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 3376 to 3400 of 4943 results

3376. God for Dummies

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

It's impossible to overestimate people's capacity for stupidity. You can take that truism to the bank. In fact, people are taking that truism to the bank in Brink armored trucks. You don't want to know how many Dummies 101 books I've purchased. My first one was WordPerfect for Dummies. Then there was the Corel WordPerfect for Dummies. Then I coughed up money for the Word 2000 for Dummies while passing up umpteenth other "...for Dummies" books, including Excel 2000 for Dummies, PowerPoint for Dummies, Visio ...

3377. Two Worlds

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

James McCormick

I was a young pastor attending a seminar. The featured speaker opened his mouth to speak, and these were his first words: “You and I are living today in a world God did not make. He allowed it, but He did not make it.” That took place many years ago, but I still remember those words vividly. And, I remember the surprise I felt upon hearing them. It had never occurred to me that there was anything God had not made. I now see very clearly that he was right: “You and I are living today in a world that God did ...

3378. Want to Be Happy?

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Theme: Pleasing God is what brings true happiness in life. The Word-Became-Flesh . . . Exegesis: Matthew 3:13-17 All four gospels record the events of Jesus’ baptism at the hand of John. And each one of the four gospel writers add their own unique touches to the story. Our text this morning from Matthew contains elements not found in any of the other gospels, suggesting he had either a unique source for this information or was writing out of a community concern that required a special perspective. To begin ...

3379. The World Needs Less Mother Goose More Mother Teresa

Isaiah 58:1-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

A thief in his old age, unable to ply his “trade,” was starving. A wealthy man, hearing of his distress, sent him food. Shortly thereafter, both the rich man and the thief died, on the same day. The trial of the benefactor occurred first in the Heavenly Court. The verdict? He was found wanting and sentenced to Purgatory. At the entrance, however, an angel came hurrying to recall him back to Court. There he learned that his sentence had been reversed. Why? The thief whom he had aided on earth had stolen the ...

3380. Lengthen the Cords and Strengthen the Stakes

Isaiah 54:2-3

Sermon

James Merritt

As Yogi Berra said, "It's de ja vu all over again." You just can't seem to get rid of me. Many of you spent a good deal of time, and some of you a full eight years with me on this committee. Now I'm back. You may feel like the man who went out and bought a new boomerang and killed himself trying to throw the old one away. Dr. Chapman Mr. Chairman Members of the Executive Committee Distinguished members of the gallery and guests: As our Southern Baptist Convention embarks on a journey into a millennium, I ...

3381. Breakfast on the Beach

John 21:1-14

Sermon

John E. Harnish

Another week passes after the events of Easter day. Simon Peter says, "I'm goin' fishin'." And the other disciples join in, "We will, too." Well, what else were they supposed to do?? Jesus had risen, and he had appeared to them twice by now, but they had no idea what was going to happen. Jesus just seemed to show up every now and then, usually unannounced. They had no clear direction from him yet as to what they should do next. "Let's just wait and see if he is going to drop in today..." This was not ...

3382. The Four R's

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The Parable of the Sower and the Seed is a basic lesson in key survival skills for the 21st century: Roots, Rituals, Relationships, Realities. In the so-called 'good old days' wherever and whenever those were public schools used to boast that they taught the '3-Rs' 'reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic all to the tune of a hickory stick.' In the West Virginia holler from whence my family hails, there were '4-R's' taught reading, 'riting, 'rithmetic and the road to Roanoke (That is the fastest way out of West ...

3383. Use It or Lose It

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

James Merritt

(Following video clip of Brewster's millions) That indeed is a great and unique story—having to spend $30 million in 30 days in order to get $300 million. Now can you imagine having to spend $30 million in 30 days? I know most men are sitting there thinking to themselves: For my wife that would be no problem. At first you may think that this is just pure Hollywood. But, quite frankly, that clip is closer to reality than you think. We all have gifts from God that are far more valuable than $30 million or $ ...

