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 351 to 375 of 2404 results

351. Beware the Crest of the Wave

Mark 1:4-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , slogging work. Long hours of study, unfulfilling chores, unimportant "entry" level jobs, carefully cultivated "right" relationships, go into helping us gradually ascend to a position of respect and responsibility. Naturally we want to maintain our position at the crest once we achieve it. We don't want to repeat all that "prep" work that led to riding the wave. Hence we do everything we can to preserve our advantage and accommodate the crest. This tendency presents itself not only in individual struggles ...

352. The Compleat Christian

Romans 5:1-5

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... what results when the Christian succeeds in integrating these other virtues into a consistently faithful Spirit-filled whole. Only when we are such a fully integrated individual do we share in the integrity of Christ. If all this seems like an impossible goal to achieve...you're right! That is why Paul circles back around to hope at the conclusion of his list of virtues. With trust in the sustaining power of the Holy Spirit, and the assurance of our justification by faith, Christians should be filled with ...

353. Isaiah 61:10-62:3

Isaiah 61:10—62:3

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... necessary for the work of the Anointed One to go forward. Unlike the Servant of Second Isaiah, who earns his title "suffering" by the hardships he endures, the third testimony of the Anointed One is exultant looking forward with great anticipation at what will be achieved. In verses 61:10-62:1, the first-person voice that speaks is that of the Anointed One. The "clothes" that now adorn this speaker the "garments of salvation" and "robe of righteousness" (v.10), complete a process begun in the first of the ...

354. Learning to Love Ourselves

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

James McCormick

... psychologist will tell you, we cannot love our neighbors until we love ourselves. When we do not love ourselves, our attention turns inward. We become obsessed with ourselves. We spend our lives frantically trying to earn love, to achieve respect, to prove our worth. We use our neighbors rather than love them as we try to achieve all these things. Don’t you see, it is only when we have received God’s love and have come to love ourselves that, in the security of that, we are able to turn our attention to ...

355. Genesis 32:22-31

Genesis 32:22-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... imagery in this blow, finding Jacob's future as the father of Israel dependent upon his submission to Yahweh and the divine plan. Still, this interpretation paints a pretty tawdry picture of God, a deity reduced to giving cheap shots in order to achieve divine intentions. Whoever this nighttime visitor was, Jacob manages to stand his ground before him. When morning dawns, he is still erect but limping, victorious yet ever marked and changed by this encounter. Crossing the river has become not just part of ...

356. Philippians 3:4b-14

Philippians 3:4b-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... obtained the perfection of unity in Christ he so desires. Though Paul confidently asserts that "Christ Jesus has made me his own" (as a baptized member of the Body of Christ), he also acknowledges that he has a long way to go before he achieves his goal of fully knowing the power of the resurrected Christ. Reaching this goal is, in fact, the Christian's lifelong journey of faith. Although his knowledge, his experience, is still limited, Paul commits himself to always striving forward. Christ's power is not ...

357. Proper 27

Ruth 3:1-18, Psalm 127:1-5, Mark 12:38-44, Hebrews 9:11-28

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

... and bless all in authority who look to you to pilot the ship of state. Show us who should be called out to lead us in local governments as well as in national elections. Help us to discern between impossible promises and achievable goals. Limit our hopes for human achievement with the knowledge that there is only one who is fully good, whose coming again we await. Teacher of teachers, grant to all who teach, humility that is inspired by contemplation of the absolute wisdom that resides only in you. Free ...

358. Proper 17

Psalm 81:1-16, Jeremiah 2:4-13, Luke 14:1-14, Hebrews 13:1-25

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

... sins, accept the invitation to the place of honor as one of God’s children and citizens of the heavenly city. PRAYER OF THE DAY God above all, help us to receive such honors as come to us with modesty, and to be sincere in honoring the achievements of others in the Spirit of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen. PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING God of strength and compassion, we rejoice in the downfall of the wicked and the humiliation of the haughty. We exult in the raising up of the fallen and the release of the prisoner ...

359. Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

Psalm 15:1-5, Micah 6:1-8, Matthew 5:1-12, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

... our lives to Christ and trust the Spirit to do what is beyond our doing. INVOCATION God on high, we bow before you humbly but we cannot claim to always love kindness and do justice. Though we aspire to achieve this perfection, we can now offer only the advocacy of Jesus who has achieved such sinlessness before you. Continue the work of the Spirit in our transformation for your name's sake. Amen PRAYER OF CONFESSION Wise and mighty God, humble and gentle God, humbling and gentling Spirit, we confess that we ...

360. Close Up Parents: Be Cheerleaders, Not Jeer leaders

Colossians 3:21

Sermon

James Merritt

... 't know of anything more frustrating for a child or more difficult to watch or more painful to experience than an over-bearing parent who demands from their children what they could never achieve for themselves. What is just as bad, if not worse, is the parent that demands from their children, what they did achieve for themselves even though the passions, giftedness, and interests of the child, may be totally different from their own. For example, the father played quarterback and he wants his son to play ...

361. Heaven: One Way And One Way Only

John 14:1-6

Sermon

James Merritt

... the present and the future. If there had been any other way for us to reach God, Jesus would not have had to die, but the fact that He did come and He did live and He did die shows there was no other way that our salvation could be achieved. His resurrection proved that He was who He said He was and He did what He said He did and gave Him the right to make this narrow, exclusive, dogmatic, but true statement. Unlike any other religious leader who has ever lived, Jesus Christ authenticated who He was by what ...

362. Keep Your Eye On The Ball

Nehemiah 6:1-14

Sermon

James Merritt

... your eye on the ball. The same thing is true in marriage. Your marriage will fail if you don't keep your eye on the ball. Your business will never do what it could, if you don't keep your eye on the ball. Our church will never achieve what we ought to achieve if we don't keep our eye on the ball. That is so difficult to do, when you've got opposition coming at you from all sides. There are three lessons we can learn from Nehemiah as he came under the most intense opposition of his life on ...

363. With The End In Mind

Philippians 3:7-11

Sermon

James Merritt

... of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ." (Philippians 3:7-8, NASB) As Paul looked back on his past life and all of his many achievements and all of his many milestones, he used the plural form of the word "gain" to describe his evaluation. In effect, he looked back at the past and added up all of his assets, before he knew Christ, and then when he compared it to knowing Christ, he moved ...

364. Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow

Proverbs 16:1, 9, Philippians 3:12-15

Sermon

James Merritt

... on them, you will transform yourself from one of life's spectators into a real participant." The reason why it is so important to set goals is this: It is the goal that sets the plan; it is the plan that sets the action; it is the action that achieves the result, and it is the result that brings the satisfaction. But it all begins with a simple word—Goal." The actress, Lillie Tumblin, once said, "I always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific." Well that is one of the keys to setting ...

365. Only the Lonely

Luke 14:1, 7-14

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... more. Are they the lost and lonely? Yes, they are, and we are all lost and lonely. We are all lost and lonely. That ought to bring us to humility. In other words, we can't get into the kingdom on the basis of our achievements. It's not a matter of achieving, but receiving. Bishop William Temple observed that all we bring to our salvation is the sin from which we need to be saved. Our contribution is acknowledged sin. God's contribution is everything else. Sometimes only the lonely get it. We are all lost ...

366. A Little Town of Great Renown

Micah 5:2-5a

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... Hackensack." Phillips Brooks, the nineteenth-century Episcopal priest and bishop who penned the words to "O Little Town of Bethlehem," could never have imagined the cultural changes that have transpired in our country during the last century. I doubt that Hackensack, or any little town in New Jersey, will ever achieve quite the stardom of Bethlehem, the city of David. We are all aware of the powers music exercises over the human spirit. It communicates to the soul what no academic study of theology ever can ...

