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 3051 to 3075 of 4935 results

3051. The Deeper Meanings of The Christian Faith by Dr. Bryant M. Kirkland

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

Leonard Mann

I would like to talk with you about the meaning of Christianity. I took seriously the assignment that was given to me. I studied about Paul’s sermon at Mars Hill where he stood up in the great place of debate and spoke so eloquently that the people said, "Tell us what is the meaning of this Jesus and the resurrection that you proclaim." I have tried to work out this message mindful of what I imagine are your thoughts, my own thoughts, and the troubled thoughts that are characteristic in this modern period ...

3052. The Freedom in Forgiveness

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Forgiveness. Great word. Great concept. We believe in it. We love it. We live it. Right? Say AMEN! There was a man who loved dogs. He served as a speaker in various civic clubs to benefit the SPCA. He was known far and wide as a dog lover. One day his neighbor observed as he poured a new sidewalk from his house out to the street. About the time he smoothed out the last square foot of cement a large dog strayed across his sidewalk leaving footprints in his wake. The man muttered something under his breath ...

3053. Jesus and Divorce

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Jesus and Divorce. Tough text. In generations past, this would have provided no problem for the preacher - Jesus says No Divorce, the church says Amen (along with most polite society); case closed. Easy sermon. But these days, things are different. Jesus still says No divorce, but only part of the church says Amen while other parts say we are not so sure (and polite society says mind your own business); case NOT closed at all. I recall a conversation at our dinner table one evening about ten years ago that ...

3054. Merry XMas

John 1:1-18

Sermon

David E. Leininger

This is a glorious time of year. I am looking forward to the cantata next week, the candlelight communion service on Christmas Eve, and of course, the Joy Gift Pageant tonight. One never knows what to expect at Christmas pageants. I read recently(1) of a heated discussion between some pleading grown-ups and a particularly adamant five-year-old. She would wear her new dress or she would not appear in the pageant. First, the Director begged her, "Please put on the costume. The people want to see you as MARY ...

3055. Harmony Within The Family

Genesis 11:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

"The mayor of Zurich had arranged a dinner in my honor," writes silent film star Collen Moore in her autobiography. "We’d no sooner sat down than the mayor signaled the orchestra who started playing `My Country ˜Tis Of Thee.’ We all stood up. When we sat down, I said to the mayor, `That was the English national anthem.’ I should have kept my mouth shut. The mayor sent for the orchestra leader, spoke a few words to him in German, and the orchestra struck up again with `The Stars and Stripes Forever.’ We all ...

3056. The Messiah Who Cares About Feet

John 13:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

M. Scott Peck is a bestselling author, a respected psychiatrist and a growing Christian. He says that the scene of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples stands out as one of the most significant events of Jesus' life: "Until that moment the whole point of things had been for someone to get on top, and once he had gotten on top to stay on top or else attempt to get farther up. But here this man already on top--who was rabbi, teacher, master--suddenly got down on the bottom and began to wash the feet of ...

3057. Fighting Over Daddy's Will

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

Permit me to do a little prying. It's for your own benefit. How many of you have made a will? You don't have to raise your hands, but it could be an important question for many of us. Many family squabbles have erupted over the lack of a wellthought out will. There is a book titled THE 400WORD WILL. It contains some interesting wills from Japan. Listen to a few of these. I quote: "After you finish a simple funeral," wrote Mitsuyo Honda, 43, housewife, "I would like you to grab a handful of ashes and get on ...

3058. The Prize of the High Calling of God

Hebrews 11:1-40, Philippians 2:12-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I am intrigued by bumper stickers. Someone was smart. Since modern Americans spend so much of their time in cars, why not turn the bumper into a kind of chrome or, alas with modern cars, plastic bulletin boards. Thousands would get the messages as they come near the car in front of them. It was a brilliant idea. Religious folks have not missed this communication opportunity. So you have the traditional bumper sticker message: “Honk if you love Jesus”. And the more avant-garde, “In case of the rapture, this ...

