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 4943 results

2826. Righteous!

Romans 1:16-17; 3:22b-31

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

... are sinful. God is holy. And the list goes on and on. They are all part of what makes God so "righteous!" We human beings long to have the same sort of righteousness. Ever since that tragic fall into sin in the Garden of Eden, we spend our lives continually in search of righteousness. We want to be righteous, to be like God, to be able to stand tall, to be confident, to know that we count and that our lives matter. Saint Augustine puts it well when he says that every human heart is restless until it finds ...

2827. Righting Wrong

Romans 9:1-5

Sermon

Larry Lange

... make it all work out by the year's end. The last pastor retired, and the time of the great year-end bailouts had come to an end. The costs of maintaining the beauty of an old building and sustaining the excellence of its worship continued to rise. Fear gripped the hearts of members when three neighboring churches closed their doors, because it was overwhelmingly inconvenient for their members to drag their families for the half-hour trip downtown to participate in programs with children who were not their ...

2828. God’s Doing

Philippians 1:21-30

Sermon

Larry Lange

... plans were suddenly cancelled like Don and Donna's. The apostle Paul had hoped to preach the gospel in Rome and beyond. Instead, he arrived in Rome in orange coveralls and under guard — his international evangelical exploits at a sudden end. How was he to continue to start churches all around the world while he was incarcerated in Rome? How must it have felt for the great gospel globetrotter to have been cooped up in a house or a cell? Yet, somehow the apostle Paul was able to keep writing, keep preaching ...

2829. Reasons for Rejoicing

Philippians 4:2-9

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... " is an apt aphorism today. Pastor Paul is in prison as he writes to the Philippians, urging them to "rejoice in the Lord always." Isn't it odd that he has more to say from prison about joy and rejoicing than at any other time? He continually rejoices in the relationships he has had with the church in Philippi and in the assistance they have given him. For Paul, joy and contentment are what Christianity is all about. In the movie, Sister Act, Whoopi Goldberg plays Deloris, a singer with a questionable past ...

2830. Legacies of Power

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... down." The tournament opened, and the Springboks played remarkably well. To everyone's surprise, they won the first game, and continued winning. They made it all the way to the championship game against New Zealand, a perpetual power in rugby. It ... .2 Where do you find the power to hang in there, to keep on keeping on in this world? Where do we find the power to continue believing that ultimately God's kingdom will come and God's will, as revealed in Christ, will be done? Where do you find the power to ...

2831. Here I Am

Hebrews 12:18-29

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... Eddie's victim calmly responded, "You can have the money, but what you really need is to give your life to the Lord Jesus Christ." Those words imprinted themselves on Eddie's brain. At age seventeen, Eddie was sentenced to ten years in Mississippi's Parchman Penitentiary. He continued his violent ways in prison. But one day, as Eddie contemplated murdering two of his fellow inmates, he heard God speaking to him. "Eddie, it's either your way or My way," the voice said. God challenged Eddie that day to either ...

2832. Jesus the Toxicologist

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , de-tox diets. All these detoxification routines involve somehow draining physical “toxins” out of the body. But the best detox regimes recognize that the body is less than half the problem. It is a toxin permeating and poisoning the spirit that is the continuing source of corrupting, destructive venoms that put us in a place of “torment” and of “flames.” The power of AA and other “Twelve Step” programs is that they recognize the body is not the place the toxins of life take root. It is ...

2833. Luke 16:19-31

Luke 16:19-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... for those who cannot care for themselves. A multitude of laws on almsgiving and hospitality sought to establish compassion by commandment. The parable of the “rich man and Lazarus” is found only in Luke’s gospel. It is set up as a continuation of Jesus’ response and rebuttal to the Pharisees: first, their grumbling against him because of the company he keeps (15:2); second, their ridiculing him because of his fiscal advice “You cannot serve God and mammon” (16:13). The pharisaic rejection of ...

2834. Which Way Will You Go?

Luke 16:19-31

Illustration

James Merritt

... to go and flow on toward the West until it goes out into the Pacific Ocean. But if that same drop of water falls and turns to the other side of the Continental Divide, it will continue to flow until it reaches the Mississippi Valley, down into the Mississippi River, down into the Gulf of Mexico, and finally out into the Atlantic Ocean. Isn't it strange how two drops of water could seem to start so nearly in the same place, and yet actually wind up ...

2835. Made Perfect In Weakness

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... the trees is on vacation." (5) Too often that's a parable for the church. Too many people forget about the future. They don't see what they are doing or not doing as connected to the continuing ministry of the church. They don't consider those who will follow. They don't consider the continuing costs of ministry. That's why we have Stewardship Campaigns. Stewardship deals with both the future and the priorities of our lives and faith now. Stewardship is about putting God first in everything. In every aspect ...

2836. People of the Book

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

King Duncan

... and 45 percent say they rarely or never read it. (2) I’m not going to ask for a show of hands. You know which group you belong to. St. Paul writes to his young protégé Timothy and he gives him this admonition, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed ...

2837. There Will Be Light

Isaiah 2:1-5

Sermon

King Duncan

... and justice and love and hope. Most of all we are affirming the presence of God in our world. As people of the light, our job is to make sure the light of Christ shines ever more brightly in this world of darkness. How do we do that? By continually walking in the light ourselves. By living a life of integrity and love. There is a story that has been circulating on the web about a church Christmas pageant. The day of the presentation finally arrived. A young girl named Jana was so excited about her part that ...

2838. When the Church Becomes a Culture of Complainers and Crusaders, What To Do?

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of followership, and he proved his passion adamantly and with attitude. He faithfully lifted up the words of Jesus, the mission of Jesus, and the grace and love of the God who sent Jesus into the world. Yet no matter how shrill and rancorous his critics, Paul continued to focus his message on God’s love, the gift of mercy and grace, and the faith and fulfillment that come to those who follow Jesus. The message of his detractors is wrong. But the core of Paul’s message is not about the wrongness of his ...

