. Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Matthew devotes all of chapter 13 to a compilation of Jesus' parables. Furthermore, he divides Jesus' parables into two separate formats public presentations of unadorned free-standing parables, and private 'explanations' of these parables. To explain this arrangement, Matthew's text includes a rather lengthy 'aside' in verses 10-17 that offers the rationale for this two-tiered, teaching technique. Scholars tend to view this whole construction as an answer to a felt need within Matthew's faith community. ...

266. Traffic Signals

Colossians 4:2-6

Children's Sermon

Teresa L. Major

Concept: A traffic signal tells us to go, to slow down, or to stop. God answers our prayers in the same way. Preparation: A picture or model of a traffic signal, if available. Look what I've got today. (Display picture.) Do you know what this is? (Children respond.) This is a picture of a traffic signal. Do you know what the different colors mean? How about the light at the top, the red one, what does it mean? (Children respond.) It means "stop." It doesn't mean slow down a lot or go slow. It means "stop" ...

267. John the Baptist Beheaded

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

Today's text centers in two men: John the Baptist and King Herod. The identity of Jesus is the issue immediately at hand. We discussed this identity issue in the previous chapter, noting that Mark 4:35--6:6 deals with this question. The disciples wonder who Jesus is. Jesus proceeds to demonstrate who he is through a series of spectacular miracles. He drives out a legion of demons, heals a woman with a flow of blood and raises a young girl from the dead. Still, when he arrives in his hometown, his kinfolk ...

268. Engage Mind before Putting Mouth in Gear

James 3:1-12

Sermon

Richard Gribble

When we were children our parents often quoted us the expression, "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me." Generally this was a welcome comment that brought significant comfort, especially after the callous and thoughtless words of one of our friends or classmates hurt us. As children this expression works well and alleviates many problems, but as we mature we begin to see that this catchy phrase really does not help, for it simply does not apply. The reality is that words can ...

269. The Parable of the Soil

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Almost all denominations, or what I call “tribes,” used to be able to boast an extensive farm system for growing the next generation of leaders. The past two decades have seen a gradual dismantling of that farm system. But you can still see features of it. Starting with the cradle roll and ending with the theological seminary, the church built for its future just like sports teams built for their future in a farm system. One of the most important vestiges in the church’s farm system is summer camp. How ...

270. Jesus Would Do What?

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

A woman named Naomi Magdanz in Lodi, California tells about her 6-year-old grandson, Joshua. Joshua attended a Vacation Bible School with the theme, “What Would Jesus Do?” To remind the children of the theme, they made little armbands with WWJD on the band. One evening Joshua’s mother asked him to change his clothes. Joshua looked at his armband and said, “WWJD - What would Jesus do?” His mother replied that she thought Jesus would do what his mother asked him to do and change his clothes. Joshua thought ...

271. Garden Gone Bad

Isaiah 5:1-7

Sermon

Chrysanne Timm

This summer I decided to take up some simple vegetable gardening. I knew it would happen someday. It's in my blood. My dad has planted and tended summer gardens of various sizes my whole life. For several years, our family's garden filled the whole half acre second lot behind our home. We had strawberries, melons, tomatoes, sweet corn, lettuce, onions, cucumbers, zucchini, acorn squash, and even pumpkins. I don't remember much about Dad planting the garden each spring, but I suppose that is because ...

272. Poem: In Memoriam

Eulogy

Alfred Lord Tennyson

... ; here upon the ground, No more partaker of thy change. Deep folly! yet that this could be? That I could wing my will with might To leap the grades of life and light, And flash at once, my friend, to thee. For tho’ my nature rarely yields To that vague fear implied in death; Nor shudders at the gulfs beneath, The howlings from forgotten fields; Yet oft when sundown skirts the moor An inner trouble I behold, A spectral doubt which makes me cold, That I shall be thy mate no more, Tho’ following with ...

273. Hearing and Responding

Luke 8:19-21, Luke 8:16-18, Luke 8:1-15

Teach the Text

R.T. France

Big Idea: When God’s word is proclaimed, there are different levels of response, ranging from those who take no notice to those whose lives are transformed. Understanding the Text At the heart of Jesus’s mission as announced in 4:14–21 is teaching and the proclamation of good news. We have had an important section of his teaching in 6:20–49, which concluded with trenchant comments on the importance of putting into practice what is heard—a theme that runs through this whole section. Since then, Jesus has ...

274. Parabola

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Lori Wagner

[This is an interactive sermon. In order to preach this well, you need to allow your congregants to take part, answer questions, imagine themselves as part of the story.] Prop: ostrich egg I have here an egg. [You can pass around the egg.] This egg belongs to an ostrich. Let me tell you a story about the ostrich, who one day took her eyes off of the place in the sand where she buried her eggs. Lo and behold, when she finally remembered where she had hid them, a predator had come in the night and stolen her ...

275. Trouble in the Vineyard

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

Lori Wagner

In 2015, Maximillian Potter wrote a book called Shadows in the Vineyard. The author told of the true story of the vines of La Romance-Conti, the most famous, finest, and most expensive Burgundy in France. One day, the owner received an anonymous note threatening the destruction of his world-class vineyard if he did not pay a one million Euro ransom. The owner thought it was a joke. Sadly, it was not. The crime shocked the entire region of France. Such is the power of greed, envy, jealousy, and anger. Jesus ...

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