3059. The God Who Must Be Pursued

Matthew 7:7-12

Sermon

Phil Thrailkill

Arnold Palmer once played a series of exhibition matches in Saudi Arabia. The king was so impressed that he proposed, in good Middle Eastern fashion, to honor his guest with a gift. Palmer resisted, "It really isn't necessary, Your Highness. I'm honored to have been invited." And, in good Middle Eastern fashion, his highness persisted, "I would be deeply upset," replied the king, "if you would not allow me to give you a gift." Palmer thought for a moment, "All right. How about a golf club? That would be a ...

3060. Coming Home

Luke 15:1-3,11b-32

Sermon

Mark Trotter

I have preached the Prodigal Son parable many times, and when it came around this year in the lectionary I thought I would give it a rest. I turned to the Epistle lesson this morning, from Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, which I have also preached many times, but not as many as the Prodigal Son. It goes like this: "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and calling us to a ministry of reconciliation, God making his appeal through us." When I ...

3061. Tiny Pencils

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Richard Dawkins is one of the most respected scientists in the world today. He is also rabidly anti-religious. In his most recent book, which he proudly titles A Devil's Chaplain (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2003), he devotes 6 of his 32 chapters to denouncing religion as a malignant infection of the human mind. He condemns all religions for being dangerous and insidious illusions. "Modern theists," writes Dawkins, "might acknowledge that, when it comes to Baal and the Golden Calf, Thor and Wotan, Poseidon and ...

3062. Friends

Proverbs 27:6, 9, 17

Sermon

James Merritt

I saw a cartoon in a newspaper once, and the first frame showed a thief that was wearing a mask, and his gun was pointed toward a frightened victim. The next scene the robber is holding out a sack and saying, "Give me all of your valuables!" In the next scene the victim begins stuffing into the sack all of his friends. I don't believe there is hardly anything in life, outside of salvation, that is more valuable than a true friend. With few exceptions, people every-where hunger to have friends; I mean real ...

3063. The Climb

Joshua 14:6-15

Sermon

James Merritt

A Ph.D. - a Doctor of Philosophy degree is the highest degree awarded in academics. Three to four years of seminars, literacy required in three to five different languages, and three years of continuous research on a dissertation that must be totally original in its subject, meaning that no one has ever written on it before. This dissertation must then be presented in written form and passed by three professors with three different fields of expertise all of which you must study and include in your ...

3064. The Dream Work of Teamwork

Nehemiah 3:1-32

Sermon

James Merritt

Apollo 13 reminds us that it doesn't take a village to raise a child, but it does take a team to have success. If you watched that video carefully you noticed that there were actually three levels of people involved in helping to devise a contraption that would keep the air pure enough for the astronauts to survive until they could get back to earth. B.C. Forbes, the founder of Forbes Magazine, once said, "You spell success T-E-A-M-W-O-R-K." That is truth in every area of life. Show me a successful coach ...

3065. A Samaritan Took Care of Him

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

David R. Cartwright

The situation was this: A young Jewish lawyer wanted to reassure himself that he was doing the right thing. To help him, Jesus took the opportunity to tell him a story. The story was designed to set the young man straight. The story begins the way a lot of stories begin. "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho" (Luke 10:30). At this point, we aren't told anything about the man. Not his nationality or even his name is revealed to us. He was simply a man traveling down the road. The road the man was ...

3066. The Miss, The Kiss, The Mess, The Rest

2 Samuel 11:1-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A few years back, I read about a group of three burglars in Vang, Norway, who tried to open a large safe in a small factory. They attached a small explosive device to the door of the safe and then hid in the next room until it went off. The explosion was so powerful that it demolished the whole building and left them buried under a pile of rubble. The ironic thing about was, the safe had never held any money. The company money was kept in a cash box in an unlocked desk drawer. But what they did keep in the ...

3067. The Many Faces of God

Isaiah 6:1-8

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

Think of all the faces we show the world every day. We scrub up every morning and put our game face on. We never show our real face except to those who know us best, the ones who see through the game face to the real you and me. But with everyone else we change our faces. The doorbell rings. You're working on something, so you grimace over the interruption. Watch the contours of your face change, depending on who's at the door. Perhaps it's a door-to-door salesman and now you're stuck listening to his ...

