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 326 to 350 of 517 results

326. Under Control

Mk 8:27-38

Illustration

King Duncan

... for any of us. It is the test of our manhood and womanhood that we are able to deny ourselves. The world says that to be a real man or a real woman we must give in to pleasure, but that's absurd. Any creature can give in to natural impulses.

327. First Things First

Luke 21:25-36

Sermon

Gary L. Carver

... undoing what has been done. Then, too, the role of passive dependency is always easier than a stance of responsible involvement. Who has not, like a little child, wanted to gather up all the broken things and take them to Daddy to fix? The impulse to let someone else come in and solve all our difficulties is very strong; in fact, it is the classic infantile reaction to any problem, and who can deny that speculating abstractly about the future is less demanding than trying to serve lovingly and sacrificially ...

328. More Time

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Donald Charles Lacy

... blessing we must not forget. God does not leave us like beggars with no spiritual food or drink. It is there for the taking and to top it off we are drawn to it. Regardless of what befalls us, God's justice reigns and rules. Why refuse the magnetic impulses that come to us? We are his sheep and lambs. The Shepherd invites us to stay close by. Near him we will not spiritually want for anything. Our restless hearts find his abode to be exactly what we need. Indeed, so much for so little because, after all, it ...

329. The Sign of God

Amos 7:7-17

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... it is a result of poor planning, but sometimes the unexpected changes of direction in our lives are evidence of the activity of God. Amos never planned to preach, but apparently he had the abilities and courage God needed to deliver the message. Of course, not every impulse we feel to go in a direction not previously planned is a call of God's will, and we need to test those calls. Amos does not tell us how he determined that God was calling him. He only says, "God took me from following the flock, and ...

330. Living In The Spirit Of Love

Galatians 5:22-25

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... congregation. It's brotherly or sisterly love toward one another because of the love and forgiveness which we have experienced from God. C.S. Lewis says that Philia is the least natural of loves. It's not necessary biologically. It has the least association with impulse or emotion. And yet it is often seen as the most admirable of loves because it looks not at an individual or a feeling but at what is best for the whole group bonded together in this kind of love. Fraternities, sororities, political parties ...

331. Your King Comes

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

King Duncan

... ! Hosanna for evermore!” “In an ecstasy of melody the last words rang out, and then there was silence. The judge looked into the faces of the men before him. There was not one who was not touched by the song, not one in whom some better impulse was not stirred. “He did not call the cases singly he gave a kind word of advice and then dismissed them all. No man was fined or sentenced to the workhouse that morning. The song had done more good than any punishment could possibly have accomplished.” (9 ...

332. The Wedding Was Saved, but the Marriage?

John 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... Afterwards, Davies commented: “They don’t need a minister. They need a lawyer to work out this agreement.” A proper ending, he decided would have been for him to push both the bride and the groom in the pond and declare them both insane, but he resisted the impulse. Then, as he had a chance to reflect on this unusual ceremony, he decided he admired a couple who could laugh in the midst of such a serious commitment. “If they can hold on to this ability to joke and poke fun at each other, there is ...

333. Knowing Temptation

Luke 4:1-13

Illustration

C. S. Lewis

... to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means - the only complete realist.

334. Conflict Resolution (Series: Fundamentals of Family)

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... than we presently feel. Forgiveness is not a matter of ought; it is a matter of opportunity. My preaching can make you feel guilty or bitter but it won’t make you any better. We forgive when we feel God’s Spirit nudging us with an impulse to pull ourselves out of the sludge of our disabling resentment. Forgiveness is AN EXPERIENCE OF GRACE. “Forgive as God has forgiven you.” If you have never allowed your own face to become greasy with the grace that God alone supplies, you are not likely to ...

335. Why Not Meet in the Middle? (Series: Real Faith for Real People)

1 Peter 3:8-22

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... in the world today. Surely, the body of Christ is broken again and again as Christians fight wars in Christ’s name and shun the very people he came to save. Let us repent of our sin. Far, far too often, people are quick to regard their impulses as direct communication from God and the latest fad as some revelation of the Divine. We must pray to become truly wise. Let us resolve to live by love, pure unbounded love that respects all God’s creation with thoughtfulness. Let us become this devoted to the ...

336. Do You Love Me? - Sermon Starter

John 21:1-14

Illustration

Brett Blair

... they don't recognize him at this point. He tells them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat. They do, and they bring in a huge catch of fish: 153 large fish. John turns and says to Peter, "It is the Lord." Simon Peter excitable and impulsive dives in and swims to shore urgently. The others come in on the boat. As they come ashore they see the Risen Christ cooking breakfast for them over a charcoal fire. After he serves them breakfast, he takes Simon Peter off to the side and three times he asks ...

337. Our Common Life in Christ

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... clearest scriptural reference to this is Chapter 6 – Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Listen to the first three verses. “We must not be conceited, challenging on another to rivalry, jealous of one another. If a man should do something wrong, my brothers, on a sudden impulse, you who are endowed with the Spirit must set him right again very gently. Look to yourself, each one of you: you may be tempted too. Help one another to carry these heavy loads, and in this way you will fulfill law of Christ. For ...

338. He Breaks the Power of Cancelled Sin

John 8:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... us from guilt. We are plagued by all sorts of guilt. We haven’t been good husbands or wives. We haven’t functioned well as parents. We failed to live up to previous commitments. We have cheated our future by compromising ourselves. In moments of impulse we hurt someone we loved, and yet never had the courage to seek reconciliation. Deeper than all this, we have violated precious relationships with God and others and are estranged. In Christ God speaks the word of forgiveness and frees us from the power ...

