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 3801 to 3825 of 4936 results

3801. Legacies of Power

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

Power is one of the marks of public success in today's world. We all know about power because we have experienced it, whether we were on the giving end or the receiving end. Power is difficult to define because it comes in so many different shapes and sizes. The very word power elicits different emotional responses in each of us. How we respond to power depends on who happens to have the power, as well as how it is used. Power includes the ability to influence, to choose, to help, and to change. Each one ...

3802. LENT: The Passion of Christ: "Betrayed"

John 13:21-30; Matthew 26:14-16; 45-50

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

A Vacation Bible School teacher, one summer, taught class on Judas' betrayal of Jesus. After the lesson, she went over the review questions and asked, "Who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver?" Without hesitating, her 7-year-old son replied, "I know! It was 'Judas the Scariest!' " (1) For me Judas was the Scariest disciple of all. He's the most frightening character of the entire Passion story. He's more frightening than Pilate or Herod or Caiaphas and the other accusers. To me, Judas is even more ...

3803. Lent 4

1 Samuel 16:1-13, Psalm 23:1-6, John 9:1-41, Ephesians 5:8-14

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

Confessional Litany Divide the congregation into two voices. I: Light in darkness, II: sound in silence, I: you break through our fences of pride II: and our walls of despair. I: We act in deadly ways that hurt others. II: We act in deadly ways that hurt ourselves. I: We run from you, II: but again and again you find us. I and II: Expose now what is in our hearts. Silence for reflection and self-examination Leader: God does not judge us on our outward appearances or outward actions alone, for God sees far ...

3804. Soul Bread!

John 6:24-35

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

Someone who grew up in Europe immediately after the devastation of World War II writes about the two staples that were not on ration and that could be home produced; one was potatoes and the other was bread. "We could grow our own potatoes and we could make our own bread," he writes. "And sometimes we would even make bread out of the potatoes. So, while we may have lacked many things we always had sufficient potatoes and bread." Earlier in John chapter 6, we read about food rationing of another kind. Then ...

3805. Wise Leadership

1 Kings 2:10-12, 3:3-14

Sermon

Donna Schaper

Solomon asks for the right thing: He asks for wisdom. He asks for it from a very humble place, the place of knowing that he is but a child and still he has been put in charge of large things. Leadership is a treacherous thing. How can we possibly know so when we are but children? That is what Solomon knew. He knew, even as a child, just how much help he was going to need to be a leader. He already had some of the wisdom he seeks. Ironically, he was wise beyond his years. God rewards him with wisdom for ...

3806. Your God Shall Be My God

Ruth 1:1-18

Sermon

Robert A. Hausman

Like the short story that gave structure to the book of Job, so the book of Ruth is considered to be a finely honed literary piece, often called a novella. It is meant to exhibit exemplary behavior. Just as Job proved faithful through good fortune and ill, so the characters in the book of Ruth are equally laudatory. The story starts with an Israelite family in the time of the judges. (This historical setting becomes the reason that Ruth was put right after the book of Judges in the Septuagint.) This family ...

3807. Advent 2

Malachi 3:1-4, Luke 1:68-79, Luke 3:1-20, Philippians 1:3-11

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

Call To Worship (Includes the lighting of the Advent Wreath) Leader: Already, the year is behind us and we are counting the days until Christmas — the eldering for one set of reasons and the young for another. We’ve come here to enjoy the festivities of December and to tell again the stories that encourage us to be God-bearers in our world. People: The scriptures say that God has made promises of safety and prosperity to people who are willing to be loyal bearers of goodness and grace, mercy and ...

3808. Advent 3

Isaiah 12:2-6, Zephaniah 3:14-20, Luke 3:1-20, Philippians 4:4-7

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

3809. Advent 4

Luke 1:47-55 or Psalm 80:1-7, Micah 5:2-5a, Luke 1:39-45, Hebrews 10:5-10

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

Call To Worship (Includes the lighting of the Advent Wreath) Leader: Good morning! We’ve gathered for various reasons; some of us are dreading being alone during this season; some of us to enjoy the holiday music and decorations. Most of us anticipate remembering the Christmas story with its holy family. People: Yes, we love the Christmas story and the images that remind us we too carry God into the world. Leader: We will sing and pray, dance and sing the old story of God coming into the world as a baby — ...

