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 4944 results

326. Giving Up Control

John 6:1-21

Sermon

Ron Lavin

There are two stories in John 6:1-21 -- the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus walking on water during a storm on the Sea of Galilee. These two stories answer two important questions. First, when does 5 + 2 x 1 = 12? Mathematically, never. But in the story of the feeding of the 5,000, the multiplication formula works just like that: five loaves of barley bread, plus two small fish, times Jesus, the one man who is in control, equals twelve baskets of leftover bread. The key ingredient in that multiplication ...

327. A Second-place Finish

John 1:29-34

Sermon

John Jamison

When his parents died he was still too young to be on his own. Zechariah and Elizabeth had been very old when John was born, so it was no surpirse that it happened, but apparently nothing had been done to prepare for it just the same. The rest of the family had gone north to Nazareth because of political problems, and John was alone. According to tradition, he was taken in by a group of old men who lived in a little village down by tahe Dead Sea. The place was called Qumran, and the men were known as the ...

328. The Way Up Is Down!

Mark 9:30-37

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

There once was a palace servant who longed more than anything else in life to be a knight. He yearned to represent his king and vowed within himself that if he ever had a chance to be a knight he would serve his king as the noblest knight who ever lived. His dream came true. His great day came. At his knighthood ceremony, the former servant, now a knight, made a special oath within himself. He vowed that from that day forward he would bow his knees and lift his arms in homage to no one but his king. As a ...

329. Keeping Our Promises

Sermon

Harold Warlick

Do you remember the first time someone broke a promise to you? For most of us, I imagine, that occurred in our childhood. Remember what a shocking experience it was? A quote I uncovered from an unknown author stands unchallenged in the affairs of men: "The vast majority of man’s problems arise because individuals fail to keep their promises." The history of the Christian faith is a history of promises broken. The term covenant in our Scriptures means a solemn promise made binding by an oath which may be a ...

330. God Can’t Keep a Good Secret!

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord, and he set me down in the midst of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me round among them; and behold, there were very many upon the valley; and lo, they were very dry. And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord God, thou knowest." Again he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold ...

331. Ordering Up A Set Of False Gods On Amazon

1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

Sermon

Mary Austin

As this Advent season begins, what have you promised yourself about the holidays this year? Are you vowing to have a simpler Christmas? Planning to make time for some activity you love, or time with beloved people? What promises are ahead for your family? Do you know some kids who are waiting eagerly to see what Santa will bring? Adults who are waiting eagerly to collapse, and finally get some rest? People who find this time of year hard, and are just hoping to get through it? This is the season when we ...

332. Keeping Your Eye on the Ball

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Those of you who have played or followed sports, you know that one of the most important lessons in learning to play is to keep your eye on the ball. Whether baseball, or football, or tennis, or soccer, or any other game that requires a ball, you need to be alert to where that ball is at all times. If you allow yourself to become distracted and look away, you will lose your focus, disable your ability to play astutely, disengage from your team and its joint vision and strategy, and the other team may gain ...

333. Guilt: How to Keep Your Conscience Clear

Psalm 32:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

Ogden Nash once wrote this little couplet: There’s only one way to achieve happiness on this terrestrial ball, And that is to have either a clear conscience or none at all.1 Perhaps the most powerful and poisonous of all human emotions is the emotion of guilt. Guilt can make a person afraid of their own shadow. There is a story told of the time when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the English writer, who created the character Sherlock Holmes, decided to play a practical joke on twelve of his best friends. He sent ...

334. Keep Going, Today, Tomorrow and the Next

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Until Roy’s fall one of the longest running, best attended, financially successful Las Vegas shows was Siegfried & Roy. This was a combination magic show/three-ring circus extravaganza performed by master illusionists Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn. Using their trademarks enormous white tigers as companions and cohorts in their performances, Siegfried & Roy awed and amazed crowds with their innovative magic and their fearless use of those big cats. Then on October 3rd, 2003, something went terribly ...

