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 2751 to 2775 of 4972 results

2751. Home in Eternity

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

A prominent citizen in town was dying. As he lay in his lovely home, the best doctors surrounding him, he whispered, with a note of despair, "I'm leaving home, I'm leaving home." Across town there lay a solitary figure in surroundings bare. Her modest home contained only the most threadbare of life's essentials. In her eye was a gleam. Before she died, she was heard to say, “I’m going home, I'm going home."

2752. An Absolute Cure for Boredom

Philippians 3:7-4:1

Sermon

King Duncan

... discovered a mutual joy that served as a witness to everyone who knew them. They had found the one worthwhile goal in life, and they had no regrets about the direction their life had gone. (4) My friend, this is all-out Christian living. It’s about leaving everything behind that hinders you from following Christ. It’s not always the most comfortable way to live, but I can guarantee you, you will never be bored and think your life is without value. It is the only way to experience life abundant. Are you ...

2753. If the Stones Cried Out

Luke 19:28-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... Christ has enabled us to overcome one or two sins that were an obvious nuisance, are inclined to feel (though we do not put it into words) that we are now good enough. He has done all we wanted him to do, and we should be obliged if he would leave us alone. “But the question is not what we intended ourselves to be, but what he intended us to be when he made us . . . “Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what he is doing. He is ...

2754. Hidden Sin

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

While working in his garden, a man admired the large, green, healthy-looking squash plant outside his house. The stems appeared to be strong, and the leaves were large. But a few days later he noticed that the plant was terribly wilted, and within a couple of days the squash plant was completely dead. Pulling up the plant and examining its roots, he discovered that a bore worm, which could not be seen from the outside, had ...

2755. Admire Their Uniqueness

Illustration

John Powell

... young students. He gave them the assignment to go out and find a small, unnoticed flower somewhere. He asked them to study the flower for a long time. "Get a magnifying glass and study the delicate veins in the leaves, and notice the nuances and shades of color. Turn the leaves slowly and observe their symmetry. And remember that this flower might have gone unnoticed and unappreciated if you had not found and admired it." After the class returned, the teacher observed, "People are like that. Each one is ...

2756. In Search of a New Life

Revelation 21:1-5a

Sermon

King Duncan

... for something and you are not even sure what it is. There is a restlessness in your life--an undefined longing. I hope when you leave here today you will be able to say, “This is it! This is it!” I say that because I believe the Scriptures can meet our ... make all things new.” Wouldn’t it be great to have God do a new thing in our life this day? Wouldn’t it be great to leave this place a new person? Wouldn’t it be great to go home to a new marriage--a much improved marriage--to a new family--a much ...

2757. Time to Pick a Side

Luke 12:49-53

Sermon

King Duncan

... such thing as real, objective sin measured against the objective moral command of God, and thus no need of a Savior. I thanked the student for his time and began to leave his room. On the way out, I picked up his small stereo and started out the door with it. ‘Hey, what are you doing?’ he shouted . . . ‘I am leaving your room with your stereo,’ [I said]. “‘You can’t do that,’ [the student] gushed.” Moreland retorted, “I happen to think it is permissible to steal stereos if it will help ...

2758. On Taking Candy from a Stranger

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... once we understand that, we can offer that same hope and truth and freedom to others in Jesus’ name, so that all people may rise up and live. 1. Doc’s Daily Chuckles. Subscribe at docsdailychuckle-join@freegroups.net. 2. Barbara Brown Taylor, Leaving Church (New York: HarperOne, 2006), pp. 136-137. 3. “More Prayer, Less Hassle” by Elizabeth Bernstein, Wall Street Journal, June 27, 2003, p. W1, W4. 4. “The Shocking Slave Bible” by Amber C. Strong, CBNNEWS.com Feb. 18, 2018. ttps://www1.cbn.com ...

2759. The Poor Man in the Mercedes

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... Israel to remember its responsibility to its poor. Do you recall that as far back as Leviticus, however, God instructed the farmers of Israel not to take all of the grain out of the field or all the grapes off of the vines, but to leave some there for the poor? “Gleaning” it was called. Ruth, a great-great-grandmother of Jesus was gleaning in Boaz’ field, when she caught Boaz’ eye. Without that charitable law many of the poor would doubtless have starved. In Deuteronomy 15 the people are instructed ...

2760. Mimosa Pudica

Luke 10:1-10, 16-24

Sermon

Robert C. Cochran

Have you ever seen a mimosa plant? When touched, the fern-like leaves of the mimosa pudica fold inward and droop downward. This action has a domino effect: the touched ... for sure why the mimosa shrivels up at first contact. Is it worried that it will be consumed or damaged? Is it shaking off harmful bugs? It also closes up if any of its leaves feels direct heat. Because it grows like a weed and has a tendency to become fuel for grass fires, it fears heat. It also fears cold: it closes up at night and opens ...

2761. The Trajectory of God’s Grace

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Robert C. Cochran

... television, we hit the streets. I wasn’t comfortable sneaking out, so I poked my head into the room and told them we were leaving. I was hoping they’d stop us, but instead, they just said, “Well, as long as you’re along, Bob, I’m sure you ... that baseball glove. There have been a lot of times in my life when I have felt distanced from God because of my stubborn refusal to leave my room and stand before God and admit my mistakes. In these times, I try to remember that God is grace-filled and ready to ...

2762. Beyond a Friendly, Cuddly Christmas

Matthew 2:13-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... with James Corden. It was about a strange encounter he had while he was filming a movie in Glasgow, Scotland. Keaton was leaving a restaurant one evening, and he couldn’t find his hotel. He was totally lost. He stopped to ask a passerby for ... for a future when God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and there will be no more death, or crying or pain. As we leave the warm and fuzzy Christmas season and enter into a new year, as we stand in line in department stores and return Christmas gifts that did ...

