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 3476 to 3500 of 4963 results

3476. Recognizing The Hidden

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

... wrapped in parables. Those eternal stories, unaffected by time or culture, cling to the mind. Stories have a special way of bringing the past and present together. In story the ancient can mingle with the here-and-now. It is at that point, too, that the future begins - and hope is offered. For all those words which were written long ago are meant to teach us today; that when we read in the scriptures of the endurance of men and of all the help that God gave them in those days, we may be encouraged to go on ...

3477. Focused Light

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

William F. Dunkle

... face shone." Haven’t all of us seen the Epiphany light in the faces of the good? May we not pray it may be seen in ourselves also? Saint Peter perceived just as clearly and unmistakenly that the Epiphany brightens the world impartially, is a star of hope for all, everywhere. When those wise men from the east, those first Gentiles, came seeking the baby born in Bethlehem to be "King of the Jews," they found in fact the Savior of the world. Christians ever since have known that in every nation any one who ...

3478. Clean Light

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

William F. Dunkle

... and fashions, taboos and fetishes. Whether we cover our heads or shave our hair, none of us ever achieves the complete subjugation of our flesh. Is this because most of us still fall into the heresy of Gnosticism? Are we afraid to be physical? Do we still hope for salvation by denying our bodies? Do we think flesh is less than spiritual because it is mortal? Maybe we define sin too narrowly. Do we confine it to exact lists of don’ts? It really can be almost anything, you know. When the famous John Wesley ...

3479. LIFE! LIFE! ETERNAL LIFE!

1 Corinthians 15:12-34

Sermon Aid

John W. Rilling

... expectation, but rather a present possession. "He that believeth in the Son HATH life eternal." "We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren." 2. LIFE! LIFE! ETERNAL LIFE - DO YOU HAVE IT? Many people come to church on Easter hoping to get an answer to the gnawing question that Job asked ages ago. "If a man die shall he live again." Let’s face it - no arguments for eternal life will ever persuade any doubting Thomas. The order of persuasion is not from argument to belief ...

3480. WHEN MORNING GILDS THE EASTER SKIES

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon Aid

John W. Rilling

... suppressed by Communism, " ‘He is risen indeed!’ " 3. THE EASTER HYMN HAS YET A THIRD STANZA - the miracle of forgiveness. Those three who came to minister to the dead receive a commission that can be fulfilled only among the living. It is the message of hope, of renewal, restoration, forgiveness. Martin Luther once had a dream in which he stood before God’s Judgment Seat on the Last Day. And Satan, the old bitter foe was there to accuse him. When the books were opened, he pointed to sin after sin ...

3481. Strengthened For Life

John 15:1-17

Sermon

O. Garfield Beckstrand, II

... the toil, hardships, and loneliness of my exiled life? It was the promise, ‘Lo! I am with you always, even unto the end!’ " How do you explain such a life, such fearlessness in the face of danger and hardship, such courage in the midst of savages, such hope in the agony of physical affliction, such devotion in the pains of defeat, and such comfort in the depths of loneliness? People do not have the answer. Governments do not have the answer. Only Christ gives us that answer: "I am the vine, you are the ...

3482. Advent 1: Let Us Go Over To Bethlehem And Find The Faith of Christmas

Luke 2:15-20

Sermon

James W. Moore

... ’t think anybody even knew I was in prison.” During his imprisonment, Tom Southerland could hear a radio that the guards had. It was tuned into the BBC channel… and every day Tom Southerland would listen intently to the newscast… hoping and praying that he might hear his name… hoping and praying that the newscaster would talk about him on the air and tell the story of his imprisonment and his innocence. But his name was never mentioned so he assumed that nobody in the United States even knew that ...

3483. Unified by Our Baptism in Christ

Acts 19:1-22

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

... the risen Christ. Leader: Let our hearts sing with joy and our voices praise our beloved God! All: Blessed be the name of the Lord! Collect All-wise and merciful God, through Christ You have made it possible for each and every one of us to walk again with hope and dignity in our hearts and lives! We praise You, O Lord. In Christ we pray. Amen. Prayer Of Confession Lord, as we are called again to remember our Baptism, we also remember those times when we have taken it and You for granted and lived our lives ...

