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 391 results

351. Listening 101

John 4:1-26, John 4:27-38, John 4:39-42

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

... own tribalisms to the table of this scripture, just as the original hearers, the Samaritans and Judeans, did. We might speak of Muslims and Christians, evangelicals and mainline, illegal immigrants and citizens, pro-life and pro-choice, organic and genetically modified plants adherents to name only a few. The tribal lists and differentiations are long. But if this story is about nothing else, it is about the fact that Jesus did not allow anyone to get lost in their own narratives. It is about the importance ...

352. But What of Lazarus?

John 11:1-16, John 11:17-37, John 11:38-44

Sermon

David & Marian Plant

... God will give you whatever you ask.” “Your brother will rise again,” he told her. She took it as a reminder that on the last day her brother, along with all who believe, will be raised. It was a teaching of the Pharisees, one to which she adhered. Martha heard the reminder and accepted its words of comfort. This death, painful as it was, had a time limit, as will her own. She reassured Jesus of her belief and the comfort it afforded: “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last ...

353. The Surrogate

Matthew 1:1-17

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... eagerly accepts, but when he finds out that Ruth is a foreigner, he immediately then declines, saying she would muddle and spoil his bloodline. Boaz then accepts Ruth as his bride himself. This part of the story is a direct rebuke of those who would adhere to a strict definition of “bloodline” as opposed to a genealogy of faithfulness, or a heritage made up of God’s faithful, no matter what their physical “ethne.” Boaz’s witnesses say in fact to him, “May your house be like the house of Perez ...

354. Dressed for Success?

Luke 24:36-49, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... for the Holy Spirit to clothe them with power. Later, they would refer to this as a “baptism” of the Holy Spirit. In fact, these are one and the same. When we allow ourselves to be baptized by the power of the Holy Spirit, we don’t just adhere to some kind of dress code, but we are entirely dressed, inside and out with God’s holy presence. And that kind of dressing will change us irrevocably. For, we Christians who are “clothed” with the Holy Spirit’s power will always wear our baptism on our ...

355. Calling All Wide Receivers!

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... of the Son of God into your life? Or will you fear to step forward in faith and trust the heart of the Giver? I know people who will not receive anything from anyone for fear that the gift somehow symbolizes a binding contract that they don’t want to adhere to, or are afraid to engage in, for fear of control by the giver. Think about this: fear of receiving is really a fear of relationship. Fear of receiving is really a fear of intimacy, a fear of sharing, a fear of commitment, ….a fear of love. Being a ...

356. And a Child Will Lead Them

Exodus 2:1-10, Matthew 18:1-9, Matthew 18:10-14

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... with titles, and training, and a proven track record of accomplishments. But here Jesus breaks the big ice! God is not interested in our accomplishments. God is not interested or impressed by our multitudes of degrees, or our successes in business, our adherence to traditions, or even our vast encyclopedic knowledge of scripture. God is interested in the humility, love, and most of all faith of our hearts. God is interested in lifting up those who serve without expectation, love without judgment, and trust ...

What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried?

Abraham Lincoln

What beauty is, I know not, though it adheres to many things.

Albrecht Durer

The man of fixed ingrained principles who has mapped out a straight course, and has the courage and self-control to adhere to it, does not find life complex. Complexities are all of our own making.

B. C. Forbes

It is only an error in judgement to make a mistake, but it shows infirmity of character to adhere to it when discovered.

Christian Nestell Bovee

Adherents of the new religious right reject the separation of politics and religion, but they bring no spiritual insights to politics.

Christopher Lasch

We are adhering to life now with our last muscle - the heart.

Djuna Barnes

As with the Christian religion, the worst advertisement for Socialism is its adherents.

George Orwell

The essence of statesmanship is not a rigid adherence to the past, but a prudent and probing concern for the future.

Hubert H. Humphrey

365. Jesus’ Recipe for a Kingdom Style Feast

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... weight in gold. Jesus tells his disciples that those trained to teach about the kingdom of heaven must both honor the old and invite the new. Time honored recipes never grow old. And yet, new recipes constantly add pizazz and attract a new group of adherents. Learn from your past. But innovate and keep making things new for every time and culture. Step Six is Jesus’ rendition of God’s first and foremost command from the book of Genesis: Tend and till your garden covenant with God. But bear fruit, feed ...

