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 3601 to 3625 of 4944 results

3601. God Where Are You? - The Problem of Evil

Genesis 3:1-6, Judges 6:13

Sermon

James Merritt

Whether it is the Holocaust, the killing fields of Cambodia, the Oklahoma City bombing, 9/11, a tsunami that wipes out 150,000 people in a day, or the massive starvation of millions of children around the world, you cannot deny the reality of evil. On the other hand, we saw last week how science itself has proved with certainty that the world is not eternal. The universe had a beginning. The only feasible option to explain the origin of the universe is a transcendent creator. DNA itself is a compelling ...

3602. Putting Eternity to the Test

Luke 20:27-38

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

Today's Gospel Lesson is one that is troubling if you care about fairness. By that, I mean, would you deliberately try to fool someone just to see if you could get that person in trouble? I am not talking about getting a brother or sister in trouble, because that is almost part of growing up. I mean really getting someone in hot water. Would you do that? Our reading presents us with the Sadducees posing a hypothetical case intended to make the resurrection appear foolish. We must keep in mind that the ...

3603. Jesus Brings Hope

Revelation 1:4-8

Sermon

Richard Gribble

The International Government of the World, or IGW, made its announcement with joy: the last Christian in the world was dead. This last Christian was found hiding in an abandoned mine in South Africa. He was ferreted out, brought to trial, convicted, and then executed, all the while professing Christ. The world state ordered a half-day international holiday to celebrate; the rejoicing grew to a fever pitch. Images of Christ on the cross were burned in sub-capitals throughout the world and singing, which had ...

3604. Thanks for Receiving Thanksgiving

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Sermon

John Wayne Clarke

This wonderful chapter of Deuteronomy speaks to us on this Thanksgiving Day of the forms for the presentation of the abundance of a good harvest. The verses suggest that only those who are in communion with the giver can present the gift with a clean heart. It was the custom at the time of the telling of this story that each year, a basket containing firstfruits of the soil was to be brought to the central sanctuary and presented to God. The Bible tells us that firstfruits for the people described in ...

3605. Close Enough For Comfort

Psalm 23:4, John 14:15-18

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A little girl asked her father if he was afraid of the dark. He told her no. She asked if he was afraid of snakes. He said "No." The little girl asked if he was afraid of long, slimy worms. Her father again told her he wasn't afraid, not even of long, slimy worms. The girl thought for a moment and then concluded, "So, then, the only thing you're afraid of is Mom!" (1) We laugh but there are certain instances when we would all probably act the same because we all have fears. And that's where the 23rd Psalm ...

3606. Follow Your Calling (Series: An Invitation to Christian Discipleship)

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Back in the 1980’s, popular author Stephen Covey said the key to managing life is distinguishing between the urgent and the important. Urgent matters clamor for our attention. Important matters shape our lives. Before cell phones and Blackberries became a part of our anatomy, Covey warned that a phone call most likely will feel urgent, but it may not be very important. On the other hand, a call from God is both urgent and important. Two critically important questions every person must ask and keep on ...

3607. The Essence of the Gospel

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I don’t know how It Is with you, but I can recall occasions when a text of scripture grabbed my imagination, gripped my mind, burrowed its way into my soul, and became a part of my being. In many instances, I can relive the setting when that happened, and it energizes my life. Our scripture for this is such a case. It was Senior Recognition Day at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, 1958. From the time I answered the call to preach as a seventeen- year-old country boy in Mississippi, I’ve always ...

3608. The Gospel of Marah

Exodus 15:22-27

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I delight in hearing a great sermon. I relish reading the creative writing, of other preachers. I have a sort of insatiable appetite for preachers. I heard recently of a man who was telling of his surgery. A lot of people like to tell about their operations, though not many people like to hear about them. This fellow said that when the doctor sewed him up after surgery, he left the sponge inside. His sympathetic listener asked him if he had any pain. “No,” said the fellow, “but I sure do get thirsty.” I ...

