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 3201 to 3225 of 4976 results

3201. Days of Promise

Jeremiah 33:1-26

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... which the world will make the frantic effort to beat last year’s or the best year’s Christmas sales at the same time that it wonders if there is anything it can do to stop the murderous behavior in our metropolitan areas, solve problems of global warming, keep the peace in the Middle East, and solve social problems of drug and sex abuse so enormous one does not know where to begin. For us, though, Advent is that time when we can think seriously that the future holds great promise for us, because we know ...

3202. A Town of Promise

Micah 5:1-4

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... David would also serve as a priestly king in the manner of David as “he shall stand and feed the flock in the strength of the Lord.” In that respect the new Davidic figure will be most like the First David. However, because God sends the new David to keep the promise God made to the First David, God will increase what God has been doing for the people of God. Not only will the people be secure, but the Second David “shall be great to the ends of the earth.” Who Says? This hopeful word about a Second ...

3203. The Promise of Sight

Isaiah 60:1-22

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... address the Church of his day with the fact that the Church was using the sacramental system of the Church itself to keep the people from understanding the freedom that was theirs under the gospel. From age to age the Church has suffered through many ... has tended to cast darkness on the purity of the gospel itself. The additions to the gospel, let alone, the subtractions from the gospel, keep us from seeing the light of God’s grace as it really is. Those are the problems from within the Church. Then, of ...

3204. The Lightest Touch

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... devour the people (5:14). Or again the people could understand that the word is a hammer that shatters the most stubborn rock (23:29). What is most important is that God’s word is always fulfilled. God accomplishes what God says God will do. God keeps God’s word. When God promises anything, it is as good as done. The greatest accomplishment, the most difficult miracle God performs through the word, is to make believers out of people. That is the prophetic task and calling. Our Calling No doubt, all of ...

3205. The Fruit of One's Doing

Jeremiah 16:1--17:18

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

... . Nor would the prophet rule out the role models we have had in growing up and maturing. What would be threatening or disrupting in our lives is if the people who influenced our lives were not believing and trusting themselves. Either such people would be keeping us from being able to trust God or they would be discouraging that trust. Instead they would be making themselves the models of strength and help, and we would be counting on the wrong kind of help; help that would ultimately fail us. That sounds ...

3206. Welcome to My House

John 14:15-31

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... they leave. When they go back home they have to unlock the doors. Why do we lock our houses? (Let them answer.) That's right, to keep other people out. We don't want strangers walking into our houses. There are certain people who don't need keys to come into our ... is invite him in. We learn in the Bible exactly how to invite Jesus into our homes. Jesus says, ``If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.'' We should love Jesus and ...

3207. Box O' Jesus

Drama

Dave Marsh

... mean to you? How do we show others that we are Christians? Although no one has a literal 'Box O' Jesus' where they keep evidence of their faith, many people show their relationship with God based on stuff rather than how they live... Cast: John: A man ... to tell me that you don’t own a box O' Jesus? Katie: Uh, no. John: Wow. Well, for you unfortunate souls, it's where I keep my Jesus stuff. Katie: (sarcastically) Oh, now it’s so clear to me. John: Good. (buries his head back in the box) Katie: John. I am ...

3208. A Man, A Woman, and the Test of Doom (A Drama about Marriage)

Drama

Dave Marsh

... have flowers on it? ...add 10 pts. 12. When you shop for something ‘nice’ for your wife, do you buy it from Victoria’s Secret? … add 20 points. 13. Do you buy it from Sears? … subtract 10 points. 14. Sears Hardware? … subtract 25 points. 15. Does your wife keep her paycheck while you share yours? ...add 10 pts. 16. Do you do laundry as much or more than your wife does? ...add 10 pts. 17. Do you go grocery shopping with your wife? add 10 pts. 18. Do you know how to cook a casserole without using ...