2839. The Man in the Middle

Luke 23:26-43

Illustration

Jerry Goebel

... Roman Empire could concoct. Two men suffer for their sins; one man suffers for the sins of others. For one of these two men, death will be liberation from the agonies of this world; it will be the "way to life." For the other, death will be a continuation of the torment he has chosen as his "way of living." Two men, meters apart, with Jesus in the middle, both men representative of the inner struggle that each of us must face. Which man am I choosing to become? One man mocks and condemns the faithful. He ...

2840. Matthew 11:2-11

Matthew 11:1-19

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , however, is that the season of Advent is not just about preparing for the birth of a baby. Advent is the preparation of the world for a whole new era of existence. The first part of this week’s gospel reading deals with John’s continuing questions about Jesus mission his identity, his timing, his role. John’s concerns may seem strange in light of Matthew 3:11-15, where the gospel writer describes Jesus’ baptism at John’s hands. In that encounter John appears confident in his identification of ...

2841. 1 Corinthians 1:10-18

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... who embrace the “wisdom” of the world. Those who abandon human “sophia” as their source of power and insight and through faith find the power of God in the cross are “being saved.” Those who continue to put their faith in human abilities, in human conduct and human comprehension continue to find nothing but “foolishness” in the cross and thus find themselves among the “perishing,” cut off from God’s power and the divine gift of abundant life. In short, this morning’s pericope may ...

2842. Worry Not

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... ll have to call an ambulance. “In each case, it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.” He continued, “And that’s the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes ... found himself laid off in favor of a younger, more aggressive manager. He wonders how he will be able to continue to provide his family with anything like the comfortable lifestyle they have grown accustomed to. He says to his pastor ...

2843. Life’s Three Guides on the Pilgrim Way

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... But God doesn’t produce cheese sandwiches and electric blankets to see us through our kingdom-of-God journey. God doesn’t send us mere sustenance. God offers us abundance. So God sends us guides to be with us and provide us with all we need to continue in our kingdom walk. Jesus said that the “birds of the air” didn’t sow, reap, or store. But those “birds of the air” do scavenge for seeds, dig out grubs, swoop up insects. The “lilies of the field” might not “toil nor spin.” But flowers ...

2844. Romans 5:12-19

Romans 5:12-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... up as “much more” the “Grace of God” and the “free gift” of the one man who was “Jesus Christ.” There can be no doubt about the immeasurable superiority of the Last Adam Jesus Christ and what he offers over the First Adam. As Paul continues his comparison in v.16 he turns more to what each of these two figures, Christ and Adam, brought to the world. Paul chooses his words carefully. In the Greek he creates a wordplay by using terms that all end with “ma.” God’s “judgment” (“krima ...

2845. Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

Romans 4:1-25

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... him in a new relationship with God. Our text for today now skips ahead to the second stage of Paul’s argument. Paul is now taking on the Jewish assurance that it is through upholding the Torah, the laws Moses received from God, that they may continue to claim the status of righteousness before God. After God’s promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many descendants (Genesis 15:4-5), God then declares a second promise, a promise of “land” (Genesis 17:8), a promise that by Paul’s time ...

2846. Living a Well-Storied Life

John 4:1-26

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the stories of God’s promises to the first generations named in Genesis. We can’t know the Genesis promises without knowing God as Creator of all human life. Jesus’ story, our story, stretches back to a Creator God and forward through the story of God’s continuing, ongoing, living relationship with those cantankerous human creatures God has always “so loved.” Only the whole Bible gives us the whole story. The Jesus story is a “66 book” story. Living out of that living tradition is how we ...

2847. All Boxed In?

Matthew 28:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... .” People began to intentionally think about a life lived outside pre-established boundaries. Living “outside the box” has become a common litany in the last half century. Even a hackneyed cliche. The continuing challenge, however, is understanding the ever evolving “boxes” that people are living in as our world, our technologies, continue to unfold. I bought a box recently to put my tax documents in, and couldn’t believe what I saw. If you examine the flattened pattern for a box, you will see ...

2848. Acts 2:14a, 36-41

Acts 2:14-41

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Lord’s promise to “pour out my spirit” (2:28-29), a reference Peter’s Jewish audience would doubtless recall. God’s promise has come true for those who hear and respond to Peter’s words with true repentance. This promise will continue to be available to all future generations. The disciples who had hidden themselves away “for fear of the Jews” (John 10:19) have accomplished their own “metanoia,” their own “about face.” The power and persuasion of their words “were welcomed” by ...

2849. The Meals-on-Wheels Temple

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... 180 displaced persons, provided them with a safe place for their families, beds to sleep on, portable showers, laundry facilities, and HUGE, three good meals a day. As difficult as the situation was for those forced to relocate, there has been continuous praise for the churches that stepped up, took charge and offered themselves as a community in service to the larger population. Churches became true “sanctuaries:” a safe place filled with compassion and care. The success of “Shelby Cares” has not ...

2850. Kissing Cousins (Father's Day)

2 Corinthians 13:11-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... Paying $10.00, he was directed to a room. When he entered, he saw a gorgeous woman with a sign around her neck that read: “If you catch me, you may kiss me.” Harry took off in hot pursuit, huffing and puffing, heaving and sweating, but the woman continued to out run Harry until he lost ten pounds. He finally caught her and was given a kiss as a reward. Pleased with the experience and the results, Harry decided to try the twenty-pound program. Paying $20.00, he was directed to another room. There he met ...

Showing results