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 3701 to 3725 of 4490 results

3701. Justification and Reconciliation

Romans 3:21-31

Sermon Aid

T. A. Kantonen

Two fundamental and interrelated concepts in Paul’s message of salvation are justification and reconciliation. When the apostle speaks of salvation in terms of vicarious sacrifice and redemption, he is describing salvation as a purely objective salvation-occurrence. The saving sacrifice has already been made. The redemptive deed has already been done. The victory over the forces of evil has already been won. Justification and reconciliation, on the other hand, show how what Christ has done can become for ...

3702. Why Did The Cheering Stop? - Sermon Starter

Matthew 21:1-11

Illustration

Brett Blair

Some years ago a book was written by a noted American historian entitled “When The Cheering Stopped.” It was the story of President Woodrow Wilson and the events leading up to and following WWI. When that war was over Wilson was an international hero, There was a great spirit of optimism abroad, and people actually believed that the last war had been fought and the world had been made safe for democracy. On his first visit to Paris after the war Wilson was greeted by cheering mobs. He was actually more ...

3703. When Your Sister or Brother Stumbles

2 Corinthians 2:5-11

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Sometime ago Ann Landers received the following letter from a woman in Dubuque, Iowa: "Dear Ann, My neighbor considers herself a born-again Christian, yet I know for certain that she cheats on her husband. What do you have to say about this?" Ann Landers replied, "I'd say she was a born-again Christian with birth defects." The fact of the matter is that all of us have birth defects of one sort or another. That is, none of us Christians ceases to be a sinner. We are forgiven sinners, sinners under ...

3704. A Vital Night Call

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

One of the things that pastors, doctors, fire-fighters, and police have in common that they all receive occasional night calls. And most pastors would agree that some of our most significant opportunities to help people have come in response to night-time calls, usually of an emergency nature. However, not all of our night calls are that significant. Dr. Robert Ozmont of First united Methodist Church in Atlanta received a call one night about 2:00 AM. He did not know the lady who called; she had found his ...

3705. A Reason For All To Be Thankful

Romans 8:28-39

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

One must be very careful with a Thanksgiving sermon. In the first place, not everyone feels thankful; and those who do are not thankful for the same things. In fact, one person's cause for thanksgiving could be another person's cause for gloom. I could illustrate that in the political realm, but I better not. I could illustrate that from the world of sports, but I don't think I need to. Some people are thankful for their jobs, while others despise their jobs but don't know where to find other employment. ...

3706. Family Reunion

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

I hope that for many of you Thanksgiving Day provided a wonderful family reunion. Why is it that as one gets older, one appreciates family reunions more? Do you remember how much we hated them as teenagers? Teenagers still do. Standing around and making small talk with strangers who share nothing in common with you except a last name. Having older persons pat you patronizingly and marvel at how much you've grown. Then they discuss whose nose you have, whose eyes you have, and even whose ears you have. ...

3707. The Hiding Angel

1 John 2:28--3:10

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

In art class some children were working with plasticine, a clay-like substance that can be used over and over because it does not harden. A little girl had made a very nice model of a creature with wings. She held it up and said to everyone, "Look at the angel." There were exclamations of delight from the class and teacher. Then the girl quickly molded the angel back into a ball and asked everyone, "Now what is this?" Someone said, "It looks like a ball to me." "No," she said, "It's a hiding angel." The ...

3708. The Words We Speak

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Chuck Swindoll in his book, "Flying Closer to the Flame," tells about a married couple who attended a seminar taught by a male demagogue. I refer to that type of man who uses scripture improperly to make husbands domestic autocrats and to turn wives into lowly doormats. Well, the husband just loved everything this man said! But his wife sat there fuming. When they left the meeting that night, the husband felt drunk with fresh power as he climbed into the car. While driving home he said rather pompously, " ...

3709. A Haven For Troubled Hearts

John 14:1-4

Sermon

Brett Blair

Eric Clapton, arguably the greatest living rock guitarist, wrote a heart wrenching song about the death of his four-year-old son (March 20, 1991). He fell from a 53rd-story window. Clapton took nine months off and when he returned his music had changed. The hardship had made his music softer, more powerful, and more reflective. You have perhaps heard the song he wrote about his son's death. It is a poignant song of hope: Would you know my name if I saw you in heaven? Would it be the same if I saw you in ...

