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 4977 results

3801. On Being a Hot-Fudge-Sunday Church

Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... as doves;" one minute he is executed on a cross, the next minute he rises from the dead. As the Logos, the Lion and the Lamb, the one who has come and is coming, Christ brings both music and judgment to the world. It is the church's mission to keep this harp in tune, this bow strung taut, for all the world to hear and see. The Body of Christ, broken for you on the cross. That is our Message. The Blood of Christ, poured out for you in the church. That is our Medium. A HotFudgeSundayChurch knows that these ...

3802. A-wake or A-live

Galatians 2:15-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... us; the law condemns us. Don't our kids hate it when we "clamp down," "tighten the reins" or institute a new set of rules? Do production and morale improve at the office when upper management imposes new, restrictive policies? Keeping the laws of God, or of our city and state, or the household "laws" that keep things running smoothly is simply a sort of default moral obligation: It's the least one can do. We can't expect God to give us a medal for behaving the way we should behave even if the law were ...

3803. Freedom in Bondedness

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... warmer coat, this little girl promptly promised to buy a coat for her. But when the little girl showed up at the local Goodwill outlet to make her purchase, she was surprised that the cost was more than she had anticipated. Nevertheless, she was determined to keep her word to her friend even though the coat ended up costing her every single coin she had saved up in her piggy bank. This splurge of her carefully saved funds caught her parents by surprise and caused them some concern. But when they questioned ...

3804. The Dailyness of Healing Measures

Luke 17:11-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... in joy! What are some of the daily healing measures God carries out in your life? Have you remembered to thank God for: a good night's sleep a day of blue sky and sunshine that gets you outside a day of gray skies and drizzle that keeps you inside the unexpected voice of a distant friend on the telephone the comfort of the Psalms the beauty of John 1 Mozart Haagen-Dazs uncontrollable laughter unashamed tears Tylenol your spouse your children The greatest instrument of healing God has ever used in this world ...

3805. Life's Two Pockets

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... been beautiful - but no more. War machines had crushed it, armies had deforested and devastated it. There was barely enough grass to nourish his small flocks - and even then he had to keep moving them on to new pastures. Gradually, Elzeard Bouffier became convinced that it was the terrible lack of trees that was keeping this land so blighted and all who lived within it struggling to maintain a mere subsistence level of existence. Bouffier began to plant trees. Every day, as he wandered the empty, pitted ...

3806. Dream Reality

Matthew 2:19-23, Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... in watering the seeds of despair and anger and hatred that lie just barely dormant in all of us. Above this din of hate speech and death discussions, we need to sound anew, stronger, insistent notes of hope. We must free our good dreams, not keep them to ourselves. We must let good dreams become as prevalent and pervasive as the air-fouling nightmares that others are belching forth. We need more daydreamers and fewer nightmarings. 1. Word-Dreamers The only effective way to combat the "war of words" that ...

3807. Luke 2:22-40

Luke 2:21-40

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... by the law of the Lord.” Despite all the remarkable events and proclamations about the identity of Jesus, they now return home to quietly raise their child. They do not leave Jesus to be raised within the hallowed temple environment. They do not keep him in the cultural and religious heart of Israel, Jerusalem. Instead they head for the sticks, Galilee, and the good-for-nothing village of Nazareth. Distant from the temple, Jesus still enjoys the presence of God’s “favor” and is “filled with wisdom ...

3808. Do You Know Your Name?

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... grade soccer goalie this year bears the name “Gwyddeon.” Do you know your name? We all have the name given to us by our parents or by our friends. A family name with roots can help us grown new branches. A derogatory name, given by cruel kids, can keep us trapped in one place all our life. A name tagged on by one event or one experience can shape our lives, for good or ill. Are you a “Junior”? Are you a “Doofus” or a “Geek”? Are you a “Screw-Up?” Are you “Trailer Trash?” Our public ...

3809. We Need a Revolution!

Illustration

King Duncan

... New Year. I trust that one of your resolutions for this year is to be in worship every week. Good for you. That's one resolution you've kept for at least one week. I heard about one poor fellow who decided to make only resolutions this year he could keep. He resolved to gain weight, to stop exercising, to read less and watch more TV, to procrastinate more, to quit giving money and time to charity, to not date any member of the cast of Baywatch, and to never make New Year's resolutions again. Maybe he's onto ...

3810. Acts 10:44-48

Acts 10:44-48

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... love takes a definitive shape. Obeying God's commandments, those ideals which reflect God's intentional will for all people, is the single best way to demonstrate our faith and love. Of course it is God's love for us which actually enables us to keep these commandments. Keeping God's commandments is not "burdensome" only because God's love makes it possible for us to do so. Thus even our most active attempts to honor God are in truth still dependent wholly upon God. Our faith is really a commentary on God's ...

3811. Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... that the disciples be protected from "the evil one." Note that Jesus does not ask that they be protected from harm, adversity, or hard times. Jesus knows the power of prayer, and he knows the discordant tendencies of the disciples. The "evil one" he seeks to keep at a distance might also be understood as those thoughts and energies and forces in this world that work against us, making us less than God would have us be. As Jesus' prayer continues in verses 16-18, he asks that the disciples remain in this ...

3812. 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... -41) merely continue Paul's attempt to clearly delineate the new body from the old body. By verse 42, however, Paul is ready to expound his main point with a series of four antitheses. Within this series, the reader would do well to keep in mind Paul's conversion experience. The focus Paul brings to this issue of resurrection highlights the contrast between the old and the new, the discontinuity between the two, and the totally miraculous nature of this transformation. What is sown, Paul says, is perishable ...

