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 3301 to 3325 of 4944 results

3301. There Is Hope (A Christmas Communion Meditation)

Luke 1:67-80

Sermon

Brett Blair

The birth of John the Baptist puts a different spin on the birth of Jesus. We get to see the birth and life of Jesus through the eyes of relatives who were going through the same odd happenings that had surrounded Mary and Joseph. Zechariah and Elizabeth are the proud parent's of John, who would later be called The Baptist, new parents who are allowed to see into the future and understand that there was hope, a great hope coming to the world. Zechariah’s song reminds us that the backdrop of all this hope ...

3302. Angels

Psalm 91:1-16

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Familiar stories. Two of the approximately 300 direct or indirect references in scripture to angels. That is a lot of talk about angels. Lots MORE talk in the world. Best seller lists regularly have popular titles about angels; book stores have whole sections devoted to angels. On TV Patty Duke hosted an NBC special called "Angels: The Mysterious Messengers." Michael Landon starred for five years as an angel sent to earth to assist mortals in "Highway to Heaven," and CBS currently has one in the same vein ...

3303. Pentecostal Power

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

Eugene Barron, Littleton, Colorado tells of driving down a two-lane highway where someone had thrown garbage onto the road. Most of it had been scattered off the road except one plastic cup. This cup was positioned right in the middle of road. In fact, it was in the center of the two yellow lines. The road was straight enough that Barron noticed the cup long before he got to it. Every time a car passed by the cup, it would simply roll to the opposite side without moving from the center. When another car ...

3304. Messies Anonymous

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

Mary couldn't get her leaky faucet fixed because she was ashamed to let a plumber see the inside of her cluttered home. Jane was pregnant and didn't know where she would put her new baby because she had so much "stuff" piled in every room of her apartment. Lorene's house was so messy she couldn't bring her terminally ill husband home from the hospital to die. These people (whose names have been changed to protect the sloppy) and thousands more have been aided by a self-help group appropriately named ...

3305. The Ultimate Evidence of God

2 Peter 1:16-21

Sermon

King Duncan

A Hungarian writer once wrote an amusing, but also very thoughtful dialogue which he imagined between two babies in a mother’s womb. Obviously they were twins. One twin asked the other: “Do you believe in life after delivery?” The other replied, “Why, of course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later.” “Nonsense” said the first twin. “There is no life after delivery. What kind of life would that be?” The second twin said, “I don’t know, ...

3306. A Most Confusing Doctrine

John 3:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

A lady wrote to Reader's Digest recently. She wanted to tell about an experience she had taking a young girl from India to church with her. It was the 11-year-old girl's first exposure to Christian worship. The young lady's parents were traveling on business and left her with their American friends. The little Hindu girl decided on her own to go with the family to church one Sunday. When they returned home, her host's husband asked her what she thought of the service. "I don't understand why the West Coast ...

3307. Lessons From The Locker Room

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

Lowell D. Streiker

Cathy and her boyfriend, Irving, who is a golfing fanatic, are on vacation. They are on the golf course. Cathy: Here's your ball, Irving! It was over in the weeds! Irving: AACK! You moved the ball! You're not allowed to move the ball, Cathy! Cathy: Who cares? We're the only ones out here! Irving: It's against the rules! You can't break the rules!! Cathy: You hate rules! Irving: But this is a SPORT! It's no fun without rules! It's pointless unless everyone plays by the exact same rules! As Irving walks away ...

3308. The Source Of Joy

John 3:22-36

Sermon

Eric Ritz

One cold, rainy morning a teenager awakened on a farm and walked out to the back of the barn where she kept her favorite pet ” her animal friend, the mule. The mule was standing outside in the rain, and as the drops of water rolled off the end of the long nose of that ugly animal, the mule seemed discouraged and depressed. She looked at her favorite friend and said, "You know, Betsy, you would make a wonderful Christian because you look like so many Christians I know! You look like you have lost your last ...

