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 3551 to 3575 of 4963 results

3551. Colossians 1:1-14

Colossians 1:1-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... thanks for brothers and sisters "in Christ in Colossae" (v.2). The "always" employed in this confession of thanksgiving reflects the daily rituals (morning, midday, evening) of prayer carried over from traditional Jewish piety, revealing the close ties that yet remained between the synagogue and the church. The thanks that Paul offers ties together three highly recognizable attributes that inform Pauline discussion of the gospel faith, love and hope. In one long phrase (in the original, vv. 3-8 constitute ...

3552. Colossians 1:15-28

Colossians 1:15-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... and blameless and irreproachable" (v.22) once they confess Christ. But and there is a big but here only so long as believers "continue securely established and steadfast in the faith" (v.23) does this state of grace itself continue. Remaining steadfast, or "keeping faith" in the midst of a faithless, pagan world, is the moral challenge that confronts not just the Colossians but all Christians. Unlike "philosophies" which may be adopted intellectually yet require no behavioral modifications, accepting Christ ...

3553. Hosea 1:2-10

Hosea 1:2-10

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of our own struggles into a sharp double focus. Despite Hosea's extreme distance from us in days, the metaphor that defined both his personal life and his preached message continues to transfix us. The power of his predicament as well as his predictions remain undiminished. A prophet in the northern nation of Israel, Hosea lived during the tumult of the eighth century B.C. He was a contemporary with Isaiah, which meant that he, too, endured the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah and Jeroboam II. Like ...

3554. Luke 11:1-13

Luke 11:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... (Exodus 16:4), so now they must rely on the Father for their daily sustenance. Although the early Christian exegetical community began to allegorize the meaning of bread as the "bread of heaven" and later the Eucharistic bread, the overwhelming tradition has remained rooted in the notion of bread as the bread of subsistence, the food which keeps us alive. The second petition recognizes that as human beings, we are prone to sin (hamartias in Luke, changed from opheilemata, debts, in Matthew) and are also ...

3555. Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... we cannot see" (Goodspeed). "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Inclusive Version). "Only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of the realities that at present remain unseen" (Jerusalem Bible). But there is another school of interpretation. This school, which dominated in the patristic and medieval exegesis of this text, argues that there is only a sense of "representation" or "demonstration" as in Hebrews 1:3 where the ...

3556. Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... . Canaanite syncretism and politically expedient but morally questionable military alliances had steadily been eroding the divine covenant foundation that supposedly made Judah different from all her neighbors. Yet the cultic sacrificial system based in the Jerusalem temple remained in full flower. Thus, as the rulers and powerful citizens of Judah stand gathered in the temple, once again offering the required sacrifices to Yahweh as established long ago, they might have gazed out at the destruction wrought ...

3557. Hebrews 11:29-12:2

Hebrews 11:29-12:2

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... set of images for faithfulness. The multitude of faithful that have come before this generation are remembered as a great "cloud of witnesses" (12:1). These gathered faithful assemble to observe each new generation as they undertake the challenge to remain faithful a lifelong effort this writer describes as a "race" to be "run with perseverance" (12:1). In preparation for this great event, the author counsels his readers to rid themselves of any extraneous "weights" that may encumber their progress. Most ...

3558. Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... in verse 7 surely prompts the timelessness of this powerful declaration. Although the words and witness of past leaders may or may not speak to the current generation, Jesus is the ultimate leader, the head of the church. He is forever the same. What remains unchanged amid changing times is Jesus Christ God's final word of redemption to creation. The unchanging nature of God's love and grace makes Christ the proper focus of all Christian hope and faith. The lectionary reading skips down to verses 15-16 ...

3559. 2 Timothy 1:1-14

2 Timothy 1:1-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... second Roman imprisonment, Paul became convinced that this time there would be no escape, no reprieve from the judgment of his pagan captors. Convinced that this prison term would end with his death, Paul's writing in 2 Timothy reveals that his spirit has remained firm. His faith in the eternal nature of the life he had gained "in Christ" was unshaken by all his suffering. In this second letter to Timothy there is, however, an emotional urgency evident, a heartfelt appeal present that testifies to Paul's ...

3560. Jeremiah 31:27-34

Jeremiah 31:27-34

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... one are experienced by all. But verse 30 describes a situation where "in those days" (v. 29) individuals will be judged only by their own behavior. The judgment, however, is still sharp. Collective responsibility and retribution may be set aside, but "sin" remains and the consequence of sin is still death. In verse 31, Jeremiah begins his description of the "new covenant" that will even more radically change the relationship between the people Israel and their God. That this is an eschatological promise is ...

3561. Luke 19:1-10

Luke 19:1-10

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... thing happens. Zacchaeus, who had been out on a limb, promptly goes out on another. With the complaints of the crowd ringing in his ear, Zacchaeus "stood there" and incredibly promises to give half of his possessions to the poor, and with the remaining half to pay back those whom he had defrauded fourfold, a magnanimous gesture which equaled or exceeded both Roman and Levitical law (v.8). This stunning announcement on a tree-lined boulevard in Jericho occurs not after the toll collector has had an ...

3562. Romans 1:1-7

Romans 1:1-7

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Christianity (see Acts 2:36; 13:33). Some, for this reason, suggest that these phrases represent a pre-Pauline liturgical fragment, a thesis which begs the question: How is this passage to be understood? If the Pauline focus in Romans is a Christological one, it remains a problematic issue. But Paul (in Romans) has scant interest in Christology except as it advances his soteriological motif: Jesus, born a child of David, was raised as the Son of God and that is the good news - good news which is also the ...

