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 3351 to 3375 of 4914 results

3351. A Lightning Rod Instead of a Cross

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

For just a moment, I want you to imagine a lightning rod on top of our steeple [rather than a cross]. Some cynic with a wicked sense of humor has said that, if it were up to most of its members, modern churches would have lightning rods on their steeples instead of crosses in memory of that time when lightning struck the early church. He’s speaking of the amazing events that happened on the Day of Pentecost. But then he adds, “The lightning rods would serve as protection against such events ever happening ...

3352. Unfettered Faith

Mark 1:35-39, Mark 1:40-45, Exodus 15:22-27

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“I am the Lord who heals you.” --Exodus 15 One of the most dangerous forms of infection today is something called sepsis. Sepsis is caused by bacteria which invade the body through an open wound, then cause an inflammatory response within which quickly attacks the body, shuts down organs, and can even cause death. It’s a frightening and debilitating experience. It literally binds up one’s bodily systems and breaks down the body from the inside out. And it can all start from one small wound. But physical ...

3353. Which King Do We Worship?

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

Think about the last trip you took to a new place. Maybe you went on vacation or maybe you just went across town. Did you notice that it seemed to take more time to reach your destination than it did to return home? This sensation of seeming to take longer to make a trip than it is to return home is universal and even has an official scientific name. It is referred to as the “return trip effect” by those who research it. There are plenty of theories behind what causes the “return trip effect.” Researchers ...

3354. A Maturing Faith

Acts 16:16-40

Sermon

Douglas J. Deuel

In today's passage of scripture we see clearly that there are different levels of maturity represented in faith. Each level requires greater depth and a greater level of trust. For those who can attain the highest level of faith, though, the impact of their witness for Jesus Christ is greatly enhanced. A Superficial Faith The first level of faith is superficial faith. This is faith that deals with people and teachings only on the surface level. There is no depth of understanding or application or ...

3355. Seeing With New Eyes

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

Tony Everett

John Newton was the captain of a ship carrying captured men and women from Africa to become slaves in America during the mid-eighteenth century. He gave little thought to the enormous suffering experienced by his human cargo as they were torn from home and families and herded below decks of his ship. He gave little thought to the magnitude of the sin against God and humanity in which he was a willing participant. Until that day. As he watched his captive passengers share their meager food supplies and ...

3356. When It Is Dark Enough

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

On clear summer nights my wife and I often stretch out on the deck of our Maine cabin scanning the skies for satellites. While it might be dark at ground level, neither satellites nor stars appear until the sky is black. The ancient Persians put it this way: "When it is dark enough you can see the stars." At the graveside of his brother, the agnostic Robert Ingersoll, said, "In the darkest night hope sees a star and listening love can hear the rustle of a wing." Today is the first Sunday in Advent. The ...

3357. What Are You Looking At?

Acts 3:11-26

Sermon

Paul W. Kummer

We are living in the days of the apostles again. We are the early Church all over again -- or, more precisely, we live in a similar spiritual environment in which the Church first grew. What do I mean? I don't say this because of miracles and prophecies being fulfilled in the same way they were back then. Nor because sin is so prevalent and accepted, even as it was in the Roman Empire. Nor do I say it because we, like the 5,000 plus who grew to millions and millions, are waiting eagerly and expecting Jesus ...

3358. The Voice From Heaven

Luke 3:1-20, Luke 3:21-38

Drama

Dallas A. Brauninger

Interviewing A Woman Who Observes These Events Asker: You have been observing these events. Woman: I have been watching John. He is an unusual person. I am not sure if I am more drawn to his message or to his fascinating manner. He does stand out, you know. Asker: Stands out? Woman: Yes, I trust him. However, we must watch out for persons with intense charisma. They might be drawing you to them for the wrong reasons. You know that we are oppressed people. We are vulnerable to salvation. Among us has grown ...

3359. The Spirit Of The Lord Is Upon Us

Drama

Karren Boehr

Theme: God's Spirit Through The Ages (Based on Ezekiel 37 and Joel 2:23-29) This intense drama takes the dry bones vision of the prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 37 and ties it with the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2. Scripturally based, this drama is meant to add depth and meaning to the church's celebration of Pentecost and/or Baptism. Setting: The graveyard of bones which the prophet Ezekiel saw in Ezekiel 37. It is now centuries later Characters: THE PROPHET EZEKIEL: A man who speaks with conviction and ...

