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 3851 to 3875 of 4986 results

3851. Proper 12

Ephesians 3:14-21, John 6:16-24, John 6:1-15, 2 Samuel 11:1-27

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... , one who could write, "The Lord is my shepherd," one who could offer a most beautiful prayer? David had reached a plateau of success, power and wealth. He lived a life of luxury and leisure in his Jerusalem palace. He now has others to fight his enemies. He stays home, takes a nap on his couch, goes for a stroll, watches a married woman take a bath, and he falls into the sin of adultery. And to cover it up, he is responsible for the murder of the woman's husband, Uriah. Epistle: Ephesians 3:14-21 Here ...

3852. Proper 16

John 6:25-59, 1 Kings 8:22-61, Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... ). Need: Though we have at one time decided to follow Christ and join the church, we need not feel that "once a Christian, always a Christian" is a trap. We are free to come to Christ and free to leave Christ at any time. Christ does not compel us to stay with him. In a sense Jesus says to us, "There is the door. You may leave any time you wish." In the text Jesus asks the 12, "Do you also wish to go away?" We remain with Christ because we want to "Lord, to whom shall we go?" Outline: You ...

3853. Proper 26

Mark 12:28-34, Hebrews 9:11-28, Ruth 1:1-22

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... daughters-in-law to return to their homes, Ruth "clung" to her and insisted upon going with her to Bethlehem. She so loved Naomi that nothing would separate her from Naomi. Love clings and gives birth to loyalty. In spite of Naomi's sound reasoning and logic, Ruth stayed on. Love and loyalty go beyond what is reasonable. Epistle: Hebrews 9:11-14 1. Once for all (v. 12). Jesus on the cross entered the holy of holies "once for all." It may mean once for all time. No other sacrifice was needed. It was a one ...

3854. The Nativity Of Our Lord

Isaiah 9:1-7, Titus 2:1-15, Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... and state is a problem every generation faces. At the very beginning of Jesus' life the state had its say. A "decree" from Rome gave Jesus' parents a difficult time: a long, arduous trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem at a time when the expectant mother needed to stay at home with family. The decree resulted in a stable for a delivery room and animals for attending nurses. "Caesar" continued to be a problem for Jesus to the very end of his life "Render unto Caesar" ...; sentenced to death by one of Caesar's men ...

3855. The Doorkeeper

John 10:11-18

Illustration

Staff

... doorkeeper or watchman of the fold would let the shepherd pass into the fold. The shepherd would call the sheep, and the sheep, who knew his voice, would come to him, and he would lead his flock out to pasture. When they were away from the sheepfold, the shepherd would stay out all night with his flock, finding some kind of shelter in the pasture area, and he himself would act as the door, so that no wild animal could get by him.

3856. Calling the Sheep

John 10:1-21

Illustration

David J. Risendal

... wander endlessly in search of fields where their sheep might graze. Every night, the sheep are led into a protected area - a "sheepfold." Sometimes, there are three or four or five flocks gathered by a number of shepherds into the same area. The shepherds take shifts staying up throughout the night, making sure that wolves or other wild animals aren't able to make their way into the protected area. In the morning, one might wonder if there is any hope of separating one flock from another. But it's a simple ...

3857. Christ-like Servants

John 15:1-8

Illustration

James W. Moore

... door open for you because you are a person. I learned in Sunday School long ago to be a courteous and polite servant to everybody. If you had been a man, I would have held the door open for you." And she said, "Cool!" Well, it is "cool" when we stay connected to Christ's Servant Mentality when we get up in the morning and go through the day looking constantly (natural as breathing) for ways we can be Christ-like servants.

3858. What Would Jesus Do? - or - How Would Jesus Do It?

John 17:6-19

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... never looks bad, whether it was 1950 or 2005. But most of what is called “fashion” is flash in the pan. It is designed with the intention of becoming obsolete next season, so that you will need to buy a new outfit in order to “stay cool.” Fashion is the very definition of “planned obsolescence.” Fashion trends change fast, but not as fast electronic trends. Everyone knows that when the economy crashes hemlines drop. But who could have foreseen that when the bottom dropped out of Wall Street, the ...

