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 3101 to 3125 of 4933 results

3101. An Annual Reminder

John 20:1-9

Sermon

David J. Kalas

In the opening verse of our passage from the epistles, the apostle Paul writes, “Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news....” That might well also be the opening line of our sermons this Sunday. After all, it is Easter. The calendar compels us to return to the foundation and the heart of the gospel message. And the people who will fill our pews this Sunday — some of them barely familiar to us since we last saw them on Christmas Eve — already know what we’re going to tell them. I ...

3102. A Lost Boy

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

King Duncan

(Growing Strong in the Season of Lent, Lent 4) A father tells of putting his 4-year-old daughter to bed one evening. He read her the story of the Prodigal Son. They discussed how the younger son had taken his inheritance and left home, living it up until he had nothing left. Finally, when he couldn’t even eat as well as the pigs, he went home to his father, who welcomed him. When they finished the story, the Dad asked his daughter what she had learned. After thinking a moment, she quipped, “Never leave ...

3103. The Impending Departure II

John 16:5-16, John 16:17-33

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

The second farewell discourse runs most closely parallel to the first precisely where it is most properly a “farewell” (i.e., where it addresses directly the question of Jesus’ impending departure; cf. 13:33). Here, inevitably, is also where the differences between the two discourses become most noticeable. Whereas the first discourse was largely structured around a series of questions by various disciples, here the question-and-answer method seems to be consciously abandoned. The earlier discourse began ...

3104. Eliphaz's Third Speech to Job

Job 22:1-30

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

No Gain for God The “third dialogue cycle” begins again with Eliphaz and his response to Job. He begins with a series of rhetorical questions that recall the tactics of his earlier two speeches (4:1–5:27; 15:1–35). In those utterances Eliphaz sought to undermine Job’s claims of innocence by arguing that no human can be declared innocent before God (4:7–9, 17–19; 15:14–16). Since even the angels—who stand above humans in Eliphaz’s understanding of creation order—are charged “with error” by God (4:18–19; 15: ...

3105. The Disciples' Grief Will Turn to Joy

John 16:17-33, John 16:5-16

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

3106. About Donkeys and True Greatness

Mark 11:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

A few years ago, the devotional guide, Our Daily Bread, carried a story of a pastor who was also a traveling evangelist who rode a donkey as he traveled from village to village in Brazil preaching the gospel. One day the evangelist fell asleep in the saddle as he made his return home after a tiring day. A couple of hours later he was rudely awakened by the roughness of the ride. His donkey had left the trail and was walking through a rocky field. At first the pastor was angry, but he calmed down when he ...

3107. Song of Promise

Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:39-45

Sermon

Lori Wagner

I have a confession to make: I love Christmas carols. I mean, really LOVE Christmas carols. Can I get a witness? On the radio….on CDs….in the stores….in the car….they just uplift our spirits in this season, don’t they? There’s something about Christmas Carols that just seem to warm the heart and stir the soul. I know you’re not supposed to listen to them until after Advent, but I admit it before God and all of you: I cheat. I listen to Christmas carols before the 12 days of Christmas. Now I know how ...

3108. Imagine

Revelation 21:10, 22-26

Sermon

Will Willimon

''And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God is its light…” Today's lesson speaks of the New Jerusalem, the Heavenly City. ''Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first...had passed away'' (Rev. 21:1). When God gets finished with Durham, there will be no sun or moon because the glory of the Lord, present among his people, will be so bright, no other light will be needed ...

3109. Persistence And Prayer

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

Richard Hasler

“Abraham Lincoln once told a story about a blacksmith who stuck an iron bar in the coals until it was red hot. Then on the anvil, he pulled at the iron intending to make a sword. He was dissatisfied with the end product and put it back into the hot coals determined this time to make a garden tool. Once again, he was not pleased with what he had; therefore he tried making a horse shoe. That too did not please his fancy. “As a last resort, he put the iron bar in the hot coals one more time. He removed it ...

3110. Two Lives to Live

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

John B. Jamison

The crowds had found him again. Ever since Jesus had moved to Capernaum, more and more people heard about the things he was doing and had come to hear him, to be healed by him, or simply to be near him. Capernaum was not a large town, but was on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, just south of busy roads following the fertile crescent stretching all the way from Egypt in the south to Mesopotamia in the east. It was the interstate highway system of its day and it carried traffic from every land, with ...

3111. The Christmas Song

Luke 1:39-45, Luke 1:46-56

Sermon

James Garrett

The business side of Christmas -- the commercialism -- doesn’t bother me as it does some. There are those who think the spiritual import of Christmas may be forgotten. There’s no danger of that. The spiritual significance of Christmas is so dominant that many who are ordinarily indifferent go out of their way to find a religious service. That is part of the miracle of Christmas. Personally, the exchange of gifts, the decorations in our homes, and the adding of color to drab streets is not a contradiction ...

3112. Proper 6

Luke 7:36-50, Galatians 2:11-21, 1 Kings 21:1-29, Psalm 5:1-12

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

Forgiving Debts Two of the most difficult practices which emerge in Jesus' ministry are forgiveness and gratitude. A frequent charge against Jesus was that he preempted the prerogative of God when he presumed to forgive sins. It is difficult to know which is harder to do: to forgive another or to forgive oneself. Lavish expressions of gratitude for acts of forgiveness are rare. Persons do not like to admit their indebtedness. If we owe someone gratitude for something that he has done for us, we feel ...

3113. Easter Joy

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

A remarkable feature of Dwight D. Eisenhower's memoirs is the composure with which he greeted crises. He titled his autobiography At Ease, an appropriate description for not only his retirement, but the manner in which he appeared to be on top of life. Colleagues, of course, could recall how excited he could get in revealing his impatience with mediocrity and the failures of the people in his command. However, what was impressive was the way he took control in the European theater in World War II with no ...

