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 3926 results

3626. A Word to Busy Parents

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

King Duncan

... into quite a prominent family? In England she was known as Baroness Jane Goodall. But she left her safe, secure world to study apes. She spent more than thirty years in Africa and became the world’s top authority on chimpanzees. She writes about the support that helped her get started: “When I decided that the place for me was Africa, everybody said to my mother, ‘Why don’t you tell Jane to concentrate on something attainable?’ But I have a truly remarkable mother. “When I was two years old, I ...

3627. Is God Invited?

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... year, on the second Sunday of January, my dad would preach his drinking sermon — or, I should say his anti-drinking sermon. Having seen firsthand in my mother’s family the deathly cost of drunkenness, having spent more nights than he could remember offering pastoral support to families dealing with the fall-out of alcohol, Dad was convinced that alcohol was a demon. It was all too often the destroyer of the abundant life which God gives us to cherish. His message was pretty simple. If our bodies are the ...

3628. Trusting Authority

Luke 7:1-10

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... in the Roman army and he expects and receives the allegiance and obedience of the soldiers under his command. It also appears that although he is a Gentile, he is a friend of the Jews, enjoying their worship, respecting their ethical teachings, and supporting the local community by financing their synagogue. Like Sam, he is a seeker, but not quite yet a believer. At first glance we may consider this particular gospel account to be a healing story. But the healing is secondary to the trust that this ...

3629. The Reception was Excellent

John 2:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... t play dice with the universe.” That is, God created the natural order and He pronounced that it is good. Indeed it is perfect. Think about it. As far as we know to this point, earth is still the only planet in the universe that supports intelligent life. What a magnificent planet God has given us. It is perfectly balanced--just enough light, just enough darkness, just enough moisture, just enough dry land, just enough heat, just enough cold to sustain the lives of billions of people. [This is why issues ...

3630. Blessed Among Women

Luke 1:39-56

Sermon

Charles H. Bayer

... with God and is blessed among women -- and she says so. Again, men will hardly offer that gentle kind of affirmation to other men. We might slap each other on the back, but there won't be much tenderness about it. Not so with women. Mutual support, cooperation, kinship, gentleness often lie at the heart of their important conversations -- not competition, who is the stronger, richer or smarter. In the musical, My Fair Lady, the leading male character asks, "Why can't a woman be more like a man?" I'm not ...

3631. What to Give Up for Lent

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... mention of Lent. Their new pastor, however, had suggested the congregation might find the rhythm of a traditional church calendar spiritually enriching. He said they might even find it relevant. The Faithful Followers Sunday School class was not convinced but wanted to be supportive of their new leader and decided to give it a try. In the past few weeks, they had learned Lent is to be a time of preparation for Easter; a time of enhanced participation in worship, Bible study, prayer, and wrestling with the ...

3632. Blago and Radnan, Two Lost Sons

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... name. They came with almost no money. Their assets were limited to a love of family, a willingness to work hard, and an unshakeable confidence in the value of honesty and integrity. For years they lived in a basement apartment in the urban core. To support the family, Yakob mowed lawns or shoveled snow during daylight hours and worked midnight to morning at a local bodega. It took several years, but Yakob saved a down payment and secured a loan to buy a gas station and convenience store on a freeway exit ...

3633. Be Ready for the Possibility of the Resurrection

John 20:1-18

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... a few strident voices shouted “crucify him, crucify him,” the Roman governor condemned Jesus to death by crucifixion. That was a particularly cruel form of execution. Nails were driven through the hands and feet. The full weight of the victim’s body was supported only by those iron piercings. After extended suffering from shock, exposure, dehydration, and the loss of blood, death came as a blessed relief. It was not unusual to survive on a cross for days. Jesus, however, was in such a weakened state ...

