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 3626 to 3650 of 4977 results

3626. Are You Running?

John 12:12-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

One of the most striking things about Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday are the big crowds. We love big crowds and we welcome big crowds. Dressed in new spring clothing (and probably freezing in it!), those who aren't quite regular attenders will swell our numbers next week as the church celebrates the spring miracle of Easter. It's exhilarating to be part of a big crowd, a great gathering of happy, expectant worshipers reaffirming our faith and refilling our spirits with the hopes and promises of the ...

3627. Orient Your "itudes"

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... 95 exorcists, the highest number in a century. In the middle of that year, The New York Times (14 June 1998) reported on lay exorcist Baron Deacon, who stood in front of the US Capitol and attempted to exorcise the demons from Congress. By the way, he soon quit and acknowledged that the job was too big for him. Of course, not even Jesus started by cleaning out congress, or the Roman Senate, or even the synagogue (that came at the end of his ministry). Jesus started one mind at a time, one spirit at a time ...

3628. The Oneness of Twoness

Romans 14:1--15:13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say December 25th is just a "Holiday". Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it! CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod Something was changing, something quite odd! Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda. As Targets were hanging their trees upside down At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found. At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears You won't ...

3629. Looking for Shoots or Roots?

Matthew 11:1-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of breezes—-an opposite characteristic of John’s tough, uncompromising message of repentance preached. Verse 8 offers another opposite image of John the Baptist. He certainly was not “dressed in soft robes.” Soft robes are found in royal palaces—-a location quite the opposite of Herod Antipas’s dungeon. Obviously, what people went out to see on the banks of the Jordan was “a prophet.” Jesus now asserts that John is “more than a prophet,” citing scripture (a combination of Malachi 3:1 ...

3630. Make Room for Mystery

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

James McCormick

There is a poem which begins: “God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform”. There was a time in history when people were quite comfortable with that idea. After all, for pre-scientific people, the mysterious, the unexplainable was a part of everyday life. There was so much that they could not understand that they put it all in the general category of “mystery”, and they accounted for that by pointing to God. If ...

3631. What to Do with Yesterday - A Sermon for a New Year

Psalm 103:1-22

Sermon

James McCormick

... it, and we can allow God to help us learn from it. We can allow God to cut the cable on our barge and allow it to float away forever. And we can allow God to help us learn painful lessons from the past, so that we don’t accumulate quite as much garbage in the future. Remember, God is far more interested in the future than in the past. God has promised to cut us free from the past so that we can move unhindered into a good future. That’s what our scripture promises: “As far as the east ...

3632. Lord, Teach Us How to Pray

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

James McCormick

... less important. I’ve never seen a person sit down at a bridge table, bid the hand correctly and make a grand slam the first time out. But neither have I seen people make a mistake and say, “I’ve tried bridge and I can’t play it, so I quit.” No, they work at it, often for years. They read books, talk with experienced players, and they practice. And, by working at it, they improve. I’ve never seen a person go to the golf course and play a round in par the first time out. I know I didn ...

3633. What Is That in Your Hand?

Exodus 4:1-17

Sermon

James McCormick

... and die, but the gifts we give to You are enlarged and used for the good of all Your children. Every moment of every day, assure us that You will be with us, that Your power and strength will be at work in us, making whatever we have to offer, quite good enough. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

3634. Being Christian in the Family

Matthew 7:24-29

Sermon

James McCormick

... I said in the beginning? “There is virtually no limit to how high you can go, as long as the foundation is deep enough and strong enough.” Well, how about this for a foundation: durable, dependable love; strong Christian values; and Christian faith, affirmed and lived out. That is quite a foundation, one strong enough to last! Prayer: Father, be with us in our families as we seek to love one another as You love us: wisely, strongly, dependably, and without strings. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

3635. Thanksgiving Is a Choice

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Sermon

James McCormick

It was a few weeks after the birthday celebration and the mother constantly had been after her 12 year old daughter to write her “thank you” notes. The relationship between them had become quite strained when the girl finally sat down to “do her duty.” Her first note was to her aunt who lived out of state. The aunt had sent her a pin cushion, a lovely gift, but not on the request list of many 12 year olds. The note was brief. She ...

3636. Luke 1:26-38

Luke 1:26-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... man. The Septuagint uses the same term to describe the maiden who shall conceive in Isaiah 7:14. Technically the term describes a young yet still unmarried girl. Mary's status is unmarried, but to be betrothed in the first century was quite different than simply being single. "Betrothal" described a legal contract established between the two families of the daughter and son involved. While the daughter would continue to live with her own family during the length of her betrothal, her future husband already ...

3637. Want to Be Happy?

Matthew 3:13-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... around its oval track. Finally, he said to the clerk who was demonstrating the toy: “I’ll take one.” Whereupon the clerk said, “Your grandson will love it.” “Then I’ll take two,” the man replied. It’s one thing to take two. But it’s quite another thing to take toys, whether little-boy train sets or big-boy Hummer houses, as the measure of happiness. Every commercial in one form or another seduces us with the notion that money can buy happiness. You want to be happy? Buy that car, wear ...

3638. The Counter Intelligence of the Cross

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5, 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... cross, the self-sacrifice that changed the world for everyone for all time. Paul preached the cross as “gospel.” Paul always started at the END of the story and then worked his way forward. The Corinthians wanted to start at the manger, and hopefully never quite get to the end. But what Paul reminded this sophia-smitten church was that the “end,” the conclusion on the cross, was really just the beginning-—the beginning of a whole new world of possibility for men and women who entered into a new ...

3639. Where the Scary Things Live

Matthew 4:12-23

Illustration

Johnny Dean

... fearful mess we've made of our lives. Somewhere, sometime, we believe that WE have seen that light. We remember seeing it, once upon a time, a long time ago. If only we could find it again - or if IT could find US - then maybe the darkness wouldn't be quite so threatening and ominous.

3640. A Mountain of Meaning - Sermon Starter

Matthew 17:1-13

Illustration

Brett Blair

... . They demand that we be silent and listen. These moments have something to say to us, to teach us. But too often our response is like that of Peter, babbling absurdities because we cannot understand the significant, the meaningful moment. When Peter does finally quit talking nonsense a cloud appears, envelopes them, and the voice of God gives this instruction to Peter, James, and John: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to Him!" That's it. Very short. To the point. What Peter said made no sense. What ...

3641. The Battle Hymn

Matthew 17:1-9

Illustration

... and the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" became the major war song of the Union forces. The opening words and the refrain are certainly familiar: "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord...Glory, hallelujah! his truth is marching on." Perhaps the last verse is not quite as well known, which speaks of "a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me...While God is marching on."

3642. Advent 2

Matthew 3:1-12, Romans 14:1--15:13, Isaiah 11:1-16, Psalm 72:1-20

Sermon Aid