3563. Weakness into Strength

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

James McCormick

... thought he might have been writing about his mother in law! We just don’t know. But, it was some kind of weakness, some kind of affliction that was causing him difficulty and he wanted it gone. He prayed about it again and again, but the thorn remained. Instead of removing the thorn, God kept saying to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Over time, Paul discovered in his own experience the truth of what God was telling him. So much so, that Paul concluded ...

3564. Refusing to Quit

2 Timothy 4:5-8

Sermon

James McCormick

... . They didn’t seem to be making a dent in that first century, pagan world. At Jesus’ death there was only a handful of faithful followers. Discouragement came easily. Yet, the course of human history was changed because they refused to give up. They remained faithful even when they didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. It’s become almost a cliché – but it’s a good cliché: we Christians are not responsible for success – that’s God’s business – what we are responsible for is our own ...

3565. Facing The Unknown & Unknowable

Mark 1:1-8

Illustration

Thomas Long

... , the small space I fill, or even see, engulfed in the infinite immensity of spaces which I know not, and which know not me, I am afraid ... Who has set me here? By whose order and arrangement has this place and time been allotted to me?" For many, the secret remains concealed. Who am I? Why am I here? What am I worth? I am afraid. In baptism the secret is out at the beginning, the truth is known at the inception, and there is no need to fear, come what may. "You are my beloved child, my very own. I ...

3566. 1 Corinthians 1:10-18

1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... as possible before his days on earth ended. From Ephesus where he worked and preached for more than two years, Paul reached back to the Corinthian community, the distance between them more one of miles than minds. Protecting and pastoring his flock remained Paul's passion even when he had moved on to develop new congregations. Paul doesn't beat around the bush. In 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 he immediately confronts his community with its most consuming challenge - to overcome dissension and division in order ...

3567. Deuteronomy 30:15-20

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

God's message in the book of Deuteronomy has remained such a vital part of Judeo-Christian faith that biblical scholars have sometimes referred to it as "the Gospel of the Old Testament." The good news of a loving, compassionate, flagrantly involved God doing outrageous things to save a frail and faulty humanity is the abiding message communicated by all ...

3568. John 4:5-42

John 4:5-42

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... with what is being offered her. It is not until Jesus stuns her with knowledge of her personal life in intimate and embarrassing detail that she begins to realize that the conversation is about spiritual life. Acknowledging Jesus as a "prophet," she remains quite concerned about the cultural chasm separating Samaritans and Jews (v.20). With the conversation now moved onto the right track, Jesus seeks to broaden this woman's horizons once again - this time beyond the particularities of people and place. In ...

3569. John 9:1-41

John 9:1-41

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... against heretics) was composed by the late first-century synagogue. The 12th in a series of 18 Benedictions, this prayer helped establish boundaries between the shaky synagogue community and those who would now be considered outsiders. Scholars remain divided over how direct the relationship was between this Benediction and the particular circumstances experienced by the Johannine community. (For more on this see Wayne O. McCready "Johannine Self-Understanding and the Synagogue: Episode of John 9 ...

3570. Matthew 26:14-27:66

Matthew 26:14-27:66

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... blood." In Matthew 27:6, the priests testify to their own guilt by recognizing the coins at their feet as unclean, impure blood money. They are blatantly hypocritical in their concern for maintaining the purity of the temple treasury while remaining completely cavalier about their injustice, which splattered the blood on the coins in the first place. The unclean money is then appropriately used to purchase an equally ritually unclean place, a cemetery - specifically a cemetery perceived as even more impure ...

3571. Matthew 28:1-10

Matthew 28:1-10

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the frightened women. Then he tells them straight-out what has happened - "He is not here, for he has been raised" (v.6). This angel then acts as tour guide about the empty tomb - clearly demonstrating to these women that Jesus is gone. One further task remains for this angel. He gives the two Marys a specific directive - "go quickly and tell his disciples ... and indeed Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him" (v.7). Little wonder that the women are filled with "fear and great joy ...

3572. John 20:19-31

John 20:19-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... how left out Thomas must have felt when he returned to that locked room and found his friends celebrating instead of mourning. But Thomas, despite his new role as outsider, does not give up the group. Instead he expresses genuine, deep-seated doubts while remaining a part of his faith community. The other disciples, for their part, do not toss Thomas out for his skepticism - they try to convince him of their claim's truthfulness while keeping him in their midst. When Jesus himself reappears a week later, he ...

3573. Acts 2:42-47

Acts 2:42-47

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Pentecost and help it understand what that experience demands of the church. The apostles seek to answer the question of where the church must go next. Instead of fueling a continual wildfire experience, the apostles' teaching and their listeners' devotion allows faith to remain ablaze, but controlled, so that others may see it, approach it, and be warmed - possibly even ignited - by it. There is an old adage: The place for the fire is in the fireplace. Koinonia: Teaching is a forward-looking, even a next ...

3574. Acts 7:55-60

Acts 7:55-60

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... crowd of this exalted vision enrages it beyond all semblance of reason. The proudly legal-minded Jews betray their own traditions and degenerate into a mob. Incapable of enduring any more arrow-straight accusations, unwilling to listen for the calming tones of any remaining rational voices, the crowd stops up its ears, scalds Stephen with its tongue, drags him outside the city walls with its hands and madly proceeds to stone him. As the stones begin to fly and Stephen starts his walk through the agates of ...

3575. Romans 8:1-11

Romans 8:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... actor is God, "the Spirit of him who raised Jesus ..." It is easy to see why early church scholars turned to Paul's writings for their initial discussion of the triune God. If the divine appears in three entwined forms here, however, there still remains one central, unifying act that makes life in the Spirit possible. For Paul, everything hinges on the resurrection - first Christ's and then our own. It is only the internalized Spirit that makes possible the resurrection to new life of all believers.

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