3384. Houston We Have a Problem

Nehemiah 1:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

"Houston, we have a problem." They are the most famous words ever uttered in the history of space travel. One single sentence, five small words, but they signal what could have been the greatest disaster in the history of NASA. It was April 13, 1970; astronauts Jim Lovell, John Swigert, and Fred Haise were in the lunar module - Apollo 13. They were two hundred thousand miles from Earth, 5/6th of the way to the moon, 55 hours into their flight when disaster struck. A mysterious explosion rocked the ship and ...

3385. The Dark Side Revealed

Numbers 32:23

Sermon

James Merritt

The dark side - all you have to do is to simply say those words and in this day and age an image comes to your mind of a creature in all black, who breathes heavily through a mask - called Darth Vader. Star Wars – a classic battle between good and evil, has now filled the Hollywood screens and home theatres for 30 years. Teresa and I were newlyweds when it first hit the screens in 1977, and to this day, this saga is still one of the best sellers of all times. The final movie, Revenge of the Sith, released ...

3386. Good News about Death

John 11:38-44

Sermon

King Duncan

Comedian Woody Allen once said that it’s impossible to whistle a tune while pondering one’s own death. And yet that is exactly what we want to do on this All Saints’ Day 2009. We’re not going to whistle, but we’re going to put death in its place. Every once in a while a series of epitaphs come across the Internet. I’m glad that we can find humor even in cemeteries. Here are some of the best ones I’ve seen: “Harry Edsel Smith of Albany, New York: Died 1942. Looked up the elevator shaft to see if the car was ...

3387. What the Lord Does Best

Exodus 1:1-22

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There is an old Jewish folk saying which affirms what the Lord does is certainly best, probably. Now there is an ambiguity there, but it’s really a profession faith. What the Lord does is best, probably. Ours is a society that thrives on certainty. The Lord calls us to live with mystery. Ours is a high-tech civilization, so we’re preoccupied with fact. The Lord calls us to live in faith. Last Sunday we began this series of sermons on the book of Exodus, and we’re going to preach through this great book in ...

3388. Joshua People: Turning Worlds Upside Down

Joshua 10:12-15, Acts 17:1-9

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

I want to start with two passages of Scripture. The first from the book of Joshua since we are still in our Joshua Principles Series. And the second from the book of Acts because it describes the early ministry of the Church and what our ministry should be like. Joshua 10:12-15 (NRSV) [12] On the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the Lord; and he said in the sight of Israel, "Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and Moon, in the valley of Aijalon." [13] And the sun stood ...

3389. Do You Have Beautiful Feet?

Romans 10:5-15

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A teenage boy kept begging his father to let him drive the car to school which was only three blocks away. Exasperated his father replied, "Drive to school? Why do you think God gave you two feet?" The boy answered, "One foot is to put on the brake. The other is to put on the accelerator." (1) One day a grandmother noticed something wrong her five year old granddaughter's feet and said: "Honey, you've got your shoes on the wrong feet." The little girl looked down and then said: "But Grandma, these are the ...

3390. You Are Invited

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Day by day they appear at our doors. They arrive by mail and e-mail, by telephone and television, by newspapers and even in person. We call them invitations. A friend is getting married. A school is raising funds. A store is having a sale. A special event is about to happen. YOU ARE INVITED. There is a deeply personal and eternally significant invitation that I extend to you today. It comes not from me but from our Lord. Here is what it says: “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give ...

3391. Following the Footsteps of the Faithful

Hebrews 11:1-13

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Faith. By faith, Noah built an Ark. By faith, Abraham fathered a son. By faith, John Wesley formed a movement called Methodists. By faith, Frances Asbury came to America. By faith, Green Hill built a home in Brentwood, Tennessee. By faith, Robert I. Moore led this church to this location. By faith, what are you and I going to do for the sake of those who come behind us? That’s the question I want to pose today. According to the writer of Hebrews, there are two or three things about faith that you and I ...

