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 1044 results

326. What Are You Waiting On?

John 11:1-16

Sermon

James Merritt

It is something that all of us will spend at least an hour doing every day and I mean every day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. In fact, we will spend 5 years of our lifetime doing nothing but this. It is universally above everything else the one thing everybody hates to do. In fact, there is nothing that we do that is more frustrating, aggravating, irritating and feels like more of a waste of time than doing this. Can you guess what it is? It’s waiting. An hour every day we wait on something. We are put ...

327. Everything Counts

Luke 16:1-15

Sermon

James Merritt

When the man heard the phone ring, his stomach began to turn. Something told him this was the call he had been dreading, “Sir, I’m calling from the bank to let you know we are foreclosing on your home. You are going to be evicted in one week.” The man began to beg, “You can’t do this. I haven’t been able to find work since I was laid off and I have nowhere to take my wife and children.” But the banker replied, “Sir, I am sorry there is nothing I can do.” For a moment the man sat there stunned, but he then ...

328. People Who Procrastinate

Luke 9:51-62

Sermon

King Duncan

Most of you are familiar with that time-honored story about a board meeting that Satan once called in hell. At this meeting Satan put this question to his senior advisors: “We need to develop a new strategy for causing havoc upon earth. Do you have any suggestions for a new means of reaching human beings for our side?” One advisor suggested, “Tell them there is no heaven.” Another said, “Tell them there is no hell.” But the prize winning suggestion was judged to be much more effective: “Tell them there is ...

329. Miscellaneous Laws

Deut 23:15–25:19

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

Community Laws: Defining and Protecting the Community · These last chapters (23-25) of the central law code have a “flavor” of concern for a compassionate and caring community that takes seriously the claims of kinship and the needs of the weak and vulnerable. That community itself, however, needs clear definition and measures to protect its religious distinctiveness and purity. This need explains the presence, alongside laws that immediately appeal to us by their charitable nature, of other laws that ...

330. Parables of the Kingdom

Mark 4:1-20

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: Jesus has sown his kingdom truths among the crowds, the leaders, and his disciples. They are the soil in which his gospel seed is placed, and God holds them responsible for their receptivity to the message of the kingdom. Understanding the Text This parable discourse (chap. 4) is one of two extensive teaching sections (with chap. 13) in Mark, and it interprets the action and mission of Jesus in chapters 1–3. These are “kingdom parables” describing the implications of the arrival of the kingdom in ...

331. The Resurrection of Jesus and the Promise of Victory

Mark 16:1-20

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: The victory of God and the vindication of Jesus are anchored in the reality of the resurrection. Yet the women, who symbolize faithful discipleship, struggle with inadequate understanding and failure. We as disciples can overcome our failures only by joining the disciples and the women in encountering the risen Lord in our “Galilee.” Understanding the Text In God’s sovereign plan, suffering also leads to victory, and persecution to vindication. The resurrection of Jesus concludes not just the ...

332. “The King Rejoices in Your Strength, Lord”

Psalm 21:1-13

Teach the Text

C. Hassell Bullock

Big Idea: God’s overpowering strength plus his overpowering love not only saves us but provides a life of joy. Understanding the Text This psalm belongs to the broad genre of royal psalms. Like Psalm 20, Craigie calls it a royal liturgy,[1] which suggests that it was used in worship. It is as if we are standing outside the temple and hearing the voices of worship, and we have a vague idea of what is going on inside the building as we try to picture the action in our mind’s eye. The question that the form ...

333. Introduction and No Other Gospel

Galatians 1:1-10

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

1:1–5 · Salutation:The apostle Paul followed the normal Greek letter-writing form in composing his letters. The normal form was characterized by an introduction that cited the name of the author and those addressed. This would normally be followed by a greeting varying in length and usually determined by the degree of warmth felt between the author and the recipients. We notice here, contrary to his other letters, that Paul gives only the briefest of greetings (1:3). His style is proper and a bit curt and ...

