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 4963 results

3601. No Poland without a Cross

Mark 8:31-38, Matthew 16:21-28

Illustration

Chuck Colson

... classroom walls, just as they had been banned in factories, hospitals, and other public institutions. Catholic bishops attacked the ban that had stirred waves of anger and resentment all across Poland. Ultimately the government relented, insisting that the law remain on the books, but agreeing not to press for removal of the crucifixes, particularly in the schoolrooms. But one zealous Communist school administrator in Garwolin decided that the law was the law. So one evening he had seven large crucifixes ...

3602. John 2:13-22

John 2:12-25

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Exodus 19:16 and preceding today’s text, John 2:1). Even in twenty-first century idiom we still refer to getting something accomplished “in a trice” (Lindar, “Gospel,” 143). Jesus’ vocabulary and time frame are lost on “the Jews,” who remain fixated on the physical temple of stone, and are well aware of the amount of time and effort enormous construction projects require. The “forty-six years” they enumerate do not actually correspond to any known construction times for the temple. But ...

3603. Our Need for Prayer and Communion with God

1 John 4:8

Illustration

Digma.com

... ” (Dean Ornish, Love and Survival, p. 29). We are literally engineered for love. We are made for love, as if our DNA contains the message, “You must love and be loved in order to survive.” But why? Why love. Science says that's a mystery. For them the “mystery remains. No one can fully explain, why love and intimacy matter so much." Let me let you in on a little secret. We know why. We know that we are made in the image of God. And if God is love, so are we. Note: The above version of this story ...

3604. John 3:14-21

John 3:1-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... story knowledge that fuels this preference. The knowledge of what is “good” and what is “evil” is known to all people. Those who choose to reject God’s light do so because they “KNOW their deeds are “evil” — and they know that evil deeds should remain hidden in the darkness. But creation-knowledge also brings recognition of what is “good.” For those who respond to the Son of God, the One who is, especially according to John’s gospel (1:9; 8:12; 9:5), the “Light of the World,” the ...

3605. When a Grain of Wheat Falls - Sermon Starter

John 12:20-36

Illustration

Brett Blair

... it comes to "packaging" or presenting the Christian religion. They try to make the call of Jesus Christ as easy as possible because they're afraid people won't "buy it" if it seems too hard. Jesus said, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies it bears much fruit. Jesus then explained what he meant. He said, "The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it." It's true in life isn't it ...

3606. Even the Great Believers Doubt

John 20:19-23

Illustration

Mickey Anders

... think the great believers of the faith never doubted. They know about the faith of the famous Christian leaders, but not about their inner struggles. One Christian leader at the turn of the century wrote in his autobiography: "My religious faith remains in possession of the field only after prolonged civil war with my naturally skeptical mind." The Scottish reformer, John Knox, wrote of a time when his soul knew "anger, wrath and indignation, which is concei6ved against God, calling all his promises ...

3607. Mark 15: 1-39 (40-47)

Mark 15:1-15

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... a hand-picked group already coached on what was expected of them. Mark’s text has Pilate offering a possible way out for Jesus three different times (15:9, 12, 14). But after choosing Barabbas over Jesus “the crowd” twice demands that the remaining prisoner, Jesus, get the maximum penalty, “Crucify him.” In fact, the crowd’s fervor finally gives Pilate a good political reason for carry out that death penalty the prefect will gain some measure of good will among the Jewish population. Pilate opts ...

3608. Easter 7

Acts 1:12-26, 1 John 5:1-12, John 17:6-19

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... one of them even betrayed him. Paul refers to factions in his churches. Throughout her history, the church has been split into various hostile groups. To this day schisms are occurring. Here we see that unity is not a human achievement but a divine gift to those who remain in God's name. An example of unity for the church is the oneness existing between the Father and the Son. 2. Lost (v. 12). It is a word we hesitate to say. Is any person really lost? Jesus, in his prayer, refers to Judas as "lost." Jesus ...

