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 609 results

301. How Does It Work?

1 Corinthians 2:1-16

Sermon

James L. Killen

... wisdom that some people had that made them superior to everyone else. I suppose that in every age and in every culture there have been traditional wisdoms that people have valued. Until well into the twentieth century, the teachings of Confucius were cherished as the traditional wisdom of China. An educated man was one who had passed advanced examinations on the teachings of Confucius. Anyone who hoped to advance in any profession or in civil service had to pass those examinations, even if he was applying ...

302. Epiphany 8

Isaiah 49:8-26, Matthew 6:25-34, 1 Corinthians 4:1-21

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... her baby? Even if this happened, God loves his people so much that he could never forget his beloved. 3. Graven (v. 16). God has engraved the name of his people on the palms of his hands. In this anthropomorphic metaphor, God is saying that he owns and cherishes his people. They belong to him forever. It is not a simple writing on his hands but engraved - cut into the palms that the name may be indelible and everlasting. God knows, owns, and cares for his people. Epistle: 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 (6-7) 8-13 ...

303. Proper 22

Exodus 20:1-21, Isaiah 5:1-7, Philippians 3:1-11, Philippians 3:12-4:1, Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... 4:6-9 See Lesson 2, Proper 23, Pentecost 21 WORSHIP RESOURCES Psalm of the Day: Psalm 19 - "The law of the Lord is perfect" (v. 7); Psalm 80:7-24 - "The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant he cherished" (Isaiah 5:7). Prayer of the Day: "Our Lord Jesus, you have endured the doubts and foolish questions of every generation. Forgive us for trying to be judge over you, and grant us the confident faith to acknowledge you as Lord." Hymn of the Day: "The Church Of Christ ...

304. What Names Are You Naming?

Isaiah 49:1-7

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... name is that which makes you worthy of distinction. Your nickname describes something you do really well or really poorly, something you're famous or infamous for, whether serious or humorous. Your nickname is what makes you YOU. What nicknames do you cherish most? Dad? Mom? Sweetheart? Baby? Do you have nicknames that heal you ("Sweetie Pie," "Little One," "Princess"), and nicknames that hurt you ("Fatso," "Dummy")? Each one of us has a peculiar relationship with God. Each of us have been sought out "in ...

305. Let's Dance

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of the body is in some ways more important than the memory of the mind. For what happens when the mind is in turmoil and forgets? The body remembers. Life sometimes goes into reverse. The clouds of glory dissolve into feet of clay. When it does, whatever is most cherished in your life, you can bring it to God in trust and confidence, and leave it there. · When your heart is wormed out with worry, trust in God for a new heart. · When the body is willing, but the brain isn't, keep the Rainbow Room clean and ...

306. The Lonesome George Church

Matthew 4:23-25, Matthew 4:18-22, Matthew 4:12-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... insight, new knowledge and possibilities, and a mysterious quirk—-probably due to a mislabeled Petri dish or a contaminated specimen. A unique, astounding discovery can transform our lives. The discovery of a distant relative suddenly transforms an orphaned child into a cherished family member. The discovery of a new source of fresh water turns a desert into fertile farmland. The discovery of a vaccine for polio gave back peace of mind to parents and carefree summers for children, and a future of health ...

307. An Empty Stage, An Empty Tomb

Jn 20:1-18

Illustration

King Duncan

... , he died as all of us will one day die, and he was laid in a borrowed tomb, but in the hearts of his disciples he lives forever. An empty stage, but not an empty tomb. Which is it? Are we immortal because there are those who remember and cherish the fact that once we walked this "vale of tears" or are we immortal because Christ has once and forever battered down the gates of death? Empty stage or empty tomb? Note: This is a true story but we think that the vacant spotlight stage is an old tradition ...

308. The Lost and Found Coin

Luke 15:8-10

Sermon

James W. Moore

... one of these coins that the woman had lost and so she searched for it as urgently as any woman would search if she lost her marriage ring.” And then, imagine her joy when she finds it. In this parable, Jesus is reminding us that God loves and values and cherishes and prizes and treasures each one of us like that… and when we get lost He urgently wants to seek us and find us and when He does find us, there is great joy and relief in His heart and in His Kingdom. Now, what makes this parable unique and ...