3813. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... final letter to the church, while 2:14-7:4 and chapters 9-13 are taken from that crucial third letter. Thus it is well to keep in mind that this week's text owes its intensity to Paul's passionate plea for his continuing authority as an apostle for Christ. The ... reconciling activity to focus on the "ministry of reconciliation." It is this ministry, not himself, that Paul defends before the Corinthians. Keeping our eyes focused, we see that in verse 19 the most crucial part of Paul's message is slipped in as ...

3814. Acts 9:1-20

Acts 9:1-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... pulls on some clothing so that he won't be stranded naked on the shore and plunges into the water. His disappearance from the text now seems reasonable, for he remains waterlogged for some time. But Simon Peter does not make his escape; his love for Jesus keeps him close. This construction allows Peter's reboarding of the ship (now from the water, not the shore) in order to empty the net (verse 11) to serve as his somewhat graceful re-entry into the party - showing Jesus he is there and that he is eager ...

3815. Hebrews 12:1-2, 12-17

Hebrews 12:1-2, 12-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , a once-and-for-all trial, a perfect act of love. Our endurance is tested along the marathon road of life itself. Jesus suffered the ignominious, torturous death of a criminal, but in total victory overcame death to take his seat at God's right hand. Keeping our eyes on Jesus' victory is the only way we will be able to complete our race. The lectionary reading now skips to verse 12, where the author wraps up the physical imagery of an endurance race. Like weary runners entering the final laps, the author ...

3816. 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... 5 ("as for you ... "), Paul now examines the faithfulness of his own life in verse 6 ("as for me ..."). In keeping with his own previous writings (Philippians 1:23) and with the prevalent image of his culture, Paul portrays his impending ... would evoke images of the very real battle Christianity was facing against pagan gods and values. While not athletic, the phrase "to keep the faith" was already a common expression and would remind readers of their pledges to one another. Claiming that he had "completed ...

3817. Matthew 24:36-44

Matthew 24:36-44

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... expectations and to then effectively de-temporalize the eschatological questions haunting the confused yet faithful followers in the church's second generation. In so doing, of course, Matthew succeeds in keeping ensuing generations, down to our own day, intimately involved in Jesus' story. Matthew manages to keep the eschatological discourse vital by redirecting Christ's emphasis back onto the lives of Christians living in these in-between times. There are two different schools of thought concerning what ...

3818. 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11

1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... before God and utter trust in the conviction that "he cares for you." 1 Peter then calls his audience to "discipline" themselves. This disciplined or "clear-headed" stance keeps believers free from any mental confusion or momentary passions. Their hearts and minds are trained on God. Along with this disciplined stance, 1 Peter urges them to "keep alert," a military term used to describe a soldier's attentiveness during his time on watch duty. The military image sets up 1 Peter's warning of an impending ...

3819. Matthew 10:24-39

Matthew 10:24-39

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... for new behavior on the part of the disciples. Matthew puts Jesus' words in verse 27 into the form of an imperative, convinced that he was speaking about his own messianic identity. Luke, who recounts this same statement in his gospel (12:3), keeps the statement in the indicative mood, suggesting a primary concern with human behavior. Verse 27 proposes what the disciples are to do with their knowledge of Jesus' identity after the resurrection they are to "proclaim [it] from the housetops." The second time ...

3820. Matthew 16:21-28

Matthew 16:21-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... When Jesus rejects Peter's plea of "God forbid it," he accuses Peter, the rock, of becoming a stumbling block or stone in the midst of Jesus' path to Jerusalem. Jesus insists that the time has come for Peter to move out of the chronos time that keeps track of "human things" and that he move into kairos time as the scheme of "divine things" begins to unfold before them. In verses 24-26, Jesus offers discipleship advice for his followers to carry with them on this journey to Jerusalem. He begins by insisting ...

3821. Galatians 3:23-29

Galatians 3:23-29

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to describe what the true nature and function of the law has been for humanity. Instead of being the gateway to justification before God, the law was a watchful jailer, keeping people from any further transgressions (3:19). At times, the law may have seemed more like a benevolent guardian, but it was still keeping men and women imprisoned. The law served this necessary, but inferior purpose until the "time of faith" arrived. In verse 24, Paul clarifies that "time" as "until Christ came." Paul describes ...

3822. 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the terms "rebuke, warn and exhort or urge" would be the most accurate translations. Despite differences, all three of these exercises involve the preacher in proclaiming specific behavioral standards for believers - by offering both positive and negative directives. Paul knows keeping this charge will be no small task for Timothy (vv.3-4). The greatest difficulties will not come from "false teachers" who threaten the faith, Paul cautions, but from within the fold of the faithful. Instead of listening to ...

3823. 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... and authority, Paul nevertheless tempers his directives with genuine compassion. He addresses the Thessalonians - even those idling and erring - as "brothers and sisters." It is out of a spirit of genuine compassion, then, that Paul now commands those not in error to "keep away" from the mistaken ones in their midst. There is a definite military sound behind Paul's "commanding" language - magnified by the fact that "idleness" was a form of misconduct with which soldiers could be charged. Yet his command to ...

3824. 2 Kings 2:1-12a

2 Kings 2:1-12a

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to react to the miraculous events they witnessed. Psalm 50 suggests that it is our place to stand in silent awe before the grandeur of God's power. Indeed, it is God's place, not ours, to make the triumphal noise - verse 3 notes that God "does not keep silent." Along with the sound of the "devouring fire" and the "mighty tempest" (verse 3) God's own voice "... calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people" (verse 4). Finally, if there is to be some sort of appropriate response to ...

3825. Acts 10:44-48

Acts 10:44-48

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

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