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 3751 to 3775 of 4977 results

3751. When God Began to Create ...

Genesis 1:1-5

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

... 's name! Collect God of creation, your light shines on all the people. In this light we see the glory of beginnings. Let this be a day of new beginnings for us, for your people, for your world. Amen. Prayer Of Confession What a world you have put in our keeping! What a creation whose height and depth and width and length we can never fully plumb. We confess our callous disregard for the small portion of the cosmos you have put in our ...

3752. Letters From God

Psalm 103:1-5, 22, 2 Corinthians 3:1-6

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

... Confession Dear God: It's me. I know you remember my name, but I've nearly lost your address. It was written on my heart all along. I'm still here. I know you are, too. This letter is sent by the cross, where our paths intersect. I promise to keep writing. I know you'll keep listening. I love you. Love, me. Amen. Hymns Awake, My Soul, Stretch Every Nerve Christian, Do You Hear The Lord? I Heard The Voice Of Jesus Say

3753. A Sense Of Past And Future

Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

... , trust in your word! Collect A time to be born and a time to die? We thank you for them both! A time to weep and a time to laugh? We praise you for rich tapestry of your life in ours. A time to keep and a time to throw away? All is yours. Nothing is ours to keep. As this new year begins we praise your name for this and every season! Amen. Prayer Of Confession To everything its season, Lord, and yet we rebel when you deny your surprises and seek a false security in the same old thing. Between ...

3754. The Real Old Time Religion

James 1:17-27

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

... morning and leave behind your word the rest of the week. We gather together determined, with your help, to become your living word, as far as we are able, to practice a faith that is pure and undefiled, to help all who are needy in their distress, to keep ourselves unstained by the world's motivations, so that our lives might become a satisfactory offering to your glory. You are the giver, the source of all good things. As we gather in the good things of the world in one hand, we seek to measure them out ...

3755. Oh, You'd Better Watch Out!

Mark 13:32-37

Sermon

King Duncan

... Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to ...

3756. A Promise Fulfilled: A Gift Given

Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)

Sermon

Richard Gribble

... bags of gold. Like Nicholas, he knew good things come in threes and thus he locked the door and all the windows, forcing, he hoped, the generous benefactor to go to the back of the house where he could be discovered. The youngest daughter asked her father to keep the windows open, but he would not hear of it. Bishop Nicholas arrived and tried a window, then another, and another, but all were locked. But instead of going to the back of the house, he climbed up the side and reached the roof. From there he ...

3757. A Clock or a Compass?

Mark 1:9-15

Sermon

David T. Ball

... your watch? Okay! A much better response that time. I have my watch, too — but don’t get your hopes up that I’m planning to keep a closer eye on how long my sermons are taking! I really just wanted to make a point about how much we rely on our watches ... and eagerly anticipated, as did the Apostle Paul, nor during the subsequent 2,000 years of human history, we have a hard time “keeping faith” in this aspect of the gospel message, that the kingdom of God is at hand. Time to reach for our compasses. ...

3758. Unacceptable

Mark 8:31-38

Sermon

David T. Ball

... college experience would reinforce rather than undermine whatever they’ve been able to accomplish in this regard. But to keep this in a certain perspective, just think for a moment of what else college students could be doing, ... absolute truth entail another belief, held equally strongly, that truth can be spelled out and stated, clearly, in a straightforward manner? Jesus keeps lobbing paradoxes our way, statements that whether they’re true or not seem anything but straightforward. To try to save my life ...

3759. The Putt’s Good

Matthew 22:15-22

Illustration

King Duncan

... give you a little feel for the greens." With an anguished look, Kennedy said, "I work in the Oval Office all day for citizens like you," he said. "And now you're not going to give me this putt?" The man said nothing. "O.K," Kennedy sighed. "But let's keep moving. I've got an appointment after we finish with the director of Internal Revenue." "The putt's good," the man said hastily. "Pick it up." We have to tell jokes on the IRS, to ...

3760. Salvation in Jesus’ Name

Acts 4:5-12

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... in his vision. It was designed after the ancient Egyptian plumb lines used from the third millennium. In Amos' vision the Lord was measuring the perpendicular of Israel against the horizon of his commandments and his righteousness and justice. The nation was leaning out of plumb. I keep the model of the plumb line handy near a cross my dad made for me. Both help me to measure my life each day. It's good to have an objective standard to guide my daily living. The Ten Commandments have not gone out of style ...

3761. Final Instructions

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... a mother telling her child not to put its hand into the fire on the stove because that will hurt the child, God tries to keep us from hurting ourselves. Like a father telling his son not to run out onto the superhighway, God tells us what will lead to certain ... . One man described doing the will of God like this: The will of God will never take you, Where the grace of God cannot keep you, Where the arms of God cannot support you, Where the riches of God cannot supply your needs Where the power of God cannot ...

3762. Having the Last Word

2 Samuel 23:1-7

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

... obstinate. He refuses to obey either Samuel or God. The time comes when God says to Samuel, "Saul is no longer fit to be king, and I have chosen his successor. Go to Bethlehem of Judea and anoint a new king, one of the sons of Jesse. But keep this top secret for the time being." Samuel feels disheartened about this turn of events, but knows that God is right. King Saul is not going to change his ways. God directs Samuel to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem. Jesse introduces seven fine, strong sons. Samuel is ...

3763. Tasting the Gruel of Love

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon

King Duncan

... to talk with many of the women, including several who spoke English. When they arrived at the mess hall, however, with its long rows of wooden tables and its dirty floor, they noticed that none of the inmates looked up. They had been trained to keep their eyes down. It was a very controlled and intimidating atmosphere. But Jack Eckerd did something the Russian handlers hadn’t planned on. Colson described Eckerd, who is now with Christ, as a tall, lanky, irrepressible lion of a man who loved Christ and was ...

