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 301 to 325 of 4681 results

301. Cross Eyed: Rebuke

Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... the salvation of the world and that meant the Cross. So what does this passage teach us? How do we apply it? Can we keep from making dumb mistakes or saying dumb things? Probably not. But it does teach us some very important lessons about following Christ and bearing our own crosses. I. Not the Center A. First, It Reminds Us We're Not The Center Of The Universe. That's the first thing the cross always reminds us about. And yet, that seems to be the hardest lesson we have to learn. I ran across a commercial ...

302. Time to Get Wet

Revelation 22:1-6

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... to 95% of their body water. They can survive for decades in this dehydrated, inactive state, simply waiting for the next big gully-washer to restore their liquid environment and re-animate their existence. I hate to tell you this, but Christians are NOT water bears. If the living water we have received is not passed along to the next generation, there will be no next generation. Living water cannot be put on the shelf and saved forever. Living water must be poured out continually in order to keep the stream ...

303. Fish or Cut Bait

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... others to Jesus. Jesus put it all too clearly in his ministry: “I am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser. Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes, away, and every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit. . . “I am the vine, and you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit...” (John 15: 1,2,5). Fruitfulness is not a luxury; it is a requirement. The qualification is not just believing in Christ, but it is in ...

304. Habakkuk: The Problem of Evil

Habakkuk 1:1-4

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... wants us to be for the glory of God and the good of people. We can be faithful. Our bishop said to us at Annual Conference that we ministers will be rewarded according to our fruitfulness. Jesus calls us to go and bear fruit. If we bear no fruit where we are, why do we think we can bear fruit if promoted to another place? Of course, he is right. There are so many Methodist churches that have not received a single person on profession of faith in so long that no one would know how to respond if somebody did ...

305. Colossians 1:1-14

Colossians 1:1-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... those who are truly “in Christ,” now there will be an expression of all these graces in the community of faith and in the world. Faith, love and hope are not ideas or ideals for Paul; they are action words and will be revealed by “bearing fruit and growing in the whole world” (v6). The stunning, transforming truth of God’s grace, once it is experienced, cannot help but change the Colossians and the world itself. Paul’s promise is that even as the gospel has “borne fruit” among the Colossian ...

306. Dancing with the Saints

Colossians 1:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... next to us, takes some divine finesse, some special steps. Paul counseled the Colossian “saints” to exercise four gifts while “walking” in ways that are “worthy of the Lord” (v. 10). As they “walked” the Colossians were to “grow,” to “bear fruit,” to be “strengthened,” and to offer “thanksgiving.” If we speed up the walking tempo so we are dancing with the faithful, the “saints” of this generation and of generations past can up-tempo Paul’s directives to these four ...

307. Proper 11, Pentecost 9, Ordinary Time 16

Psalm 86:11-17, Isaiah 44:6-8, Matthew 13:24-30, Romans 8:12-25

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

... witness with our spirit. Leader: In the city, state, and nation, All: let the Spirit bear witness with our spirit. Leader: In waiting and sorrow, in loss and expectation, All: let the Spirit bear witness with our spirit. Leader: In hope, in faith, in all of life, All: let the Spirit bear witness with our spirit. Prayer Of The Day Leader: Wondrous God, wheat and weeds all grow together until your great harvest. May your good seed shape our destiny until that day comes when the righteous will shine with the ...

308. The Real Underdog!

1 Samuel 17:1, 4-11, 19-23, 32-49

Sermon

William J. Carl, III

... tells David that Goliath will tear him limb from limb. When David recites his conquests out in the wilds and ends with this phrase, "[Goliath] has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will save me from the hand of this Philistine," even Saul sees the real reason for David's bravado, and says, "Go, and may the Lord be with you" (1 Samuel 17:36b-37). I've sometimes wondered whether Saul thought this would be a good way to rid himself ...

309. The Fig Tree

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... all. In fact, it flies in the face of everything we learn, not only in human experience, but in scripture as well. You see, this lesson does not end on a "shape up or ship out" note. This sad little fig tree that has done as poor a job at bearing fruit as the nation has in all its political machinations gets another chance. More nourishment. More care. More time. Why? No reason. The theological word is grace. The good news is that grace is offered to you and me as well, all of us little fig trees who do not ...

