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 2826 to 2850 of 4490 results

2826. Nathan's Wise Parable

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Sermon

Sue Anne Steffey Morrow

Last week we left David handing a note to Uriah to take to Joab. "Good luck, old chum, back to the front, God bless and all the best, glad you could have a little rest. Oh, by the way, could you deliver this note to Joab, a request for your commander from your king?" It was Uriah's own death sentence: Send Uriah to the forefront of the battle and then draw back from him, so that he might die. Last week David left us wondering about his situation: to take Uriah's wife, Bath-Sheba, to discover that she is ...

2827. There's A Man Going Around Taking Names

John 1:19-28

Sermon

Thomas Long

There is an old black gospel song from the American South, most often sung to the driving beat of a blues guitar, which includes the following lyrics: There's a man going around taking names. There's a man going around taking names. He took my father's name,And he left my heart in pain. There's a man going around taking names. There's a man going around taking names. He took my mother's name,And he left my heart in pain. There's a man going around taking names. There's a man going around taking names. He ...

2828. The Unclean Spirit

Mark 1:21-28

Drama

Dallas A. Brauninger

This healing story is the first pronouncement story in Cycle B. The pronouncement formula presents a situation, builds to a climax, offers a solution and gives a statement of the issue. In the early church, this format made for easier recall of the story for oral retelling. While healing on the sabbath is mentioned in this miracle, the main issue is authority. In another Cycle B miracle for Epiphany 7, healing the paralytic (Miracle 4), Jesus observes rumblings and questions among the scribes (Mark 2:6) ...

2829. A Service Of Light

John 1:1-18

Bulletin Aid

J. B. Quisenberry

A Celebration Of Christian Brotherhood For The Entire Congregation With An Old-fashioned Christmas Pageant Production Notes This service may be done by either a large or small number of people. It is designed to involve children of all ages as well as adults. Children three years of age and older may be used as angels and shepherds as long as there is an older child to guide them. There may be as few as three angels or a whole "heavenly host." There are traditionally at least two shepherds, but there can ...

2830. The Day Of Thanksgiving

Mt 6:25-33 · 1 Tim 2:1-7 · Joel 2:21-27 · Ps 126

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Joel 2:21-27 The first part of this chapter (vv. 1-17) is the traditional text for Ash Wednesday. These verses call the people to a solemn assembly so that they might repent of their sins and plead for Yahweh's mercy. This action is ordered because of a devastating invasion of locusts. Our lection for Thanksgiving follows the call to repentance with a message of hope and restoration. God will restore the land to fertility; the earth will yield its increase and the people of God will ...

2831. Life In His Name

1 John 5:1-12, 1 John 5:13-21

Sermon

Mark J. Molldrem

In 1922, a marvelous treasure was unearthed in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. The tomb of King Tut, a nineteen-year-old pharaoh, was discovered. He lived 1,300 years before Jesus. One of the valued artifacts that was brought out of this ancient tomb was the figure of "The King upon a Leopard." The leopard was black, the shade of death. The pharaoh was clothed in bright, gilded color, riding regally upon the leopard's back. This figure of "The King upon a Leopard" symbolized the belief that King Tut ...

2832. The Return Of The Lost

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

Donald Dotterer

Let us pray: Gracious and eternal Father, today we come seeking to understand your purpose and your will for our lives. Help us to know that although we seek you, you have sought us first in love. Lord, grant us wisdom in these moments. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. One of the most common complaints that I hear about the medical profession is that many doctors are too detached from their patients. People tell me that doctors don't have time to listen to them because they are so anxious to get on to the ...

2833. A Couple Who Do Feet

Sermon

Jim Heinemeier

(Adapted from imagery created by Harry Wendt of Crossways International) This is kind of personal, but ... how are your feet doing? I'll bet they're hot and tired and achy. Wouldn't it feel great if right about now all of us could kick off our shoes and some nice person would be there to rub those hot, tired, achy feet! I'd like to talk to you about your feet. About taking care of your feet. (Yes, I know. This is a wedding!) I'd like to talk about couples who do feet. In the hope the two of you will become ...