3859. A Shepherd's Love

John 10:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... Schuller on television say that Jesus loved her. And she began believing it. Through prayer she turned from drugs. She felt God’s presence in her life. This emboldened her to pray for what she called for the greatest miracle of all: for her mother to stay sober. She prayed and prayed. Yet nothing seemed to happen. Finally she decided to take matters into her own hands. She took away her mother’s last bottle of booze after she had passed out one afternoon, even though she knew that you weren’t supposed ...

3860. A Life of Trust

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... the point where she wasn’t falling too much. So, she decided to go down the more advanced slope known as the Big Hill. When she got to the top, she realized this was not a good idea. But she it was too late to turn back. She couldn’t stay up there forever, she says, so she started down. Everything she’d learned disappeared from her mind. She yelled, “Get out of the way!” as she flew straight down the hill. At the bottom was the ski lodge with a fence in front of it. Somehow, she dodged the fence ...

3861. Peace in the Face of the Tempes

Mark 4:35-41

Illustration

Jesus does not promise to calm every storm in your life. Jesus does promise to calm you in every storm of life. John Wesley could hardly have been called a faint-hearted stay-at-home. But there were times when even he lost his nerve. During one of Wesley's several Atlantic crossings, a frighteningly fierce storm broke out, pitching and tossing the ship about like a bathtub toy. While Wesley and others clung to their bunks and hid their heads, a community ...

3862. The Wounded Healers

Mark 5: 21-43

Illustration

Ron Lavin

... be compassionate, wounded healers. Perhaps, Henri Nouwen, the Roman Catholic theologian, has said this better than anyone else. The author of many books, Nouwen speaks of Christians as "wounded healers" who have compassion. Compassion is not pity. Pity lets us stay at a distance. It is condescending. Compassion is not sympathy. Sympathy is for superiors over inferiors. Compassion is not charity. Charity is for the rich to continue in their status over the poor. Compassion is born of God. It means entering ...

3863. Mark 6: 1-13

Mark 6:1-6

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... . Jesus’ directives assured that the disciples would need to involve themselves personally with the people they witnessed to on their journeys. With his rejection at Nazareth still vivid, Jesus not only gives his disciples rules to follow when they are welcomed (stay in one house until they leave that village), but what they should do when they are “not welcomed.” Shaking the dust from their feet as they left places of rejection was a dramatic invective against those who turned away the presence ...

3864. Nobody Is Too Big to Fail. Nobody Is Too Small to Prevail.

Mark 6:1-6

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... , Charlemagne’s Rule, the Spanish conquests, Louis 14th, Great Britain’s “Empire of the Sun,” the “Age of America” — all have beginnings and endings. History gives us no example of any nation or company who climb to the top of the heap and stay there forever. The true downside of Incarnation is Limitation. That is why Jesus’ ministry and message were not about up and down, success or failure, winning or losing. Fittingly, as one both fully human and fully divine, Jesus got to taste the raw ...

3865. How to Fail Successfully - Sermon Starter

Mark 6:1-13

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

... and all his power? They were amazed. It is in the midst of that success that Jesus calls his disciples and sends them out. In His instruction He warns about failure. Listen to verses 10 and 11 of chapter 6: He said to them, "Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them." Is there not solid instruction here in our Scripture lesson and from Jesus ...

3866. Mark 6:14-29

Mark 6:14-29

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Dead Sea. But once he was out of public hearing, Herod’s attitude towards John diverged from that of his wife Herodias. Herodias “had a grudge against [John], and wanted to kill him” (v.19). Surprisingly, it is Herod’s hand that stays Herodias’ dagger. Mark reports that Herod “feared John,” knowing he was a “righteous and holy man.” Incredibly, the man John the Baptist denounced so viciously becomes John’s protector. (v. 20). Herod’s response to John’s mission and message has been ...