3068. When the Drought Gets Really Bad

Isaiah 55:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

In a book titled God’s Little Devotional Book there is a delightful story of a great drought that struck Baghdad during the reign of Abdullah the Third. Moslem leaders in the land issued a decree that all the faithful should offer prayers for rain. Still, the drought continued. The Jews were then permitted to add their prayers to those of the Moslems. Their prayers didn’t seem to do the job either. Finally when the drought resulted in widespread famine, the Christians in the land were asked to pray. Almost ...

3069. The Knot: Bound

Genesis 2:4-25

Sermon

James Merritt

Do you ever wonder how a pastor determines what he is going to preach on each week—or each year? Sometimes it’s difficult, but other times there is a clear, strong call from God on a specific area of teaching. In this case, the area of marriage has for me been a clear, strong call from God in terms of teaching for this time in the life of our church. The reason is very simple. Hardly a week goes by that I don’t hear of someone having trouble in their marriage, both in our church and outside our church. It ...

3070. The Knot: Frayed (Part 1)

1 Peter 3:1-7

Sermon

James Merritt

Most every couple that gets married discovers there is good news and there is bad news about getting married. The good news is after the wedding there is the honeymoon. The bad news is after the honeymoon there is the marriage. If your marriage is anything like mine, then you cannot only remember the first fight you ever had with your spouse, but you probably remember it happened a lot quicker than you thought it would. It was like cold water being thrown in your face, because you realize that hardly ...

3071. About that Salesman

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

King Duncan

How many of you have ever tried to sell anything? Would I be wrong if I said that, at some time or another, every one of us has tried to sell something? It may be no more complicated than trying to sell your toddler on the idea that vegetables really do taste good. O.K., you’re still trying to sell your teenager or your husband on the idea that vegetables really do taste good. But all of us have been sales people at some time or another. Selling is truly our oldest profession. Remember the serpent ...

3072. Like a Butterfly

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

King Duncan

This is that day in the church year when we celebrate Christ’s transfiguration. Here’s something for you to think about. Did you know that the Greek word translated as “transfiguration” is the word “metamor-phothe,” from which we get the word “metamorphosis”? I’ll bet I could invite one of our children up here and he or she could tell us about metamorphosis. A dictionary defines metamorphosis as “a transformation, a complete change of appearance and form.” The best example we have of metamorphosis is the ...

3073. The God of All Comfort

2 Corinthians 1:1-11

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

In an ancient letter, the purpose of an opening, or prescript, is to establish a relationship between the sender and the addressees. Accordingly, in 2 Corinthians Paul and Timothy are named as the senders of the letter; “the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia” represents the recipients; and “grace and peace” is the expression of greeting and good will. Paul deviates somewhat from the established form by adding details about the senders, and by using the word “peace” in ...

3074. God Subjugates Judah under Babylon

Daniel 1:1-21

Teach the Text

Ronald W. Pierce

Big Idea: The incomparable Lord is sovereign over all earthly kingdoms, holding rulers and subjects alike accountable for sin and challenging believers to spiritual fidelity. Understanding the Text Daniel 1:1–21 introduces the narratives of chapters 1–6, which reflect the writer’s perspective on the approximately seventy years of Judean exile (605–538 BC) alluded to in verses 1 and 21 and throughout the book. It also serves as the Hebrew prologue to the book’s concentric Aramaic and Hebrew sections (chaps ...

3075. Peace and Joy

Romans 5:1-11

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

Romans 5:1–11 is a victorious passage. “In the whole Bible there is hardly another chapter which can equal this triumphant text,” said Luther (Epistle to the Romans, p. 72). It is like a mountain pass from which one revels in scenery after having labored through the inclines and switchbacks of argumentation in the earlier chapters. The view cannot be fully appreciated without the effort it took to get there. Commentators are divided whether the passage is the conclusion of Paul’s argument so far or the ...

Showing results