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 3426 to 3450 of 4681 results

3426. Stop Speculating!

Luke 21:5-19; 1 Thess 3:11

Illustration

Gary L. Carver

... his leg, he mused to himself: "I wonder what kind of wood this arrow is made of? What sort of birds, do you suppose, the feathers come from? I wonder what type of man shot this arrow — tall or short, dark or light." His comrades, who saw his plight, could bear it no longer, but cried out in frustration: "For God's sake, man! Stop speculating and pull out the arrow!" Need I say more?

3427. Advent 2

Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19, Isaiah 11:1-10, Matthew 3:1-12, Romans 15:4-13

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

... for this prayer.) Leader: The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. Leader: May the peace of the little child lead you, and may your lives forever bear his good fruit. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. All: Amen.

3428. Easter Day

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24, Jeremiah 31:1-6, Matthew 28:1-10, Acts 10:34-43, Colossians 3:1-4

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

... , one God, now and forever. All: Amen. Post-Communion Prayer Leader: Almighty God, all thanks and praise to you, the author and giver of all life. As you have fed us with your love, so now send us out as vessels of your mercy, that your church would bear witness to your eternal goodness until that great day comes when your glory is revealed for all the world to see. We pray in the name of Christ our Lord. All: Amen. Benediction Leader: Risen, risen, risen from the dead, All: risen, risen, risen to new life ...

3429. Proper 10, Pentecost 8, Ordinary Time 15

Psalm 65:1-13, Isaiah 55:10-13, Matthew 13:1-23, Romans 8:1-11

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

... , we pray, the rocky soil of our hearts. Silence for reflection Leader: There is, therefore, no condemnation for you who are in Christ Jesus. Your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. God’s word will bear fruit in your lives on this day and eternally. All: Amen. Choral Call To Worship “For As The Rain And Snow Come Down” — Hal H. Hopson (Augsburg Fortress) Prayer Of The Day Leader: We give you thanks, loving God, that the earth is in bloom. Soil and ...

3430. Proper 12, Pentecost 10, Ordinary Time 17

1 Kings 3:5-12, Psalm 119:129-136, Matthew 13:31-35, Romans 8:26-39

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

... us the dominion of heaven. Trusting in your eternal goodness, may we see the impermanence of this world’s wealth and the joy, which your Holy Spirit alone can give, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. All: Amen. Intercessory Prayer After each petition: Leader: Let your Spirit bear witness with our spirit, All: that we may live in hope. Offertory Prayer Leader: The dominion of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid. Then in his joy he sells all that he has and buys that field ...

3431. Proper 13, Pentecost 11, Ordinary Time 18

Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21, Isaiah 55:1-5, Matthew 14:13-21, Romans 9:1-5

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

Prayer Of The Day Leader: Gracious God, you alone fill the desire of every living creature. By your great compassion fill us on this day, that our praise would bear witness to your sure and steadfast love shown to us in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, now and forever. All: Amen. Offertory Prayer Leader: Blessed are you, O Lord, our God, All: source of the heavens ...

3432. If Your Face Is Towards Me

Matthew 3:1-12

Illustration

James W. Moore

... , insecurity could be part of your grief. Pastor James Moore of Houston Texas tells a story about a young man whose wife had died, leaving him with a small son. Back home from the cemetery, they went to bed early because there was nothing else he could bear to do. As he lay there in the darkness grief-stricken and heartbroken, the little boy broke the stillness from his little bed with a disturbing question, "Daddy, where is mommy?" The father got up and brought the little boy to bed with him, but the child ...

3433. God’s Gift Comes in Quiet Moments

Mt 3:1-12; Lk 1:26-38; 2:1-20

Illustration

King Duncan

... face. The child smiled back at her as he took her hand. In the midst of a day filled with much busyness, the two of them quietly received God's gift. God came to a humble maiden in an obscure village called Nazareth. An angel told her that she would bear a child. That child would be the hope of the world. And he is. OR THIS ALTERNATE ENDING: That's how Christmas enters our lives. Not in great leaps but in quiet moments that we can miss if we're not prepared. In Mark Jesus tells us "Beware, keep alert ...

