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 3826 to 3850 of 4986 results

3826. Eight Days until Eternity

Mark 11:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

... rays, and blood work at the hospital. As morning approached, the doctors told this exhausted little girl that she would need to have one more test, a spinal tap. The procedure would be painful, they said. The doctor then asked Tim Miller if he planned to stay in the room. He nodded, knowing he couldn’t leave Jennifer alone during the ordeal. The doctors gently asked Jennifer to remove all her clothing. She looked at her father with childlike modesty as if to ask if that were all right. They had her curl ...

3827. Being Christian

Mark 1:29-34

Illustration

King Duncan

... he was to leave he heard about some Jews who had escaped the wrath of the Nazis. They had traveled by boat to India seeking refuge. Since it was a time of global war, the Indian government denied their request to immigrate. They were granted permission to stay for a short time in the lofts of the buildings near the dock. Their living conditions were wretched. But it was better than being sent to a concentration camp in Germany. It was Christmas Eve when Gorman Williams heard about the plight of these Jews ...

3828. Evangelism is Holy Communion

John 4:1-26

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... he?” No arrogance here. No dogmatism here. No my way or the highway here. “Come and see for yourself. He can’t be the Messiah, can he?” The best evangelism always respects the freedom of persons to answer that question for themselves. They went. They believed. They invited Jesus to stay two more days. And the kingdom of God was realized. Barriers came down. Enemies became friends. Holy Communion was enjoyed. They worshiped God together in spirit and truth. God was glorified.

3829. God Loses, So We Can Win

Genesis 32:22-32

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... offering. That is, if Esau doesn’t destroy them once he finds out they belong to Jacob. And, the conniver plots, if Esau does destroy them, he’s saved the other half of what he possesses. He sends his wives, children, slaves, and flocks ahead, while he stays back. He spends the night by the River Jabbok. During the night he is assaulted.. It’s dark and he can’t tell who it is. A man? An angel? A divine-human? As daybreak approaches, the stranger says, “I must be going.” Jacob, again true to ...

3830. No More Static Cling!

John 20:10-18

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... “Because they have taken my Jesus and I don’t know where they’ve put him.” The One who’d given her a new lease on life had been crucified. He’d loved the image of God in her into reality. But he is dead. And dead people stay dead. She turns around and sees through the only assumptions she has to see through. This man must be the gardener. It’s morning. This is a garden. “Where have you put my Jesus?’ The Risen Christ calls her by name, “Mary.” She recognizes the Voice. “Rabbouni, My ...

3831. Not My Jesus!

Matthew 26:14-16

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... And they’re bad for business. People come down here to get happy, not depressed.” III. “Father, let this week pass….” I wonder if our prayer is like that of Jesus in the Garden: Father, let this unsettling, disturbing story pass from me. I fear that the story won’t stay in the past. It won’t be a story about Judas, Peter, the crowd, Pilate, and Jesus. I fear it is a story about me. The story you are about to see is true. The names have not been changed to protect the guilty. It is full of hard ...

3832. Poor Relations

James 2:1-13

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... ? Could it be that despite our claim to not being able to relate to the poor, we have a sense that we share more in common than we want to admit? My first Christmas Eve here three years ago was on Saturday night. Our son, Michael, and I agreed to stay the night with our Room in the Inn guests. I was going to be here anyway after the 11:00 Christmas Eve Service. It made sense. The next morning as the men were getting ready to leave, one of them said to me, “You all need to treat us with ...

3833. The Gifts of Word and Table

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... t open their eyes to recognize him. It prepared them for an experience that would. Which is why our pattern of Christian worship includes both Word and Table. As they neared their home at Emmaus, the Stranger appeared to be continuing on. They bid him to stay with them. It was evening. It was supper time. They offered him what they had: hospitality and bread. At this Table there is enough grace for everyone. Divine Love isn’t limited. When a second child enters a family, love isn’t divided so the family ...

