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 2801 to 2825 of 4986 results

2801. Make Peace

James 3:13-18

Bulletin Aid

Dallas A. Brauninger

Call to Worship Leader: Who is wise and understanding among us? People: Those who stay in touch with God. Leader: Who is wise and understanding? People: Those who seek to foster healing. Leader: Let us strive to be wise and understanding. People: Let us be makers of peace. Collect We are people searching for wisdom. Therefore, we draw near to you, O God, hoping that ...

2802. Where On Earth Are You?

Job 23:1--24:25

Bulletin Aid

Dallas A. Brauninger

... , God? Collect We trust in you, O Sustainer, to help us to move through the awful times toward healing. Amen. Prayer of Confession When the burdens we carry overwhelm us, we speak nothing but complaint. When pain swallows us, we think of nothing else. Help us to hold on, God. Stay by us. Support us with your healing when we are afraid, when we feel hopeless, when we are weary of it all. Amen. Hymns "O God, My God" "When The Winds Rage All Around Us" "I Walk In Danger All The Way"

2803. Hold Fast

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Bulletin Aid

Dallas A. Brauninger

... . Prayer of Confession In our hearts, O God, we know what is right. In these days of many distractions, we would remain focused on what is just, moral, and honest. Help us to screen our words and actions through the teachings of Jesus. Guide our lives as we try to stay faithful to the good. For the sake of our Savior. Amen. Hymns "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence" "Wake, Awake, For Night Is Flying" "O Come, All Ye Faithful"

2804. The Three Poison Pills of Position, Prestige, and Power

Mark 10:35-45

Sermon

Brett Blair

... it might go on living as a support for the fragile life of a tiny new baby. The second tree wanted to be made into a big ship, so that it might go on living, carrying important cargo and influential people to exotic new lands. The third tree longed to stay right where it was, existing only as a tree, but growing ever taller, and pointing ever higher, to remind everyone that there is a God in heaven who loves them. Those were their dreams: One wanted to be a cradle, one wanted to be a mighty ship, and one ...

2805. Good News for Bad Times

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... problems. This applies to any problem you can mention. There is no problem that cannot be solved when the problem is approached in the spirit of Christ -- a spirit of justice, love, and goodwill. And there is hope for you as an individual. One thing is sure: you need not stay as you are. You can change by the power of God's Spirit. God in Christ can overrule in God's providence and bring the best out of the worst in you. Surrender your heart to Christ and submit to God's will. Then you will see in your life ...

2806. Project Accomplished

Isaiah 9:1-7

Bulletin Aid

Dallas A. Brauninger

... to relish the completion of your holy creation. Tonight we pause, for tomorrow we open a new file. Let us begin. In the name of Jesus. Amen. Prayer Of Confession We would move forward with an eagerness that matches your enthusiasm, O God. We would stay focused on what is fair and what is right as we step from the darkness of uncertainty into truth, as we grow from burdensome apprehension toward a new authority in Christ. Amen. Hymns “Angels We Have Heard On High” “Creator Of The Stars” “Go, Tell ...

2807. Treasures of the Heart

Luke 2:41-52

Bulletin Aid

Dallas A. Brauninger

... lives. Amen. Prayer Of Confession We cling to what is familiar, O God. We like the status quo. Give us courage to let go where it is best to let go. Strengthen our inclination to loosen when creative slack supports another’s growth. Help us to be present while we stay out of the way. Amen. Hymns “When The Morning Stars Together” “I Would Be True” “Born Of God, Eternal Savior”

2808. Praying for a Whole New World

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

William G. Carter

... end of the world. What we lack is a picture of the new creation. Not long ago Hollywood gave us a television miniseries on Noah’s Ark. As we have come to expect, some scriptwriter mixed up the sequence of biblical events, but the essential story stayed the same. A flood wipes out the entire known world. As the book of Genesis says, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5 ...