3434. A Sense of Wonder

Matthew 2:13-23

Illustration

Eric Ritz

... all over the lawn, drinking beer, wisecracking, and waiting for this 35-story-high rocket. The countdown came, and then the launch. The first thing you see, according to Needleman, is this extraordinary orange light, which is just at the limit of what you can bear to look at. "Everything is illuminated with this light. Then comes this thing slowly rising up in total silence, because it takes a few seconds for the sound to come across the water. You hear a WHOOOOOSH! BOOM!' It enters right into you. You can ...

3435. Back to Real Life

Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... after Christmas one year Presbyterian pastor Jon M. Walton was noticing that all the Christmas decorations at one of the local pharmacies had been removed. These decorations already had been replaced with Valentine’s Day trinkets and cards. Red boxes of candy, teddy bears with big hearts on them, red candles for romantic lighting. The clerk behind the counter was complaining to another of her co‑workers, “I hate Valentine’s Day,” she said. “I never have a boyfriend and I hate Valentine’s Day ...

3436. Aha! An Epiphany!

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... , for someone, it has happened just now. If so, pray this prayer: “Lord, you are God. I need You. I can’t make it on my own. I need for You to change my heart, change my priorities, change my purpose for living. Help me to bear the image of your Son in whose name I pray. Amen.” 1. Rev. Richard E. Stetler, http://www.stmatthews‑bowie.org/Worship/Sermons/1998/sermon_8_30_98.asp. 2. Jim Barnes, http://www.christcov.org/sermons/06‑05‑14%20Sermon%20Notes.doc. 3. Buckminster Fuller Institute Web site ...

3437. Cheap Talk about an All Powerful God

John 1:29-42

Illustration

Shirley Guthrie

... cannot solve its own problems, much less the problems of the world. The only gospel that makes sense and can help… is the good news of a God who loves enough to suffer with and for a suffering humanity. And the only believable church is one that is willing to bear witness to such a God by its willingness to do the same thing"

3438. The One That Will Be Sacrificed

John 1:29-42

Illustration

William B. Kincaid, III

... King noted on that very night that the "... nation is sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around." Others are equally certain that King did not have a premonition about his own death. John Cartwright, who holds the professorship at BostonUniversity which bears King's name, believes that King was not predicting his own death. Rather, according to Cartwright, Dr. King was only aware that the arc of justice is long and that significant changes only happen over an extended period of time. In other words ...

3439. Why Are You Here?

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... as (human beings) probe into space, we are in fact acting in Christ. I sensed especially strongly my unity with our church back home, and with the Church everywhere. I read: ‘I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him, will bear much fruit; for without me you do nothing.’” (2) I’m sure there were those who protested Aldrin’s actions. That’s the kind of world we live in. But the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is at the very heart of life in the Christian community ...

3440. Eyewitness News

John 20:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... to have happened with no design. He’s alive! The birds returning from their winter homes and the tiny buds of the flowers that peek out from the earth so recently cold and lifeless testify to all who will listen, He’s alive. All of creation bears eyewitness testimony to the truth of Christ’s resurrection. But there is one more eyewitness that we need to take into account. IT IS THE TESTIMONY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WITHIN THE HEARTS OF THOSE WHO BELIEVE. Paul writes in Romans 8, “And if the Spirit ...

3441. You Are God's Temple

1 Corinthians 3:1-23

Sermon

King Duncan

... of Alabama have a serious problem. The friend’s car has a flat tire, and while the friend is changing it he drops the lug nuts into the sewer. The friend is very upset because the two of them are late for football practice. Their legendary coach, Bear Bryant of the Alabama Crimson Tide, would not tolerate this. Forrest makes a suggestion, “Well, why don’t you take one nut off the other three tires, and then all four wheels will have three nuts. That should at least get us to practice.” The friend ...