310. Someone Bigger than Phil

Hebrews 4:14-5:10

Sermon

King Duncan

... (2) These young people were genuinely searching for a way to understand God. Most of us, however, would be uncomfortable with the idea that God is whatever people think that God is. We believe that God has revealed himself through Jesus Christ. God is neither a Teddy Bear nor is God a Supreme Court justice who is going to nail us when we show up for judgment. God, we believe, is like Jesus. The writer of Hebrews spells out our understanding of God and God’s relationship to us in our lesson for today. He ...

311. Restarting Joy - Rejoice

Isaiah 55:10-13

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

... acceptance of Jesus into our lives, and our acceptance of one another. It is the celebration of a spiritual seedling growing into a strong fruitful plant. Celebration of growth in communion bears the fruit of dignity, purpose, and hope. Come, accept God's invitation to partake in the elements of growth. Bear fruit with a joyous heart! Grow in grace. Rejoice in life! 1. Charles Swindoll, Laugh Again (Dallas: Word Publishing,1991), p. 35. 2. Richard Taylor, editor, Beacon Dictionary of Theology (Kansas City ...

312. A Baby Changes Everything

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... sharp teeth, grisly growling, and a horrible hissing sound. Not to mention the fact that a possum looks a whole lot like a huge, giant rat. It’s actually a marsupial, more related to a kangaroo or a koala bear. Opossums are to koala bears what raccoons are to red panda bears. But after one nighttime encounter with a startled opossum, you’ll think “Rat.” But if you step slowly outside to confront the critter, instead of rushing it and leaving it feeling cornered, the possum is far more likely to ...

313. Breaking News: God and Government

Romans 13:1-7

Sermon

James Merritt

... even if I am in a Cabinet meeting. Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first." I’ve noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born. I never drink coffee ... and he will commend you. For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.” (Romans 13:3-4, NIV) The ...

314. For Those Who Are Auditing the Class

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... not what it means to take up your cross and follow Christ. Neither does it mean wearing a cross as a piece of jewelry. I don’t mean to be judgmental, but we see crosses hung on the neck of people who have no concept of what it means to bear the cross of Jesus. Garret Fiddler, a guest columnist in the Yale Daily News, noted the irony of the cross as a piece of jewelry: “Really,” he writes, “the cross does not belong on the Christian; the Christian belongs on the cross.” (2) Taking up your cross and ...

315. The Challenge to Forgive

Luke 7:36--8:3

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... 't seem to lose. I speak of the scenes in the award-winning movie, Unforgiven, starring Clint Eastwood as Bill Munny, who was "a known thief and murderer, a man of notoriously vicious and intemperate disposition." However, he married, and it is his gentle wife who bears him two children and leads him into a settled and reformed, if impoverished, life where he hangs up his six guns to raise pigs. His wife's untimely death from small pox crippled him on his road to recovery from his addiction to violence. And ...

316. Paul's Ministry in Thessalonica

1 Thessalonians 2:1-16

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

... enormity of what they had done. His unusual word order draws attention to the fact that the Jesus whom they killed was the Lord. The title stands at the front of the sentence—“the Lord they killed, even Jesus”—with all the implications of glory that that title could bear (cf. Acts 2:32–36 and see note on 1:1). What they did to Jesus was the climax of a history in which they had done the same thing to the prophets “who predicted the coming of the Righteous One” (Acts 7:52; cf. Matt. 23:37; Luke ...

317. Taming the Tongue

James 3:1-12, James 3:13-18

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... argument to drive home the inconsistency of the action. The Old Testament refers to humans as made in God’s likeness (Gen. 1:26), and it uses that fact to argue about the seriousness of defacing that likeness (Gen. 9:6). Even the most depraved human bears God’s likeness, and the likeness in biblical thought was seen as representing the person it depicted. To bless or thank God and then to turn around and curse his likeness is like praising a king to his face and then smashing the head off his ...

