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 2876 to 2900 of 4972 results

2876. If Only We Could Remember ...

Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... Gomer not to be his slave, but to be his wife again. Although she has wronged him, made a mockery of their marriage, embarrassed him and the children, he brings her back into their home. Now, for the third time, the prophet’s marriage makes him stop and think about his theology. If his human love enables him to forgive Gomer’s infidelity and take her back home, then the love of God, which is far more patient, infinitely more understanding, would surely forgive and restore. This is what the prophet sees ...

2877. God Never Changes

James 1:17

Children's Sermon

... spoken about how good it is for us. Sometimes we think that changing is painful, but we still have to do it because it is better for us in the long run. Every day brings change, and we often can't do anything about it. For instance, you can't stop your hair from getting longer when it grows, or your feet from changing sizes. They just change. Everything changes except one thing and I am sure that you can guess what doesn't change. [Let them guess.] That's right, God doesn't change. Let me show you what I ...

2878. God's Suggestion Box

Philippians 4:4-7

Children's Sermon

... out some slips with some requests written out.] Here is one that says, "God help me quit smoking." Is there anyone at your house who wants to quit smoking and may have asked God for help? Here's another one, "Dear God, give me the courage to stop watching television when I should be studying." How about this one, "Please Jesus, give me the strength to do the dishes without fighting with my brother and making my mother angry." These are just some of the requests and you probably have your own. Maybe, when ...

2879. The Day of Pentecost

Isaiah 44:1-5

Sermon

Deutero-Isaiah here emphasizes the grace of God. This seems contradictory because, in the previous chapter, his works would seem to have indicated the whole relationship between God and Israel had ended. Everything between them appeared to have come to a full stop because of the rebellion and the disloyalty of Israel. But, in these words, God's unending love and grace are highlighted, as the prophet resumes his picture of God's purpose which is still to be carried out through his chosen people. Grace is ...

2880. The Holy Trinity

Deuteronomy 4:32-40

Sermon

... in this regard. He once remarked, "When a family is on a long automobile trip, and the road is dusty and disagreeable, and the assistant chauffeurs in the rear seat are a bit too audible with their complaints about the ride, it is sometimes well just to stop the car and ask whether anybody wishes to go back." Maybe that is what this writer was doing. At the very least, he is attempting to give them a broader perspective appealing to their recollection of the two great saving acts in Israel's history: the ...

2881. Proper 4

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

... further - it's the edge of cultivation." So they said, and I believe it - broke my land and sowed my crop - Built my barns and strung my fences in the little border station Tucked away below the foothills where the trails run out and stop: Till a voice, as bad as Conscience, rang interminable changes On one everlasting Whisper day and night repeated - so: "Something hidden, Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges - Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go!" Abraham must have ...

2882. Estranged Hands

Matthew 6:5-15

Children's Sermon

Object: two children (best to prepare them before hand) I am going to have [John and Mary] help me act out a little scene. Pretend I am the teacher at school. I have found John and Mary fighting. Teacher: John! Mary! Stop your fighting this instant! Mary: But he pulled my hair. John: And she slapped me in the face. Teacher: Neither complaint is cause for fighting. We should want to be friends, not enemies. Now, each of you tell the other one you're sorry. John: I'm sorry. Mary: I' ...

2883. The Passion of Our Lord

2 Corinthians 5:21

Sermon

... shoulders, back and legs, it first cuts only through the skin; then through subsequent blows the tips of lead rip into the skin, making the back ribbons of flesh. Usually when the soldier in charge feels that the prisoner is near death, the whipping is stopped. This is now the case with Our Lord. Beaten, in shock, half fainting, dehydrated, exhausted, in searing pain, His shoulders, back, ribbons of flesh, the stones wet with His blood, He is now mocked. His crowning with thorns A robe is thrown across His ...

