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 2851 to 2875 of 4934 results

2851. Israel Unrepentant

Hosea 6:1--7:16

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

Israel’s Hollow Repentance (6:1-6): Contrary to the LXX, which connects this passage with 5:15 by the addition of the word, “saying” (as in the RSV), this pericope is complete in itself as one more record of Israel’s deceitful ways toward God. Overcome by Assyria’s engulfment of them (see the comment on 5:8–15), the Israelites call a day of repentance in the effort to secure for themselves God’s aid once again. Such fasts of repentance are held in Israel whenever there is a calamity of any sort—defeat by ...

2852. Let Us Love One Another

2 John 1:1-13

Understanding Series

Thomas F. Johnson

Salutation Second John begins with a greeting or salutation similar in form to other NT letters. The writer and recipients are identified, followed by a wish for God’s blessing. But this introduction also contains material that fits the writer’s and readers’ specific situation and recalls the controversy in which all three letters of John are set. The Elder quickly reveals the two main concerns which are on his mind, and they correspond to the two principal themes of the letters of John as a whole: truth ...

2853. A Happy Ending

Joshua 5:9-12

Sermon

Charley Reeb

A.A. Milne, the creator of Winnie the Pooh, wrote a simple, yet telling poem in his work, Now We Are Six: When I was One, I had just begun. When I was Two, I was nearly new. When I was Three, I was hardly Me. When I was Four, I was not much more. When I was Five, I was just alive. But now I am Six, I’m as clever as ever. So I think I’ll be six now forever and ever.[1] This is a cute poem, but beneath its adorable rhyme lies a very sensitive issue for all of us: resistance to change. The truth is that most ...

2854. Three Things You Can Count On

Mark 13:24-37

Sermon

Charley Reeb

One summer I took a month off for a much needed time of renewal. During my time off I decided to do a little research. I wanted to get the perspective of folks who don’t go to church. Preachers are very insulated in a church bubble. Everything we do revolves around church culture for the most part and that is not all bad. But here is the thing — if the church’s main task is to reach those outside of it then it would be wise for me to get the pulse of those outside the church bubble. How can we be effective ...

2855. Among You Stands One

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Sermon

King Duncan

Dr. Tom Long in his book, Shepherds and Bathrobes, tells a story that appeared years ago in the New York Times. It was just before Christmas. David Storch, a music teacher, borrowed a copy of the score of Handel’s Messiah from the Brooklyn Public Library. For some reason, through a clerical error, the transaction was not recorded. Afterward, there were several other requests for the score, and the library staff--unaware that it had been checked out--spent many hours searching in vain for it through the ...

2856. A Remedy for Rejection

Luke 4:22-30

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever been rejected? Have you ever had a door shut in your face? Welcome to the real world. Parents spend years grooming their children for success. Perhaps it would be more profitable to train our children to handle failure and rejection because everyone faces these unhappy experiences sooner or later. Go to Google. Type in the words “famous rejections.” If you do, you will learn that J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series of novels, was rejected by 12 different publishers before her work ...

2857. Do you need a Pharisectomy?

Matthew 9:27-34, Matthew 9:35-38, Matthew 12:15-21, Matthew 12:22-37, Matthew 12:38-45, Matthew 12:46-50

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“To whom shall I speak and give warning that they may hear? Behold, their ears are closed, and they cannot listen. Behold, the word of the Lord has become a reproach to them they have no delight in it.” (Jeremiah 6:10) Props: Coffee and rolls Every home gets to set their own rules. Some are strange. Some are stringent. Some are strident. Some are just plain goofy. Ever been in a home with a white carpet? I bet you were required to take off your shoes before entering. Ever been in a home with all the ...

2858. Lord of the Harvest

Matthew 9:35-38, Luke 10:1-24

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: Shofar I grew up on nursery rhymes. How many of you did too? Today, I want to talk about this one. Say it with me: “Little Boy Blue, Come blow your horn, The sheep's in the meadow, The cow's in the corn; But where is the boy Who looks after the sheep? He's under a haystack, He's fast asleep.” It’s said that in early times, shepherds often carried either horns or wooden flutes that they used to call in their sheep. The “voice” of the shepherd could be his actual physical voice, or it could be the ...