367. The Word that Changed the World

John 1:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... is oral or written, there is great power in words. I am told that for every word in Adolf Hitler’s book Mein Kampf, 125 persons lost their lives in World War II.” (4) Writing of Napoleon and his Italian campaign, Emil Ludwig said: “Half of what he achieves is achieved by the power of words.” The words we use each day are powerful. Think of the power of the words, “I love you,” or “I hate you.” They can be life-changing. If our simple words can carry so much power, think of the Word of God ...

368. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the wounded party. Human beings had sinned against God and violated God’s design for life. Only through the active outreach of the Grand Organizing Designer (GOD) can a new relationship can be forged. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross achieved that possibility for reconciliation, and God offers to all who respond in faith to the resurrection what Paul calls “the ministry of reconciliation” (v.18). This “ministry of reconciliation” is supported by two divinely-gifted new circumstances: the Son’s ...

369. Abysmal Heights

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... first century love of secret “gnosis” and turns it upside down. All the impressive elements that had made Paul one of the most “in the know” religious know-it-alls within Judaism . . . a “Hebrew among Hebrews,” a Pharisee, a zealous, blameless defender of the faith . . . all those great achievements Paul suddenly declares as “loss,” as absolute “excrement.” Paul put a big, fat, minus sign in front of all that had been previously seen as positive in his life. What replaces all these human ...

370. Finding Common Ground

Galatians 3:15-25

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... re going to still have one more party; we’re going to have a pool party with all of my friends.” Four for one, I think that’s a pretty good deal. Caleb is a kid after my own heart. I like birthdays. They are not about accomplishments or achievements or activities. Birthdays are about being. Once you were not, now you are. Birthdays are not about what was or even about what might be. Birthdays are about what is. Birthdays are about today. It’s good that you are alive today. Thanks be to God. Here in ...

371. Opening and Closing Doors

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... which I think concern and worry may be constructive. Not only should situations which are not what they should be give us cause for worry the self is a legitimate point of concern. I believe it is healthy to keep comparing what we may call the “achieved self” and the “potential self”. Somewhere along the way I heard of a smooth-talking used car salesman who assured a prospective customer that in addition to all the other fine features, the car carried with it the St. Francis of Assisi guarantee. The ...

372. The Three Dimensions of Life

Genesis 6:1-22

Sermon

Stan Purdum

... that's about it. The most notable fact about him seems to be the number of years he lived. I guess longevity is an achievement of sorts, provided, of course, he was a good man. But suppose he was a scoundrel. Suppose he beat his wife (or, in his ... chuckled to myself for it was obvious that the old man was proud of how long he had lived and would use any excuse to announce his achievement. My second thought was, how sad. Is the length of his life all this old guy has to be proud of? True, length is one of the ...

373. Are We There Yet?

James 5:7-10

Sermon

John N. Brittain

... about you, me, and those dolts with whom we are dealing, so we need to be patient! Some readers have always felt that James' allusion to the second coming of Christ is out of place, but Christians have always understood that full satisfaction will never be achieved in this life. We know that our sanctification will be incomplete in this life, and so look at each other as fellow sinners saved by grace, in whom the Holy Spirit is at work calling us to Christlikeness. And we do have to work at it, sometimes ...

374. God Will Be With Us

Isaiah 7:1-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... a life of comfort and affluence. Instead he opted to live for eight years in one of Newark’s most crime-ridden public-housing projects, from which he won a seat on the city council. In 2007, he was elected mayor. What has Booker achieved as mayor? Well, for one thing he’s attracted more than $100 million in private philanthropy, including city programs funded by the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Jon Bon Jovi, and Brad Pitt. Booker tapped the Gates Foundation and others to fund charter schools, and raised ...

375. WWE Raw, Jesus Style

Luke 6:17-26, Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... Church calendar still establishes a two day series of special masses and prayers that follow All Hallow’s Eve — All Saint’s Day on November 1 and All Soul’s Day on November 2. All Saints Day commemorates the faithful who, according to the church, have achieved heavenly status. All Soul’s Day is a day to pray for family members and the unsung saints of the world. There is a historical argument that can be made for All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day being the most undercelebrated church holiday ...

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