3710. It’s About Time!

Drama

Sarah Walton Miller

You will recognize the many scriptures on which this skit is based. Suggestion: if this is done in a study group, get some good concordances. Let the students search out the scriptures used. They all relate to time. At stage back, on risers or other levels, are three characters: TIME PAST, TIME PRESENT, TIME FUTURE. Perhaps they are similarly dressed. Downstage left are two high stools. On one is CHRISTIAN-WITH-EXCUSES, on the other NON-CHRISTIAN. At downstage right is a small lectern for the READER. ...

3711. Mending Broken Relationships

Matthew 5:23-24

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: Scotch tape; a piece of colored paper that can be torn easily Good morning, boys and girls, and a happy middle of July. It sure is strange how the days pass so quickly and there are so many things to do before school starts again. Makes us wonder if we’ll get them all done. Most of the time we have fun, although every once in a while I hear noises that make me think boys and girls aren’t having such a good time. When I hear screaming and yelling and name-calling, I think that something else is ...

3712. CHARIOTEER

Jeremiah 51:21; 1 Kings 9:22

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

Jeremiah 51:21 - "... with you I break in pieces the chariot and the charioteer." 1 Kings 9:22 - "But of the people of Israel Solomon made no slaves; they were the soldiers, they were his officials, his commanders, his captains, his chariot commanders and his horsemen." A chariot was a two-wheeled vehicle used mainly in war, although at first this was true of the other nations rather than Israel. Actually, because of its terrain, chariots were largely unsuited for use in Palestine, and for that reason, the ...

3713. At The Manger By Invitation

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

I know of a certain family which has for years spent a Saturday in mid-December finding and bringing home the right Christmas tree. They do not buy a tree off a lot. Instead, they prefer to go to a tree farm. There they spend much time selecting the tree that is just right--not too tall, not too thin, with just the right shape. Then the tree is cut down and brought home. Last year the choice was very difficult. Not because there weren't a lot of beautiful trees available. The problem was that the youngest ...

3714. A Prophet in a Panic

1 Kings 19:9-18

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Is it a commentary on television that nowadays some of the best programs are the commercials? One of my all-time favorites was made by the Aetna Insurance Company. It shows a father going through a goodnight ritual with his young son. First, the father has to look under the bed and then check the closet to make sure no monsters are there. Then, having secured the room, he says goodnight. As he leaves the room, a shaky little voice says, "Dad, would you leave the hall light on?" All of us can relate to that ...

3715. God of Wrath and Grace

Genesis 6:1-8:22

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

There is a certain character on a British TV situation comedy who is always saying to someone else, “I have good news and bad news for you. Which do you want first?” Somehow the bad news always turns out to be worse than the good news is good. One day a hospital surgeon told his patient, “ I have some good news and some bad news. Which do you want to hear first?” The patient said, “Give me the bad news.” The doctor said, “We are going to have to amputate both of your feet.” The patient said, “Oh, that’s ...

3716. Service Beset by "What’s the Use?"

Isaiah 49:1-7

Sermon

Donald Macleod

In one of his poems, John Greenleaf Whittier wrote these lines: Of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these: It might have been. Today, if we were asked to rewrite Whittier’s lines to reflect the mood of many people, we might put it this way: Of all sad words that are on the loose, The saddest are these: What’s the use? Some years ago in Chicago, a parish minister sent out hundreds of questionnaires to people in every walk of life. He received a surprisingly great response, all of which he ...

3717. The Marvelous Style Of Jesus: Truth And Love

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Joseph M. Freeman

Jesus' use of parables is his way of communicating a striking truth with significant love. In my own journey as a Christian person, the most amazing quality of God which has been so instructive to me, is that He approaches us with equal doses of love and truth. How different He is than us. When I see someone in error and that error has personally hurt me, I go for that person's jugular, to deliver the truth, but little or no love accompanies it. Hence, the person becomes defensive and flatly refuses the ...