339. Being and Doing as the People of God

1 Peter 1:13-2:3

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... do, and knowing clearly the way to do and do – but no power to follow through. Most of our natural drives and instincts become perverted along the way. We need the converting presence of the indwelling Christ to bring these drives and passions and impulses together for our wholeness. That happens as we allow Christ to be Lord of all these. Finally, THE INDWELLING CHRIST IS AN EMPOWERING PRESENCE. Paul said to the Ephesians, “The very power which raised Jesus from the dead is ours”. Think about that ...

340. There Is a Price for Everything

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... drag behind into which we have stuffed the things we didn’t deal with, things like sexuality, or hostility, or grief, or independence from our parents. We drag the bag along beside us everywhere we go. The bag contains: Unwelcome emotions Unacceptable impulses – Longings and desires we refuse to acknowledge – Ambitions we have denied Relationships that need healing Gifts and talents we have ignored. Into the bag they go to be dragged around for the rest of our lives – an unacknowledged burden. It is ...

341. The Trinity

John 16:5-16

Sermon

... realization of the presence of the Living God. Intimacy with God. That’s what the Holy Spirit brings to our lives. And herein lies a danger. We must be careful lest we identify the work of the Holy Spirit with our own deep feelings and impulses. Virtually every conceivable error of judgment or breakdown in intelligence within the church can, and has been, attributed to the work of the Holy Spirit. Whether it’s the capital punishment of heretics as was done in the middle ages or the moving of pedophile ...

342. What Is Man?

Psalm 8:1-9

Sermon

King Duncan

... were he not so helpless. He is, in fact dirty. He has no morals, no knowledge, no skills. This means that all children not just certain children are born delinquent. If permitted to continue in the self-centered world of his infancy, given free rein to his impulsive actions to satisfy his wants, every child would grow up a criminal a thief, a killer, or a rapist.” (2) Wow! And you thought that little creature in the crib was an innocent gift from God. Thank God for parents and teachers and Sunday School ...

343. Exit and Entrance

Galatians 4:21-31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... . Then the unbelievable happened. God came to Sarah and promised her a child. Though apparently impossible, Sarah, then over ninety years old, bore the promised son and he was named Isaac. Paul emphasizes the point that Ishmael was born of the ordinary human impulses – of the flesh – while Isaac was a result of God’s intervention. An allegory is much more than an illustration. It is a spiritual truth embodied in historical events. Paul, uses this bit of significant history to teach a great lesson. He ...

344. Turning Evil Into Good

Genesis 45:1-8a, 50:19-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... for good," we put these brothers into a partnership with God under the guise that “God has a reason for everything," we create a God that no reasonable person can possibly embrace. God did not intend harm for Joseph—jealous, angry, impulsive brothers harmed him. Sometimes evil is bold and brutal. II. EVIL IS UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL Russian author, Alexander Solzhenitsyn writes: “If only there were evil people somewhere committing insidiously evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from ...

345. Getting in S.H.A.P.E. for Ministry

Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-16

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... are thinkers. Others of us are feelers. There is nothing right or wrong about it. God loves variety. Therefore, he has made us with a variety of personalities. Think about it. Jesus took an accountant by the name of Matthew, a banker by the name of Judas, an impulsive extrovert by the name of Peter, an introvert by the name of Andrew, a deep thinker by the name of Thomas, a young dreamer by the name of Phillip, a couple of ambitious entrepreneurs by the name of James and John, along with a handful of people ...

346. Is It A Devil or a Disease?

Luke 8:26-39

Illustration

Maurice A. Fetty

... to ignorance and that evil could be eradicated by education. In our psychologically enlightened times we have avoided the more ancient religious and mythological language of devils and evil. We have instead preferred words like repression, impulses, sublimation, drives, complexes, phobias, regression, neuroses, psychoses, manic-depressive, schizophrenic and schizoid to name a few. If we have been suspicious of religious healers and exorcists and spiritual counselors, we have been implicitly trustful of ...

347. The Greatest Story Ever Told

Luke 15:11-32

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... landed on the streets of Detroit. She soon discovers there is only one way to make a living, but the life of prostitution was hard and drugs consumed her cash. She became ill and her thoughts return to Traverse City and the innocence of her youth. On an impulse she calls home and leaves a message on her parents’ answering machine. “Dad, Mom, I was wondering about coming home. I’m catching a bus up your way and should get there about midnight tomorrow. If you’re not there, I’ll stay on the bus to ...

348. A Prayer

Luke 9:51-62

Bulletin Aid

Between Heaven

... all pretense and meet each other face to face, without self-pity and without prejudice. May we never be hasty in judgment, and always be generous. Let us always take time for all things, and make us grow calm, serene and gentle. Teach us to put into action our better impulses, to be straightforward and unafraid. Grant that we may realize that it is the little things of life that create differences, that in the big things of life we are as one. And, O Lord God, let us not forget to be kind!

349. The Forgiving Christ

Mark 2:1-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... us, defeats us, leaves us believing we are no better than we sometimes are. Sin destroys our self-worth. It dims the image of God that lives deep within our souls. Forgiveness sets free a power we didn't know we had. You are no longer a victim of your impulses, a slave to your addictions, a helpless doormat in the presence of a tyrant. You are a child of God. You are a person of worth and value. By the grace of God and a little help from your friends, you can carry the thing that has carried you. He ...

350. Habakkuk: The Problem of Evil

Habakkuk 1:1-4

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... to do that, but we will try." Now certainly there is a time to help. Burdens shared are halved, but let not our busyness keep us from prayerfulness. Henri Nouwen says prayer is not our most natural response to the world. Left to our own impulses, we would always rather do something than pray. Prayer requires us to stand in God's presence with open hands, naked, vulnerable, proclaiming to ourselves and others that without God we are nothing. To pray for others is not to convince God of something he already ...

Showing results