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 3451 to 3475 of 4681 results

3451. Those Kissing Christians

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . God’s kiss to “adam” created life. God’s kiss to the world, to the fallen state of humanity, was born in Bethlehem — “a Savior, ‘tis Christ the Lord.” God’s kiss to the world was Jesus himself. The “God of love” Paul proclaimed could not bear to watch the people of the earth live without hope, redemption, and love. God’s kiss, the kiss of love that all good parents bestow upon their children, took the form of the Last Adam, Jesus the Christ. Kiss and tell. Jesus, the kiss of God to ...

3452. A Community of Practice, Not a Community of Perfection

Romans 7:7-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... our kids learning to play their instruments — whether it be the drums or the clarinet because we love them. Sometimes we have to block our ears. Sometimes we have to grit our teeth. But we don’t tell our kids how awful they are. We encourage them. We grin and bear it. Why? Because we love them. Do we love each other enough to be a community of practice?

3453. An Invitation to Tired Souls

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... of the United States against all its enemies, domestic or foreign?” was the first question. Her face paled and her voice trembled as she asked in a very small voice, “Uhhh . . . all by myself?” (1) Well, that would be a big responsibility for any one person to bear. Our lesson for today is from Matthew: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For ...

3454. Why Are You Acting Like Orphans?

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the heav’nly Father Safely in His bosom gather; Nestling bird nor star in Heaven Such a refuge e’er was given. God His own doth tend and nourish; In His holy courts they flourish; From all evil things He spares them; In His mighty arms He bears them. Neither life nor death shall ever From the Lord His children sever; Unto them His grace He showeth, And their sorrows all He knoweth. Though He giveth or He taketh, God His children ne’er forsaketh; His the loving purpose solely To preserve them pure and ...

3455. Super-Size Your Faith

Romans 8:18-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... marked with “praise and palm branches . . . because a great enemy had been crushed and removed from Israel” (1 Maccabees 13:51). To commemorate this victory of faith over the Roman presence the Jews minted coins sporting not spears or soldiers, but bearing three palm branches, the symbols of a victory of faith. Long before the Maccabean revolt, when Israel was a fledgling family of faith, there was another confrontation between power and faith. Everyone who ever went to Sunday school knows it, and if ...

3456. We All Need This Boat

Matthew 14:22-36

Illustration

David E. Leininger

Will Willimon, the one time Dean of the Chapel at Duke, tells of a visit he made to the office of a lawyer in his congregation. It was just a drop-in. Will says he did not know the man that well - his wife seemed to bear the church interest for the family. Listen to the story in Will's own words: It was at the end of the day. I entered the outer office of his law firm. Everyone had left. All was dark, except for a light coming from the inner office. He called to ...

3457. Send Her Away!

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... moment. “Send her away,” the disciples had urged. “She’s not of the right faith. Send her away. She’s a woman. Send her way. She’s a nuisance.” But this woman knew what many people don’t even seem to grasp today even some who bear the name Christian. Thanks to the grace of God, everyone deserves his or her place in the sun. It doesn’t matter who they are. The Rev. Francis A. Hubbard describes an incident that occurred between her second and third years of seminary. Hubbard did an eight ...

3458. Surprise!

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... world. This irritates you? It should fascinate you." Surprise. Here is one more surprise. The surprise that God had for Mary is not entirely different from the surprise God has for you and me. If you can believe it, God has actually chosen us to bear his only begotten Son. Not physically, of course. God asks you and me to bring Christ into our own individual worlds ... into our joys and into our sorrows, into our disappointments, into our grief, into our fear, into sickness and into health, into good times ...

3459. He Ascended Into Heaven

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... , ruled no nation. And yet, he who never wrote a line has been made the hero of unnumbered volumes. He who never wrote a song has put music into the hearts of nameless multitudes. He who never established an institution is the foundation of the church that bears his name. He who refused the kingdoms of this world has become the Lord of millions. Yes, he whose shameful death scarcely produced a ripple on the pool of history in his day has become a mighty current in the vast ocean of the centuries since he ...

3460. The Forgiveness Factor

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... about their friend, a way is found to bring the man to Jesus. The roof. It was regularly used as a place of rest and of quiet, and so there was an outside stairway or a ladder of some sort which ascended to it. With arms no doubt weary from bearing the weight of a man's paralyzed body, they made their way up. The construction of the roof lent itself to what these ingenious friends proposed to do. The roof consisted of flat beams laid across from wall to wall, some three feet apart. The space in between the ...

3461. Hope

John 12:20-33

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... we who live on this side of the crucifixion and resurrection can understand, but it must have left his original hearers in a fog. Put yourself in their place. There was that statement about the grain of wheat having to "die" in the ground before it can bear fruit. What has that got to do with the conquering Messiah? That was followed immediately with, "Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life" (v. 25). Then he says, "Whoever serves me must ...

3462. The Earth Is the Lord’s ... And Don’t You Forget It!

Psalm 24:1

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... mess, you clean it up. If the mess you make is a result of your manufacturing process, you build in the cost of cleaning up the mess when you set your prices. If you want to keep all the money from the sale of your product, make sure you bear all the cost of manufacturing. If you would rather not handle the cleanup yourself, fine, then arrange to pay someone else to do it. This is simple free market capitalism. The only time government would have to get involved would be if your mess was so damaging to the ...

3463. Being a Christian “Survivor”

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... Gomer. She ran off after the wedding. He went after her. He gave her presents. She ran off again. He went after her again. She bore three children (presumably not Hosea's), but none of that mattered. Hosea never gave up on Gomer. The message of the book that bears that prophet's name is that God never gives up on his people, no matter how low they go. No matter how unfaithful we are, God will always be faithful. For those in the midst of a struggle for survival, it is comforting to know that our God will ...