3360. Life

John 20:19-23

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

Theme: If we trust Jesus He is with us empowering us with the Holy Spirit just like the disciples when Jesus breathed on them. Summary: Peter, confronted with the death of a girl, relies on what Jesus taught him. A reader's theatre presentation. Playing Time: 9 minutes Place: A neutral reading area Props: Four stools Wine skin Four glasses Bread Costumes: Contemporary, casual Time: Storytelling time Cast: First Reader -- female, soprano Second Reader -- male, bass Third Reader -- female, alto Fourth Reader ...

3361. Jesus Teaches the Essence of His Being

John 6:60-71, John 6:25-59

Sermon Aid

Wayne H. Keller

Theme: Jesus Teaches the Essence of His Being the True Bread and Cup. This is too much for many, so they desert him. The disciples, up to this point, promise to stick with him. Liturgical Color: Green THE COMMUNITY GATHERS TO CELEBRATE Pastoral Invitation (Pastor and People) In the name of the Living Bread and Wine, welcome to worship. As we begin worship, I invite you to think about the kind of disciple you are, a devotee or a deserter, especially when things get rough. (One minute of silence.) Now, are ...

3362. Christmas 1

Hebrews 2:5-18, Colossians 3:1-17, 1 Samuel 2:12-26, Luke 2:41-52

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: 1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26 Hannah gives her first child, Samuel, to the service of Yahweh under the high priest, Eli, at Shiloh where Samuel grew physically and spiritually. Samuel was the answer to Hannah's prayer for a child. When she weaned him, she took him to Eli at Shiloh to serve Yahweh permanently. Each year when Hannah came to worship, she brought Samuel a handmade robe. The little lad, wearing a linen apron-like vestment, an ephod, ministered to Yahweh. In this service Samuel ...

3363. The Face Of God

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

Steve Burt

Here we're dealing with the story of Jacob at the Jabbok River Crossing, an incident in which he wrestles all night and secures a blessing. It's a strange incident, isn't it? We've got something which occurred a thousand or more years before Jesus' time, something reminiscent of superstitions and primitive religions: a man wrestling for a blessing with a creature that must escape before the light of day, like a vampire or a werewolf. This is a strange portion of the Bible to have to deal with. Maybe it ...

3364. Religious Load-Management

Deuteronomy 18:14-22

Sermon

Harold Warlick

One of the major ingredients in any kind of endeavor is load-management. A college student, for example, must have special permission from the dean to take more than a certain number of courses per semester. Past wisdom has taught that students experience inevitable time-management problems and personal stress when they overload a schedule. In the realm of everyday consumption of energy, most cities now have load-management regulators which are placed on homes. City energy departments give a discount to ...

3365. When Imagination Replaces Memory

Isaiah 42:18-25

Sermon

Harold Warlick

One of the fascinating aspects of being human is our ability to create time. We have memories and can literally sit in the present but remember and live in the past. On the other hand, we also have imaginations and can literally live in the future. We can sit here and imagine what we're going to do as soon as worship is over. Most of our problems in life don't come from our imaginations. They come from our memories. The past presents us with a paradox. On the one hand, a lot of good things have happened to ...

3366. Ascension Day

Luke 24:44-53

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

Greeting Leader: Jesus opens minds. Congregation: Open our minds to resurrection-thinking, O Lord. Leader: Jesus blesses believers. Congregation: Bless our witness with ascension-living, O Lord. Prayer Father, like the first disciples, our understanding is in part and too shallow to sustain us. Our strength fails, and our witness falls silent. Jesus said he would send what you promised. Let it be so. Clothe us with power from on high. Open our minds to understanding, and empower us to be your witnesses, ...

3367. A Man with Leprosy

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

We have before us this week another healing story as the One who brings God's reign explodes into ministry with God's life- giving power! This time it is an unclean leper who comes to Jesus. This has been characteristic of the healings and exorcisms in Mark's first chapter: people come to Jesus for help. One wonders at times if this is Mark's story-formed way of telling us what faith is. Faith is people in deep need who come to Jesus in their desperation! In the case of the leper we could add to this ...