3634. The Value of Doubt

John 20:19-31

Sermon

R. Robert Cueni

... go, that we may die with him” (John 11:16). There are a couple ways to interpret Thomas’ comment. It might be an expression of enormous courage. Perhaps, Thomas was not afraid to die and he was simply encouraging the others. “Come on. Let’s go to Bethany and support Jesus even if it means we die with him.” On the other hand Thomas could be expressing sarcasm. “Let’s go to Bethany and die. Now, there is a great idea. Let me suggest that we save the long walk to Bethany. Let’s hold hands, sing ...

3635. Failure and Perseverance

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

When he was seven years old, his family was forced out of their home on a legal technicality, and he had to work to help support them. At age nine, his mother died. At twenty-two, he lost his job as a store clerk. He wanted to go to law school, bur his education wasn't good enough. At twenty- three, he went into debt to become a partner in a small store. At twenty-six, ...

3636. A Great Run

Illustration

Samuel Moor Shoemaker

... have ever "deserved" eternal life. But with Christ's atonement and Him gone on before, I have neither doubt nor fear whether I am left here a brief time or a long one. I believe that I shall see Him and know Him, and that eternity will be an endless support unity to consort with the great souls and the lesser ones who have entered into the freedom of the heavenly city. It is His forgiveness and grace that give confidence and not merits of our own. But again, I say, it's been a great run. I'm thankful for ...

3637. A Solemn yet Joyous Feast

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

King Duncan

... that discouraged others from helping; it was someone who was blind. The woman with the twisted legs allowed the woman who was blind to take her arm. “As they struggled to the altar, something happened. The unsteady one became the eyes for the blind one who supported her. They reached the altar together, and they shared the sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ, who healed the lame and made the blind to see.” (6) The table of Christ is a family table. We are a family. That means we are responsible for one ...

3638. Who Took What with Her?

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... Confederate spy during the Civil War, who tried to evade capture and the loss of her fortune by sewing the gold she had gained into the seams of her dress. But the ship she boarded sank, and the weight of the gold made it impossible for the life preserver to support her. She sank to the bottom with all her wealth. Dr. Pierce Harris, who told the story, pointed out that death did to her what it does to all of us, because we "cannot take it with us" when we die. But sometimes, we might add, it takes us with ...

3639. It Couldn't Be Done

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... dismissed Westinghouse and his new air brakes for trains, stating, "I have no time to waste on fools." 5. Those who loaned Robert Fulton money for his steamboat project stipulated that their names be withheld for fear of ridicule were it known they supported anything so "foolhardy." 6. In 1881, when the New York YWCA announced typing lessons for women, vigorous protests were made on the grounds that the female constitution would break down under the strain. 7. Men insisted that iron ships would not float ...

3640. Like a Fort

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... it. Though unpretentious, it was most sufficient. Its primary commendation was its security. When under attack, often by superior forces, Lawrence could retreat there. Then the resources of the fortress became his. The food and water stored there were life supporting. The strength of the fortification became the strength of its occupants. When Lawrence defended it, it defended him. As one relying on the garrison, he was the object of its protection. Its strength was his. Old desert dwellers living around ...

3641. Getting What You Want

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

... away making pant cuffs, hemming dresses. Now he could really live! He locked his shop and threw the key into the Charles River. He bought himself a wardrobe fit for a king, a new Rolls Royce, a suite of rooms at the Ritz, and soon was supporting a string of attractive women. Night after night he partied until dawn, spending his money as if each day was his last. Of course the inevitable happened. One day the money was gone. Furthermore, he had nearly wrecked his health. Disillusioned, ridden with fever and ...

3642. Lying By the Side of the Road

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... in Character, former Congresswoman Barbara Cubin of Wyoming tells how her character was shaped by the moral influence of her parents. Barbara’s parents divorced when she was young. A few years later, Barbara’s mother remarried. Her new stepfather worked hard to support the family. One particular story demonstrates the kind of person he was. Barbara’s birth father, while on a visit to Wyoming, was beaten and robbed. Evidently he was not in good condition and he was alone. At the hospital, a paramedic ...