2809. What a Star Can't Tell You

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

William G. Carter

... . Nobody knows more than me that the church can be a busy, uptight place where it’s difficult to relax, much less experience the presence of God. As one overworked volunteer admitted, “Whenever I go to church, I always end up agreeing to do something. Sometimes I stay home on Sunday because, frankly, I need a break.” And yet something doesn’t seem quite right when someone says they feel closer to God out there than they do in here. For some, it may be a cop-out. If you’re looking for good reasons ...

2810. When the Sermon Turns Sour

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

William G. Carter

... a Word from God. Luke is well aware that Jesus stands at the end of a long line of prophetic succession. And for him, that’s the root of all the trouble. According to the story, some friends feared for his safety. In chapter 13, they warn Jesus, “Stay away from the Holy City. Your life is in danger.” But Jesus replies to them out of the side of his mouth: “I must go to Jerusalem, I absolutely must; because that’s the city that always kills the prophets.” Not long after that, Jesus comes around ...

2811. The Kind of People Whom God Chooses

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

William G. Carter

... like it could have happened to you or to me. By the time Jesus gets to the beach in chapter five, he has already been to Simon Peter’s house. He went there after preaching a sermon one day. Simon’s mother-in-law hadn’t heard the sermon. She stayed home with a very high fever, and they asked Jesus about her. So Luke says he stood over her and screamed at the headache. The headache left her, so she got up and made some soup. Jesus went to that house long before he ever mentioned a job change to ...

2812. The Next Step

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... the police line guarding the tomb. No one paid much attention to her. They just let her push up the yellow tape and head on. After all, she was a woman, which in those days and in that culture, meant that no one would take her seriously. She stayed there at the tomb and ran back to report what she saw. It changed everything. The cross came back. Suddenly people were scratching it on coins over the face of the Roman emperor. People were painting crosses on the walls of their homes and in caves. People were ...

2813. From Crumbs to Half a Loaf

Ephesians 3:1-13

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... trip, the little group of scouts hiked up a mountainside and made camp for supper. They discovered that they were low on water. They had barely enough water to make a little stew. Two boys were sent to find water and fill the canteens while the others stayed and cooked supper. Unfortunately the two seekers were over three miles from camp when they finally located some water. The other boys gave up on them and ate all the stew. When the two returned to camp they were extremely hungry. So they went from boy ...

2814. What Are Spiritual Gifts For?

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... doves. Finally, he added a monkey to the mix. They all lived together affectionately. Next he decided to experiment with religion. In another cage he confined an Irish Catholic, a Scotch Presbyterian, a Muslim, a Methodist, a Buddhist, and a Salvation Army Colonel. He stayed away for two days and came home to record the results. Not a single specimen was left alive.[3] This tongue-in-cheek story resonates well with conditions in our world. Certainly the creation of a church that loves and cares about others ...

2815. The Power of Uninformed Decisions

1 Corinthians 15:35-58

Sermon

Harold Warlick

... contends that all our major decisions in life are “uninformed” decisions which require us to step out in faith. He could well be right. Consider most of our major decisions. What profession shall I enter? To whom should I be married? Should I stay married? Where should we live? When should we have children? All of these life-changing decisions are uninformed decisions requiring a measure of trust. We certainly do not know for certain the when, where, who, and why of life until we experience it ...

2816. In, But Not Of, The World

Jeremiah 29:1-23

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... but not of that empire, is a text that speaks directly to us Christians. We share with the ancient Hebrew Babylonian exiles a very similar situation. Essentially Jeremiah wrote to the leaders of the exiles to tell them that they needed to make plans to stay in Babylon a long time. (Apparently they had heard from others that they could expect a speedy return home to Judah [Jeremiah 27:14].) We Christians have been dwelling in this “foreign land” of ours for nearly 2,000 years; Christ’s Second Coming to ...

2817. Life's Not Always Fair, But God Will Straighten It Out

Habakkuk 2:2-20, Habakkuk 1:12--2:1, Habakkuk 1:1-4

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... the present. You are no longer chained by the heartaches, the dead ends, the insecurities, and the unjust structures of the present. You have an alternative. You have a new perspective on things and a hope that the way things are does not have to stay that way forever. And so the author of Habakkuk proclaims to us that even though the old dreams of justice and equality seem stillborn, even though we sometimes feel like we are on the treadmill with few alternatives, there is hope. New and better days ...