3609. Proper 18

Proverbs 22:1-16, Mark 7:24-37, James 2:1-13

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... 's ears and touched his tongue. Jesus looked to heaven in prayer for power to heal. He sighed a sigh of compassion or weariness? The miracle was performed privately and he asked for silence about it. But the people were so impressed that they could not remain silent. They gave Jesus an evaluation: "He has done all things well." THEOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS Gospel: Mark 7:24-37 1. Brought (v. 32). It is significant that many who were healed came not on their own but they were brought to Jesus for healing. In this ...

3610. Proper 20

Mark 9:33-37, Mark 9:14-32, James 4:1-12, James 3:1-12, Proverbs 31:10-31

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... (9:32, 34). Need: In a world of noise and chatter, in a world of talk-talk by radio and television, silence seems to be golden. There are times, however, when silence is not golden but incriminating. To appeal to the Fifth Amendment in order to remain silent usually means that the silence suggests guilt. In this Gospel lesson, the disciples are silent when they should have been vocal. We, too, can often be in the same situation. Outline: When silence is not golden a. The silence of fear v. 32. 1. Fear ...

3611. Proper 22

Job 1:1-5, Job 2:1-10, Hebrews 1:1-14, Hebrews 2:5-18, Mark 10:1-12, Mark 10:13-16

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... 's creation of humanity as male and female. By virtue of this, marriage has its source in God. God made male and female for each other to live together as friends and in helpfulness. In marriage the two became one unit and God intends the unit to remain for life. 3. Flesh (v. 8). Flesh is more than the physical body or sex. A sexual union does not necessarily make two people one. They are momentarily joined together physically for the completion of the sex act, but they are not necessarily one. "Flesh" goes ...

3612. Tyranny of the Urgent

John 15:1-8

Illustration

Joel Leyrer

... . He is the One who now, at this very moment, lovingly oversees our lives and awaits us to join Him in the heavenly mansion He has prepared for us. Until that time He asks us to forego all the urgent things in order to fulfill the one important task of "remaining in Him."

3613. The Apostles as Vines

John 15:1-8

Illustration

James E. Talmage

... the rooted trunk, and if cut away or broken off withers, dries, and becomes utterly worthless except as fuel for the burning, so those men, though ordained to the Holy Apostleship, would find themselves strong and fruitful in good works, only as they remained in steadfast communion with the Lord. Without Christ what were they, but unschooled Galileans, some of them fishermen, one a publican, the rest of undistinguished attainments, and all of them weak mortals? As branches of the Vine they were at that hour ...

3614. The Meaning of Life - Sermon Starter

John 17:6-19

Illustration

Brett Blair

... disciples alone in the world and he goes before God as a priest would, to intercede for them, to pray for them. Listen again to his prayer. I am lifting out a few key verses: "While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe, but I will remain in the world no longer…Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over ...

3615. A Violent Wind

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

... to the hardened sinner.” We never know when or where the Spirit will manifest itself. Sometimes it comes when we least expect it. Pastor Richard E. Stetler tells a delightful story of a very wealthy woman who left the church but chose to remain on the rolls in order to receive the church newsletter. She had a falling out with the minister some years before and vowed never to return. She became hospitalized and the minister became informed of this by another member of the congregation. Knowing that ...

3616. A Mother's Love

John 15:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... later, the newborn is hurled from its mother’s body, falls ten feet, and lands on its back. Within seconds, it rolls to an upright position with its legs tucked under its body. From this position, it views the world for the first time and shakes off any remaining birthing fluid. “The mother giraffe lowers her head just long enough to take a quick look at her calf and then she does what seems to be a very unreasonable thing: she kicks her baby, sending it sprawling head over heels. If it doesn’t get up ...

3617. Penney's Change

John 3:1-21

Illustration

E. Carver McGriff

... , a Sunday morning. He heard a group of nurses having a brief worship service in a nearby room and struggled up out of bed and joined them. While there, he committed his life to Jesus Christ. That man recovered. Thereafter, for the rest of his life, he remained faithful to his commitment. He referred every business and every personal decision to God, was resolute in his ethics, living by the teachings of Jesus. You've heard of this man, who told all of this in a book about his life. His name was J. C ...