334. Dr. Jekyll Meet Jesus

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

Robert Louis Stevenson once wrote an unforgettable story about a Dr. Jekyll and a Mr. Hyde. Most of you know the story well. Dr. Henry Jekyll was respected in his community--a gentleman in every respect. But Dr. Jekyll had some secret vices which he kept carefully hidden from public view. Thus Dr. Jekyll had a dilemma faced by some people today--he wanted to maintain his reputation in the community, but be free to practice the vices that he knew would be repulsive to his neighbors. So Dr. Jekyll hatched a ...

335. Expel the Immoral Brother!

1 Corinthians 5:1-13

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

The move from chapter 4 with its discussion of the ministry of the apostles to chapter 5 with the focused discussion of immorality may seem to be an illogical leap on the part of Paul. Quick shifts in focus such as this one have led a few interpreters to suggest that the document called 1 Corinthians is not a unified composition; but that reading of the text is an overreaction to the diversity of Paul’s remarks. Indeed, in 4:18 Paul confronted some of the Corinthians because they were arrogant (ephysiōthē ...

336. Getting It Right in the Coming Year

Galatians 4:4-7

Sermon

King Duncan

It seems strange that New Year’s Eve should fall on a Sunday. But that, of course, is what today is. Many of you are looking forward to New Year’s Eve parties. I’ve always appreciated writer Bill Vaughan’s words: “Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve. Middle age is when you're forced to.” I won’t ask how late some of you will be up. Some of you will celebrate via your television. I also like what some comedian said about that. He said, “I love it when they drop the ball in Times ...

337. Reflecting God’s Abundant Love

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Molly F. James

I lived for a portion of my childhood in Bath, Maine. There are many notable things about this small city on the Kennebec River, but is perhaps best known for its ships. In the late 1800s and early 1900s it was full of shipyards that built all kinds of wooden sailing vessels. Now it has just one shipyard, Bath Iron Works, which is a huge facility that builds destroyers and frigates for the US Navy. Much of the work is done outside, and it was great fun to watch the pieces of the ship come together like a ...

338. Lazarus Rising

John 11:1-16, John 11:17-37, John 11:38-44, John 11:45-57, John 12:1-11, John 12:12-19

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Come out of the ark!” (Genesis 8:16) I saw a movie awhile back, “The Nice Guys.” Anyone see it? It stuck with me, because it was so disturbing. The plot went like this. A young girl is trying to assist in making a secret film that will uncover a criminal plot to allow an auto industry to sell an illegal converter that will damage and desecrate the environment. The girl is located by detectives, who were hired by her mother to find her missing daughter. While the detectives assume it’s a mere missing ...

339. Joey and Nicky at Skull Mountain

Mark 15:42-47

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: Anointing oil (preferably frankincense or myrrh) Joey and Nicky at Skull Mountain -- It sounds like a mystery like Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys, doesn’t it? Or for those with a slightly more sinister flair, a story by E. L. Stine. Intrigue, Mystery, Mayhem, and a good dose of the gruesome. And slightly Spooky. The events surrounding Jesus’ death were certainly strange and unusual. The High Priest and his family of former and future high priests had been pushing to get something done about Jesus ...

340. The Overtaxed Soul (Even Me)

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Parable: Phyllis worked as a secretary/bookkeeper in a large company. No one noticed her. She didn’t have a flashy job like the group surrounding the CEO. She was just a shy, retiring clerk. But she had a significant responsibility taking care of the books and depositing the money for the thriving business. When trouble hit at home and she found herself in financial straits, she “borrowed” from the corporate kitty. Soon, this became rather a habit. One day, when news spread that the President of the ...

341. How Did That Hole Get There?

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

Bruce Melver tells about a precocious six-year-old in his church who thought and talked like an adult. His name was Blair Miles and he posed some challenging questions for his pastor to answer. Bruce tells about one Sunday after church when Blair came up to him and asked Bruce if he could have a conference with him. “Of course, Blair,” Bruce replied, “I’d be happy to visit with you anytime.” Blair thought for a moment and then said that he had better talk first with his parents to see when they could bring ...