335. Keep the Stars in Your Eyes

Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

In a culture where even the atheists claim to have a "spirituality," it's time for the church to soul out. Until March of 1997, the approaching Third Millennium sneaked up on us like some great, fun adventure. For intrepid entrepreneurs, the year 2000 promises huge sales in commemorative junk. Party planners have been plotting big New Year's Eve blowouts for years. Except for those nerdy computer types who are wringing their hands and predicting crash and burn for all computer systems that use just two ...

336. The Main Thing is to Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

James W. Moore

Have you heard the story about the elderly woman who lived in a small town in East Texas... who had car trouble on the way to the supermarket one morning? Her car stalled at a stop sign... she tried everything to get her car started again, but no luck. Suddenly, a man in a pick-up truck came up behind her and with obvious agitation he started honking his horn at her impatiently. She doubled her efforts to get her car going. She pumped the gas, turned the ignition, but still no luck... the man in the pick- ...

337. Apron Up (Mother's Day)

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

[This Mother’s Day sermon is based around the metaphor of the “apron.” We encourage you to invite your parishioners to wear an heirloom apron to church on Sunday, or to at least have you, your ushers and worship leaders wearing aprons from family traditions. This sermon also encourages people to tell their own “apron” stories, or to invite someone who has a particularly meaningful apron to come forward and tell the story of their apron on behalf of all the other aprons present. Release your artists to ...

338. Up Close & Personal: Seeing Clearly

Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon

James Merritt

I am not much of a game show fan, but my all-time favorite is Jeopardy. If I ever became a teacher or a professor, Jeopardy would be the model that I would use to teach students. It makes learning fun. It is educational, challenging and makes you think. So, we are going to play the game, but we are going to skip all the way to final Jeopardy. The category is “Smarter Than A 5th Grader.” Remember – you have to put your answer in the form of a question. The answer is “By consensus the most brilliant person ...

339. Picture Perfect Close Up: Children - Get Under The Umbrella

Colossians 3:21

Sermon

James Merritt

We are concluding a series that we've entitled, "Picture Perfect". It is a series on the family. We have said for the last several weeks, "God desires for the family to show His love for His glory." We have seen how God has given each family member a specific role to play and a specific responsibility to fulfill. Husbands - Love As they relate to their wives, husbands are to always ask this question, "What is the loving thing to do?" Wives - Submit The question wives are to ask as they relate to their ...

340. Lighten Up

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

Mark Trotter

I have selected the hymn you have just sung to bring back memories of Sunday School. Imagine this image: a little girl in a white Sunday School dress, in a church pageant, holding a little candle, singing, "This Little Light of Mine." That is the image that most of us, I imagine, have in mind when we think of this hymn, "This Little Light of Mine." It is so sentimental, and cute, even. Which is the danger of using diminutives like "little,"...."This Little Light of Mine." It is like "dear" or "sweet." It ...

341. Keep Watching, Keep Warning, Keep Chasing

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

When you turn sixteen, what’s the most important thing in the world? Any 16-year-olds here? Anyone want to take on that question? That’s right. Getting your driver’s license. In most states, if you are under the age of eighteen, you now need to take “Driver’s Ed” before you can qualify for a driver’s license. That means students have already had to learn all the “rules of the road,” those traffic signs and signals that foretell and forewarn about what lies ahead on the highway. Reading the signs — those ...

342. Reaching Up—Reaching Out

Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

An elderly man was critically ill when he asked to see his doctor, his minister, and his closest business associate. As the three of them gathered around the man's bed, he said to them, "I know they say you can't take it with you, but who knows for sure? So, I'm giving each of you an envelope with a $100,000 in cash, in case I need a little spending money on the other side." A few days later the old man died. On the day of the funeral, the doctor, the minister and the business man all slipped an envelope ...

