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 3526 to 3550 of 4943 results

3526. Rise Up

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... from 18-40. In 1929, the suicide rate jumped to 18.9% after stocks plummeted 13% on Black Monday (October 28) and another 12% on Black Tuesday (October 29). The economy would take years to recover. And yet the human spirit, aided by the Holy Spirit, continues to strive, to hope, and to love. Every time we face death, destruction, despair, and devastation, we call upon the Holy Spirit to renew us, refresh us, and set us on our feet again. Just as faith surged in the past after global changes and difficulties ...

3527. Goin' Down the Road

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

... the days of crisis counseling and sensitivity to the community dynamic of such events, our regular teacher was off, on hindsight likely grieving herself. Our substitute teacher was on task, following the lesson plan to a fault. As we struggled in our lethargy born of continuing, unresolved grief, she snapped at us, asking us what was wrong. We explained... our friend’s sister had died. In that moment she did what all of us have since been trained not to do, and said “Well, we all have to die sometime ...

3528. Second Sight

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... in school. But she was so embarrassed about wearing her glasses, she refused to put them on. And so, she continued to see only a fuzzy group of symbols, instead of truly seeing the lessons she needed to learn that would change her perspective about her world ... and herself. Many of us Christians go through life just that way. We continue to see only an outline or a form of Jesus instead of seeing him and encountering him in a way that allows him to ...

3529. Let’s Really Know Jesus

John 14:1-4, John 14:5-14

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

... throughout so many passages in this lectionary cycle, the disciples often get Jesus’ meaning wrong. Almost 2,000 years later we continue to get it wrong. For me, that poignant phrase, “if you have really known me” keeps lingering around the edges. I ... that most Christians fall way short. We haven’t come close to doing as Jesus did. Jesus told us to love our enemies, and we continue to tell our leaders to kill our enemies. Jesus told us to treat our neighbor in the same way we would want to be treated ...

3530. Priceless!

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

King Duncan

... This bridge is nearly as long as a football field. It offers a spectacular view of a large chasm below. Unfortunately, a continuous spray from a massive waterfall makes the rocks and vegetation along the lip of that chasm as slippery as a slide at ... brings me to say this: Lunch with Warren Buffett is one thing, but how much would you and I pay to live in the Kingdom of God continuously? In other words, what would it be worth to have God totally rule over our life? That’s what it means to live in God’s ...

3531. Building a Winning Team

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... for “church” is ekklesia. That term doesn’t refer to a building. Ekklesia means a “called-out people.” Jesus is casting a vision for his disciples. He is showing them that his ministry isn’t just for this time and this place and this people. His ministry will continue long after his death. His ministry will attract people from all over the world. His church is for all time and for all people. That’s why you and I are here today, isn’t it? Over 2,000 years ago, Jesus envisioned you and me and ...

Justice is never given; it is exacted and the struggle must be continuous; for freedom is never a final fact, but a continuing evolving process to higher and higher levels of human, social, economic, political and religious relationship.

A. Philip Randolph

The goal of prayer is the ear of God, a goal that can only be reached by patient and continued and continuous waiting upon Him, pouring out our heart to Him and permitting Him to speak to us. Only by so doing can we expect to know Him, and as we come to know Him better we shall spend more time in His presence and find that presence a constant and ever-increasing delight.

E. M. Bounds

Anger may repast with thee for an hour, but not repose for a night the continuance of anger is hatred, the continuance of hatred turns malice.

Francis Quarles

Business, more than any other occupation, is a continual dealing with the future; it is a continual calculation, an instinctive exercise in foresight.

Henry R. Luce

3536. Cross Choices

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

... only to disaster because life is not like the radii of a circle, all leading eventually to the center, or even like tributary creeks and streams, all flowing together into the main river. No, Lewis argued that life as we experience it is far more like a road that continuously forks into new roads, or a tree whose branches keep spreading further and further apart. Another example of this principle is what we see in the breeding of dogs for specialization: “Good, as it ripens,” Lewis wrote, “becomes ...

3537. Until It Is Finished

Illustration

Staff

At the height of WWII, Protestant theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was imprisoned for taking a stand against Hitler. Yet he continued to urge fellow believers to resist Nazi tyranny. A group of Christians, believing that Hitler was the Antichrist, asked Bonhoeffer, "Why do you expose yourself to all this danger? Jesus will return any day, and all your work and suffering will be for nothing." Bonhoeffer replied, "If Jesus returns tomorrow, ...

3538. The Rabbi's Apprentice

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... can. Your evil thoughts, false testimonies, insults. From there, Jesus went to the regions of Tyre and Sidon. Now this is the most important statement in the story. Jesus hasn’t ended the lesson. Jesus is now entering a teachable moment. He is continuing his lesson, which his disciples are having a hard time understanding and swallowing without an example. So, he leads them out of Jewish territory and into pagan territory, into the gentile regions of Tyre and Sidon, location of the prior northern kingdom ...

3539. A Personal Question Deserves a Personal Answer

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

Roy Howard

... have put my trust is faithful and will not abandon me. As Saint Paul says, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For that I am grateful. Jesus is not any easier to follow, in fact, as I get older and more comfortable and as the world continues to be wracked by war and poverty, it is more difficult to walk in his way. Then and now, Jesus does not offer an easy way, so that I might be better adjusted to this ungodly world of war, greed, violence, and deception. He calls me, as he called Peter ...

3540. Who Are You Following?

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Roy Howard

... in way that is scary. If you are following, it’s always a matter of trust and choice. Christians are playing Follow the Leader, only the game is life and it never actually ends, except in death, unless we walk away and refuse to play any longer. Jesus is continually saying, “Follow me, and I will lead you in the way that leads to life.” Along this way you will lose what this world tells you is most important, and in the end, you will discover your real life, and that’s really important! We play this ...