3810. Proper 9

2 Kings 5:1-14, Psalm 30:1-12; 66:1-20, Isaiah 60:10-14, Luke 10:1-24, Galatians 6:1-16

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

Call To Worship Leader: It is summer time! Week after week we come here. The space is beautiful, the seating is comfortable, and the company is good. People: We come here to be with each other as we thank God for creation and for divine love. Leader: Together we see the wonderful things God does and we can rejoice. People: Together we also recognize the not-so-good things in our lives. Together we know that we are not alone on this journey through time. Leader: We need one another. People: We can see what ...

3811. Show Me Your Credentials

2 Corinthians 6:3-13

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

When you apply for a job, offer service to a customer, or try to get a license ... you will need to show your credentials. You will need to prove that you are who you say are and that you have the skills and abilities to deserve the job or get the license. The word "credential" is based on the Latin word credo that means "believe." Your credentials make you believable — credible. My evangelism visits to prospective members are often very revealing. Lately, I have noticed that many of them are asking me a ...

3812. A Peaceful Life in an Unpeaceful World

1 Timothy 2:1-7

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

I'm tempted to ask for a show of hands. How many people here have passed on an email making fun of a politician or political leader? It can be fun to do that. Passing on a cartoon about a politician helps us vent our frustrations at the foibles of our government. We sometimes feel helpless in the face of all of the corruption, bickering, pandering, false promises, and just general buffoonery that go on in our government. We feel a bit better if we can poke fun at our leaders. If we are not careful, however ...

3813. Between a Rock and a Hard Rock Thrower

Galatians 1:11-24

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

As a kid were you ever convinced that you HAD to be adopted? I mean, really: how could you be related to your big-mouthed brother when you are so reserved and quiet? . . . Your math genius parents could never have produced your brain — a brain that can’t add up anything without using fingers and toes. . . . How can you be related when you can play almost any musical instrument and your sister is completely tone deaf? As our personalities develop, as our individual quirks and oddities, likes and dislikes, ...

3814. Who Wants to Be Your Brother?

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

We are all about family. The truth is, the problem is, we are all about OTHER people’s families. The most popular show on television today? “Duck Dynasty.” After that there are the programs about “The Kardashians,” “Housewives,” of various zip codes, and “Hoarders.” We like to spy-glass at the inner-workings of family relationships that we can keep at arm’s length — or TIVO for a later, more convenient time. Our own family relationships cannot be put on hold. Whether it is a teething infant, a tantrum- ...

3815. Praying In Jesus' Name

John 14:5-14

Sermon

David O. Bales

It’s good to be with you in worship. I appreciate the invitation to preach. I especially appreciate having a worship leader directing me around the chancel, because worship is done differently in different denominations — even within denominations. When you visit a different church, you don’t always know what to expect. My wife and I visited here two years ago. I, ever eager to hear the sermon, chose to sit near the front, not realizing that no one would sit in front of us and you all know how you take ...

3816. Hitting the Boss Key

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

“Lead me not into temptation,” sang country artist Lari White a few years back, “I already know the road all too well; Lead me not into temptation / I can find it all by myself.” It’s a chorus that makes us silently chuckle, but after a few moments of reflection, we understand that this is, at heart, a sobering statement of the human condition: “Lead me not into temptation; I can find it all by myself.” A certain man was visiting his psychiatrist. Among the many questions the doctor asked was, “Are you ...

3817. Voice Recognition

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The British writer Arthur C. Clarke proposed three “laws” of prediction that are known as “Clarke’s Three Laws.” Here they are: Law 1) When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong. Law 2) The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible. Law 3) Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic ...