3368. Proper 21

Mark 9:42-50, Mark 9:38-41

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

Call to Worship Praise the name of the Lord, you servants of the Lord, who stand in the house of the Lord, in the temple courts of our God. Prayer of Confession Most powerful Judge, you hear the outcry of the powerless who are defrauded by the rich. You know without our telling you that we have frequently envied the wealthy even though we know that their possessions do not withstand death and decay. Forgive us if we have conspired with any to deny the rights of the poor or withheld from anyone the simplest ...

3369. Healing For The Past

Joshua 5:1-12

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

Occasionally I hear a senior citizen complain, "I just can't remember names like I used to," or, "I can't remember a thing anymore." Reminds me of a Peanuts cartoon strip I saw some time ago. Charlie Brown says, "My grandfather loves to sing hymns. He can remember the words to over a hundred hymns." Linus asks, "Does he sing in the choir?" Charlie replies, "No, he can't remember where the church is!" But the problem for many is not that they can't remember, but they can't forget. Psychologists remind us ...

3370. Saints Alive!

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Theodore F. Schneider

This is the day when our vision of the church sweeps the horizons of history and of heaven, all at the same time. We embrace with gratitude uncountable yesterdays. They have been the arenas of faithfulness for God and for his people. In these days God has worked our salvation faithfully and with mercy. In these days generation upon generation of the saints have lived and faithfully served, preserving until our day the saving grace of God's Word and sacraments. At the same time, we see the horizon of heaven ...

3371. St. Jim, Your Halo Is Tipped

Sermon

Ron Lavin

1. The sermon for the festival of St. James, the Elder, Apostle is included in this volume for two reasons. First of all, a saint's day affords a good opportunity to look at the story of a person's life. Second, this sermon weaves together three stories: James, Elijah and Jimmy. It is a proclamatory sermon in a three-story mode. The same kind of approach can be taken on any saint's day. Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus. "Teacher," they said, "There is something we want you to do for ...

3372. Jesus Reflects -- A Dramatic Monologue

Isaiah 9:1-7, Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20

Drama

Edward G. Hunter

Jesus of Nazareth speaks: This is the 33rd year since my birth, and in my travels I have come to Bethlehem several times. But, this is the first time I have been here on the night of my birth. I felt drawn here this year, for somehow I instinctively feel I will be unable to visit it again. I know those who oppose me seek to silence me, and I fear before long they may succeed. But, I did not come here to reflect on such thoughts. I have come to see once again the place where my mother brought me into the ...

3373. As We Take Our Rest

Matthew 26:17-30

Drama

Joe Barone

[Note: This week we walk with Jesus to the Garden of Gethsemane, and as we do, we look through the point of view of James, one of the sons of Zebedee.] Dramatic Monologue: James I don't suppose you can ever understand what it is that really touches me when I think about the Garden of Gethsemane. When you think about it, you might think I would feel a sense of my own sinfulness. That's what so many people seem to feel when they hear the story. After all, we fell asleep. Not just once, but three times, we ...

3374. Jesus' Temptation, and Ours

Luke 4:1-13

Bulletin Aid

Carl Hoefler

Call to Worship Pastor: Temptation is a universal threat to Christian commitment. Even Jesus was tempted to compromise his faith. People: But Jesus was the Son of God, with special powers to resist temptation. Pastor: No more special than the power available to us. We have the same support based on God's Word that Jesus had when he was tempted. People: We want God to help us put his Word in our hearts to strengthen us in times of temptation. Collect O God our heavenly Father, whose Word is a powerful ...

3375. God, The Enemy

Luke 12:1-12

Sermon

This week began with the execution of Timothy McVeigh, the man responsible for the worst act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. A USA Today poll taken in April of this year showed that 81 percent of Americans wanted McVeigh to be executed -- and 28 percent of that support was from people who are normally against the death penalty. No matter where you stand on the issue of capital punishment, this particular execution has forced itself on our consciousness. One thing that particularly caught my ...

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