3209. Experience the Mountaintop But Don't Forget the Valley Below

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

Brett Blair

... , we ought not stay on the mountaintop so long that we forget what it is like to be in the crowd, we shouldn’t forget what it is like to pull on a stubborn lawn mower. I know from personal experience, that mowing a lawn is a sure way to keep your feet firmly in the valley. III But Peter needed the mountaintop. We all do. It’s there that he learned he needed to listen to Jesus. God himself helped Peter understand this. We all have had those moments or we wouldn’t be here, moments when we learned we ...

3210. His Trial

Luke 22:66--23:25

Sermon

Brett Blair

... he walks away. But not really. For the remainder of the novel is about the fact that he is never able to “walk away” from the incident. From that night on he is haunted by the event. He cannot seem to shake the event from his mind and he keeps wondering what happened to this woman. To me this story in a capsule, in the life of Pontius Pilate. Jesus confronts him and he must deal with the same questions that Jean Baptiste dealt with. He concludes that the situation is out of his hands and there is simply ...

3211. Hypocrites

Matthew 6:1-4

Sermon

Brett Blair

... name, may respond to your prayers." The counterfeit rabbi looked desperately to his friends for help. They motioned for him to go with the innkeeper to his son's bedside. They had begun this hypocritical ruse, and now there was no choice but to keep on playing the game. The mock rabbi accompanied the distraught father to his son's sick bed. That night, the three travelers slept fitfully. They were eager to leave town before their deception was discovered. In the morning, the innkeeper, still hoping for a ...

3212. You Do Have A Prayer

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

James W. Moore

... scooter… but my dad said, "No!" "Too dangerous… and you are too young!" But I had a friend named Roy Wilcox who had a new motor scooter. One Saturday morning, I convinced Roy to let me ride it. He showed me how to get it started and how to keep it going, but not now to get it stopped! I circled the block five times trying to get information on how to stop that motor scooter. Each time, Roy would shout instructions, but I was out of earshot before he could communicate completely. Finally, I had to turn ...

3213. The World Is Crowded With Gethsemanes

Luke 22:39-46

Sermon

Brett Blair

... in God. Peter, James and John quickly learned this lesson as they denied that they knew Jesus. They left the scene of his betrayal afraid for their own lives. They did not pray so they did not stay. Prayer helps us cope with life’s hardships and it keeps us from temptation. But here is one more thing you can do. Pray for the families of all those who have suffered at the hands of terrorist these past few years. Yesterday we remembered the horrible events of 911. We shall never forget that day. And, I don ...

3214. Increasing Our Standard of Giving

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

Brett Blair

... spiritual things or eternal things is Jesus talking about? I have to tell you I don’t know. But let me tell you what I do know. There is nothing vague about the wife you have, the husband you hold, the children you nurture, the home you keep, the job you work, the money you make, the friends you enjoy, the neighbor you know, the stranger you meet. You have been entrusted with these. You KNOW what these are. Do you have character? Have you been found trustworthy? Will you be responsible with these earthly ...

3215. Nicodemus

John 3:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... the nation; some who believed in that sort of thing wondered whether or not he could be the reincarnation of Elijah the prophet. We wanted to find out. To be sure, we did not mind itinerant preachers for they were all over the land; we DID want to keep tabs on them though. John responded to our questions in a strange way. He admitted that he was neither the Messiah nor Elijah. He claimed that he was, in his words, "the voice of one crying in the wilderness, saying, `make straight the way of the Lord.'" And ...

3216. The Last Laugh

Genesis 18:1-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... tough times, words they did NOT want to hear. But finally, he gave them a word that comforted them, a word that continues to echo down through the corridors of time, a word that allows us to maintain a bit of our mental and spiritual health, to keep that cheerful heart, to keep on laughing in the face of the worst that life can offer. Listen to the word: "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart...or as we learned it in the King James Bible, BE OF GOOD CHEER...[I have the last laugh]...I have ...

