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 3926 results

2851. A Dose of Humility

Humor Illustration

... went on to tell the congregation about all the wonderful things he had done for the Lord. "I have a large house, a fine family, a successful business, and a good reputation. I have enough money to do whatever I want, and I am able to support some Christian ministries very generously, and many organizations want me to be a director. I have health and almost unlimited opportunities. Most people would love to change places with me. What more could God give me?" As he paused for effect, a voice shouted from the ...

2852. Bridge Talk

Humor Illustration

We could respond to trouble in the same manner as did the luckless man on the bridge. The man driving across the bridge spotted someone standing on the edge of one of the bridge supports. The person seemed poised to jump. The man in the car jumped out his door just in time to catch the would-be jumper. "Wait a minute, buddy. What do you think you are doing?" the rescuer asked. The man on the bridge replied, "I've lost everything in the ...

2853. Farms In Foreclosure

Humor Illustration

Jesse Jackson told the following joke to illustrate a race issue: Three Iowa farmers were discussing the banks taking their farms by foreclosure. "I like the way Jesse Jackson talks about these issues," said the first, "but he's black." "I like Jesse," said the second. "He was in the farmers picket line at the bank last week showing support, but he's black." "You know," said the third, "the guys who are taking our farms are white."

2854. Homesick for Mama

Humor Illustration

A talented running back from Mississippi accepts a scholarship offer from a Yankee college far above the Mason-Dixon line. Two weeks into fall practice, he's so homesick he can't stand it. The coach suggests he call home for support. The kid goes to the telephone and says to the operator, "I wanna call Mama in Oktibbeha, Mississippi." "How do you spell that?" she asks. "M-a-m-a." "No, the city where you're calling how do you spell it?" "Lady, if I knew how to do that, I'd just write Mama a letter."

2855. Insensitivity

Illustration

Thomas Lane Butts

... , was once the co-host of NBC's morning show the Today Show. He told of an experience he had at a local drugstore. He said he had filled his little shopping basket with a bottle of extra-strength Tylenol, 12 ounces of Kaopectate, an elastic knee support, a supply of corn plasters, Dristan, a vaporizer, a remedy for sore gums and various "over-the-counter" medications. He said that after the clerk checked him out and took his money, he could not believe his ears when the clerk handed him the sack and ...

2856. Bear the Light

John 1:19-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to play. He thought he was called to be big, imposing, fearsome, large and in charge. He thought he was to BE the “star of the show.” He thought the spotlight was his. But he wasn’t supposed to BE a bear, he was supposed to offer the supportive role of “ring bearer.” His role was important. The pastor, not to mention the bride and groom, needed those rings down front. But the focus of the wedding ceremony was not on the ring bearer. The reason for the wedding celebration was not him. In this week ...

2857. Ring Bear

Matthew 22:1-14

Illustration

Leonard Sweet

... to play. He thought he was called to be big, imposing, fearsome, large and in charge. He thought he was to BE the "star of the show." He thought the spotlight was his. But he wasn't supposed to BE a bear, he was supposed to offer the supportive role of "ring bearer." His role was important. The pastor, not to mention the bride and groom, needed those rings down front. But the focus of the wedding ceremony was not on the ring bearer. The reason for the wedding celebration was not him. The invited guests at ...

2858. Prophesy Your Way Forward

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... they were willing to step out into the unknown and embrace the possibilities of a new future, they needed to “prophesy” their way forward. They left their homeland based upon the summons of a star. They did not have investment bankers. They did not have the support of a well-armed militia. To insure the success of their mission, they did not have a strategic “plan,” or a fall-back strategy, or a well-financed safety net. They only had a star. They only had a prophecy. Actually, they only had half of ...

2859. Looking for Rainbows

Genesis 9:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... his growing up years. Wayne Oates knew what it was to struggle. Born to a poor family in Greenville, South Carolina in June 1917, Oates was abandoned by his father in infancy and was brought up by his grandmother and his sister while his mother supported them by working in a cotton mill. His mother made $30 a week. They survived, says one source, on pinto beans, turnip greens, cornbread and molasses. In his early school years, Oates discovered he had the ability to excel academically. And if he was ever ...

2860. Yada, Yada, Yada

John 12:20-36

Sermon

King Duncan

... says they hear voices, as we should. The voice of God will be an inward voice, a silent voice, a voice within the mind. God may speak through a friend. God may speak through a strong emotion. Someone says, “I felt God telling me that I should support that mission project.” And I am confident God did. The greatest untapped source of power in this world is the unheeded voice of God in human affairs. Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine . . .” Many of us were moved a few years back ...

2861. A Table Like No Others

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... badge and invited him to sit down. As they talked, Pat sensed that God was urging him to do something specific: to ask John if he wanted to take Communion. Chaplain interns were not encouraged to ask patients about such things as communion in this tax-supported hospital, but Pat did. At that John broke down. “I can’t!” he cried. “I’ve sinned and can’t be forgiven.” Pat paused a moment, knowing he was about to break policy again. He asked John if he wanted to confess his sin. John nodded ...

2862. Were You There?

John 19:17-27

Sermon

King Duncan

... imprisoned with Bishop Ford gives us a picture of Bishop Ford’s last days: “His hair was long and white and his beard matted, his face emaciated and pale from torture . . . Whenever Bishop Ford was given a walk outside the prison, being unable to support himself, he leaned on two fellow prisoners. Then came the day of the death march. He was put in line between the two other prisoners. The Chinese Communist colonel who had seized the chapel tied a sack around Bishop Ford’s neck weighing over twenty ...