3834. The Golden Gate

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... than condemn them? There used to be a TV cop show called Hill Street Blues. Each show began with roll call. The sergeant would end his announcements and assignments with these words, “Let’s be careful out there.” He meant, “It’s dangerous out there. Stay on your toes, so nothing will happen to you.” Jesus the Shepherd leads his sheep out of the sheepfold into the world and says, “Let’s be careful out there.” He means, “Let’s care for everyone out there as royalty, as God’s beloved ...

3835. What about Laws and Rules?

Matthew 5:17-20

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... of Jesus’ day. They believed that God can be reduced to fundamental laws and beliefs. From their point of view, Jesus is associating with the wrong kinds of people. You’re known by the company you keep. The goal of religion is to get and stay clean, not get dirtied by evil influences. The fundamentalists understood religion to consist of laws and rules. Learn the laws and the rules, obey the laws and rules, and you will be a righteous person. You will be right with God. God will be pleased ...

3836. Mark 1:40-45

Mark 1:40-45

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to Mark’s gospel, is that Jesus ended up surrounded by great crowds of the curious (1:45; 6:35-34; 7:24-25; 10:1). What has been tagged as “the Messianic secret” was the worst kept secret in Galilee. All of Jesus’ attempts to stay under the radar were thwarted by the excited testimonies of those whose lives he touched so dramatically. Jesus was so extraordinary in his works and words that it was impossible for people to keep quiet about him. The text for today describes exactly the actions and ...

3837. The Compassionate Christ

Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

King Duncan

... this dreadful disease with one request: “See that you don’t tell this to anyone . . .” And what did this man do? Immediately he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere. Jesus probably would have been better off if he had not bothered with this man. But that was not Jesus’ nature then or now. Jesus is a compassionate friend who is concerned about ...

3838. Christ Is Willing to Heal

Luke 4:18

Illustration

... 's coming today to see you guys." Yea, sure, he said, "one more of those designs they have on us." A little later he heard more commotion about it and thought it might be true. Another guard said, "Don't go into your cells and lock up. Mother Teresa stayed to see you guys." So Michael jogged up to the front in gym shorts and a tattered basketball shirt with the arms ripped out, and on the other side of the security screen was this tiny woman who looked 100 years old. Yes, it was Mother Teresa. This hardened ...

3839. Hurts Can Heal

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the goggle wearer instantly and painfully blind. Hit by a tidal wave of light, the eyes of the goggle-wearer screech “over-load” and shoot painful reminders back to the brain. The pain, the hurt, while not pleasant, does its job. It tells the eyelids, “Stay closed!” As those who have once been blind, and then receive sight, will testify, whenever we come into the light after getting accustomed to darkness, it hurts. This hurt is not an evil hurt, or a vicious hurt. It is a hurt that reminds us ...

3840. In Silence

Mark 1:9-13

Illustration

Iyer Pico

... silence of solitude, concluded: "We have to earn silence, then, work for it: to make it not an absence but a presence; not an emptiness but repletion. Silence is something more than just a pause; it is that enchanted place where space is cleared and time is stayed and the horizon itself expands. In silence, we often say, we can hear ourselves think; but what is truer to say is that in silence we can hear ourselves not think, and so sink below ourselves into a place far deeper than mere thought allows. In ...

3841. Then I Had Children

Mark 1:9-15; Luke 4:1-13

Illustration

Johnny Dean

... can go next door and play in your friend's front yard. You can ride your Big Wheel up and down the driveway. You can go in the back yard and play with the dog or play on your swing. You can go back inside and watch television. You can stay here and watch me trim the hedges. These are all the things you have my permission to do. But you can NOT go out into the street. It is very dangerous there. You cannot play in the street. Do you understand what I'm saying?" And Kevin solemnly nodded his ...