3541. Standing in the Forecastle

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Sermon

Ron Love

... us; but, if we turn our backs on the sun our shadows will fall in front of us. The message of a happy church is that if we continue to face Jesus, the light of the world, all of our problems will be behind us. If we follow Jesus we will, in the words of Jesus, “have the ... to God is important. Our attitude in prayer is important. We must not be haughty, but humble. We must pray continually, which means that we must always strive to have a prayerful attitude. Our prayers must come often and regularly, not ...

3542. Get Out of the Jungle!

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Sermon

Michael L. Sherer

... instincts. Given that reality, there is no good reason to believe that what William Shakespeare so poetically called ‘the better angels of our nature’ will ever take charge. And that explains why we need an intervention. That intervention has already happened, and it continues to happen. Our dark path gets interrupted in the most unexpected way. There is no logical reason in the world that we human beings should be given a surprise alternative to our own worst instincts. But that’s what we have. Our ...

3543. God’s Quality Control Crew

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... in the vineyard that God has given us. This is the way we “build” God’s garden kingdom on earth, “as” God has imagined it from, and like, in heaven. At the end of Jesus’ parable, he threatens the chief priests and pharisees, saying that if they continue to rule the Jewish people as they are, God’s kingdom will be taken away from them and given to others, who will create the kind of “vineyard” world God intends us to create. For the world we believe is ours to create belongs to someone far ...

3544. Blessed to Be Among the Company of Mourners

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

... wilderness of my own. One of our members, a retired physician, sensed my sorrow and sent me a beautiful and comforting email. Here in part is what he wrote to me (he has given me permission to share): I’ve been thinking of the personal effect these continuing losses of your parishioners must have on you and your wife. I assume such sorrow is offset by the joy of the baptisms and marriages you perform and the comfort you provide to the sick and needy by your hospital visits and wise counsel. It must still ...

3545. The Word Above All Earthly Powers

John 8:31-36

Sermon

Albert G. Butzer III

... preferred the gospel of John to the other three because John’s gospel helps readers have faith in Christ, while the other gospels tell stories about Christ.4 And that brings us to today’s gospel text from John chapter eight, where Jesus said, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” In this single sentence, John brought together two of the great words of his gospel — word and truth. Let’s consider them one by one ...

3546. Doorkeepers for Disruption

Mark 13:24-37

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... a doorkeeper also meant keeping those inside vigilant, active, on task, engaged, and aware! No falling asleep on the doorkeeper’s watch! Sometimes, the doorkeeper needed to be prepared to deal with noise, intruders, or crowd control, so that the Senate could continue to do its duty even during and after disruptive events. Always alert and aware, the doorkeeper is often seen as the calm, friendly face of the senate, a “stamp of approval” for the healthy disruption that goes on within the Senate chamber ...

3547. Sword of Truth

Luke 2:22-40 · Hebrews 4:12

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... risk, easy, hurt-free life. But for the daring soul who loves deeply and dares to have faith in the midst of turmoil and in the face of pain, Jesus assures you that God sees the beauty and resilience of your heart. This Christmas season, as we continue on in our celebration of the birth of the Christ, I challenge you to love bravely. To open yourselves up to life in new ways and to a discipleship that pushes you outside of your comfort zones and into uncomfortable and sometimes painful places. For only then ...

3548. The Road to the Passover

John 2:13-22

Sermon

Timothy W. Ayers

... teacher, the highest religious figure in the city and at the temple. At the same time he wondered what his walking partner meant. He would soon discover why Caiaphas was believed to be corrupt. Samuel and his father walked on and the temple grew continuously larger in the boy’s eyes. The people around him grew thicker as they all approached the gates. The gates were wide to allow people to enter but the throng of pilgrims was greater. The bottleneck slowed each approaching person. Later Samuel’s would ...

3549. It’s Sunday…But Friday’s Comin’

Mark 11:1-11 · John 12:12-16

Sermon

Timothy W. Ayers

... for the new Passover outfits for the kids and that great new bonnet for mom came in the mail. How was he going to pay them all, and the mortgage and still buy food? Then on Tuesday, a Pharisee priest stopped by and said if they continued to follow this Jesus they would be excommunicated and shunned by their beloved fellowship. They would have no friends. They would have no center to their spiritual and social lives. They would be like outcasts. On Wednesday, as the family walked through the marketplace to ...

3550. Enduring the Trials of Faith

Romans 4:13-25

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... told to leave his ancestral heritage and go to a new land that would become the home of this great nation. Paul reminds us that Abram was an old man who was childless and his wife, Sarah, was barren and beyond the age to give birth, yet somehow he continued to place his faith in God, believing in hope that the promises of God would one day be manifested in his life. Even after his son Isaac was born, Abram, now with the new name of Abraham, was again asked to persevere through a great trial of faith when ...

Showing results

Showing 3526 to 3550 of 4943 results

3526. Rise Up

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Sermon

Lori Wagner

3527. Goin' Down the Road

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

3528. Second Sight

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Lori Wagner

3529. Let’s Really Know Jesus

John 14:1-4, John 14:5-14

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

3530. Priceless!

Matthew 13:44-46

Sermon

King Duncan

3531. Building a Winning Team

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

King Duncan

A. Philip Randolph

E. M. Bounds

Anger may repast with thee for an hour, but not repose for a night the continuance of anger is hatred, the continuance of hatred turns malice.

Francis Quarles

Business, more than any other occupation, is a continual dealing with the future; it is a continual calculation, an instinctive exercise in foresight.

Henry R. Luce

3536. Cross Choices

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

R. Kevin Mohr

3537. Until It Is Finished

Illustration

Staff

3538. The Rabbi's Apprentice

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Lori Wagner