2834. The TV Audience

Sermon

Michael Rogness

Our sermon consumers are used to VCRs and Super Nintendo Ÿ strong visual images Ÿ they watch and then rewind. For our preaching, that certainly means it is a different generation of people out there listening. It has definite implications for what we say and how we say it.11 -- Jerry L. Schmalenberger I talk with many laypeople about sermons, and the comment I hear most often is: "Sermons are bo-o-o-oring!" This comment is of course not new in church history. Perhaps Eutychus thought the same thing about ...

2835. Proper 6

Galatians 2:11-21, 1 Kings 19:1-8, 2 Samuel 12:1-31, 2 Samuel 11:1-27, Psalm 32:1-11, Luke 7:36-50

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The theological clues coming from the church year state that the Lord will return to rule over the earth - and direct the ministry of God's people to include the earth and everything in it, not simply ministry to other human beings. Christians must love and care for others in positive and practical ways, not merely mouth a few prayers of thanksgiving and lift petitions for the benefit of others, if their liturgy - in and outside the worship service - is to be pleasing to God. The gospel of ...

2836. Proper 24

Luke 18:1-8, Psalm 121:1-8, Exodus 17:8-16, Genesis 32:22-32, Habakkuk 1:1-4, Habakkuk 2:2-20, 2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The last three Sundays of the church year in the Lutheran lectionary focus on the "last things" - eschatology - as well as the end of the church year. In 1992, for example, this is the first of those three Sundays, but on two of those Sundays, the eschatological note will not be heard clearly in the readings for the day in churches using these lectionaries. In other Cycle C years, this will change depending on the calendar. The lectionary of the worship book of the Lutheran Church-Missouri ...

2837. Safe With The Shepherd

John 10:22-42

Sermon

John M. Braaten

Listening to a television talk-show one night I heard the cartoonist Jules Pfeiffer discussing a comic strip he once drew. In it, a little boy was afraid to go to school because he thought his parents might move away while he was gone. He didn't want to go to bed at night becuse he feared that his parents might die while he slept. "Coping with fears is a terrific battle for a child," said Pfeiffer. "It's like being on 24-hour guard duty." He went on to say that he had received many letters about the ...

2838. Take Off The Grave Clothes!

John 11:38-44

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

Today our lesson paints a poignant picture of one of the most famous of Jesus' acts: raising Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus had been a dear friend of Jesus and the scriptures say Jesus loved him and his entire family. When news reached Jesus of Lazarus' death, his heart was sorrowful. He wept inwardly and outwardly. Despite the bad news, he kept confidence that Lazarus would be raised. Despite the woeful lament the news caused for those who loved and knew Lazarus, Jesus quietly assured his disciples and ...

2839. Joy Songs, Trumpet Blasts, And Hallelujah Shouts!

Joshua 5:13--6:27

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

The Israelites have come to the end of a long, long journey. They had wandered in the wilderness for forty years and now have come to the valley of their dreams. Finally, after years of false starts, dark detours, and dashed hopes, they have come to the land which God had promised. They could have toiled out of the wilderness in forty days, but took forty years because of discontent, disbelief, and disobedience. But now God was willing, because they were willing, to move them into a paradise oasis - a land ...

2840. On the Art Of Listening To Sermons

Matthew 13:1-23

Sermon

Larry Goodpaster

I cannot imagine a more difficult place to preach than the setting of this parable-sermon. Although they were not out to get him, this surely must have been one of the toughest audiences Jesus had to face, outside of the religious establishment who were not receptive to much of anything he had to say anyway. The assembling of these people is handled in a rather matter-of-fact way by Matthew in his telling of the story. He says simply that they came to the beach where Jesus had gone to relax for a few ...

2841. Trial-and-Error or Grace

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

(This sermon was preached at the Windsor, N.J. United Methodist Church on the occasion of its 150th Anniversary.) Sometime ago I discovered that God wants us to be happy. Happiness, I already knew, is no simple matter. The Bible teaches much about it, but the Beatitudes, to me more than any other text strike to the heart of the working ground for true happiness. “Blessed are those who….” is translated into “Happy are those who….” Now, a great deal has been said and written about the Beatitudes. So I ...

2842. A Road Map to the Kingdom

Mark 10:13-16

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

I hope for each of you that your journey on planet earth has been a good one and will continue to be so. One of the conditions that determines the worth of a journey is its destination. I keep on my shelf an old axiom: No wind blows good to a ship which has no destined harbor. It is true of our lives; if we don’t know where we’re going the starts and stops do not make a difference. Good or bad breaks mean little, for they do not move us along to a destined goal. Life is just one big distraction. We can ...