2818. God's Gifts Are Free: Enjoy

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... with the property I own, I sometimes wax fondly about the days when my wife and I rented. Then when a problem developed, it was not our problem alone to solve. Ultimately it was the owner’s problem.7 Have you ever felt that way? When you are traveling, staying in that motel or hotel, it is a lot better when the roof leaks there than when it leaks back home, right? When it is somebody else’s problem, life is a little simpler, and it is easier to enjoy things. When you are only borrowing something, there ...

2819. Salvation Includes Social Justice

Jeremiah 23:1-8

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... to get wealthier even if it is at their expense and at the expense of justice, will not prevail. Christ reigns! Jeremiah in our First Lesson reminds us that under Christ’s Lordship justice will prevail! No longer can the Church, no longer can our church, stay out of politics and remain silent about the plight of the poor. When will justice be achieved and poverty ended? In a sense Jeremiah said that was in the future. In another sense with Christ that future has now come. Justice, the end of poverty, will ...

2820. Do You Know?

Hosea 11:1-11

Sermon

John W. Wurster

... humans in a garden full of good things. I asked them to care for the garden, to keep and till the land. I bid them to enjoy its pleasures, to eat its fruits and relax in its shade. However, I knew that there were parts of the garden they should stay away from, that there were limits to how far they should go. I gave them boundaries for their life, cautioning them to avoid certain trees, certain fruit. I did it for their own good. But they acted as if they did not know me. Do you? “I started anew with ...

2821. What If What They Say Is True?

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

John W. Wurster

... and what we know, but because of who God is. We are able because God is able. Amidst all those teenagers, I rejoiced in the various and amazing ways God calls us, each of us. I also found myself moved by the new songs we learned; one in particular has stayed close to me: What if what they say is true? What if you fed 5,000? What if you calmed the sea, can you calm me? What if what they say is true? What if you walked on water? What if you healed disease, can you heal me? What if ...

2822. Changing Seasons, Constant Love

Jeremiah 8:4--9:26

Sermon

John W. Wurster

... to live with the sorrow, though the sorrow itself never goes away. Listening to these women speak about this book and this experience was very moving for me, even tearful — and I’m not even a parent. One comment in particular from the interview that has stayed with me occurred when one of the editors read from a selection in the book, a selection which begins with these words, “Time heals nothing.”1 Time heals nothing. If not time, then what? Is there nothing that can heal us, nothing that can make ...

2823. One-Fired Up Preacher!

2 Kings 2:1-18

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... s business, expanding his kingdom. “The Lord has sent me as far as Bethel” ... “The Lord has sent me to Jericho”... “The Lord has sent me to the Jordan” (cf., 2 Kings 2:2, 4, 6). What a ministry! As the end drew near, Elijah stayed busy paving the way for his successor. In a course on geriatrics, a seminary professor assigned his students a paper titled, “A Biblical Plan for Retirement.” He added, “Anybody who writes this paper will fail the course!” He went on to tell them that although ...

2824. Plumb Line Prophecy

Amos 7:1-9, Amos 7:10-17

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... enjoyed while he was in power. Amaziah, whose name means “God is strong,” had forgotten the message that was in his name. Lacking the intestinal fortitude to speak out against Jeroboam’s cruelty and interested only in maintaining his position, he did more than simply stay silent. He became a traitor against God’s servant Amos. He twisted what Amos said and reported to the king what was, in fact, a lie. What is it they say? “The first casualty in every war is truth.” This was one more example of ...

2825. While He May Be Found

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... opposition, steady our steps, refurbish our strength, and restore our desire to be with him, dwell in him, and seek him in all things. Seeking him means confessing our sin, admitting our faults, and finding the path that leads into God’s presence. It means a staying on the path when life and circumstances try to throw us off that path. It means getting up after being knocked down to the ground, and giving him praise and glory for the trials we’ve overcome and the victories we have won. The prophet has ...

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