343. Beaten Up, But Still Standing

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

King Duncan

Pat Kelly, a major league outfielder in the '70s, was a born-again Christian. One day Pat said to his manager, Earl Weaver, "Aren't you glad I walk with the Lord, Earl?" Weaver replied, "I'd rather you walked with the bases loaded." When one football coach was asked about his offensive team's execution he replied, "I'm all for it." Sports are popular because they are a metaphor for our life experience. You win some, you lose some. Sometimes you feel like the champion of the world. Sometimes you just feel ...

344. Stand Up and Be Counted

Daniel 3:1-30

Sermon

James Merritt

The Olympics are coming to Atlanta. The Olympic Flame is coming through America. But Cobb County, in Atlanta, has been declared off limits to the Olympic Flame. Why? Because of this resolution that was passed by five Cobb County Commissioners: Whereas, the Cobb County Commission is legally charged with protection of the safety, health, and welfare of the community; and Whereas, there are increasing assaults on those community standards which further the protection of the public safety, health, and welfare ...

345. Mary Christmas

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

John Jamison

So, where are the shepherds? And what about the "multitude of the heavenly host" shining their glory on everyone and breaking into song about God, and salvation, and peace? Sure, there is an angel. One angel, who sounds more like a meditating attorney in a three-piece suit, speaking in one long sentence which tells Joseph he ought to see this thing through and try to work things out with Mary. And that even happens in a dream. But that seems to fit Matthew's purpose. Matthew isn't interested in the ...

346. Roadblocks to Jesus

2 Corinthians 6:3

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: A saw horse with a big detour sign printed and hung on it. Today is a good day to be together for it is God's day. When I was thinking about our children's sermon for this Sunday, I could not help but think of this verse in our lesson for today: "We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry." I thought and thought of how I could show you what that verse meant, and I finally thought of a way. Do you see that aisle that runs right down the middle of the church ...

347. On Keeping Quiet about Easter

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

Is there anything more frustrating than to be reading an interesting article in the newspaper, only to find that the article is “continued on page 7, section C”.... and then turn to page 7, Section C., only to find that someone has either torn off that page or cut an article from the other side and thereby wiped out the conclusion of the story? That’s sort of the way it is with the Gospel of St. Mark. I. SCHOLARS HAVE KNOWN FOR A LONG TIME THAT MARK’S GOSPEL IS CUT SHORT AT THE END OF VERSE 8. They know ...

348. Ka-Chang

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

John Jamison

It was a strange sound. Some said it was a kind of "clanging" sound, while others said it was more of a "ka-ching," or more accurately, a "ka-chang!" It sounded like the result of metal hitting metal, which is exactly what it was. In the valley off to the west from the hillside is a steep cliff rising up the face of Mount Arbel. The face of the cliff is covered with hundreds of caves, with no good way to get to them without climbing straight up the cliff. That's why the Zealots liked them. They were safe. ...

349. What Will They Think Up Next?

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Mark Trotter

Noah Webster, for whom the dictionary was named, was a lexicographer. He is responsible for the standardizing of American English at the beginning of the 19th century. As you might imagine, he was a stickler for the proper definition of words. One day his wife opened the kitchen door and discovered Noah kissing the maid. Mrs. Webster exclaimed, "Why Noah, I'm surprised!" He said, "No, my dear. We're surprised. You are amazed." A surprise refers to the unexpected. Amazement refers to being made speechless, ...

350. Stand Up and Raise Your Voice

Deuteronomy 30:11-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Why is it that the first directive every teacher learns how to give is “Okay, everybody, sit down and be quiet?” Or less politely, “Sit down and shut up!” When did learning become yoked to being sedentary and silent? When did learning have more to do with anesthetics (that slow down your senses) than with aesthetics (that wake up your senses)? Sure. Sometimes we have to “listen up” in order to learn. But how can we get answers if we cannot first voice our questions? The best teachers and the most gifted ...

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