3464. The God Who Is Always There

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... is on vacation ... someplace. So it seems ... sometimes. Where is God when life starts to crumble and the burdens begin to crush? Could Queen Esther have ever felt that way? She would have had every reason. Perhaps that is why, in the entire Old Testament book that bears her name, the name of God never appears ... not even once. The scene is ancient Persia during the reign of Ahasueras (also known as Xerxes) ... the royal palace. A party is going on and on and on. For six months, this party had been roaring ...

3465. When God Is Gone

Job 23:1-9, 16-17

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... , "They sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great" (Job 2:13). They just sat with him. Sitting in silence soon proved to be more than even the ancients could bear and the legendary "patience of Job," which has become a clich? in our culture we find is a bit overstated. Job is very unhappy, and he says he regrets that he was ever born. Have you ever felt that way? Probably. If you did, I hope you had friends who ...

3466. A Wonderful Mother (In-Law)

Ruth 1:1-18

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... if they had been born into it. There were lots of wonderful things about Naomi, and this was just one of them: Naomi accepted them ... and they knew it. Then there was more tragedy - both Mahlon and Chilion died. One wonders how Naomi was able to bear it. When such things happen to people, they begin to think of better times, if only to keep from thinking about how rotten the current times are. For Naomi, those thoughts turned to home: Israel, Bethlehem. It was a siren song calling, "Naomi, Naomi, come home ...

3467. The Living Advent Wreath (Love: Pink Candle of the Stars)

Luke 1:26-38

Drama

Frank Ramirez

... symbols on them Pilgrim, Guide, and Attendant wear appropriate clothing Mary, Joseph, and Infant should be as characters in the nativity (Pilgrim is standing on stage holding his empty bag. Guide enters with Love, the third candle of the living Advent wreath, who bears the mark of the Stars. Attendant, who is carrying the candlelighter to light the candles also enters. Faith and Hope enter and take their places in the living Advent wreath.) Guide: I’m here! Pilgrim: (sheepishly) I’m here, too. I guess I ...

3468. Due for Renewal

Mark 2:13-22

Sermon

Robert J. Elder

... , "I did like it; see, our pastor is wrong again!" Sir Francis Bacon once declared, "It is singularly amazing how long the rotten can hold together." People cling to false hopes, go through empty rituals, and celebrate the past to such an extent that often it has no bearing on the present. There comes a time when the old is no longer sufficient and the new must take its place. There is a time when the rotten no longer holds together and must be replaced by something new. That is when we are due for renewal ...

3469. Clearing Out the Pipes

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

John Smylie

... not let the child be taken away and to the grave. What courage Mary had in letting go of the body of her crucified son. Had she not let go of that dead body, we would not be here feasting on his living body. Had she not let her son bear that cross, the mark of mortality, the ashes upon us would fill us with fear rather than hope. So here we are at the beginning of a journey. Where will it take us? Not so long ago I heard some sports radio guys talking about not eating dessert and other ...

3470. The Logical Conclusion

Luke 24:44-53

Sermon

John Smylie

... other creature can claim this privilege. This is why the angels bow down before us and serve us. The ascension of human flesh into heaven brought the greatest wound of all to Satan's pride. Of all the creatures and of all creation it is only this flesh that we bear that has been taken up into the Godhead. The joyful hope of the ascension is that we shall also be taken up, that our bodies, too, will be transformed and raised and united with the Father in the body of his Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit ...

3471. Out of Control

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

... same as she remembers it when she was a child. Except for one thing. The sheer beauty and wonder of everything she sees is overwhelming. Every sight and sound, every gesture of love, each tender grace between friends is almost too much for her to bear. She never realized the miracle of her life when she was living it. Faith is strengthened through the pleasure that comes from remembering the miracle stories. But not just that. When we choose faith over control, we have a much better chance of experiencing ...

3472. God’s Anthills

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Sermon

Kristin Borsgard Wee

... ants weave nests out of tree leaves. Some ants build homes under ground and some on top like the African ants. Some anthills are so large they would cover a tennis court. Almost all ants make tunnels and compartments. They make places for the queens to bear their young. They make chambers for nurseries and resting places for the workers. They form storage rooms for their food, and they set aside rooms for raising the fungus they like so much. They grow gardens within their nests to feed them all. And, as ...

3473. When the Impossible Becomes Imminently Possible!

John 6:1-21

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... ." It all begins when we bring Christ all we have. He will take our brokenness and insufficiency and turn it into something good. He will multiply what seems not enough. "I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit" (John 15:5 NRSV). Does something in your life seem to hold no hope? Do your resources seem too small? Have you considered "the things Christ has in mind"? How We Can Discover The Things Christ Has In Mind? There are three vital life principles behind ...

3474. Planning Your Way Out

John 6:35, 41-51

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... day, dear friend, please plan your way out! Listen to me now, even if you have never listened to me before: You will die, for the Bible says, "It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear [your] sins!" (Hebrews 9:27-28 cf). Where will you spend eternity? The only reasonable option and the only one that provides hope is found with Jesus, who says, "I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life." Amen. 1. Geoffrey Cantor, Michael Faraday ...

3475. The Heart of the Matter Is the Heart!

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... as when they do it from religious conviction." What a change it would have made to their attitude and actions! What Jesus observes in the Pharisees we see in our day in the Taliban. But wait, do we not also, in many places, see it in the church that bears Jesus' name? The heart of the matter really is the heart of the matter because the heart is, finally, the soul's mirror. When the heart is right with God, then the life is right with God. Contrasting what the Pharisees taught, Jesus says that it is not ...

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