318. Jephthah

Jud 10:6–11:40

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... change of words but for a true change of heart and recognized it in Israel’s penitential action. Israel’s change of heart moved the Lord to a change of heart, or at least to defer to his compassionate side. The statement that he could bear Israel’s misery no longer (v. 16) expresses God’s heart for his people and his readiness to act on their behalf; action would be immediately forthcoming. The Bible clearly teaches that loving compassion is the dominant aspect of the Lord’s essential nature. As ...

319. I am the Man Who Has Seen Affliction

Lamentations 3:1-66

One Volume

Tremper Longman III

... passages from Hosea and Amos are particularly interesting since they, too, picture God’s judgment as the mauling action of these animals: Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and rip them open. Like a lion I will devour them; a wild animal will tear ... the Lord that is the topic when God says: It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear. (5:19) Verse 12 changes metaphors. God is no longer a mauling animal, but now an archer taking target practice. This language is reminiscent ...

320. Clean Garments for the High Priest

Zechariah 3:1-10

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... but a role. He is also a member of the heavenly court. The text does not report the charge that he has made against Joshua, but we can infer it from the rest of the report. The satan has questioned Joshua’s qualifications because he still bears the marks of the judgment on Judah and Jerusalem. It is appropriate that the accuser’s words are absent from the report. The Lord’s rebuke silences him. The Lord who chooses Jerusalem rebukes the adversary. A high priest was needed because the LORD had chosen ...

321. One For All

1 John 3:16-24

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

... Good morning, boys and girls. Sometimes when we are small and afraid, it helps to hold on to something soft--like this Teddy Bear. Did any of you ever have a Teddy Bear? I heard about a very brave lady who probably would liked to have had her Teddy Bear with her. She is a California State Highway Patrol Officer. One day she received a call concerning a woman about to jump from a bridge. This presented the officer with a very big problem. She has an extreme fear of heights, and the jumper was perched on the ...

322. Thanksgiving and Prayer

Philippians 1:1-11

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... God of Israel, would vindicate his righteous cause and put down all injustice, wherever it might be found, first and foremost among his own people (cf. Amos 5:18–20). But now, by divine investment, “Jesus Christ is Lord” in the most august sense that the word can bear (2:11); the day of the LORD is therefore the day of Christ Jesus. In a Christian context it is the day when the lives and actions of the people of Christ will be assessed. Each believer’s “work will be shown for what it is, because ...

323. Jacob’s Children

Genesis 29:31--30:24

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... names of the children correlates with the destiny of the later tribes; this fact attests to the antiquity of this narrative. The narrative is organized according to the order of the births. Four sons are born to Leah (29:31–35), the two handmaids each bear two sons (30:1–13), Leah bears two sons and a daughter (30:14–21), and Rachel finally gives birth to a son (30:22–24). 29:31–35 When Yahweh saw that Leah was not loved as much as Rachel, he allows her to conceive. The phrase “God saw” means ...

324. Wanderings in the Desert

Deuteronomy 3:21-29

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... angry with me! The exclusion of Moses from entering the promised land figures so largely here, and was probably as much a surprise to the original readers as it is to us, that it invites some theological reflection. When one puts together all the passages that bear on Moses’ exclusion, they offer us at least two perspectives. On the one hand, our text here and the two closest to it in Deuteronomy, 1:37 and 4:21, give the impression that it was the people’s fault. Moses suffered “because of” them. On ...

325. Signs and Oracles of Judgment

Ezekiel 4:1-5:17, Ezekiel 6:1-14, Ezekiel 7:1-27

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... that he is not eloquent (Exod. 4:10) and begs God to send someone else (Exod. 4:13). Jeremiah objects that he is too young for the task (Jer. 1:6), while Isaiah exclaims, “I am a man of unclean lips” (Isa. 6:5). Jonah, called to bear God’s message to the despised Assyrians, votes with his feet by heading in the opposite direction, toward Tarshish (Jonah 1:3; 4:1–3). Yet we have to this point encountered no such denial from Ezekiel. Such reticence is typical of the book’s “radical theocentricity ...

Showing results