3643. Time to Pick a Side

Luke 12:49-53

Sermon

King Duncan

... . So at sixteen years old, Ron was temporarily homeless and living out of his car. Ron’s pastor took him in. As Ron would later write, “Being a part of my pastor’s family was the most incredible experience of my Christian growth.” With the support of his new family, Ron Luce graduated from high school and college and went into the ministry. Today, he is the co-founder and president of Teen Mania Ministries where he devotes himself to spreading the message of God’s hope and love to teenagers. (5 ...

3644. Use Your Head as Well as Your Heart

Luke 14:25-33

Sermon

King Duncan

... and difficult. It begins early Monday morning and the average male runner finishes in a little over 4 hours. Maickel Melamed finished the race in slightly less than 20 hours. He crossed the finish line in the dark in a pelting rain with a flock of supporters cheering him on. He was interviewed shortly after completing the race and here is what he said, “It was hard on the body, but in the soul everything is shining.” (5) Committed followers of Jesus will someday say something like that about the cost of ...

3645. What Super Power Would You Choose?

Luke 10:1-11, 7-20

Sermon

King Duncan

... in the second term. The seminary students were sent out to homeless shelters and soup kitchens in the rough part of the city. They saw how unjust social systems kept poor people poor. They saw how hard the inner-city citizens worked just to survive, to support their families, to get justice from a system that treated them like “garbage.” In that second term, Taylor wrote, “Most days, all we did was bandage them up and send them back out on the streets, so that they could get chewed up all over again ...

3646. Mr. Beam's Legacy

Matthew 14:13-21

Illustration

Charles Lindquist, Jr.

... was the end of his preaching. It nearly broke his heart -- the man who loved preaching so much. When he died, he left all he had to a church in Charlotte for “purposes of evangelism” he said. What he left grew and grew and now, single-handedly supports the weekly television ministry. And it is said around Charlotte that in a single service on any given Sunday, more people hear the message of Christ than Mr. Beam ever preached to in a whole lifetime. “You provide the bread. Let God take care of the ...

3647. Shooting the Saints

Illustration

Source Unknown

It is said that when the British and French were fighting in Canada in the 1750s, Admiral Phipps, commander of the British fleet, was told to anchor outside Quebec. He was given orders to wait for the British land forces to arrive, then support them when they attacked the city. Phipps’ navy arrived early. As the admiral waited, he became annoyed by the statues of the saints that adorned the towers of a nearby cathedral, so he commanded his men to shoot at them with the ships’ cannons. No one knows how ...

3648. Join in the Singing

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... feeble and their knees weak. What does that mean? It means they are too afraid to lift their hands in praise to God. They are too drained to use their hands for purposeful work. Weak knees keep us from kneeling to pray or walking with God. Weak knees can’t support us under the burden of worry and stress. What can restore strength to feeble hands and weak knees? Hope. Hope that there is a God, and that this God cares about us. Hope that there is a God, and that this God has a plan and a purpose for us ...

3649. In Need of a "Rally Monkey"

Luke 17:5-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... the recipient of three National League Most Valuable Player awards. But people who know him best say that even more impressive than his feats on the field is his life off the field. For one thing, the Pujols Family Foundation he started offers support and care to people with Down syndrome and their families. The foundation also helps the poor in Pujols’ native Dominican Republic. But Albert Pujols seeks in other ways to practice what he preaches. While speaking at an event at Lafayette Senior High School ...

3650. A Child of the Resurrection

Luke 20:27-38

Sermon

King Duncan

... a wealthy and powerful Jewish sect. They controlled the priesthood and the temple. The Sanhedrin was the governing body over the Jews in the Roman Empire. The Chief Priest of the Sanhedrin and most of its members were Sadducees. The Roman government supported the Sadducees and kept them in power because the Sadducees preferred Greek customs over Jewish ones. The Sadducees based all their religious beliefs on the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament. According to them, there was no evidence in ...

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