3484. Suffering

Mark 8:31--9:1

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

... : The doctor? REGGIE: Yeah. SYLVIA: Does he want more tests? REGGIE: No more tests. SYLVIA: What then? REGGIE: He says more tests won't help. SYLVIA: Oh, no. (SHE RUNS TO HIM AND THEY EMBRACE) REGGIE: It's what I expected. SYLVIA: But not what we hoped for. REGGIE: No, not what we hoped for. SYLVIA: Where's God when you really need Him? REGGIE: I don't know. SYLVIA: We're His children. Why won't He help us? REGGIE: I don't really know. SYLVIA: We're not immature Christians. We've known the Lord now for 27 ...

3485. A New Kind of Teaching

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

... island, has done its share of sacrificing to demons -- the demons of war, hate, revenge, perverted sex, unbridled lust for power, uncontrolled greed, distorted ambition. Like the boys, many of us have been running desperately along the beaches of the world, hoping against hope for the arrival of a rescue party. To free us from ourselves. As Christians, we now can announce that that rescue party has arrived in the person of the strong man, Jesus. Balanced, integrated, imbued with power, he calls the demons ...

3486. When God Is At Work

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

Brett Blair

... says, I thought I’d call – just to say hello. God, who brings joy to the sorrowful, peace to the troubled and healing to the lepers. God, who embraces the lonely in the shadow of his wings, who fills the empty, and who guides those who are without hope. First we can learn of the loneliness of leprosy. The second thing we can learn from this man’s tragic story is that our suffering moves God. Filled with compassion our Lord reached out and touched the leper. III The final thing we can learn from this ...

3487. When the Guest Becomes the Host

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

George Bass

... when you left it." Betty Mitchell did go back and says, "But of course it wasn’t (any better)."29 Altogether she has spent 28 years as a missionary to Vietnam, before and after her husband’s abduction. She still prays for her husband. And hopes. But her primary purpose in returning to Vietnam was to proclaim the gospel to the Vietnamese. Today she is a missionary in Malaysia, still following Jesus and obeying his commands about discipleship as best she can. Judas apparently wasn’t up to that, so he ...

3488. The Shepherd Who Loved His Sheep

John 10:1-21

Sermon

George Bass

... the name of God. But it is supremely in his death, and his resurrection, that we know him to be our Lord, our deliverer, and our hope, simply because he is the Good Shepherd. He has claimed us for God, and he will never let us go. As Christians, it is (or ... and loved, and able to eat with them again. There is no assurance of pardon and forgiveness apart from Jesus Christ, and no real hope of eternal life. He alone is the Good Shepherd who would have every person know what he has done, and have us love him ...

3489. On His Way

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Larry Powell

... no denying that. The carpenter’s self-image was clearly drawn. It had been palatable insofar as it had fleshed out the hope for a visible figure of deliverance. It had been palatable insofar as it was Zechariah 9:9 come to life: "Rejoice greatly ... ? Did Robert Frost describe us when he wrote sorrowfully, "Nothing to look backward to with pride, and nothing to look forward to with hope"? By the time Jesus had reached Jericho on his way to Jerusalem, he was accompanied by a great crowd. When he came to ...

3490. Luther of Wittenberg

Drama

Michael L. Sherer

... appropriate result. I can’t take credit for it. I didn’t invent the printing press. And I didn’t slip a copy of my manuscript to a printer. Thank my friends for that. Now that you have moved to Frankfurt and set up your law practice, I hope you won’t forget your former classmate. We have taken different paths. But I still feel affection for you and value your opinions. Those of us within the leadership of the church need to get "ordinary folks’" reactions to what we are doing and saying. Maybe if ...

3491. A Mountain Of Meaning

Matthew 17:1-9

Sermon

Brett Blair

... clouds, enclosed in our own little world and losing sight of the larger world, and sleep through great events. This was not another act of God in the life of Israel; this was the fulfillment of all past events, this was the culmination of the ages, this was the hopes and fears of all the years, this was God’s Son. II This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to Him! There is a mountain of meaning in these words. Let’s look at the second idea: Whom I love. The disciples were hearing from heaven itself. This ...