3392. Finding the Courage to Believe

John 20:24-31

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

As I surfed the Internet preparing this sermon, I ran across a web site entitled Belief-o-matic. It enticed me to answer twenty questions about my concept of God, the afterlife, and human nature and they in turn would tell me what religion, if any, I ought to practice. I took the challenge. Within a few minutes it was clearly determined that I was meant to be an Orthodox Quaker. Since Quakers have neither pastors nor sermons, I decided to wait until after Easter to make the switch. Beliefs—In some form or ...

3393. The Door of Prayer

1 Timothy 2:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

During my seminary days, I pastored two small churches near Bardstown, Kentucky. One of those churches had Sunday night services. Since it has always been a challenge for me to produce one sermon a week worth hearing, the thought of two sermons a Sunday seemed overwhelming. So we had a lot of hymn sings for Sunday night service. At a hymn sing the people present call out their favorite tunes and everybody sort of sings along. Mrs. Stora Barlow was a public school teacher in that congregation. Every time I ...

3394. From Pride to Humility

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Our son Brad was a better-than-average high school football player. He played on a team that was always in contention for a state championship. His name or picture was often splashed on the Saturday morning sports page of the Lexington Leader. I've never believed kids learn much from fatherly lectures so, I always tried to communicate values through often repeated, pithy, little statements. Every Friday, before Brad went to his high school football game, I shared the words of Proverbs 16:18 — Pride goes ...

3395. The Resurrection and Life

John 11:32-44

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Once upon a time there was a man whose name was Lazarus. He owned a nice home in the little town of Bethany, a suburb of Jerusalem. Mary and Martha were his sisters. Jesus liked to spend his spare time with these three close friends. He who lamented that He had no place to lay His head found friendship and hospitality there. Martha was a great cook. Mary gave relaxing massages. Lazarus proved to be an insightful friend. What more could anyone want? Then one day Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus that ...

3396. Lessons from a Fool

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

King Duncan

Bishop William Willimon was chaplain for many years at Duke University. He is a well-known writer and speaker. He says wise things in a witty way. Once Willimon and his wife had a group of students over to their home after a chapel service. They had a picnic, then some of the students lingered to play basketball or to talk. Willimon sat on the patio with one student who said, “Dr. Willimon, thanks for having us over to your home. This is the first time I’ve ever been in a faculty home.” “That’s a disgrace ...

3397. A Table Like No Others

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

King Duncan

The earliest recounting of the event we commemorate this evening comes from the Apostle Paul. In 1 Corinthians 11, he writes, “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of ...

3398. Are You Doing Time On the Bench?

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

“Startle us, O God.” For 26 years, John Buchanan has pastored one of the most prestigious Presbyterian churches on the North American continent: Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago, Illinois. Almost every service at which Dr. Buchanan presided, he began and closed each worship service with these words of beginning and benediction: Startle us, O God, with your truth, and open our hearts and our minds to your word, that hearing, we may believe, and believing trust our lives, this day and all the days that ...

3399. Don’t Get Into Things!

Luke 24:50-53

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

“Don’t get into things!” How many times did you hear that directive as a kid. Mom had to run to the store for a minute or Dad was tied up on a project in the garage. Knowing what children will do when left to their own devices, the last ditch effort of “out‑of‑sight” parenting is the generic and ultimately unenforceable order — “Don’t get into things!” Like that ever stopped kids from burrowing into the back of closets as Christmas closed in. Like that ever kept the curious chemist from testing things like ...

3400. Stuff!

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

It's everywhere you look. Stuff! From garage sales, to trunk sales and flea markets, to dumpsters, to folks riffling through your trash to find something of value ... and if they're lucky, something with your social security number on it. Stuff is everywhere. Don't get me wrong. I love stuff. By most measures I have too much of it. When Nancy and I were first married the only reason she could drag me to garage sales was the fact that I wanted to be with her all of the time. But standing there, looking at ...

Showing results