3609. Opening and Closing Doors

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Many years ago, Dr. James Fisher, a practicing psychiatrist, wrote a very entertaining little book entitled A FEW BUTTONS MISSING . It was a light treatment of some of his experiences in psychiatric practice. However, near the end of the book, Dr. Fisher became very serious. This is what he said. “What was needed, I felt sure, was some new and enlightened recipe for living a sane and satisfying life — a recipe compounded from all the accumulated scientific knowledge acquired through study and research. I ...

3610. Jesus' Baptism: Affirmed by God

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Any experience may be perceived differently by those involved. John was an old man and he lay dying. His wife of many years was sitting close by. He opened his eyes for a moment, and saw her and said, “There you are Agnes, at my side again.” She smiled faintly and fluttered her eyes and said, “Yes, dear, here I am.” Then John said, “Looking back, I remember all the times you were at my side. You were there when I got my draft notice and had to go off to fight in the war. You were there when our first house ...

3611. Led by the Spirit, Tempted by the Devil

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A woman had a weakness for beautiful clothes. She was unable to resist the temptation…to the point of outrageous, extravagant spending. She and her husband had worked on it, and he thought she was doing better. Every time she was drawn to a clothing boutique or a display in a department store window, she would talk to herself, “Don’t do it…don’t do it…remember how much you owe…you don’t need it…you’ve worn the last dress only once…you owe a fortune still…remember how John feels about it…don’t do it…get the ...

3612. My Name Is Legion

Mark 5:1-20

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Many of you know that old poem: Within my earthly temple there’s a crowd There’s one that’s humble and one that’s proud. There’s one that’s sorry for his sins, There’s one that unrepentant sits and grins. There’s one that loves his neighbor as himself. There’s one that cares for naught but fame and pelf. From much corroding cares, I would be free. If I could once determine which is me. Our Gospel story today is of a man who could have written a far more powerful poem than that: “My Name if Legion,” he ...

3613. How Can This Be?

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

It has been said the best thing about Christianity is that no one could have guessed it! That the Omnipotent became an embryo, the Infinite an infant, the Almighty, a tiny child nursing at his mother's breast, is more than our small minds can comprehend. So the biggest challenge of Christmas is not busyness but belief. Will we let our mundane minds dance with mystery? Will the wonder of it all take precedent over the weariness of it all? Will the good news of great joy that Christ the Savior is born leap ...

3614. Can the Rich Be Saved?

Mark 10:17-27

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

It’s been said of Jesus that whenever he met a person, it was as if that person were an island around which Jesus sailed until he found where the real problem was, and there he landed. He did that with the woman at the well and landed on the questions of marriage. He said to her, “Go call your husband.” In a luncheon conversation He landed on the question of integrity with Zaccheus and before lunch was over Zaccheus said, “If I have stolen anything from anybody, I will repay it four-fold.” Here in the ...

3615. Making Sure Our Robes Are Washed

Revelation 7:9-17

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Whenever there are people who share a common interest they tend to congregate in crowds. According to the Guinness World Records 23,600 people got together in Upton Park London in May 1999, to blow bubbles. The largest number of visitors to a department store in one day took place on December 20, 1995, in Nextage, Shanghai. A million shoppers showed up. The greatest number of live spectators to any sporting event was 10 million over a three week period at the annual Tour de France. The largest mass choir ...

3616. Why Am I a Christian?

Mark 1:4-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Christian theologian C.S. Lewis once said that Christianity is a religion that you could not have guessed. It is not the sort of thing that anyone would make up. That the Almighty would humble Himself and become a human being in order to suffer and die on a cross to bring new life to His own creation, well, who would have thought it? How odd of God. Yet, it is here that Christians are distinct from other religions of the world. So, I want to begin this series of sermons on world religions by asking myself ...

