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 3001 to 3025 of 4976 results

3001. Three Secrets of A Life Well Lived

2 Timothy 4:6-8

Sermon

Brett Blair

... easy to lose faith in the good times. In bad times you feel deserted, in good times you feel as if you don’t need God. So the bottom line is: have we remained constant through the good and the bad, feast and famine In the 60’s, the phrase “keep the faith” became somewhat of a period cliche. Those words must mean more to us than a motto. They go to the very heart of our belief in the one who created us and sustains us. In the Broadway play “The Miracle Worker,” we see the story of Ann Sullivan ...

3002. The Coming of the Lord

Luke 21:5-38

Drama

... at all. 2: You’re awfully excited about nothing! 1: [Aside] I don’t know if I should tell anyone or not. [To 2] Can you keep a secret? 2: Sure. 1: Good, because I can’t! I’ve got to tell somebody! 2: What is it? 1: I just heard he’s ... live - in peace! 1: Say, are you proud and arrogant? 3: Not particularly! 1: No? Well, your philosophy sounds like you’re trying desperately to keep from getting crushed. 3: But, you don’t understand, that’s not the way it’s going to work at all! 2: I always ...

3003. Faithful People in a Fiery Furnace

Daniel 3:1-30

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... you realize. And the price you pay for their CD or tape is a vote of approval for their music and words. On the other hand, if you keep some tapes and CD’s of Christian groups to listen to when you’re in the car, it will bless your soul. I always listen to a ... inspired him to write one of the most eloquent documents in American history—"Letter from a Birmingham Jail." (1) Jesus will not always keep you out of a fiery furnace, but he will always meet you in the middle of it. (1) A Testament of Hope, The ...

3004. Turn Out the Lights! The Party's Over!

Daniel 5:1-31

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... position of third highest ruler in the kingdom if he can interpret the handwriting on the wall. He offered Daniel the third highest position because he and father Nabonidus held down the top two slots. Daniel’s response in verse 17 is classic: "You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means." Daniel was probably thinking, "Being third highest ruler in a kingdom that is not going to last for another ...

3005. In The Lion's Den

Daniel 6:1-28

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... , the lion of Judah, why not start today? In recent years the city of Littleton, Colorado, and Columbine High School in particular, have been attacked fiercely by the lions of the devil. But there is a pastor named Bill in that city who has a way of keeping a proper perspective. He has a plaque on his wall on which are printed these words---"Bill, remember, I still have everything under control. (Signed) God." That’s what Daniel found out long ago in a lions’ den, and that is God’s good news for you ...

3006. A Brass Cross and a Barometer

Luke 6:1-11

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... , on the other hand, going up and down, heralding rain and sun, reminds us that life is changing. The eternal God is always doing some new thing. His strategy is always changing as new days present new opportunities. (2) In our decision making, let's keep the cross and the barometer in mind. Our fundamental values are changeless. But the application of those values requires the guidance of the Holy Spirit and a flexible, alert mind. You won't find a rule to fit every circumstance. But these three questions ...

3007. The Yestermorrow Eclipse

John 10:1-21

Sermon

... thoughts it sells to its consumers is: "Lord, if only we sinners had not taken your life from you." The picture is darkness, gloom, and a helpless reflection upon a past event. The objective of the corporation is to keep us preoccupied with thoughts of past sins and iniquities. If successful, they can keep us immobilized. And if we buy the entire sales pitch, we subscribe to the notion that a good Christian is someone who spends the majority of his waking hours wallowing in the guilt and sins of mankind. He ...

3008. The First Council

Acts 15:1-21

Sermon Aid

CSS

... question in its most offensive form: "It is necessary to circumcize them (the converts) and to charge them to keep the laws of Moses." This led to the solemn conclave in which the apostles and elders prayerfully considered the ... , a warrior can gain his strength. These four simple restrictions were not set up by James as essential for salvation, but as a means of keeping peace within the church. They were not to be a burden, but were intended to avoid conflict between Jews and those from other ethnic groups ...