2843. Preparing The Way

Malachi 2:17--3:5

Sermon

Ron Lavin

Frank kept the strangest of Christmas lists. He called it "My Refinement List." He first made one out when he was 45 years old. He worked at it faithfully for 29 years. He was 74 and a grandfather. In all that time it had remained a secret, but now his youngest grandchild, with the piece of paper clutched in hand, looked Frank dead in the eye, and said, "What's this?" "A special Christmas list," answered Frank, a bit vaguely. "Is it what you want?" asked the boy. "It's not that kind of a list," answered ...

2844. Good News!

Isaiah 51:17--52:12

Sermon

Ron Lavin

From your childhood, think of some good news which came to you suddenly. Maybe it was the announcement of a new baby in the family, or a new puppy. Maybe it was the announcement of a vacation or your first trip to Disneyland. Get in touch with the feeling of good news. That's especially helpful when there is so much bad news around. We certainly hear enough bad news these days. Newspapers, television, and radio bombard us daily with news like: "Pam Am Jet Down;" "258 People Killed;" "Bomb Suspected;" "1 , ...

2845. How To Hear A Sermon

Micah 1:1-7

Sermon

Richard Hasler

Walter Cronkite, the former highly-regarded CBS Evening News anchor, is an avid lover of boats. Some years ago, he steered his boat into Central Harbor, Maine. As he approached land he was amazed at the greeting he received. People lined the shore waving their hands at him. He could barely make out what they were saying but their shouts sounded like: “Hello Walter, Hello Walter.” The boat sailed closer and closer to the shore and the crowd, still sending out their greeting to him, grew larger and larger. ...

2846. The Best Offense Is A Good Defense

Zephaniah 3:1-20

Sermon

Richard Hasler

Reading the title you may jump to the conclusion that I do not know football. To be sure, the saying usually goes: “The best defense is a good offense.” But consider the plight of Joe Paterno when he became head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions in 1967. He realized that he did not have a squad of outstanding athletes, particularly defensive players. To Paterno, defense was the key to winning football games. What was he to do? In his own words: “I had to find a way of playing great defense without ...

2847. Improving Your Serve

Isaiah 49:1-7

Sermon

Robert Beringer

Charles Swindoll in his popular book, Improving Your Serve, tells of how he was at first haunted and then convicted by the Bible's insistence that Jesus came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45)." The more he studied what the Bible says about servanthood, the more convinced Swindoll became that our task in this world, like that of Jesus, is not to be served, not to grab the spotlight, and not to become successful or famous or powerful or idolized. Our calling ...

2848. Religion's Built-in Hazard

Isaiah 58:1-14

Sermon

Robert Beringer

A Japanese legend says a pious Buddhist monk died and went to heaven. He was taken on a sightseeing tour and gazed in wonder at the lovely mansions built of marble and gold and precious stones. It was all so beautiful, exactly as he pictured it, until he came to a large room that looked like a merchant's shop. Lining the walls were shelves on which were piled and labeled what looked like dried mushrooms. On closer examination, he saw they were actually human ears. His guide explained that these were the ...

2849. Captive To The Word Of God

John 8:31-41

Sermon

Theodore F. Schneider

The Zealots had made a courageous stand, holding off General Silva and his elite Roman legion for more than a year. Jerusalem had already fallen months ago, and the mesa named Masada, along the west coast of the Dead Sea, was the site of the last pocket of Jewish resistance. Come morning, that, too, would change. The wooden walls were burning, and within the day's first light the Roman battering ram would begin again and make its final assault upon the weakened walls and gates. The leader of the 960 men, ...

2850. Checking The Vital Signs

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

It was Easter Sunday. One thousand, seven hundred fifty showed up for worship that day. Boy, was this place full! And it really felt good. We sang some of the same hymns as today. I gave the kids red Easter eggs and my sermon title was: “Don’t Be Alarmed.” The main idea was that Christ is alive and with us, so there need not be any event or situation in our lives here that should scare us. In addition, even at our death and the death of the people we love, we need not have any fear since Christ has come ...

Showing results