2859. Sim Lev!

Mark 13:1-31, Mark 13:32-37, Matthew 24:1-35, Matthew 24:36-51

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23) “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:5) Prop: ruby slippers (you may use these as an example of an “anchoring” metaphor/sign) OR bud of a fig tree // recommended: Holy Communion elements One of the most mesmerizing tales of the 20th century was The Wizard of Oz starring a young Judy Garland. It was first and foremost a foray into the ...

2860. Sacrifice Leads to Life

Hebrews 10:16-25

Sermon

Richard Gribble

In the fifteenth century, a rural village in Germany was home to a family with eighteen children. The family was poor, but despite the difficulty of making ends meet, two of the boys still held a dream, namely to pursue their talent as artists. With the financial situation bleak, the two boys came up with their own solution to the problem. They agreed to toss a coin with the loser going to the local mines to work so he could support the other while he attended art school. When the first was finished with ...

2861. Preparing for the King

Luke 3:1-6

Sermon

King Duncan

Even if we dread deadlines, most of us will admit that we work better when we have a deadline staring us in the face. But few of us have to face the kind of deadline the White House staff does when they welcome a new President to D.C. Kate Anderson Brower has written a New York Times best-selling book titled The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House which shares a behind-the-scenes look at all the work that goes into the Presidential transition. There are only about 90-100 residential ...

2862. The Seventy “Sevens”

Daniel 9:20-27

Understanding Series

William Nelson

Daniel’s Prayer and the Seventy Weeks: Chapter 9 is unique for three reasons. First, it starts with Daniel reading a prophetic text rather than receiving a vision as in the surrounding chapters (chs. 7, 8, and 10). Second, the particular name of Israel’s God, Yahweh, is only found in this chapter (vv. 2, 4, 8, 10, 13, 14, 20). Third, most of the chapter is taken up with a prayer. Elsewhere, the author makes clear that Daniel believed in talking to God (2:18; 6:10), but only here does he record the lengthy ...

2863. Gifts for God

Mark 12:41-44

Children's Sermon

Object: A Sunday offering envelope. Lesson: This poor widow put more in the offering box than all the others Good morning, boys and girls. Today let's talk about offerings. Some of our parents bring their offerings to church in an envelope like this one. You see, you can write your name on it. And there is a place to write down how much money you are putting in. And there is a number on the envelope, which only belongs to the person who was given these envelopes. That way the church treasurer can tell who ...

2864. A Farewell Gift

John 14:15-31

Sermon

John M. Braaten

I have never liked saying "goodbye," it always elicits feelings of finality. So I say other things like, "See you!" or "Hope to see you sometime." Most of the time I like quick goodbyes. However, when a loved one leaves there are no formalities. We embrace, sometimes through tears. It is not uncommon to cast out cliches, often with a bit of humor, to lighten the atmosphere. But in the end the word "goodbye" is bound to be spoken. It's a comforting thought really, because it is a shortened form of "God be ...

2865. The Road To Jerusalem

Mark 11:1-11

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

Everybody loves a parade. I spent 10 of my growing up years in Savannah, Georgia, where my father was the pastor of a church. On March 17th of each year Savannah has the second largest St. Patrick's Day parade in the country. The whole city turns out for the parade. They dye the river green. Everybody wears green. They eat green grits. Some drink green - well, beverages. For several years I went to that parade and enjoyed watching it. But then when I was in the 10th grade I was in R.O.T.C., military ...

2866. Jesus Reflects -- A Dramatic Monologue

Isaiah 9:1-7, Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20

Drama

Edward G. Hunter

Jesus of Nazareth speaks: This is the 33rd year since my birth, and in my travels I have come to Bethlehem several times. But, this is the first time I have been here on the night of my birth. I felt drawn here this year, for somehow I instinctively feel I will be unable to visit it again. I know those who oppose me seek to silence me, and I fear before long they may succeed. But, I did not come here to reflect on such thoughts. I have come to see once again the place where my mother brought me into the ...