3818. An Announcement about Our Future

Mark 13:32-37

Sermon

King Duncan

The Reverend Richard L. Pearson at one time served the Crescent Park United Methodist Church in Sioux City, Iowa. For several years that church had a living nativity scene. On one particular night it was Pastor Dick’s job, along with a man who had a pick‑up truck, to get a pregnant ewe, which was bedded down in the parsonage garage, to the church. They went to get her about a half hour before performance time. Due to her delicate condition they carefully lifted her into the bed of the truck, and Dick rode ...

3819. Dust in the Wind

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

Timothy Cargal

Sometimes a song gets so deep inside your head that it can never be uprooted. Maybe it is the melody or the mood evoked by its musical qualities. Maybe it is the themes and ideas that find expression in its lyrics. If it happens to be both the music and the lyrics perfectly matched to each other, then the effect is particularly strong. Such songs have the ability to become a recurring soundtrack to our lives. One such song for me is Kerry Livgren’s “Dust In The Wind.” Since I first heard this song more ...

3820. Digging Deeper

Luke 1:1-4

Sermon

James Merritt

The Christian faith is without question the most unique religious faith in history. If there is any religious faith that proves that the thinking that all religions basically teach the same thing and are leading us to the same path is false, it is the Christian faith. The reasons for that are many, but the greatest reason is this. The Christian faith is based on one single man. Not only that, it is based on the belief that this man, named Jesus, not only lived like every other man and died like every other ...

3821. Shall We Waddle or Fly?

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Sermon

King Duncan

By the time John arrived at the football game, the first quarter was almost over. “Why are you so late?” his friend asked. “I had to flip a coin to decide between going to church and coming to the game,” John answered. “How long could that have taken you?” asked his friend. “Well,” said Ted, “I had to flip it 12 times.” For football fans, we’re about half-way through the time between the college National Championship game and the Super Bowl. Since football season is nearly over, none of our men had to flip ...

3822. The Riot in Ephesus

Acts 19:23-41

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

Before Luke could launch his travel narrative, he had one more story to tell of Paul’s time in Ephesus. That the silversmiths’ riot was simply a good story may almost have been reason enough to include it. But it had the added attraction of reinforcing Luke’s earlier point that the Christian faith and the Roman state were compatible, as borne out by the attitude of the asiarchs and the city clerk (see disc. on 18:1–17). Incidentally, this story reveals an accurate knowledge of the municipal institutions of ...

3823. The Lord's Grace to Paul

1 Timothy 1:12-20

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

A Testimony About the Gospel This paragraph is so clearly a digression in the argument of the letter that it is easy to read it, or comment on it, apart from its immediate context. But to do so is to miss a large part of its significance. The whole paragraph flows directly out of the preceding one. First of all, it is a presentation of the “gospel” (v. 11) as a bold expression of God’s grace toward sinners. Even though it takes the form of personal testimony (note the eleven occurrences of I or me), the ...

3824. Personal Remarks

2 Timothy 4:9-18

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

This section exhibits all the earmarks of a piece of private correspondence from antiquity. The author urges its recipient to come posthaste (v. 9); indicates why he wants him to come (he is alone, vv. 10–11a), who and what to bring (vv. 11b–13), and whom to watch out for along the way (vv. 14–15); and concludes with information as to how things have been going with him (vv. 16–18). On its own all of this is so ordinary as to elicit no surprise from anyone. It would be one more among thousands of letters ...

3825. Paul’s Request for Onesimus

Philemon 1:8-25

Understanding Series

Arthur G. Patzia

Now that Paul has sufficiently commended Philemon for his exemplary Christian life, he moves to the heart of his request regarding Onesimus. In one way, Paul gives the impression that he is “shadow boxing,” that is, skirting around the real issue and not confronting Philemon directly. But Paul’s strategy is determined by two factors: First, he needs to move very carefully and weigh every word. After all, a request to reinstate a runaway slave was quite unusual in the first century. According to Roman law, ...

Showing results