3114. The Potter Almighty

Jeremiah 18:1--19:15

Sermon

Richard L. Sheffield

"I believe in God the potter almighty, maker of heaven and earth." That's the beginning of The Apostles' Creed, as Jeremiah might have written it: I believe in God who has created heaven and earth, and you, and me, like a potter at work at a potter's wheel. That's a biblical image that still makes sense for you and me. At craft shows, in art classes, in hobby shops, you can still find a potter's wheel. And you can take classes in making pottery. If you do, you'll find that these days the potter's wheel has ...

3115. Screaming For A Reason Why

Matthew 26:36-46; 27:45-46 · Job 3:1-26

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

There are three rooms in the city of Raleigh, and though they are different in size and shape, they have one thing in common. The three rooms are located in three hospitals. They are intensive care waiting rooms. Let me describe one of these rooms. It is on the second floor of the Wake Medical Center. Surrounding it are three units: cardiac care, surgical intensive care, maximum intensive care. A lot of us have seen the inside of that waiting room. It is divided into small seating areas, so that the ...

3116. "The Scandal Of Disloyalty"

Psalm 62:1-12, Mark 14:66-72

Sermon

R. Sheldon MacKenzie

This is the last scene in which Peter is involved. As often happens throughout the gospel of Mark Peter is the representative disciple. He represents the other 10, maybe the whole 12.Until this time the other disciples were as much to blame as he was in their betrayals of Jesus. He had taken an oath, voluntarily, to stay with Jesus until death, if necessary. The others had said the same thing. The betrayal, when it came in the orchard, involved all of the disciples."They all forsook him and fled."As the ...

3117. Marked For Ministry

Sermon

George Bass

“We do nothing that people might object to, so as not to bring discredit on our function as God’s servants. Instead, we prove we are servants of God….”2 Corinthians 6:3-4a “He said, therefore, to the crowds who came to be baptised by him, ‘Brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the retribution that is coming? But if you are repentant, produce the appropriate fruits….”Luke 3:7-8a The congregation of which I am a member encourages its members to celebrate their baptismal anniversaries every year by ...

3118. Get Ready

Sermon

Rolf E. Aaseng

Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. But know this: If the owner of ...

3119. "Oh Yeah, Thanks a Lot" -The Grateful Leper

Sermon

Ron Lavin

On a certain day, long ago, I awoke and said: "Another day ... If only I could sleep all day ... Sleep is so comfortable ... I'd like to go back to sleep ... But the pain makes it impossible ..." "Another day ... I'll get up and do something. What shall I do? What do I ever do? No purpose... no reason ... If I could only do something, I might get my mind off this pain. "Another day ... I must begin with prayer ... Sometimes I wonder if it does any good. Sometimes I'm sure that if I didn't pray I would go ...

3120. Speak From Personal Experience

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Robert V. Dodd

They can't refute it! Fatigue is one of the products of modern society: We tend to either get excited about the wrong things, or we don't get excited about anything. Perhaps an appropriate contemporary paraphrase of Matthew 6:25-34 would be, "Don't get excited about food and drink to keep you alive or clothes to cover your body. Surely there is more to life than this. Those who are without God get excited about such things, but you should not, because your heavenly Father already knows your needs and will ...

3121. The Freedom To Be Wrong

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

I want to begin with a situation that might happen to a young person. I hope that those of us who are older will think back to our youth and put ourselves into the same story. Let’s say you’re still living at home and going to school. On a Saturday night you take the family car. Let’s admit you’re an excellent driver and that you have the right to think of yourself as careful and prudent at the wheel. This is the image your parents have of you and you’re pleased with that. Good for you. You are with the ...

3122. Parking Lots and Traffic Jams

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Richard L. Thulin

I don't know how you feel about bumper stickers. We don't happen to have any on our family car, but I must admit that I enjoy looking at them. There seems to be an almost endless variety, more than enough to match any mood or occasion. Some provoke thought or laughter, others advertise, and still others attempt to persuade. I don't need to share my favorites with you. No doubt you have yours just as I have mine. The other day I saw a bumper sticker that I could not remember having seen before. I had ...

3123. Baptism of Our Lord

Matthew 3:13-17, Acts 10:23b-48, Psalm 45:1-17, Isaiah 42:1-9

Sermon Aid

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The theological intention in giving the baptism of Jesus its own special day, the First Sunday after the Epiphany, rather than attempting to restore it to January 6 and reconstruct Epiphany as a unitive event, is several fold: first, it is an important part of the incarnation, as a reaffirmation by God that this man was the Holy Child born in Bethlehem three decades or so in the past; second, Jesus has come to bring in the Kingdom of God and save all people through the forgiveness of their ...

3124. The Most Misunderstood Gift

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

There is no doubt - the most misunderstood God of the Trinity is the Holy Spirit. There is also no doubt - the most misunderstood gift of the Holy Spirit is the gift of speaking in tongues. Nearly every Christian has already chosen his "side" regarding the speaking in tongues. Few people are neutral on the subject - most are either "anti-tongues" or "pro-tongues." Not everybody even wants to hear the pros and cons. They remind you of the woman who said to her husband, during a discussion: "Don’t confuse me ...

3125. Grace, Salvation, and Redemption

Romans 8:18-27, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Romans 5:1-11

Sermon Aid

T. A. Kantonen

To be a Christian, says Emil Brunner, is to share something which has happened, which is happening, and which will happen. Archibald Hunter, in his book The Gospel According to St. Paul, makes good use of this approach and it provides a helpful scheme for our study of Paul’s basic theology of salvation by grace. First is salvation as a past event, in which the accent falls on redemption as a once-for-all divine act which has already occurred. Second is salvation as a present experience, the response of ...

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