2867. Hunger, Health, and Happiness

Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

One sabbath when he went to dine at the house of a ruler who belonged to the Pharisees, they were watching him. Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he marked how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, "When you are invited by any one to a marriage feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest a more eminent man than you be invited by him; and he who invited you both will come and say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place ...

2868. The Doubting Sum

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

The Holy Trinity When the eleven disciples, minus Judas, came to the mountain previously chosen by Jesus to meet him, some doubted. We would like to speak concerning the sum of doubt. Doubt adds up to zero. It is not a negative number; it is nothing! When we think of the word doubt we associate words like: indecision, uncertainty, hopelessness and powerlessness. People with convictions act. The opposite of doubt is faith and only faith has power. Imagine the eleven, with the doubters included, hearing ...

2869. Easter Day

John 20:1-9, Colossians 3:1-17, Psalm 118:1-29, Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon Aid

THEOLOGICAL CLUE Easter, the theological center of the church year, celebrates the resurrection of the Lord; it is also the main festival of the Christian faith. It pins the Christian faith on a preposterous event, the raising of Christ from the grave after he had been dead almost three days. Easter is the great mystery of the faith, which no one can completely fathom or understand; it must be accepted on faith, faith alone. It is the heart of the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ, because the one who ...

2870. Amazing Grace

Romans 3:21-31

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

Before his conversion, Paul had fought passionately to be perfect, according to the Law, but he had found no peace, and now we hear him saying, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:23-24). Paul had found his peace as a gift and not as something earned. Many people are confused about "grace and works." Someone came to me recently asking, "Are we saved by grace, by works, or by both? Help me ...

2871. Minute Accounting

Matthew 12:22-37

Sermon

Herchel H. Sheets

"I tell you, on the day of the judgment, men will render account for every careless word they utter." Really? A number of questions arise immediately when one hears that statement. One has to do with the logistics of accounting. A lot of careless words are spoken. Are we to believe that God (or some of his assistants!) keeps a verbatim record of all of these words and then confronts each person with the ones he or she has spoken at the final reckoning? Another question involves the justice of such a policy ...

2872. It All Comes from God

Galatians 3:26--4:7

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: A ring, a watch, a book or a tool - something that you have that belonged to your father. Lesson: Now we are no longer slaves, but God’s own sons. And since we are his sons, everything he has belongs to us for that is the way God planned. Good morning, boys and girls. I have something with me this morning that I want to show and share with you. It is something that is very important to me because of whom it once belonged to. Do you see this tool? [Ask them what they would call the tool.] That’s ...

2873. Overcoming Loneliness

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

In the overcrowded conditions of our modern world loneliness has possessed us: "He’s a real Nowhere Man, Sitting in his Nowhere Land, Making all his Nowhere Plans for nobody." Such emptiness, such frustration, such loneliness depresses us. What’s to be done about it? This feeling of hopelessness has been around a long time. The ancient writer of Psalm 22 cried out: Dear God, right now I feel like a worm, not a person. I feel so used by other people. And to make it worse, I feel resented by the very same ...

2874. The Nuclear Truth Of Christianity

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Amos Alonzo Stagg was one of the great football coaches of all time in sports history. As a coach he constantly tried to keep his substitutes prepared and ready on the bench. He had the habit of prompting alertness by suddenly popping questions at them while the game was underway. One afternoon he turned to a fourth-string player who hadn't seen a single minute of the game during all the season. Stagg barked, "You, Cartmell! What would you do if we had possession of the ball with one minute to play, the ...

2875. From Russia With Love

Acts 3:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I'm told that they used to tell a story in Russia that Adam and Eve were Russians and they came at that from very logical deduction. They were improperly clothed, they had only one apple between them and everybody was always telling them that they lived in a paradise. Today you can't tell that joke in Russia. No one, not even the most ardent, die hard, hanging on, Communist dreamer. No one would even begin to hint at the possibility that the people in Russia and in the Union of Independent States are ...

Showing results