3842. A Humble Servant

Mt 3:13-17; Lk 17:10

Illustration

King Duncan

The story is told of Dr. Charles Mayo who, with his father and brother, founded the world-famous Mayo Clinic. A group of European medical experts was visiting the clinic and were staying as guests of Dr. Mayo at his home. In their own countries it was the custom of these gentlemen to place their shoes outside the bedroom doors for a servant to polish. As Dr. Mayo was retiring he noticed shoes lined up outside the rooms of his guests, but it ...

3843. Bigger Is Not Always Better

Mark 8:31-38

Illustration

Mickey Anders

... fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied only a little while. The American then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish. The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs. The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?" The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late; fish a little; play with ...

3844. Worship on the Mountaintop...And Everywhere Else

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... In worship we hear the stories of those who came to see life, their lives, differently. Persons who enjoyed the illusion of certainty had it exploded by a God who refuses to be confined by the smallness of our human prejudices. The biblical witness is that God will not stay forever in the little boxes we put God in. B. Hearing the Voice In addition to having our blindness healed so we can see, worship is about hearing a Voice that tells us to listen to Jesus. We are to listen to him even though what he says ...

3845. From Me to We

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

Mike Ripski

... The voice replied, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Get up and go to the city and wait. You’ll be told what to do.” I was totally disoriented. I couldn’t see. And what I heard was the voice of one who had been crucified. Dead people stay dead, don’t they? All of my previous assumptions about what I thought was right and of God were being challenged. I couldn’t avoid the thought: “Have I been wrong?” To answer Yes would mean that I’d given my life to the wrong “way.” Could there ...

3846. The Spirit of the Church

Jn 2:13-22

Illustration

King Duncan

... church in New York. A man stood up in that church and said, "I hope this is appropriate to ask. I was an abused child. I'm terrified of being an abusive father. I need help and prayer. " Madeleine L'Engle knew then this was a church she could stay in. "Because people are willing to be vulnerable," she says, "this church is very different. Sometimes it gets messy, but that's okay. People are not afraid to ask questions. We're able to admit we're all broken, we've all made terrible mistakes, we're all in ...

3847. The Light Has Come

John 3:19-21

Illustration

John E. Sumwalt

... light?" In this age of electricity, light is something we take for granted. Few of us ever experience total darkness. In the city, we have street lights which come on automatically as soon as it begins to get dark. In the country, most farms have a mercury vapor light that stays on all night for security reasons. Consequently, most of us never get a good look at the stars as we used to when all the lights went out at night. If you ever get the chance to go out in the desert at night do it. The darkness on ...

3848. Easter 3

Luke 24:36-49, 1 John 2:28--3:10, Acts 3:11-26

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... . What the world doesn't know! (3:1-2). Need: The world is the segment of the population that is apart from God. Being separated from God, the world does not know what God's people knew. Christians have a knowledge the world will never know as long as it stays apart from God. What do we know that the world does not know? Outline: We know what the world does not know – a. We know God is our Father v. 1. b. We know we are God's children v. 2. c. We know some day we will be like ...

3849. Epiphany

Ephesians 3:1-13, Matthew 2:1-12, Isaiah 60:1-22

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... get in contact with the light of Jesus through personal devotions and public worship. The closer we come to Christ, the more we will reflect the light to those around us. The key to witnessing for Christ and doing good works is in drawing nigh and staying close to Christ, the light of the world. But, too, Christ can only be the light of the world to the extent that Christians reflect this light in their daily involvement with the world. 2. Scatter to gather. The Lesson teaches us that the light must first ...

3850. Epiphany 2

John 1:43-51, 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, 1 Samuel 3:1--4:1

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... world." The next day as John the Baptist again looks at Jesus he exclaims, "Behold the Lamb of God." This was to say that Jesus was the Messiah. Hearing this witness, two disciples of John, one was Andrew, left John for Jesus. The two followed and stayed with him the rest of the day. Probably the very next morning, Andrew goes for his brother Simon and brings him to Jesus who changes his name to Cephas or Peter, an Aramaic word meaning "rock." THEOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS Gospel: John 1:43-51 1. Follow (v. 43 ...

Showing results