3217. Family Feud

Genesis 29:15-30

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... car is worth far more than $100. You have every right to get a much higher price." "Oh, I know that," she replied, "but you see my husband has left me and run off with his floozy secretary. He said he didn't want anything from our marriage - I could keep everything but the Corvette. He wanted me to sell that and send him the money. Which is precisely what I am doing. $100." Ah, justice. In a way, that is probably what came to mind to those ancients who listened to the story of Jacob. The story is hilarious ...

3218. Struggling with God

Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... that you give me I will give you a tenth."(2) How about THAT, folks? A whole tenth! If God will do all the work, Jacob will only keep 90 percent for himself. What a guy! Jacob finally arrives at Uncle Laban's where his next adventure would begin. Love. He falls in love with cousin Rachel ... cocoon. It is difficult to watch, because the temptation is to want to help this poor, squirming creature. But keep your hands off anyway. You see, it is the STRUGGLE that allows the butterfly opportunity to build enough ...

3219. Pay Back Time

Genesis 45:1-28

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... s the big deal? Anybody can do that. Any thief, any sinner, any atheist, any deal cutter, anybody who can count and remember and keep score can do that. But you, says Jesus, are not part of that pitiful bunch of frightened people. You know more and you know ... for the person who has wronged us, daily, asking God to bless them with good things we want for ourselves. If we keep praying for them faithfully, sooner or later our feelings will change. When our feelings change, when we find ourselves being sincere in ...

3220. The Prod of the Past

Exodus 12:1-30

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... with gratitude what and who has gotten a family this far. A third reason is that families need to see where they have come from to provide some incentives to press on with the journey - a prod from the past, if you will. As those of you who keep track of these things are aware, this text is the Old Testament lesson in the Lectionary for today and is joined with the Epistle lesson in Romans plus the Gospel lesson which you heard earlier from Matthew. All of them have to do with this "family" relationship ...

3221. The Ten Commandments #5: Honoring Parents

Exodus 20:12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, so that you and your children and your children's children may fear the LORD your God all the days of your life, and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long [Sound familiar?]...Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise... "HONOR ...

3222. The Ten Commandments #6: No Murder

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... national revulsion at the horrible death of Matthew Shepherd in Wyoming. No matter what anyone thinks of his sexual orientation, his life should not have been taken in the brutal, ghastly way it was. No murder. Illegal. Immoral. An easy commandment to understand...and keep. Is it? This commandment was initially given to prevent blood feuds - no Hatsfields-and-McCoys-type vendettas in an eye-for-an-eye culture in which people's lives are at risk for no reason other than family ties. That would be intolerable ...

3223. The Ten Commandments #9: No False Witness

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... it down, "If a person sins because he does not speak up when he hears a public charge to testify regarding something he has seen or learned about, he will be held responsible."(3) "False witness" could be given, not just by OPENING your mouth, but by keeping it shut as well. There is a bias toward truth in assuring a society that is as God intends, not only in this ninth commandment and the rest of the Jewish law, but throughout history. As to PERSONAL truthfulness (not simply judicial), we learn early on ...

3224. Remembering the Good Old Days

Numbers 14:1-10a

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... THAT long...so we had to make bricks without straw - a little hard work never hurt anybody...so some of our babies got killed - we had enough mouths to feed anyway...at least in Egypt we had more of a menu than birds and these stupid biscuits that keep falling from the sky - quail á là king all the time, YUK...we got our water from the river, not from some idiot who goes around smacking rocks with a stick...when Pharaoh's daughter found Moses in the bullrushes, she should have sunk the boat. Take us back ...

3225. Remember!

Deuteronomy 31:30--32:47

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... as we know it cannot continue to be squandered in the same way that they have been. We have begun to notice that some of the so-called advances of technology may well be in the "more harm than good" category. Good! Such an attitude is much more in keeping with the responsibility given us in creation. To be sure, there is much yet to be done, but at least, a start has been made. But that kind of intelligent management demands more of us than simply the preservation of what happens to be there. It also calls ...

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