2763. Are You a Super-Fan?

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... crowds would reach their peak when he entered Jerusalem. And then, within a week of his entry into Jerusalem, Jesus would be arrested, put on trial, tortured, and crucified. And all the crowds would disappear. All the fickle fans would turn against him. Even his disciples would leave him alone at that point. So this moment with Zacchaeus is the last moment of personal, face-to-face ministry we see Jesus do in the Book of Luke. So why did Jesus choose this man at this moment? What do we learn about God from ...

2764. Nicodemus Came By Night

John 3:1-21

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

... poor. Forgive often. Reject racism. Fight for the powerless. Share earthly and spiritual resources. Embrace diversity. Love God. Enjoy this life.[4] The reflective, self-inspective, confessional season of Lent is upon us. Be brave, Christians. Be brave Christians. Leave the darkness, leave the night; do Jesus’ work in full sight and full light. Amen 1.. Barbara Brown Taylor, Learning to Walk in the Dark (New York: HarperOne, 2014), p 43. 2. The Jewish Annotated New Testament, New Revised Standard Version ...

2765. I've Seen the Lord

John 20:1-9, John 20:10-18

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

... I have seen the Lord. I have seen the Lord in the elders of the church who went to the parishioner who had been arrested, again, for driving under the influence, and told him they would never leave his side until he found a new way to be without his addiction. I watched those elders for four months never leave him alone. For four months they stayed until they were certain as they could be, that he had begun to honestly confront his demons and was walking now with others who could better share his journey. I ...

2766. Hosanna! Please Save Us!

Matthew 21:1-11, Matthew 26:14-16

Sermon

King Duncan

... 15 years old, for teaching him the mindset of servant leadership. There was a particular Indian parable she loved to recite for him. She would say, “When we enter this world we all enter as babies with our fists clenched, kicking and screaming and crying. When we leave, we all leave at peace, with our hands open. There’s a reason why this is: we all carry into this world a special and unique gift—a gift you clench in your fists as a baby. Your job, the point of your life, is to discover what that gift ...

2767. Should We Wash One Another's Feet?

John 13:31-38, John 13:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... or failures. Why? Because Jesus gave himself for us all. In his book, Ragman and Other Cries of Faith, Walt Wangerin Jr. tells a rather unpleasant but also inspiring story about a particular species of spider. While most spiders leave their eggs in a sac and wander off, one species does not leave her young’s fate to chance. She stays to protect them and find food for them. Like all spiders, when this one eats, she injects her poison and digestive juices into her prey. In a sense the victim becomes ...

2768. Sitting Shiva Behind Closed Doors

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... expect to understand and embrace the miracle of life? Do you already have a resurrection moment, in which you’ve realized Jesus is alive and with you? What will it take for you to see Him, Hear Him, believe in His power and presence? At that moment, you will leave the shackles of your doubt behind, and you will enter into a new place. You will see The Door open. You see, faith breaks all barriers. The power of the Holy Spirit is a powerful force that leads you out of open doors infused by the presence of ...

2769. The True Story Wins

Matthew 28:11-15

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... is like a scissors that interrupts and tears your story. We have a run-in with one of our friends, and we allow hate to start chomping away at our hearts –[take the scissors and cut into the paper]. When that happens, sin cuts into our lives, leaving jagged places in our hearts that need soothing and smoothing. When our anger gets the best of us and we hurt someone, [cut another piece out of the paper], our story becomes deformed and our lives broken. When we encounter difficulties in our lives that we ...

2770. Godstruck

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during a course of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” When the day of Pentecost ...

2771. The House on The Rock

Lk 6:12-49 · Mt 5:1-12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the ...

2772. A Taxing Encounter

Matthew 9:9-13, Mark 2:13-17, Luke 5:27-32

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... setting of the story, it’s helpful to read all three gospels. In Matthew (the story of his own calling and the only gospel to use the name Matthew specifically), we find Jesus walking along in Capernaum. He has just healed the paralytic at his home, and then leaves with his disciples to walk through town. Mark tells us specifically that he was walking along the sea near the harbor there. Mark tells us that a crowd of people was following him, as was the norm, and he paused to teach them there near the sea ...

2773. Your Faith Has Made You Well

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , I hope that puts an end to this foolishness." Everyone was congratulating the physician when they suddenly realized that the man was headed for the door. As he opened it, he turned to the group and said, "I see that I was wrong." Then, as he turned to leave, he added, "Dead men, in fact, do bleed." If only our faith in Jesus could equal our stubbornness. Perhaps that inability to see and hear Jesus is just merely one more “inhibition” in the landscape of our faith. It’s time to remove all of those ...

2774. Soul Food

Luke 9:10-17, Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:30-44, John 6:1-15

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... He went across the lake to a deserted place to be alone in his grief. As Vance Havner used to put it, Jesus would often “come apart so he wouldn’t come apart.” But people from everywhere had heard about what had happened. They could not leave him alone, and they followed him. Matthew tells us they followed Jesus, because they heard about John’s death. John tells us, they just wanted to be healed. Either way, they kept him company in his grief. Their presence actually aided in Jesus’ recovery from ...

2775. Scandal

Matthew 16:21-28, Matthew 17:14-23, Matthew 20:17-19, Matthew 26:1-5

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... in my name; and I do not say that I shall pray to the Father for you, because the Father himself loves you for loving me and believing that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I leave the world to go to the Father. His disciples said, ‘Now you are speaking plainly and not using metaphors!’ Image Exegesis: The Prophecy Jesus predicts his death and resurrection --the first time, after some severe run-ins with the Jerusalem Pharisees and Scribes, the second time ...

Showing results