3009. Return to Jerusalem

Acts 20:7-12

Sermon Aid

CSS

... the leaders of the church had themselves persuaded Agabus to make the trip to Caesarea in one final effort to stave off Paul’s arrival. While they had arrived at an uneasy accommodation with the Jews, their freedom to gather and to worship required that they keep a low profile. But a low profile was contrary to Paul’s nature. The idea of having the volatile Paul among them was enough to send shivers up and down the spines of those jittery elders. In addition, they knew that Paul had been targeted as ...

3010. Shipwrecked on Malta

Acts 27:1-12, Acts 27:13-26, Acts 27:27-44

Sermon Aid

CSS

... fifteen fathoms. They knew they were nearing a shoal or perhaps a shore. The ship was now drifting, for the wind had died down although the waves and currents were still strong. They therefore let out four anchors from the stern of the ship. This would keep the ship heading in the direction of the shore or shoal and would make it easier to run onto land in the morning, when they could see where they were going. Paul had traveled enough to understand this maneuver, but when the sailors then scrambled into ...

3011. Christians are Like

Illustration

Anonymous

... pushed. Some are like canoes - they need to be paddled. Some are like kites - if you don’t keep a string on them, they fly away. Some are like kittens - they’re more contented when petted. Some are like footballs - you can’t tell which way they’ll bounce next. Some are like balloons - full of wind and ready to blow up. Some are like trailers - they have to be pulled. Some are like neon lights - they keep going on and off. Others are letting the Holy Spirit guide them. Then, there’s this choice ...

3012. Which Way?

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

... to ancient crises, but the world has changed. We haven’t been receiving frequent visions in our day. The canon’s closed. It’s almost midnight in our universe, and we’re on our own. We’ll do it our way, thanks. We’ll keep our ranks thinned out (inactives are expendable) so we don’t have to suffer with the suffering who stay away for unspecified reasons. Or, we’ll take the other tack and baptize indifferentism, pacifying easy discipleship with preaching, sanctified by anything that resonates ...

3013. For Christ’s Sake, What’s Going On?

Matthew 18:15-20

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

... to effect a better situation in the world. That, of course, is true. We can’t. No more than any fiercely glowing coal, removed from the warm hearth and left to "go it on its own" out on the front edge of the fireplace, can hope for long to keep the fire within it. Matthew calls the church to share its work, its good times and its bad, its hope, its future, its experiences. In terms of such a call, the text gives promise that if work or prayers are shared within the Christian congregation, God will ratify ...

3014. It Isn’t Fair!

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

... person what is his due," how would God relate to us? For starters, God would have to start to do what some folks always thought he did. He’d have to advertise for clerical positions (bookkeepers, mostly) and begin to keep close tally on us all. He’d have to keep enormous archives filled with videotapes on everybody. Making a list and checking it twice would be his chief concern. He’d need to have a databank with instantaneous retrieval capabilities. And how would we come off? Not well. Suppose the ...

3015. Mary's Revolutionary Song (Sermon Series No. 3)

Luke 1:39-56

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... renders it this way: “The arrogant of heart and mind he has put to rout.” We Methodists (insert your own tradition here) have a pride problem. Bishop Robert Goodrich said that some of his members were so self-righteous that they have to hold onto the pews to keep from ascending. Our problem is not that we deny our sin. We know our frailties. But deep down we believe we are so much better than most folks that God would be ashamed of Himself not to let us into heaven on good behavior. When push comes to ...

3016. What Do You See?

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... on the altar in most churches, and many a church has a cross crowning its steeple. We Christians sing hymns of the cross: "In the Cross of Christ I Glory," "The Old Rugged Cross," "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross," "Beneath the Cross of Jesus," "Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross," and many, many others. The cross is a symbol of the Christian faith. The tool of torture becomes the pride of our profession. It’s strange, when you stop to think about it. Imagine someone holding up a rope, a hangman’s noose ...

3017. Which Jesus? This Jesus!

Acts 17:1-9

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

... to Jesus as I was, Weary, worn and sad; I found in Him a resting place, and He has made me glad." For the tired, fatigued, nervous, exhausted; Christ offers rest - rest for the weary. My mother had ten children and labored long and hard hours to keep them fed, clean, and properly clothed. She washed the clothes for us, most of her life, on a wash board. Laundry day was every Monday, and she washed the clothes by hand, scrubbing on the wash board until her knuckles would bleed where she had literally worn ...