3309. Freedom Song

Galatians 6:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

Not long ago, a group of youngsters was questioned at random on what they liked about the United States. Here is a sample of the answers: Jackie, age 9 "We've got more stuff and things in America than anywhere in the world. We have pizza as well and it don't grow any other place on earth except maybe Italy." Heather, age 5 "America is the best because people in other countries are smaller and they get trodden on easy." Elliott, age 9 "Everybody wants to live in America because we own the moon. The ...

3310. Like Everest Without Oxygen And Wimbledon Without A Racquet

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Frank Lyman

Recently I heard about a Scotchman who was admitted to Oxford University. He moved into a dormitory. His clan was excited that one of their own made it into such an exclusive school. His mother worried, though, how he'd do with all those snobbish Brits in a strange land. She gave him a month to settle in, and then called him. "How do you find the English students, Donald?" she asked. "Oh Mother," he said, "they are strange and noisy people. The one on this side bangs his head against the wall all night and ...

3311. Like Everest Without Oxygen

Luke 10:25-37

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

Object: A volunteer among the children Good morning, boys and girls. I need somebody to show me their muscle. Can somebody make a fist and draw up your arm, like this? Most of us think of a muscle as the bulge on our arm. But actually our entire body is covered with over 500 muscles. Not just a lump here and there. Muscles come in different sizes and shapes, but each has an important job. Our bones would not be able to work if muscles did not control them. We would not be able to chew our food without ...

3312. Redefining Life

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

If I were to say, "He-e-e-e-e-ere's Johnny!" what image would come to your mind? If you're old enough, you will probably think of "The Tonight Show," with Johnny Carson. What if I came out here and said, "Let's get ready to rummmmmble!" What comes to mind? Some of our younger people might recognize this as the opening of a professional wrestling show. I don't know if you have ever thought about the importance of a good introduction. It is very important to an entertainer or a speaker or a performer of any ...

3313. I Will Not Leave You Comfortless

John 14:15-31

Sermon

King Duncan

Linus is building castles in the sand. He tells Charlie Brown: "Working with your hands is good therapy . . . It takes your mind off your troubles . . . Whenever I feel depressed, I build sand castles . . . I've been feeling pretty depressed lately!" Behind him we see a dozen or so sandcastles. In baseball they tell the story about the rookie who faced the great pitcher Walter Johnson for the first time. Johnson was in his prime. The batter took two quick strikes and headed for the dugout. He told the ...

3314. People of Influence (New)

1 Thessalonians 1:6

Children's Sermon

King Duncan

Object: None (With you as the leader, have the children line up behind you and play “follow the leader” up and down the center aisle of the church. Tell the children to follow you exactly and to imitate all of your actions. Return to your seats and say): That was fun, wasn’t it? Is it always good to imitate? Who are some people that you should imitate? (mom, dad, teacher, grandma, etc.) In our Bible lesson today, Paul is writing to a church in Thessalonica. He is encouraging them to keep on imitating him ...

3315. Proving Your Love

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Sermon

Edward Inabinet

"We sometimes say that money talks," writes Robert McCracken, "and that’s for sure! A person can tell a great deal about another when he learns how he earns his money and how he spends it. For then you know a great deal about his motives, his standards, his desires and what his real religion is all about." When we investigate the New Testament we find that one-third of all Jesus’ parables and one-sixth of all his teachings have to do with money and material possessions. Jesus approached life from the ...

3316. On Claiming One’s Inheritance

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

As the salesman came to the front door, he turned to the little boy sitting on the steps and asked, “Is your mother home?” The boy said “Yes,” and the salesman began to ring the doorbell. After several rings and no response, he turned to the boy and said, “I thought you said that your mother was home.” To which the boy replied, “She is, but this isn’t my house.” Sometimes we get the wrong answers because we don’t ask the right questions. In Mark 10, we read: “And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ...

3317. A Glimpse of Eternity

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

Eric Ritz

I have often shared with congregations that the key sometimes to unlocking the meaning of a certain Biblical passage is to read what has happened in the book before the particular passage we are reading, and what is going to take place after the passage we are studying. No where is this principle more apparent than in our reading about the mysterious but marvelous story of the TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD. Another key to understanding this passage and other sacred writings is to look not only at the story, ...