3718. Out of Doors: Nature and Supernatural

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

J. Ellsworth Kalas

Some 75 years ago the great poet-preacher, Henry Van Dyke, traveled to the Holy Land. He returned from his journey with many memories and insights, but high among them was a "new conviction": "Christianity," he said, "is an out-of-doors religion." From Jesus’ birth in a cave to his crucifixion on a hill outside Jerusalem, all of its important events - with perhaps two or three exceptions - took place in the out-of-doors. Van Dyke was so impressed that when he returned to America and wrote the story of his ...

3719. The Suffering Servant

Drama

Curt M. Joseph

Characters: Caiaphas - High Priest in Jerusalem; an able person, perhaps a bit weak; not always sure that everything he is doing is correct. Annas - the ex-High Priest in Jerusalem; father-in-law of Caiaphas; seen as the real power "behind the throne." Temple Guard - very formal in his approach. Judas - he waivers between very sure of what he is doing and rather unsure. The play opens with Caiaphas, working alone at his desk in his office. After several moments he is joined by his father-in-law. Guard: ( ...

3720. Stewards of Life, Death, and Beyond

Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

Buddy Hackett told a story on the Johnny Carson Show which was about "bad news and very bad news." A medical doctor called his patient and said, "I have bad news and very bad news. The bad news is that you are terminally ill and will die in 24 hours." The patient couldn’t imagine anything worse than that and so asked to be told the very bad news. The doctor replied, "The very bad news is that I should have called you yesterday!" The news in the recent past has been bad and very bad and full of life and ...

3721. Mother Teresa and the Dying Poor

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

Jesus took his closest followers up on the side of a mountain for a spiritual retreat. There he tried to teach them about Christianity. One of the great promises he gave them was, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (Matthew 5:7). Seventy-six-year-old Mother Teresa of India knows what Jesus meant. She knows it like few people have understood since he first said it. Not long ago this tiny wisp of tough gentleness, who won the Nobel Peace prize, visited Norristown, Pennsylvania. There she ...

3722. All-Out Love

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

James W. Robinson

Jesus is now in Jerusalem, where the death he has predicted is little more than a breath away. His enemies are closing in, firing salvos of accusations impugning his religious orthodoxy and his loyalty to Caesar. They hope to find blasphemy and treason in his responses. What pastor has not found himself in somewhat the same situation? The telephone rings in the parsonage, manse, or rectory. A caller, who prefers to remain anonymous, launches a mini-probe of the pastor’s beliefs about heaven and hell, and ...

3723. A Cup Running Over

John 11:17-37

Sermon

James W. Robinson

It was getting too hot too risky - for Jesus in the Jerusalem area, and he thought it prudent to get away from town for awhile before his enemies could do him harm. The Pharisees had threatened to stone him, and, on another occasion, to arrest him. So he and his disciples hurried to a remote district in TransJordan, "to the place where John at first baptized, and there he remained" (John 10:40). He had been there about three months when some messengers, sent by his good friends Mary and Martha of Bethany, ...

3724. The Best Advertising of All

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Daniel G. Mueller

One of the biggest industries in the United States today is the production of advertising. Billboards, signs on benches, magazines, newspapers, placards on the sides of buses, messages on the insides of match books, "junk" mail, computer phone calls, radio and, of course, television, all seek to commercial-ize us, to sell us something. Commercials make a host of promises. We’re told that if we just use what they sell, people will notice us; we’ll be healthier, happier, sexier; smell better; look better; ...

3725. Christmas Every Day

John 1:1-18

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

In the midst of a crowd of people jostling one another during the Christmas rush at Upper Valley Mall, a man remarked to me, "I’m glad that Christmas comes only once a year. It leaves my pocketbook pretty thin." If all that Christmas means is a seasonal shopping spree, it leaves only a bitter taste in the mouth. To be sure, there is a sweet sentimentality about the candlelight service on Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day itself is joyfully observed in our homes. But then what? Suddenly the long awaited ...

Showing results