3764. Would You Be a Saint?

Matthew 23:1-39

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... . Saints do wear crowns of martyrdom sometimes. Saints do mess up and bleed and fail. Because saints always love. Today is the day the Church should celebrate all those saints that stand in our midst. “Saints” are those people who keep the heart of the Body of Christ beating, who keep the Body of Christ warm, vital, and alive, for the whole world to see. Is there anybody here who doesn’t know “Joe the Plumber?” The Presidential candidates have made a big deal of imaging the problems plaguing this ...

3765. Twas the Beginning of Advent

Mark 13:24-37

Illustration

Richard J. Fairchild

... . He'll lead us to follow a single bright star. But that will come later if we're still around. The question for now: Is the child to be found? Can we block out commercials, the hype and the malls? Can we find solitude in our holy halls? Can we keep alert, keep hope, stay awake? Can we receive the child for ours and God's sake? From on high with the caroling host as he sees us, He yearns to read on our lips the prayer: Come Lord Jesus! As Advent begins all these questions make plea. The only true answer ...

3766. Beware the Crest of the Wave

Mark 1:4-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... builders do more to facilitate and fortify our rapid growth in grace than almost anything else imaginable. Unlike the float to the wave crest, this type of growth is not always fun. But God gives us both enough cresting waves to keep us encouraged and enough "grace builders" to keep us humble and growing. Martin Luther said we need constantly to see ourselves as "weak in faith, cold in love, and faint in hope," which makes us hunger and thirst for God and prevents the self-righteousness that gets us in ...

3767. Body Sculpting and Self Shaping

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... from Corinthians features a particular demon we still fixate on - the god of food. We are a nation of food fetishists. We try to rid ourselves of anxieties and insecurities through over-use and addiction to both food and, more recently, technology. Whereas being overweight and keeping out of the sun used to be marks of status (we tend to forget how recent this preoccupation with the body is: as late as 1954 only one in ten French dwellings had either a bath or a shower), now the affluent sport sleek, tanned ...

3768. No Comment

2 Kings 2:1-12a

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and in trust shall be your strength. In returning and rest you shall be saved." Psalm 37:7 adds, "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him." Proverbs 17:27 redefines our flippant injunction to "Keep Cool" in terms of "no comment," observing that "A man of sense is sparing of his words; the prudent man will keep cool." Job admits that his long tirades against God have been so much blowing chaff when in 42:2, 5 he eventually discovers: "I know that you can do all things. I have dealt with great ...

3769. The Outstretched Arms

John 19:28-37, John 19:17-27

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of our hymns derive from this period, it is also the all-time favorite of hymnbooks (e.g. Fanny Crosby's "Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross, There a Precious Fountain"). Rejecting the ransom model, the eleventh-century Arch bishop of Canterbury developed the ... Calvin the metaphors of this substitutionary theory assumed a decidedly legalistic cast. God is seen as a legalistic heavenly headmaster who keeps a tally of all the times the rules are broken. When one day the bookkeeping is audited and the sins are ...

3770. The Christian's Walking-Stick

Mark 6:7-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the disciples (at times as confused and uncomprehending a lot as ever there has been) only what they need most: a mission and the authority to carry it out. All he recommends they take in addition to this is a walking stick a personal goad to keep them moving when the terrain gets rough or when they get weary. Today the church would never dream of starting on such a significant journey without what we now envision as "adequate provisions." Yet for all our carefully considered plans, it is doubtful that we ...

3771. Miss Manners and Mr. Goodwrench

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... profound issues of morality and ethics. What we do face every day, however, are small matters of manners (should I keep my word? should I honor my commitments.) Caught up in the big newsmaking issues (murder, abortion, war) of ethics, these small ... the issues of murder, or political corruption, or nuclear responsibility. We do, however, continually face such ethical questions as, "Shall I keep my word?" or "Can I honor my commitments?" As Christians we should be able to reflect a distinctive attitude which ...

3772. The Ultimate Athlete

Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... this tool determines the success of the athlete. The Christian's familiarity with the word of God likewise determines the believer's ability to perform under pressure. Paul's focus on prayer as he ends his letter to the Ephesians is an admonition to keep the community of the church in constant communication with each other. The language of devotion, like the idiosyncratic languages spoken by athletes and fans ("RBIs", "draw plays," "pick-and-go") takes time to learn and practice to perfect. But when we give ...

3773. Back to School

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... don't fully understand, is a learning process the Church used to be good at. Faced with behavior she could not comprehend, Mary nonetheless learned much from Jesus' appearance at the temple. She "treasured all these things in her heart" (verse 51). Adaptive learning keeps us from wallowing in a problematic situation by using the problem as a bridge to a new vantage point. There is little doubt that oldline Protestant churches are in crisis. In his series of searches and researches into what has happened/is ...

3774. Gutsy Joy

Nehemiah 8:1-4a, 5-6, 8-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... strength of will and soundness of heart. While Nehemiah and Ezra proclaimed that the joy of the Lord is your strength, the New Testament promises an even more astounding new reality - that Jesus came so that our joy may be full. In John 15:10-11, Jesus announces, "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete." And again in John 16:33 ...

3775. The Seduction of the Palms

Luke 19:28-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... page of writing was placed on top of the existing lines. These letters could compress the maximum amount of news onto a minimum amount of paper. There was only one drawback. It made for difficult reading. Like singing a round, it took intense concentration to keep focused on just one layer of the message at a time. The story of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem is like one of those many layered palimpsests. While Luke is busy telling this story, we can see layers of tradition and stratas of implications running ...

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