3617. This Little Light of Mine

Matthew 5:14-26

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Do you know how many T.V. evangelists it takes to change a light bulb? “One, but for the message to continue, send in your donation today." How many Episcopalians does it take to change a light bulb? “What? Change a light bulb? My grandmother donated that light bulb." How many Baptists does it take to change a light bulb? “At least 109, one to change the bulb, 100 to serve on various committees to decide what company should supply the bulb, and 8 to decide who brings the potato salad and fried chicken." ...

3618. Loving Our Enemies, Christian or Crazy?

Matthew 5:43-47

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

In Bill Adler's popular book of letters from kids, an 8 year old boy from Nashville, Tennessee makes this contribution: “Dear Pastor, I know God wants us to love everybody, but he surely never met my sister." Sincerely, Arnold. There is an old jingle I learned as a child that puts it another way: To live above with those we love, well that will be glory. To live below, with those we know, well, that is a different story. In our Quest for Christian Values, we concluded last week that it boils down to loving ...

3619. By Belonging

1 Peter 2:2-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

When I was out three years ago trying to raise eleven million dollars for building expansion and renovations, a member of this congregation gave me a brick. She didn't throw it at me even though she might have felt like it. She discreetly handed it to me after a meeting saying, "As we forge into the future let us not forget the past." You see, the brick came out of our old building on Church Street and she had kept it all of these years. I don't plan to keep it. I plan to put it in the archives being ...

3620. Who's Who

John 1:29-42

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

The first chapter of John bears some similarity to the pilot episode of a television series. In that first episode, the writers and director want to introduce all of the main characters. In a television series, what we learn about the main characters in the first episode helps us understand them for the rest of the time the show is on the air and to see how they develop over the course of the series. John's narrative begins after the prologue, a hymn or poem that sets John's theological agenda. Once the ...

3621. and Forgiveness Come Easy When You’re Filled with The Spirit

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

It's Pentecost Sunday, a day when we celebrate the birth of the Church and the giving of the Holy Spirit, as our lesson from Acts (2:1-21) reports. But the Bible makes it clear that it was not just on that first Pentecost that the Holy Spirit was given. It happened to some in Old Testament times (Judges 6:34; 1 Samuel 11:6; 16:13). However, the Spirit was also given during Jesus' own life on earth. Here's the story. The disciples were still pretty much in despair that Sunday evening over the events of Good ...

3622. Broken Lives and Broken Chains

Luke 8:26-39

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Every one of us, men and women, young and old alike live with a Legacy. Unfortunately, you can't choose the Legacy you have to live with. It's given to you by those who have gone before you. By those who raised you and influenced your life. Some of us live with a with Legacy that has set us free and empowered us. Some of us live with a Legacy that is more like chains which bind us. And struggle as we might we've been unable to break those chains. I wanted to start with that modern retelling of the story we ...

3623. Don’t Blow Off What Is God-Breathed!

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Two “investments” have proven to be recession proof in the past twenty years: security and storage. Why storage? We’ve bought so much stuff we can’t live with all we’ve purchased. So we have “storage” units where we have visitation rights to spend time with our stuff. Why security? Look around you. Security systems are everywhere. Our cars blare their horns and blink their lights if someone dares to open the door without disarming the alarm system. Our houses have security systems that watch-dog our doors ...

3624. 8 Signs You're Not Reading Your Bible

2 Tim 3:14-4:5

Illustration

King Duncan

A group of boys and girls was asked to sum up what they had learned from the New Testament. Here is a summation of what they had learned: "Jesus is the star of the New Testament. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees and the Republicans. Jesus also had twelve opossums. The worst one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him. "Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to ...

3625. Good News about Hair

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

King Duncan

Today we’re going to talk about hair. That’s a universal subject, isn’t? All of us have hair well at least most of us. A balding man once asked his barber, “Why do you charge me full price for cutting my hair? There’s so little of it.” “Actually I don’t charge you that much,” said the barber. “But I do have to tack on a finder’s fee.” A little boy was looking through the family album and asked his mother: “Who’s this guy on the beach with you with all the muscles and curly hair?” “That’s your father,” said ...

Showing results