342. Homecoming

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Will Willimon

Our scripture is about a people on a journey, far from home. And if you know anything all about the Bible, this is the way it always begins-somebody being told to leave wherever they happen to be at the moment and to journey somewhere else. Adam and Eve were told to get out of the Garden, Abraham told to take his bride and baggage to he knows not where, Jacob on the lam, and Israel taking forty years to go about three hundred miles, to say nothing of Jesus, always on a journey, never at home, nowhere to ...

343. Count the Cost

Luke 14:25-33

Sermon

Will Willimon

''Whoever of you does not renounce all that he or she has cannot be my disciple." How many of you were here last Sunday? Don't raise your hands. Well, even if you were not here, I can give you a quick summary of the sermon. We were at a party at a Pharisee's house with Jesus. Jesus, we noted, just loves to party. The gospel he brings is good news that God wants to invite everyone to a great party. And, because many of you are party animals yourselves, this all sounded great. Forget your petty, moralistic ...

344. Two Lives to Live

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

John B. Jamison

The crowds had found him again. Ever since Jesus had moved to Capernaum, more and more people heard about the things he was doing and had come to hear him, to be healed by him, or simply to be near him. Capernaum was not a large town, but was on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, just south of busy roads following the fertile crescent stretching all the way from Egypt in the south to Mesopotamia in the east. It was the interstate highway system of its day and it carried traffic from every land, with ...

345. Will You Sing With Me?

Romans 15:4-13

Sermon

Heather Sugden

My congregation has a wonderful institutional history of Christmas caroling. As the story has been passed on down to me, there was a time when every Christmas Eve worship service was packed with families, and every moment in between Christmas Eve worship services was an opportunity for community caroling. We might not be certain when exactly this time was in our history, but we know it happened, we know that it was fantastic, and we profess our desire to return to such a time. In these Christmas days of ...

346. All Stirred Up

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Richard Patt

All stirred up -- that's the way you sometimes feel. Agitated, nervous, worked up, wound up -- for whatever reason. One feature in the story before us is that Jesus appeared to be responsible for bringing one of his dearest friends to such a point of agitation. If you read the Bible carefully, you shouldn't be completely surprised about this. Jesus often left people stirred up. The religious leaders were frequently angered by his words and actions. His miracles left onlookers stirred to the point of awe ...

347. Gifts: Rejected And Exchanged, Accepted And Shared

1 Samuel 2:12-26

Sermon

Tony Everett

So, what have you been doing since Christmas Day? If you are like most people in the community, you have been spending countless hours in shopping malls, looking for bargains and exchanging gifts. Retailers tell us that their busiest times are the days immediately after Thanksgiving and the days directly following Christmas. After Thanksgiving we begin gift buying in earnest. After Christmas, we begin the exchanging and bargain hunting frenzy. What happened with the gifts you chose to give? How were they ...

348. Week Four Of Lent

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Monday Week FourIsaiah 65:17-21John 4:43-54 God Restores Hope In 1935 Bill W. and Dr. Bob lived on the fringes of society. They were drunks spending their nights and many days drinking away the cares of life. Both men needed someone who could help them to regain their dignity and self-worth. They found that special person in each other. The story of the sobriety and recovery to productivity of these two men is the story of the beginnings of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), an international organization which ...

349. Time Out

John 12:1-11

Sermon

Robert Beringer

A woman who worked in a high level job for a major corporation experienced a grueling schedule and a lot of pressure. So when she was offered the opportunity to attend a stress reduction seminar, she quickly accepted. However, she soon realized the seminar might not be as helpful as she first thought. The instructor arrived late, out of breath, and announced, "In order to accommodate everyone's busy schedules, this five-day seminar will be speeded up and completed in two days!" In our study of turning ...

350. Two-and-a-Half Cheers For Hypocrites

Matthew 6:1-2, Matthew 6:5-6, Matthew 6:16

Sermon

Thomas Long

It is difficult to find anyone who has a kind word to say about hypocrites. Nobody likes a hypocrite; no one wants to be around one; the last thing one would want to be called is a hypocrite. Hypocrites are, by definition, deceptive, two-faced and treacherous. If discovered, hypocritical politicians are defeated at the polls, hypocritical friends get dropped and hypocritical preachers lose the trusting ears of their congregations. It may well be that our age is particularly tough on hypocrisy. In some ways ...

Showing results