2863. Do You Know How to Listen?

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... tells of a friend of hers who had just been told that she had breast cancer, and her only hope was to have a mastectomy, removing both breasts. She was crushed by the news, and turned to her mother, who had not always been there for her, for some support in her time of crisis. She called her mother and asked to have lunch with her. After they had lunch together, Joyce’s friend said, “Mother, I have just received some terrible news. I have just come from the doctor’s office; I have been told that I ...

2864. Victorious, but Not Unscarred

John 20:24-31

Sermon

King Duncan

... who does not pay a price. On this April 15th we might remember a well-known tax evader named Henry David Thoreau. Unlike modern tax evaders who are interested only in their own welfare, Thoreau willingly went to jail rather than pay taxes to support a war, the Mexican-American War, fought in the interests of slavery. You will remember the famous exchange between Thoreau and his friend, Ralph Waldo Emerson. “Henry, what are you doing in there?” asked Emerson when he strolled by the jail one day. “Ralph ...

2865. Nourishing Seeds

Mark 4:26-29

Illustration

Betty Long

When I was a child, life was not easy. My dad worked two jobs to try and support my mom and me so that we could buy a home, have nice clothes and enough to eat. He wasn't home very much, and when he was home he was usually sleeping because he was so tired. I never really got to spend any time with my dad until ...

2866. Mark 6:1-13

Mark 6:1-6

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... differently by each gospel writer, in each account Jesus is rejected by his hometown and as a result his ability to work effectively among the people is curtailed and compromised. The record of such an unflattering portrait of Jesus’ kin and community supports the authenticity of this moment. As was the right of any properly raised Jewish male, Jesus steps up to teach in his hometown synagogue on the Sabbath. In the first century, outside of the temple priests, there was no official “ordained” class ...

2867. Walking in Faith

Mark 6:1-13

Illustration

Mark Trotter

"Take nothing with you." Jesus is saying, be Knights of Faith. Do this journey right. Do it the way it is supposed to be done. Journey with grace. Make your journey without any visible means of support. Make your journey with the spiritual equivalent of "no hands," so that others, seeing your faith, seeing the way that you make your journey, will be astonished. How does she do that? And give glory to your father in heaven. And I have seen that with my own mother. I ...

2868. Time Out!

Mark 6:31

Illustration

Vince Gerhardy

"Time out" is a good strategy in sports: when the game needs to be slowed down; when weary players need a short break; when advice from the coach is needed to give the team the winning edge; when a player needs encouragement and support; when it seems that the opponents are getting an upper hand. "Time out" is also a wise principle in everyday living. We need to take time out and slow down from the often break-neck pace of our lives. There's no doubt about it – we live in a busy ...

2869. What Would You Like Written?

John 6:24-35

Illustration

David E. Leininger

... of birth, job, family, and so on. So he began to compose the kind of obituary for himself that he would LIKE to have written. In it he included all sorts of church activities and community service, involvement with young people, his community, support for the various educational institutions, help with the United Way - one worthwhile activity after another. When the obituary was finished, he was most impressed, but at the same time, most discouraged. Because he realized that what he had written was a big ...

2870. Go, Johnny, Go, Go, Go!

Luke 3:1-6

Sermon

Cynthia Cowen

... of love the world would ever witness. While he was yet in the wings, there was one out front preparing the audience for his entrance, John, the son of Zechariah. As Jesus stepped forward to assume the major role in the drama already prepared for him, John, the supporting actor in this drama, cried out, "Here's the one you've been expecting ... the one I've been talking about ... the one who will take away the sin of the world" (John 1:29 cf). God had told John that he would see the Spirit come down from ...

2871. Don’t Touch Me With That Water!

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Sermon

Cynthia Cowen

... now stood in the gap knowing he would die for the sins of the world. In order to accomplish the Father's mission and advance God’s work in the world, Jesus was anointed to fulfill righteousness, freeing us from guilt and sin. His baptism showed support for John's ministry and inaugurated his own public ministry to bring God's message of salvation to all people. He, who was without sin, fully identified with those who had sin. And so he came for the baptism of water, the baptism of repentance, to set ...

2872. The Ashes of Our Lives

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Cynthia Cowen

... of man he was and were willing to follow him. So what happened between their first encounter and the second? Why do we see in Luke's gospel that they had gone back to fishing? It could have been because they trusted more in their own abilities to support themselves. In other words, to put fish on the table. After all, Jesus had been a carpenter but hadn't set up shop, and it seemed he was more concerned about feeding the soul rather than the body. They would understand much later that he was concerned about ...

2873. How Firm a Foundation

Luke 6:39-49

Sermon

Cynthia Cowen

... . Be forgiving and have compassion for others. Don't settle for sand. Build on the rock — Jesus Christ. Paul's beach house was built on a good foundation. When the waters came and surrounded it, they did not destroy it. He had shored it up for support. In his distress, he had also shored up his faith in his reliance on God. His physical and spiritual construction brought him through his time of crisis. There are two favorite hymns I'd like to use as illustrations. The first is a hymn originating in the ...

2874. Bridge Builders

Luke 7:1-10

Sermon

Cynthia Cowen

... gully was a bridge made of branches and small trees woven together. Before crossing it, the driver and his three companions got out of the car to inspect the bridge, perhaps too gracious a name for what stood before them. Since the bridge looked like it would not support the weight of the car, Deo was to stay with the vehicle, and the other three would walk the half mile to the pastor's house. As the trio turned to cross the bridge, they noticed an African waving at them. They waved back but didn't stop ...

2875. This Fellow Welcomes Sinners

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

... forgiveness that comes from the cross, visible in the story of the prodigal son. We once were lost but now are found. The story of the prodigal son is not about one of those attractive sinners that we don't know, those symbols that are easy to support because we don't have to deal with them after they're redeemed, except perhaps with a check. Remember the words of Jesus: "Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need ...

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