3618. The Third Ear and the Imagination of Jesus

Mark 4:1-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Jesus as the “New Adam” and the “Last Adam,” but for them this was a salvation-history identity. The First Adam had fallen into sin and the relationship between God and the people God created was fatally fractured. Jesus, as the Second or Last Adam, remained obedient to the Father, even to the cross, even to death. In the Last Adam the right relationship with God is reestablished, and the power of death itself is destroyed. We are returned to the Garden where we can once again sing, “And He walks ...

3619. Mark 4: 26-34

Mark 4:26-29

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... apparently had no better hearing than the general population. They simply got a second chance to “hear” when Jesus “explained everything in private to his disciples” (v.34). Even so, it becomes increasingly evident as Mark’s story progresses, that Jesus’ “Cliff Notes” never quite did the trick. The disciples remained excruciatingly hard of hearing when it came to Jesus’ parables.

3620. A Life of Trust

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... in one of his sermons: A lobster, when left high and dry among the rocks, isn’t smart enough or does not have enough initiative to make his way back to the sea. Instead, he waits for the sea to come to him. If the sea does not come, he remains where he is, and dies. He does this in spite of the fact that the slightest exertion would enable him to reach the waves, which are perhaps tossing and tumbling within a yard of him. (8) Beecher’s point was that some people are like that lobster. At some time ...

3621. Proper 20

Psalm 1:1-6, Proverbs 31:10-31, Mark 9:30-37, James 3:13-18

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

... against the powers of evil and seek his power to resist all evil in and around us. In his name. Amen PRAYER OF CONFESSION God of the gospel, the One who sends, the One who is sent and returns, the One who is sent and remains with the church, we declare our need of the wisdom that is from above, pure, peace-loving, considerate, open to reason. We can be devious rather than straightforward, hypocritical rather than sincere, unforgiving rather than merciful, cruel rather than kind. Forgive the bitter jealousy ...

3622. Proper 26

Mark 12:28-34, Psalm 146:1-10, Ruth 1:1-22, Hebrews 9:11-28

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

... serve the common good together. We worship you with thankful hearts, with open minds, with willing hands, in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Amen PRAYER OF DEDICATION Lord, save us from hypocrisy, not serving you with these offerings only, and ourselves with what remains in our keeping. Help us to use all our energies and all our means to serve you and our neighbors as ourselves: through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION AND COMMEMORATION Covenant God, you keep faith forever. May we honor your ...

3623. Lent 5

Psalm 51:1-19, Jeremiah 31:31-34, John 12:20-33, Hebrews 5:5-10

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

... God of justice, delivering champion, purifying Spirit, you give us joy in remembering our deliverance from the power of the evil one through the victory of Christ and the Cross. You have not driven us from you, but created pure hearts within us that we might remain near you. We will sing the praise of your justice and commit ourselves to teach the way that leads to you, to other transgressors, who may also turn to you again and know the joy of your salvation. Receive our praise, God of old and new ...

3624. Easter 5

Psalm 22:1-31, John 15:1-8, Acts 8:26-40, 1 John 4:7-21

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

... disclosed to us in the sending of the divine Son into the world to bring us life. People: The divine Son, Jesus Christ, is the remedy of the defilement of our sins. Pastor: Friends, believe the good news! People: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Exhortation Remain united with the Vine, Jesus Christ. No branch can bear fruit by itself. PRAYER OF THE DAY Divine Vine Tender, so prune and tie us as branches of the vine that, being rid of all unfruitfulness and directed by the commands of Christ, we may bear ...

3625. Lent 3

Exodus 20:1-21, Psalm 19:1-14, John 2:13-22, 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

... for good candidates for public office. Help us to be good citizens and cooperative volunteers in groups and agencies that serve the needs of others. As you have provided for a day of rest in each week of work, you have also created a rest that remains for your children. We rejoice in the completion of the work of those you have called to their final Sabbath and seek to serve you faithfully throughout our own lifetimes. Then give us joy together again in your heavenly garden where blooms the tree with leaves ...

Showing results