3867. John the Baptist, Sanctified Indifference, & the King of Pop

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the art of giving offense. Have you? Let’s call the art of giving offense “sanctified indifference.” It is not that John the Baptist, or Jeremiah, or Nehemiah, or Hosea, or Zephaniah or Peter or Paul, or Jesus, or you, don’t care about staying alive. But all of God’s prophets develop the art of sanctified indifference to the consequences their truth-telling might bring. And one of the great problems in the church today is that we are missing that sanctified indifference. It’s not that they didn ...

3868. We Cannot Not Be Sinners

Mark 6:14-29

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

... think another angry thought in the future. Even if the alcoholic promises never to take another drink or the adulterer vows never again to wake up in the wrong bed and even if they keep those promises what they cannot promise is that in addition to staying sober or chaste they will also remain just overall sinless. Evil is everywhere and often comes in the most banal, ordinary of trappings. Mark 6 reminds us of this, too. No less than John the Baptist ended up being killed not because of the machinations of ...

3869. Proper 20

Psalm 79:1-13, Jeremiah 8:18--9:1, Luke 16:1-15, 1 Timothy 2:1-15

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

... Jesus and learn to trust and follow him who is the Light of the world and our guide to God. Be favorable to our land, O God, despite our enmities and strife, our greed and immorality. For the sake of the humble and prayerful in every land, stay your just judgments on all nations that resist the rule of Christ. Subdue warmongers and troublemakers, and teach us the practice of peace in our streets as in our state houses. Bring to places of authority leadership with the humility to seek your wisdom. Bless all ...

3870. “Bad Form” and Bad Jesus

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... the hill, the distinctions emerged. The second-class passengers had to get out and walk. The first class passengers remained in the coach. The third-class passengers had to get out and push. Jesus is ALWAYS third class . . . and when people who claim the name of Jesus stay in the coach and let others do the pushing, it’s swearing time. Have you noticed how swearing and cursing no longer seem to be a big deal? Every one seems to have their own personal swear words, and our everyday language is so over-ripe ...

3871. Bad Form and Bad Jesus

Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

3872. Take Time

Mark 6:30-34,45-56

Illustration

Martin Greyford Phiri

Martin Greyford Phiri, a natural born citizen of Zambia, wrote: Take time to think; it is the source of power. Take time to read; it is the foundation of wisdom. Take time to play; it is the secret of staying young. Take time to be quiet; it is the opportunity to seek God. Take time to be aware; it is the opportunity to help others. Take time to love and be loved; it is God's greatest gift. Take time to laugh; it is the music of the soul. Take ...

3873. Lent 3

Exodus 19:3-6, Psalm 95:1-11, John 4:5-42, Romans 5:1-11

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

... and for our state and community, that we may be united in our commitment to liberty and justice for all. Preserve truth, widen understanding, encourage dialogue, facilitate negotiation of differences, and prosper our farms and industries. Lord Jesus, as you went in to stay with your disciples at Emmaus, come to our homes and tables. Like Zacchaeus may we change our lives so that our homes are worthy of your holy presence and are a place where strangers are welcomed in your name. God of health and peace ...

3874. Small Saves

John 6:1-15

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... leftovers, and crumbs: those are the building blocks of the kingdom of God. Think about it. How much smaller, or crumbier, could the kingdom of God have started? First with a tiny baby, born in a tiny town, in a tiny country. Then Jesus stayed a small-town boy almost all his adult life, calling a ridiculously small band of discards to disciple and disperse the biggest, most revolutionary news the world had ever received. Jesus knew that small inputs could have massive consequences. A child’s sharing of ...

3875. When You're Overwhelmed

John 6:1-15

Sermon

King Duncan

... You see, the problem with feeling overwhelmed is that we see our problems coming at us from every direction, and so it keeps us from solving the problem right in front of us. Which leads me to ask this question, Do you know the best way to swat a fly? Stay with me now. According to the scientific journal Nature, the best way to swat a fly is to take a piece of tissue paper in each hand. Approach the fly with your hands equidistant from the fly on both its right and left sides, moving your hands to and fro ...

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