3492. What Do You Mean 'Born Again?'

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... adoption, she got pregnant. What did she have? No, not twins. Triplets. Seven children under eighteen months. She started her own little church! Good parenting can be a form of witnessing for God. If this new mother doesn’t have the gift of parenting, I hope she gets it soon. The word witness means "one who speaks of what he or she knows." The word comes from the Greek martyrein, from which our word "martyr" comes. It means that Christians speak up or speak out, regardless of consequences. All Christians ...

3493. That Carpenter Is God

Mark 6:1-6

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... Give them time - time to return, time to repent, time to be reborn." God has so much authority that he can act slowly, wisely, patiently. Thus, some in time find God. Authority. God’s authority is an awesome and hopeful sign - awesome because it is ultimate; hopeful because it gives us a ultimate point of reference. Yet, even hearing the authority of God, the people of Nazareth rejected Jesus because of their unbelief. Unbelief. Jesus’ authority was sensed, but many still refused to accept it. Unbelief ...

3494. You CAN Take It With You

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

... the most destructive of scars, the social scars of relationships that were broken, of friendships that never became as close as we hoped they would be. Social scars betray our own sin. They show the selfishness and silliness that has separated us from others. ... the following month. The congregation was still grieving over the resignation of the previous pastor. The Easter message of hope and new life seemed particularly appropriate to our situation as a church. The focus of several sermons during this ...

3495. "I Don’t Hate Any More!"

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

... eye that measures me The mortal sickness of a mind Too unhappy to be kind. Undone with misery, all they can Is to hate their fellow man; And till they drop need must still they Look at you and wish you ill. That is a plague I would hope to escape. E. Stanley Jones shares his keen insight into the self-destruction of hate. He reminds us that "a rattlesnake, if cornered, will sometimes become so angry it will bite itself. That is exactly what the harboring of hate and resentment against others is: a biting of ...

3496. Counting The Cost?

Mark 12:41-44

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... life; we have little choice. It may be that the widow had a joy and freedom we can never know. She probably had a liberated spirit unknown to the people of substance who were making generous contributions that day. She just gave and forgot the counting. I hope God does not employ a computer to tabulate our giving. I do pray there is no tape listing what we have done, counting the cost to us, the sacrifices we have made. God certainly did not count the cost that dreadful afternoon at a spot called Calvary ...

3497. Enduring

Mark 13:1-31

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... and ingenuity. They won! God’s Power As I was making my way through the Tower of London, there in a dark cell I saw it, carved in the stone wall by some prisoner: "He who endures to the end will be saved." This is our hope. The prophets of Israel and Judah lived out their own lives amid the sense of impending doom. True, it was not thermonuclear war, but the horror of Egyptian, Babylonian, Assynian, Persian invasion spelled torture, rape, pillage, destruction, and slavery. Death would have been a welcome ...

3498. A King - A Kingdom

John 18:28-40

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (9:6) Was the dream fulfilled? Indeed, far beyond the prophet’s grandest hopes. The Christian gospel is essentially the good news of God’s revelation in human form, the event of Jesus who is the Christ. Yet, even as the faithful meditate upon this sublime event, they inquire as to the how and why of it all. I know not ...

3499. Twenty-First Century Reformation

John 8:31-41

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

... own imaginary sins, but look at Christ crucified, where your real sins are forgiven," and he continued, "and hold with deep courage to God." We have looked long and wearingly at our sinful condition, and like young Luther thought the answer lay in self-flagellation, hoping this will atone for our misdeeds. My dean at Candler School of Theology, Henry B. Trimble - a man of wisdom and spiritual depth - once advised me, "Tom, do not let your people waste your time and theirs by going over and over their old ...

3500. Thomas

John 20:24-31

Sermon

Brett Blair

... recall the story Jesus tells about the man who is in hell and the other man who is in paradise. The man in hell wanted to come back to earth for a few moments to warn his friends and family about the torments of hell in the hopes of scarring them into right living. He hoped he could keep them from suffering the same fate. Jesus said, that even if he were to return to warn his loved ones they would not change their lives. And it would not change your world in the slightest either. God has called us to be ...

Showing results