309. Changed Lives - Mary Magdalene

John 20:10-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... the glazed look in the eyes of the tattered people who had come to eat a bowl of soup and be warm for an hour began to change. The hardened lines in their foreheads began to soften. By the time they got to the last line, “I will cherish the old rugged cross, And exchange it some day for a crown,” the expressions had changed. Where once bitterness, pain and resentment had lived alone, comfort, for just a minute, reigned. That, this young pastor-to-be discovered, was the power of Jesus. When his unlikely ...

310. The Lost and Found Coin

Luke 15:8-10

Sermon

James W. Moore

... one of these coins that the woman had lost and so she searched for it as urgently as any woman would search if she lost her marriage ring." And then, imagine her joy when she finds it. In this parable, Jesus is reminding us that God loves and values and cherishes and prizes and treasures each one of us like that… and when we get lost He urgently wants to seek us and find us and when He does find us, there is great joy and relief in His heart and in His Kingdom. Now, what makes this parable unique and ...

311. When Do You Feel God's Pleasure?

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

James W. Moore

... promote and perpetuate prejudice and discrimination ???????? Curtains that poison your soul? Jesus came to show us in words and in actions how inclusive God is and to remind us that there are “no curtains that separate” in God’s flock. All are valued. All are cherished. All are treasured. All are wanted. All are welcomed. All are included. That’s the way God is… and that’s the way God wants us to be… and when the curtains are taken down, somewhere in heaven, God is smiling. First, we feel God ...

312. A Mother's Love

Mark 7:24-30

Sermon

James W. Moore

... don't mean a quick, routine, matter of fact "I love you"… but a real heart-to-heart expression of your love in words. And parents, how about you? How long has it been since you told your children how proud you are of them and how much you cherish them? Let me suggest something. For one week, write down every word you say to your children and then ask: How many of these words are words of love, encouragement and appreciation… and not just words of correction or discipline? I know as parents we have to be ...

313. Love One Another

Luke 7:36-50

Sermon

James W. Moore

... s why the regular folks, the people of the streets, the masses, the sick and lowly, the outcasts… resonated to Jesus. Because to Him, they were not lowly, they were not common, they were not despised, they were not outcasts. He made them feel valued, important, cherished, cared for, accepted, and loved… and as Christians that is what He wants us to do. Let me conclude with one of my all-time favorite stories. It’s about a woman in Birmingham who, on a cold winter morning, saw a little boy standing on ...

314. Choose Life

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

Sermon

James W. Moore

... an adult and growing up to be a doctor were one and the same thing. But, deep inside she was in a quandary because she realized that – while she admired and respected the doctors in her family and their scientific approach to life she really cherished and adored her grandfather and his spiritual search for the meaning of life. And even though she knew she was expected to become a doctor like most everyone else in her family, she really resonated more toward her grandfather and his faith approach to life ...

315. A Transitional Object (And So Much More)

John 14:15-21

Illustration

J. Michael Smith

... us, we can be in as much distress as a small child losing a beloved teddy bear. In the gospel text this morning, Jesus, in all the ways in which he was familiar, is being taken away from his disciples. And THIS text invites us to reflect: perhaps our most cherished religious ideas and experiences are merely ‘transitional objects.' Perhaps God's love for us, God's relationship with us is far deeper, far more mysterious, far more secure than any religious belief, experience, or idea now known by us.

316. Love Them Before You Leave Them

John 19:25-26

Sermon

James Merritt

... in poison ivy." Finally, another child said, "I've learned that my best friend is my teddy bear; he never tells my secrets." I'm sure there are a lot of things that Jesus learned as a child, but one of the things he obviously learned was to honor, obey, cherish, and love his family. There is a great lesson we can learn from this one saying from Jesus on the cross, and that is, we should take every opportunity to love those who are dearest to us, and make sure that we love them before we leave them or before ...