2884. Dear Mrs. Day

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

Thomas C. Short

... the days that I spent in your Junior High Sunday School class. You’ll remember that when I was promoted from your class to the Senior High Class, I dropped out of Sunday School altogether. You may also recall that I saw you about two years ago when we coincidently stopped at the same gas station for gas, and in our brief conversation you referred to me as a lost sheep. I thought about that many times. I was a lost sheep. I have learned in recent years that it is easy to be lost and not know it. It’s ...

2885. The Confessions of a Younger Brother

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

... got some special revelation from God. A visit from a dead brother would elevate me above my doubts, enable me to have perfect faith in my God and create in me a Christ-like love. The rich man is right. That’s what I want - a revelation from God that stops me in my tracks and leaves no doubt whatsoever in my mind. Why shouldn’t I want it? I live in a world where it takes big events to win the attention and loyalty of the people. That’s part of the reason I want some special revelation from God ...

2886. The Parable of Prayer and the Refueling Plane

Matthew 7:7-12

Illustration

... the little boy. "It looks like one is towing the other." "No," said the father, "the one plane is bringing more gasoline, so that the other plane does not have to come down and land. Without the refueling plane the great ship would have to stop its flight." "Oh, that is good isn't it?" said the boy. Prayer does its silent refueling of the soul. Many great persons have changed the course of history with dynamic leadership following the refueling of the soul. Washington, amidst hunger and starvation, rose ...

2887. The Violence Within, The Violence Without

Zephaniah 3:1-20

Sermon

... newly baptized and by recollection of their own baptism, to the already baptized. God violated that we might violate no more. We are baptized into his death. His death means that violence and fraud need no longer be our stock in trade. But God did not stop there. He provides a meal which is both a celebration of violence and of violence conquered, recycled so that instead of destruction, it produces life. What else do those graphic words mean? "This is my body, broken for you. This is my blood, shed for you ...

2888. The Sunday of the Passion

Matthew 26:14--27:66

Sermon

Kendall McCabe

... "Hosanna," there was a good excuse to do the baptism of infants or confirmation of youth. We could all sing "The Palms," and it was very clear what the day was about. Sort of a practice run for Easter when we would pull out all the stops. But now the Sunday of the Passion! No longer one short lesson describing the entry into Jerusalem, but practically two whole chapters of Matthew, and those not the shortest. Of course, we do get the triumphal entry narrative as well, but that comes at the beginning ...

2889. The Resurrection of Our Lord

John 20:1-9

Sermon

Kendall McCabe

... . On being told the news, they both ran to see for themselves. John arrived first but did not immediately enter. He simply stooped down and looked in. In the dim light he could not see much. But he saw something: the graveclothes, and the sight made him stop and think about what Mary had reported, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb." But if that were true, why were the graveclothes still there? If anyone, friend or enemy, had removed the body, why had they stripped off the graveclothes and left them ...

2890. A Daffy, Magnificent Hope

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Sermon

... hope, is the greatest animating force we know. Notice, though, to be realistic, hope must trust in a power greater than the problem it faces. Hope must be grounded in someone or something, lest we become like King Canute, futilely commanding the ocean tide to stop. For many problems of the world, there is only one power great enough to encourage hope. That's why Ezekiel was quick to envision God breathing cm Those dry bones bringing them alive. No one else could perform such a miracle. This kind of hope ...

2891. They Crucified Our Lord

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

... by vomit and body wastes? A medical analysis of death on the cross leaves little to the imagination. Crucifixion resulted in severe pain because the body was hanging on nails through the wrists. The muscles extending from chest to arm were stretched and nearly stopped the ability to breathe, as they held the chest expanded. Little oxygen reached the muscles, which led to spasms and severed tendons. To relieve the pain in the arms, hands, and chest, the victim would try to push himself up using the nails ...

2892. Preaching Your Life

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

... them to see if they're still running." Then, this sermon observation: "Sometimes a minister is asked to say something. Sometimes he has something to say. Occasionally the two coincide." And, of course, the preacher's prayer: "Lord, fill my sermon with good stuff, and stop me when I've said enough." The implication in all of these stories is the same. Beneath the humor is the feeling that sermons are often windy with little content. And that's sometimes true! In an age when the average American is daily ...