3442. Come with Me to the Mountain

Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... marvel of it that he fell on his face and worshiped him. You and I do not believe in astrology but, you see, Augustus did. It was a superstition, but, being believed, it worked. All his later life through difficulty, peril, burden-bearing, and inner struggle for self-conquest, he kept an undiscourageable faith in his destiny, which the stars had foretold. (4) It was this undiscourageable faith that the disciples discovered that helped transform their lives. There is something about a mountaintop experience ...

3443. Get Down and Dirty for Lent

John 9:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... system diseases — illnesses that attack and compromise or destroy our body’s immune defense system in the so-called “third world” countries than in the most technologically advanced countries. In other words, people who live in the cleanest, most sanitized conditions bear a greater risk of developing a condition that makes them MORE susceptible to “bad bugs” than those who live in what we would call “filth.” Maybe, like a septic tank system, we need to encourage a few good germs to keep ...

3444. Palm Sunday – Who Is That?

Matthew 21:1-11

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

... to their big city business. Granted that Jerusalem circa 30 A.D. was not New York City. Granted that maybe Jesus' name on that Sunday long ago was a little bit better known than the Joshua Jones in my analogy. Granted, and yet . . . there is something about Matthew 21 which bears resemblance to this allegorical story. "Who is that?" the Jerusalemites ask in verse 10. In verse 11 comes the reply: "Jesus, the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee."

3445. Passion Sunday: Surprising and Inevitable

Matthew 21:1-11

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

... bright spot in the midst of the otherwise darker hues of Lent? Are we, for just a little while this morning, supposed to forget about all things dreary so that we can cry out some full-throated "Hosannas!"? Or is there also a sadness to this day that we must bear in mind?

3446. It's Not Fair!

1 Peter 2:13-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... to do the right thing doesn’t mean that life will treat you fairly. Indeed, you could be treated unfairly simply and solely because you are trying to do the right thing. In our letter from I Peter, we read these words: “For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.” The ...

3447. Family Resemblance

John 14:5-14

Sermon

King Duncan

... the psychiatrist $100 an hour. And guess who he spends his time talking about ME!” She did not realize that the fact that her son was talking to a psychiatrist about her was not a compliment. All of us reflect our upbringing. Many of us bear scars from our relations with our parents. Many of the emotional problems we are experiencing today had their genesis in the earliest days of our childhood experiences. Perhaps our parents were overly protective. You have heard about the mother who sent a note to her ...

3448. Birds Sing after a Storm

John 14:1-4

Illustration

Edward Inabinet

... enough to have seen his rather profligate and unscrupulous life told and retold in the press. She is an old lady, hit by tragedies again and again. The reporter asked about all this and Rose Kennedy answered, slowly: "I have always believed that God never gives a cross to bear larger than we can carry. And I have always believed that, no matter what, God wants us to be happy. He doesn't want us to be sad. "Birds sing after a storm," she said, "Why shouldn't we?" In the presence of death, it is not easy to ...

3449. The Scope of Love

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... after Christ’s resurrection. It is the Spirit in Acts 2 that transformed “along‑for‑the‑ride” disciples into heroic trail-riding apostles. When Jesus breathed new life into his failing followers, he recreated humanity. From that moment on, every new Christian bears Jesus’ name and is filled with Jesus’ Spirit. The first breath we take outside the womb fills our lungs with oxygen. The first breath we take after receiving Jesus’ gift of the Spirit fills our hearts with love. The miracle of ...

3450. Unity Isn’t Easy

John 17:1-11

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

... signs and wonders in Jesus' name but weren't part of the crowd of disciples? They were ready to run them out of town or call down lightning upon their heads. Jesus told the disciples not to stop them and said, "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit." Christian unity is not determined by whether we agree with each other about every interpretation of scripture or doctrine or form of church government. Christian unity IS determined by whether we love one another, and whether we reflect the love of God in Christ ...

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