317. Putting Mom in Heartbreak Hotel

1 Kings 2:5-6

Sermon

James Merritt

... not if I've been hurt, It matters not at all That sometimes from my weary eyes, The scalding teardrops fall. What matters most—is if I've erred And not confessed the sin, And through my lack some need soul Has failed to follow Him. It matters not if cherished friends, On whom I lean in vain, Have wounded me by word and deed And left me with my pain. What matters is—can I forgive again, and yet again? It's not "have they been true?" but, "Lord, have I been true to them?" ‘Twill matter not, when evening ...

318. How to Turn the Ballot into a Blessing Box

Proverbs 29:2

Sermon

James Merritt

... stand with the homosexual. It takes courage to stand for the unborn child rather than to stand against the unborn child. One of my favorite stories is of William Penn, who was in prison in the Tower of London. He was asked to recant some of his most sacred and cherished beliefs. Here is what he replied: "My prison shall be my grave before I will budge a jot, for I owe my conscience to no man. Right is right even if everyone is against it; and wrong is wrong even if everyone is for it." That is the kind of ...

319. With Malice toward None, With Charity for All

Matthew 5:43-48

Sermon

James Merritt

... , as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. Abraham Lincoln spoke those words at the end of a time in our nation's history when America almost did to herself what no one else has been able to do—destroy her. Though the war was over, the ...

320. Power in the Pulpit

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... Lyons Phelps, once said, "Our civilization is founded upon the Bible. More of our ideas, our wisdom, our philosophy, our literature, our art, our ideals, come from the Bible than from all other books combined.4 Abraham Lincoln once received, he said, one of the most cherished gifts he was ever given. It was a Holy Bible given to him by a delegation of black Americans. The date was September 7, 1864, and on that occasion Lincoln made this statement: "In regard to this great Book, I have but to say it is ...

321. A Peculiar People

1 Peter 2:1-10

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... powerfully with the norms around it. The church is not simply another institution in society, nor is it an extension of the traditions of any state. The church must be different, often over against the ways of all nations. This alternative identity must be cherished as the most important characteristic of the church…our identity in Jesus Christ. [1] In a day when the religious right tends to blur the lines between church and state, I think Bishop Storey is right. The church needs to be clear about our ...

322. Zechariah II: Thy Prayer is Heard

Luke 1:5-25

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... their babies and bury their dead and make hallowed their vows, offering up the most precious moments of their lives in the hope that there is a God to hallow them—a God to hear and seal their vows, to receive their children and to raise up and cherish their dead. Farther down than their daydreams and boredom, there is the hope that somewhere out of all the words and music and silences of this place, and out of a mystery even greater than the mystery of the cosmos itself, they will hear a voice that they ...

323. Barnabas Found the Way

Acts 4:35-5:16

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... from my twin keep calling me "Twin" or Jim. And, of course, his name is really James. Sometimes nicknames can be very special. In our family, we still call our son David "DD" because that's what he first called himself. And one of my cherished memories is of my grandfather, the only person who ever called him "Davy." Nicknames. Sometimes they are a necessity, and sometimes they are just right. That must have been the case with this one named Joseph. Evidently, there were so many Joes in the early church ...

324. Unlikely Election

Acts 1:12-26

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... rhetoric of our day. I've been collecting his writings (all of which are out of print), and a good friend found a copy of his book on Pentecost and the book of Acts, The Christ of Every Road, in a church rummage sale. I cherish it. He describes the church as living between Easter and Pentecost: The church stands hesitant between the two. Hesitant, hence impotent. Something big has dawned in the church's thinking—Easter. Christ has lived, taught, died and risen and has commissioned the church with the ...

325. Taking the Long View

2 Peter 3:8-15a

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... is before the beginning and after the ending. As this soaks into our limited brains, we begin to have — at least — a clue to his bigness and our littleness. After all, aren't we supposed to do our measuring in starting and stopping points? To view life, especially cherished projects, in any other way is to ask for trouble. The boss sets goals and limits. We had better abide by them or, sooner or later, get fired. It really isn't going to help much to plead our case by maintaining, "But, God doesn't see ...

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