2893. Repent!

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

... A while ago I listened to an interview with Ann Longstreet on National Public Radio. Most of us have forgotten who Ann Longstreet is, but in the early 1960's she was a promising young writer - a female Hemingway, some said. Then Ann Longstreet stopped writing. The interviewer, that evening, kept pressing the question why no more stories from her pen? Each time he did came another excuse - marriage, the raising of children, the little things of keeping house, a simple urge to live life rather than reflect on ...

2894. I Kid You Not

2 Kings 4:8-37

Sermon

... It is there with the poisoned stew that was neutralized by the man of God, and the miraculous feeding of a hundred men with only twenty loaves of bread. A wealthy woman of Shunem showed hospitality to Elisha the prophet as he passed by. She not only invited him to stop and eat, but arranged for a special room for him to stay. As a sign of gratitude, Elisha offered to do something for her. When she declined his offer to speak a good word on her behalf to the king, he promised her a child. When she heard this ...

2895. Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

2 Kings 13:10-25

Sermon

... Syria. You will fight the Syrians in Aphek until you defeat them." Then Elisha told King Joash to take the other arrows and strike the ground with them. The king did as he was told. He took the arrows, struck the ground with them three times and stopped. At this point Elisha became angry and reprimanded him. Elisha said, "You should have struck with the arrows five or six times, and then you would have had complete victory over the Syrians. As it is, you will only defeat them three times." The king who came ...

2896. The Focus of Fitness

Jeremiah 18:1--19:15

Sermon

... a good chance of living longer and being able to enjoy it. Without saying it outright, most of those who want us to spend our money on fitness subtly suggest that being in shape is the best way to be more sexy! This reminds me of the man who stopped to weigh himself on a weighing machine. He put the coin in, drew the ticket out, and was obviously pleased. He handed it to his wife, and she read it aloud: "You are dynamic, a born leader, handsome, admired by women for your personality." She added, "It’s got ...

2897. The God Who Doesn’t Give Up

Hosea 11:1-11

Sermon

... translation of the Bible, puts it this way: "My people are hopelessly determined to desert me." It reminds me of what one baseball manager said about the attendance at baseball games: "If the people don’t want to come, there’s nothing that’s going to stop them!" The Lord also laments what his children are doing. Many parents can identify with that. You try to reach out to your child, and your child runs from you. What is a parent to do when their children choose to ignore or reject any advice given ...

2898. Wellspring for the Soul

John 4:1-26

Sermon

Dean Lueking

... as the place where the patriarch Jacob had found water. It was part of the land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. (The well is still there today, about an hour’s drive north of Jerusalem.) He was tired when he came to that well-known stopping place between Jerusalem and Galilee. His exit from Jerusalem had been hurried and troublefilled as he was forced to leave Jerusalem because of the fury of the opposition there. His disciples had gone to the town of Sychar for food when our Lord met another lone ...

2899. Parable of the Road Signs

Matthew 12:38-45

Illustration

... I doing with my life?" Does that road sign have any warning for me? Is God trying to say something to me?" The first sign on the road said, "Men Working" and they asked, "What am I working for?" The second sign said, "Dead End." As they came to a stop the billboard read "The Life You Save May Be Your Own." Jesus said, "This generation seeks a sign and no sign shall be given it except the sign of Jonah." (St. Matthew 12:39) Do the signs have any meaning for you?

2900. A Place for You

John 14:1-4

Sermon

Dean Lueking

... . That was a new place for me, with sights and smells and people very different from my little realm as a ten-year-old boy. I knew, of course, that all these professional-looking people in white were supposed to be there for my good. But that did not stop my heart from pounding. In fact, when the ether drops were being poured over the gauze covering my nose, I thought I was dying. But before losing consciousness under the anesthetic, I saw my father enter the room, come over to me, put his hand gently on my ...

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