366. Wavering Notes by an Uncertain Trumpet

2 Peter 3:1-18

Sermon

Ron Love

... . All of us must stand beneath Feti’s painting Ecco Homo, looking into the face of Jesus while asking ourselves: What have I done for Jesus who has done so much for me? How dedicated am I to serve in the name of Christ? How obediently do I adhere to scriptural mandates? How willing have I been to sacrifice my time and service and money for God’s glory? These are the questions we must ask ourselves while we patiently wait in that interim period of “that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years ...

367. Keeping Your Eye on the Ball

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... , Christians of the Church, we navigate with a currency of love. And that currency bears the image of God in Heaven. As we enter into one of the most tumultuous times in our country’s history, I encourage you to remember who you are. You may adhere to a party, a politics, or even an economic preference or system of choice. You may choose to play the game of life in whatever ways you choose. But as Christians, never forget whose image is seared into your heart, and whose currency must supercede the rest ...

368. Faith in the New Frontier

Matthew 22:34-46

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... central tenet of what it means to be a Christian. While loving our neighbor and being a good person are wonderful attributes of the kind of person God wants us to be. This is not what comes foremost in being a Christian and adhering to a distinctly “Christian” faith. Being a Christian means believing in the “Christ”! Not a genealogical, merely human, simply biological messiah, who was an extraordinary teacher, healer, and wisdom giver. No, look at the letters of Paul to the early church. The only ...

369. The Law of the Serpent

John 3:14-21

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... You must “die to self” in order to experience eternal life. You must be willing to take up your cross and follow Jesus if you want to enter into the kingdom of heaven. This “dialogue of opposites” defines our faith. But do we really believe it? And will we really adhere to it? Will you allow Jesus, the Surgeon of Hearts, to operate on you? It’s a risk few of us truly want to take. Cause we like things the way they are. This is the real sin of the human spirit, the truth that keeps us from God’s ...

370. Following God's Plan

1 John 5:1-6

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), making the upstanding members of Jewish society, namely the priest and Levite, the villains, and the Samaritan, the most despised population in Hebrew society as the hero, he placed the virtue of compassion over adherence to the law, and thereby insulted the Jewish ruling elite. When he readily associated with lepers, drove demons from Legion, and allowed a hemorrhaging woman to touch him, thereby making himself ritually impure and suggested that such actions were proper ...

371. Why The Resurrection Makes Sense

1 Corinthians 15:19-26

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

... has been given to support the existence of atoms or evolution. But just as data could in principle disprove these theories, so if the bones of Jesus were found (they have not been), or if it were demonstrated that Christianity does not help its adherents cope, then the conclusion would be that the resurrection is not true and so Christianity in not true![5] Get the point, Christian? The truth claimed for the resurrection has parallels to the claims of scientific truth! The resurrection may not be provable ...

372. Fertilize Your Faith

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... are filled with stories of barren women for example, who desperately want to bear children and are unable. Engaging in urgent and persistent prayer, God answers their prayers and grants them children. Even Abraham is promised a plethora of descendants, should he adhere to the covenant that God has provided. Barrenness for those who long for the ability to reproduce is the worst possible fate they can imagine, akin to Sheol (Proverbs 30:16). Yet God has the ability to resurrect barren wombs, lands, and ...

373. Bigger, Better, Basta!

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... a story. The first thing Jesus says is “Guard yourself against all kinds of covetousness (the Greek word we translate as greed).” In the Jewish tradition, this translates basically to “watch out for idolatry” –the exact opposite sentiment from the shema Jesus adheres to and wants to see actualized in his vision of God’s kingdom on earth. Anytime one focuses attention on things and means and acquiring them for oneself, one is not focusing on God but self. The things one desires can easily become ...

374. Disabled

Luke 13:10-17

Sermon

Dave Zuchelli

... the other hand, Jesus was anything but legalistic. His compassion (and maybe all human compassion as well) transcends the law. His detractors may have been technically correct. Still in the end, they were humiliated for their attitude. We can take a lesson from their stubborn adherence to the law even as it flies in the face of human decency. The synagogue ruler’s attitude is disturbing on most levels. He saw truth as being on his side, and he allowed it to make him insensitive to the disabled woman’s ...

375. Silent Sinning

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... -serving approach to work. Today’s scripture has Jesus telling a story to some colleagues or listeners who are essentially “silent sinning!” They appear to be very religious. They look the part. They say the right things. They follow all the proper laws. They adhere to the right traditions. But their hearts are not with God. Instead, they in fact look at others with contempt. They put them down, and they push them out. The first sentence we see today in Luke 18:9 says, “they “trusted in themselves ...

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