3318. The Face that Launched a Thousand Lives

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Fredrick R. Harm

You will recall the ancient myth that lies behind our sermon theme for today. Helen, the wife of Sparta's king Menelaus, was acclaimed the most beautiful woman of Greece. The Greeks fought the Trojan War in order to get her back from Troy, where Paris, the son of King Priam, had taken her. In Christopher Marlowe's Dr. Faustus, the question is asked concerning Helen, "Was this the face that launched a thousand ships and burned the topless towers of Ilium?" Today's text speaks of a far greater face, a face ...

3319. Good News!

Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

Curtis Lewis

For a period of time there was an emphasis on good news/bad news stories. In good news/bad news stories, details keep turning from triumph to tragedy and back again. One such story which was related quite frequently was about two friends who were avid baseball fans. These two friends made a pact that whoever died first would come back and let the other know if there was baseball in heaven. The first one died and came back and contacted his friend and said, "Hey, man, I have great news for you! The good ...

3320. Draw Nigh To God

James 4:1-12

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

An older couple was driving down the road on Sunday afternoon. She was leaning against the door on her side -- some would say polishing the chrome -- and he was driving. They were eager to get where they were going, but were slowed down dramatically by a young couple, who were cuddling in the car before them -- the young woman was almost sitting in his lap, rubbing his face, and now and then kissing him on the cheek, and ever now and then -- though it was dangerous -- he would turn around and kiss her. ...

3321. Dealing With Guilt And Shame

Romans 7:7-25

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

In the "Better-Half" cartoon series, Bob Barnes pictured a husband and wife in their bedroom. The wife is combing her hair and "fixing" her face across the room from the husband who is struggling to get out of bed. He sits wearily on the side of the bed, bedraggled, and moans, "I hope in my next reincarnation I come back as something easier to be than a human being." When I read that I remembered the word of Jules Pfieffer. "Getting out of bed in the morning is an act of false confidence." It's not easy to ...

3322. The Grace Question: Are You A Teacher...and Yet Do Not Understand?

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There are two actors in this scene of John's gospel: Jesus and Nicodemus. Nicodemus is not a popular figure in the gospels. He appears only a couple of other times in John's record. The last picture of him is in John 19. He and Joseph of Arimathea asked for the body of Jesus after He was crucified in order that He might have a decent burial. One of Rembrandt's most famous etchings portrays that scene. The limp, dead body of Jesus was slowly taken down from the cross. Joseph of Arimathea, dressed as the ...

3323. On the Road Again

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Blue eyes crying in the rain! Who knows where that sentence comes from? It’s from Psalm 14 verse…no, you know better. It’s from a haunting country ballad and no one sings it better than Willie Nelson. I’m not a country music buff but I like some of it – especially Willie. Recently I had to spend about three hours driving, and I tuned in to a good country music station. I recommend that experience, even though you may not like country music. It will contribute to your theological education. Now some of the ...

3324. Some Things Ought Not to Happen

Genesis 21:8-21

Sermon

James L. Killen

Some things that happen in our world just ought not to happen. A mother decides that she does not want her newborn baby, so she wraps it in a blanket and leaves it beside a rural road. Fortunately, the baby is found by someone passing by before it dies but the ants have already begun to bite it. A community puts its trust in a man and elects him to public office. Then he uses his position to enrich himself by taking bribes and favoring the businesses of his friends. Famines occur in impoverished parts of ...

3325. Writing the Law on Our Hearts

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

In his wonderful book, Open Secrets, Richard Lischer tells of a retired Lutheran pastor who came to visit him shortly after the elder man's wife had died. Throughout his whole ministry, he had prayed with countless people, providing a bridge between them and God. When it mattered the most though, he couldn't pray. When his wife was dying, he couldn't pray with her, as he had throughout their marriage. He didn't make a conscious decision not to pray with her, he just couldn't do it. He felt as though ...

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