3018. Religion at a Minimum

Matthew 7:15-23, Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

... placed beneath the discerning eye of God’s Holy Commandments; if we will confess, openly and honestly, our complete and utter need for his forgiveness and pardon; if we will then thrust ourselves entirely upon his mercy and welcome, we, too, can avoid keeping our religion at a minimum and instead receive the infectious joy - the overflowing presence of God’s Holy Spirit which works salvation in our hearts and which grasps, by faith, that which affords to us eternal salvation. Surely you do not want to ...

3019. The Spirit - For Me Too?

Joel 2:28-32

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... It is evident by now, isn’t it, that God’s promise of the Spirit is not fulfilled at a one-time experience. The gift keeps coming to us every time we hear or read the Word and receive the Sacraments. Since the Word contains the Spirit, we receive another ... good news that in Christ, God has granted us eternal life. Would it not be a tragedy of the first order to keep this to ourselves? According to a recent study of an average Protestant congregation in America, ninety-five percent of our members make ...

3020. No Other Way To Be Happy

Deuteronomy 11:1-32

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... , makes us happy to obey God. When we love someone, our chief desire is to please the loved one. We will do almost anything to make the loved one happy. Because we love God, we obey his laws. Jesus put it this way: "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." In his first letter, John writes that proof of our love for God is obeying his commandments. Why does our obedience please God? It is because God loves and desires for us only the very best, our well-being. This we cannot have unless we obey him ...

3021. Two Bodies for Two Worlds

Isaiah 26:1-21

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... bicyclists, and 29,000,000 tennis players, not to count the millions who play golf, basketball, and football. It is estimated that forty-two percent of the American people take some form of exercise daily. In addition, we are a people who try to make and keep the body beautiful. Who can estimate the amount of time and money we spend on cosmetics, hair care, lotions, baths, and perfumes? Each year we overfed Americans spend $500,000,000 on dieting in order to be slim and attractive. After all of this, the ...

3022. Free and Faithful

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Robert Bachelder

... ask for a sign. We are a bit like Jacob who, after his experience at Bethel, made a vow saying: "If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house ... Lord your God led you forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know ... whether you would keep his commandments or not." Then, too, in his First Epistle, Peter wrote to Christians who were tempted to return to Judaism, who ...

3023. Begging Bartimaeus

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

Richard F. Bansemer

... , and he started to shout: "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." Shhh. That’s what they said. Shhh. Be quiet. Shut up. He was an embarrassment. He was annoying. He wouldn’t go away, and they couldn’t turn the page. Their only hope was to keep moving, keep on going, don’t stop, not here, not now. And like a fog horn from the dark sea he sounded again: "Son of David, have mercy on me." And again: "Son of David, have mercy on me." And again. And again. The embarrassment and annoyance were gone now ...

3024. Abraham’s Promise Perpetuated

Romans 4:1-25

Drama

Richard F. Bansemer

... , so that we might enjoy the pleasure of his promises. This unusual manner in handling this large inheritance is in keeping with the generous deeds of our loved one, for we have all experienced many blessings through the years from his ... asked you for a thing. My laws are simply a way to make your life happier, and the lives of your neighbors fuller. Do not think that keeping them will make me indebted to you. But, I am indebted, too, because I adopted you, for you were a people without a purpose, and a ...

3025. Job’s Joy

Job 38:1--41:34

Sermon

Richard F. Bansemer

... of the book of Job, and in a thousand paperbacks. But God’s chosen persevere. Though we may curse the darkness, we keep moving and looking for light. Nothing is worthwhile, we say, if darkness does rule. Even our laments are senseless syllables, and ... who puts on flesh and becomes one of us on earth. He came to Job in a whirlwind. He came to us in a manger. And he keeps coming back, in forms too varied to describe, in times too frequent to count. He is here today, as solid as the wood in this building, as ...

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